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Please give the audience here ears to hear and just fill Pastor with your Holy Spirit as he preaches your word and please bless the service and bless the fellowship afterwards and we pray all this in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Okay, we're in first Corinthians chapter 14 and we're continuing this evening with our Sunday evening service on spiritual gifts in the Bible according to Romans chapter 12 and tonight we're going to cover the spiritual gift of the ruler or another way you can say this is the organizer okay and when you think about the ruler or the organizer they can be summed up in verse number 40 of first Corinthians 14 let's start in verse number 39 this is wherefore brethren covet to prophesy and forbid not to speak with tongues let all things be done decently and in order so if you were to sum up what the ruler is all about they all are all about order they're all about organizing they're all about having everything decently and in order and so you can see why someone like this is important to have in a local New Testament church because of the fact that if you're going to get anything done there has to be a some sense of organization within that group right in order to accomplish any task project and or vision you got to have an organizer to put everything in order in order to accomplish the desired goal to achieve it now when we think about spiritual gifts you know because sometimes people can still be confused about this and think you know I still don't know what my spiritual gift is and you know I'm not really sure yet I'm still kind of straddling the fence between these gifts I don't I don't know which one I am well but a good way to really determine what your spiritual gift is is this what energizes you okay when I say doing that which naturally you're naturally inclined to do I'm referring to the fact that one of these spiritual gifts when you actually do it it energizes you now let me just be real honest with you I am not a ruler okay now I'm a ruler in the sense that I'm the pastor and I have to learn these principles but from a natural standpoint I am not an organized person okay now I work on it I try to discipline myself to learn I read books on leadership in order to you know improve the order of the church improve order in my personal life but it's not something that energizes me in fact it burdens me okay and that's how typically most people are when it comes to spiritual gifts that are not theirs okay when they work on being a mercy and they're a prophet it's like a burden to them okay they're just like man I gotta be nice to everyone and it's like you know and so this is how you know if this is your spiritual gift is if it energizes you when you begin to exert these qualities it's not something that you have to do it's actually something that you are naturally inclined to do it's just your natural propensity to fulfill these qualities and it actually gives you energy it gives you excitement you feel like this is my element okay you're in your element it's not a burden to you etcetera now go to Romans chapter 12 if you would Romans chapter number 12 so ask yourself this you know as we're going through the spiritual gifts does it burden you to be a prophet or is it something that energizes you when you exert the qualities of a prophet if it's something like well that's just how I am and you know I don't really have to try to be a prophet I don't have to try to be an exhorter that's just who I am then that's probably your spiritual gift now don't be the kind of person that you see a spiritual giving like well I would love to be like an exhort or something you know but you're actually like a mercy you know and it's just like oh no no I'm an exhort and you're just kind of trying to force yourself into that square peg even though you're a round one you know it's it's not gonna do you any good okay because if that's not the spiritual gift that God gave you you're gonna end up frustrated okay you know if you're a mercy and you want to be a prophet it's okay to learn those qualities and develop those abilities but the end of the day you have to be realistic and recognize what your particular spiritual gift is and basically capitalize on your strengths if you're a mercy use it to its fullest capacity if you are a an exhorter utilize it to its fullest capacity if you are a ruler utilize it to its fullest capacity because that's the only place where you're gonna be fully fulfilled okay and so just think about that look at Romans chapter 12 verse 4 says for as we have many members of one body and all members have not the same office so we being many are one body in Christ and every one members of one of another having then gifts deferring according to the grace that is given to us with a prophecy let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith or ministry let us wait on our ministering or he that teacheth on teaching or he that exhorteth on exhortation he that giveth let him do it with simplicity and he that ruleth with diligence he that showeth mercy with cheerfulness and again spiritual gifts is basically an ability or a talent that God gives the members of the body of Christ to profit the local New Testament church okay now what are the spiritual gifts that are available to us let me give you a bit of a review of all the spiritual gifts that we've gone through so far but I'm gonna give you a little extra of those qualities that entail each of those gifts of course the first one that we see there on the list is the gift of prophecy this is not referring to someone who can foretell the future okay the gift of prophecy of someone who has the ability possesses the ability to speak in God's stead with accuracy authority and power and a quality that they have is that basically they see things in black and white there is no gray there is no in between okay they see right and wrong and they're committed to truth regardless if anyone agrees so you know a good thing about a prophet is they can just stand alone believing right and they don't have to have anyone follow them which is great you know you need people like that who are just willing to stand for the truth regardless if someone follows or not they're often verbally expressive and can be compulsive about it you know you guys know a couple prophets in here they're often very verbally expressive they're compulsive about it they judge and evaluate everything even situations that do not directly impact them