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So I am Gloria and today's scripture reading is from Acts 1 1 through 8 page

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938 in the Bibles in the back of the pews. I wrote the first narrative

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Theophilus about all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day he was taken

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up after he had given instructions through the Holy Spirit to the Apostles

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he had chosen. After he had suffered he also presented himself alive to them by

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many convincing proofs appearing to them over a period of 40 days and speaking

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about the kingdom of God. While he was with them he commanded them not to leave

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Jerusalem but to wait for the Father's promise which he said you have heard me

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speak about. For John baptized with water but you will be baptized with the Holy

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Spirit in a few days. So when they had come together they asked him Lord are

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you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time? And he said to them it's not

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for you to know the times or the periods that the Father has set by his own

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authority but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you

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and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem in all Judea and Samaria and to

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the ends of the earth. This is God's Word. Amen, amen. So what is the first thing

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that you think of when someone says the word church? Is it the building? Is it the

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property? You know a lot of you grew up around here and here at what was

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formerly known as First Church and now Village and for you it might be church. Oh

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we're going to church. Church is 4458th Street. It's the building. It's the

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property. It's that place that we go. Sometimes we'll use that word to mean

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the service right? I'm going to church and we mean the church service that

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you're in right now. We're here having church right? Or maybe it's the

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fellowship. It's the time spent with one another in fellowship and maybe you know

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the right answer right? The quote right answer which is that church is not the

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building. The church is a people. It's the people. But which people? The people at

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the building or which service? Which people are the church? Well the Greek

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word for church is this word ekklesia. You can go and put that up. Ekklesia and

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it means something like being called out or assembled and so we can say it's

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something like called out or gathered up ones. The church as defined by the word

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that's used in the New Testament, ekklesia, is the called out or gathered

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up ones and that's going to come into play throughout our sermon. The called

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out gathered up ones.

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Called out of what? The kingdom of darkness. The kingdom of this world.

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Called out to be separate from the value systems and the priorities of this world

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where self is the object of worship. Called into or gathered up into a new

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kingdom. A new value system. A new set of priorities. A new people. The called out

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gathered up ones. The church. As we look at how the Bible kind of lays out what

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the church is, there are three prominent powerful metaphors or images that are

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used to tell us what the church is like. What are the called out gathered up ones

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like? And those three are the people of God, the body of Christ, and the temple

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of the Holy Spirit. The people of God, the body of Christ, and the temple of the

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Holy Spirit. So we're gonna spend our time looking at those three metaphors or

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images from the Bible. We began with the people of God. There is one sense in

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which everyone who has ever lived on this planet, by virtue of the fact they

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were created by God, are people of God. All of humanity, we are told in the word

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of God, bears the likeness of God. The image of God. But because of sins

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corruption, we've all moved away from God, our creator, in whose image we were made.

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And we've rebelled against that benevolent creator and no longer are at

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peace with him. Instead the Bible tells us that we are enemies of God because of

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our sin. Enemies don't live at peace with those that they are enemies against, do

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they? We know that all too well with a war that's going on halfway around the

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world.

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God chose to recreate a people for himself. Sin had marred God's good

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creation, now we're told this in Genesis, and as such the likeness and image of

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God was marred and corrupted in humanity and becoming enemies with God by virtue

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of our sin. We no longer could have relationship or dwell with God and so

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God chose in his infinite wisdom to recreate a people for himself, deciding

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that all who by faith believe in the accomplishments in the work of Christ in

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his life, his death, and his resurrection, all those people would be his people. And

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in that unique sense of the idea of being God's people is what we're talking

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about as it relates to the called out gathered up ones. Not the original, yes

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we're all God's people by virtue of his creation, but sin has corrupted and marred

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that and so God chose before the foundations of the earth that he was

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going to choose a people for himself from among all people and those people

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would be whoever trust and believe in the work of Christ in his life, death, and

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resurrection. And God chose that he would grant those people who believe in

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Christ a new birth into a new hope and a new life in a new kingdom. This is the

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coming out and being separate. This is when we say the Ecclesias, the called out

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gathered up ones, the called out from among the rest of humanity into a new

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kingdom. The way Peter says this in 1st Peter chapter 2 verse 9 through 10 is

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but you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for

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his possession, a people belonging to God so that you may proclaim the praises of

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the one who called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light. Once you

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were not a people but now you are God's people. You had not received mercy but

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now you have received mercy. So what does it mean to be his people? What does it

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mean to be God's people, his called out ones? How many of you guys know? How can you

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tell if someone is into CrossFit? Well the joke is don't worry they'll tell you.

