It's All About Jesus.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] We’ll go ahead and have a seat welcome to Village Church [0:04] You know Village Church exists to worship God by helping as many people as possible [0:11] Become fully devoted followers of Jesus and my first prayer right now is that you guys would be able to see [0:18] There we go. There we go [0:22] and [0:23] My second prayer then would be that you would be able to come in and be a part of

[0:31] Helping others become fully devoted followers of Jesus [0:36] You know, we’ve got so many ways around here to do that [0:39] But this week is where we are launching our weekly community group gatherings again [0:45] And so there is a great opportunity for you to kind of join in [0:50] To the life of a community group this week [0:52] You can join an existing group and all the information for that’s on the website or you can come this Wednesday night at

[0:59] 630 to something that we like to call starting point [1:02] and so when we have a bunch of people that want to join a new group what we often do is [1:08] At least once a year [1:09] We have what’s called starting point because sometimes when you join a group that already exists [1:14] It’s not always easy because you feel like you’re encroaching on somebody else’s party [1:18] And so sometimes it’s a lot easier if everyone’s new and you’re just not the new person

[1:24] It’s like that first day of school [1:26] But on starting point what we do is we spend six weeks going through the core values of Village Church and also explaining [1:32] What life and community with other believers at Village Church looks like because it might be unique to what your [1:39] Experience with small groups in the past is and so we want to start everybody off on the right foot so that you know [1:45] What community is here at Village Church? [1:48] Because joining us is something that we ask everyone to do to be a part in the life of discipleship here as a church

[1:55] And so my advice to you is that if you are not currently part of a community group come to starting point [2:01] That is a great way to really learn what community is all about and the reason [2:07] That we want you to be a part of the community is because that’s what it means to be a part of God’s church [2:12] You know this week is also pretty significant in the life of our church because this is [2:17] literally to the day the [2:20] Ninth anniversary of Village Church and so nine years ago today on September 9th

[2:27] 2009 we launched public services as a church now we launched it in elementary school [2:32] We weren’t here there were far fewer people that were a part of it back then and so by God’s grace [2:38] We’ve seen some great growth and actually today to celebrate that we’re launching a second location of [2:45] Village Church in Chester so it’ll be nine years for this congregation [2:48] It’s day one for Village Church at Chester today and by God’s grace what we’re seeing is our mission statement [2:56] Come to life is that we really want to help as many people as possible and some of you have been helped

[3:03] Some of you have grown so much in your discipleship through the [3:07] Relationships that you’ve formed here at Village Church that my prayer is is that you will today catch a vision [3:14] For what the next step is for you in living out the life of the body of Christ through the local church [3:22] And so when I was praying through what we would launch in our fall series [3:27] It really kind of jumped out at me that what better way to celebrate nine years and what better way to launch out a [3:35] New campus than to spend a few weeks talking about just really what is the church?

[3:40] Really what is God’s vision for the church? [3:44] You know all of you have an idea for what you think the church is and so if I were to really go out into [3:51] Somewhere in public and just ask everybody. What is the church? I would get so many different answers [3:57] But actually if we believe that Jesus is God [4:01] If we believe that the Bible is true [4:05] Then my opinions as to what the church is and

[4:10] My experiences in the church that have really served to form my opinions [4:14] Aren’t the utmost of importance what’s vital and what’s most important is what God says his church is [4:23] What God says defines his church and that’s really what the book of Ephesians is all about [4:30] So over the next few minutes what I want to do with you is I really just want to talk about all of Ephesians 1 [4:37] I know that’s a lot of verses, but we’re going to center on two specific verses [4:42] We’re gonna start in verses 22 and 23 and then what I want you to understand is that verses 22 and 23 of Ephesians 1

[4:49] serve as really a [4:52] Statement about all of the previous verses so all of the previous verses in Ephesians 1 [4:58] Serve to lead us to the understanding of our lives within the life of Christ in the local church [5:06] What it should look like and what we should think about it and so in Ephesians chapter 1 starting in verse 22 [5:12] Here’s what we have and [5:14] he God

