WEBVTT 00:00:04.009 --> 00:00:05.929 I don't know how many of you have been by the 00:00:05.929 --> 00:00:09.029 church property in recent days, but it's starting 00:00:09.029 --> 00:00:11.429 to get out there so you can see things. And that's 00:00:11.429 --> 00:00:13.970 exciting. I go over there about every day. I 00:00:13.970 --> 00:00:16.170 never quite get enough done to satisfy me, but 00:00:16.170 --> 00:00:19.530 I guess that's the way it is. It'll just be that 00:00:19.530 --> 00:00:23.469 way until I get done, I'm sure. We are told that 00:00:23.469 --> 00:00:26.949 it's still five months from the day they start 00:00:26.949 --> 00:00:29.609 that we'll be in there. Now, I'll tell you, as 00:00:29.609 --> 00:00:32.670 I look at that, it takes a lot of faith. And 00:00:32.670 --> 00:00:34.609 I remember somebody told me one time, faith is 00:00:34.609 --> 00:00:37.869 only as valid as its object. In this case, the 00:00:37.869 --> 00:00:40.710 object is the word of the contractor, and I trust 00:00:40.710 --> 00:00:43.090 him to be a fine man, but they've got a lot of 00:00:43.090 --> 00:00:45.390 work to do in three months. But we'll trust that 00:00:45.390 --> 00:00:47.890 they're going to do it, and we'll be in there, 00:00:47.969 --> 00:00:51.490 Lord willing, in the fall. A number of people 00:00:51.490 --> 00:00:54.950 have tried to get a date established, including 00:00:54.950 --> 00:00:57.429 myself, but that isn't possible at this point. 00:00:58.170 --> 00:01:00.350 We're excited, though, to see what's taking place. 00:01:02.189 --> 00:01:04.890 You keep praying for that project over there. 00:01:05.090 --> 00:01:08.370 God has given us tremendous weather for the last 00:01:08.370 --> 00:01:11.510 three weeks, four weeks, once the monsoon season 00:01:11.510 --> 00:01:14.709 was over. And now they've got it to the point 00:01:14.709 --> 00:01:18.689 that if it does keep on raining like it did before, 00:01:18.790 --> 00:01:20.670 at least they'll be able to keep on working because 00:01:20.670 --> 00:01:24.129 they're out of the ground onto the blocks so 00:01:24.129 --> 00:01:26.890 they can keep right on working even though it 00:01:26.890 --> 00:01:29.209 might be a little bit muddy underneath. So we 00:01:29.209 --> 00:01:32.000 praise God for all of that. and for your faithfulness 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:37.640 in that ministry of our building. We're going 00:01:37.640 --> 00:01:40.780 to turn together to the Word of God, the fourth 00:01:40.780 --> 00:01:49.040 chapter of the book of Ephesians. We have been 00:01:49.040 --> 00:01:52.620 studying together the various metaphors of the 00:01:52.620 --> 00:01:58.090 Church in the New Testament. We are undertaking 00:01:58.090 --> 00:02:00.469 now a little more of an in -depth look at this 00:02:00.469 --> 00:02:05.409 metaphor of the church as a body. The church 00:02:05.409 --> 00:02:11.990 is a body, a vital, functioning organism. Its 00:02:11.990 --> 00:02:16.569 purpose is to express the life of the one inhabiting 00:02:16.569 --> 00:02:20.490 it, just as the purpose of your body is to give 00:02:20.490 --> 00:02:24.159 expression to your life. to what you want to 00:02:24.159 --> 00:02:26.219 accomplish, where you want to go, what you want 00:02:26.219 --> 00:02:30.060 to say, and so on. So the body of the Lord Jesus 00:02:30.060 --> 00:02:34.879 Christ is the expression of his life in the world. 00:02:35.639 --> 00:02:39.060 He is the one who inhabits his body, which we 00:02:39.060 --> 00:02:43.080 are. It's interesting that the church is not 00:02:43.080 --> 00:02:48.759 a statue. A statue is a model. It is a frozen 00:02:48.759 --> 00:02:52.620 facsimile. of perfection. It's a work of art 00:02:52.620 --> 00:02:55.479 intended to be admired. That is not what the 00:02:55.479 --> 00:03:00.240 church is all about. It's not a statue. Nor is 00:03:00.240 --> 00:03:06.219 the church a corpse. A corpse is a real thing. 00:03:06.500 --> 00:03:08.539 I mean, it's a real body, but there's a problem 00:03:08.539 --> 00:03:11.120 with the corpse. It doesn't have any life to 00:03:11.120 --> 00:03:14.479 it, and the church isn't to be that way. Furthermore, 00:03:14.699 --> 00:03:16.879 a corpse is usually in some state of decomposition. 00:03:18.439 --> 00:03:22.000 And hopefully a church isn't that. A church is 00:03:22.000 --> 00:03:25.259 not a corpse, but rather a church is a living, 00:03:25.360 --> 00:03:30.300 vital body which functions. The church is the 00:03:30.300 --> 00:03:33.139 representation of Christ in the world right now. 00:03:34.139 --> 00:03:38.360 The Lutheran theologian and pastor Bonhoeffer 00:03:38.360 --> 00:03:41.599 said, the church is nothing but a section of 00:03:41.599 --> 00:03:45.919 humanity in which Christ has really taken form. 00:03:46.639 --> 00:03:50.319 I like that statement. The church is a section 00:03:50.319 --> 00:03:56.560 of humanity in which Christ has taken form. There 00:03:56.560 --> 00:04:00.400 is nothing like the body in the Old Testament. 00:04:01.539 --> 00:04:04.099 The other metaphors that we've talked about and 00:04:04.099 --> 00:04:06.539 may still talk about all have some kind of an 00:04:06.539 --> 00:04:10.240 equivalent in the Old Testament. The church is 00:04:10.240 --> 00:04:13.259 a bride. Well, Israel was the bride, the wife 00:04:13.259 --> 00:04:16.360 of Jehovah. We've talked about the church as 00:04:16.360 --> 00:04:19.079 a building, a temple. Well, there was a temple 00:04:19.079 --> 00:04:22.259 in the Old Testament. But when we talk about 00:04:22.259 --> 00:04:26.620 the body, we're talking about a metaphor that 00:04:26.620 --> 00:04:30.720 is unique to the church, to the New Testament. 00:04:31.060 --> 00:04:33.699 There is not an equivalent in the Old Testament. 