1 00:00:01,440 --> 00:00:03,760 That's right, buddy. Let's give it up. 2 00:00:03,760 --> 00:00:05,120 Let's let's praise the Lord, man. 3 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:06,040 Let's clap. Let's do it. 4 00:00:06,040 --> 00:00:09,040 Yeah. All right. 5 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:11,320 Praise the Lord, man. Hey, welcome to church. 6 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:12,840 Thanks for being here. My name is Thomas. 7 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:14,840 I'm the pastor here at Portland Gospel. 8 00:00:15,200 --> 00:00:17,880 And we're here in just a moment. We're going to get into our time 9 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:19,840 of Bible study. But before that, I just want to 10 00:00:19,840 --> 00:00:24,320 say hi and welcome you. David mentioned it's Mother's 11 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:27,560 Day, so we actually have some gifts for the mothers. 12 00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:30,120 So David and Austin, I think, are going to pass some of those 13 00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:32,320 out. So if you're a mom, just look at 14 00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:35,120 these guys and they've got a little something for you because 15 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:40,040 as he said, we love moms. It's a part of God's design that 16 00:00:40,040 --> 00:00:43,280 families have mothers. And if you're not a mother, if 17 00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:46,200 you've lost a mother, today I know can be a difficult day. 18 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:50,960 God is good and He can meet you in your joy and in your sorrow. 19 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:52,880 So. And we love you. 20 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:55,000 Moms. There's a Starbucks gift card 21 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:57,360 and some flowers. Huh. 22 00:00:58,320 --> 00:00:59,480 Dutch Bros. Sorry. 23 00:00:59,960 --> 00:01:01,160 My bad. Dutch Bros. 24 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:03,880 Yeah. Give it up for the moms. 25 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:06,720 That's right. Yeah, that's right. 26 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:09,320 Amen. All right. 27 00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:12,600 Well, here at Portland Gospel Church, we exist. 28 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:15,800 We have 3 reasons why we exist. I don't think. 29 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:18,320 I don't know if my buttons work and make my button work for me. 30 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:20,840 But somebody tell me, why do we exist as a church? 31 00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:25,920 We believe, live and share. That's right. 32 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:28,160 We want to help you believe the gospel. 33 00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:31,520 Every person that we come into contact with, that's our goal, 34 00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:32,720 man. That's God's will that they 35 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:35,600 would believe and be saved. We want to help them live that 36 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:39,320 out through the word of God in a discipleship relationship and 37 00:01:39,320 --> 00:01:43,560 then be equipped to be able to share that good news with other 38 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:45,480 people. So that's why we exist as a 39 00:01:45,480 --> 00:01:48,320 church. We're about to get into our 40 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:50,360 Bible teaching time. And so with that, I want to 41 00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:53,320 dismiss our kids. They have their own time 42 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:56,040 together. So our kids, we love you. 43 00:01:56,920 --> 00:01:58,200 Jay, are you staying or you going? 44 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:09,850 You're going. All right, all right. 45 00:02:09,850 --> 00:02:12,450 Well, the rest of you, if you're going to stay, you can turn your 46 00:02:12,450 --> 00:02:14,650 Bibles to 1st Corinthians chapter 12. 47 00:02:15,450 --> 00:02:17,890 We're going to get into our time and God's Word together. 48 00:02:19,250 --> 00:02:24,480 While you're turning there, let me ask you, if you had to choose 49 00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:31,320 between cutting off your hand or your foot, which one would you 50 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:36,000 choose? Your hand? 51 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:41,840 Are you just raising your hand? It's hard to pick. 52 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:45,760 OK, What about if you had to choose between sight or hearing, 53 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:52,000 like, no more music or like, no more seeing your wife? 54 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:57,200 You know, like, these are difficult things to pick. 55 00:02:57,200 --> 00:02:58,680 Hopefully we're never in a position. 56 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:01,720 It's kind of like asking which one is of your kids is your 57 00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:03,200 favorite. You're like, I don't, don't make 58 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:05,120 me pick. You shouldn't have a favorite 59 00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:09,720 anyway. But as we get into our community 60 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:12,320 series, we've been in First Corinthians 12 looking at the 61 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:16,920 church as a community. The Bible calls the church the 62 00:03:16,920 --> 00:03:20,560 body of Christ, and today we're going to see that God is fit 63 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:24,960 members into the body and we need to figure out how to 64 00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:29,440 function together. So today we will see that we 65 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:36,360 have unity in diversity. And just as much as the hand and 66 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:40,560 the foot are different and the eyes and the ears are different, 67 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:44,440 it's hard to pick which one you wouldn't want to have. 68 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:49,960 The same is true for people in the church community. 