1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,880 All right, open up your Bibles to 1st Corinthians chapter 12, 2 00:00:05,480 --> 00:00:09,680 First Corinthians chapter 12. If you're using one of our black 3 00:00:09,680 --> 00:00:17,120 hardcover Bibles, it's page 959. We're working through a series 4 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:21,000 called Church Anatomy One O 1 today. 5 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:25,040 Specifically, my teaching is entitled Members of the Body and 6 00:00:25,040 --> 00:00:28,600 we're going to be talking about membership in the church. 7 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:32,119 I know membership is not necessarily the most interesting 8 00:00:32,119 --> 00:00:37,360 topic, but it is of the utmost importance for your for your 9 00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:40,080 spiritual life. And so it's that's why we're 10 00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:44,080 taking a chunk of time to really dive into this idea of church 11 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:47,000 membership. When you think about membership, 12 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:50,040 you typically think about membership with an organization 13 00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:52,480 like maybe like Sam's Club, right? 14 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:57,640 Or Costco by show of Hands, who is Sam's fan? 15 00:00:58,360 --> 00:01:00,320 How about Costco? OK. 16 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:01,880 It's usually pretty, pretty divided. 17 00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:03,160 I don't think there's any difference. 18 00:01:03,160 --> 00:01:05,000 I've been to both. It's the same stuff. 19 00:01:05,720 --> 00:01:07,800 Yeah, I knew. I knew that was going to get 20 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:11,720 some comments. You know, we thinking about 21 00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:14,280 membership like that, you maybe think about your gym membership, 22 00:01:14,280 --> 00:01:15,520 right? I'm a member at Crunch. 23 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:17,520 I'm a member at Gainesville Health and Fitness. 24 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:21,240 Or or maybe some of your Country Club members and you get to golf 25 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:23,040 because you're a Country Club member. 26 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:29,040 But the, the way that it works is I pay a fee and then I get 27 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:31,440 benefits, right? That's how that's how it works. 28 00:01:31,440 --> 00:01:34,840 I pay a fee and I get benefits. And that is the nature of our 29 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:37,040 relationship with that organization. 30 00:01:37,440 --> 00:01:40,280 I don't really care about the other members of Sam's Club, 31 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:43,400 right? I'm not there to be friends with 32 00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:45,760 them. I'm there to get my bulk coffee 33 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:50,520 and my pretzel and my drink. I don't care about the company 34 00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:52,600 necessarily. It's about what we can get out 35 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:56,000 of the situation. It's about me and my experience. 36 00:01:56,000 --> 00:02:00,600 And then if I stop getting the benefits that I want, I'm going 37 00:02:00,600 --> 00:02:04,400 to drop my membership, right? So if Sam's Club stops giving 38 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:08,000 out free samples, I'm going somewhere else, right? 39 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:09,800 That is like my lunch on Saturdays. 40 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:12,920 You just wander around and then you put on a disguise and then 41 00:02:12,920 --> 00:02:15,280 you go do all the circuit again and you get double S of 42 00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:17,960 everything. But it's about, I don't actually 43 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:19,480 do that. I've thought about it before, 44 00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:22,240 right? But it's about me. 45 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:24,400 It's about what I can get out of the out of the deal. 46 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:30,640 That is very different than the Bible's idea of church 47 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:33,640 membership. I want to read a quote for you 48 00:02:33,640 --> 00:02:35,800 out of a book written by a man named Mark Dever. 49 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:38,560 The book is called 9 Marks of the Healthy Church, And this is 50 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:41,400 actually a quote that I read. Every time we welcome new 51 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:44,560 members into our church body, we stand them at our Team Vita 52 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:45,720 meeting. We stand them up in the front. 53 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:49,480 And I read this to remind us what we are committing to as 54 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:53,720 members of God's church. He says church membership is our 55 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:59,560 opportunity to grasp hold of each other in responsibility and 56 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:02,320 love. By identifying ourselves with a 57 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:06,640 particular church, we let the pastors and other members of 58 00:03:06,640 --> 00:03:10,560 that local church know that we intend to be committed in 59 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:14,000 attendance giving prayer and service. 60 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:19,200 We allow fellow believers to have Great Expectations of us in 61 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:22,640 these areas, and we make it known that we are the 62 00:03:22,640 --> 00:03:25,280 responsibility of this local church. 63 00:03:25,760 --> 00:03:29,560 We assure the Church of our commitment to Christ in serving 64 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:33,400 with them, and we call for their commitment to serve and 65 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:37,160 encourage as well. I think it's a good summary of 66 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:40,400 what church membership really is and what it means. 67 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:47,880 Church membership is a formal, not casual, it's official. 68 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:53,360 It's a formal reciprocal relationship between a Christian 69 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:56,400 and a local church. OK, So it's not just casual. 70 00:03:56,400 --> 00:03:59,480 There's some formality to it and it's reciprocal. 71 00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:02,320 It's two sided. It's not just one giving all, 72 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:05,040 but it's it's give and take on both sides. 73 00:04:06,360 --> 00:04:10,840 Your decision to join or not join a church as a member, I 74 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:14,760 believe will have a bigger spiritual impact on you, on your 75 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:18,519 life and on your health than almost any other decision that 76 00:04:18,519 --> 00:04:20,880 you make as a Christian. Maybe with the exception of of 77 00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:24,280 who you marry, right, If you're married, if you get married, it 78 00:04:24,280 --> 00:04:26,360 is a huge deal for our spiritual lives. 79 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:28,920 And so we're going to spend the next 4 weeks really digging into 80 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:32,960 what the Bible says about it. And so today, if I can just kind 81 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:35,080 of summarize the main point of where we're headed with First 82 00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:40,240 Corinthians 12, really what Paul gets at here is that the church, 83 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:45,920 God's church, is composed of different members who belong and 84 00:04:45,920 --> 00:04:50,480 are needed in the body for the church to be effective. 