okay so sometimes they judge the situation it's just like that's none of your business that's how you know you're a prophet if you're getting involved in someone else's business and you're assessing that situation you're judging that individual you know you're judging that person that couple that husband that wife and it has nothing to do with you and you're just like I already know what they should do this person's not right with God or whatever you know that shows you you're probably a prophet you're just nosy no I mean the prophet is just able to assess every situation but even things that don't really deal with them okay luckily the pastor me I'm a prophet so I get to be involved in everyone's business okay no I'm just kidding they have a compulsion for honesty which is what I just did and transparency so they actually feel like they're in their element when they're transparent with people and I'll be honest with you that you know I'm a prophet I love being transparent with people because I like to you know I don't know how to explain it it's just you like to basically show humanity you like to share with people like hey I'm just like you I struggle just like you I want you to know how exactly I am they're very transparent they're intolerant of perceived rebellion hypocrisy and denial especially in leadership okay not like that and they have a large range of emotions they're very intense passionate and they have an extreme when it comes to those things okay so that is the prophet now what about the gift of ministry or the servant well the Bible tells us or ministry let us wait on our ministry so we see that the servant is an individual who waits they anticipate serving others this person has or possesses the ability to see a need and to fulfill it they see external needs of comfort and food and they're quick to meet those needs they're team players okay so they actually work well with others now the ruler is not the same way the ruler wants to rule over everyone okay whereas the servant is able to play well with others okay they're team players they're they're basically relatively free from their own agenda they're not necessarily looking to fulfill their own goals they actually aspire to just kind of help the team out okay and just kind of trying to be a benefit the entire organization so to speak they're very practical and here's one thing about a servant that maybe you might know if you know serving in your life they find it hard to accept excellence in their own work okay they have find it hard to affirm themselves you know they find it hard that's why they look for affirmation from other people that's what one of the things if you remember regarding the servant is like you need to make sure that you appreciate the servant if you're married to one if your children are servants if you know serving in the church you need to make sure you say thank you because they have a hard time accepting excellence in themselves even if they accomplish something with excellence and it's just like man that's perfect it's never perfect enough for the servant it can be just perfectly made everything is there all the bells and whistles but for the servant it's not good enough so therefore they need an external person to say hey you're done that's it that's great it looks good it's beautiful it's tasty it's delicious okay whatever it may be and so they tend and by the way they tend to apologize for everything you know when they're serving they just they say sorry for everything they say sorry for everything okay why because they are they have a tendency to be sometimes a little insecure about their own work okay but they are mostly fulfilled when they're given a task to accomplish so they're not necessarily visionaries they're not gonna envision a great goal they follow the visionaries and the visionary imparts into them a task and they're happy to just fulfill that task okay so that's the that's the the the servant you have the Prophet servant and then the teacher the person with the gift of teaching possesses the desire to prove all things and hold fast that which is good they want first-hand details they value precision and sharing details they're usually very articulate and let me just say this an extra quality that they have especially that I've noticed is they're very good writers okay so they don't say a whole lot but they type a whole lot yeah everyone's laughing because they know the teachers in our church okay so they don't articulate very well with their mouths but if you give them a tablet or something they can they can write all I mean they can articulate it their thoughts and their emotions perfectly just perfect okay and so but they they value the precision and details they're usually very articulate when it comes to writing and even there are articulate when it comes to speaking but they they speak very they they what's the word I'm looking for they this this morning I was just talking about they spare their words okay so the words that do come out of their mouth is very precise it's very articulate they don't say a whole lot but when they do say something there's a whole lot of content and quality found within that their statements okay they process and make decisions slowly all right and they can often slow down impulsive people who jump to conclusions so someone jumps to a conclusion they're like why well why is that and it's just like the people who are impulsive are like oh man I didn't expect someone to question me about that so then they start to slow down so you see why teachers are valuable in a setting like that they're often confused with the gift of mercies because obviously mercy is more emotionally driven and and teachers have a tendency to just come be confused at that like because they're all about the head knowledge whereas the mercy is more about the heart you understand so that the teacher tends to be led by their head well while the mercy is led by their heart so that's why they kind of conflict sometimes with with mercies they often tend to be the last one to speak in a group setting okay everyone can share their opinion and they're like the last one to speak up they will often listen observe and then summarize the entire picture okay that's why when I say like when they make a statement it's very precise and it's only a sentence long but it summarizes everything that the group is talking about okay and of course as I mentioned they like doctrinal purity you can see why the teacher is very much important in a church setting then