69 00:03:50,720 --> 00:03:53,240 We can't say, hey, we don't, we don't need you here. 70 00:03:54,200 --> 00:03:58,560 We need every part functioning, even if they're very different 71 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:01,520 from us. Maybe you, you know what that's 72 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:03,440 like. There's somebody in a community 73 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:05,720 that they're so different than you. 74 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:09,040 They annoy you. They're like, how could you ever 75 00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:13,120 think the way that you think? But when we're going to function 76 00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:17,440 in unity together as a community, we need people, even 77 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:19,200 in their differences. They make us better. 78 00:04:20,519 --> 00:04:22,079 So we're about to read God's word. 79 00:04:22,079 --> 00:04:25,960 Let me just remind us, in Psalm 1/19, 1:30, the Bible says the 80 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:28,000 entrance of thy word giveth light. 81 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:32,560 So as we open the scriptures, you can expect the Lord to open 82 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:35,360 your eyes and give you some thoughts that you weren't 83 00:04:35,360 --> 00:04:37,120 thinking before you came in the room today. 84 00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:41,840 The Bible says in Hebrews 4 that the word of God is a discerner 85 00:04:41,840 --> 00:04:46,000 of those thoughts. So before we get in to our time, 86 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:49,720 I just want to take a moment and let you rest and breathe. 87 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:55,720 Maybe just pray in silence and just tell the Lord I'm ready to 88 00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:58,360 hear. What do you have for me? 89 00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:03,840 What do you have for our church? And then we'll begin and read 90 00:05:03,840 --> 00:05:05,120 together. So I'm going to give you just 91 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:37,280 one moment. Lord, we ask that you'd speak to 92 00:05:37,280 --> 00:05:40,680 us today. We're so thankful for your 93 00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:42,440 grace. We don't deserve to hear from 94 00:05:42,440 --> 00:05:46,480 you, but you love us. You draw us to yourself. 95 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:51,240 God, I pray today that you'd open our eyes and our ears, each 96 00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:54,000 individual in this room, God, that they would have direction 97 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:57,640 and clarity for what you're doing in their life and for us 98 00:05:57,640 --> 00:06:01,280 as a church community. God direct us together that we 99 00:06:01,280 --> 00:06:04,520 can be better to glorify you and reach the World better. 100 00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:09,400 I pray in Jesus name, Amen. All right, First Corinthians 101 00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:12,480 chapter 12, if you'll follow along with me starting in verse 102 00:06:12,880 --> 00:06:17,720 12 to verse 20. The Bible says for as the body 103 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:22,560 is 1 and hath many members, and all the members of that one body 104 00:06:22,880 --> 00:06:26,760 being many are one body, so also is Christ. 105 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:32,000 For by 1 Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether 106 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:36,760 we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have 107 00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:39,040 been all made to drink into one Spirit. 108 00:06:39,960 --> 00:06:42,800 For the body is not one member, but many. 109 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:47,160 If the foot shall say, because I am not of the hand, I am not of 110 00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:49,480 the body, is it therefore not of the body? 111 00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:53,800 If the ear shall say, because I am not of the eye, I am not of 112 00:06:53,800 --> 00:06:56,040 the body, is it therefore not of the body? 113 00:06:56,960 --> 00:07:00,720 If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? 114 00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:04,600 If the whole we're hearing, where were the smelling? 115 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:08,480 But now hath God set the members, every one of them, in 116 00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:12,680 the body as it hath pleased Him. And if they were all one member, 117 00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:16,800 where were the body? But now are they many members 118 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:20,440 yet? But one body, and the I cannot 119 00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:23,320 say into the hand. I have no need of the OK, that's 120 00:07:23,440 --> 00:07:24,200 that. I need to stop. 121 00:07:24,200 --> 00:07:25,400 We're going to get there next week. 122 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:28,000 We end up, we're ending today at verse 20. 123 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:29,840 I don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves. 124 00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:32,320 You got to come back next week to get to get the rest or or go 125 00:07:32,320 --> 00:07:35,760 home and keep reading. But today, if you're following 126 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:39,680 along with us, you're going to see that there is unity in 127 00:07:39,680 --> 00:07:43,080 diversity. When we look at this body, the 128 00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:47,320 word 1 frequently shows up in our passage today. 129 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:52,600 One body, 1 spirit multiple times over. 130 00:07:53,440 --> 00:07:57,200 And so we look at here this illustration, the, the book of 131 00:07:57,480 --> 00:08:01,120 first Corinthians is the most body conscious book of the 132 00:08:01,120 --> 00:08:04,400 Bible. I think 40 something times the 133 00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:08,280 word body shows up in this book. It's it's greater than any other 134 00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:11,800 book. And we learn that the church, 135 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:13,440 there's an illustration for the church. 