85 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:55,320 And you and I are all called to be members of a local church 86 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:57,600 body. So membership is not some kind 87 00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:00,640 of optional add on for the really committed, but it is just 88 00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:03,760 for anybody who is a follower of Jesus. 89 00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:07,840 Give you a little bit of background before we dive into 90 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:10,640 chapter 12. If you were here last week, you 91 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:15,360 heard Gordon Gordon talk about the community in Acts chapter 2. 92 00:05:15,640 --> 00:05:19,840 Beautiful picture of of the the original church community. 3000 93 00:05:19,840 --> 00:05:22,760 people get saved after Peter preaches on Pentecost and they 94 00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:25,840 start organizing into these smaller groups of disciples and 95 00:05:25,840 --> 00:05:28,520 they're extremely devoted to one another. 96 00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:32,880 And there is an incredible sense of unity and togetherness among 97 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:38,760 God's people. 25 years later, the apostle Paul is writing this 98 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:41,480 letter to the church in Corinth. OK. 99 00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:45,480 So it does not take long For what was so beautiful and 100 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:49,080 unified at first, the edges start to fray, and we start to 101 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:54,360 see some disunity, some divisions among God's people. 102 00:05:54,360 --> 00:05:57,760 And so Paul is spending really, really the whole letter of First 103 00:05:57,760 --> 00:06:00,880 Corinthians as he's addressing all of these different issues in 104 00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:03,960 the church that are causing division among God's people. 105 00:06:04,840 --> 00:06:07,440 He talks about there there's factions that have formed. 106 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:09,960 Some people say I follow Apollo, so other people say I follow 107 00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:12,480 Paul. Christians are suing each other. 108 00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:14,280 Christians are divorcing each other. 109 00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:18,200 They're disagreeing with each other over issues of food that 110 00:06:18,200 --> 00:06:21,760 was sacrificed to idols and if it's OK to eat that food or if 111 00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:25,720 it's not, there's disunity as they're taking the Lord's Supper 112 00:06:25,720 --> 00:06:28,200 with one another. So there's just all this trouble 113 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:32,800 now and this division that has come into God's church in 114 00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:37,440 chapters 12 through 14. The context is spiritual gifts. 115 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:41,720 So in the Corinthian church, people are ranking one another 116 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:44,960 based on their gifting. Oh, you're such a powerful 117 00:06:44,960 --> 00:06:48,560 prophet, you're more important. And that's causing division in 118 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:51,240 the church. And so Paul is correcting them 119 00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:55,760 and he uses in these verses an illustration of a physical body, 120 00:06:56,040 --> 00:07:01,960 a human physical body to talk about unity in Jesus church. 121 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:07,080 So as we do every week, let me give you a moment of silence 122 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:12,160 before we before I read the text for us today, just to prepare 123 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:19,080 your heart, to quiet your heart to clear your head, maybe take a 124 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:22,440 brief moment and pray and ask God to speak to you and 125 00:07:22,440 --> 00:07:25,560 encourage you through his scriptures. 126 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:29,440 I'll give us a moment of silence and I'll read the text, pray for 127 00:07:29,440 --> 00:08:02,680 us, and preach. 1st Corinthians 12 Starting in 128 00:08:02,680 --> 00:08:08,960 verse 12, the apostle Paul writes For just as the body is 1 129 00:08:09,320 --> 00:08:13,120 and has many members, and all the members of the body, though 130 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:17,400 many are one body, so it is with Christ. 131 00:08:18,080 --> 00:08:23,000 For in one spirit we were all baptized into one body, Jews or 132 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:27,680 Greeks, slave or free, and all were made to drink of 1 spirit. 133 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:31,960 For the body does not consist of 1 member, but of many. 134 00:08:33,039 --> 00:08:36,919 If the foot should say, because I am not a hand, I do not belong 135 00:08:36,919 --> 00:08:41,120 to the body, that would not make it any less a part of the body. 136 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:45,440 And if the ear should say, Because I am not an eye, I do 137 00:08:45,440 --> 00:08:48,960 not belong to the body, that would not make it any less a 138 00:08:48,960 --> 00:08:52,040 part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, 139 00:08:52,040 --> 00:08:55,240 where would the sense of where would be the sense of hearing? 140 00:08:55,640 --> 00:08:58,400 If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of 141 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:01,120 smell? But as it is, God arranged the 142 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:04,480 members in the body, each one of them as He chose. 143 00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:07,480 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 144 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:12,720 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body the I cannot say. 145 00:09:12,720 --> 00:09:15,920 To the hand I have no need of you, nor again the head. 146 00:09:15,920 --> 00:09:17,800 To the feet I have no need of you. 147 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:22,600 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker 148 00:09:22,680 --> 00:09:26,760 are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think 149 00:09:26,760 --> 00:09:31,040 less honorable, we bestow the greater honor, and our 150 00:09:31,040 --> 00:09:35,240 unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which are 151 00:09:35,240 --> 00:09:37,320 more presentable parts do not require. 152 00:09:37,880 --> 00:09:41,720 But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to 153 00:09:41,720 --> 00:09:46,000 the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the 154 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:50,440 body, but that the members may have the same care for one 155 00:09:50,440 --> 00:09:52,600 another. If one member suffers, all 156 00:09:52,600 --> 00:09:54,920 suffer together. If one member is honored, all 157 00:09:54,920 --> 00:09:59,720 rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ, 158 00:10:00,240 --> 00:10:05,600 and individually members of it. Father, help us to see clearly 159 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:07,800 today. There are so many things in this 160 00:10:07,800 --> 00:10:12,680 world that seek to divide people, and not just people out 161 00:10:12,680 --> 00:10:15,360 there, but people in here, people in your church. 162 00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:19,320 And we pray God that you would help us and strengthen us to be 163 00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:22,360 unified as your body, as you call us to be. 164 00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:25,960 Thank you, Jesus, that you died for us, that we might be adopted 165 00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:30,560 into your family. You identify with us so closely 166 00:10:30,560 --> 00:10:35,080 that you call us your very body. And so help us to see these 167 00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:37,920 things, to understand these things, and to live out a right 168 00:10:37,920 --> 00:10:41,920 kind of unity in your church. Strengthen us with a strong, 169 00:10:41,920 --> 00:10:44,240 unified membership here at Vita Springs. 