Better Than A Craftsman

Better than Craftsman
By Rev. Robert P. Elkins
All Scripture verse taken from the NIV Bible unless otherwise noted

(2nd Timothy 3:16) “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man (and woman) of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (emphasis Mine)

When I became a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ I had to take a good, long and hard look at what is known as the Pastoral Epistles of the Apostle Paul, in particular 2nd Timothy. Paul’s letter to Timothy is a beautiful letter filled with instruction and I had to read it over and over to really get a grasp of the significance of those words. My favorite reading is from the fourth chapter, verses 1 through 5 and I feel it is one of the most useful portions of Scripture a minister can find. (2nd Timothy 4:1-5) “1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.”

The Scriptures are telling me that as a minister I’m to preach the Word of God in season or out, in essence when it’s popular and when it’s not. To correct, (offer the people correction when I see or hear them misreading or misusing God’s word, taking it out of context or trying to force it to say what it doesn’t say, whether intentionally or not). I’m to rebuke, (let them know they are wrong). Encourage, (lift up, build up and edify) and to do all of this with great patience and careful instruction. Not a real tall order for the man of God is it? That last part, the encouragement with great patience and careful instruction or loving instruction comes from listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit. If done in my flesh its going to turn out to be a disaster believe me. There was a time to be sure when I was not a gentle and loving person filled with patience. Before I came to know Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, before I came to know Jesus in an intimate and personal way, before I developed a personal relationship with our Lord I was anything but a patient and gentle person. Over the years I’ve learned to walk in stride with my Lord, I no longer run ahead or lag behind, now I’m trying to walk with him. I try to listen to his voice and always maintain a good talking/listening relationship where we both get to talk and listen to each other. And in trying to remain in union and fellowship with him his attributes are starting to rub off on me. Have I found perfection yet? Not even close, but I’m constantly working on it and as each day passes and the days go into weeks and then months and then years I find myself getting closer and closer. Each day I have to look up to his cross and deny self or self will and self desire. Each day I have to seek his nature over mine and remember to give all the glory to God for whatever transformation that may occur as I pass through this journey we call life.

To assist me in this journey through life as a minister, God has provided me with a holy toolbox and it’s a wonderful thing to behold. It’s actually quite small and easy to transport; I can go from job to job, task to task and day to day without a problem, my toolbox by my side. And the tools in my toolbox that God has given me are even better than the best Sears has to offer in their Craftsman line. The Craftsman tools are warranted forever, break one and take it back to the store and it’s replaced no questions asked, and that’s a good thing. But God’s tools will never break, they will last forever and they will always fit regardless of the situation. I don’t know about anyone else but for me if I need a socket or a wrench I always get the wrong size when I reach into the tool box. I’ve leaned that if I’m working on anything I just grab all the sizes and go through the process of elimination until I find the one that fits. And if that doesn’t work I then look of the adjustable wrench as my last resort. Praise God I don’t have to go through all that with the tools of God because they always fit and they are always handy. Amen! My toolbox from God is assembled out of only three things and yet it always works. The first element that makes up my box is my Bible, the Holy Word of God. Then there’s my prayer language, always available and 100 % effective when offered in the will of the Father. And the third element is the guidance and assistance of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter promised by Jesus and God’s promises always come to be.

One of the things I hope to encourage you with today is the fact that you don’t have to be a minister to get this toolbox from God. This heavenly toolbox is given to all believers, it’s free for the asking and there are no strings attached, no coupons required, never a back order, always in stock and Jesus already paid the cost. Actually with these toolboxes there is only one restriction that applies and it’s the overlooking or willfully ignoring this restriction that gets most of us in trouble.

You see with every toolbox that is given out, included with the tools is a set of instructions, given by God’s Holy Spirit. And if we don’t read the instructions and follow them then the tools don’t work as good as they should. We may be able to force them to work but it’s a task that requires many hours of additional work and the job just doesn’t come out as it should. Every toolbox is made of the same three things, God’s Word as found in the Bible, our prayer life or language and the Holy Spirit’s assistance. And even though the boxes look identical there is a difference in how they work because the tools inside are custom-built by the Holy Spirit to work differently in the hands of the person that gets the box. Each basis toolbox looks the same, feels the same, weighs the same and if used correctly will be as effective as the others but the difference lies in the tools that are put in them by the Spirit. Each box is custom made and custom filled by the Spirit with specially designed tools made just for you the toolbox holder and only you the toolbox owner can use those tools to their most effectual best. Your tools were designed for you with you in mind and they are perfect in every detail.