[5:16] put all things under his [5:18] Jesus’s feet and [5:21] Gave him as head over all things to the church [5:26] Which is his body the fullness of him who fills all in all [5:33] You know the Bible goes into great detail to tell us that God’s plan [5:39] To spread the good news of Jesus all over the world is

[5:45] Meant to happen through the vehicle of the church and so when you came to faith in Jesus Christ [5:52] you became a [5:54] Follower of Christ or if you’re here this morning [5:57] And you haven’t put your faith in Jesus Christ God’s intention is for you to put your faith in Jesus Christ [6:03] and then thereby become a [6:06] follower of Christ

[6:08] but many of us have a [6:11] Truncated view of what following Jesus looks like and some of that’s cultural some of that’s because we don’t really read the Bible [6:18] We don’t really kind of study it in the way that we should and some of us have just had some [6:23] Discipleship that hasn’t been as good as it could have been and so many of us are left with the thought [6:28] That it’s just me and Jesus. That’s all I need [6:32] That’s sufficient for my discipleship. And so you view yourself as an individual

[6:39] alone [6:39] Growing in your faith in Christ and seeking just to do the best that you can to be a faithful follower of Jesus [6:46] You know, that’s not God’s vision for your life [6:48] When you came to faith in Jesus Christ or if you come to faith in Jesus Christ [6:54] God’s intention is for you to join what he calls in these verses his body [7:01] You as an individual are not the body of Christ

[7:05] you [7:06] Joining up with other followers of Jesus in a life of discipleship is [7:13] What forms the body of Christ and God begins laying out a framework in Ephesians 1 to call that the church [7:21] And so the first thing that we have to start with though is you

[7:26] Number one life is meant to be all about Jesus [7:31] Life is all about Jesus. I think that everyone is looking for a purpose [7:37] you are looking for your purpose and [7:42] The old days I’m gonna date myself here [7:44] But Michael W Smith used to sing about finding my place in this world. All right, you are looking for your purpose [7:51] I don’t believe that people are really looking for God as much as they are looking for

[7:56] Why am I here there has to be something that I am missing out on [8:01] What is it that I am supposed to pour myself into you will find that people? [8:05] That have a purpose or think that they have a specific purpose are by and large [8:11] happier than people that are directionless that [8:15] When you are in a sense [8:17] Directionless and you feel that your life has no purpose and you feel that you are purposeless that breeds a

[8:25] multitude of problems [8:28] That begins to lead to a life where you seek to feel yourself [8:34] Oftentimes with things that you think are going to give you purpose but in the end will ultimately lead to [8:41] Unhappiness and will ultimately lead to a great deal of harm [8:45] The question that you have to deal with though is that if you have a creator God [8:52] Then why did he make you?

[8:54] What was the purpose for which God created you and I know that oftentimes many of us enjoy? [9:01] Looking at our lives as if we are just this unique person with this unique [9:06] Purpose that can be the person nobody else has in their life [9:11] You have to ask yourself is that what God meant for you to see yourself as see and I think the gospel [9:17] Helps to clear this up so well for us because in the gospel what we find is really just the good news [9:25] That Jesus has come to save sinners. I think if I were to

[9:29] Summarize the gospel in one sentence that is how I would summarize what the good news of Jesus is [9:36] It’s this news that is news because it is something that someone else has done for you [9:42] And it is vital to understand that it isn’t one form of good news [9:47] Among many forms of good news that you could grab a hold of but instead the gospel of Jesus Christ is the [9:54] Good news that you are desperate for in your life [9:58] That it is

[10:00] God’s plan for you to put your life into the hands of Jesus Christ [10:05] For you to trust Jesus and to follow him and here’s what I hope that you understand that [10:12] is [10:13] your purpose [10:15] You have to begin to find purpose in Jesus or you will never hope to be able to find [10:23] The reason that you were created for that is the only source that is the only place