00:04:35.079 --> 00:04:40.240 A body is a single unit of diversified members 00:04:40.240 --> 00:04:43.500 functioning together to accomplish a central 00:04:43.500 --> 00:04:49.410 task. And so a local church is not many, but 00:04:49.410 --> 00:04:55.110 it's one. One single entity, although it is composed 00:04:55.110 --> 00:05:00.670 of many and diverse members. And yet the many 00:05:00.670 --> 00:05:03.329 of us function together as one to accomplish 00:05:03.329 --> 00:05:08.870 a central goal or set of purposes. It's exciting 00:05:08.870 --> 00:05:14.819 in my estimation. To help believers understand 00:05:14.819 --> 00:05:19.699 what they are as members of the body. And to 00:05:19.699 --> 00:05:22.879 begin to practice in their lives the truth of 00:05:22.879 --> 00:05:27.379 being a member of the body of Christ. It's also 00:05:27.379 --> 00:05:30.540 a challenge to do that because somehow we don't 00:05:30.540 --> 00:05:34.160 seem to act on this truth very well. We don't 00:05:34.160 --> 00:05:38.639 seem to act like a body very well. John MacArthur 00:05:38.639 --> 00:05:42.279 has written, Given that all Christians have received 00:05:42.279 --> 00:05:45.240 this unity and are one in the body of Christ, 00:05:45.540 --> 00:05:49.620 still they have a tendency to pull apart and 00:05:49.620 --> 00:05:53.100 to isolate themselves in smaller groups. They 00:05:53.100 --> 00:05:55.980 scatter into cliques, joining themselves to little 00:05:55.980 --> 00:05:58.500 groups of people who act and think the same way. 00:05:58.759 --> 00:06:01.399 It's possible for Christians to go to the same 00:06:01.399 --> 00:06:03.420 church meetings, sit together, and even talk 00:06:03.420 --> 00:06:06.980 superficially, but at heart still be far away 00:06:06.980 --> 00:06:10.759 from each other. They are tightly closed to most 00:06:10.759 --> 00:06:13.519 fellow believers even though they may be open 00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:16.819 to a few. They have not learned to care and to 00:06:16.819 --> 00:06:21.319 express oneness in practical ways. They operate 00:06:21.319 --> 00:06:24.100 contrary to the way the body is supposed to function 00:06:24.100 --> 00:06:27.920 and therefore the whole body is hindered. Much 00:06:27.920 --> 00:06:31.339 of our ministry, says MacArthur, involves getting 00:06:31.339 --> 00:06:35.600 people who are theoretically one to relate to 00:06:35.600 --> 00:06:38.680 each other. or to put it in another way, getting 00:06:38.680 --> 00:06:41.939 the members back together into the experience 00:06:41.939 --> 00:06:47.300 of the whole body as God intended. I hope as 00:06:47.300 --> 00:06:50.100 we talk about the church as the body of Christ, 00:06:50.319 --> 00:06:52.540 that is something that will happen in the lives 00:06:52.540 --> 00:06:56.139 of many of us, that we will begin to see ourselves 00:06:56.139 --> 00:06:59.379 not as isolated people coming together for worship, 00:06:59.620 --> 00:07:03.600 but rather what we are, a single entity, a living 00:07:03.600 --> 00:07:07.899 organism of people. The church, the body of Jesus 00:07:07.899 --> 00:07:11.920 Christ, called out to function together as one. 00:07:14.660 --> 00:07:17.079 How do we get a hold of this biblical teaching 00:07:17.079 --> 00:07:21.800 that we are a functioning unit, a living, vital 00:07:21.800 --> 00:07:25.860 body of people who are living out the life of 00:07:25.860 --> 00:07:30.819 Jesus Christ? Well, I think that there are three 00:07:30.819 --> 00:07:36.639 truths that are essential to know. If we would 00:07:36.639 --> 00:07:40.620 see our church function as a body as God intends. 00:07:41.660 --> 00:07:45.180 Three essential truths that you and I need to 00:07:45.180 --> 00:07:48.120 know if we are going to function as a body as 00:07:48.120 --> 00:07:53.019 God intends us to. I'm going to base my remarks 00:07:53.019 --> 00:07:55.540 this morning upon Ephesians chapter 4 beginning 00:07:55.540 --> 00:07:58.120 in verse 1. So let's take time to read that text. 00:07:58.519 --> 00:08:01.779 I'm not going to expound the text verse by verse 00:08:01.779 --> 00:08:05.060 today. That will come later. I want to talk about 00:08:05.060 --> 00:08:07.680 three truths that are derived from here nonetheless. 00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:12.040 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat 00:08:12.040 --> 00:08:15.300 you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling 00:08:15.300 --> 00:08:19.639 with which you have been called, with all humility 00:08:19.639 --> 00:08:23.600 and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance 00:08:23.600 --> 00:08:26.899 to one another in love, being diligent to preserve 00:08:26.899 --> 00:08:29.439 the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. 00:08:30.259 --> 00:08:34.559 There is one body and one spirit. Just as also 00:08:34.559 --> 00:08:36.840 you were called in one hope of your calling, 00:08:36.980 --> 00:08:41.399 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and 00:08:41.399 --> 00:08:45.700 Father of all, who is over all and through all 00:08:45.700 --> 00:08:50.679 and in all. But to each one of us, grace was 00:08:50.679 --> 00:08:53.139 given according to the measure of Christ's gift. 00:08:53.679 --> 00:08:56.159 Therefore it says, when he ascended on high, 00:08:56.320 --> 00:09:00.559 he led a host of captives and he gave gifts to 00:09:00.559 --> 00:09:04.769 men. Now this expression, Paul says, parenthetically, 00:09:04.889 --> 00:09:08.149 he ascended. What does it mean? Except that he 00:09:08.149 --> 00:09:11.570 also had descended into the lower parts of the 00:09:11.570 --> 00:09:15.590 earth. He who descended is himself also he who 00:09:15.590 --> 00:09:19.169 ascended far above all the heavens, that he might 00:09:19.169 --> 00:09:23.110 fill all things. Now, after that parenthetical 00:09:23.110 --> 00:09:26.789 expression, which expounds on the fact that he 00:09:26.789 --> 00:09:29.029 gave gifts to men, he goes on to say in verse 00:09:29.029 --> 00:09:33.580 11, and he gave some as apostles. and some as 00:09:33.580 --> 00:09:36.559 prophets and some as evangelists and some as 00:09:36.559 --> 00:09:40.360 pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the 00:09:40.360 --> 00:09:43.860 saints for the work of service, to the building 00:09:43.860 --> 00:09:47.419 up of the body of Christ, until we all attain 00:09:47.419 --> 00:09:51.019 to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge 00:09:51.019 --> 00:09:55.399 of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure 00:09:55.399 --> 00:09:58.460 of the stature which belongs to the fullness 00:09:58.460 --> 00:10:25.590 of Christ. As a result, From whom the whole body... 00:10:26.480 --> 00:10:29.679 being fitted and held together by that which 00:10:29.679 --> 00:10:33.899 every joint supplies, according to the proper 00:10:33.899 --> 00:10:39.100 working of each individual part, causes the growth 00:10:39.100 --> 00:10:43.580 of the body for the building up of itself in 00:10:43.580 --> 00:10:48.039 love. Now based upon that text, there are three 00:10:48.039 --> 00:10:51.820 essential truths that you and I must get a hold 00:10:51.820 --> 00:10:55.460 of. If we are going to begin to practice this 00:10:55.460 --> 00:10:59.600 oneness as the body of Jesus Christ in our local 00:10:59.600 --> 00:11:02.960 church, Grace Church Roseville, truth number 00:11:02.960 --> 