Being A Part Of The Church
We Are The Church • Sermon • Submitted
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For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
Matthew 28:16-
Slide #1
When I was growing up we had rules in our house. Now we never had a family meeting to explain the rules, we usually learned them by watching each other get in trouble or usually when we broke one of the rules we learned that rule really quick.
Slide #2
We did not have too many rules, but some here are a few of them:
a
Mom and dad were in charge and we did what they requested, for the most part.
We were not to fight with each other, or at least not get caught fighting with each other
We were expected to be home for dinner, and always wearing a shirt.
When we heard the whistle, Dad can you still whistle, we were expected to stop what we were doing and come home immediately.
Now if you were a visitor in our home we didn’t put you through a training program to learn our house rules, but you were expected to follow them.
We were a family and respected our home and each other.
Slide #3
The Bible repeatedly uses the family metaphor for the church, the Body of Christ. When we accept Christ we become Children of God, brothers and sisters in Christ, and spiritual children and parents. We are a family and in every family there are certain expectations on how we will act and interact.
Slide #4
Two weeks ago we explored the marks of a true church based upon scripture.
Slide #5
Last week we looked at what Biblical leadership looks like within the Body of Christ.
And last week we looked at what Biblical leadership looks like within the Body of Christ.
Slide #6
This week I want to finish this series with how the Body of Christ, any of you that call Living Faith home, relates with each other and the church as a home.
Slide #7-13
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. 3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
This is God’s Word for God’s People, Hear It and Believe
This is God’s Word for God’s People, Hear It and Believe
Pray
Slide #14
Thom Rainer, a renowned church consultant, has found that congregations across America are weak because many in the church have lost the biblical understanding of what it means to be part of the Body of Christ.
want to us look into how we are to be as are part of the Body of Christ by first saying that research done by Thom Rainer, a renowned church consultant, has shown that congregations across America are weak because many in the church have lost the biblical understanding of what it means to be part of the Body of Christ.
We attend a church expecting others to serve us, to feed us, and to care for us. And believe me this does occur, but this is not why we are part of the Body.
God has placed us in churches to serve, to care for others, to pray for each other and the leaders, to learn, to teach, to give, and in some cases to die for the sake of the gospel.
So what is expected of us as part of the Body of Christ?
So what is expected of us as part of the Body of Christ?
I first want to say that if you are part of our family we are expecting that your are somewhere on the path to accepting Christ as your Savior and King. Listen to my sermons on 4 Chair Disciple-Making to understand this better or come and talk to me.
Slide #15
A Functioning Part of the Body
A Functioning Part of the Body
Church is not an spectator sport. As part of the body we are expected to help the church function.
Slide #16-23
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. 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. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.
It is within this diversity that we find unity. And it is within this unity that the church functions.
We who are part of Living Faith are all supposed to function within the church. The idea of an inactive member of the Body of Christ is an oxymoron.
This is why we are told to know our gifts and abilities, so that we can best use them to serve the Body for God’s glory.
Slide #24
The question we need to ask is “How can I best serve the church?” Not how can the church serve me.
Slide #25
A Unifying Part of the Body
A Unifying Part of the Body
When God calls you to begin believing in Jesus, God expects you to be part of His church. But when you become part of His church, He wants you to be a unifying presence.
Unity is vital to the health of the Body. This means that you and I must contribute to the unity of the church.
Slide #26-27
For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,
Slide #28
You have a responsibility as a member of this Body of Christ to be a source of unity, never a divisive force. We are to love each other unconditionally. We don’t love people just because they are lovable. We don’t have to agree on everything every time, but we may need to sacrifice our own preferences to keep the unity in our church.
When we seek unity, we demonstrate love.
Slide #29
14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
Slide #30
Unity Breakers
Unity Breakers
Gossip
Gossip
One of the greatest destroyers of unity in the church is gossip and negative talk. Few things can destroy the unity of the church like gossip. A unified church is powerful, but gossip tears apart that unity and renders a church powerless. So we need to avoid negative talk and gossip at all costs.