136 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:18,120 It's called the body of Christ. And we're we're saved, we're 137 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:23,600 placed into this new identity verse chapter verse 12 says for 138 00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:28,240 as the body is 1 and hath many members, and all the members of 139 00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:32,520 that one body being many are one body, so also is Christ. 140 00:08:33,520 --> 00:08:37,080 So now we see this illustration. The church is likened unto a 141 00:08:37,080 --> 00:08:39,360 body. We see this throughout the 142 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:44,800 scriptures in Acts Chapter 9 when the apostle Paul before he 143 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:47,600 was saved was persecuting the church. 144 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:50,320 Jesus said, why persecutest thou me? 145 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:54,760 So Christ had already ascended to heaven, but he uses this kind 146 00:08:54,760 --> 00:08:58,000 of language to say you're actually persecuting me by 147 00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:01,760 persecuting my people. So we know that Jesus replaced 148 00:09:01,760 --> 00:09:06,560 himself with a body on the planet, and those are believers. 149 00:09:06,840 --> 00:09:11,400 This body, Ephesians 2 says, is supposed to function as 1 new 150 00:09:11,400 --> 00:09:15,240 man. We all come together as one new 151 00:09:15,240 --> 00:09:17,120 person. And Ephesians also tells us that 152 00:09:17,120 --> 00:09:23,240 Jesus is the head of the church. So we're the body, and I'm not 153 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:24,520 the head. I might be in the front of the 154 00:09:24,520 --> 00:09:26,520 room. Jesus is the head. 155 00:09:26,520 --> 00:09:30,760 He's the one that's in charge that tells the body what to do. 156 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:34,200 But we all come together in this new identity. 157 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:38,600 And that means we may have to surrender some things in our 158 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:43,480 previous identity to learn how to function together because now 159 00:09:43,480 --> 00:09:47,760 we all have one source. First Corinthians chapter 12, if 160 00:09:47,760 --> 00:09:52,480 you go on in verse 27 says ye are the body of Christ and 161 00:09:52,480 --> 00:09:56,440 members in particular. So that's you maybe sometimes 162 00:09:56,440 --> 00:09:59,040 planning a church. We feel like we're impostors, 163 00:09:59,080 --> 00:10:01,560 like we're not a real church. One day we'll become one. 164 00:10:03,080 --> 00:10:06,520 But most churches in the United States are 100 people and under 165 00:10:07,560 --> 00:10:10,640 most churches throughout time and history have not been fancy 166 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:15,760 mega churches. We are a church and ye are the 167 00:10:15,760 --> 00:10:20,960 body of Christ, but we also have this the same source. 168 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:26,600 Verse 13 in First Corinthians 12 says that we're baptized into 169 00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:31,720 one body and we've all been made to drink into one spirit. 170 00:10:32,560 --> 00:10:37,160 So when we come together, none of us gets to say I'm better 171 00:10:37,160 --> 00:10:41,440 than another person because we all are in the body for the same 172 00:10:41,440 --> 00:10:44,200 reason. In the last several weeks, we've 173 00:10:44,200 --> 00:10:46,440 been going through a series on the Gospel course. 174 00:10:46,680 --> 00:10:49,160 We saw that we are saved by grace through faith. 175 00:10:50,040 --> 00:10:53,680 There's nothing that we could do to earn being right with God. 176 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:55,760 That's what Jesus did on the cross for us. 177 00:10:56,280 --> 00:10:59,000 There's really nothing in the natural man that was redeemable. 178 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:01,680 God made us righteous through his Son. 179 00:11:01,680 --> 00:11:05,960 And we see here this source. It says that we're baptized into 180 00:11:05,960 --> 00:11:11,360 one body and this isn't the baptistry get wet kind of 181 00:11:11,360 --> 00:11:14,280 baptism. This is a Romans 6 kind of 182 00:11:14,280 --> 00:11:18,080 baptism where it says we're baptized into Jesus Christ. 183 00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:21,040 So at the moment that you believe the gospel, you're 184 00:11:21,040 --> 00:11:25,920 placed into Christ, into his death and you're resurrected to 185 00:11:25,920 --> 00:11:28,640 be given a new spirit. You're you become a new 186 00:11:28,640 --> 00:11:31,360 creature. You identify with him. 187 00:11:31,360 --> 00:11:35,280 Your old you is put off. All things are become new. 188 00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:39,480 And for this reason, baptism is actually the the water baptism. 189 00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:42,960 It's a picture, but it it can be a hindrance to people because 190 00:11:42,960 --> 00:11:47,000 they understand they're putting off 1 identity and taking on 191 00:11:47,800 --> 00:11:51,080 another. So we're baptized into one body. 192 00:11:51,080 --> 00:11:54,880 When you're saved, you're placed into the church whether you like 193 00:11:54,880 --> 00:11:57,840 it or not, whether you attend the gathering or not. 194 00:11:58,480 --> 00:12:02,720 But it also says that we've been made to drink of 1 spirit, that 195 00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:06,200 all of us in the church have the same Holy Spirit. 196 00:12:06,200 --> 00:12:09,160 We saw in Ephesians one a few weeks ago, that we're given the 197 00:12:09,160 --> 00:12:13,040 Holy Spirit of promise when we believe God puts his Spirit in 198 00:12:13,040 --> 00:12:15,440 US. And if you go back in First 199 00:12:15,440 --> 00:12:21,200 Corinthians, if you just go back 2 chapters to chapter 10, Paul 200 00:12:21,200 --> 00:12:24,760 mentions this picture in the Old Testament that we see this 201 00:12:24,760 --> 00:12:28,520 familiar story when Israel was wandering the wilderness and 202 00:12:28,520 --> 00:12:31,280 they were made to drink a spiritual drink. 203 00:12:31,280 --> 00:12:34,960 He says when they, when Moses struck the rock and water came 204 00:12:34,960 --> 00:12:38,520 out and it was a miracle. That was a picture of Christ in 205 00:12:38,520 --> 00:12:41,560 the way that God satisfies his people with his spirit. 