170 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:49,520 Bless this time as we look to your words, Jesus, and fill me 171 00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:51,520 with the Holy Spirit. Help me to teach your church 172 00:10:51,520 --> 00:10:52,920 well. We pray all these things in 173 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:58,400 Jesus name, Amen. OK, so we start here in verses 174 00:10:58,400 --> 00:11:03,320 12 and 13 and Paul is using this illustration of the physical 175 00:11:03,320 --> 00:11:07,480 body. It is one unit that is composed 176 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:10,840 of many different members and he's saying that is a kind of a 177 00:11:10,840 --> 00:11:15,800 picture or an image or an illustration of Jesus Christ's 178 00:11:15,800 --> 00:11:19,840 body. The church verse 12, he says for 179 00:11:19,840 --> 00:11:22,920 just as the body and he's talking about the physical body 180 00:11:22,920 --> 00:11:29,840 first is 1 and has many members and all the members of the body, 181 00:11:29,920 --> 00:11:34,040 though many are one body. So it is with Christ. 182 00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:37,760 So again, very simple illustration, the human body, 183 00:11:38,520 --> 00:11:43,480 you have one body, but in that one body that God gave you, 184 00:11:43,480 --> 00:11:46,160 there's a whole lot of different pieces and parts, right? 185 00:11:46,600 --> 00:11:49,000 I shared some stats the first week of this series. 186 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:53,320 You have 30 to 40 trillion cells that make up your body. 187 00:11:53,320 --> 00:11:54,600 That's a lot. It's a big number. 188 00:11:55,080 --> 00:12:01,880 You have 600 to 800 muscles, you have 206 bones, 78 organs, and 189 00:12:01,880 --> 00:12:07,400 all of those pieces and parts work together to form 1 cohesive 190 00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:12,160 body, one cohesive unit. And so Paul is saying it's the 191 00:12:12,160 --> 00:12:17,320 same way with Christ, right? So it is with Christ. 192 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:21,840 He goes on in verse 13 he says for in one spirit we were all 193 00:12:21,840 --> 00:12:26,080 baptized into one body and now he's talking about the church 194 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:29,520 body. Jews are Greeks, slaves are free 195 00:12:29,520 --> 00:12:32,120 and all were made to drink of 1 spirit. 196 00:12:32,120 --> 00:12:36,440 So you look around the room and you see all of these different 197 00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:40,000 pieces and all of these different parts, many different 198 00:12:40,080 --> 00:12:45,320 individuals, different ages, different races, different 199 00:12:45,320 --> 00:12:49,920 cultures, different social categories, different life 200 00:12:49,920 --> 00:12:53,120 stages, different spiritual gifts and abilities and 201 00:12:53,120 --> 00:12:59,640 experiences all come together and form 1 cohesive unit 1 202 00:12:59,640 --> 00:13:05,080 church body. The sin that separated us from 203 00:13:05,080 --> 00:13:10,840 one another has been paid for by Jesus on the cross so that we 204 00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:16,120 can now come together, be joined together by one common faith, 205 00:13:16,320 --> 00:13:19,880 through one common Savior into one common church. 206 00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:23,000 We, as he says in the verse, he says, we share this. 207 00:13:23,320 --> 00:13:25,480 We're all baptized into one body. 208 00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:27,360 We've all, if you're a Christian, you should have been 209 00:13:27,360 --> 00:13:30,960 through that symbol of baptism showing that you have died with 210 00:13:30,960 --> 00:13:32,320 Christ. You're resurrected with him 211 00:13:32,320 --> 00:13:34,560 again and now you are a part of his people. 212 00:13:34,560 --> 00:13:38,480 We share that common symbol. We have the same Holy Spirit 213 00:13:38,880 --> 00:13:42,760 that has been poured out onto each of us, that fills each of 214 00:13:42,760 --> 00:13:47,920 us, that dwells in each of us. We've been made into one. 215 00:13:48,680 --> 00:13:53,560 So now there's two different ways or levels to think about 216 00:13:53,560 --> 00:13:55,840 the church, OK, the body of Christ. 217 00:13:55,840 --> 00:13:58,720 And I just want to clarify these so you have this clear in your 218 00:13:58,720 --> 00:14:01,920 mind. There is the universal church, 219 00:14:02,400 --> 00:14:06,320 OK, some people call it the Big C or the capital C church. 220 00:14:06,840 --> 00:14:10,320 You can define the universal church as all Christians from 221 00:14:10,320 --> 00:14:15,360 all time, OK Anybody who has trusted in Jesus as Lord and 222 00:14:15,360 --> 00:14:17,840 Savior in the Old Testament, those who look forward to the 223 00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:20,280 coming Messiah are included in that church. 224 00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:23,480 New Testament church age. Those who look back on the cross 225 00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:26,200 and with trusted Jesus to be our Lord and Savior. 226 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:29,880 We are in that church, right? We're a part of the Big C Church 227 00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:35,080 and we share that same family with like Abraham and Ezekiel 228 00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:39,800 and Moses and the Apostle Paul and Peter and Billy Graham and 229 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:43,600 Charles Spurgeon and you name your favorite Christian pastor, 230 00:14:43,600 --> 00:14:46,440 celebrity, family member, whatever, right? 231 00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:50,160 We are all part of the universal Big Sea Church. 232 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:54,760 But there's another expression of Jesus Church, smaller 233 00:14:54,760 --> 00:14:59,160 expression, the local church, or sometimes we call this the 234 00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:09,160 Little Sea Church, Vita Springs, right, Creekside, Christ 235 00:15:09,160 --> 00:15:15,800 Community, Grace at Fort Clark, different local churches. 236 00:15:16,400 --> 00:15:21,200 When you are saved and you come into the Big C church, now you 237 00:15:21,200 --> 00:15:25,920 have the privilege and the responsibility to be a part of a 238 00:15:25,960 --> 00:15:30,320 Little C local church, a local body. 239 00:15:31,520 --> 00:15:33,640 Big C church membership is automatic. 240 00:15:33,640 --> 00:15:36,080 When you get saved, OK, you are in it. 241 00:15:37,760 --> 00:15:41,200 Local church membership is not necessarily automatic. 242 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:46,960 You must make a willful decision to join a local church body. 243 00:15:47,920 --> 00:15:49,880 Some people say, and I've heard this through the years, some 244 00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:52,520 people say, I don't need to be a part of a local church because I 245 00:15:52,520 --> 00:15:54,960 am part of God's church, the Big C church. 246 00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:58,680 What's the big deal, You know, And so because I'm a part of the 247 00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:01,480 universal church, I, I just want to love the whole church and be 248 00:16:01,480 --> 00:16:03,400 a part of the whole church. So this week I'm going to go to 249 00:16:03,400 --> 00:16:05,640 this church and then the next week I'm going to go to that 250 00:16:05,640 --> 00:16:07,240 church. And then the next week I'm going 251 00:16:07,240 --> 00:16:09,200 to go to that one. And then the next one, I don't 252 00:16:09,200 --> 00:16:11,360 think I want to go. I'm just going to watch online 253 00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:13,400 because there's this guy in Orlando that I really love 254 00:16:13,400 --> 00:16:15,600 listening to. And then the next week I'll hop 255 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:17,640 around from here to there to here to there. 256 00:16:18,040 --> 00:16:21,400 Or maybe I won't even do that. Maybe I'll just read my Bible, 257 00:16:21,880 --> 00:16:24,680 right, because you don't have to physically be in the building to 258 00:16:24,680 --> 00:16:28,600 be a part of God's church. So I'll just read my Bible on my 259 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:30,880 own. I've heard that a lot through 260 00:16:30,880 --> 00:16:35,360 the years, and I think that is misguided and unhealthy 261 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:40,400 thinking. That's like saying, you know, 262 00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:43,560 I'm a human. I'm a part of the human race. 263 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:47,200 And so I don't need a family. I don't need a mom. 264 00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:50,160 I don't need a dad. I don't need grandparents. 