you have the gift of exhortation or the exhortor the person with the gift of exhortation possesses the ability to persuade inspire and provoke others to love and to good works okay now these people haven't have an ability to relate to anybody okay they're very social like talking to everyone and in that conversation they will find something that they can you know something that's common ground to them and they can relate to people in that way okay their their their focus is very horizontal and they're very people oriented okay they do well in a group setting they do well before people they like people they like being in a social environment they're really good communicators and they're not intimidated by new ideas okay but one of the biggest strengths of the exhortors this is they're visionaries they imagine big okay and this is why people are often inspired to follow the exhortor why because they always have a big vision and you know what small vision move no man's soul big visions will move men across the world understand so people like to follow visionaries because our exhortors because they're often visionaries they they often have their head in the clouds so to speak and so they see the broader picture inspire others but then obviously you know they get a vision they're like we're gonna reach the world we're gonna reach this and then they get bored of it and then they move on to something else and everyone's left being inspired with that previous vision so that is the exhortor and of course they see the cause and effect they do well in tribulation except etc the gift of giving the giver we went over this last week the giver possesses the ability to discern the financial needs of God's work and God's people and they meet them they minister unto the Lord of their substance now what's a couple things about the giver well number one is they're very independent okay they stand alone they don't really like to look to others for help they just kind of like very you know they're very independent they resist being conned manipulated or guilt-tripped into any action okay and if someone's withholding information for them they have a tendency to be become very suspicious of that individual they have a tendency to be feel like they're being manipulated if someone's holding information let me say this is that the giver is a natural networker as well okay they know how to network with people this is why the giver is often a businessman or a business lady they're just good at networking okay they give well and wisely but never impulsively okay they understand the value of the dollar they tend to find bargains good deals or discounts before making purchases and sometimes they may see money as a source of security as well but givers are obviously a blessing because God has blessed them with resources and finances to be a blessing to others who may not have that and they often will go without in order to be a blessing to others and I shared that really funny story last week regarding that if you guys remember the iPod or whatever that thing was the mp3 player it's a perfect example of that so that's that's a concise definition of each of those and I hope that helped a little bit if you don't know what your spiritual gift is you might be the ruler okay so the gift of ruling or the organizer the ruler possesses the God-given ability to set and order the things that are wanting okay now why does the Bible call them or call them a why don't why does the Bible call them a ruler okay well this is why because of the fact that a ruler is someone who governs okay or they have dominion over something and in order to govern an organization or to govern people or Dominion you have to be organized right now turn with me if you would to let's see here go to Titus actually go to Luke chapter 1 sorry go to Luke chapter number 1 a governor has to set order to an organization a plan a vision if it's going to be properly executed okay now let me say this again and I mentioned this in previous sermons regarding the spiritual gifts is that if you're gonna be a pastor you have to learn all of these okay not master all of these because the only one you're gonna be able to master is the one that God gives to you the one you're naturally bent to doing but we do have to learn these qualities as a pastor because guess what it's important that pastors rule well right we have to rule our houses well our children well our wives well and in fact the Bible says in 1st Timothy 5 7 let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor especially they who labor in the word and doctrine so as a pastor I have to constantly work on being more organized ruling well making sure that the church is in order making sure that the programs of the church are in order to the best of my abilities now here's the thing I'm not gonna stress out over just be trying to be a ruler for the rest of my life because it's not gonna happen it's just not gonna happen he says so what are you gonna do because here's the thing in order for an organization a church to grow and needs to become more organized because the more we grow the more the possibility of it becoming disorganized and it becomes disorganized people become disheartened disillusioned and they no longer want to get involved okay and so you say well what's the solution to that well my solution is this I need a call out for some rulers out there and this is what my father-in-law used to tell me he says don't waste your time trying to become something you're not just surround yourself with people who have those spiritual gifts find the people in your church find the people in your organization that have those strengths lead them to rule you understand lead them to organize because that is what God has enabled them to do you understand so I'm not gonna be here and say what was me because I'm just that's not my spiritual gift I'm not a ruler okay I'm gonna learn a couple principles when it comes to ruling but I need to surround myself with rulers and that applies to every spiritual gift if you feel like you are a prophet and you struggle with being a mercy surround yourself with a couple of mercies without driving yourself insane I'm just kidding no more than two okay just kidding and and learn some mercy qualities you know and here's the thing those those spiritual gifts actually complement each other okay the mercy and the Prophet complement each other very well and in fact even thinking back some of the closest friends that I've had were mercies but you know what