206 00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:45,800 That rock was Christ. For us as believers today, we 207 00:12:45,800 --> 00:12:49,880 have the Holy Spirit of promise. And the only reason that we're 208 00:12:49,880 --> 00:12:53,240 righteous is because God has sealed us and indwelled us. 209 00:12:54,240 --> 00:12:59,560 So our unity is all because of our source together. 210 00:12:59,560 --> 00:13:03,120 You could look at John chapter 4 and verse 14 where Jesus says 211 00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:07,600 that the Holy Spirit is like and unto water that springs up unto 212 00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:10,720 everlasting life. But I put it to you this way, if 213 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:14,680 you're taking notes that no Christian has the right to brag 214 00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:17,400 because we all have the same origin. 215 00:13:25,890 --> 00:13:28,090 This part's going to be important as we continue on. 216 00:13:28,090 --> 00:13:32,490 You'll see. Maybe you identify with that 217 00:13:32,490 --> 00:13:34,490 grace and you're thankful for God's grace. 218 00:13:35,880 --> 00:13:39,600 But thirdly, with unity, we see that we need to submit our roots 219 00:13:42,560 --> 00:13:46,440 for us to be a community that functions as one new man. 220 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:56,800 We cannot be split by faction. In verse 13, the Bible says 221 00:13:56,800 --> 00:14:01,880 whether we be Jews or Gentiles or whether we be bond or free. 222 00:14:03,160 --> 00:14:07,280 And in verse 14 it says the body is not one member but many. 223 00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:12,560 So there there's this incredible thing that happened in the 1st 224 00:14:12,560 --> 00:14:14,800 century. The cross brought the 225 00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:18,560 possibility of Gentiles experiencing the same walk with 226 00:14:18,560 --> 00:14:22,800 God as Jews. There was no longer a need to 227 00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:24,680 keep the law. There is no longer a need to 228 00:14:24,680 --> 00:14:27,840 become a proselyte. The gospel is the same for all 229 00:14:27,840 --> 00:14:30,840 people. But if you've read some of the 230 00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:33,680 epistles, you've read the Bible, especially the book of Romans, 231 00:14:33,920 --> 00:14:37,280 you know that these two groups of people kind of struggled to 232 00:14:37,280 --> 00:14:40,880 get along in the church. The Jews look down on the 233 00:14:40,880 --> 00:14:43,440 Gentiles. They were dogs, uncircumcised. 234 00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:45,640 They were kind of filthy. They worshipped idols. 235 00:14:46,280 --> 00:14:49,280 And even if the Jews worshipped and messed up other things, they 236 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:53,920 still serve the one true God. But now they come together as 237 00:14:53,920 --> 00:15:01,120 one new man in one body. So we see that nationality is 238 00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:02,920 not a dividing line in the church. 239 00:15:04,240 --> 00:15:08,160 It is God's will that all nations would hear and believe 240 00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:13,120 the gospel. And God is a God of of 241 00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:18,040 diversity, but also of unity together. 242 00:15:18,680 --> 00:15:22,000 Romans chapter 3 says, is he the God of the Jews only? 243 00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:27,400 Is he not also the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also. 244 00:15:27,400 --> 00:15:30,800 Now we made maybe don't wrestle with the Jew and Gentile 245 00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:36,400 situation in America quite as much, but we all bring a kind of 246 00:15:36,400 --> 00:15:41,640 a background into the church. It could be likened unto a 247 00:15:41,640 --> 00:15:45,000 marriage. If you're not married, it's OK. 248 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:49,880 Let me just help you. When you get married, you have a 249 00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:53,640 history and a past. Before you ever met your spouse. 250 00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:55,320 You were raised a particular way. 251 00:15:56,160 --> 00:15:58,880 Maybe you had a particular identity, maybe it was a 252 00:15:58,880 --> 00:16:01,360 national identity. You speak a different language 253 00:16:01,360 --> 00:16:04,640 or come from another country. But when two people come 254 00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:10,160 together, Jesus says they become one flesh and you no longer get 255 00:16:10,160 --> 00:16:12,760 to say, well, my family always did it this way and my family 256 00:16:12,760 --> 00:16:16,480 always did it that way. That's a recipe for disaster. 257 00:16:18,160 --> 00:16:22,880 You have to become one new thing that functions together and you 258 00:16:22,880 --> 00:16:25,120 will wrestle and figure out how to do that. 259 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:28,240 And both of you have to lay down your preferences and say, what 260 00:16:28,240 --> 00:16:31,120 do we want to do? And that's kind of how the 261 00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:33,760 church is. Yes, you maybe have been in 262 00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:37,160 different churches or maybe you have a national background 263 00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:40,160 that's different than an American one, but we all come 264 00:16:40,160 --> 00:16:43,160 together to function as one in the church. 265 00:16:43,160 --> 00:16:47,240 Secondly, we also see in verse 14 or in verse 13, I'm sorry, 266 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:52,920 whether we be bond or free. And this one I think is even 267 00:16:52,920 --> 00:16:57,120 more interesting than Jew and Gentile because only in the 268 00:16:57,120 --> 00:17:03,800 church can there be such a quality that a master and a 269 00:17:03,800 --> 00:17:08,720 servant are on the same level. This doesn't mean much to you 270 00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:12,440 because you're not living in the 1st century where there was a 271 00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:17,119 lot of servants there. There was people that were 272 00:17:17,119 --> 00:17:21,119 indebted to others and they weren't just their boss. 273 00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:24,839 It was a lot more complicated than that. 274 00:17:26,400 --> 00:17:28,920 But when when these people would get saved and they would come 275 00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:33,360 into the church, those previous relationships would have to 276 00:17:33,360 --> 00:17:36,840 disappear because they're of 1 spirit and A1 body. 277 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:40,840 We see this clear most clearly out of the book of Philemon. 