00:11:08.860 one, as a believer, you are a member of the body 00:11:08.860 --> 00:11:11.919 of Christ. You say, well, that's nothing new. 00:11:12.039 --> 00:11:15.559 No, it's not. But it's something that some of 00:11:15.559 --> 00:11:17.700 us perhaps have not grappled with and gotten 00:11:17.700 --> 00:11:21.409 a hold of. Now please understand, first of all, 00:11:21.429 --> 00:11:23.450 that I'm talking to believers. I'm not talking 00:11:23.450 --> 00:11:25.809 today to those of you who may have come to our 00:11:25.809 --> 00:11:28.669 service who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ 00:11:28.669 --> 00:11:32.110 as your Savior. Our prayer for you today is that 00:11:32.110 --> 00:11:35.169 you would come to know Him. To whom to know is 00:11:35.169 --> 00:11:40.789 what? Life eternal. Knowing Him means the forgiveness 00:11:40.789 --> 00:11:43.590 of sins, past, present, and future. It's to have 00:11:43.590 --> 00:11:46.730 eternal life. If you don't know Him, if you're 00:11:46.730 --> 00:11:50.519 not a believer, In that very special, personal 00:11:50.519 --> 00:11:52.799 sense, we hope today you will come to trust Christ. 00:11:53.539 --> 00:11:56.200 But I am addressing myself today primarily to 00:11:56.200 --> 00:12:00.740 those who are believers. As a believer, you are 00:12:00.740 --> 00:12:05.700 a member of the body of Christ. That is the calling 00:12:05.700 --> 00:12:11.539 that verse 1 talks about. He says, I entreat 00:12:11.539 --> 00:12:14.940 you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling. 00:12:15.720 --> 00:12:18.220 with which you've been called. What is that calling? 00:12:18.860 --> 00:12:22.240 It is our calling to be a member of the body, 00:12:22.399 --> 00:12:27.620 whether Jew or Gentile. Our calling in Jesus 00:12:27.620 --> 00:12:32.360 Christ is to be a member of his body. Now that 00:12:32.360 --> 00:12:35.500 calling is further described back in chapters 00:12:35.500 --> 00:12:40.639 1 and 2 and into chapter 3 as well. But let's 00:12:40.639 --> 00:12:43.080 especially look at chapter 1 and just quickly 00:12:43.080 --> 00:12:48.090 think about our calling. Notice in chapter 1, 00:12:48.110 --> 00:12:53.009 verses 3 through 14, give us the content of our 00:12:53.009 --> 00:12:55.750 calling. What it's all about. It's to salvation. 00:12:55.990 --> 00:12:59.429 That's the content of it. That we might be saved. 00:13:01.230 --> 00:13:04.669 And you'll notice that in these verses, 3 to 00:13:04.669 --> 00:13:08.570 14, he tells us that each person of the Blessed 00:13:08.570 --> 00:13:12.090 Trinity has a part in our salvation. He talks 00:13:12.090 --> 00:13:17.059 about the work of the Father. In verses 3, 4, 00:13:17.399 --> 00:13:25.340 5, 6. He talks about the work of the Son. Verses 00:13:25.340 --> 00:13:31.440 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. And then he concludes with 00:13:31.440 --> 00:13:33.940 the work of the Holy Spirit in verses 13 and 00:13:33.940 --> 00:13:38.440 14. To make that abbreviated, what he says the 00:13:38.440 --> 00:13:42.059 work of the Father is, is that he chose us. His 00:13:42.059 --> 00:13:45.850 is the work of election. Now, that may trigger 00:13:45.850 --> 00:13:47.909 all kinds of red flags in your mind. You say, 00:13:47.909 --> 00:13:51.149 what about free will? Listen, we're not talking 00:13:51.149 --> 00:13:52.750 about that this morning. We're just talking about 00:13:52.750 --> 00:13:56.269 this text for now. He says that the truth is 00:13:56.269 --> 00:13:58.870 that God chose us in Christ before the foundation 00:13:58.870 --> 00:14:00.970 of the world. That's the work of the Father, 00:14:01.090 --> 00:14:05.610 planning it. Planning it. What's the work of 00:14:05.610 --> 00:14:11.269 the Son? The Son is the one who accomplished 00:14:11.269 --> 00:14:16.200 it. The Father planned it. The Son accomplished 00:14:16.200 --> 00:14:19.159 it. And the one word I would use is the word 00:14:19.159 --> 00:14:22.279 redemption. The work of the Father is election. 00:14:22.460 --> 00:14:26.139 The work of the Son is redemption. He is the 00:14:26.139 --> 00:14:28.159 one who came into the world, incarnated Himself 00:14:28.159 --> 00:14:30.360 with sinless humanity, and went to the cross 00:14:30.360 --> 00:14:34.159 and paid the price for man's sin. His is the 00:14:34.159 --> 00:14:36.360 work of redemption, and it is through the shedding 00:14:36.360 --> 00:14:39.320 of His blood that we have the forgiveness of 00:14:39.320 --> 00:14:44.500 sins. And then the work of the Holy Spirit. Well, 00:14:44.539 --> 00:14:48.980 in one word, it's sealing. The work of the Holy 00:14:48.980 --> 00:14:51.840 Spirit is administrating the salvation which 00:14:51.840 --> 00:14:55.220 the Father planned and the Son purchased and 00:14:55.220 --> 00:14:58.860 accomplished. The Holy Spirit administrates that. 00:15:00.059 --> 00:15:03.600 And he says the Holy Spirit seals us into Jesus 00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:08.440 Christ. He indwells us as the down payment, the 00:15:08.440 --> 00:15:15.059 guarantee of our future complete salvation. That's 00:15:15.059 --> 00:15:18.320 the work of the Spirit. And so the content of 00:15:18.320 --> 00:15:21.820 our calling is that God has called us out of 00:15:21.820 --> 00:15:26.019 sin to salvation. The Father, the Son, and the 00:15:26.019 --> 00:15:28.840 Holy Spirit each had a part in accomplishing 00:15:28.840 --> 00:15:34.980 and administrating that salvation. Then in verse 00:15:34.980 --> 00:15:37.379 15, we have the proof of our calling. How do 00:15:37.379 --> 00:15:41.000 you know someone is genuinely saved by the Father, 00:15:41.000 --> 00:15:46.389 the Son, and the Holy Spirit? He says, There 00:15:46.389 --> 00:15:53.750 are two key words there. You see them, don't 00:15:53.750 --> 00:15:56.870 you? What is the proof that a person is saved? 00:15:57.190 --> 00:16:00.009 Two things are in his life. Faith toward the 00:16:00.009 --> 00:16:02.669 Lord Jesus Christ and love toward his brothers 00:16:02.669 --> 00:16:06.649 and sisters in Christ. If one says that he has 00:16:06.649 --> 00:16:09.269 faith in the Lord but does not love his brothers, 00:16:09.389 --> 00:16:13.700 he's a liar, says John. He's not saved. He's 00:16:13.700 --> 00:16:19.960 still a child of the devil. If one loves people, 00:16:20.179 --> 00:16:23.779 but does not have a personal faith in the Lord 00:16:23.779 --> 00:16:28.799 Jesus Christ, as the God -man who came and died 00:16:28.799 --> 00:16:31.679 and was raised from the dead, is exalted in heaven, 00:16:31.779 --> 00:16:34.299 if he loves, but he does not have that faith 00:16:34.299 --> 00:16:36.960 in the Lord Jesus Christ, he's not a true believer. 