Where we get in trouble is when we start to look beyond our toolbox, the one build just for us, and start to put our hands in the toolbox of someone else. You see the tools in our box fit only our hands and not theirs and the same holds true for theirs as well. There tools don’t fit our hands but they fit their hands with a perfect match. And if we read the Spirit’s instructions we will see that we aren’t supposed to be borrowing or taking the tools from someone else’s toolbox. The tools in someone else’s toolbox weren’t made for us, they don’t fit right, they won’t work as well and they won’t be as effective as they should if we try to use them. If we get our hands in someone else’s toolbox we may be able to force their tools to work to some degree but they will never work as good as they could or as good as they should if used by the rightful owner.

To make this concept easier to grasp, allow if you will a few examples taken from life I think we can all understand. If you’ve ever worked with wood you’ll understand what I’m talking about. You have a piece of wood and you want to cut it, so you go and grab a handsaw. Any saw will do right? A saw is a saw, there is no distinction between saws right? Ah here is where the problem lies, you see one saw is made for cutting across the grain of the wood and another is made for cutting with the grain of the wood. Each saw is made with teeth specially designed and sharpened to work in only one manner. If you try hard enough you can get a cross cut saw to rip lengthwise with the grain but it is a lot of work, it usually screws up the saw and the cut isn’t very fine. You’ll get a finished product but it won’t be what you’re after. Some saws are made for cross cutting across the grain of the wood and some are made to rip the grain lengthwise, you see not all saws will work the same.

Don’t have much experience with wood you say? How about baking then? You want to make a nice two-layer chocolate cake, you preheat the oven, mix the batter and now it’s time to put it in the pans for baking. Oh no! You have two pans but one is a 9 inch round pan and the other is a 9 by 12 rectangle pan. Not a problem, you can put the batter in both pans and they will cook, but to get a nice round cake you have to take the 9 by 12 cake, place the round one on top and trim off the parts that stick out. In the end you will have a round 9 inch cake but to get there you had to waste a lot of cake, use more time than needed and it will be harder to decorate because you’re trying to cover the edges that were cut which don’t hold us as well as the edges that were formed by baking against the cake pan. You’re hearing the voice of experience here friends, for the cake and the wood.

You’ve got a good pair of scissors, made for cutting fabric and someone uses them for cutting paper, will they work? Sure … but it screws up the scissors, they become dull quicker. How about those who have tried to take off the electric outlet covers in your house with a butter knife, one little slip and the whole place gets dark real fast doesn’t it? And that’s only if you’re lucky, with no insulated handle like a screwdriver you might find yourself sitting on you bottom and your hair standing straight up, again the voice of experience.

At times I carry a .357 Magnum pistol for my own personal use and at work I carry a 38 caliber pistol. Can I put 38 caliber rounds in both my personal weapon and the one I carry in my line of employment as a state peace officer? Sure I can, and it will fire, but I won’t get the hitting power it was designed for, the 38 caliber rounds don’t have the punch the 357 rounds have. And if you try to go the other way you can get the 357 rounds in the 38 caliber pistol but you can’t fire it because the cylinder won’t close and if it did the barrel would most likely explode from the extra power of the shells. At first glance both guns look the same but they sure don’t work the same, each was designed for a special use and it’s that special use that makes them work the best. That’s the way it is with our God given toolboxes. They may look the same but they aren’t, the toolboxes are the same but the tools inside are different. God didn’t make a mistake when he designed our tools; he intended it to be like that. Go to (1st Corinthians chapter 12: 4-11) “4There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. 7Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.”

A variety of gifts for a variety of people, the Spirit of Jesus knew what he was doing when he came with the gifts and the Spirit knows what he’s doing when he distributes them. We all have the same toolbox but we don’t all have the same tools, we don’t all have the same gifts.

When Jesus set up his church he knew exactly what he was doing and he revealed this truth to the Apostle Paul so that Paul could write it down in his Epistles with Christ knowing that his words would be there for the church to read whenever they needed it. God knew what he was doing when he led me to this sermon just in case you hadn’t read this for yourself or maybe you didn’t really give it much thought if you did read it. Jesus working through his Spirit, gave the message to Paul, this same Spirit led me to study it and now I give it to you to be shared with whoever you are led by the Spirit to witness to and maybe share this simple message.