278 00:17:42,040 --> 00:17:45,080 In the book of Philemon, it's just one, basically one page in 279 00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:48,160 your Bible. It's a letter and the Apostle 280 00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:51,200 Paul was in prison. While he was there, he met a 281 00:17:51,200 --> 00:17:54,280 runaway servant and that guy came into the prison. 282 00:17:54,280 --> 00:17:58,040 Paul shared the gospel, he got saved and he found out that this 283 00:17:58,040 --> 00:18:02,040 guy's, he knew this guy's master and he sent him back to his 284 00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:04,720 master who was a believer and said y'all need to, y'all need 285 00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:06,640 to work this out. Y'all are brothers. 286 00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:13,520 Now he says this to receive him, not now as a servant, but above 287 00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:17,960 a servant, a brother, beloved. And he says, how much more unto 288 00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:22,080 thee and in the Lord. So that the church is this 289 00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:28,240 incredible place of equality where there is no like premier 290 00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:32,480 race or premier thing. All of us function together. 291 00:18:32,480 --> 00:18:35,480 We have different roles. And we'll see in our fourth week 292 00:18:35,480 --> 00:18:37,280 in this series there is a structure. 293 00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:39,960 Some things are more important than other things. 294 00:18:39,960 --> 00:18:43,840 But as far as equality goes, we all come together and put our 295 00:18:43,840 --> 00:18:47,840 roots down and say we're one. We're one in the Lord. 296 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:54,000 Now, maybe that freaks you out because maybe you've seen like 297 00:18:54,880 --> 00:18:57,800 some cultish behavior in religious settings before. 298 00:18:59,360 --> 00:19:01,320 Does that mean that we all wear the same thing? 299 00:19:01,320 --> 00:19:03,760 We all say the same thing? Like I'm not allowed to have any 300 00:19:03,760 --> 00:19:07,920 different thoughts? Well, it's good for you that 301 00:19:08,040 --> 00:19:10,280 there is a diversity in this unity. 302 00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:18,560 You can be yourself. We just submit self to the whole 303 00:19:20,120 --> 00:19:25,680 in honor, prefer one another. So let's talk a little bit about 304 00:19:25,680 --> 00:19:28,160 diversity. We hit unity. 305 00:19:29,040 --> 00:19:33,280 We have one identity, one source, and we submit our roots 306 00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:35,520 together. But let's talk about what it 307 00:19:35,520 --> 00:19:40,120 means to be different. So you are made differently than 308 00:19:40,120 --> 00:19:43,480 other people. So we practiced this last week. 309 00:19:44,040 --> 00:19:46,560 Let's try it again this week. Turn to your neighbor and say 310 00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:53,520 you're different. It's true. 311 00:19:55,240 --> 00:19:57,880 My my wife and I couldn't be any more different. 312 00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:01,960 Yeah, we are. We've had to figure out how to 313 00:20:01,960 --> 00:20:04,840 work this thing out. And we make each other better. 314 00:20:04,840 --> 00:20:07,880 We come together as one whole and we complement each other. 315 00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:11,080 But we have to do that in the Lord, otherwise it doesn't work. 316 00:20:12,640 --> 00:20:15,760 When we get into verses 15 through 17, we see this 317 00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:19,880 illustration. Paul uses the body and says, OK, 318 00:20:19,880 --> 00:20:22,800 well let's talk about the foot and the hand and the ear, the 319 00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:25,480 eye. And he doesn't mention the nose, 320 00:20:25,480 --> 00:20:29,200 but he says the smelling, which is just an interesting Bible 321 00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:31,720 word for God to talk about smelling. 322 00:20:33,400 --> 00:20:38,040 Maybe you can identify with one of those more than the other if 323 00:20:38,040 --> 00:20:41,760 we take these anthropomorphized body parts, because they're 324 00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:43,480 going to speak here, if you will. 325 00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:47,120 It's kind of an analogy. Perhaps you can identify with 326 00:20:47,120 --> 00:20:50,480 one. Last week we saw the spiritual 327 00:20:50,480 --> 00:20:53,400 gifts, and if you missed that, you can go back online and find 328 00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:54,880 it. If you still have questions 329 00:20:54,880 --> 00:20:58,600 about that, I think I linked my commentary in your notes as well 330 00:20:58,600 --> 00:21:01,000 as come talk to me if you want to talk about that. 331 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:05,560 Those are really specific gifts. This one perhaps is a we have a 332 00:21:05,560 --> 00:21:07,600 little bit more liberty to contemplate. 333 00:21:07,840 --> 00:21:11,080 So I did some thinking for you. Let me know if you identify with 334 00:21:11,080 --> 00:21:15,240 one of these. Maybe you would identify with 335 00:21:15,360 --> 00:21:17,640 the foot. I mean, no one wants to be the 336 00:21:17,640 --> 00:21:21,160 heel unless you're in WWE. You can get famous for being the 337 00:21:21,160 --> 00:21:24,520 heel, but the foot is really stable. 338 00:21:25,720 --> 00:21:27,840 I mean, these are people that are solid. 339 00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:32,880 They hold up the entire body, but yet they're moving. 340 00:21:33,160 --> 00:21:36,360 They're moving us forward somewhere because without the 341 00:21:36,360 --> 00:21:41,560 foot man, it's really hard to move around with the hand. 342 00:21:41,560 --> 00:21:43,720 Think about how much the hand does. 343 00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:48,560 The hand is skilled. You have people like David who 344 00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:51,440 are able to draw, play instruments. 345 00:21:51,920 --> 00:21:53,280 David doesn't play an instrument yet. 346 00:21:53,280 --> 00:21:57,000 Maybe one day he will. The the hands can be gentle 347 00:21:57,000 --> 00:21:59,800 enough, though, to hold a baby or a piece of paper. 