265 00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:51,880 I don't need brothers or sisters. 266 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:53,320 You know why? Because I'm a human. 267 00:16:53,320 --> 00:16:56,400 I'm part of the human race, right? 268 00:16:56,400 --> 00:16:58,560 It just doesn't make sense. You would say. 269 00:16:58,560 --> 00:17:00,320 No. You are part yes. 270 00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:02,480 You are part of the human race. Congratulations. 271 00:17:02,480 --> 00:17:07,000 So am I. And you need a family, right? 272 00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:10,200 You need a family. God gave you a family. 273 00:17:10,680 --> 00:17:13,839 You don't hop from family to family to family to family, 274 00:17:13,839 --> 00:17:15,359 right? And and I'm going to eat dinner 275 00:17:15,359 --> 00:17:17,800 with the Gatlings tonight and the Jerkowitz is the next night 276 00:17:17,800 --> 00:17:20,319 and the Browns the next night. Because you know, if they're all 277 00:17:20,319 --> 00:17:22,480 just part of my, we're all part of the human race. 278 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:27,400 No, you find a family. You don't have an online family. 279 00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:29,760 You have a flesh and blood family. 280 00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:34,560 You are a part of the human race and you need a human family. 281 00:17:34,560 --> 00:17:37,040 You are part of the Universal church and you need a local 282 00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:41,840 church, an Incarnate body of believers that walk with you and 283 00:17:41,840 --> 00:17:45,120 live with you and help you and that you pour into as well. 284 00:17:45,840 --> 00:17:49,120 It's not good. It's not healthy for a Christian 285 00:17:49,360 --> 00:17:53,280 to be disembodied. They think of that word 286 00:17:53,280 --> 00:17:56,800 disembodied. You have been separated from the 287 00:17:56,800 --> 00:18:00,280 body. If there was a disembodied foot 288 00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:05,240 on the stage, Gross. Exactly. 289 00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:10,240 You'd say that's not good, that poor foot and that poor person, 290 00:18:10,840 --> 00:18:12,200 right? That is not healthy. 291 00:18:12,200 --> 00:18:14,120 That's not the way that it's supposed to be. 292 00:18:14,120 --> 00:18:17,480 A foot is supposed to be bodied, not disembodied. 293 00:18:18,760 --> 00:18:20,680 It's the same for the Christian, right? 294 00:18:20,680 --> 00:18:22,280 It's the same. We need a body, we need a 295 00:18:22,280 --> 00:18:26,320 family. So, and this is where Paul is 296 00:18:26,320 --> 00:18:29,720 going with this illustration. And so as he continues, he 297 00:18:29,720 --> 00:18:33,840 illustrates 2 really big points in this section. 298 00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:39,160 He wants us to see that number one, you belong to a family. 299 00:18:39,520 --> 00:18:45,120 OK, you belong to a family and then #2 you are needed in a 300 00:18:45,120 --> 00:18:47,120 family that's stronger than just you belong. 301 00:18:47,120 --> 00:18:50,800 You are needed in the church body. 302 00:18:51,360 --> 00:18:56,960 So let's go look at verse 14. He says for the body does not 303 00:18:56,960 --> 00:19:01,920 consist of 1 member, but of many, right? 304 00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:04,480 Just not like your physical body has many different parts, not 305 00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:07,600 just one, right? That it's same thing for the 306 00:19:07,600 --> 00:19:09,320 body is not because of 1 member, but of many. 307 00:19:09,560 --> 00:19:15,560 So verse 15, if the foot should say because I'm not a hand, I 308 00:19:15,560 --> 00:19:19,080 don't belong to the body, that would not make it any less a 309 00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:21,640 part of the body. And if the ear should say, 310 00:19:21,640 --> 00:19:25,440 because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body, that 311 00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:29,880 would not make it any less a part of the body, right? 312 00:19:29,880 --> 00:19:33,280 So just because they're different from one another and 313 00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:37,080 they play different roles from one another in the body, that 314 00:19:37,080 --> 00:19:41,720 doesn't mean that they don't belong to the same body. 315 00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:47,640 You know, it's like the foot saying to the hand, oh hand, you 316 00:19:47,640 --> 00:19:52,800 are so elegant and so skilled. And I here I am. 317 00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:57,560 I'm just stuck in a shoe all day and I've got calluses and I get 318 00:19:57,560 --> 00:20:01,200 walked on all day long and I'm constantly under pressure. 319 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:04,240 I must not belong to this body. You got it. 320 00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:06,040 You're different. You're better than me. 321 00:20:06,040 --> 00:20:07,760 I must not belong. You say. 322 00:20:07,760 --> 00:20:09,680 That's absurd. No, you need your hand and you 323 00:20:09,680 --> 00:20:13,520 need your foot or the ear, says to the eye. 324 00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:19,600 Oh, I you are so sophisticated and you are so beautiful. 325 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:25,880 And I am just this weird flap of skin and cartilage hanging like 326 00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:30,360 a flag on a windless day to the side of this guy's head. 327 00:20:32,240 --> 00:20:35,000 You must belong and I must not belong. 328 00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:37,280 And you would say, well, no, of course not. 329 00:20:37,280 --> 00:20:40,040 That's absurd, right? Your eye has a role. 330 00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:42,760 Your eye is made a certain way and it belongs to your body. 331 00:20:42,760 --> 00:20:46,640 Thank God for your for your eyes and your ears have a different 332 00:20:46,640 --> 00:20:49,040 kind of role, a different kind of shape, a different kind of 333 00:20:49,040 --> 00:20:52,000 function. It's like somebody on the coffee 334 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:55,440 team saying to a small group leader, oh, well, you have so 335 00:20:55,440 --> 00:20:57,520 much influence in people's lives. 336 00:20:57,520 --> 00:21:01,120 And, you know, you get to lead discussions on Wednesday night. 337 00:21:01,120 --> 00:21:04,760 And all I do is I just come in and I grind beans and I pour 338 00:21:04,760 --> 00:21:08,200 water through beans and I, you know how to clean up drips, 339 00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:09,880 right? It's like, no, well, hold on. 340 00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:13,600 You have a different role in the body, right? 341 00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:16,200 Or somebody who has a strong gift of mercy. 342 00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:20,680 Thank God for people who have gifts of mercy coming to Pete, 343 00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:24,520 you have a gift of mercy coming to someone who has a gift of 344 00:21:24,520 --> 00:21:28,240 leadership and saying, oh, all I have is this lowly gift of 345 00:21:28,240 --> 00:21:30,080 mercy. I just care about people. 346 00:21:30,080 --> 00:21:34,040 And, you know, and and you get to, you know, rally the troops 347 00:21:34,040 --> 00:21:37,120 and really drive forward the vision like I must not belong. 348 00:21:37,120 --> 00:21:41,800 We'd say, no, we need both and you both belong. 349 00:21:43,200 --> 00:21:45,040 He goes on. So do you see what he's saying 350 00:21:45,040 --> 00:21:46,280 here? You, you belong. 351 00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:49,000 You're different. We're wonderfully different, but 352 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:51,000 we all belong to this body, he says in verse 17. 353 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:55,080 He says if the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of 354 00:21:55,080 --> 00:21:57,360 where would be the sense of hearing? 355 00:21:57,360 --> 00:22:00,840 If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of 356 00:22:00,840 --> 00:22:04,760 smell? The body would be so limited. 357 00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:11,320 If all of the parts were exactly the same, it would be #1 if we 358 00:22:11,320 --> 00:22:14,520 were all an eye, it would be gross, it would be monstrous, 359 00:22:15,920 --> 00:22:17,600 and we would be severely limited. 360 00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:23,400 We would lose something very, very important if we didn't have 361 00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:26,080 diversity, all belonging together. 