Body Shame
One Church • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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The Church is the Body of Christ and there is no shame with any part of HIS BODY. Every part is important and essential.
We are in middle of a series called One Church.
We talked about how much our words matter from James 3.
What we say has the power of life and death.
What we say we can never unsay… post, text… the damage is already done.
Filtering our words through these questions...
Is what I’m about to say going to benefit the people who hear it?
Am I hurt and is what I’m about to say going to hurt others?
Can I use words that are honest and truthful yet encouraging, honoring and uplifting?
Then we talked about how much our connection to Jesus matters from John 15.
Abiding with Jesus is vital if we are going to do anything for Jesus.
“apart from ME you can do NOTHING”
The unifying component for the Bride of Christ is that we must all abide in Jesus everyday.
The reason why we get off track is when we are not full of the presence of Jesus.
This morning is a reminder that we are one church with lots of diversity.
We must learn to operate as HIS church, unified in Christ, abiding in the presence of Jesus, and allowing God to work the One Church miracle.
Even though we are all very different, God uses our diversity to connect with one another as HIS Body, as HIS church.
Even though we are all different, Jesus Christ unifies us into HIS Body that function of a healthy church.
Unity is not uniformity…
Unity is speaking and listening respectfully, honoring one another’s diverse individuality, and as we abide in Jesus, we strive to love one another, build up and encourage one another as we follow Jesus together.
Paul, talks about the church functioning in unity.
1 Corinthians 12:12–14 (ESV)
12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. 14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many.
PRAY
Jesus came to seek and save those who are lost and as HIS church our mission is the same. It still continues through the power of the Holy Spirit, through the unified mission of the church.
Jesus gave us HIS mission.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
We live in a lost, hurting, and the broken world but God’s church as the Body of Christ.
The church is the earthly expression of the heavenly reality.
The church is the environment where strong spiritual leadership develops and matures.
The church is the chief place for spiritual edification and growth.
The church is the only institution that our Lord promised to build and to bless.
The church is the gathering place of true worshippers.
The church is the most precious assembly on earth since Christ purchased it with His own blood.
The church is the proclaimer and protector of divine truth.
We are HIS church and we are all called to LOVE LIVE AND DECLARE JESUS.
We are called to GO and make disciple, teach, and to send out disciples for Jesus and to repeat the process.
We all have the same mission yet we all have different jobs to fulfil that mission within the church.
Everything we do as the church, supports the mission, and God’s mission will never change.
Paul, using the human body to illustrate our diversity as the Body of Christ can sometimes threaten individuals within the Body.
We can see our uniqueness as having no connection to the rest of the Body.
We can also see our uniqueness and giftedness as less important to the entire Body.
Jesus sees HIS Body as uniquely connected. How do we do that?
Sometimes we see our uniqueness as a threat and not as an asset.
I wish I wasn’t uniquely me.
I wish I wasn’t uniquely me.
If we were all the same, the Body could not function in the healthy way God intended it too.
Paul deals with our insecurity about simply being who we really are.
14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.
God made you the way you are so just be the best version of you.
God knew what HE was doing when HE made us unique because HIS BODY cannot function with only one part.
We may want to be gifted in a certain area but that’s not where God gifted us.
When we compare ourselves to others we see our gifts through an unhealthy lens.
Our gifts are seen as bullet points on a resume…
Our gifts are seen as self serving and not God pleasing.
Each part is different but each part is necessary and God has a wonderful purpose behind each of our differences.
Whether you serve in the background or in front of people, every part is essential.
We are uniquely different for a special purpose and God is not hiding His purpose but HE wants us to discover it by seeking HIM.
Be who God created you to be and let God refine you to become more like Jesus.
Not everyone can stand in front of people and speak, teach or sing. Many people are relieved that there are other jobs that don’t require public speaking skills.
Some just love to clean, organize things, administrate and coordinate things.
Love to work with kids… they love to design stuff, build stuff, create stuff.
Website, graphics, decorate a room, paint.
We can see our uniqueness as a threat but God sees it as an asset.
Another insecurity we have is that…
We wish we were just like everybody else.
We wish we were just like everybody else.
We all come from different backgrounds, political ideology, family dynamics, life perspectives, work ethics and all of those things are a part of who we are.
God want’s to use our life story to minister to others. If we all came from the same background, family, perspective, we would have a pretty boring church and we would have a hard time identifying with others who think very differently from us.
19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.
If we all had the same job, nothing would ever get done, church would be boring, and people different from us would be seen as a threat and not as people welcomed.
We can see our uniqueness as a threat and not as an asset when…
We feel unnecessary or weak in the Church.
We feel unnecessary or weak in the Church.
We all need Jesus and we all need to be connected to one another those 2 connections give us eternal value.
1 Corinthians 12:21–24 (ESV)
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require.
We want to put our best foot forward, show our better side, make a good impression.
We must be careful that as the church we can become more concerned with performance and appearance and surface issues instead of equipping the body to serve one another which brings health to the entire body of Christ.
Everybody in the Body must serve one another.
If Jesus served others, so should we.
Be willing to help out wherever the need might be at the moment… cleaning up after a meal at church, cleaning the church once a month, greeting those who come into church, serve at a funeral dinner, make a meal for a family in need.
God is looking for faithful people who are willing to discover their unique part within the Body…
Don’t be afraid to work hard but work with one another. Be who God created you to be, serve the Body of Christ and don’t compare yourself to others and don’t try to be someone else.
Each of us have areas where we are strong and areas where we are weak. Take an honest look… prayerfully examine those areas so we can start working from our strengths more often.
Discover those areas where you are gifted.
Discover those areas where you are gifted.
Various gift assessment tools and tests that have been developed, from the simple to the sophisticated, and these can be helpful in confirming suspicions and suggesting new possibilities.
But most of the church down through history has not had access to these tools, and God can overrule the natural desires or abilities that these tests disclose.
We must be willing to take the initiative by doing our part to discover.
We must be prayerful, search our hearts, trying out different ministries, and listen to honest feedback from mature believers. Be open to leaders willing to help and guide us in ascertaining our gifts.
Develop those gifts.
Develop those gifts.
As the church, we must take notice of peoples gifts, encourage them to step into those areas of ministry, give them resources to help them develop those gifts.
It’s no longer about maintaining ministries and filling holes but it’s about building up the Body of Christ.
If we are going to become a healthy church we must develop our gifts and those gifts in other people within the Body.
Deploy gifted people into areas of ministry.
Deploy gifted people into areas of ministry.
Exercise those gifts within the church.
If you see an area of ministry that needs help, and you can help then willingly volunteer.
If you are not doing any ministry in the church don’t wait to be asked, willingly serve.
You may be serving in an area that is not necessary your strongest suit but God has a way of stretching us, seeing value in certain ministries and confirming those gifts that you do have.
Ministry is not intended to be done alone.
Encourage others to come along side you as you are serving in ministry.
Our connection makes the whole body work.
Our connection makes the whole body work.
Every part needs to be connected. Even with our differences we still love Jesus and want others to love Jesus.
Our effectiveness has very little to do with our giftedness but our connection to one another in spite of our differences.
The same God who we worship unites us, gives us a renewed purpose for living and through Christ we are seamlessly connected.
The closer we get to Jesus the less we are concerned about our position within the Body.
The closer we get to Jesus the more we are concerned about one another which keeps the Body healthy.
1 Corinthians 12:24–27 (ESV)
24 But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. 27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
God shows no favorites… Every person has the same value.
Our value isn’t based on how well we accomplish a task or do a job. Our value is based on the truth that God created us. We are all created in the image of God.
We are not like a part that you can replace on a car. We are priceless, unique and irreplaceable. No one else is like you.
We are so connected that we feel each other’s pain and we rejoice in each other’s victories.
When we love one another the way Jesus loves, our connection becomes deeper and deeper. We hurt when someone else is hurting… we rejoice when someone else is victorious.
TAKE AWAY
Make this your prayer… “Lord, use me so that Jesus, you are glorified through YOUR Body… so that your Body is a greater blessing to others… so that more people are drawn to Jesus.”
There is no shame in the Body of Christ.