Slide #31
Unforgiveness
Unforgiveness
Unity cannot happen in the church if the Body has unforgiving hearts.
Slide #32-34
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
Unity is torn apart when we are unwilling to forgive each other. This also includes those outside the church. If we can’t forgive those outside the church we still have unforgiving hearts.
Slide #35
A Self-Sacrificing Part of the Body
A Self-Sacrificing Part of the Body
As you believe in Jesus Christ and become part of His Body you must realize it is not about you and your preferences, it is about Jesus and what He wants for us.
As we become part of the Body of Christ you must realize it is not about you and your preferences, it is about Jesus and what He wants for us.
We need to take the attitude of John the Baptist
Slide #36
30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”
When we join the Body of Christ we actually give up our preferences. We are here to meet the needs of others, to serve others, to give, and to sacrifice.
Slide #37
35 And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”
The word servant occurs 57 times in the New Testament. Sometimes it refers to a person whose role is a servant in a household, but many times it refers to our role as Christians.
Slide #38
We will never find joy in being part of the Body of Christ when we are constantly seeking things our way. But amazingly, we will find the greatest joy when we choose to be last.
True joy comes from giving up our rights and preferences and serving others. We cannot do this alone. Our natural way of thinking is to put ourselves first, but by the power of the Holy Spirit we can put others first.
Pray for His strength and wisdom as you strive to serve others.
Slide #39
A Supporting Part of the Body
A Supporting Part of the Body
Slide #40
A Supporting Part of the Body
A Supporting Part of the Body
42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
A Supporting Part of the Body
The first way we can support the Body of Christ is through prayer. We need to be people of prayer.
Slide #41-42
18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,
Slide #43
We also need to support the Body of Christ financially.
10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.
It is not the amount that matters, but the attitude
Slide #44-45
7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
We must be careful not to us this verse as an excuse to not support the church if we can’t do it cheerfully. If you can’t give cheerfully, then you have a greater problem then not being a giver.
Slide #46
A Reproducing Part of the Body
A Reproducing Part of the Body
A Reproducing Part of the Body
A Reproducing Part of the Body
We are expected as believers in Christ to mature from spiritual infants to spiritually mature. And usually when someone matures they reproduce. As mature believers we are expected to disciples of Jesus Christ.
Slide #47
21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. 22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. 25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
I believe that scripture says the first place this begins is within our own families. Men, you have been created by God to be the spiritual leaders of your home and lead your family to be healthy members of the Body of Christ.
Ephesians 5:21
And wives you have been created to be a helper to your husband.
and tells us how we are to lead our families as husband and wife.
Slide #48-49
For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body.
Ephesians
21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. 22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. 25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body.
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. 5 Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ,
4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Do you want to nourish and cherish your family, then lead them to Christ and set an example of what it means to be a man or woman of God.
Do you want to nourish and cherish your family, then lead them to Christ and set an example of what it means to be a man or woman of God.
Slide #50
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
What can you do to biblically lead your family?
How do you biblically lead your family?
Slide #51
Pray together as a family
Pray together as a family
Don’t just pray at meals. Pray at other times together as a family. Pray together for each other and the church. Pray over your children every night and bless them.
Slide #52
Worship together as a family
Worship together as a family
Scripture tells us to not stop meeting together. We are all part of the Body and each part is important. When we worship together we draw closer to God together.
When we worship together, God meets with us.
Slide #53
20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
I want to say that for many in the church who are single, we are their family. Which is why it is important for us to consistently meet together to worship.
When we consistently join together as a family with the rest of the Body of Christ and worship Jesus Christ it glorifies and honors God and binds us together as a family.
Slide #54
How Then Shall We Live as the Body of Christ
How Then Shall We Live as the Body of Christ
9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Let’s Pray
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Hebrews 10: