Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

The Body of Christ Pt.4

For those of you who may not have been here last service, we were receiving offerings for the Africa outreach. It's exciting how God has moved upon hearts and blessed. If you weren't here, be prayerful, as we were encouraging everyone to give in direct proportion to how God's blessed them. The total offering was $27, 243 (and somebody put in seventy cents!); and with pledges, we're at $46, 128 dollars (and that seventy cents is still there, praise God!), and we rejoice in that. The children have subsequently given, so there's more than this that has come in. Some of you have encouraged your children, so let them be a part. We've talked about their ability to sacrifice and give. There's the giving of our abundance, the giving of our necessities (as we saw in the widow with her two mites), and then there's just sacrificial giving. It doesn't mean that you give everything, but that it costs you something to give. The psalmist said, "I won't give anything to God that hasn't cost me." And your children can pray and believe God.

Jeff (or it may have been Kimberly) was telling me about Hailey. They were getting ready to take the offering, and she said, "Well, I don't know if I'm hearing from God." Of course, we all have that situation, don't we? So Kimberly said, "Well, you go away and pray, and then come back and tell me what number is going on in your heart or in your head." So, the day went on, and at the end she says, "I heard from God!" (This is exciting--six years old!) She said, "All day, the number 14 has been there." Now here's this little six year old, and we could say, "Well, she made that up." She didn't make it up any more than you make it up. How many of you believe that a child praying in faith is going to hear from God? She was convinced that the number was 14, so she went into her stash. I don't know how much she had from different birthdays and everything. She had more than Hope because she's lost more teeth! (When you have grandpas, you get offerings for teeth and those different things.) So, she was able to give her $14. She believed that God had spoken to her. I don't think it left her with a whole bunch over. (She's going to have to lose some more teeth!) But isn't it exciting to encourage our children to be givers? Some of us need to give of our tooth money, to be free to hear that voice, and to give cheerfully. You are a giving people, and this is more testimony to that. We just wanted to share with you again so that you can rejoice and be thankful for what God is doing in our midst.

We want to continue in our study on the body of Christ and the preparation of that bride. As we're talking about the body of Christ, we're going to talk about it functionally. And basically, what we're talking about is this: the body of Christ is the bride of Christ, the church. As the body continues to sanctify itself--not just as individuals, but we corporately see ourselves sanctified, which means to be set apart for service, such as the offering that you just gave for this vision, this mission, that's ahead of us. That's sanctification, where we as many are united for one purpose. That's unity; that's the coming together of the Spirit. It's contrary to the world. It's contrary to sin and its selfishness that we would all, in common purpose, give sacrificially to the same end. That's part of the unifying process that God's doing in our lives. So, as we're praying for that sanctification, remember what's taking place. He's preparing for Himself a bride--spotless, holy, one that's set aside as a chaste virgin, not entangled with the cares of this world. It's going to take every one of us working together and continuing to bring refining to one another's lives to help get this bride ready. It's not about you as an individual; it's about our Head, Jesus. It's about us preparing ourselves for His coming. The disciplines, the sacrifices, the prayer, the fasting, the instruction, the reproof, the rebukes--it's all a beautifying process for Jesus. So, the next time you're under a trial, and the pressure is on you, all you're doing is being beautified for Jesus! When a brother or sister rebukes you, receive it with thanksgiving, because you're just being made more beautiful for Jesus. It makes things a little easier to swallow that way. See it for what it is. It's the body being prepared--not just for blessings, not just to feel better about ourselves, not to be able to maintain and hold out in these days of trial and persecution that are coming; but ultimately, it's all being worked in us (the body, the bride of Christ) to be made more beautiful for Jesus. Don't you want to be ready at His coming? Don't you want to be purified at His coming, to bring honor to your Head?

It's the same thing (and we'll see as we go on in this study) as the way you relate, ladies, to your husbands. You don't dress for other men and what they'll think of you. You don't dress for the girls and to be cute like everybody else. If you're married, you dress for one person, your husband, to glorify him. You dress to be beautiful for him and nobody else. You don't go around the house looking like the wreck of Hesperus until company is coming over! You look beautiful for him, praise God! If you love him, that's what the whole thing is about. And it's the same thing with our Head (our husband). We're not looking beautiful to impress people (other Christians, the world); we're just getting beautified because we love our husband, our Head, Jesus. That's our only motivation, just to live for Him, praise God! So, it's an exciting parallel, and we'll see it in the Scriptures as we go on.