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Now that can be used of vegans as well but how can you tell if someone's in

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CrossFit? Don't worry they'll tell you, they'll let you know. Well how can you

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tell if someone has entered into the culture and the way of life of CrossFit?

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It's more than just what they say which that's a big part of it. They will

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evangelize it. It's kind of like people who want to listen to Joe Rogan. Oh you

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gotta listen to Joe Rogan man, you gotta listen to Joe. I don't have four hours to

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spend on Joe Rogan in his podcast. You gotta listen to him though man. There's

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this new drink man. You take mushrooms and you put this other stuff in there

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and you spin around and you'll experience God. You hear all this kind of

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stuff. If you saw some of the clips from his most recent one it was it's weird.

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But these people they go out they evangelize it. They speak about it. For

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those in CrossFit their life begins to reflect it. They're there every day, their

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time is consumed by it. They're there at the gym. These are now their bros and

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their sister or whatever their ladies are. They're hanging out with their

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pumping iron. They're flipping tires. They're jumping up and down. They're all

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in and you should be too. You should be too.

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When people move from outside of CrossFit to inside of CrossFit into CrossFit

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their life changes. I've got a few cousins whose life changed and their

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Facebook posts and their Instagram posts begin to populate with all things

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CrossFit. That was their people. That was their new kingdom that they entered into.

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To be God's people is to be changed though in an even more foundational way

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or fundamental level. To be God's people is for God to do something inside of us.

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For God to be the active agent working within us more primarily than us are

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once in desires. CrossFit is oftentimes drawn into it to be a part of

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something. Drawn in it to get physically fit. Drawn in it for the community,

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whatever it is, to meet my own needs. But we see with God's people it's about God's

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work, what he's doing, who he's drawing out, who he's calling out. Come join my

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people through the gospel message.

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In the book of Ezekiel chapter 36 we read, for I will take you from the

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nations and gather you from all the countries and will bring you into your

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own land and I will sprinkle clean water on you and you will be clean. I will

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cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols. This is God through

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prophetic vision speaking to the people of God who had gone astray and we're

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going to go into exile and he's saying I've saved some people for myself and I

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will call them out from among the nations, from among the world and draw

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them to myself. In the next set of scripture which we'll get to in a few,

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the next two verses he says what he's going to do and this begins to become a

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New Testament reality in the work of Christ. That he is calling out a people.

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And so I'll tell you on this first point of this first image the people of God.

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It's not simply that we're called out and then we all get together in a room

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and we get to high-five each other and call ourselves the called out ones. But

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Nick pointed it out earlier in a scripture that he read, we're called and

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chosen because God has prepared things for us to do. He has prepared good works

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for us to do to bring glory and honor to him, to advance his kingdom here in this

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world and so to be the people of God is to be a people with a job. We cannot sit

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on the sidelines. We don't get to check out. We don't get to go it alone but we

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are the called out gathered up ones for a purpose. And I'll tell you this, what a

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joy. What a privilege to be called his people from among all people. What a joy

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to be God's people. We used to sing a song right? I'm so glad I'm a part of the

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family of God. I've been washed in the fountain, cleansed by his blood.