362 00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:30,120 Verse 18 he says. But as it is, God arranged the 363 00:22:30,120 --> 00:22:33,800 members in the body, each one of them, as He chose. 364 00:22:33,800 --> 00:22:37,280 That's very, very important. Remember that regardless of what 365 00:22:37,280 --> 00:22:41,080 gift you have, your experiences, your inclinations, your 366 00:22:41,080 --> 00:22:46,040 passions, God arranged the members of the body, each one of 367 00:22:46,040 --> 00:22:48,080 them as He chose, and then he goes on. 368 00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:50,480 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 369 00:22:50,640 --> 00:22:53,560 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. 370 00:22:53,560 --> 00:22:56,880 So God has ordained all these different parts in one unified 371 00:22:56,880 --> 00:22:58,440 body. If we were all the same, we'd be 372 00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:01,840 in trouble. And so thank God we are not. 373 00:23:05,680 --> 00:23:08,640 Just because you're different than other people in the church, 374 00:23:09,240 --> 00:23:11,200 that does not mean that you don't belong. 375 00:23:12,960 --> 00:23:14,560 That does not mean that you don't belong. 376 00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:19,000 God knew what he was doing when he assembled your physical body, 377 00:23:19,520 --> 00:23:23,720 and God knows what He's doing as he assembles his spiritual body, 378 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:28,120 the church. We are Better Together in our 379 00:23:28,120 --> 00:23:30,480 differences than we are apart from one another. 380 00:23:31,120 --> 00:23:34,080 You belong to the body. This is true in marriage. 381 00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:36,240 You know, we see this in marriage. 382 00:23:37,880 --> 00:23:42,160 God, in his wonderful sense of humor, brings people who are 383 00:23:42,160 --> 00:23:44,160 very different. Usually this is how it works, 384 00:23:44,160 --> 00:23:47,920 people who are very different and he puts you together and if 385 00:23:47,920 --> 00:23:49,520 you're married, you agree with me, right? 386 00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:53,680 It's like I married my opposite, that God does that. 387 00:23:53,680 --> 00:23:56,360 He knows what he's doing. It's for your good. 388 00:23:56,360 --> 00:23:59,400 By the way, it can cause conflict, but it does not mean 389 00:23:59,400 --> 00:24:03,000 that you don't belong together. He was intentional and that I 390 00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:05,120 think about this regularly. I'm very analytical. 391 00:24:05,120 --> 00:24:07,600 I'm very practical. My wife is more emotional. 392 00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:11,880 She's more of the dreamer. She wants to buy fixer uppers. 393 00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:15,680 And I'm like, Oh my gosh, the last thing I want to do with my 394 00:24:15,680 --> 00:24:18,800 time, energy and money is buy some junky old house and spend 395 00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:22,520 all my spare time ripping out drywall and, you know, putting 396 00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:24,680 floors in like that. Just you want to torture me, 397 00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:27,880 make me remodel my house. She was like, let's get a bed. 398 00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:29,200 Let's do make a bed and breakfast. 399 00:24:29,240 --> 00:24:31,920 I don't like bed and breakfast. I have to have breakfast with 400 00:24:31,920 --> 00:24:34,200 people I don't know. It's very awkward. 401 00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:36,840 I would rather go to a hotel and just then go to a restaurant 402 00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:38,600 afterwards. I'm in control of my 403 00:24:38,600 --> 00:24:41,440 surroundings. Like we why are we? 404 00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:44,360 And that has caused some conflict between us because 405 00:24:44,360 --> 00:24:47,000 she'll have a dream and I'll instantly squash her dream. 406 00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:49,400 And we went to a counselor together once and he was like, 407 00:24:49,400 --> 00:24:51,880 you need to let your wife dream. You need to encourage her in her 408 00:24:51,880 --> 00:24:53,280 dreams. I'm like, OK, that's very hard 409 00:24:53,280 --> 00:24:55,000 for me. I'm going to try. 410 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:56,640 I think I'm doing better, right? Honey? 411 00:24:56,760 --> 00:25:02,080 I'm doing better. Just because we are different 412 00:25:02,080 --> 00:25:04,720 from one another in that, and that causes conflict among us, 413 00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:06,400 that does not mean that we married wrong. 414 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:09,920 In fact, I would say I think we married right because I'm 415 00:25:09,920 --> 00:25:11,760 stretching her and she's stretching me. 416 00:25:11,760 --> 00:25:14,320 We're shaping one another in our differences. 417 00:25:14,320 --> 00:25:17,320 And God does that in the church, right? 418 00:25:17,320 --> 00:25:20,800 You look around this room and we see people from different 419 00:25:21,160 --> 00:25:23,120 ethnicities, different countries. 420 00:25:23,600 --> 00:25:28,600 We have old and young, we have married and single, we have some 421 00:25:28,600 --> 00:25:31,760 widowed. We have introverts and 422 00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:33,960 extroverts. We have different people with 423 00:25:33,960 --> 00:25:37,680 different gifts, different passions, different experiences, 424 00:25:37,680 --> 00:25:41,160 different level of education. And that is a good thing. 425 00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:42,960 Thank God that we have that diversity. 426 00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:45,040 Just because you're different than the person sitting next to 427 00:25:45,040 --> 00:25:48,400 you, that does not mean that you don't belong in this local body. 428 00:25:50,200 --> 00:25:53,840 Don't let Satan trick you into thinking that because you're not 429 00:25:53,840 --> 00:25:55,680 like everyone else, you don't belong. 430 00:25:56,320 --> 00:25:58,960 And I think he plays that one on repeat for a lot of people, 431 00:25:59,840 --> 00:26:01,000 right? He gets in our heads. 432 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:02,760 See, this is this you're, this is not right. 433 00:26:02,760 --> 00:26:05,000 This is not for you. You're in the wrong crowd. 434 00:26:06,280 --> 00:26:10,240 He wants to cause division. Listen, here's the beautiful 435 00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:12,920 thing about Jesus church. Do you know why you belong? 436 00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:18,400 And I belong because Jesus died for you, and Jesus died for me, 437 00:26:19,440 --> 00:26:21,360 and I was a Sinner, and you're a Sinner. 438 00:26:22,320 --> 00:26:26,720 And Jesus poured his blood out on one cross that He would 439 00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:30,520 create a people who could come together and forgive one 440 00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:34,080 another, as we have been forgiven of our sin and love one 441 00:26:34,080 --> 00:26:36,600 another as we have been loved by Him. 442 00:26:37,480 --> 00:26:40,240 That we could belong in one family. 443 00:26:40,560 --> 00:26:44,000 Isaiah chapter 53, verses 3 through 5. 444 00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:46,520 He was despised and rejected by men. 445 00:26:46,880 --> 00:26:51,080 A man of sorrows acquainted with grief, and as one from whom men 446 00:26:51,080 --> 00:26:54,080 hid their faces. He was despised, and we esteemed 447 00:26:54,080 --> 00:26:56,600 Him not. Surely He has borne our griefs 448 00:26:56,600 --> 00:27:00,560 and carried our sorrows, Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten 449 00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:03,600 by God, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our 450 00:27:03,600 --> 00:27:05,760 transgressions. He was crushed for our 451 00:27:05,760 --> 00:27:09,320 iniquities. Upon him was the chastisement 452 00:27:09,320 --> 00:27:14,840 that brought us peace. Peace with God and peace with 453 00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:18,520 one another. By his wounds we are healed. 454 00:27:19,800 --> 00:27:26,320 Jesus was despised and rejected and cut off and chastised so 455 00:27:26,320 --> 00:27:30,360 that you could belong, so that you could be welcomed and so 456 00:27:30,360 --> 00:27:34,840 that you could be included. He died to create a people. 