[10:29] That is where you can begin to build a life worth having and it has always been God’s vision [10:38] For your life to find meaning in Jesus [10:41] God did not just one day kind of look at us and say you know what it looks like he’s in a mess [10:49] It looks like she’s struggling [10:52] Jesus we should probably do something [10:56] You see that isn’t the depth of the good news

[10:59] The good news is that this has always been God’s design look at Ephesians chapter 1 starting in verse 3 [11:06] Here’s what the word tells us [11:09] it says [11:10] That blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ [11:14] Who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places [11:19] Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him

[11:26] In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ [11:32] According to the purpose of his will to the praise of his glorious grace with which he has blessed us in the beloved [11:40] In him we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of our trespasses [11:44] According to the riches of his grace [11:46] Which he lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will [11:53] According to his purpose which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time

[11:59] To unite all things in him things in heaven and things on earth [12:05] You see what we see there is that God is drawing everything together through the historic work of Jesus Christ [12:14] One thing that I want you to note that if you kind of take time later go through that and if you circle [12:19] Every time that he draws your focus back to the fact that God has done this in Christ [12:26] He makes that statement over 10 times [12:30] Between verses 3 and verse 10

[12:33] And that’s significant because he’s seeking to draw our attention [12:37] To the real key here is that the focus of the work of God in your life is [12:45] Jesus and that if you are to have the life that God has designed for you to have [12:51] Then you better be sure that you have to get to Jesus to find it because you cannot find it anywhere else [12:59] And so he continues to say in Christ in him in the beloved through him in Christ through Christ [13:06] It is all about Jesus and it’s always been about Jesus

[13:11] It didn’t just start being about him at a certain point in history [13:16] But no he goes into great detail to let you know that before God even created [13:22] anything [13:24] It was his focus to work all of the history of the world to Jesus [13:31] God has grounded our purpose in Jesus [13:37] There are so many things within verses 3 through 10 that we could debate

[13:41] There are so many things between verses 3 and 10 that we could kind of get sidetracked on before we talk about Jesus [13:48] But the one thing that you have to agree with me on verse in verses 3 through 10 is that verses 3 through 10 are [13:55] all about [13:57] Jesus [13:57] You can’t miss that if you’re going to find the purpose for your life [14:03] You have to get to the work of Jesus Christ

[14:07] Your purpose has to be linked then [14:10] to God’s glory [14:12] Because no what he says in verse 9 in verse 9 back there. He says and through Jesus [14:18] He’s making known to us the mystery of his will according to his purpose, which he set forth through Christ [14:24] And so he’s letting us know the purpose for which we exist and everything that Jesus did verses 3 through 10 tells us was to the praise of [14:33] his

[14:34] glory in other words the glory of God the Father and [14:38] So the direction that Jesus wants to set your life on is one in which Jesus has revealed the mystery of his will [14:46] So that you could be finding your purpose set forward in Christ to do the same thing that Jesus did with his life [14:53] Which was to bring God glory [14:57] And so then when we get to Ephesians 1 22 [15:00] We are meant to have an understanding that the reason that it’s important to understand that Jesus has the authority as the head of

[15:08] all things is [15:10] That we are already finding our hope and answers for purpose and reorienting our lives around the glory of Jesus Christ [15:19] When you are doing that [15:22] You are ready for Jesus to command your steps and [15:28] That is what is vital is that you have to be prepared in your life to be so focused on Jesus [15:36] To treasure him to the extent where you just look to Jesus and say whatever your plan

[15:43] Whatever your path I [15:47] Will follow [15:48] So when he gets to verse 22 [15:51] It’s with the understanding that he is the head it’s with the understanding that he has the authority [15:56] It’s with the understanding that Jesus gets to make the calls [16:02] That he’s the decision maker