when I look back some of the greatest conflicts I had was with those same mercies we just always had conflict but we always got along we just kind of complemented each other and I learned a lot from them and vice versa okay but a pastor needs to learn these qualities and and develop them as best as they possibly can and not just that even if you're not a ruler you should learn to be a ruler because of the fact that we have to train up our children in the way that should go right you think of what Manoah said regarding Samson he said how shall we order the child okay he wanted to know what were the steps what was the systematic approach to helping Samson in the ways of the Lord okay now in order to be an effective ruler diligence must be a part of the equation because he says he that ruleth let him do it with diligence so that means consistency okay they need to be consistent they need to be consistent in applying these principles that we see here so let me give you a couple qualities of the ruler number one rulers thrive in an orderly environment and under pressure okay in other words they prefer a systematic approach and deadlines me I don't like deadlines I'm just like it'll get done when it gets done that's how I see it people have been asking me about vaccination for like years and you might tell them whenever it gets done I don't know I don't have a deadline for that a lot of the end luckily on the pastor so I can kind of choose to do that now if you're not a ruler and you're under a rule you probably don't have that luxury okay but because rulers they're like what needs to be done by this time they're not very flexible when it comes to deadlines okay they're like hey by next Friday this needs to be done this needs to be accomplished and if you don't accomplish it by that day you know he's gonna cloud up and rain kind of thing okay that's how they operate but you can see the value in that right because if he puts a deadline to it and there's pressure on you to get the job done he's gonna execute well things are gonna get done okay but they operate and they thrive in an orderly environment they do not operate well in a disorganized ambience okay they want tasks to be arranged in such a way that the assignment is clear concise and to the point now look at Luke chapter 1 and verse number 1 it says here for as much now when you think of the book of Luke and the book of Acts these are two letters that are written to who Theophilus and the book of Luke which is one of the Gospels is a very thorough gospel has a lot of information has a lot of names I mean Luke is very thorough in his writings to Theophilus look what he says for as much for as many for us excuse me for as much as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are mostly sure most surely believed among us even as they deliver them unto us which from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word etc so what is he doing he is putting together an orderly account and a witness of Jesus Christ that's why the book of Luke is so thorough okay he I mean he talks about the Emperor's are ruling at that time the Kings are ruling at that time he gives names details events that took place because he's very orderly he's very systematic and obviously because of that you know he's helping Theophilus understand the Word of God and so this is how rulers operate okay they want to be very thorough and orderly now this can be motivational because here's the thing if you have a ruler who's giving you all these tasks we like clear things too you know like this is what you got to do this is where you got to go this is what's got to be accomplished it's like done done done done done but if the ruler is not careful instead of motivating people using order he can or she can often become abusive in that area as well okay because then they don't take things into consideration don't take people's feelings or people's schedules or maybe because people have different priorities there maybe might be more important than what you're doing you understand they can become more they can become abusive they can put the pressure on earth others which is good and let me say this pressure is good it pressure is great you can't make diamonds without pressure okay in order to get things done you've got to have pressure you got to operate well under pressure but here's the thing they can often put people under pressure just to meet their expectations and then if they don't meet those expectations they can become impatient with those people and kind of just run them over okay so often the ruler can often see people as resources rather than actual people like a means to an end kind of thing you understand they don't realize that volunteers are people who are putting in time to accomplish the task and and in the rulers mind is like no this is a means to an end we need to be able to get this done let's accomplish this and if you don't get it done he's like clouds up and rains okay and so the Bible tells us in first Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 14 now we exhort your brethren warn them that are unruly comfort the feeble-minded support the weak be patient toward all men so the ruler needs to be organized obviously people need to respect that order they need to respect the pressure that the ruler puts but the ruler in like manner needs to be patient towards people and be this is like a cuss word for the ruler flexible right what does it mean to be flexible it means that they don't meet the deadline on Friday but they meet it on Saturday it's just as good folks okay but the ruler can sometimes be so strict when it comes to deadlines and things of that nature that they get offended if you know it's like oh you disrespect in my order my order but what they need to learn is flexibility okay sometimes people can't get things done at that time you say well I have a ruler for a boss I have a ruler for a husband I have a ruler for fill in the blank what do I do to have him not kill me when I don't meet that deadline okay what you have to do is this it's called be considerate okay if you want him to be considerate of the fact that you couldn't meet the deadline you have to be considerate of his order and prior to the day due date what do you do you let them know hey I'm not gonna be able to get this done by Friday but for sure it'll get done by Saturday what you don't do is not get it done on Friday not tell them that you're not gonna get it done not telling that you're gonna get it done on Saturday and then tell them on Saturday here it is or whatever and it's like it was haphazardly done or something the ruler does not like that so if you want the ruler to be patient with you to show grace and long-suffering if it's your boss what you need to do is keep them updated okay say hey I know the deadline was on Friday I'm not gonna be able to meet Friday's deadline but for sure I'll be able to meet it by Monday okay and I'll keep you posted so all really the ruler needs is updates okay hey if the ruler sets a time for a meeting or whatever and you can't make it on time what is the considerate thing to do contact the ruler and said I'm not gonna be there on time I'll be there in 20 minutes this is what you don't do not tell them that you're gonna be late and you're gonna be late 20 minutes or something because at that point you're being inconsiderate of other people's times you're being inconsiderate of the rulers organization in order you understand you see how important this is I know this is basic but this is important okay and the thing is the ruler has to understand that not everyone thinks like a ruler right the rule is like I said five o'clock you agreed to five o'clock you knew it was five o'clock let's do five o'clock and it's 515 and then the the person just comes strolling in like what's up guys get some coffee and the rulers just fuming you understand both extremes are wrong but the way you avoid it is this he's probably not gonna meet your deadline so be flexible and because you're not gonna meet his deadline but because he's a ruler and orderly keep him posted keep him updated understand I'm sure things like this have happened here in times past and look things like this will continue to happen because our church is gonna continue to grow okay and so be patient toward all men why because rulers have the ability to organize ideas resources time and people effectively okay that's why the rulers are important now look go to Exodus chapter 18 if you would Exodus chapter 18 hey this is good stuff amen hey this is a call out to the ruler right we need some rulers up in here well the real ruler please stand up okay and if you're not a ruler don't don't come to me yeah that's me right there now here's a practical way to see if someone in your family is a ruler go look at their closet go look at their drawers okay I didn't drawers like a drawer okay I'm serious right why because when you look in there everything is often just neatly folded the colors are coated like the whites right here the blacks right here the socks are bundled up in a ball and it's in sections and some of you are like what are you talking people do that the opposite of rulers like you know they're just like my floors were you know the closet is just in disarray and they're oh man if some of the rules are walking into some of the houses they would have a heart attack because the ruler walks in and their house is extremely orderly everything is very systematic even the way they eat is systematic sometimes sometimes there's there's extreme rules where they literally separate their food because they want their food touching each other it's crazy okay but if you want to know if there's a ruler in your household just look at the closet I promise you you know if it's a male the male will have all his white shirts hung up they don't like anything on the floor everything gets hung up everything gets put away in its place and and god forbid that you should just move something out of the way like a little bit you know they have their junk pile right now my junk pile is just like their junk piles like all symmetrical it's crazy but that's how they out because that's how they see everything you know I'm saying I like the ruler because I like that symmetry and I wish I had it but you go to my office right now everything's like hard drives are just like stacked up on top of one another they can't operate like that kind of like bothers them you know look at Exodus 18 verse 13 says and it came to pass on the moral that Moses sat to judge the people and the people stood by Moses from morning until the evening and when Moses father-in-law saw all the people excuse me saw all that he did to the people he said what is this thing that thou doest to the people why say this thou thyself alone and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even and Moses said unto his father-in-law because the people come unto me to inquire of God when they have a matter they come unto me and I judge between one and another and I do make them know the statutes of God and his laws and Moses father-in-law said unto him the thing that thou doest is not good thou will surely wear away both thou and this people that is with thee for this thing is too heavy for them that are not able to perform it thyself alone hearken now into my voice I will give thee counsel and God shall be with thee but be thou for the people to God word that thou mayest bring the causes unto God and thou shall teach them ordinances and laws and shall show them the way wherein they must walk and the work that they must do moreover thou shall provide out of all the people able men such as fear God men of truth hating covetousness and place such over them to be rulers of the thousands and rulers of hundreds rulers of 50s and rulers of tens and let them judge the people at all seasons and it shall be that every great matter they shall bring unto thee but every small matter they shall judge so shall it be easier for thyself and they shall bear the burden with thee so Jethro is like a ruler Moses is just unorganized he's just like whoever comes to me I'll just counsel you know and the ruler Jethro is just like you're just this is going to destroy you let me organize this for you okay let me organize a nation for you real quick okay and let me just teach you how to be organized so and here's the thing here's here's a little sub point when it comes to rulers they're great delegators the servant not a good delegator the server wants to do everything themselves the ruler prefers to just have someone else do it for them and they're great at explaining a task for them to do and literally it can get to a point where they can delegate themselves out of a job sometimes and then they're just not doing anything they're so good at delegating responsibilities they can teach people how to do it well and then they're just not even doing it themselves and that's what we see Jethro doing he was able to organize the entire nation of Israel teach Moses to do it and just walk away