00:16:37.500 --> 00:16:41.049 Maybe a nice guy. He may wear a white hat and 00:16:41.049 --> 00:16:43.269 all of that sort of thing, but he's not a true 00:16:43.269 --> 00:16:47.370 believer. He hasn't been called. One who is called 00:16:47.370 --> 00:16:50.110 gives evidence by his faith in the Lord Jesus 00:16:50.110 --> 00:16:55.070 Christ and his love toward other believers. That's 00:16:55.070 --> 00:16:58.629 the proof of the calling. And then the apostle 00:16:58.629 --> 00:17:01.590 begins to express to them his prayer for them, 00:17:01.629 --> 00:17:06.829 verse 16. And in verse 18, we come to the hope 00:17:06.829 --> 00:17:10.019 of the calling. He says, I pray that the eyes 00:17:10.019 --> 00:17:14.460 of your heart may be enlightened so that you 00:17:14.460 --> 00:17:18.539 may know what is the hope of his calling. What 00:17:18.539 --> 00:17:22.779 is that hope? It is all that we have in Christ. 00:17:23.039 --> 00:17:27.019 It is our position in Jesus Christ. What Paul 00:17:27.019 --> 00:17:28.960 is really praying for is that they may be able 00:17:28.960 --> 00:17:33.799 to tap into the resources that are ours as those 00:17:33.799 --> 00:17:38.670 who are members of the body. He says, I pray 00:17:38.670 --> 00:17:41.190 that you may know the hope of his calling, the 00:17:41.190 --> 00:17:45.710 riches of the glory of his inheritance in the 00:17:45.710 --> 00:17:49.869 saints and the surpassing greatness of his power 00:17:49.869 --> 00:17:53.589 toward us who believe. He prays that we may get 00:17:53.589 --> 00:17:55.910 a hold of our great inheritance and the great 00:17:55.910 --> 00:17:59.569 power that is ours because of our calling. That's 00:17:59.569 --> 00:18:03.819 the hope of our calling. In verses 22 and 23, 00:18:04.059 --> 00:18:06.299 we have the result of our calling, and that is 00:18:06.299 --> 00:18:11.079 the formation of the body. He says, And he, the 00:18:11.079 --> 00:18:13.700 Father, hath put all things in subjection under 00:18:13.700 --> 00:18:17.960 his, Christ's, feet, and gave him as head over 00:18:17.960 --> 00:18:22.400 all things to the church, which is his body, 00:18:22.579 --> 00:18:27.910 the fullness of him who fills all in all. The 00:18:27.910 --> 00:18:30.589 church is called Christ's body and it's called 00:18:30.589 --> 00:18:35.789 His fullness. His fullness. The result of your 00:18:35.789 --> 00:18:41.990 calling is that as a saved person who proves 00:18:41.990 --> 00:18:44.190 it by the way that you live, your faith in the 00:18:44.190 --> 00:18:47.569 Lord Jesus Christ, your love toward others, as 00:18:47.569 --> 00:18:51.480 a saved person who has the hope And this great 00:18:51.480 --> 00:18:54.539 inheritance and the great power, as a saved person, 00:18:54.720 --> 00:18:57.640 you are also placed, as a result of all that, 00:18:57.720 --> 00:19:02.640 in the body. The body is being formed. He goes 00:19:02.640 --> 00:19:06.740 on to say in chapter 2 that the body is the object 00:19:06.740 --> 00:19:10.460 of God's grace and His mercy and His kindness 00:19:10.460 --> 00:19:14.400 for all of eternity to come. Verse 7, He has 00:19:14.400 --> 00:19:16.819 placed us in Christ in order that in the ages 00:19:16.819 --> 00:19:20.029 to come, he might show the surpassing riches 00:19:20.029 --> 00:19:23.970 of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ 00:19:23.970 --> 00:19:28.369 Jesus. My point in reviewing all of this is simply 00:19:28.369 --> 00:19:30.430 to underscore in your mind that as a believer 00:19:30.430 --> 00:19:36.369 in Jesus Christ, you are now a member of a new 00:19:36.369 --> 00:19:42.990 group, a new entity, a body, which God is calling 00:19:42.990 --> 00:19:48.420 out from every part of the world. Jew as well 00:19:48.420 --> 00:19:53.400 as Gentile. You are a part of a body, an elect 00:19:53.400 --> 00:19:56.500 group of people who are being called out by God, 00:19:56.579 --> 00:19:59.640 a work he began at Pentecost and which will conclude 00:19:59.640 --> 00:20:01.980 someday just prior to the rapture of the church. 00:20:02.960 --> 00:20:06.160 You're part of a special group. You're a member 00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:10.480 of the body of Jesus Christ. As a believer, you 00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:14.660 are a member of the body of Christ, the church. 00:20:15.319 --> 00:20:17.740 I'm thinking about the church now in that universal 00:20:17.740 --> 00:20:24.779 aspect. But frankly, it's a little hard to relate 00:20:24.779 --> 00:20:27.119 to that, isn't it? Because that has been called 00:20:27.119 --> 00:20:29.960 the church invisible. That describes a lot of 00:20:29.960 --> 00:20:32.759 churches during the summertime. But the church 00:20:32.759 --> 00:20:35.259 invisible is a term that's sometimes also applied 00:20:35.259 --> 00:20:38.119 to this universal aspect of the church. It's 00:20:38.119 --> 00:20:41.099 only those who are really saved, and it's those 00:20:41.099 --> 00:20:43.450 who've been saved for... Hundreds of years who 00:20:43.450 --> 00:20:45.430 are in heaven and some perhaps who have not even 00:20:45.430 --> 00:20:47.690 been born yet. It's hard to relate to all of 00:20:47.690 --> 00:20:51.230 that. And so God has done a very wonderful thing. 00:20:51.289 --> 00:20:56.309 He has established a little picture of it, a 00:20:56.309 --> 00:20:59.750 little piece of it in localities all over the 00:20:59.750 --> 00:21:04.759 world. It's called the local church. And if you 00:21:04.759 --> 00:21:06.859 read your New Testament, you will find that most 00:21:06.859 --> 00:21:09.660 of the time when the Bible talks about the church, 00:21:09.819 --> 00:21:12.980 it's talking about that local expression of this 00:21:12.980 --> 00:21:17.640 body. Because we can identify with that. It's 00:21:17.640 --> 00:21:21.099 where we live. It's people we know. We can relate 00:21:21.099 --> 00:21:27.660 to that. And so I come to truth number two. As 00:21:27.660 --> 00:21:31.180 a member of the body, you have a function in 00:21:31.180 --> 00:21:39.160 it. have a function in the body. Now, in that 00:21:39.160 --> 00:21:42.039 universal aspect, that is true, but it's really 00:21:42.039 --> 00:21:46.279 expressed in the local church. That's where you 00:21:46.279 --> 00:21:48.619 see it. That's where you can do it. That's where 00:21:48.619 --> 00:21:50.819 your function really takes place, at least right 00:21:50.819 --> 00:21:55.880 now. In Ephesians chapter 4 again in verse 7, 00:21:55.960 --> 00:22:00.339 he says, each one of us, to each one of us, grace 00:22:00.339 --> 00:22:04.500 was given. According to the measure of Christ's 00:22:04.500 --> 00:22:10.640 gift. That grace is a function and the ability 00:22:10.640 --> 00:22:15.420 to fulfill it. In verses 15 and 16 he says, We 00:22:15.420 --> 00:22:18.859 are to grow up in all aspects into him who is 00:22:18.859 --> 00:22:23.500 the head. That's Christ. And then he says, From 00:22:23.500 --> 00:22:29.359 him, the head, the whole body, being fitted and 00:22:29.359 --> 00:22:36.980 held together, By that which every joint supplies. 