The Gospel Meddles, Part 1.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] Alright, go ahead and have a seat. [0:01] Welcome to Village Church. [0:03] If this is your first time here, my name’s Steve, I’m one of the pastors here at Village [0:06] Church and as always I am thankful and grateful to see each and every one of you this morning. [0:12] If you have your Bibles, go ahead and turn them to Romans chapter 12. [0:16] We’re going to be starting in verse 3 this morning.

[0:19] If you’ve recently just started coming to Village Church, we have been going through [0:23] the book of Romans as a church from start to finish. [0:27] And what the book of Romans gives us, it’s this book in the Bible that gives us the [0:31] story of Christianity. [0:34] The reality that we were designed by God for lives of worshipping God and living to show [0:40] His value to everyone and everything around us every single day.

[0:46] But instead humanity sought to find satisfaction in the things of this earth and to live to [0:52] our own value and find meaning apart from God. [0:56] Because of this we deserve God’s punishment for treason. [1:01] But instead God has shown His great love by sending His Son Jesus to pay the penalty [1:07] for our sin as our substitute. [1:10] God enacted justice and mercy through His great power to offer us redemption that we

[1:15] don’t deserve if we trust in Jesus as our Savior. [1:19] Romans 12 where we are right now kind of acts as a turning point and a transition [1:25] marker from learning what we should believe about God, what we should believe about ourselves [1:30] and what we should believe about Jesus to actually informing us then how the gospel [1:36] changes our vision and our view of the life that we are to live if we trust in Jesus Christ. [1:44] The gospel gives us this wonderful presentation that God doesn’t just kind of suck us out

[1:50] of this earth the moment that we get saved. [1:53] At the moment of faith in Jesus you don’t translate magically into heaven to be with [1:59] Him forevermore but instead you live sometimes years and years and years believing in Jesus [2:05] but on this earth living still seemingly apart from God. [2:10] Therefore we can only kind of assume in that that God has a purpose for it and that there [2:16] is something to God’s mission for our lives that we endure through a physical life before

[2:23] we see God. [2:24] And last week we kind of started taking a look at what it is that God has for us as [2:29] we believe the gospel, as we live in this world through faith in Jesus. [2:34] That we’re actually, He calls us to view our lives as living sacrifices. [2:41] And we do this because what worship in light of the gospel is, it is the sacrifice of [2:48] taking things that are less than God, sacrificing them so that we can know God and then through

[2:53] that we gain new real life. [2:58] And this is where the gospel, I want to warn you, will begin to meddle in our lives. [3:03] It will begin to tamper with the life that we’ve been planning and the life that we’ve [3:08] been living apart from Jesus. [3:09] It will begin to call us to actually make real changes that we intentionally walk into [3:15] in our lives.

[3:17] I was at a conference at one point during a Q&A session. [3:21] A pastor by the name of Dr. [3:23] Eric Mason, some of you may have heard of him, was asked how to respond to criticism that [3:28] certain sermons were too invasive and personal issues. [3:33] And his response was golden and it stuck with me ever since. [3:36] He simply responded with three words, said nothing else.

[3:40] He said, preaching is meddling. [3:42] He left it with that. [3:44] There’s no possibility of trusting in the gospel, communicating the gospel, and believing [3:52] the gospel of Jesus Christ in which you aren’t meddled with a little bit. [3:58] In which it isn’t invasive into your life. [4:01] In which it doesn’t make you kind of step back and take a look at the things that you’re

[4:05] actually doing. [4:06] The way that you actually view your purpose in this world and have it altered. [4:11] And when you’re presenting the gospel to others, it’s the same way. [4:15] You cannot hope to present the gospel to people without having the effect on the backside [4:21] of believing the gospel. [4:22] Actually making demands of our lives, making commands that come from God in our lives,

[4:28] and actually making us look and say, hmm, my life isn’t necessarily cohesive with that. [4:34] And if that’s the fact, then you need your life meddled with. [4:39] The reality is that every single one of us need the gospel to meddle with our lives. [4:46] We need the gospel of Jesus, the truth, the objective facts of who Jesus is, and then [4:52] in light of that, in light of being a living sacrifice, in light of having my mindset [4:58] transformed by the truth of the gospel so that I’m not conformed to the patterns of

[5:04] this world as Romans 12, 1 and 2 told us last week. [5:08] When that begins to be my view, you can just bank on it that the gospel is going to meddle [5:17] with your life. [5:18] And what follows in Romans 12, 3 through 8 this morning is the type of meddling that [5:24] following Jesus is going to bring. [5:26] When you present yourself as a living sacrifice, God commands how you then view your life.

[5:32] And so this morning, if I seem to be meddling with your life, okay, but also realize, don’t [5:40] be mad at me, be mad at Paul. [5:41] Now join me in Romans chapter 12 starting in verse 3. [5:46] The apostle Paul writes to the church at Rome, and he says, [5:49] For by the grace given to me, I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly [5:57] than he ought to think.

[5:59] And I want to pause there just briefly because what we’re tempted to do when we go over a [6:04] passage like this, as we go over that section, we say, well, I don’t think that’s an issue [6:08] that I have. [6:09] I don’t think I’m a prideful person. [6:11] I don’t think more highly of myself than I ought to. [6:13] So let’s just either A, skip on to something else or B, let’s pray that this reaches the

[6:18] guy next to me. [6:19] And I don’t want you to do that disservice to yourself this morning. [6:23] When you’re reading through the book of Romans, when Paul reaches a point like this where [6:28] he kind of seems to be pointing his finger in your chest and making an accusation, you [6:32] can just go ahead and safely assume that he’s talking about you. [6:38] And so what I want us to do, I don’t want you to do the disservice of allowing yourself

[6:43] to not be hit by that. [6:45] I want you to realize that he’s talking specifically to you. [6:49] So what I’m saying then, so I can be clear, is every single one of you have a problem. [6:55] And that problem is that you think more highly of yourself than you ought to think. [7:00] All right? [7:01] I do too.

[7:02] So we’re safe. [7:04] But to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. [7:11] For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function. [7:16] So we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. [7:24] Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them, if prophecy [7:31] in proportion to our faith, if service in our serving.

[7:35] The one who teaches in his teaching, the one who exhorts in his exhortation, the one [7:42] who contributes in generosity, the one who leads with zeal, the one who does acts of [7:48] mercy with cheerfulness. [7:50] Let’s pray with me. [7:53] Father, Lord, you always do good. [8:01] And Lord, this morning as the gospel of Jesus, your wonderful good news, begins to confront

[8:08] us, begins to push us and encourage us and admonish us and exhort us to live a life [8:16] that is different than the one that we may have a vision for, I pray that you would [8:21] give us hearts of gratitude that you love us to the extent that you would not allow [8:27] us to do ourselves harm. [8:29] But instead, you correct us out of love so that we can live as you designed us to live. [8:38] And while it is not easy, Father, I pray that we would realize that rarely is anything

[8:45] good that we’re going to venture towards in life going to be easy. [8:49] Lord, may we trust you and through that, repent to worship. [8:56] In the name of Jesus, I pray, amen. [8:59] I want you this morning to understand, number one, that you need to enjoy how God has made [9:06] you by living for the gospel. [9:09] You need to enjoy how God has made you by living for the gospel.

[9:16] And so in verse three, what he’s really doing is that he’s jumping off of what we learned [9:22] last Sunday, excuse me, two weeks ago in verses one and two, that if we are to present [9:29] ourselves as living sacrifices to God, to worship him, he actually puts it that you [9:36] need to present yourself as a living sacrifice, which is your reasonable response to all [9:41] of the truth of the gospel that we’ve learned thus far in Romans, that then therefore is [9:47] going to begin to conform our identity to the truth of the gospel.

[9:52] This is not a one-time event. [9:55] Rarely, if ever, are you ever going to meet the person at the moment that he comes to [9:59] faith in Jesus Christ. [10:01] He’s just all in, does all the conforming that he needs to do on day one. [10:06] He just repents of every sin because he’s just so self-aware somehow through the gospel. [10:11] That person doesn’t really exist.

[10:13] And so in verses one and two, when he actually brings us to this idea of being a living [10:18] sacrifice, what it emerges out of is this term that is actually a continual action that [10:24] doesn’t cease in this life, is that as you get to know more of God, as you worship him [10:32] more, and as through that you actually have the reflection of God on your life, and that’s [10:37] going to make you realize a little bit of sin in your life, you will continually offer [10:43] more and more of yourself over to God, being more transformed by the renewal of your mind,

[10:49] and being less conformed to the pattern of this world. [10:54] But I think Paul kind of assumes an interjection that’s going to come, and it’s this interjection [10:59] of, well, I’ve been there, I’ve done that, I’m doing pretty good. [11:03] So Paul then comes right at us and he says, wait a second, do not think more highly of [11:09] yourself than you ought to think. [11:12] You need to have sober judgment as to who you really are, as to what is actually going

[11:18] on in your life, and you need to take a look at the measure of faith that God has given [11:24] you and He has designed you for. [11:28] And what this does is it’s going to do two things for us. [11:31] The first thing is it’s going to remove all self-rule and pride. [11:36] The Gospel is going to challenge any concept of self-rule and pride that you have in your [11:43] life.

[11:43] When you submit to the rule of God through the Gospel, He is your Lord. [11:49] And so every thought that you’ve ever had about what you exist for is going to be challenged. [11:55] You don’t determine nor do you define the terms of surrender to God. [12:01] But that’s what pride does. [12:04] Pride seeks to define the terms of surrender. [12:08] But trust in God and faith in Jesus just simply submits your all to God.

[12:14] It says, do with me what you would have me do. [12:17] Conform me in any way that you need me to can be conformed to the image of your Son [12:21] Jesus Christ. [12:22] I trust you. [12:23] You are the Lord of my life. [12:26] But when you begin to negotiate with God, and we all do it, we all in some way or another

[12:32] talk to God in some way as if we’re in some great negotiation for what He’s going to [12:37] do in our lives and what we’re willing to give over to Him if He actually does them. [12:42] What that does is it actually sees to unseat God’s authority in your life and insert yourself [12:48] as if you have any command whatsoever. [12:51] As if you have any control whatsoever. [12:54] And that in and of itself is a denial of the power of the gospel in your life.

[12:59] Because it sees to try to have you have any real authority in your life when God has shown [13:05] us that He’s the one with the authority. [13:09] That He’s the one that can be trusted. [13:11] The best that you can be trusted with is to sin. [13:14] The best that you can be trusted with is quite frankly the opposite of verse 3. [13:18] You’re going to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think.

[13:24] The gospel is true. [13:28] And if what it says about you is all true, then it is true all the time. [13:34] Then that pride, which is what sin actually emerges from in our life, this belief that [13:40] we can do better than God, this belief that we know better than God, when it begins to [13:47] emerge, then that’s a sign that we need to be more of a living sacrifice than we are [13:52] right now.

[13:54] That’s a signal that we need to present ourselves over to God more than we do right now. [13:58] But you know there’s actually a polar opposite to that as well. [14:01] The gospel doesn’t just seem to be coming after me to unseat my self rule and to make [14:08] me give over my rights to God. [14:10] It does a second thing. [14:12] And it’s just as important.

[14:13] The gospel must also remove self pity and loathing. [14:19] You know what this text actually is on the other side is this realization that you need [14:25] to celebrate how God has made you. [14:28] And you need to worship God with that. [14:31] Friend, do you understand that you are who God made you? [14:35] That everything that God says about you in Christ is true.

[14:40] Look at what the gospel says about you from God’s perspective. [14:42] It says that you are loved. [14:45] This is that you have value, you have abilities, you have gifts, you have God’s spirit, you [14:55] have Christ. [14:58] God is now living in you and through you. [15:02] You have purpose.

[15:05] And so when you look at these two polar opposite things, they’re actually going on at all [15:10] times. [15:11] That’s why we seem to contradict ourselves so much. [15:14] See, externally, we’ll be attempting to put off this aura about ourselves that we’ve got [15:18] it all under control. [15:20] I mean, I’m the best at what I do.

[15:22] I’m great. [15:23] How are you doing today? [15:25] Awesome. [15:26] Couldn’t be better. [15:27] I’m doing really well. [15:28] I’m in absolute control.

[15:30] I got this going on. [15:31] I got this going on. [15:31] This is my five year plan. [15:32] This is my 20 year plan. [15:34] My 401k is almost fully vested. [15:36] If that’s actually a thing, I’m not that smart about money.

[15:38] But the reality is that externally, you probably try to put off an air to everyone around [15:45] you that you’ve got it going on. [15:46] But the reality is that’s pride. [15:49] Because there’s a corner in everyone’s lives where we look at the truth of God and we’re [15:54] confronted with the sin, the truth that needs to humiliate us. [15:59] And we also respond sometimes in secret.

[16:02] Some of you do this out in the open, but you say, I’m not worth it. [16:06] God can’t possibly use me. [16:10] Look at the life I’ve lived. [16:11] Look at the things I’ve done. [16:13] Look at the things that have been done to me. [16:15] Look at the truth of what my life has actually been like.

[16:20] I mean, I’m not as smart as these other people. [16:22] I’m not as pretty as these other people. [16:24] I’m not as gifted as these other people. [16:26] And you just get in this cycle of self-loathing and this cycle of pity. [16:31] And most of us, we’ve got these two polarizing realities going on in our lives at the exact [16:39] same time.

[16:43] But did you know that they are both rooted in pride?

[16:49] They’re both rooted in you seeking to define who you are apart from what God has said, [16:58] of you seeking to define the terms of your surrender, either because you think you’re [17:04] better than you are or you think you are lesser than what God says you are. [17:08] But the reality is, is when we surrender, when we give our lives over, it removes self-rule, [17:15] it removes pride, it removes self-pity, and it removes self-loathing. [17:21] Because it gives God authority, but it also seeks to give myself the identity that the

[17:28] gospel of Jesus Christ actually says is true about me. [17:32] That God Himself has deemed me so valuable that He has sacrificed His own Son for me. [17:39] Therefore I know I am loved. [17:41] I know I’m valued. [17:43] I know I have abilities. [17:44] Why?

[17:44] Because God’s about to tell me that I have abilities. [17:46] I know that God is in me and I know that I have a purpose, but that purpose is not [17:53] sourced in me. [17:55] That purpose is sourced in who God is and what His command will give to me. [18:00] One reason that many avoid living the mission of Jesus is that you are waiting until you [18:05] are better at following Jesus.

[18:08] You are waiting maybe until you are the best at what you do. [18:11] That or everything, until you think God can use you. [18:17] Our pursuit to have it all quickly turns into a great burden to do it all. [18:23] You know what that is going to lead to? [18:26] More pride, more self-loathing, more self-pity, and you are going to stay on the sidelines. [18:32] And you are not going to actually experience what God wants to actually do through you.

[18:37] But the reality is that God has called you right here, right now, to be who you are [18:42] right here, right now. [18:45] God has called you not to wait until you think you are better. [18:50] At this point in your life with what you have right now, God wants you to let Him use it [18:56] to show His glory through you. [18:59] God loves you as you are and wants you to let Him use who you are for His glory.

[19:08] So friend, believing the gospel means that you can stop waiting. [19:14] Believing the gospel means you can stop waiting until you are better at this or that. [19:21] And allow God to use all that you are right here, right now, for His glory. [19:26] He wants you to stop waiting and start serving. [19:29] But the reality is that when you do that, you will grow.

[19:37] When you do that, you will get better at certain things. [19:41] But not until you start with what you have right now. [19:47] Stop aiming for better and start serving. [19:52] In the end, please, I am just going to wait until I am a little more obedient or I am [19:57] going to wait until I am a little less sinful or I am going to wait until I am a little [20:00] more holy or I am going to wait until I am a little more about the Bible or I can articulate

[20:05] the gospel a little better than I can right now. [20:07] It’s usually a cop-out to avoid sacrificing things for Jesus. [20:12] It’s usually a cop-out so you can continue the cycles of disobedience that you simply [20:18] have married your life to and God is drawing you away from. [20:21] Look at what the apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7, 17. [20:25] This gives a vision that God has assigned each of us a life to live.

[20:31] And the reality is that you need to take joy in that. [20:36] God has uniquely gifted you for a life that He is designing. [20:42] Submit to Him. [20:44] Begin to live the life that He has for you. [20:48] That’s going to lead to more. [20:51] Because number two this morning, you need to embrace God’s calling to build the church

[20:55] of Jesus. [20:57] You need to embrace God’s calling to build His church. [21:00] You need to embrace the purpose that God has for you. [21:04] Text does not end at verse 3. [21:06] Text does not end with God saying you need to not think more highly of yourself than [21:11] you ought.

[21:12] You need to give your life over and you need to measure the faith that God has designed [21:16] for you. [21:16] Good luck. [21:18] No, He continues. [21:20] He actually unfolds what God’s unique gifting in your life purposely for you what it’s going [21:27] to do.

[21:28] You are uniquely gifted because God doesn’t want you to live for Him alone. [21:33] But most of us think it’s the opposite. [21:36] We say, man, I am uniquely gifted so that I can do it all myself.

[21:41] I am uniquely purposed to bear all the weight of the mission of Jesus for all time to reach [21:47] the whole world by myself. [21:50] But proactively when you begin to remove yourself from the church of Jesus Christ and try to [21:56] disciple yourself, try to grow by yourself, try to have all the say over your own life, [22:01] whatever you do, whenever you want to do it, that’s actually what you’re doing. [22:05] Look at what He says there in verse 4.

[22:07] He says, for as in one body we have many members. [22:13] You may say to yourself, man, what in the world? [22:15] So He’s going from talking about me and now He’s talking about how I’m a member of something [22:20] bigger than me. [22:21] But as we go on you’re going to see how this comes full circle. [22:24] He says, for as in one body we have many members and the members do not all have the same function.

[22:30] So we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually members one of another. [22:36] Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them.

[22:47] That’s why Romans 12-4 uses the language, members of the body. [22:53] His purpose doesn’t end with you. [22:55] It is where it actually begins. [22:58] If you look at verse 4 there, He takes the command to not think more highly of yourself [23:04] from verse 3 and connects it to the church of Jesus. [23:09] So He goes ahead and He nails it.

[23:10] If you think that you can remove yourself from the body of Christ, not commit to actually [23:18] serving, submitting, being a part of, and living with other members of the body of Christ, [23:25] and we’re going to use the context of the local church because that’s what He’s talking [23:28] about. [23:28] If you think that you can define the terms of discipleship, if you think that how church [23:33] goes is up to you, if you think you are the one in charge here, then you are thinking

[23:38] more highly of yourself than you ought to think. [23:41] And so many of us do that. [23:44] So many of us do. [23:45] I am so thankful that you guys come here on Sunday morning. [23:49] I am because it would be really weird for me if you didn’t. [23:52] I’d be talking to myself right now.

[23:54] And so it’s very helpful that there’s a room full of people. [23:56] And this is part of what we do as a church. [24:00] This is the beginning stages of discipleship. [24:03] But there is so much more to the life of the church than this. [24:08] When we actually begin to use sober judgment on our lives and look at the way that God [24:15] has gifted us uniquely, individually, you will begin to understand that God has designed

[24:21] you in a specific way so that you cannot live the mission of Jesus without other people [24:25] with different gifts.

[24:29] So you can’t do it all. [24:31] You need someone else. [24:33] I mean, discipleship by design is a relational activity. [24:36] But when you then begin to understand the different way that different people are gifted, [24:41] then this mosaic that God is making in the local church of different people from different [24:47] with different abilities and different gifts, we begin to then understand the beauty of

[24:52] how my giftings differ from your giftings. [24:56] If we were all gifted the same way, what a mess. [24:59] We would only have one type of person in the church of Jesus Christ. [25:02] But we all come from different backgrounds. [25:03] We have different personalities. [25:05] We have different likes.

[25:05] We have different tastes. [25:06] We have different wants. [25:08] And God does that on purpose so that the body of Christ will be whole, so that it will be [25:14] more useful than it would be if it only had you.

[25:20] And I think that’s something you need to understand.

[25:23] It’s not all about you.

[25:27] But most of us, when we come to the church, our attitude is very self-centered.

[25:34] We’re thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought to think. [25:38] Look at what Paul says about the church in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 19. [25:41] He says, [25:42] So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints [25:47] and members of the household of God.

[25:52] So what Paul is getting on here is if you want to be a lone ranger for Jesus, you don’t [25:59] want to submit your life into the life of the church. [26:01] You don’t want to be a member of the body with other people, with other giftings, with [26:06] other callings. [26:07] If you don’t want to follow God’s program for building His people, then that’s great. [26:13] But you can’t have faith in the gospel and do that.

[26:17] Because that’s what he describes life without Jesus being. [26:19] That’s what he describes the life of sin being like. [26:21] He says, [26:22] So then you are no longer strangers and aliens. [26:28] But how many of us, by our actual commitment to the body of Christ, not what we say, but [26:33] what we actually do, we act as though we are still strangers and aliens from one another.

[26:41] God says the gospel ends that. [26:43] So if you believe the gospel, then you will follow Jesus right into what He calls His [26:47] bride or what He calls His body. [26:49] He says, [26:50] You are fellow citizens with the saints, members of the household of God. [26:55] The picture of household is a familial picture.

[26:59] It’s a family that God is building. [27:01] You engage one another. [27:03] You help one another. [27:05] You build up one another for the purpose of living the mission of Jesus. [27:09] This is discipleship.

[27:14] And friend, this is a primary calling. [27:17] Of the things throughout the scripture that God is very clear on. [27:21] This is one of those things. [27:23] You are not to do it alone. [27:27] You are not to seek to follow Jesus under your terms. [27:30] You are not to seek to follow Jesus the best way that you know how.

[27:34] You are to join up with the body of Christ. [27:38] Everything that matters in life falls under that umbrella. [27:43] It is impossible to be a disciple of Jesus apart from the body of Jesus. [27:48] And that’s the church. [27:50] You see, friend, if you do not think you need Jesus’ body, then you think too highly of [27:54] yourself.

[27:55] God working through you for His purpose of growing His body is the church of Jesus Christ. [28:02] The church is His purpose. [28:04] It’s what He’s going after. [28:05] God has never in the history that He has unfolded for us in scripture simply used people to [28:11] grow them as individuals without other people being a part of it. [28:15] He’s never done that.

[28:16] Romans 11 even made it very clear that God has always been seeking to make for Himself [28:21] a people. [28:22] He is not seeking to make an environment so you as His unique little snowflake can fall [28:28] onto this perfect palette where you stand on display and everybody makes it all about [28:32] you. [28:33] But how often do we come into the local assembly or the congregation of the church and we

[28:37] just try to seek, well, I need to be filled. [28:40] Well, I need to be made a part of it. [28:41] Well, I need to feel special. [28:43] Well, my needs need to be met. [28:45] Well, music needs to be my way. [28:46] The preaching needs to be my way.

[28:48] The small group needs to be my way. [28:50] What is the center of your universe in that spectrum? [28:53] It’s you.

[28:56] And the church necessarily denies us of the right to make anything in our lives about [29:02] us. [29:03] It takes me out of running to be the most special. [29:07] And it puts God as the centerpiece of all things. [29:10] And we fall under the head, which is Christ. [29:13] And we live as His body.

[29:16] We live as His people, not as His persons. [29:21] That’s a very important distinction for you to understand. [29:25] You are not God’s mission. [29:27] The church is God’s mission. [29:30] And you are a part of it. [29:33] Because God works through a gathered and scattered people.

[29:38] This is what community is all about. [29:41] The mission of God gathers you into the community of God to be built and to be and to build [29:47] His church. [29:48] But before you can build the church, you need to learn to be the church. [29:54] See, many of us, we will trumpet this idea that, man, we want to build the church of [29:59] Jesus Christ.

[30:00] And we’re trying to do it without actually being a part of the church. [30:04] That doesn’t even make sense. [30:06] We need to live these lives where we enter into environments where we are proactively [30:12] seeking to actually have the flavor in our mouths of what it means to be a member of [30:19] His body. [30:20] To actually be members with one another.

[30:23] This vision that He gives us there in verse four is one where, verses four and five is [30:36] But what we begin to do in our lives is that we construct our lives in such a way that [30:41] it prevents and puts barriers up for us to actually enter into environments where this [30:47] actually happens. [30:49] You see, during the week we form community groups and village groups and discipleship [30:54] groups.

[30:54] We try to come together to be a part of the body, to actually realize what being members [30:59] one of another happens. [31:00] And what do we most of the time do? [31:02] We put our personal pursuits in front of the vision of the church.

[31:08] It’s really hard to be members one of another when every commitment that you personally [31:12] have is more important than your membership in God’s vision for His body.

[31:19] And there are some reasons why some people are very trepidatious, where some people are [31:24] very cautious about how committed they will be to a church that I completely understand. [31:29] And they are valid reasons. [31:31] I mean, some of you have had bad experiences where churches are concerned. [31:36] You’ve been hurt greatly. [31:37] You’ve seen other people go through pain.

[31:40] And I understand every one of those subjective realities, but none of that changes the objective [31:44] truth of God’s Word. [31:47] I mean, sometimes I’m a big fan of the Baptist confession of faith. [31:52] That’s probably no secret if you know me very well. [31:54] But in the section on the church, and this is a document that was written in the 1600s. [31:59] In the section on the church, definition three under church writes that as perfect as the

[32:04] vision for the church must be, it will always be mixed with error and imperfections because [32:12] of the nature of sinners forming the church. [32:15] Here’s what I want you to understand. [32:17] If that was a reality in the 1600s, then it’s probably not going to change in the 2000s. [32:27] Here’s what you need to understand, that you are one of the reasons that the church is [32:31] imperfect because you’re a sinner.

[32:34] And so things will happen that I try to prevent to happen. [32:37] I don’t want them to happen. [32:39] And sometimes I’m the cause of them happening. [32:42] But you cannot form anything with imperfect people and never have any problems. [32:48] It’s a vision for God’s church is us being on a process of being living sacrifices rather [32:53] than the moment you come to faith in Jesus, perfection.

[33:00] But what more so happens, and my experience has been that the people that have experienced [33:04] real pain is actually a small portion, but what actually happens to most of us is that [33:09] we’re simply too busy to be a member of the body that actually proactively experiences [33:16] and proactively commits to being a member, one of another, to actually grow in our identity [33:22] as the church because you’re working too much or because you’ve got too many hobbies [33:26] or you’ve got all these commitments or you’ve got all these sports, you’ve got all these

[33:30] things that you want to do going on. [33:32] And the reality that I need to confront you with in love this morning is if that is you [33:37] and your schedule does not allow you to be a part of the church, you need to repent. [33:42] You are in sin. [33:45] Because God has been clear. [33:48] The primary calling of God in your life is the calling to be and build His church.

[33:55] And when you continuously, I’m not talking about a season where you have to withdraw [34:00] and do things. [34:00] I’m talking about some of you know what your patterns are like. [34:03] You’ve been in a season for five years. [34:07] That’s not a season. [34:08] That’s a lifestyle of idolatry.

[34:11] Where everything under the sun is more important to you than the local church of Jesus Christ [34:17] that Jesus literally refers to first as His body. [34:24] Then in Ephesians 5 and throughout the book of Revelation He actually calls the church [34:27] of Jesus His bride.

[34:31] For you need to embrace God’s calling in your life to build His church. [34:37] If you want to be captivated by Jesus you need to care and commit to His body as the [34:43] primary calling of your life. [34:46] You need a 1 Corinthians 12, 12 vision of your life where Paul writes just as the body [34:51] is one has many members all the members of the body though many are one body. [34:56] Note what he says.

[34:58] So it is with Christ. [35:02] He’s not saying you need to commit because God said so. [35:06] No, no, no. [35:06] He says you need to commit because of the level to which Christ has committed to His [35:13] body. [35:15] The church isn’t something that you simply attend.

[35:18] It is something that God calls you to be a part of. [35:22] If it is Christ’s body then it defines you. [35:25] It forms your identity. [35:27] You don’t exist apart from it. [35:28] Friend I want you to understand you aren’t the total church but you are a part of the [35:36] church and the church is stronger when you are involved.

[35:40] You see when you remove yourself from the identity and the body of Christ that God has [35:45] called you to do you understand that you teach future generations that you can follow Jesus [35:49] and not be His bride? [35:52] You can do it your own way with your own definitions.

[35:59] Friend this is disastrous.

[36:02] It leads people away from Jesus. [36:06] I want you to understand something this morning. [36:08] Jesus will never forsake His bride. [36:13] Not even for you.

[36:16] You cannot follow Jesus apart from that which He defines as His body and His bride. [36:25] The problem that many of our lives of discipleship have is that we do not view the church through [36:30] the same lens that Jesus Christ Himself views the church. [36:35] It is that which He has given His entire life over into. [36:40] Everywhere you go and everything you do you need to embrace and enjoy the identity of [36:47] being the body of Christ.

[36:49] Can you think of a greater privilege in this world or the next than having the King of [36:56] Kings and Lord of Lord look at you and say you are a part of my body? [37:02] That is the value with which I give you. [37:05] You are part of my bride. [37:07] That is the value with which I bestow upon you. [37:11] There is no greater life.

[37:12] There is no greater privilege. [37:14] There is no greater grace than being a part of the church of Jesus Christ.

[37:23] Every choice that you make in this life understand is a statement about what you think about [37:30] your place in the body of Christ. [37:33] Everything that you do, every commitment that you make, every activity that you engage [37:39] in or you remove yourself from is a statement that says what you actually think about the [37:48] body of Christ. [37:50] Do not pay lip service.

[37:53] Actually live and love the body of Jesus Christ. [37:57] Because number three, every gift that you have is to build the church. [38:04] Every gift that God has given you is to build the church. [38:09] The vision of the body of Christ presented in this text is for every person with faith [38:15] in Jesus to present himself or herself to a life of sacrifice for Jesus, to be transformed [38:21] by Jesus, to be used by Jesus as you have been gifted by Jesus.

[38:28] And so who is the center of that? [38:31] It is pretty easy. [38:32] I said his name a lot purposefully. [38:35] It is Jesus. [38:38] And it is not you.

[38:41] It is not you. [38:43] There are so many days where I wish it was me. [38:47] There are so many times in my life where I have sought so much vigor to unseat Jesus [38:55] and put myself in his throne because I thought I had a better idea of how my life should [38:59] go. [39:00] Never works.

[39:02] Number one, because he is stronger than me and when I try to unseat him he just flicks [39:05] me and I fly off. [39:07] That is how I envision it going at least. [39:10] It has never physically happened. [39:11] Don’t misunderstand me. [39:13] But also my plans are not as good as his plans because he is perfect.

[39:20] He is Lord. [39:21] He is good. [39:22] You need to celebrate how God has designed and gifted you combined with an identity [39:28] as a member of his body to create a life lived to build Jesus’ church. [39:35] That is the way you need to see your mission in this world. [39:39] He says having gifts that differ.

[39:43] So are you different than the person next to you? [39:46] Yes. [39:48] But what you need to do is stop holding that against people. [39:52] It is Bible. [39:54] You are different. [39:56] But don’t be too different.

[39:59] Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us. [40:03] Let us use them.

[40:08] That is called a command.

[40:12] It is not one of the ten commandments. [40:14] We kind of skirt around the other commands of scripture. [40:17] The ones that are like thou shalt not murder. [40:19] I don’t know that any of you have killed anyone illegally. [40:21] I hope not. [40:22] If you have, go tell the police.

[40:25] But the reality is when we look at something like don’t murder, we are like, yeah, no, [40:30] shouldn’t do that. [40:32] Avoid that at all costs. [40:35] But this is just as much a command as that. [40:37] But this is the kind of command that we look at and we kind of reason our way out of it. [40:41] So I just want to do an exegetical exercise with you real quick.

[40:44] I want to parse, let us use them with you. [40:47] Here is how it goes in the original language.

[40:52] Let, okay, so that assumes you have been given gifts that are privileged to you by God. [40:58] And then we say hmm, what is the next word? [41:00] Us. [41:00] Now I’m having a tough time with that one. [41:04] Us.

[41:06] What that literally means is us. [41:12] Alright. [41:13] Alright.

[41:16] Now we are going to go from a noun to a verb.

[41:20] I always struggled with this in seminary. [41:23] Use.

[41:26] Alright, now. [41:27] What that means is that God has given us, that’s me, and that’s you, gifts that we [41:38] are not to just stare at, but we are to do what? [41:43] Boom. [41:44] You guys go to seminary?

[41:48] Them.

[41:50] So what he is trying to say here is let us use them. [41:56] That’s some of the most difficult exegesis that I have ever done in my life. [42:01] But the reality is, is the way that many of us live our lives, we practically make that [42:09] statement just as complicated as I tried to make it. [42:13] It is not difficult. [42:15] It is an imperative.

[42:17] It is just as understandable as when I look at my six year old and I say, you, go clean [42:24] your room. [42:27] But sometimes he makes that very complicated because he is six.

[42:34] You aren’t.

[42:37] So understand that when God gives us an imperative sentence in the scripture, what he is saying [42:44] is, in light of the gospel, and always do that, in light of what is true in the gospel [42:51] of Jesus Christ, God wants my reaction to be thus, for me to use the gifts that he [43:00] has given you and I.

[43:05] Then he writes, if prophecy in proportion to our faith, if service in our serving, [43:10] let the one who teaches in his teaching, the one who exhorts in his exhortation, the one [43:15] in generosity, the one who leads with zeal, the one who does acts of mercy with cheerfulness.

[43:28] If you use what God has given you for anything other than the primary cause, as your focus, [43:38] then you are actively not using the gifts for what they are designed for. [43:43] That is denial of the gospel by lifestyle.

[43:48] Note what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12, 18-20. [43:51] He says, as it is, God arranged the members in the body. [43:56] So your gifts, God has chosen them. [44:00] God has anointed you with them. [44:02] He has arranged you in the way that he wants you to be arranged. [44:05] Each one of them as he chose.

[44:08] If all were a single member, where would the body be? [44:11] As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. [44:16] God wants us to build the church. [44:18] So understand what building the church is. [44:21] It is celebrating how God has made you by developing your life and giftings for the building of God’s people. [44:29] We commit to environments that gather and scatter the people of God for the purpose of discipleship.

[44:36] We engage in what God has been specific about and contextualize loving God and loving people in the culture surrounding us [44:46] to continue to gather people into being members of one body. [44:52] And friend, God’s calling for you is to put his calling on your life into action. [44:59] The old saying goes that God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.

[45:05] That statement is true. [45:08] Both of the things in that statement are true. [45:10] The former is the good news of Jesus. [45:13] God does love you and he proves it through the gospel of Jesus Christ. [45:17] But this latter is also true. [45:20] He does have a wonderful plan for your life and he’s been clear that that plan is finding and using your gifts for the body of Christ.

[45:29] Paul finishes this passage with a not exhaustive list of examples simply stating the obvious. [45:38] Every one of them is for helping to build the body of Christ in some way. [45:43] These are examples of spiritual gifts, giftings that God will give you through the power of the Holy Spirit. [45:50] Some of them come more naturally than others do. [45:53] But the concept isn’t you sitting down and figuring out if you’re a round peg or a square one. [46:00] Years ago we were in an era where spiritual gift tests were very popular

[46:05] and some of them are helpful just in finding out what your natural abilities are. [46:09] But usually I would sit down and there would be a hundred questions and I would try to see how awesome I was at every single one. [46:14] And so by the end of the test I was awesome at everything, but that’s because I’m a liar. [46:17] But the reality is that those spiritual gifts test they can be detrimental because what it’s created is a culture of us who will come into the church [46:26] and will immediately say well here’s what I’m gifted at. [46:30] What do you need out of those gifts?

[46:31] Well our preaching schedule is pretty firm for the next year or two. [46:36] And say oh you can’t use my gifts? [46:38] Well I guess I’ll just sit on the sidelines. [46:40] Call me when you’re making the new preaching schedule and I’ll be ready.

[46:44] So we look at the church as this place where I’m a special round peg and you need to fit me into the round hole and I don’t fit anywhere else. [46:54] And that used to be my vision. [46:56] I used to excuse myself from things that I didn’t find myself gifted at. [47:01] For things that I didn’t think I was going to be good at. [47:03] For things that I didn’t think was my gifting so there would be a work day and I would probably respond well I don’t have the gift of helps. [47:10] I won’t be there.

[47:12] I’ll be studying the word. [47:15] For what I am gifted at. [47:17] I always developed an English accent I don’t know why.

[47:22] And the reality is that’s how many of us look and we say well when that void comes of what I’m gifted at that’s what I’ll do. [47:29] But years ago I had this change of heart to the power of the Holy Spirit where I stopped looking at the body of Christ as being a place where [47:39] I’m to be used to what I’m good at and what I’m capable of and I began to understand that the body of Christ was about more than that. [47:48] And so what I would do is I would look at the body of Christ and I would enter into a local church and I would say what are the needs that the church has right now. [47:57] And a lot of times God would work on me by there being a list of needs that I wasn’t good at. [48:03] What God was doing in those moments was he was saying Steve I want you to do more of a living sacrifice.

[48:10] Present more of yourself to me. [48:12] And so I found that as I humbled myself under the hand of God and did things that didn’t naturally make me happy.

[48:21] I grew. [48:22] I understood. [48:24] I realized that it’s not about what I want it’s about what God commands. [48:30] And friend I want you to understand that the Church of Jesus Christ is not about what you want out of it. [48:36] It’s about God wants you to contribute into it. [48:39] The conclusion is simple.

[48:42] Faith.

[48:44] Serving. [48:45] Teaching. [48:46] Exhortation. [48:48] Generosity. [48:49] Zeal. [48:50] And cheerfulness.

[48:53] Do you want the portion of these things that God has for you as a disciple of Jesus. [48:59] Do you want them.

[49:03] Then stop looking outside of the walls of the church for it and start finding how you can give them into the life of the church. [49:13] That is what God has called you to do. [49:16] If you are a follower of Jesus.

[49:22] This is about building God’s church.

[49:25] The funny thing through my life that I found is when I seek to build God’s church. [49:31] Every single time. [49:33] I have found God building me.

[49:38] As the band comes up. [49:40] As we close this morning. [49:41] Partaking of the Lord’s Supper as we do every week. [49:45] Just a few things I want you to walk away with today and the first one is that God loves you. [49:51] He doesn’t love the idea of you. [49:55] He doesn’t love you two years from now.

[49:58] He doesn’t love you with the vision that he has for how much better you will be in the future. [50:04] God loves you. [50:06] And he has proven his love for you through the cross of Jesus Christ. [50:10] The fact that he sacrificed the life of his very son to pay the penalty for your sin. [50:17] If you are in here this morning and you are struggling to trust Jesus. [50:22] Or you have doubts or you thought this morning I don’t have a relationship with Jesus.

[50:26] But I want to trust Jesus. [50:28] I want you to know that you can be saved today. [50:30] Put your faith in Jesus Christ. [50:33] But if that is you I am going to ask you in just a few moments as we start singing. [50:37] Maybe you should step out in the foyer. [50:39] There are people there who would love to talk to you.

[50:41] Love to pray with you. [50:42] Answer any questions that you might have. [50:45] But for those of you in here that are followers of Jesus. [50:48] If you have trusted in Jesus Christ as your savior. [50:51] I want you to understand that your mission in life is to build his body.

[50:56] And every week we reflect on communion.

[51:01] Reflecting on the sacrifice that he made of his body. [51:05] So that we could be the fullness of his body. [51:08] The bread represents his brokenness. [51:12] The cup represents his shed blood. [51:14] When you eat and when you drink what you are proclaiming is that you trust Jesus. [51:19] And his life is in your own.

[51:22] And when you proclaim that you are proclaiming.

[51:26] His body was broken under the wrath of God. [51:30] So that mine won’t. [51:32] And I am a part of him. [51:34] And I want you to turn. [51:35] I want you to walk into this world that needs him. [51:38] And I want you to exercise your life as a part of the body of Christ.

[51:43] When you are ready. [51:44] Come.