Turn to John 17 and then also to Romans 12, and we're going to put in perspective this unifying process. Then we're going to look at not only the benefits, but the process and the practicalities of that. In John 17 is the Lord's prayer. This is the Lord praying. It's the one time that you can really feel the heart of the Master as He's in communion with the Father. What a privilege it would have been just to have knelt beside Him and to hear His relationship with Father and His heart being poured out! The Holy Spirit gives us that privilege to be a part of the prayer of Jesus, to eavesdrop on His heart and what He's saying to the Father--He that ever lives to make intercession for us. His prayer is, "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself" (verses 17-19a). We've shared this in the past, but I want to emphasize this to you again. Listen to what Jesus says. "For their sakes I sanctify Myself." That's the spirit you and I are supposed to have. We're not sanctifying ourselves to promote ourselves or to feel better about ourselves. "Praise God! I'm free of all that guilt. I was so tired of being a failure, and now I'm sanctified, and I just feel so much better about myself!" We're not sanctified to impress other Christians that we're a little holier than the rest of them. Jesus said, "Father, for the body's sake, I sanctify Myself." And, beloved, our goal in personal sanctification is to be for corporate benefit. The holier I get, the better I'll serve the body of Christ, the more beneficial it will be to you. The holier I get, the better it's going to benefit you--not me, but you! So the Head says, "And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth." He's saying, "The more I do the Word, the more the Word's going to be available for them. The more I do the Word, the more they'll see, 'Hey, if He can do it, I can do it, praise God!'"

So, we realize this is the process that God has given us. "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word." That's you and me. We've believed through the word of the disciples, and Jesus is praying for us that we would experience that same intimacy. So, what He's saying is that His prayer didn't end at the First Century, nor did the relationship end at the First Century. We have just as intimate a relationship as John the Beloved did, who leaned on His bosom in the natural. Now, how many of you believe that Jesus' prayers are answered? Here's what He prayed, and since He prayed this, this is what's happening. God answered His prayer. "That they all may be one..." That's the heart of the Savior. The Head has one desire: that you and I be in unity, that we be one under His headship--no personal agendas, no personal glory, no independent spirit, no self-confidence, but corporately absolutely dependent upon His headship. "That they may all be one [Now, would you define unity for us, Jesus?] as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one [and it can only be pulled off one way; they can only be one] in us" (emphasis added). Unless we're abiding in Him, and His Word is abiding in us, we're not going to get this thing done. There will never be a natural unity; it has to be supernatural. You say, "Well, the world unifies all the time." They have the farm aid thing, and they all come together. People are so giving, and we always see the great benefits that the movie stars put on!" Have you ever noticed that they don't give their own money? They show up and ask you to give yours! I've always wondered about that. They're the people with the money, and they're wanting you to give. "I'll show up so you can look at me, a special personality, and then see what you can put in the plate." "Oh yeah? Why don't you give first?" They all set up charities for other people to give into. I've always thought that was kind of interesting. It's the way the world does it. The Lord does it differently. There are no personalities, there are no stars in the body of Christ. Each one of us is equally responsible to contribute in direct proportion to the measure of faith that's been given to us.

So He says, "...that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." That's the key to this thing; get it. "That they might be one in Us, that their unity would be so supernaturally motivated (its origin in the supernatural), that the world would understand, Father, that I'm unique and that You have sent Me." Now, to what degree are we talking about? Listen. He's not speaking of a unity that's just cooperation, but a unifying of the body of Christ that the world would look at and say, "Unless Jesus were raised from the dead, this is impossible!" Jesus is saying, "I want to see a unity among you that would make the church stand out above Islam, B'hai, and Buddhism. I want them to understand that I was sent of the Father, that I died and was raised again, and that I ever live to make intercession. And by the Spirit, I dwell in each member in particular to bring about this resurrection power that's known as the body of Christ, the church." So, it's not just a cooperation. It's also a unification, as we're sanctified and begin to see the supernatural power of God--not only in love, but in the way that we care for one another; not only in giving, but in the power to pray, in seeing signs, wonders, and notable miracles--to where no one can deny that Jesus is still alive today in His church. That's what we're to be praying about. That's what we're to be preparing ourselves to do in these last days. So, we're not just talking about an organization or club that has a common goal. We're talking about a supernatural Source that enables us to effect this goal that's before us, the call of God.