[16:05] The reason that that’s important is because number two Jesus is all about his church [16:12] Jesus is all about his church [16:14] When you’re trying to follow Jesus [16:17] Church can bring some problems [16:20] Because many of us have baggage where the church is concerned many of us have hang ups many of us have had bad [16:24] Experiences many of us have had those experiences though because we’ve misdefined the purpose of the church

[16:30] Because you want the church to be all about you. Well, the church ain’t about you. The church is about Jesus [16:36] But you have to understand that if you’re going to follow Jesus you got to do it through the church [16:41] You’ve got to why not because I say so [16:46] No [16:46] Sometimes I would like another way too [16:50] But because Jesus said so look in verse 22 it says that he is the head over all things to the

[16:59] church [17:01] Which is his [17:03] body verse 23 starts [17:05] See that is vital for you to understand [17:09] See when you understand that Jesus is all about the church [17:13] We begin to understand how he wields his authority

[17:17] See it isn’t that Jesus only has authority over the church [17:21] The Bible doesn’t tell us that story at all [17:25] The story specifically of the New Testament after the resurrection is that the resurrection [17:30] Served to actually prove the point that Jesus has all authority over everything in heaven and on earth [17:37] So there is nothing in heaven or on earth that does not exist and does not function [17:45] Under the authority of Jesus Christ the reason that it says and he gave him as head over all things to the church

[17:51] Which is his body is to understand how he wields his authority in heaven and on earth [17:58] He wields it through the church which is referred to as his body [18:05] If he shins talks about Jesus [18:07] Revealing the mystery of his will and that if you want purpose if you want his will [18:13] You have to get to Jesus and through that you have to do it through the church because he’s writing about God’s design [18:21] To save for himself a people for the way that the Bible puts it are his own

[18:28] possession to live for his glory on the earth [18:32] But the experience that many seek in Christ is one in which you are redeemed from sin and [18:40] Then continue to live out your [18:43] individualistic purpose on this earth [18:46] Well the end of verse 22 [18:49] expels that from being a possibility or even

[18:53] potential as a follower of Jesus Christ [18:57] Because when you say, you know the old Sinatra tune I did it my way [19:02] You know when you say I need to do this my way

[19:07] What you are actually doing is is that you are saying Jesus it’s not all about you it’s all about me [19:15] Because I’ve got to do things according to my personality type. I’ve got to do things according to my purposes [19:21] I’ve got to do things according to my preferences. It’s all about me [19:27] Well verses 22 and 23 serve to really sober us [19:32] To the reality that it is not all about you and when it is all about you [19:38] You are not living under the design of God

[19:42] Because you are the body [19:44] Jesus is the head [19:46] now if my body starts doing things that I don’t tell it to do I [19:56] Probably got some sort of disorder that means I may have some nerve problems [20:01] That means I may have an injury that I wasn’t aware of that means that maybe one of my organs is malfunctioning [20:06] But your body is supposed to do what the brain

[20:10] sends messages to tell it to do and so when we are called the body of Christ and he is called the [20:19] Head of the body he is telling us something very significant about our design as followers of Jesus [20:26] He’s telling us that it’s not up to you and [20:30] That when it is up to you

[20:33] Something’s wrong [20:35] Something’s malfunctioning. He’s saying that there is something that is greater than you and that is Jesus [20:41] It is about the avenue through which you are to live your life [20:47] See when you say it’s about me my preferences my personality what I want you’re separating yourself

[20:57] Look at original sin what separates sin [21:03] Sin separates us and so when we have that vision for our lives [21:08] What we’re actually doing is is we are going back to that default mode that we are born into of sin [21:15] And that’s how we’re making our decisions [21:18] But it is Jesus who redeems and it is Jesus who reconciles [21:24] And so if Jesus is God

[21:29] Then your life will exist to be a part of his church [21:35] That’s what he’s telling us in Ephesians chapter 1 look back in verses 11 through 12 of Ephesians 1. Here’s what he says