348 00:22:01,400 --> 00:22:03,760 They're also very helpful or they can defend you. 349 00:22:03,760 --> 00:22:05,920 There's just so much. The hand is what really gets to 350 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:10,320 gets work done. The ear is really good at 351 00:22:10,320 --> 00:22:13,960 listening. They hear everything. 352 00:22:13,960 --> 00:22:16,680 I heard a need. I heard you say, hey, I'm paying 353 00:22:16,680 --> 00:22:18,360 attention to what's going on over here. 354 00:22:19,160 --> 00:22:22,760 We like those people. The eye sees everything. 355 00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:25,040 Maybe you know these people, nothing gets by them. 356 00:22:25,040 --> 00:22:27,880 They're always watching. They see everybody in the room. 357 00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:29,440 They see everything that's happening. 358 00:22:30,280 --> 00:22:32,440 We're so thankful for our eyes. They sit at the top of our 359 00:22:32,440 --> 00:22:35,680 bodies so that they can keep a lookout for danger. 360 00:22:37,040 --> 00:22:40,800 We also have the smelling, which is an interesting one. 361 00:22:41,240 --> 00:22:45,760 Who wants to be the nose? But without smelling, we lose a 362 00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:50,120 lot of discernment. You can walk into a room and 363 00:22:50,120 --> 00:22:53,360 smell something isn't right. That's not the case with every 364 00:22:53,360 --> 00:22:56,640 poison, right? Not every poison is you're able 365 00:22:56,640 --> 00:23:02,440 to discern, but the nose really can make the whole body do some 366 00:23:02,440 --> 00:23:05,720 stuff. Like when my wife was pregnant 367 00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:09,880 with our first kid I think we went on a family vacation with 368 00:23:09,880 --> 00:23:13,440 my parents. We did not tell my family we had 369 00:23:13,520 --> 00:23:16,960 lost 3 pregnancies so we weren't sharing that we were pregnant. 370 00:23:17,880 --> 00:23:21,640 And they made bacon and coffee every morning. 371 00:23:22,760 --> 00:23:28,480 And my wife was just like, and we were trying not to share 372 00:23:28,480 --> 00:23:29,560 anything. They weren't being mean. 373 00:23:29,560 --> 00:23:32,520 They just didn't know. But to a pregnant lady, some of 374 00:23:32,520 --> 00:23:35,120 those senses are so heightened that as soon as they smell it, 375 00:23:35,120 --> 00:23:38,080 man, it just makes the entire body revolt. 376 00:23:39,280 --> 00:23:41,040 And we need people like that in the church. 377 00:23:41,800 --> 00:23:45,160 They need to be sniffing out false doctrine that doesn't 378 00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:47,320 smell right. I don't know about this. 379 00:23:48,200 --> 00:23:52,520 You know, maybe these people can be a little touchy if you've met 380 00:23:52,520 --> 00:23:56,200 people like that, but we need people who have some sensitivity 381 00:23:56,200 --> 00:24:00,040 in that kind of way. So I put it to you this way, the 382 00:24:00,040 --> 00:24:04,160 diversity values each other and our differences. 383 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:12,320 Diversity values each other and our differences. 384 00:24:13,160 --> 00:24:17,480 I think in order to best illustrate this, I have an 385 00:24:17,480 --> 00:24:24,320 example and I'm going to need 3 volunteers that are going to be 386 00:24:24,320 --> 00:24:30,720 willing to be embarrassed. So does anybody want to come on 387 00:24:30,720 --> 00:24:32,920 up here? I have three things that I like 388 00:24:33,360 --> 00:24:36,880 to help illustrate. 3 volunteers. 389 00:24:37,360 --> 00:24:39,840 I can voluntold somebody if we need to help with that. 390 00:24:40,120 --> 00:24:45,280 Don't worry, I'll be nice. It's OK Nathan, I'm glad you 391 00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:46,720 volunteered. Come on up here, man. 392 00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:52,960 Austin. I see your hand up there, buddy. 393 00:24:52,960 --> 00:24:54,000 Man. Come on up here. 394 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:59,440 Austin. Sydney, I know that you can do 395 00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:00,560 this. You're going to do great. 396 00:25:00,560 --> 00:25:05,280 Come on up here. All right? 397 00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:12,840 Come on over to this side. OK, Now I have Who's the most 398 00:25:12,840 --> 00:25:17,480 honest, Sydney. Sydney's the most honest. 399 00:25:17,480 --> 00:25:19,480 OK, Sydney, I'm going to need you to close your eyes. 400 00:25:20,320 --> 00:25:23,360 I'm going to give you something, and I'm going to need you to 401 00:25:23,360 --> 00:25:25,720 tell me what it is. Don't open your eyes, OK? 402 00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:29,760 You can take as long as you want to tell me what book that is. 403 00:25:30,760 --> 00:25:33,240 Keep your eyes closed. OK? 404 00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:40,920 Austin, I need you to come over here, all right? 405 00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:45,600 I need you to take this. You can't use your feet. 406 00:25:46,560 --> 00:25:50,400 But I want you to carry this box to, you know, over here. 407 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:54,640 Yeah. You can't use your feet, Nathan. 408 00:25:55,720 --> 00:25:59,880 Over here. I have a pen and a paper. 409 00:26:01,120 --> 00:26:04,840 You can't use your hands. I want you to draw me a picture. 410 00:26:12,460 --> 00:26:13,220 Go. Go ahead. 411 00:26:15,540 --> 00:26:21,060 You're not going anywhere. You don't want to try it with 412 00:26:21,060 --> 00:26:25,000 braid with your mouth. OK, OK. 413 00:26:25,040 --> 00:26:28,440 Sydney, what book is this? What is it? 414 00:26:28,720 --> 00:26:35,240 What's the title? OK, you can open your eyes or 415 00:26:35,240 --> 00:26:36,640 you guys can have a seat. Thanks. 416 00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:44,920 The book I grabbed from the basement downstairs, this is a 417 00:26:44,920 --> 00:26:47,400 Korean church. It's all in Korean, but the one 418 00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:51,160 English word says Christology. So in case you were wondering, I 419 00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:53,440 don't know what's in the box. I also found it in the basement, 420 00:26:55,040 --> 00:26:59,280 but you get the picture that without one function of the 421 00:26:59,280 --> 00:27:02,360 body, we're really missing a whole lot, right? 422 00:27:02,360 --> 00:27:04,800 Without eyes, I can feel that it's a book. 423 00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:05,920 I don't know what it's, what's in it. 424 00:27:05,920 --> 00:27:08,320 I can't read it without feet, man. 425 00:27:08,320 --> 00:27:11,360 I'm immobilized without my hands. 