At this point I have to remind you that this isn’t a new revelation given me or something I got by special appointment for God. There are no new revelations given to anyone. All of Gods word is there for all to read, the only new thing here is the revelation of how to deliver God’s message. If anyone at any time comes and tells you that they have a new revelation from God that came to them and no one else they are not hearing from the same God we serve. Let me say this one more time, there will never be a new message from God given to only one person or one group of people, when he closed his book he did so for a purpose, he had already given us all we needed to find him, anything else is not from God. That’s not to say that we don’t receive new revelation of what the scriptures say, we call that the hermeneutics or the way we interpret the word of God. God can and does on a regular basis give men and women a new style of delivery for his message with each passing generation. But remember, the message can not and will not change. What I give you today is a new way of delivering a message that has been there for many ages. It’s always been there in the pages of the Bible; it’s only been waiting for me to elaborate it in a new form. And I’ll bet right now someplace in the world the Holy Spirit is giving someone else a different way of saying the very same thing custom designed in a different form for a new body of believers to hear. Go to (1st Corinthians chapter 12: 27-31) “27Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. 29Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way.”


Friends I’m not making this up, but I am being led by the Spirit. And when the Spirit talks I listen! Different tools for different people, we all get the same toolbox but each toolbox comes with different tools inside. Right now I’m using my toolbox and I’m using my tools, these are the tools God has given me. I’m doing my job, I’m preaching His Word in season and out because there may be someone out there that doesn’t like this message but that’s okay. My motivation comes from my God and He allows it to flow from my heart and although I know you will be blessed by this in time, if it ruffles some feathers now; that’s okay as well. Sometime we have to let something season in our heart for a time before we can taste the sweetness of the words. I have to do what God tells me and I have to do it when he tells me. (Galatians 1:10) says; “Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ”. It’s my desire to be Christ’s servant; I just pray that you’re blessed by hearing His word preached without fear, hesitation or question on my part. I would rather be a blind servant of Jesus Christ than see the world through rose colored glasses and try to present you the same distorted image. (2nd Timothy 1:7) says, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline”. My toolbox as a preacher comes with all the tools I need to read a verse, pray to God for His revelation and guidance in preparing the sermon, wait upon the leading of the Spirit, and then present to you the hearer or reader what the Spirit has given me. Why do I do this? Because I have to, I’ve got a Holy Ghost fire that burns inside me and the flames come forward from my heart to my head, from my head to my hand and I write down what the Spirit gives me. When I started Eternal Truth Ministries our Lord told me to use the words “All the Truth All the Time” as my motto and my rule. I’ve stayed with that and as long as I’m speaking with that motto in mind I will never apologize for anything I say as long as I’m speaking under the anointing of the Spirit. I endeavor to follow the same principle in the ministry “Up from the Ashes” as well, it is still all the truth all the time, and I pray by the leading of the Holy Spirit. I wish I could say the same for when I’m just speaking. But to my regret I have had times when I had to apologize for things I’ve said when I was talking without the anointing. But that’s a different sermon.

I don’t take my calling lightly, I can’t. (James 3:1) says; “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because we who teach will be judged more strictly”. If I’m to be held to a higher measure of judgment because of my calling you can be sure that I will be sure to use every tool in my toolbox to the best of my ability and I’m also going to make sure that I am never caught with my hand in someone else’s toolbox. I play the guitar a bit, I could lead you through a few songs and we could praise God with our music … but I won’t … its not where my gifts and talents lie. That’s someone else’s toolbox. I sing a bit and I could lead worship if there were no one else to do it …but I won’t … it’s someone else’s toolbox. That’s not the gifts the Lord has given me to use. I won’t put my hand in someone else’s toolbox.

I served in a church once that had everything needed to be a great house of worship. The building was beautiful, the facility had all that was needed for meaningful ministry, nice classrooms, a dining hall, more than enough parking for any event. They had tremendously talented people, people with music skills, people that were gifted as organizers, teachers, workers, they had it all. The perfect assortment of gifted people, the perfect building, the perfect location and yet for all their gifts and talents they might as well be dead! What they didn’t have was the ability to follow biblical principles. They couldn’t surrender their all and all to Jesus; they couldn’t relinquish their hold on the throne and allow Jesus his rightful place on his throne. They couldn’t follow the biblical idea that everyone had a different gift and talent for the Lords use. Instead, a select few constantly had a hand in the other person’s toolbox and were constantly butting heads over who was to do what task. For every task presented to the church there were at least four people trying to do everything on their own. They side stepped the order of biblical authority with each claiming the rights to the throne that didn’t belong to anyone but Jesus.

Everyone claimed to be working for the Lord but the sad reality of it all was that they couldn’t stop squabbling long enough to see that the individual talents of each person in the church wasn’t being used but rather the misguided talents of a few was suffocating the talents of the many. A beautiful church building with all the things needed for ministry and over the course of 6 years they added no new members, the number of members actually dropped lower each year as people left and saddest of all. With all the talents, with the beautiful facilities there were no new believers that came to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Not one new person accepted the Lord in 6 years. The only change in membership they experienced was when a child of one of the families grew old enough to be moved into a different lever of membership and then they said “look how we’re growing”. They couldn’t see that if you have a pound of jellybeans it doesn’t matter how far you spread them across the floor you still only have a pound of jellybeans. Christ didn’t sit on the throne, the people did and each one was constantly reaching into the other person’s toolbox and trying to make a tool work that didn’t fit their hand.