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Join heirs with Jesus as we travel this song. For I'm part of a family, the family

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of God. We are the people of God. What a joy and a privilege to walk this world

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as a people of God doing the work he's prepared for us. If you are in Christ,

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you are not individually alone the people of God but the gathered up ones,

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us together, the church, we are the people of God. The second image and metaphor

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that is used throughout the Bible is the idea of the body of Christ. The body of

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Christ. In the book of Ephesians chapter 1 beginning in verse 20 we read Paul

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writing to the church in Ephesus, he exercised this power in Christ, he being

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God. God exercised this power in Christ by raising him from the dead and

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setting him at his right hand in the heavens, far above every ruler and

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authority, power and dominion and every title given not only in this age but

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also in the one to come and he subjected everything under his feet and appointed

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him as the head over everything for the church which is his body, the fullness of

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the one who fills all things in every way. Did you get that last part? He

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subjected everything under the feet of Jesus and appointed Jesus as head over

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everything for the church which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills

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all things in every way. Whenever the Bible employs this image of the church,

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the image of the church as a body of Christ, it always does it in

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relationship to two things, A, the Christ's headship and authority and then

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B, the function of the individual members and parts of that body. That the body has

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a head that acts as an authority for the rest of the body and the rest of the

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body is made up of parts and members that is you and I and our churches in

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relationship to other gatherings and those how do we relate to one another? So

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how do we relate to God and how do we relate to one another? That's the metaphor

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of the body of Christ is how it's always used. So as the body, as the body of

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Christ, the church, we submit to Christ its head. It is the church of Jesus

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Christ. Matthew 18 tells us that it is his church and you know what that means?

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That means it doesn't belong to any one individual and it doesn't belong to any

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corporation and it doesn't belong to any political party. The church does not

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belong to anyone except Jesus. It's his, his and his alone. And the church

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depends every single day, every Sunday, every Monday, every Tuesday. The church

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depends upon the loving direction and provision of the head, Christ. An

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application of this line of thinking within the church might be something

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like this, especially among its leaders, is that its leaders would seek

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constantly to discern the will of the Lord Jesus on how we are to move forward

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at every step. We want to be in step with the head. We want to be submitted to our

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authority to Christ and receive his loving direction and so we are dependent

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upon him to discern the will of the Lord for, for not just our church as a whole,

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but for our ministries. How many of you guys have been a part of a church only

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and really had this ministry that you loved? But the leaders decided through

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prayerful thought and consideration to end that ministry. When we're submitted

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to Christ, that happens. It happens that ministries run their course and Christ

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the head says, you need to move and direct yourself here now. Here is where I

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want you to put yourself and your work. That happens when you're directed by the

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head because it's not about individuals. It's not about what our own personal

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preferences are, what we want out of it. It's about submission to Christ. This

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model of the body with the head also halts ministries that are no longer

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fruitful. It modifies ministries that need overhaul. It starts new ministries

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to meet changing challenges. It reignites connection with the community

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that we've fallen out of favor with. Being connected to Christ means making

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difficult decisions to obey and follow him all the time because where Christ

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leads we must follow. He is the head. We don't get to determine. It's not our church.

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It's not my church. It's not your church. It's Christ's. The church is to repudiate

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any and all agendas other than those that correspond to Christ's will for it.

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We should put to death and push back on all things.

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A.W. Tozer has a quote. It says the lordship of Jesus Christ is not quite for

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gotten among Christians, but it has been relegated to the hymnal where all

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responsibility toward it may be comfortably discharged in a glow of

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religious emotion. Or if it is taught as a theory in the classroom, it is rarely

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applied to practical living. The idea that the man, Christ Jesus, has absolute

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final authority over the whole church and over its members in every detail of

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their lives is simply not now accepted as true by the rank and file of

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evangelical Christians. We love to sing Christ as Lord. We love to crown him with

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many crowns until he starts meddling in our lives, in our churches, or dare I say

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country clubs. Crown him with many crowns. The Lord Christ. It begins with the head.

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It begins with submission to the loving head, Christ who wants good for his

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people, his called out gathered up ones. His way is better than our way

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infinitely. His ministries and work that he's prepared for us are infinitely

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more better and fruitful than we could ever dream, but it requires us to lay

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down arms and submit to his loving leadership to allow his authority to

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lead us. And as he leads us, that leads us to the second part. The first part

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being submitting to the head. The second part is then how this image demonstrates

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to us the function and relationship that we have with one another as members of

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the body. We are parts in a body. We belong to one another. We belong to one

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another. Drawing on the image of family, we're told that that makes me your

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brother and that makes you my brothers and sisters. We're family. We're family

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and we're told that being a part of this, we belong to one another. We're

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like family and then only when we function as family can we obey the

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commandment from Jesus to love one another. You cannot obey the commandment

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to love one another out there away from there or with indifference towards one

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another. This is why reconciliation and right relationship and living right with

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one another is so vitally important because you are in disobedience. We're in

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disobedience as a church and maybe individually if we are not in right

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relationship with one another and as a body this puts us side by side. One part

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next to another part and we must function.

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Greg Allison has a book out on the church and in it there's this quote. He

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says only when church members are characterized by siblingship

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can they engage in the one another's that are so prominent in Scripture. Prayer,

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harmony, acceptance, patience, burden-bearing, confession of sin, service,

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truth-telling, like-mindedness, humility, hospitality, unity, and more. Imagine not

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being able to fulfill all of those scriptures that command us in all of

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those ways because we are not like family. To be the body of Christ is to be

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brought into a family. He continues on only when the church denounces and

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refuses to be characterized by hyper sexualization can its male and female

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members stop being suspicious of one another and stop treating one another as

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sexual predators and seductress. Only when the church embodies the reality of

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being brothers and sisters in Christ can it actualize this vision that there may

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be no division in the body but that the members may have the same care for one

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another. If one member suffers all suffer together. If one member is honored all

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rejoice together.

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The body, the whole body cannot function without all its parts. If one part is

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sick or injured, you know what it's like if you've ever been injured or sick. I've

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heard myself, I there was once, we still don't even know what it was, but out of

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nowhere this skin thing shows up on my arm and it opens up and it's it's gnarly

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it's oozy it's gross. Don't know what it was and you think well that's that's just

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your forearm. Get over it move on with life. You know that thing affected the

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whole life. Every every way I felt everything that I did even the medicines

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I was taking were affecting it like having that one part of my body injured

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affected every part of my actions and daily life. My brother Ben just recently

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got surgery on his neck and I'm sure you would tell it right that without that

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surgery and the hope that it has actually healed something as you went

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about the last few years it was painful all the time. You didn't even realize how

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painful it was because your body becomes numb to it and you operate at such a low

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level. When one part of the body is sick it affects the whole body. If one part of

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the body is selfish and self-centered it drains away resources from the what

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we're intended for the whole body's health.

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If one part despises or hates another part it brings dysfunction and division

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into the body and so that leads me to the question should this be true of

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Christ's body? Should Christ's body be limping around a despicable sight?

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Should the exalted one of heaven have a lame crippled dysfunctional presence

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among his creation? No! No! And so the Bible gives us from the word of God

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himself wisdom to love one another to reconcile. If you have something against

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your brother or sister go to them. If you despise them in your hearts go and ask

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for forgiveness. Be healed. Keep it on a small level. Cover one another's sins.

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This is the wisdom of God to us so that we don't go around as his church limping

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a despicable sight in creation. Oh that's God's church. That's his people.

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That's the body of Christ.

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We're invited into this body as the called out gathered ones and we're given

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the wisdom of God on how to operate so that we might be something glorious in

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this world. At the end of Romans chapter 11 Paul after giving some discourse

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cannot contain himself any longer and he explodes in a hymn of praise and then it

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leads into chapter 12 which is so well known. He says oh the depths of the

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riches and the wisdom of the knowledge of God how unsearchable is his judgments

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and how untraceable his ways for who has known the mind of the Lord or who has

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been counseled by him or who has been his counselor and who has ever given to

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God that God should be repaid or that he should be repaid for from him and

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through him and to him are all things to him be the glory alone forever amen.

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How oh the depths of the riches of the wisdom and the knowledge of God how

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unsearchable his judgments and untraceable his ways for from him and

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through him and to him are all things to God be the glory alone forever amen

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therefore brothers and sisters offer your bodies as living sacrifices holy

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and pleasing to God in view of his mercy for this is your true worship and don't

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be conformed to this age but be transformed by the renewing of your mind

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so that you may discern what is good pleasing and perfect will of God for by

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the grace given me I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly

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than he should instead think sensibly as God has distributed measure of faith to

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each one now as we have many parts in one body and all the parts do not have

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the same function in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and

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individually members of one another according to the grace given to us we

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have different gifts if prophecy use it in accordance to the proportion of one's

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faith if service use it in service if teaching in teaching if in exhorting in

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exhortation giving with generosity leading with diligence showing mercy

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with cheerfulness

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we are the body of Christ the one body in Christ in individually we are members

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of one another we belong to one another a little bit further down in Romans Paul

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instructs us to never lack in zeal never lack in zeal but to keep our spiritual

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fervor serving the Lord in other words his body the body of Christ should be

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white-hot with passion white-hot with love for God white-hot love for his word

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white-hot conviction of truth including in our confession when we sin and we

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fall it's because we are white-hot in love with our God we fervently seek to

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submit to and to serve the head which is Christ and he's more than just some

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distant authority he is the church's Savior he's her Savior

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Charles Spurgeon once said I don't think the devil cares how many churches you

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start if only you have lukewarm preachers and people in them white-hot

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zealous fervent passion for God's glory that's the kind of body that should be

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present in all of creation pointing to the head giving glory to the head

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worshiping Christ the final image that we receive from the word the final

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metaphor for the church is that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit the

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scripture I was read today by Gloria comes out of Acts chapter 1 and it's

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Luke writing to Theophilus continuing on with his work that he started in the

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book of Luke and now beginning to tell the acts of the Holy Spirit through the

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Apostles of Jesus Christ and he begins by saying that Jesus preached and

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appeared to them over 40 days and spoke about the kingdom of God and while he

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was with them he told them something he basically said it's ain't gonna work out

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once I'm gone unless you have something unless my presence is dwelling among you

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and with you this isn't going to work out you need something you need power

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from on high he said John baptized with water but you will be baptized with the

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Holy Spirit in a few days and they said Lord are you restoring the kingdom of

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Israel at this time and he says that's not for you to know that's not for you

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to know but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you

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will be my witnesses in Jerusalem Judea Samaria into the ends of the earth

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whatever is going to happen from here on you will need the power of the Holy

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Spirit to accomplish it it is not possible any other way the Holy Spirit's

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power at work within the individual believer if you are in Christ and you

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have experienced this as an individual believer you have experienced the work

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of the Holy Spirit through the conviction of sin regeneration new birth

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you have been united with Christ you are justified with God you have been adopted

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as sons you have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit which is a seal and a

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down payment a deposit on the glory that is to come for you when you enter his

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kingdom you have received assurance of salvation through the Holy Spirit and

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you are undergoing a process of a sanctification to make you more like

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Christ that is the Holy Spirit's powerful activity in your life if you

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are in Christ well the Bible also says that the Holy Spirit not only acts in

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the individual's life but the Holy Spirit is active in the church and in

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the church the Holy Spirit is active giving birth to new churches the Holy

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Spirit is active empowering the church for missional engagement when the Holy

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Spirit spoke and said set apart for me Paul and Barnabas for the work that I've

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prepared for them the Holy Spirit is active in the church we're told in the

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book of Acts with the leaders from Ephesus the elders from Ephesus that it

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was the Holy Spirit who chose the elders so whenever we by natural regular means

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prayerfully consider our elders we rely and hope and trust that God is

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ultimately the one at work God is ultimately appointing and positioning

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the people for are the work of Christ here when we prayerfully consider that

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and we weigh and we wrestle with that and we're also told that the Holy

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Spirit's activity in the church is to distribute empower the spiritual gifts

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of the members and to distribute the right gifts to the right gatherings for

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his purpose the Holy Spirit is necessary it is these two works that the

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individual ones who are called out and gathered together that puts that the

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the epicenter of the spirits power and work is right in the church we are the

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individuals who are gathered up and the Holy Spirit is both working in your life

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as well as in our life in the Old Testament the presence of God was