and then it runs like a well-dought old machine you understand and so you can see how valuable this can be in the local New Testament Church right because as the church grows delegation needs to be involved organization needs to be involved okay now here's some negatives in that regard the negative thing is this is that rulers are very goal-oriented so they work well with task lists okay they work well with the schedule they want to check things off you know they that's what they thrive off of but because they're goal-oriented they are often fail to nurture those around them and they don't apply pressure with moderation okay so they see people as a means to an end as I mentioned you know it's good to be goal-oriented but the reality is this is that sometimes you got to realize people are not goals people are people okay don't just walk all over people don't just see people as a resource don't just see people as a means to an end you got to recognize these are people with souls these are people who love the Lord these are people who are serving God that's how you have to view them okay go to Joshua chapter 11 Joshua chapter 11 so the ruler is very orderly the ruler knows how to delegate they thrive under pressure and a ruler knows how to execute I don't mean like kill people okay I mean they know how to accomplish things to the T okay they are executioners all right they know how to execute well they're skilled at time management and they know how to get the job done that's why I like rulers it was like here's the task get it done they're just like I already make like the planner in their head they work through planners and they did just get it done okay Joshua 11 15 says as the Lord commanded Moses his servant so did Moses command Joshua and so did Joshua he left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded Moses what does that mean it means Joshua knew how to get things done thoroughly completely leaving nothing undone he's not the person he says I got it done and then you realize you didn't really finish the whole thing what he talks about the ruler is very thorough we'll get everything done when it needs to get done okay and this often you know what often accompanies the ruler when it comes to execution is determination like a bulldozer and nothing will stand in their way to get this thing accomplished because that's how they thrive that's how that's where they feel like their most value and the most energy is when they're accomplishing a task so it's great to have someone like this in church because it's just like they're just determined they're not distracted they're just plowing through people they're just not allowing anything to stop them now here's the thing that's why people often criticize the ruler sometimes people don't like rulers because rules can sometimes be insensitive but it's not that they're being insensitive is that they're focused they know how to focus and and just kind of have what's called tunnel vision right and just say I'm getting this done don't bother me if either you're with me or against me you know if you're not part of the plan you're part of the problem you know and they're just kind of kicking people out of the way and stuff so that that's like a bad part of the ruler okay because the ruler needs to involve people and learn some exhortation to get people involved but a corner ruler can often be like well I need to get this done so just shove everyone out of the way you're not involved get out of here I don't need someone to stress that's how they can operate if they're not careful okay so they have a tendency to run people over not like literally I'm just saying like when it comes to a project it's like if you're not gonna get involved I don't want you here because I need to get this done okay it's a great attitude to have sometimes because sometimes you know things need to get executed things need to get done things need to get accomplished okay and we can't have diddly-daddling or whatever they call that you can't just like oh you know I see when I get it done and we're just kind of you need rulers they're just like let's get this done I'm a ruler I'm goal oriented I need to get this accomplished and the reason I like finding rulers it's because rulers don't like the fluff it's like this is it and it's like all right you know they don't really need a whole lot of encouragement they're encouraged they find their encouragement in accomplishing the goal okay and so that's great now here's the negative to that though okay rulers because they are very goal oriented listen to this can be loose on ethics when the end justifies the means what does that mean they can often compromise sometimes yeah because to them it's like well we got to get it done by any means necessary I guarantee you folks there's a ton of people pastors and those liberal churches that are a bunch of rulers they have to be rulers how do you think those churches are so big how do you think they're so organized there's a ruler in that organization and here's here's another proof that they're rulers they're compromisers because to them the end justifies the means and therefore ethics go out the window they have a tendency to say well we got accomplished ago we got to reach the world we got to reach people let's do it by any means necessary so ethics often go out the window they compromise if they're not careful because the end justifies the means in their mind okay now who does this when I think about this this this is who I'm reminded of I'm reminded of Joab in the Bible yeah because he was the kind of guy who David had and David's like I need your riot killed right send this letter and he's just like got it you know and he's doing all these bad things in the Bible but here's the thing he's getting the job done so to speak right he gets a lot done I mean he's an executioner literally and figuratively right he's an executioner because he's getting the job done he's an executioner he's murdering a bunch of people too and you know what he was very loose in his ethics so loose that today we're we sometimes wonder I don't his joke was Joe our job saved we don't know Joe there's like debates like I don't know if he was saved because he's so bad but you know he did say this about the Lord it's just like look folks when your character is that questionable it means that your ethics went out the window that's why okay the unjust steward is an example of someone who allowed their ethics to go out the window they got the job done because he's feeding himself