They couldn’t see that the same Holy Spirit of 1st Corinthians 12, the Spirit that gives gifts to the people as he desires didn’t abide there, they couldn’t see that his tools were misused so he removed them. They couldn’t see that the Holy Spirit doesn’t give all his tools to just one or two people and that it takes more than one or two people to run Christ’s church. The Spirit gives many gifts to many people because a church isn’t one or two people who do it all while the rest are just bystanders who have no function other than being bodies to warm a seat. The whole church needs to be alive; the whole church needs to feel the lifeblood flowing through it. The whole church needs to feel the blessing of exercising its power by working through its gifted people to reach the unsaved and the lost.

The Apostle Paul uses the analogy of a body and how the church has to function as a body with all the parts working together for the welfare of the body as a whole. Do you know what atrophy is? When a body part isn’t used, when it isn’t given any exercise, atrophy sets in, blood stops flowing to that part and eventually that body part shrivels up or dies from lack of use. It’s the same thing in a church. If a person or a small group of people try to control or dominate in a church, if a person or small group of people try to use everyone else’s tools and not allow others to use their God given tools atrophy sets in with the unused person or people and eventually they shrivel up and die. They don’t die in the physical but they die in the spirit, their spirit stops functioning and their options are to stay where they are and continue to die in the spirit or they leave and seek new life elsewhere. And when atrophy sets in it doesn’t affect just the one person, it spreads like a cancer throughout the church and eventually the entire church starts to die. It may not die for a long time but the sickness is there and it’s felt by the entire church body. There’s no new growth, there is no new blood to carry life through the veins of the church.

Think about this for a moment. Why would the Holy Spirit lead new sheep to a pasture where they aren’t allowed to reach the food or water? Why would the Holy Spirit lead new people to a church, people filled with gifts and talents, and then watch them become stagnant in the spirit and spiritually develop atrophy and wither or die? The Holy Spirit is going to lead those people to a church where there’s life and there’s blood flowing through the veins of the church. The Holy Spirit is going to lead them to a place where they can use the tools he’s put in their toolbox because it’s the Spirit’s job to grow a church of believers for the kingdom of the Father. He’s going to lead them to a church that is alive and healthy drawing life through the atoning blood of the Son.

And this is the church I see when I come here, a church that is going to be filled with a variety of people, all coming in with a toolbox filled with the tools of the Spirit. A church that is filled with believers carried up to the heavens in worship and fellowship with our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ. A church that dances for their Lord, a church that teaches the whole message of salvation and shares the Gospel with it’s neighbors. A church that has an entire congregation of believers all equipped with their toolboxes and every tool put to use for the kingdom of God the Father in heaven. Are you ready for that church? If you are give the Lord a praise offering.

I want to close with a reading that really says it all. If you have any questions as to what I’ve said this morning, whether you think it true or untrue, I want you to go home, look at this passage and pray about it. Pray that the Holy Spirit would talk to your spirit and see if he doesn’t have something to say to you. See if the Spirit of God doesn’t have a message for you and is speaking to you through his word. (Ephesians 4:16) “From him the body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does it’s work.” Let that verse sink in for a minute.

“From him (who? Jesus Christ of course!) the body (who is the body Paul is referring to here? It’s us, the believers assembled in this place of worship, the body is the church of Christ, alive and well on the earth today regardless of what some may say). Joined and held together by every supporting ligament (what are the ligaments in Paul’s thoughts? The very gifts or skills the Holy Spirit has given us. The gift of music, the gift of helps, the gift of love, the gift of teaching, the gift of preaching, the gift of singing, the gift of giving, the gift of caring, the gift of listening to another in pain, the gift of wisdom, and the gift of knowing when we are stepping into someone else’s area of ministry.)

And what is the result of this body of believers, gathered together, each one using the ligaments of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, putting God’s agenda before our own agenda. Seeking to serve His kingdom and not seeking to develop our kingdom under the false pretense of using His name to make ourselves look good or as Paul says "Puffed up"). The body grows and builds itself up in love (and what is the key to this growth and building that is going to take place? As each part (that’s each person working in their area of gifting) does it’s work. (Denying self, taking up His cross and going foreword into the world).

I pray that this message is well received by you the hearer or reader and that it ministers to your heart. Each of us has a place in ministry, each of us has a place in the work of the Lord Jesus as he has called us to do. Pray about what this message has to say to you and then follow your heart and remember, in all things, give God the glory.

Grace & peace