[21:45] This is in him in Jesus we have obtained an inheritance [21:49] Having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will [21:55] So that we who were the first to hope and Christ might be to the praise of [22:02] His glory there’s three things in that passage that you get through faith in Jesus [22:07] First you obtain an inheritance to trust God for in your future [22:12] Second you gain purpose to understand the direction that God’s will for your life will lead you towards

[22:18] And then third you get hope that your life will bring God glory [22:24] Now the will of God in that section is vital [22:29] Paul wrote that in his purpose you get the counsel of his will in other words [22:36] You are able to understand where it is that God wants you to root your life in [22:40] You’re able to understand the direction that God wants you to go with your life [22:45] And so when verses 22 through 23 state that Jesus is the head of the church

[22:49] Which is his body the fullness of him is where it continues [22:54] He’s laying out more of the counsel of his will for you to understand [22:59] And so if you grasp that the trajectory of your life in Christ [23:05] Will lead to you representing him through faith and work on this earth as a member of his body [23:14] You alone are not the full body I [23:19] Know some of you think pretty highly of yourselves. All right, and hey, I got that tendency all day

[23:26] But me by myself

[23:30] Is not the body of Christ you by yourself is not the body of Christ [23:36] I’m shocked sometimes at the level of intelligence that God has brought us [23:41] Some of you are smart some of you are really really smart [23:46] But you’re not so smart that God says I think you can do this on your own I [23:54] Think you’ve got this no God has designed for you to be a part of his church you [24:01] joined with other followers of Jesus

[24:04] Begins to form the body [24:07] And Jesus is the head of that body to have a vision for the purpose of God in your life [24:15] You need to understand that Jesus works through his body the church on this earth and only [24:23] Jesus is [24:25] Qualified to lead the church [24:27] You’re not qualified. I’m not qualified. That’s why it says he’s the head, you know

[24:34] Saying that we’re the body of Christ is a wonderful thing [24:39] It’s a blessing but it is a nice way of God speaking through the Apostle Paul of saying we don’t get to lead

[24:47] It’s a nice way of him saying it’s not your call [24:50] It’s a nice way of saying you don’t get to design it. It’s a nice way of him saying [24:57] Someone else is leading this and that someone else is Jesus. He is where direction comes from [25:04] See the body in this analogy is where the will is worked. It’s where the action takes place [25:12] You see when I do something with my hands when I build something with my hands [25:18] I don’t always sit there thinking. Okay, Steve

[25:22] Your brain is telling your hand to do this [25:25] Okay brain tell the hammer to swing. All right. It’s not like go-go gadget hands [25:31] All right, that’s not how it works when I do things I simply do the action and the action is completed [25:39] But then if I sit down and think about how the action is completed [25:43] It was the head telling me to do it through my hands. It was the head telling my feet to move [25:49] It was the head telling the muscles to tense up when they need to tense up to loosen when they need to loosen

[25:54] For the nerve endings to function in the way that they need to function and it all happens [26:00] Seamlessly [26:01] See that is how the body of Christ is to work [26:05] Is that we represent the action of God on this earth? [26:11] You see when Jesus tells the hands and feet in the direction in which they are to go [26:17] When the hands and feet don’t go in that direction then something’s wrong. You see sometimes we have an even worse reaction

[26:25] Sometimes when we’re building something and it doesn’t go quite the way that we thought it was going to go [26:31] Sometimes we have the temptation to cut ourselves off from the body and [26:37] We you know, we pretty it up in christianese and we’re like, I’m just gonna spend this season outside of community

[26:45] That would be like me trying to build something and if it didn’t go the way that I wanted it to go [26:50] I look at my left hand and I say, you know, you didn’t do right somebody get me a hatchet [26:56] I’m gonna spend the next season of my life with one hand