00:22:38.039 --> 00:22:42.839 You're a joint. Did you know that? And part of 00:22:42.839 --> 00:22:48.400 your function is to supply the glue that holds 00:22:48.400 --> 00:22:51.960 the body together. He goes on to talk about the 00:22:51.960 --> 00:22:55.519 proper working of each individual part. That's 00:22:55.519 --> 00:23:01.039 you. Now, as we are fitted and held together 00:23:01.039 --> 00:23:04.859 with everybody doing his thing, he says the result 00:23:04.859 --> 00:23:08.799 is growth of the body for the building up of 00:23:08.799 --> 00:23:13.220 itself in love. So you see my point. Truth number 00:23:13.220 --> 00:23:16.779 two is that as a member of the body, you have 00:23:16.779 --> 00:23:20.099 a function in it. And that is true of all of 00:23:20.099 --> 00:23:24.359 us who are saved. There is none who is not given 00:23:24.359 --> 00:23:30.029 by God a role to fulfill. There is no such thing 00:23:30.029 --> 00:23:35.430 as a hierarchy in the body. That is, where there 00:23:35.430 --> 00:23:38.349 is clergy and laity and a division between the 00:23:38.349 --> 00:23:42.430 two. There is an appointed authority, there is 00:23:42.430 --> 00:23:44.430 appointed leadership in the church, but there 00:23:44.430 --> 00:23:47.609 are no positions of superiority and inferiority 00:23:47.609 --> 00:23:51.529 spiritually. There is no hierarchy in the body. 00:23:52.390 --> 00:23:55.450 One of the distinctives which we believe, and 00:23:55.450 --> 00:23:59.400 which some... do not believe is that there is 00:23:59.400 --> 00:24:03.819 an equal priesthood of all believers. There's 00:24:03.819 --> 00:24:07.519 no hierarchy with some who represent others before 00:24:07.519 --> 00:24:13.480 God. We're all priests. No hierarchy. Nor is 00:24:13.480 --> 00:24:16.380 there any such thing in the church as a few who 00:24:16.380 --> 00:24:20.380 are super saints who are responsible for the 00:24:20.380 --> 00:24:24.680 ministry of the body. It should not be true. 00:24:25.259 --> 00:24:28.579 that 20 % of the people do 95 % of the ministry. 00:24:29.039 --> 00:24:32.640 That is never God's plan. Despite the fact that 00:24:32.640 --> 00:24:35.380 may be the predominant or the common statistic 00:24:35.380 --> 00:24:37.460 that one would hear in a church, that is not 00:24:37.460 --> 00:24:41.079 the plan of God in a local church, that 20 % 00:24:41.079 --> 00:24:43.200 of the people do most of the work, or for that 00:24:43.200 --> 00:24:45.700 matter, that 25 % of the people give 80 % of 00:24:45.700 --> 00:24:49.640 the money, which is also a typical evangelical 00:24:49.640 --> 00:24:52.640 church in the United States, which would describe 00:24:52.640 --> 00:24:58.400 us. That's about what the statistics are for 00:24:58.400 --> 00:25:03.299 Grace Church Roseville. God's plan is that each 00:25:03.299 --> 00:25:05.140 one of us have a function. There are not just 00:25:05.140 --> 00:25:07.720 a few who are given the responsibility for carrying 00:25:07.720 --> 00:25:10.359 on the ministry of the church, who carry that 00:25:10.359 --> 00:25:12.940 load. All of us have a ministry. That's the point. 00:25:14.759 --> 00:25:17.400 Nor is there any such thing in the church as 00:25:17.400 --> 00:25:23.380 a loner. That is the person who is... kind of 00:25:23.380 --> 00:25:28.099 all by himself, and he doesn't need others. There's 00:25:28.099 --> 00:25:31.319 no such thing in the church as that. Because 00:25:31.319 --> 00:25:35.440 God's plan is for each member to be related to 00:25:35.440 --> 00:25:42.559 the others. Not only that, to be dependent. Did 00:25:42.559 --> 00:25:46.140 you hear that word? Dependent upon the others. 00:25:49.719 --> 00:25:52.460 Every member has a function in the body. Now, 00:25:52.460 --> 00:25:53.980 there are four things I want to say about that 00:25:53.980 --> 00:25:58.039 in a positive way. Number one, that function, 00:25:58.259 --> 00:26:00.160 whatever it is, is for the good of the whole. 00:26:04.579 --> 00:26:07.619 God doesn't give me a purpose or a function in 00:26:07.619 --> 00:26:09.460 the body just so I can sit around and look at 00:26:09.460 --> 00:26:11.519 my own belly button, if you'll pardon the expression. 00:26:15.440 --> 00:26:18.660 God intends for me as one who has a function 00:26:18.660 --> 00:26:22.920 to relate to other people in the body. It's for 00:26:22.920 --> 00:26:26.460 the good of the whole body, not just me. I hear 00:26:26.460 --> 00:26:28.539 people talk about some spiritual gifts and they 00:26:28.539 --> 00:26:31.539 say, well, I exercise that in my closet. God 00:26:31.539 --> 00:26:33.980 never gave any gifts for the closet, my friend. 00:26:37.099 --> 00:26:42.019 Gifts are for the body, for the good of the whole. 00:26:42.119 --> 00:26:46.230 Number two. Gifts are given to enable each to 00:26:46.230 --> 00:26:51.869 function in his capacity. Gifts are given to 00:26:51.869 --> 00:26:55.430 enable each of us to function in that God -given 00:26:55.430 --> 00:27:00.829 role. I don't know what God has designed you 00:27:00.829 --> 00:27:02.609 to do in the body. I don't know if you're an 00:27:02.609 --> 00:27:06.349 elbow or a big toe or some inner organ that's 00:27:06.349 --> 00:27:09.549 invisible. I don't know what your function is 00:27:09.549 --> 00:27:13.069 in this body, but God has gifted you to function. 00:27:17.809 --> 00:27:21.990 Number three, gifts must be used in the spirit 00:27:21.990 --> 00:27:26.250 of love. That was the big problem in Corinth, 00:27:26.309 --> 00:27:30.509 wasn't it? They were abusing the gifts, not using 00:27:30.509 --> 00:27:35.759 them in love, but rather in a selfish way. Gifts 00:27:35.759 --> 00:27:38.759 must always be exercised with appreciation for 00:27:38.759 --> 00:27:42.980 other people, and not only for that, but also 00:27:42.980 --> 00:27:46.119 with forbearance for others and patience with 00:27:46.119 --> 00:27:48.660 others. That's why he says what he does in verses 00:27:48.660 --> 00:27:51.839 2 and 3 about humility and gentleness and patience 00:27:51.839 --> 00:27:56.680 and forbearance and love. That's how gifts are 00:27:56.680 --> 00:28:00.880 to be exercised, and we need that. Because any 00:28:00.880 --> 00:28:03.000 time you get a group of people coming together 00:28:03.000 --> 00:28:06.970 to work, who still have the principle of sin 00:28:06.970 --> 00:28:10.549 in them, you're going to have friction and potential 00:28:10.549 --> 00:28:15.190 problems. And that's why we're exhorted, let 00:28:15.190 --> 00:28:20.069 love be the grease in the body so that it does 00:28:20.069 --> 00:28:28.150 its thing well. Number four, that function, whatever 00:28:28.150 --> 00:28:33.900 it is, somehow fits each one of us. into the 00:28:33.900 --> 00:28:38.220 whole body, the universal body, for eternity. 00:28:39.279 --> 00:28:42.140 I don't know how that works. I really don't. 00:28:42.140 --> 00:28:44.700 I don't understand that. But I believe it's true. 00:28:45.400 --> 00:28:48.000 I believe that the gift that God has given to 00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:50.039 each of us, or the function and the gifts that 00:28:50.039 --> 00:28:53.299 God has given to us here, are not only for here 00:28:53.299 --> 00:28:56.059 and now, but somehow by exercising them now, 00:28:56.220 --> 00:29:04.319 we are being prepared for an eternal duty. For 00:29:04.319 --> 00:29:07.980 something that's to come. This is not the end 00:29:07.980 --> 00:29:09.980 of it all. We're right now being prepared, aren't 00:29:09.980 --> 00:29:15.339 we? And whatever I do now, I should learn to 00:29:15.339 --> 00:29:18.579 do well, to exercise my gifts fully, so that 00:29:18.579 --> 00:29:22.000 when I get to heaven, when God's great eternal 00:29:22.000 --> 00:29:24.940 plan has unfolded, I can step into that plan 00:29:24.940 --> 00:29:28.480 where he has planned for me to be and do my thing. 00:29:30.140 --> 00:29:33.430 That's why it's important. that I fulfill my 00:29:33.430 --> 00:29:36.589 function now in the body. As a member of the 00:29:36.589 --> 00:29:40.069 body, you have a function in it. There are no 00:29:40.069 --> 00:29:43.329 exceptions. There are no exclusion clauses. You 00:29:43.329 --> 00:29:47.869 have a function in the body. Now truth number 00:29:47.869 --> 00:29:54.630 three. As one with a function, you are vital 00:29:54.630 --> 00:30:02.440 to the health of the body. As a member who has 00:30:02.440 --> 00:30:05.980 a function in the body, you are vital to its 00:30:05.980 --> 00:30:09.180 health. Now, there are some of us that have been 00:30:09.180 --> 00:30:13.480 sold the idea by the devil or ourselves or somebody 00:30:13.480 --> 00:30:16.460 that it doesn't really make a lot of difference 00:30:16.460 --> 00:30:20.099 if we do our thing, if we minister, if we exercise 00:30:20.099 --> 00:30:22.500 our gifts, if we're really involved and committed 00:30:22.500 --> 00:30:25.339 in a part of it. That is the ministry of the 00:30:25.339 --> 00:30:29.519 local church. That is a lie. it makes a great 00:30:29.519 --> 00:30:34.140 deal of difference to me and to the body where 00:30:34.140 --> 00:30:38.940 I should be. Because as one with the function, 00:30:39.220 --> 00:30:43.180 you and I are vital to the health of the local 00:30:43.180 --> 00:30:46.180 church. Now I want you to go back to 1 Corinthians 00:30:46.180 --> 00:30:54.940 as we see this. 1 Corinthians 12, verse 14. This 00:30:54.940 --> 00:30:59.349 is probably the... The most elongated passage 00:30:59.349 --> 00:31:01.210 in the New Testament dealing with this truth 00:31:01.210 --> 00:31:04.549 of the church is the body. You can see how Paul 00:31:04.549 --> 00:31:07.990 is drawing the parallels here so clearly. He 00:31:07.990 --> 00:31:11.069 says in 1 Corinthians 12, 14, For the body is 00:31:11.069 --> 00:31:15.470 not one member, but many. That's right. My body 00:31:15.470 --> 00:31:18.849 is not just one big foot. That would be a mess, 00:31:19.009 --> 00:31:24.519 wouldn't it? Many members. He says, if the foot 00:31:24.519 --> 00:31:27.759 should say, because I am not a hand, I am not 00:31:27.759 --> 00:31:31.460 a part of the body, it is not for this reason 00:31:31.460 --> 00:31:37.039 any the less a part of the body. And if the ear 00:31:37.039 --> 00:31:41.720 should say, because I am not an eye, I'm not 00:31:41.720 --> 00:31:45.559 a part of the body, it is not for that reason 00:31:45.559 --> 00:31:50.059 any the less a part of the body. If the whole 00:31:50.059 --> 00:31:52.559 body were an eye, Where would the hearing be? 00:31:52.660 --> 00:31:55.839 That's a fantastic picture. If your whole body 00:31:55.839 --> 00:31:59.039 is one big eyeball, how are you going to hear 00:31:59.039 --> 00:32:02.960 anything? You have to have ears. If the whole 00:32:02.960 --> 00:32:05.140 were hearing, where would the sense of smell 00:32:05.140 --> 00:32:07.940 be? If you were a big ear, how are you going 00:32:07.940 --> 00:32:10.099 to smell that roast beef that's cooking for your 00:32:10.099 --> 00:32:13.400 dinner today? That'd be no fun. How are you going 00:32:13.400 --> 00:32:18.720 to eat it, for that matter? But he says, now 00:32:18.720 --> 00:32:22.319 God has placed the members, each one of them, 00:32:22.359 --> 00:32:27.900 in the body just as he desired. And if they were 00:32:27.900 --> 00:32:31.819 all one member, where would the body be? But 00:32:31.819 --> 00:32:34.700 now there are many members, but one body. You 00:32:34.700 --> 00:32:37.279 know what he's saying here? That as those who 00:32:37.279 --> 00:32:40.500 have a function, we are to function in harmony. 00:32:42.019 --> 00:32:46.799 If I fail to do my thing, whatever that may be, 00:32:47.630 --> 00:32:52.230 There are others who will lack fulfillment because 00:32:52.230 --> 00:32:58.410 of me. In some way, the body will not be as healthy 00:32:58.410 --> 00:33:03.309 as it ought to be if, as one part of it, I fail. 00:33:05.230 --> 00:33:07.930 Therefore, I must do my thing. I must fulfill 00:33:07.930 --> 00:33:11.089 the function, accomplish the role that God has 00:33:11.089 --> 00:33:19.339 set before me. There's no place within the body 00:33:19.339 --> 00:33:24.980 for a nagging, persistent friction like arthritis. 00:33:27.160 --> 00:33:30.059 Nor is there any place in the body for open, 00:33:30.200 --> 00:33:34.759 flagrant resistance, as in the case of an organ 00:33:34.759 --> 00:33:41.140 transplant rejection. I read recently that one 00:33:41.140 --> 00:33:43.700 of the reasons that heart transplants have only 00:33:43.700 --> 00:33:47.380 more recently begun to... be successful is because 00:33:47.380 --> 00:33:49.480 they've finally learned how to curb the natural 00:33:49.480 --> 00:33:53.559 rejection of the body of a foreign organ. That 00:33:53.559 --> 00:33:55.880 organ may be just like the one that was taken 00:33:55.880 --> 00:33:58.900 out and pumped just the same way, etc., but it's 00:33:58.900 --> 00:34:01.400 a foreign substance, and the body knows it and 00:34:01.400 --> 00:34:06.119 it rejects it. It's dangerous if you're depending 00:34:06.119 --> 00:34:08.239 upon that heart to live, and most of us do depend 00:34:08.239 --> 00:34:14.260 upon our hearts to live. That open rejection 00:34:14.969 --> 00:34:17.949 It can kill you. Let me tell you something. It 00:34:17.949 --> 00:34:21.809 applies to the church, too. When there begins 00:34:21.809 --> 00:34:24.150 to be rejection of the members of one another, 00:34:24.630 --> 00:34:30.349 flagrant rejection, it'll kill a church. It will 00:34:30.349 --> 00:34:33.590 flat kill a church, and it may not take very 00:34:33.590 --> 00:34:39.269 long. But just as painful are those what I call 00:34:39.269 --> 00:34:44.079 nagging, persistent frictions. Arthritis may 00:34:44.079 --> 00:34:45.880 not kill you right away, but it sure makes your 00:34:45.880 --> 00:34:50.360 life miserable. There are a lot of churches that 00:34:50.360 --> 00:34:54.519 have spiritual arthritis. Because somehow there's 00:34:54.519 --> 00:34:56.760 just friction among the members. There's no harmony 00:34:56.760 --> 00:35:04.179 there. Members of the body are to function in 00:35:04.179 --> 00:35:08.480 harmony, he says. Each doing his part. And the 00:35:08.480 --> 00:35:11.820 result is the body is one. It's whole. It's healthy. 00:35:13.929 --> 00:35:16.630 But he goes on to say in verses 21 to 27 that 00:35:16.630 --> 00:35:19.809 members are also to function in, note the word, 00:35:20.389 --> 00:35:26.449 interdependence. He says, and the eye cannot 00:35:26.449 --> 00:35:30.570 say to the hand, I have no need of you. Or again, 00:35:30.630 --> 00:35:33.409 the head to the feet, I have no need of you. 00:35:33.489 --> 00:35:35.070 I mean, how's a head going to get around if he 00:35:35.070 --> 00:35:40.469 doesn't have feet? And how is an eye going to 00:35:40.469 --> 00:35:42.170 get what it wants if it doesn't have a hand? 00:35:42.599 --> 00:35:45.619 See, they're dependent upon each other. He says, 00:35:45.659 --> 00:35:48.219 on the contrary, it is much truer that the members 00:35:48.219 --> 00:35:50.280 of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary, 00:35:50.539 --> 00:35:53.500 and those members of the body which we deem less 00:35:53.500 --> 00:35:56.820 honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor. 00:35:57.039 --> 00:35:59.360 The idea seems to be there by clothing them. 00:36:00.260 --> 00:36:03.639 And our unseemly members come to have more abundant 00:36:03.639 --> 00:36:06.840 seemliness, whereas our seemly members have no 00:36:06.840 --> 00:36:09.880 need of it. But God has so composed the body, 00:36:09.920 --> 00:36:12.400 giving more abundant honor to that member which 00:36:12.400 --> 00:36:15.699 lacked, that there should be no division in the 00:36:15.699 --> 00:36:19.199 body, but that the members should have the same 00:36:19.199 --> 00:36:24.739 care for one another. Interdependence. And if 00:36:24.739 --> 00:36:27.079 one member suffers, all the members suffer with 00:36:27.079 --> 00:36:30.380 it. If one member is honored, all the members 00:36:30.380 --> 00:36:33.860 rejoice with it. Now you are Christ's body and 00:36:33.860 --> 00:36:39.519 individually members of it. Members are not only 00:36:39.519 --> 00:36:42.059 to function harmoniously, but they are to function 00:36:42.059 --> 00:36:48.480 in interdependence. Interdependence. The idea 00:36:48.480 --> 00:36:53.179 is that we need each other. We need each other's 00:36:53.179 --> 00:36:57.219 encouragement. We need each other's counsel. 00:36:58.480 --> 00:37:02.980 We need each other's rebuke. We need each other's 00:37:02.980 --> 00:37:06.440 correction. We need each other's instruction. 00:37:07.760 --> 00:37:11.440 We need each other's stimulation. We need each 00:37:11.440 --> 00:37:14.780 other because we are members of the same body. 00:37:19.519 --> 00:37:24.539 But too often, don't we reflect really what is 00:37:24.539 --> 00:37:29.800 the characteristic of our humanistic society, 00:37:30.139 --> 00:37:38.059 which believes in autonomous man? And we carry 00:37:38.059 --> 00:37:42.440 that idea into our lives, and we think, I am 00:37:42.440 --> 00:37:48.000 independent. I am spiritually mature, and I don't 00:37:48.000 --> 00:37:55.059 need others. I can do it myself. I am in my own 00:37:55.059 --> 00:38:00.239 little world, and I'll take care of me. Oh, folks, 00:38:00.400 --> 00:38:06.699 how tragic. Because you see, God's plan is for 00:38:06.699 --> 00:38:15.179 all the members to be interdependent. We need 00:38:15.179 --> 00:38:20.639 each other. You need to be a part of a local 00:38:20.639 --> 00:38:22.820 church. If you're a believer, you're a part of 00:38:22.820 --> 00:38:24.239 the universal church. But where are you going 00:38:24.239 --> 00:38:28.559 to go to that church next Sunday? You're going 00:38:28.559 --> 00:38:30.440 to have to get involved in a local expression 00:38:30.440 --> 00:38:34.519 of it that meets somewhere, someplace. Hopefully 00:38:34.519 --> 00:38:39.460 here. You need, other believers, other believers 00:38:39.460 --> 00:38:42.460 need you. This is not theory. We're talking about 00:38:42.460 --> 00:38:45.460 something that's real. Something that's vital 00:38:45.460 --> 00:38:52.659 to the health of our church. If you're a member 00:38:52.659 --> 00:38:57.579 of the universal body, I repeat, you need to 00:38:57.579 --> 00:39:00.639 be a member of a local body, a local church. 00:39:02.059 --> 00:39:05.780 It is never the plan of God for us to spend long 00:39:05.780 --> 00:39:11.119 periods of time floating around trying to find 00:39:11.119 --> 00:39:15.019 a place to light in a church. I recognize that 00:39:15.019 --> 00:39:17.119 there are periods of time that we go through 00:39:17.119 --> 00:39:21.300 when we have to find another church for one reason 00:39:21.300 --> 00:39:26.179 or another. And in those periods, we may visit 00:39:26.179 --> 00:39:29.280 several churches to see... where there's the 00:39:29.280 --> 00:39:31.920 kind of ministry that we can agree with and identify 00:39:31.920 --> 00:39:35.639 with and be a part of. But may I say in love 00:39:35.639 --> 00:39:38.539 to each of us today, it is never the plan of 00:39:38.539 --> 00:39:40.460 God for that period to be any longer than it 00:39:40.460 --> 00:39:44.139 has to be. Because God's plan is for us to get 00:39:44.139 --> 00:39:47.380 plugged in to a local church somewhere and to 00:39:47.380 --> 00:39:53.840 begin serving. Because we need others, and they 00:39:53.840 --> 00:39:59.000 need us. If you're a saved person, where are 00:39:59.000 --> 00:40:02.880 you a member this morning? Is a local church 00:40:02.880 --> 00:40:05.179 in this area where you can be involved or is 00:40:05.179 --> 00:40:07.699 it in the hometown where you're from where you 00:40:07.699 --> 00:40:10.280 can be involved and others are looking to you 00:40:10.280 --> 00:40:12.119 and you're looking to them and there's this kind 00:40:12.119 --> 00:40:14.559 of relationship because you're one, you're a 00:40:14.559 --> 00:40:21.579 body? Your faithful and humble service in the 00:40:21.579 --> 00:40:27.190 body is essential, not only for it, but for yourself 00:40:27.190 --> 00:40:31.829 as well. Because, you see, this is a matter of 00:40:31.829 --> 00:40:34.010 eternal significance. We're not talking about 00:40:34.010 --> 00:40:36.369 a little club that gets together once a week 00:40:36.369 --> 00:40:41.769 so everybody can be nice and smile and go home. 00:40:42.670 --> 00:40:44.809 We're talking about something that God is doing 00:40:44.809 --> 00:40:50.110 forever. So what I do in the church is eternal, 00:40:50.349 --> 00:40:53.969 and it's important. And what you do in the church 00:40:53.969 --> 00:41:01.429 is eternal, and it's important. I really believe 00:41:01.429 --> 00:41:08.530 this, that if I fail in my life in becoming a 00:41:08.530 --> 00:41:11.429 part of a vital church, or if I move several 00:41:11.429 --> 00:41:16.929 of them, then I have missed one of life's most 00:41:16.929 --> 00:41:22.659 central purposes. I've missed it. I dare not 00:41:22.659 --> 00:41:26.980 make that mistake, nor do you. We are the body 00:41:26.980 --> 00:41:29.980 of Jesus Christ and individually members of it. 00:41:31.980 --> 00:41:36.079 He expresses his life in the world through us. 00:41:37.539 --> 00:41:42.920 Dr. Paul Brand and Philip Yancey in their book, 00:41:43.019 --> 00:41:46.340 Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, make this helpful 00:41:46.340 --> 00:41:51.340 statement. Jesus departed. leaving no body on 00:41:51.340 --> 00:41:54.599 earth to exhibit the Spirit of God to an unbelieving 00:41:54.599 --> 00:41:59.480 world, except the faltering, bumbling community 00:41:59.480 --> 00:42:02.300 of followers who had largely forsaken him at 00:42:02.300 --> 00:42:09.280 his death. We are what Jesus left on earth. He 00:42:09.280 --> 00:42:13.199 did not leave a book or a doctrinal statement 00:42:13.199 --> 00:42:17.960 or a system of thought. He left a visible community. 00:42:19.150 --> 00:42:22.210 to embody Him and represent Him to the world. 00:42:23.389 --> 00:42:28.369 That's good. That's what we are. A living community 00:42:28.369 --> 00:42:33.269 embodying Him and representing Him to the world. 00:42:37.570 --> 00:42:42.050 After World War II, there were some German students 00:42:42.050 --> 00:42:46.769 who volunteered to go to England. to help rebuild 00:42:46.769 --> 00:42:51.329 a cathedral that was there. It was the casualty 00:42:51.329 --> 00:42:53.250 of one of the many bombings of the German Air 00:42:53.250 --> 00:42:57.929 Force. As the work progressed on that cathedral, 00:42:58.150 --> 00:43:00.630 there was a debate that broke out regarding how 00:43:00.630 --> 00:43:06.969 to restore a large statue of Jesus with his arms 00:43:06.969 --> 00:43:10.630 outstretched and which had the familiar caption 00:43:10.630 --> 00:43:15.880 on it, Come Unto Me. You see, careful patching 00:43:15.880 --> 00:43:19.260 of the statue would repair almost all of the 00:43:19.260 --> 00:43:24.559 damage except for his hands, which had been completely 00:43:24.559 --> 00:43:29.559 destroyed by bombs. The question that was debated 00:43:29.559 --> 00:43:33.199 among the students was, should they attempt the 00:43:33.199 --> 00:43:36.179 very delicate and difficult task of trying to 00:43:36.179 --> 00:43:42.340 reshape the hands of Jesus on that statue? Finally, 00:43:42.340 --> 00:43:46.219 together, they reached a decision which affects 00:43:46.219 --> 00:43:50.000 the statue still to this day. For at the bottom 00:43:50.000 --> 00:43:52.280 of the statue, there is a new inscription which 00:43:52.280 --> 00:44:04.480 now reads, Christ has no hands but ours. Whose 00:44:04.480 --> 00:44:08.179 life have you touched for Jesus Christ this last 00:44:08.179 --> 00:44:16.190 week? As a member of the body, who will be the 00:44:16.190 --> 00:44:23.170 object of your ministry tomorrow? As a part of 00:44:23.170 --> 00:44:26.190 the functioning body of Christ, what will you 00:44:26.190 --> 00:44:30.690 do this week to fulfill that function as God 00:44:30.690 --> 00:44:36.309 enables you? You are a member of the body, the 00:44:36.309 --> 00:44:43.869 functioning body of Jesus Christ. Let's pray. 00:44:46.710 --> 00:44:51.429 Lord, help us to grasp this truth, that what 00:44:51.429 --> 00:44:56.090 that inscription says is true, that your hands 00:44:56.090 --> 00:45:02.090 are ours, that we are your members in this world. 00:45:04.210 --> 00:45:06.530 Father, forgive us because all around us are 00:45:06.530 --> 00:45:09.429 people who have needs, and we go on our little 00:45:09.429 --> 00:45:15.369 ways. thinking ourselves to be self -sufficient, 00:45:15.570 --> 00:45:23.590 concerned about our problems, so nearsighted 00:45:23.590 --> 00:45:26.909 that we cannot look around and see those who 00:45:26.909 --> 00:45:31.190 are hurting worse than we are and who need the 00:45:31.190 --> 00:45:36.409 touch of Jesus Christ in their lives. Lord, make 00:45:36.409 --> 00:45:41.920 us that touch. This week, within this body and 00:45:41.920 --> 00:45:44.440 to those outside of it, I pray that we will minister 00:45:44.440 --> 00:45:50.539 to each other. Show us how badly we need each 00:45:50.539 --> 00:45:55.400 other. Teach us to work together harmoniously. 00:45:58.860 --> 00:46:03.780 Lord, we give you ourselves afresh today. And 00:46:03.780 --> 00:46:06.139 I pray that whatever decisions may need to be 00:46:06.139 --> 00:46:09.590 made, whatever... Areas of life need to be yielded 00:46:09.590 --> 00:46:11.610 to you that as we close this service, you'll 00:46:11.610 --> 00:46:15.070 focus on those personally in each one of us and 00:46:15.070 --> 00:46:21.510 bring us to the place of submission and obedience. 00:46:24.230 --> 00:46:26.489 In Jesus' name I pray, amen.