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directly connected first to the tabernacle kind of a traveling temple a

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tent and later Solomon built a temple to the Lord the Ark of the Covenant was

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placed there and we're told in the story of the dedication of that temple as they

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began to worship and dedicate the temple that thus the presence of God fell upon

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it and that the glory cloud of God was so thick that they fell down on their

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faces in worship in the tabernacle as they went through the wilderness before

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the temple the tabernacle whenever they camped was always set in place and the

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people of Israel would set up their tents by tribe around the tabernacle so

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that the presence of God would be at the center of the camp and the people

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working out from there truly God was dwelling among them in the

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tabernacle and then in the temple at Solomon built but Israel the people of

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God the chosen ones of the Old Testament they became idolatrous they

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worshiped other gods they began to intermingle their their worship in their

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religion and their exercises with paganism with idolatry and in doing so

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after many many patient warnings and calls to return to God in the end it was

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proclaimed by prophetic word that they would be led into destruction and exile

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and that the temple would be destroyed Jerusalem would be destroyed and in the

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book of Ezekiel chapter 10 there's this powerful image that's communicated

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through a prophetic vision that Ezekiel sees where he sees the temple of God in

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Jerusalem and he sees the glory of God depart and leaves the temple and then

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coal or yeah coal is spread all over to symbolize judgment and destruction

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pretty soon they're taken off Judea is taken off into to slavery into exile the

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temple is destroyed and you know what the temple is rebuilt multiple times

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after that point but never are we told that the glory returns the glory of God

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never returns to the temple yes they engage in all kinds of religious

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activity there but there is no glory and so that leaves that left God's people

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wondering will God ever dwell among his people again how could God dwell among

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his people and that set the stage for Jesus who is the ultimate temple if the

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temple is about this this connection point where things of the earth meet

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heaven the place where God in his fullness dwells among his people then

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what if anything is the ultimate temple is Jesus in his incarnation coming and

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dwelling among his people and so Jesus steps from heaven the ultimate temple

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the fullness of deity in bodily form and what did he say in John chapter 2 verse

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18 through 21 well the Jews talked to him he said what sign will you show us

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for doing these things and Jesus answered them destroy this temple and I

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will raise it up in three days therefore the Jews said this temple took 46 years

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to build and you're gonna raise it up in three days and then a little side by the

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author says but he Jesus was speaking about the temple of his body why did the

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son become incarnate he became incarnate to offer himself as an atoning sacrifice

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for sinful people which would accomplish the work required so that God could once

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again dwell dwell among his people

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God again would dwell with his people and he would do it as the individual

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ones that are gathered up and called out and the glory of the temple of old would

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be re-established as a testament to God's power but this time it wouldn't be

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a fixed building this is we're back to that building is the church the building

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no this time the glory of God the presence of God would dwell among all

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believers the Holy Spirit would be at work within every believer and would be

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at work when the believers are gathered up together the Holy Spirit continues to

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make a people who denounce sin who keep away from all ungodliness who confess

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and repent when they stumble and who walk in purity because God is among us

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that next part of Ezekiel that we read earlier says this I will give you a new

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heart and I will put a new spirit within you I will remove your heart of stone

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and give you a heart of flesh I will place my spirit within you and

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cause you to follow my statutes and carefully observe my ordinances as a

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temple of the Holy Spirit we the church the called out gathered up ones we

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become Christ's witnesses as we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to live in

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a way we could live we could never live on our own when we are empowered by the

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Holy Spirit to walk in holiness in unity and in love my final words today are

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this treasure Christ treasure his body look around look look around look at

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your neighbors look behind you make eye contact we are the people of God we are

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the body of Christ we are the visible representation of Christ the exalted one

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here on earth treasure Christ treasure his body love God's people and let your

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life be a living sacrifice on the altar in the temple the Holy Spirit that is

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your body and ours we are members of one another let's live it out let's make sure

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that the body of Christ the representation of Christ here on earth is

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not limping is not a despised despicable sight for the world to see but instead

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it brings honor and glory to Christ our head amen