but he's feeding himself at the expense of his boss who fired him for being such a lazy steward okay the Bible says in Proverbs 11 verse 3 the integrity of the upright shall guide them but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them Proverbs 20 verse 7 says the just man walketh in his integrity his children are blessed after him so the ruler needs to learn how to have integrity and not view goals as okay by any means necessary no they need to view goals as we're gonna accomplish it with as much ethics as we possibly can we're not gonna compromise and you know what if there is a time when I'm tempted to compromise then we're just gonna throw this project away then because it's not worth it you understand hey we have a project of reaching people for Christ amen we have a project of getting people saved of preaching the gospel of sending out soul winners of accomplishing something big but we're never gonna have like a rock band here to do it we're never gonna switch from hymns to here I am to worship we're not gonna switch from good music to crappy music in order to reach people right but you know the ruler if they're not careful they would yeah yeah we might throw in some lights right here to you know the ones that are out but we're never gonna do the purple lights right but the ruler might you know you might see some smoke coming off this pulpit from the preaching but the ruler will actually put like smoke machines because today was like well the end justifies the means we're gonna reach a lot of people and I've never stepped foot in a liberal church actually I take that back I went to Liberty Baptist Church one time over in Newport Beach that's pretty liberal but you know what when I went in there everything's just immaculate very well organized extremely organized and even like or Lancaster Baptist Church that's another one forgot about that one extremely organized in fact Paul Chapel I would say is a ruler okay and look they when they when they have their special singers come up I mean they're literally like they practice social distancing before it was popular it was just like they're symmetrical they even hold their mics a certain way everything is just like perfect and on point but it's all liberal all the ethics have gone out the window oh but it's it's organized though it's orderly folks be orderly but not at the expense of compromising right and that's something that the ruler needs to learn and perfect in their personal lives okay go to 1st Thessalonians chapter 3 what else well the ruler here here's a great quality about a ruler right here they can often draw the best in people what I mean by that well rulers have an innate ability to see what your strength is okay they know what your strong quality is and they know how to teach you to utilize that strong quality of yourself they know where to place you in the local New Testament Church based upon your strengths which is great okay they can draw out the best in you the Bible says in 1st Thessalonians I'm gonna read to you from Acts chapter 18 actually verse 26 you're in 1st Thessalonians it says and he began to speak boldly in the synagogue referring to Apollos whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard they took him unto them and expound them into him the way of God more perfectly so Aquila and Priscilla took Apollos who was a man who was serving God and they basically made him more complete they completed him so to speak okay they perfected that which was lacking in his faith okay and this is exactly what the ruler does a ruler can find an individual hone in on their strength and complete them so to speak look at 1st Thessalonians 3 10 night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith they know how to use imperfect people to draw out the best in them they know how to capitalize on their strengths they're able to hone in on their greatest strengths and improve it and it's for this reason that the ruler is able to designate positions to others according to their strengths so you see why rulers are important okay you never want to put people who are strong in one area in a position that requires something there that they're weak in you know you understand we want to have the discernment to be able to say okay this person should do this this person should be involved in this ministry etc in order to help them to effectively grow in the ministry okay now let me give you just a couple things here that I don't have Bible verses for but they're great principles and it's regarding the ruler number four is that he's an implementer not necessarily a visionary okay but when I say I don't have Bible verses for this all the teachers are like this is garbage I'm tuning out no proof so he's an implementer not necessarily visionary okay so this is why the the ruler they need an exhort in their life because the exhort as messy as the exhort is has the vision and they take that vision and they give it to the ruler and the ruler condenses it organizes it puts it into steps and disperses it amongst the people see how effective that would be you know and I've known I have I've had exhort is in my life I have exhort is in my personal life and I know rulers okay rulers are not necessary vision or they can be they can develop that in their personal life but they operate best when the vision is given to them and then they can break it down into a systematic step-by-step process okay let me tell you who's the visionary in the new or excuse me a ruler in the new IFP pastor Roger Jimenez is a ruler okay you don't believe me just listen to one of his sermons I mean it's like a literated point number one everything is just it rhymes sometimes or something you know it's just very organized yeah right most of us we just kind of like throw up on our on our notes and it's just like all right here we go yeah there's the Bible verses and just let me just give it to you real quick his is more very systematic it's very organized you know there's an introduction declaration conclusion it's very homiletical as they would say in Bible College okay and that's great that's his strength okay and I guarantee you if you look at his calendar he probably has the next five years planned already I barely got like the next five hours planning I barely got the end of the sermon plan I don't know what I'm gonna say in my conclusion yet no I try to be organized I we have a church calendar here right I plan to the end of the year now whether I execute that which I plan is a different story now we execute and again you need ruling in order to succeed in the ministry you need organization or to succeed in order for it to grow but his natural talent his natural strength is to rule okay and so if you give him a vision oh man he can organize it condense it create steps to it and delegate it as best as possible okay so it takes vision to put together an effective plan it takes vision to excite the people but it takes an effective plan to accomplish the goal okay and so rulers you guys need exhorters if you have a ruler you need to find yourself an exhorter who knows how to dream big because rulers often don't dream big they're just have goals and they need to find an exhorter to give them a vision and then that ruler will take that vision and organize it okay number five they improve the quality of an organization they make everything bigger and better that's just how they operate okay and then lastly as I mentioned they are very task oriented Proverbs 4 25 says let them eyes look right on and let that eyelids look straight before the they're very focused on the immediate task okay now this is great but what is the negative to this well the negative is this they can be task oriented and fall short in nurturing shepherding and correcting what is spiritually wrong okay so they can often ignore the heart of the matter like well you just didn't get this done or this is just not accomplished this task hasn't been done but they never look at the underlying issues behind that you understand so it's important yeah obviously the task that was not done the project that was not accomplished is a leaf issue but what they need to understand is there's a root issue okay so they need to get down to the root of the issue they need to learn that it's not just leaves it's not just branches when it comes to life there's roots involved okay and if they want to fix the leaves they want to fix the branches they need to get down to the root of the matter the heart of the problem okay so a mature ruler if he or she exercises this well they have a high moral integrity so they're not gonna compromise okay here's another thing they're willing listen to me they're willing to share authority because rulers typically don't like sharing authority at all for them it seems like it's either my way or the highway either you do it the way I want to do it or I don't you want to be involved at all either I'm in charge or we're not doing this but a mature ruler recognizes okay if I'm in charge I'm willing to share this authority and take ideas from other people implement them and recognize that although I'm a ruler you know other people are human beings with brains as well they have great ideas as well and sometimes maybe even those ideas are better than mine okay they're willing to share leadership with others and they don't push people beyond their limits they understand people have a limit because they have a limit you know they moderate that a corner ruler leads or governs by control okay applies constant pressure at work home or ministry and they can't receive any correction they're always right here's another thing about a ruler okay they often are so organized like well I've already organized my life in such a way that it just can't be corrected so when they are corrected it's just they're just like nah I don't think so well so then a ruler when they really needs to learn is humility and recognize that they're not always right okay and then sometimes they're so self-reliant that the Great Commission becomes greater than the Great Commandment you understand they love the Great Commission because it's a goal it's a vision to accomplish much but not at the expense of violating the greatest commandment just to love the Lord thy God and to love your neighbor as yourself so a balanced ruler recognizes the vision they got it organized but they also recognize it's important to love the Lord it's important to love people and not to trample over them in order to accomplish this specific task understand so we need rulers in the church it's necessary if a church is going to grow and continue to reach people and do missions and continue to go soul winning and organize it hey folks the orchestra needs rulers got the orchestra's attention there yeah any ministry in the church they need rulers over them okay why because every aspect of the church needs order and so if you are under someone in our church who is a ruler don't buck their authority listen to them God's given them that ability that keen sense of leadership that keen sense of organization adhere to their admonishment adhere to their instruction it'll benefit and stop thinking about yourself you know you need to put yourself aside and say let's just do what's best for the organization you understand and look this applies to the teams the the sowing teams if you have a soul so many team leader that's a ruler I don't know if we have any of those yes but if we have a sowing team leader that's a ruler you know and those people who are under the ruler you might feel like this person is always running over me they don't care about they just see me as a number they just see me as this all they do is organize they don't seem to care well ruler you need a like care okay but people under them recognize this person is trying to get a task accomplished don't be so sensitive recognize that he's trying to get the job done okay we need to complement each other you understand and so this is the spiritual gift of ruling next week we will cover the greatest one of all the mercy my favorite I'm just kidding all right let's pray father we thank you so much for your word thank you for the spiritual gifts Lord thankful for all these spiritual gifts and I'm thankful that I've known people and I know people who have all of these gifts and they've benefited my life Lord they've helped me they've helped me to grow Lord I've learned a lot from them and I pray that you'd continue to bring those people into our lives into our our church Lord to improve the quality and even the quantity of our church Lord the work that's being accomplished everyone has a purpose and there's not one spiritual gift that is less than another they are all necessary the mercies necessary the exhort is necessary the prophet the teacher the giver all of them the gift of serving they're all necessary in order to accomplish and to serve you and to glorify you to accomplish your goals and thank you so much for the spiritual gifts because it brings a little spice to life gives a little variety to life and