457 00:27:36,120 --> 00:27:38,160 God is wise. He made you intentionally. 458 00:27:38,560 --> 00:27:41,360 You have a place among God's people. 459 00:27:41,360 --> 00:27:46,880 You belong. You belong, he goes on and now 460 00:27:46,880 --> 00:27:50,880 he shifts his focus a little bit and he talks about how all the 461 00:27:50,880 --> 00:27:53,560 parts of the body, although they're different, are also 462 00:27:53,680 --> 00:27:58,400 needed were needed for this body to function correctly and 463 00:27:58,400 --> 00:28:00,440 properly and well, look at verse 21. 464 00:28:00,440 --> 00:28:07,400 He says the I cannot say to the hand I have no need of you nor 465 00:28:07,400 --> 00:28:11,200 again the head to the feet. I have no need of you. 466 00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:19,960 It is arrogant and downright foolish for one part of the body 467 00:28:19,960 --> 00:28:21,960 to think they don't need the other. 468 00:28:23,280 --> 00:28:27,640 It's foolishness. The body is incomplete and 469 00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:30,600 severely handicapped if all the parts were the same. 470 00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:34,680 I mean, think about it, just in the flesh again. 471 00:28:35,240 --> 00:28:38,040 So some of you guys ate a chocolate doughnut when you came 472 00:28:38,040 --> 00:28:40,960 in here this morning. And you go to the bathroom 473 00:28:41,840 --> 00:28:45,800 afterwards and you realize for the past hour you've had a smear 474 00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:52,320 of chocolate on your cheek. Now what if you had no hand to 475 00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:55,480 wipe that chocolate off your cheek? 476 00:28:55,480 --> 00:28:57,880 It'd be torture, right? You walk around for the rest of 477 00:28:57,880 --> 00:28:59,320 your life with doughnut on your cheek. 478 00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:02,240 It's like your eye sees it but you're you got no hand to do 479 00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:07,200 anything about it. Your head perceives this car 480 00:29:07,200 --> 00:29:11,800 that is barreling towards you, but you have no foot to move you 481 00:29:11,800 --> 00:29:14,880 out of the way. That is disaster. 482 00:29:15,160 --> 00:29:17,680 The eye needs the hand. The head needs the foot. 483 00:29:19,040 --> 00:29:21,120 Think about it. In the church, what if we had 484 00:29:21,440 --> 00:29:24,480 all leaders but no administrators? 485 00:29:25,240 --> 00:29:27,880 We'd have people trying to charge the rally, the troops, 486 00:29:27,880 --> 00:29:31,560 but no one to actually organize it all and pull it all off. 487 00:29:31,960 --> 00:29:35,880 What if we had teachers but no evangelists? 488 00:29:36,680 --> 00:29:37,920 Right? We're just teaching the same 489 00:29:37,920 --> 00:29:40,880 people over and over. We got no new believers coming 490 00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:45,320 in to be taught. What if we had all evangelists 491 00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:48,200 but no shepherds? Now you got a bunch of new 492 00:29:48,200 --> 00:29:50,920 believers and there's nobody there to walk with them through 493 00:29:50,920 --> 00:29:53,800 life and help them grow up in the faith. 494 00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:56,320 What if we had a bunch of prophets, but no one with a gift 495 00:29:56,320 --> 00:29:58,880 of discernment? That's trouble. 496 00:29:59,280 --> 00:30:02,040 People proclaiming things in the name of the Lord, but no one 497 00:30:02,040 --> 00:30:03,280 with discernment to be able to say. 498 00:30:03,320 --> 00:30:05,800 I think that's off. That sounds a little fishy. 499 00:30:06,520 --> 00:30:10,720 We need all the parts. A car with no tires does not get 500 00:30:10,720 --> 00:30:13,280 very far. A plane with no wings can never 501 00:30:13,280 --> 00:30:15,600 take off. A computer with no operating 502 00:30:15,600 --> 00:30:17,160 system is just a chunk of plastic. 503 00:30:18,600 --> 00:30:25,920 All the parts are needed for the church to glorify God by loving 504 00:30:25,920 --> 00:30:30,160 God and loving others and making disciples of all nations. 505 00:30:30,160 --> 00:30:32,200 You just heard Gordon say. That's our mission, our mission 506 00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:35,440 statement. We need all the parts working 507 00:30:35,480 --> 00:30:38,600 together. It's true on a local scale and 508 00:30:38,600 --> 00:30:42,240 realize it's actually true on a broader universal church scale 509 00:30:42,240 --> 00:30:44,360 too. My wife and I were had a retreat 510 00:30:44,360 --> 00:30:48,760 this past week up in northern Georgia with 31 couples from all 511 00:30:48,760 --> 00:30:52,960 different kinds of groups and denominations and it was so 512 00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:55,840 wonderful. Our community group leader was a 513 00:30:55,840 --> 00:31:00,120 Methodist minister. We had a Scottish Presbyterian 514 00:31:00,120 --> 00:31:02,920 pastor who was in our group, another guy who was an army 515 00:31:02,920 --> 00:31:06,480 chaplain, another guy with a kind of a more Pentecostal non 516 00:31:06,480 --> 00:31:08,200 denominational church from Tampa. 517 00:31:08,520 --> 00:31:11,640 We had Southern Baptists and General Baptist and Independent 518 00:31:11,640 --> 00:31:14,040 Baptists. And it was just such a 519 00:31:14,040 --> 00:31:17,240 beautiful, I thought we need all of you, right? 520 00:31:17,240 --> 00:31:20,200 The church need you all bring something different to this 521 00:31:20,200 --> 00:31:24,280 body, this party, and it's a beautiful, beautiful thing. 522 00:31:25,560 --> 00:31:29,560 He goes on to verse 22. He says, On the contrary, the 523 00:31:29,560 --> 00:31:36,320 parts of the body that's that seem to be weaker are 524 00:31:36,360 --> 00:31:39,520 indispensable. And on those parts of the body 525 00:31:39,520 --> 00:31:45,360 that we think less honorable, we bestow the greater honor and our 526 00:31:45,360 --> 00:31:49,440 unpresentable parts. He's probably talking about your 527 00:31:49,440 --> 00:31:50,600 unpresentable. He's talking about your 528 00:31:50,600 --> 00:31:56,720 unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which are 529 00:31:56,720 --> 00:31:59,480 more presentable parts do not require. 530 00:31:59,480 --> 00:32:04,040 So what's he saying here? He's saying that the parts that 531 00:32:04,040 --> 00:32:10,440 seem weaker, less honorable, he refers to them as unpresentable, 532 00:32:11,200 --> 00:32:15,160 are actually some of the most necessary and should be treated 533 00:32:15,160 --> 00:32:17,560 with the most honor because they are essential. 534 00:32:18,680 --> 00:32:23,280 Excuse me for our health. Paul is speaking into Roman 535 00:32:23,280 --> 00:32:29,240 culture here, where power and your family's name and your 536 00:32:29,240 --> 00:32:32,720 social status and your wealth, that was everything. 537 00:32:33,680 --> 00:32:38,640 So if you're Caesar's nephew and you go to the restaurant, you're 538 00:32:38,640 --> 00:32:40,120 going to be honored. Of course. 539 00:32:40,120 --> 00:32:41,160 You're going to get the best seat. 540 00:32:41,160 --> 00:32:42,520 You're going to get the best meal. 541 00:32:42,520 --> 00:32:44,280 You're going to get the best treatment. 542 00:32:44,280 --> 00:32:49,120 You're going to get the best special favor, he's saying, But 543 00:32:49,120 --> 00:32:52,000 not in the church. That's not how it should be in 544 00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:54,360 the church. In the church, we blow up those 545 00:32:54,360 --> 00:32:58,320 worldly categories. All of the parts are necessary 546 00:32:58,480 --> 00:33:01,280 and all of them should be treated with honor. 547 00:33:01,600 --> 00:33:04,880 The parts that we view as weaker in our physical body think of 548 00:33:04,880 --> 00:33:08,480 maybe like your intestine, your gut as a paired as as compared 549 00:33:08,480 --> 00:33:12,080 to your something stronger like your bones or something that's 550 00:33:12,080 --> 00:33:14,280 unpresentable. He is probably talking about 551 00:33:14,280 --> 00:33:16,600 your genitals in this in this text. 552 00:33:16,920 --> 00:33:20,680 We don't uncover them like we uncover our face or our hands, 553 00:33:21,880 --> 00:33:23,920 right? We honor them, we take care of 554 00:33:23,920 --> 00:33:25,680 them. We treat them with modesty. 555 00:33:25,680 --> 00:33:28,800 We guard them, we protect them. We value them. 556 00:33:30,600 --> 00:33:35,680 In society, the weaker, the less honorable tend to be pitched 557 00:33:35,680 --> 00:33:41,320 aside, disregarded, demoted. But in the church, it's not 558 00:33:41,320 --> 00:33:44,800 supposed to be that way. We realize that every part is 559 00:33:44,800 --> 00:33:48,880 needed and that God arranged this body and everyone brings 560 00:33:48,880 --> 00:33:52,640 something to the table and is to be treated with respect and 561 00:33:52,640 --> 00:33:56,840 honor in Jesus Church. Again, you look around the room 562 00:33:56,840 --> 00:34:01,320 and you say, you know, we have, we have young, we love that we 563 00:34:01,320 --> 00:34:04,960 have young people, we have the younger generation at Vita 564 00:34:04,960 --> 00:34:09,120 Springs Church, the the young adults, college students. 565 00:34:09,120 --> 00:34:13,199 You bring a kind of zeal and energy and passion that is very, 566 00:34:13,199 --> 00:34:17,440 very needed in God's church. And it's also wonderful that we 567 00:34:17,440 --> 00:34:21,639 have the old, the older I should say, or maybe the more mature, 568 00:34:22,320 --> 00:34:26,440 right? You bring wisdom and stability 569 00:34:27,120 --> 00:34:29,280 that the youth do not necessarily have. 570 00:34:29,280 --> 00:34:31,239 And it's wonderful. We both belong. 571 00:34:31,600 --> 00:34:34,960 And let's not forget about our children, our zero to 5th 572 00:34:34,960 --> 00:34:36,960 graders that are in our building across the way. 573 00:34:37,159 --> 00:34:41,560 They're a part of the church. They bring a kind of awe and 574 00:34:41,560 --> 00:34:45,280 wonder and faith. Jesus praises the faith of 575 00:34:45,280 --> 00:34:47,600 children that we all benefit from. 576 00:34:48,199 --> 00:34:50,440 It's beautiful. We are all needed. 577 00:34:50,719 --> 00:34:53,920 We have a lot of Brazilians here at Vita Springs Church, and I 578 00:34:53,920 --> 00:34:57,640 think the Brazilians teach the Americans about how to have 579 00:34:57,640 --> 00:35:01,840 community. Amazing and food and laughter 580 00:35:01,840 --> 00:35:06,120 and joy and community. We have Africans here at Vita 581 00:35:06,120 --> 00:35:09,920 Springs and there's a kind of an exuberance and joy that that is 582 00:35:10,120 --> 00:35:13,400 built into African culture that can be very different from what 583 00:35:13,400 --> 00:35:15,400 Americans are more accustomed to. 584 00:35:16,720 --> 00:35:20,760 We even have people who are in a season of life where their 585 00:35:20,760 --> 00:35:24,160 bodies are breaking down. They have a lot of pain. 586 00:35:24,760 --> 00:35:28,760 They're in some cases in constant pain and constant 587 00:35:28,760 --> 00:35:31,840 suffering. And if that's you, please 588 00:35:31,840 --> 00:35:37,320 understand you are needed in this body because you teach us. 589 00:35:38,040 --> 00:35:41,800 You teach us how to persevere. You teach us how to have joy and 590 00:35:41,800 --> 00:35:43,880 faith in the midst of sorrow and pain. 591 00:35:44,560 --> 00:35:46,280 And we need that. I need that. 592 00:35:47,560 --> 00:35:50,240 I will tell you about about some of our older folks here who are 593 00:35:50,240 --> 00:35:52,840 going through hardship. I love it because I never hear 594 00:35:52,840 --> 00:35:55,720 them complain. And that teaches me I want to 595 00:35:55,720 --> 00:35:57,040 comply. I get sick, ask my wife. 596 00:35:57,080 --> 00:36:01,200 I get like a little sniffle and I'm like, I'm dying and I'm 597 00:36:01,200 --> 00:36:03,680 complaining and fussing and she's like, what's wrong? 598 00:36:03,680 --> 00:36:07,160 You just get a Kleenex. You're fine, right? 599 00:36:07,400 --> 00:36:11,080 I need to learn from those who who can endure well and with 600 00:36:11,080 --> 00:36:19,640 good hearts and with faith. We're all needed, goes on in 601 00:36:19,640 --> 00:36:22,520 these verses. Halfway through verse 24, he 602 00:36:22,520 --> 00:36:24,360 says. But God has so composed the 603 00:36:24,360 --> 00:36:28,960 body, giving greater honor to the party, to the part that 604 00:36:28,960 --> 00:36:34,480 lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that 605 00:36:34,480 --> 00:36:38,080 the members may have the same care for one another. 606 00:36:38,560 --> 00:36:41,240 If one member suffers, all suffer together. 607 00:36:41,600 --> 00:36:45,320 If one member is honored, all rejoice together. 608 00:36:46,720 --> 00:36:51,240 So the conclusion here's He's saying those who are more 609 00:36:51,240 --> 00:36:53,920 visible, those who are more gifted, they should not be 610 00:36:53,920 --> 00:36:57,080 treated as more important or more necessary. 611 00:36:58,040 --> 00:37:00,920 Those who are less visible, those who are left gifted should 612 00:37:00,920 --> 00:37:04,840 not be treated as less important or less necessary. 613 00:37:05,560 --> 00:37:10,360 There should be unity. There should be mutual care for 614 00:37:10,360 --> 00:37:13,520 one another. There should be mutual respect 615 00:37:13,800 --> 00:37:17,360 and honoring of one another because we're all needed. 616 00:37:21,000 --> 00:37:25,040 In Corinth they were saying you're so smart, you're so rich, 617 00:37:26,360 --> 00:37:28,800 you have an amazing family, you have a powerful gift of 618 00:37:28,800 --> 00:37:31,520 prophecy. You got baptized by the apostle 619 00:37:31,520 --> 00:37:36,480 Peter, You get special honor. And Paul's saying, no, no, no, 620 00:37:36,480 --> 00:37:38,160 that's not the way it works in God's church. 621 00:37:39,160 --> 00:37:42,560 He's saying you're a brick, I'm a brick. 622 00:37:44,120 --> 00:37:47,480 Jesus is the cornerstone. He's the important. 623 00:37:47,480 --> 00:37:50,960 He's the most important one. The rest of us are bricks. 624 00:37:53,360 --> 00:37:55,960 We're going to honor or make much of anyone. 625 00:37:56,880 --> 00:38:03,600 Let's let it be Jesus, not the bricks, He finishes in verse 27. 626 00:38:03,600 --> 00:38:10,080 He says now you are the body of Christ and individually members 627 00:38:10,160 --> 00:38:14,840 of it. OK, you take it personal. 628 00:38:14,840 --> 00:38:23,360 Now you individual, you are the body of Christ, and individually 629 00:38:24,400 --> 00:38:32,840 members of it. You are a member of Christ's 630 00:38:32,960 --> 00:38:35,800 body. What an honor. 631 00:38:37,600 --> 00:38:41,440 What an honor to be called a part of Jesus's body. 632 00:38:42,160 --> 00:38:46,280 No matter how high, how low, how this, how that you are a member. 633 00:38:46,320 --> 00:38:51,120 You are intimately linked with Christ and Christ's people. 634 00:38:51,560 --> 00:38:56,560 To dishonor any part of the body is to dishonor Christ himself. 635 00:38:58,200 --> 00:39:00,760 So this is where this is where please listen to me because I'm 636 00:39:00,760 --> 00:39:02,400 kind of I'm trying to build something. 637 00:39:02,400 --> 00:39:04,120 I'm going to end real practical here. 638 00:39:04,800 --> 00:39:07,920 You need to be very careful about your relationship with 639 00:39:07,960 --> 00:39:11,400 Jesus's body, OK? You need to be very thoughtful 640 00:39:11,400 --> 00:39:15,080 and very careful about it. And in our culture, Christians 641 00:39:15,080 --> 00:39:18,840 and church is usually easy come, easy go, right? 642 00:39:18,840 --> 00:39:21,360 It's very consumeristic in nature. 643 00:39:21,600 --> 00:39:23,200 I'm going to go here. It's like Sam's Club. 644 00:39:23,200 --> 00:39:25,040 I'm going to go there. And as long as I get the 645 00:39:25,040 --> 00:39:26,520 benefits that I'm, I'll be part of it. 646 00:39:26,520 --> 00:39:30,600 But as soon as I'm, I'm out, you've got to be very careful 647 00:39:30,600 --> 00:39:34,400 about that kind of thinking. Jesus links himself with his 648 00:39:34,400 --> 00:39:37,680 people, right? So much so that if you mess with 649 00:39:37,680 --> 00:39:40,120 his people, if you exploit his people, if you take advantage of 650 00:39:40,120 --> 00:39:42,240 his people, you're doing the same thing to him. 651 00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:47,120 Remember the story about the Saul before he was the apostle 652 00:39:47,120 --> 00:39:53,240 Paul, He was a he was a zealous Jew and he is now pre salvation. 653 00:39:53,240 --> 00:39:55,920 He is persecuting Christians, OK. 654 00:39:55,920 --> 00:39:58,840 He is going to different cities and he's gathering up the 655 00:39:58,840 --> 00:40:01,600 believers and some of the in some cases either being killed, 656 00:40:01,720 --> 00:40:03,800 right. And Paul is behind that. 657 00:40:04,080 --> 00:40:08,440 And while he's going to a town called Damascus, Jesus appears 658 00:40:08,440 --> 00:40:11,840 before him. Remember the story blinds him, 659 00:40:12,040 --> 00:40:15,560 knocks him to the ground, and you remember what Jesus says to 660 00:40:15,560 --> 00:40:19,720 Paul, to Saul. Saul, Saul, why are you 661 00:40:19,720 --> 00:40:26,280 persecuting me? He doesn't say, Saul, Saul, why 662 00:40:26,280 --> 00:40:30,720 are you persecuting my church? Saul, Saul, why are you 663 00:40:30,880 --> 00:40:33,360 persecuting those individual Christians? 664 00:40:33,360 --> 00:40:36,800 He doesn't say that. He so identifies with his 665 00:40:36,800 --> 00:40:38,280 people. Then with that, when Saul is 666 00:40:38,280 --> 00:40:41,480 persecuting the Christian, she says, no, you're doing it to me. 667 00:40:43,040 --> 00:40:46,840 We need to be very careful about our relationship with Jesus's 668 00:40:46,840 --> 00:40:52,320 body, his church. And so let me end very, very 669 00:40:52,400 --> 00:40:56,480 practically as I talked a little bit about church membership and 670 00:40:56,480 --> 00:40:58,120 how this kind of all plays together. 671 00:40:59,560 --> 00:41:04,480 It is very clear to understand how to express membership in the 672 00:41:04,480 --> 00:41:07,080 universal church. You know how you do it. 673 00:41:07,640 --> 00:41:12,400 You get saved, right? You put your trust in Jesus as 674 00:41:12,400 --> 00:41:17,280 Savior and Lord, repent of your sin, and believe that Jesus is 675 00:41:17,280 --> 00:41:21,240 the Christ. That's how you become a member 676 00:41:21,240 --> 00:41:25,280 in the Universal church. You are just a Christian now. 677 00:41:25,400 --> 00:41:29,840 How do you express membership in a local church? 678 00:41:31,400 --> 00:41:36,480 How do you know or how do we know, IE the church and the 679 00:41:36,480 --> 00:41:38,480 leadership of the church? How do you know and how do we 680 00:41:38,480 --> 00:41:41,560 know if you are a member of this church? 681 00:41:41,760 --> 00:41:43,440 Remember I told you at the beginning, it's important to be 682 00:41:43,440 --> 00:41:47,120 a part of both, right? How do you express membership? 683 00:41:47,400 --> 00:41:52,280 Do you just show up? Do you show up and serve? 684 00:41:54,160 --> 00:41:59,360 Do you have to show up and serve and go to small group and then 685 00:41:59,360 --> 00:42:02,680 you're a member? Do you show up and serve and 686 00:42:02,680 --> 00:42:04,360 small go to small group and give? 687 00:42:05,440 --> 00:42:07,480 What if you give but you don't go to small group? 688 00:42:09,120 --> 00:42:10,840 What if you only come once a month? 689 00:42:12,120 --> 00:42:14,760 What if you come twice a month? What if you come once every two 690 00:42:14,760 --> 00:42:17,240 months? What if you go to Vita? 691 00:42:17,240 --> 00:42:20,320 Sometimes in Salt, sometimes in Creekside, sometimes in Saint 692 00:42:20,320 --> 00:42:22,280 Andrews, sometimes. Are you a member of all of those 693 00:42:22,280 --> 00:42:26,880 bodies? Which body are you a part of? 694 00:42:28,600 --> 00:42:32,840 If you are the liver, how does Vita Springs Church know that we 695 00:42:32,840 --> 00:42:34,400 are going to have a liver this week? 696 00:42:34,760 --> 00:42:36,520 That's really important for us to know. 697 00:42:37,320 --> 00:42:40,520 We need our liver, you see. Do you understand what I'm 698 00:42:40,520 --> 00:42:44,520 saying? Do you understand how do we 699 00:42:44,520 --> 00:42:49,120 express the unity of the body that Jesus calls us to if we 700 00:42:49,120 --> 00:42:51,840 don't know who is a part of this body? 701 00:42:52,520 --> 00:42:56,920 We need some way to know and that's where formal church 702 00:42:56,920 --> 00:43:00,640 membership comes in. It's a, it's a way that helps 703 00:43:00,640 --> 00:43:06,240 define and clarify who is actually a part of this little 704 00:43:06,240 --> 00:43:11,080 sea church, this local body. Many churches do not have any 705 00:43:11,080 --> 00:43:13,040 kind of a formal membership process. 706 00:43:13,840 --> 00:43:16,000 And I believe that is to their detriment. 707 00:43:16,440 --> 00:43:18,760 I remember years ago we had a membership class and there was a 708 00:43:18,760 --> 00:43:20,440 young lady. It was a, it was the last class. 709 00:43:20,440 --> 00:43:23,040 We handed out the membership forms that we asked people who 710 00:43:23,040 --> 00:43:25,320 want to be members to sign. And she came up to me. 711 00:43:25,320 --> 00:43:27,320 She was a bit angry. She says, what is this? 712 00:43:28,400 --> 00:43:30,080 I said that looks like a membership form. 713 00:43:30,080 --> 00:43:32,320 She said, I can't believe this. I've never seen anything like 714 00:43:32,320 --> 00:43:33,840 this in my life. You're going to make me sign a 715 00:43:33,840 --> 00:43:36,360 piece of paper? And I was like, well, yeah. 716 00:43:36,360 --> 00:43:38,000 I mean, that's kind of what we do. 717 00:43:38,000 --> 00:43:43,320 That's how we know if you want to be a part of this particular 718 00:43:43,520 --> 00:43:53,040 body, imagine a team, an army, a hospital, a school who did not 719 00:43:53,040 --> 00:43:57,040 know who the players were, who the soldiers were, who the 720 00:43:57,040 --> 00:43:59,080 doctors were, or who the students were. 721 00:44:01,720 --> 00:44:04,800 What if it changed every week? And this week this guy's your 722 00:44:04,800 --> 00:44:07,520 quarterback, and next week that guy's your quarterback, and this 723 00:44:07,520 --> 00:44:09,720 week this guy's your surgeon, and next week that guy's your 724 00:44:09,720 --> 00:44:14,400 surgeon. All of these kinds of 725 00:44:14,400 --> 00:44:18,240 relationships have formalized commitment, so there is clarity 726 00:44:18,680 --> 00:44:21,840 and there's accountability on both sides, right? 727 00:44:21,840 --> 00:44:24,480 So you have a roster, you have enlistment, you have a contract, 728 00:44:24,480 --> 00:44:28,320 you have enrollment. The church needs this too. 729 00:44:28,840 --> 00:44:31,640 The church needs this too. A way for church leaders and 730 00:44:31,640 --> 00:44:36,080 church members to know to say I'm a part of this body, you can 731 00:44:36,080 --> 00:44:38,800 count on me. I'm accountable to you, you're 732 00:44:38,800 --> 00:44:42,280 accountable to me. This is the local body that I'm 733 00:44:42,280 --> 00:44:45,560 a part of. It shows who's accountable to 734 00:44:45,560 --> 00:44:48,400 who. It shows who you are committed 735 00:44:48,400 --> 00:44:51,840 to working alongside for the gospel in our city. 736 00:44:53,000 --> 00:44:57,320 It clarifies where you are being helped and where you can offer 737 00:44:57,320 --> 00:45:01,760 help. It tells here's where I'm 738 00:45:01,760 --> 00:45:06,800 primarily investing my time, my energy, my spiritual gifts, my 739 00:45:06,800 --> 00:45:09,440 money, my prayer, my relationships. 740 00:45:10,080 --> 00:45:13,800 It clarifies who your spiritual family is, where you go for 741 00:45:13,800 --> 00:45:18,160 comfort and wisdom and care and correction. 742 00:45:18,520 --> 00:45:21,000 You know people are going to AI now because they need a friend. 743 00:45:21,320 --> 00:45:23,960 That is a sad state of affairs. You should join a church and get 744 00:45:23,960 --> 00:45:27,560 a real human friend. And of course, this doesn't mean 745 00:45:27,560 --> 00:45:30,360 that you can't get any of those things from other places because 746 00:45:30,360 --> 00:45:33,760 remember, we are a part of the universal church and you can 747 00:45:33,760 --> 00:45:35,520 find all these blessings in other places. 748 00:45:35,520 --> 00:45:39,480 But it's of great value to you and the local body to say, but 749 00:45:39,480 --> 00:45:43,720 this is my family. This is my little C church. 750 00:45:44,360 --> 00:45:46,880 So the way we do this at Vita Springs, very, very simple. 751 00:45:46,880 --> 00:45:49,600 We ask you to take the membership series. 752 00:45:50,160 --> 00:45:52,760 We're offering another round in October. 753 00:45:52,760 --> 00:45:55,320 It's been completely revamped. So we're this is kind of our 754 00:45:55,320 --> 00:46:00,080 pilot for our new membership curriculum and structure. 755 00:46:01,040 --> 00:46:04,560 We do ask you to sign a form and it is a covenant. 756 00:46:04,560 --> 00:46:09,400 It is a two way agreement between church member and 757 00:46:09,400 --> 00:46:12,240 church, church members to one another and church leaders to 758 00:46:12,240 --> 00:46:14,160 church members. We're saying we are in this 759 00:46:14,520 --> 00:46:18,560 together. So if you have not done that, 760 00:46:18,880 --> 00:46:22,120 it's coming up. October 19th is when we're 761 00:46:22,120 --> 00:46:23,840 starting it, where they're going to be for like an hour and a 762 00:46:23,840 --> 00:46:26,520 half after church on Sunday for four weeks. 763 00:46:26,880 --> 00:46:31,760 I would encourage you to devote yourself to membership here at 764 00:46:31,760 --> 00:46:34,400 Vita Springs Church if Vita Springs Church is the place 765 00:46:34,400 --> 00:46:37,880 where you decide to call home, and if it is not, then we are 766 00:46:37,880 --> 00:46:41,280 very happy to help you find another local church community 767 00:46:41,600 --> 00:46:45,320 in this community, gospel preaching, Bible believing local 768 00:46:45,320 --> 00:46:48,640 church where you can link up with that family and be a member 769 00:46:48,640 --> 00:46:50,720 of that body. We're not competitive about 770 00:46:50,720 --> 00:46:53,240 that. We want you to be connected in a 771 00:46:53,240 --> 00:46:55,600 body because you need it and the church needs it. 772 00:46:57,200 --> 00:46:58,880 You need a church. The church needs you. 773 00:46:59,960 --> 00:47:02,640 Do not live as a disembodied part. 774 00:47:02,880 --> 00:47:05,200 It's not good for you. It's not good for the church. 775 00:47:05,440 --> 00:47:07,160 You are made for a body.