426 00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:13,960 I mean, I could try to. Some people can write with their 427 00:27:13,960 --> 00:27:16,680 feet, but you know, that's pretty difficult. 428 00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:20,040 So we need each other. So just remember, when someone 429 00:27:20,040 --> 00:27:24,640 else is different, they add something to the body that you 430 00:27:24,640 --> 00:27:29,320 don't. And if they aren't here, we all 431 00:27:29,320 --> 00:27:33,520 suffer for it. Thanks for playing along. 432 00:27:33,560 --> 00:27:36,800 You guys are great, good sports. If you like that, we'll keep 433 00:27:36,800 --> 00:27:39,440 doing that some more. All right. 434 00:27:39,440 --> 00:27:42,560 Well, secondly, let's look at not comparing ourselves to 435 00:27:42,560 --> 00:27:46,000 others. So in this diversity, those 436 00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:51,920 parts can be so different that it might be tempting to look at 437 00:27:51,920 --> 00:27:55,600 one of those parts and say, I wish I had that. 438 00:27:57,280 --> 00:28:03,400 And what we find in verses 15 to 16 is these. 439 00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:08,440 These members are speaking in verse 15, if the foot shall say, 440 00:28:08,920 --> 00:28:14,880 because I am not the hand. In verse 16, if the ear shall 441 00:28:14,880 --> 00:28:21,480 say, because I am not the eye. And four times here we see this 442 00:28:21,480 --> 00:28:27,520 phrase, I am not. And this is an unhealthy self 443 00:28:27,520 --> 00:28:31,640 focus that just says if I'm not like that, then I don't really 444 00:28:31,640 --> 00:28:35,760 have a purpose. And that's not how the body 445 00:28:35,760 --> 00:28:37,720 functions. You're glad your foot is not 446 00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:41,880 your hand. I actually asked ChatGPT to make 447 00:28:41,880 --> 00:28:45,960 some pictures and they came out really weird to what does a body 448 00:28:45,960 --> 00:28:47,360 look like? That's all feet. 449 00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:49,880 And I was just like, you know, I just couldn't put it on the 450 00:28:49,880 --> 00:28:52,480 screen for you. But you could imagine if you 451 00:28:52,480 --> 00:28:57,040 only had feet and no fingers there. 452 00:28:57,560 --> 00:28:59,480 There's just no, you don't want to compare like that. 453 00:29:00,400 --> 00:29:04,680 The book of Proverbs tell us the hearing ear and the seeing eye. 454 00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:06,840 The Lord hath made even both of them. 455 00:29:08,120 --> 00:29:11,680 And as far as it goes in the church, we need each of the the 456 00:29:11,680 --> 00:29:15,360 members and the way that God made them to function together. 457 00:29:15,960 --> 00:29:18,720 So I put it to you this way, if you're taking notes, we cannot 458 00:29:18,720 --> 00:29:22,960 find our validation in the community through comparison. 459 00:29:24,680 --> 00:29:29,360 It's just simply not fair because God made us differently. 460 00:29:35,590 --> 00:29:40,550 Paul actually says in Second Corinthians chapter 10 of a 461 00:29:40,550 --> 00:29:43,390 group of people, he says that measure themselves by 462 00:29:43,390 --> 00:29:47,270 themselves. They're comparing themselves and 463 00:29:47,270 --> 00:29:51,270 ultimately they're not wise through their biased comparison. 464 00:29:52,030 --> 00:29:53,910 And so we just compare with others. 465 00:29:53,910 --> 00:29:56,790 We're we're not doing, we're not doing well. 466 00:29:57,520 --> 00:30:01,960 Thirdly, we see that in this diversity we must submit to 467 00:30:01,960 --> 00:30:07,640 God's design. You see, the body, the fact that 468 00:30:07,640 --> 00:30:12,320 the physical human body is an illustration of the church is 469 00:30:12,320 --> 00:30:14,920 all because God created the human body. 470 00:30:16,040 --> 00:30:20,440 So we deny evolution and we say God created man in his image. 471 00:30:22,400 --> 00:30:28,840 But in the church we maybe don't like God's design sometimes. 472 00:30:29,560 --> 00:30:34,040 Yet in verse 18 the Bible says, but now hath God, God set the 473 00:30:34,040 --> 00:30:36,920 members, every one of them in the body as it is pleased him. 474 00:30:38,560 --> 00:30:43,360 So God adds to the the church community, the church body as he 475 00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:46,880 sees fit. And I have an example of this 476 00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:52,480 from my time when I was in Ohio, 30 years, I lived in Ohio. 477 00:30:53,560 --> 00:30:55,280 I met my wife. She started taking me to a 478 00:30:55,280 --> 00:30:58,040 Baptist Church where I heard the word of God preached, I believe 479 00:30:58,040 --> 00:30:59,640 the gospel. I got discipled. 480 00:31:00,240 --> 00:31:01,720 Big portion of my life was there. 481 00:31:03,320 --> 00:31:08,160 And the church that we were in had a tough time, as some 482 00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:12,920 churches have, and they became a little bit dysfunctional and 483 00:31:12,920 --> 00:31:16,520 there was a split. And one of my favorite pastors, 484 00:31:16,520 --> 00:31:21,560 if you will, and my disciple Maker and several of my friends 485 00:31:21,560 --> 00:31:24,120 that I was training together in ministry with all left. 486 00:31:25,720 --> 00:31:27,480 And it was a decent sized church. 487 00:31:27,480 --> 00:31:29,880 But when we were going to church through that season, just felt 488 00:31:29,880 --> 00:31:32,080 like everybody kept leaving there be. 489 00:31:32,080 --> 00:31:34,400 There was empty pews and it just, it was kind of 490 00:31:34,400 --> 00:31:38,040 discouraging. And there was this guy around 491 00:31:38,040 --> 00:31:42,080 that time that started coming to church and he was just such a 492 00:31:42,080 --> 00:31:45,240 breath of fresh air. His name is Maksud. 493 00:31:46,880 --> 00:31:51,080 And Maksud has this big booming voice and the pastor be 494 00:31:51,080 --> 00:31:56,320 preaching and he would say Amen. And it was like, whoa. 495 00:31:58,520 --> 00:32:02,360 But it's like every time that he would chirp in church, you know, 496 00:32:02,360 --> 00:32:04,200 it was like, oh, man, it was so encouraging. 497 00:32:04,200 --> 00:32:08,080 I just felt so much better. He added something to our church 498 00:32:08,080 --> 00:32:10,320 at a time that we were we were wounded. 499 00:32:10,320 --> 00:32:12,480 We needed life and encouragement. 500 00:32:13,200 --> 00:32:16,320 And I thought about this verse when Moxu started coming to our 501 00:32:16,320 --> 00:32:19,200 church and God has set the members, every one of them in 502 00:32:19,200 --> 00:32:24,160 the body as it is pleased him. So maybe mock suit is an 503 00:32:24,160 --> 00:32:25,760 example. This is a real guy. 504 00:32:25,760 --> 00:32:30,520 I hope you get to meet him one day of the people that God has 505 00:32:30,520 --> 00:32:35,000 yet to add to our church. Our community hopefully isn't 506 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:39,040 just us forever. And who knows what God will add. 507 00:32:40,440 --> 00:32:45,960 Maybe we need, you know, we need another I you're glad to have 508 00:32:45,960 --> 00:32:48,960 two eyes and not just one right or two ears. 509 00:32:49,560 --> 00:32:54,800 So if we put down competition in comparison, we can say, man, we 510 00:32:54,800 --> 00:32:57,480 could use more. What if somebody can speak 511 00:32:57,480 --> 00:32:59,760 better than me? What if somebody can do 512 00:32:59,760 --> 00:33:01,880 something better than you, man who praise the Lord. 513 00:33:02,600 --> 00:33:06,360 Maybe we need that. But first Corinthians 12 and 514 00:33:06,360 --> 00:33:10,800 verse 27, if you continue down to verse 27, again, it says you 515 00:33:10,800 --> 00:33:16,880 are members in particular. And Romans 12 says that we being 516 00:33:16,880 --> 00:33:22,920 many are one body. Well, our last point for tonight 517 00:33:22,920 --> 00:33:31,560 is that we always work together. So with this diversity, we've 518 00:33:31,560 --> 00:33:36,000 seen that we're different that that we don't need to compare 519 00:33:36,400 --> 00:33:39,400 that it really is God's design that we function together. 520 00:33:39,880 --> 00:33:42,440 And now we see that we work together. 521 00:33:42,440 --> 00:33:44,840 Look at First Corinthians 12 and verse 20. 522 00:33:46,360 --> 00:33:54,080 The Bible says, but now are they many members, yet one body, Many 523 00:33:54,080 --> 00:33:59,760 members yet one body. And so we've got to figure out 524 00:34:00,600 --> 00:34:06,200 how to love each other, how to serve each other, how to accept 525 00:34:06,200 --> 00:34:11,719 our differences, and ultimately how to keep the unity of the 526 00:34:11,719 --> 00:34:15,120 Spirit. We have one source. 527 00:34:15,120 --> 00:34:17,520 Remember, we've been made to drink of 1 spirit. 528 00:34:18,199 --> 00:34:21,719 And the spirit is a person. She's the a person, the person 529 00:34:21,719 --> 00:34:26,920 of God that lives inside of us. We're his temple, his desire, 530 00:34:26,920 --> 00:34:30,560 his natural means is to glorify God and to help people function 531 00:34:30,560 --> 00:34:32,880 together. So if we will just submit to the 532 00:34:32,880 --> 00:34:36,120 Spirit, we are going to keep the unity. 533 00:34:36,120 --> 00:34:39,120 We don't have to create or fabricate unity. 534 00:34:39,840 --> 00:34:43,600 We all listen to the Spirit of God, walk with God in his Word 535 00:34:44,239 --> 00:34:48,080 and that will produce a kind of unity that makes every member 536 00:34:48,080 --> 00:34:54,760 important but all together and on the same page because check 537 00:34:54,760 --> 00:34:56,080 this out. We have a mission. 538 00:34:58,920 --> 00:35:02,920 If people look to the church and they say y'all are 539 00:35:02,920 --> 00:35:07,320 dysfunctional, we have lost our witness to the world. 540 00:35:09,680 --> 00:35:14,440 So the church community must work together to effectively 541 00:35:14,440 --> 00:35:22,200 reach the World. We need to be healthy, we need 542 00:35:22,200 --> 00:35:24,880 to be strong, we need to have each other's back. 543 00:35:26,800 --> 00:35:29,400 We'll talk next week about some of the members that aren't 544 00:35:29,400 --> 00:35:33,120 mentioned. There's some uncomely parts that 545 00:35:33,120 --> 00:35:36,680 are internal even that are valued. 546 00:35:38,360 --> 00:35:39,920 We're going to need to care for each other. 547 00:35:40,760 --> 00:35:43,000 So come back next week to learn how to care for each other. 548 00:35:44,480 --> 00:35:47,240 But today, if we just take some time, I think at the bottom of 549 00:35:47,240 --> 00:35:50,280 your page, there's like a take away section maybe you want to 550 00:35:50,280 --> 00:35:54,560 think about for yourself, what is God telling me? 551 00:35:56,440 --> 00:36:01,040 Do you have a church community where you know you're fit, where 552 00:36:01,040 --> 00:36:06,200 you are able to contribute and function and be a part? 553 00:36:08,400 --> 00:36:10,920 Have you believed the Gospels? There been a time in your life 554 00:36:10,920 --> 00:36:14,400 that you heard that Jesus died on the cross, was buried and 555 00:36:14,400 --> 00:36:18,200 rose again, and all you had to do was believe in him, call him 556 00:36:18,200 --> 00:36:20,840 Lord, ask Him to save you, and you would be given eternal life 557 00:36:20,840 --> 00:36:24,040 in a new home in heaven and a new home in a church. 558 00:36:25,440 --> 00:36:27,400 If you haven't done that part, I'd love to talk to you today 559 00:36:27,400 --> 00:36:30,680 about that. But maybe you want to think 560 00:36:30,680 --> 00:36:32,560 about, just for you, what is my fit? 561 00:36:32,560 --> 00:36:34,600 Which one of those things do you identify with? 562 00:36:34,600 --> 00:36:40,760 The foot, hand, ear, eye knows. Maybe even thinking about last 563 00:36:40,760 --> 00:36:42,320 week in the spiritual gifts. What? 564 00:36:42,320 --> 00:36:47,320 How did God equip me in the Spirit to contribute to this 565 00:36:47,320 --> 00:36:51,400 church? Or maybe just think about our 566 00:36:51,400 --> 00:36:56,240 church together. What are we missing as a 567 00:36:56,240 --> 00:36:59,960 community that God needs to add to our church? 568 00:37:02,560 --> 00:37:06,800 Maybe you would just pray God give us, give us the people we 569 00:37:06,800 --> 00:37:10,520 need. We're going to go evangelize 570 00:37:10,640 --> 00:37:13,760 this Saturday. So maybe we'll meet some of 571 00:37:13,760 --> 00:37:15,800 those people on the street. That's How I Met Maksud. 572 00:37:15,880 --> 00:37:19,400 Actually, I wasn't evangelizing, but he was at a coffee shop and 573 00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:22,160 we began a conversation and I was going in to meet with a 574 00:37:22,160 --> 00:37:24,480 pastor and I said, hey bro, just come in here and meet my guy. 575 00:37:25,280 --> 00:37:27,240 And then eventually he started attending our church. 576 00:37:27,240 --> 00:37:29,400 And you know, rest is history now, praise the Lord. 577 00:37:29,840 --> 00:37:33,560 But we just meet people, places, and who knows how they'll plug 578 00:37:33,560 --> 00:37:36,640 in. So just like we begin, I want to 579 00:37:36,640 --> 00:37:39,240 give you just a moment of silence, you and the Lord to 580 00:37:39,240 --> 00:37:41,280 pray. And then I'll lead us in a 581 00:37:41,280 --> 00:37:43,640 prayer, and then we're going to have one final song to sing 582 00:37:43,640 --> 00:37:44,080 together.