[27:01] How foolish would that be [27:04] Be very foolish [27:06] Because I’m not designed [27:10] To do that to myself [27:12] I’m designed to function with two hands and [27:15] You as a part of the body of Christ are not designed to make the decision to cut yourself off from the body

[27:22] Because what would happen with my hand if I were to cut it off and spend the next year of my life with no [27:27] Hand and then decide to put it back on [27:30] Well, I would find a dead hand [27:33] And I wouldn’t be able to reattach it [27:36] So when you cut yourself off from the body of Christ what you need to understand is that you cut yourself off from life [27:42] And you will not just go stagnant you will shrivel and your faith will die

[27:50] Because you were designed to be a part of the body [27:53] But understand that the body has to know its purpose [27:56] Number three the church is all about Jesus [28:00] The church is all about Jesus. You see [28:06] Ephesians 1 23 is to me the most fascinating verse in [28:12] Ephesians 1 because of the boldness of the statement that it makes and I’m gonna do the statement out of order and I

[28:19] Think you’ll understand why I do it out of order to begin with but he says Jesus [28:25] Fills all in all as he starts by saying the church is his body the fullness of him [28:31] But then he says which who fills all in all so he’s saying [28:35] Jesus is the focus [28:38] It’s all about Jesus [28:41] So he spends 20 verses

[28:44] Hammering down on that and then in verse 23 he doubles down [28:49] He says I want to end this specific section before I get into the practical nature of how [28:56] Salvation works out in Ephesians 2 I want you to understand that you walk away from this part of my letter [29:04] Understanding that it is all about Jesus [29:08] Jesus is the centerpiece of God’s plan. He is the [29:13] culmination of all of God’s work everything in history works towards Jesus and

[29:19] everything that will ever happen in the future is going to serve as a reflection of the cross of Jesus [29:26] anticipating that inheritance that verse 11 was talking to us about [29:30] Anticipating the return of Jesus where we will receive that future inheritance from God [29:37] Your life will not find fullness apart from the person and work of Jesus Christ [29:45] You’re going to be tempted to try [29:49] You’re going to be tempted to fill your life with other things

[29:53] You’re going to be tempted to say Jesus is not giving me [29:57] Satisfaction and so I’ve got to seek it in this thing in this thing or the other thing or a multitude of things

[30:07] But what the Apostle Paul wants you to understand and what the Holy Spirit is speaking through him [30:12] Is that you need to fight that urge? [30:15] You need to fight that temptation [30:17] You were designed to find your fullness in the person and work of Jesus Christ [30:26] And so to see the impact of this on your life go back to verse 18 [30:31] in Ephesians 1 18

[30:33] He says having the eyes of your hearts enlightened in other words God has [30:41] given you [30:42] the sight to

[30:46] Understand the things of God when he says that your hearts have been enlightened [30:51] He’s saying that you have come to saving faith in Jesus Christ [30:56] He’s saying that you understand that God is life whenever he talks about the heart [31:00] He’s talking about the center of who you are [31:04] He’s talking about your really just what makes you you and he’s saying that in faith [31:11] You understand that the core being of who you are

[31:16] Is Jesus Christ [31:18] You need him you have to have him you build life around him for him through him to him [31:26] He gives your life [31:30] Meaning and then he continues he says that you may know what is the hope that he has called you to [31:37] What are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints and what is the immeasurable? [31:42] Greatness of his power toward us who believe according to the working of his great might

[31:49] That he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places [31:55] Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above [32:00] Every name that is named not only in this age, but also in the one to come and he put all [32:09] things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church [32:16] Which is his body the fullness of him who fills all in all

[32:21] Do you see how he builds there [32:24] He says that God has given you the blessing of knowing who Jesus is and in that blessing this is [32:33] Your king this is your God. There’s no authority greater than him [32:38] There’s no power greater than him. There’s no ruler greater than him and and actually when you think about it [32:45] He says that there is no name that could ever be named [32:50] That would be greater than the name of Jesus Christ

[32:57] He’s doubling down [33:00] It’s all about Jesus [33:04] He’s saying you cannot hope to go through this world once you have had the eyes of your heart [33:10] Enlightened to who Jesus is and find anything better than Jesus [33:15] He is risen from the dead and he is [33:19] Currently ruling and reigning in heaven and there is no person there is no being there is no force and all of creation

[33:27] That will ever have more power more rule more authority more grandeur more fame more anything [33:35] Than Jesus Christ [33:38] He’s God he’s king [33:42] He’s life

[33:45] Then I want to talk about what’s the most fascinating phrase in verse 23

[33:52] in this amazing section [33:54] We talks about the amazing person of Jesus Christ [33:59] He says that the church is the fullness of him

[34:08] That’s why verse 23 stands out to me [34:11] He’s saying this God [34:14] This King who has all authority who has all power who has all rule who has all [34:21] Everything no one will ever defeat him. No one could even hope to stand against him for a millisecond and survive

[34:31] He has designed his life in [34:36] such a way that Jesus finds his fullness in the church and [34:43] In other words God has designed history to work out in such a way that to separate [34:48] Jesus from the church would be to take part of Jesus away from Jesus [34:55] Jesus defines his life [34:59] Jesus has designed his life in saying that without the church I am not full

[35:09] And so follower of Jesus I ask you how in the world [35:13] Do you think that you can be a disciple of Christ without a? [35:20] Commitment to the life of the church if Jesus himself says I’m not who I am [35:28] without my body

[35:32] How can you think you could design yourself to be a part of his body you can [35:38] You can’t leave you can’t cut yourself off from it and hope to have life [35:45] You see this is the design of God [35:47] This is how God is going to get his glory a people to live out what it looks like to be in [35:54] Submission to Jesus is the design of God and it is the plan for God to give himself ultimate glory [36:01] And so what we do is is that we serve to show the world around us what the will of God is

[36:08] By living in obedience to his word [36:11] We seek to show our faith and hope by living lives in which we obey his commands [36:16] We seek to tell everyone around us the good news that Jesus saves through the cross and through the resurrection [36:23] And here’s what I want you to understand that term we is [36:28] the church [36:30] That’s what we’re talking about here

[36:32] Note the connectedness that you have to have when he says the fullness of him [36:42] Jesus loves the church therefore [36:46] For us to live as the church we have to understand that everything that we do [36:53] every purpose that we have [36:55] every design that we give to this [36:58] Every action that we take under the banner of the Church of Jesus Christ

[37:04] It has to be all about him [37:08] We must find our lives in his body [37:12] And we must find Jesus in his church and always seek to point the church toward Jesus [37:20] We cannot get sidetracked by another purpose [37:24] We can’t get sidetracked by another vision [37:28] We can’t get sidetracked by any other hope we must find our life in

[37:36] Christ [37:37] We must find our purpose in his purpose. We must find our joy in [37:45] his joy [37:46] We must set our lives as [37:50] Church on a trajectory that will culminate in [37:56] The glory of Jesus Christ

[37:59] Because we are often tempted to be about other things aren’t we [38:03] We are often tempted to find our glory elsewhere [38:07] We are often tempted to point the church itself even as an institution in another direction [38:15] Friends I tell you we got to fight that [38:17] We got to fight it [38:20] It’s all about Jesus or it’s all pointless

[38:26] If it’s one thing that I want people to be able to say about us [38:32] It’s that we are all about Jesus and [38:38] friend when I say we [38:40] That includes you [38:43] That includes you [38:45] So friend my prayer through this series is that you will catch a vision for your life as part of the church

[38:53] Now today it was simply about understanding that the church is the body of Christ [38:59] Therefore we got to understand our part with Christ [39:02] But as we continue my hope is that you can catch more and more of a vision [39:09] For who Jesus is for you and how you can find your place in his body