"That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one [Listen to the qualification of the unity that He's talking about: the glory that's in earthen vessels. That word "glory" means "honor." "I've given them honor--My presence, the promises, the Word of God that sanctifies them--that they might be one]. I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect [complete] in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me." That's a mind blower, man! "Hast loved them as Thou hast loved Me"--the love of the Father for the church. "Upon this rock, I will build My church." The church is being de-emphasized today, especially in America. It's individualism, it's para-church ministries, and it's all of this kind of stuff. Most para-church ministries are built upon personalities. They're built upon specific gifts when, in fact, these gifts are not to be specific. They're not to be separate; they're not to be exclusive. They are to be a part in cooperation with other gifts (as we're going to see in Romans 12 in just a second), that the church would receive the honor and not individuals. In America, we've got this thing totally backwards because of our independent spirit and our personality emphasis. It's supposed to be Jesus as all-in-all. That's what we're laboring to see--the unity of God, the love of God exercised and expressed in our midst. We'll talk a little bit later about the comely and uncomely members in 1 Corinthians 12 and how we relate to those that receive more honor in our midst. We're not talking about Communism, but we're talking about how with each member (even those that may be exalted in our midst), the glory goes to God! It never stops in an individual. There is always a transparency so that it's known that this gift is specifically for the purpose of your believing that Jesus was sent of the Father.

"Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me; for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them." This is the heart of our Savior; this is the cry of the Head of the church. Jesus said, "No greater love has any man than this: that he would lay his life down for his friends. By this shall all men know that you are My disciples: when you have love one for another." What kind of a love? It's agape love, not phileo love, not friendship love. It's not, "We're acquaintances, and I'm committed to you because you're committed to me." Agape is a love that's unconditional. It can love the unlovely; it loves because it's commanded to love; it loves because it's been loved, praise God! So, here we are, called to exhibit the presence of God in our lives and then be put together in community, in cooperation--this great body, this diversity in unity and harmony for the glory of God, members in particular unified through the headship of Jesus. We're unified by choice; we choose. We subordinate ourselves willfully. We're not forced in; we join up! We come in, and we choose to lay our lives down because we've been loved.

I've heard myself pray this prayer every once in awhile. (I told the guys as we were going out on our pastor's conference the other day.) Do you know how a lot of times you're praying, and you'll hear yourself say something? A couple of things have just come out of my spirit as I've been interceding with the Lord. And one of the things that I've heard myself praying recently is, "Lord, humble me, that I might humble myself." The Bible talks about us humbling ourselves, but did you know that we can't humble ourselves until the Lord has humbled us? We try, but we just can't pull it off. We make some good runs at it, but until the Lord has humbled us--now He expects us to humble ourselves; that's the submitting of our will to His. But until God has broken us, and refined us, and filled us with His Spirit, we're not able to really humble ourselves. Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord. Try it without Him humbling you, and it doesn't work. I was meditating on this process, because there isn't going to be body (unit) ministry, there isn't going to be oneness, without each one of us humbling ourselves. I spent a lot of time, and I guess it was Thursday when it kind of came to me in prayer here as I was just meditating. I said, "Lord, just give me a short phrase of what it is to understand humility," and this thought came to me after a long time. It's probably not the most profound statement ever made, but it really helped me, and it could help you. As it came to me, I just grabbed a pen and concisely wrote down in my Bible: "Humility: grasping reality with thanksgiving."

Now, "grasping" really means two things: "to apprehend" and "to comprehend." A lot of us can comprehend, but we're not apprehending; we're not doing it. Grasping indicates a pursuit. This word "grasping" is very graphic. I chose that word for all of these reasons that I'm sharing with you. To grasp: to reach for, to pursue, to take hold of, to understand reality. Why did I choose this word? Jeff showed me a number of your papers from last night's Young Adults meeting. It's hard to grasp reality as it pertains to yourself, isn't it? Reality. What's real? Do you want to know what's real? This world is not real; it's going away! All that's real is what's eternal; that's reality. Are you seeing yourself from the eternal perspective? Are you able to come to grips with who Jesus says you are--not what you think about yourself, not what others have told you, not what you hope to be, but what you are? Humility is coming to grips with your depravity and your absolute dependence upon God. Reality is His lordship and your servitude. Reality is: you're not that great. Reality is: you're not that significant. Reality is: your life's a vapor. Reality is: when you go away, it won't be a long time before nobody will remember you were here. Reality is: we're not going to make a mark on this world, but we can influence heaven!

Humility: grasping reality with thanksgiving. Are you thankful for who God's made you? Are you thankful for the measure of faith? "No, I was really expecting a larger measure; I deserve better. It's obvious to me that I'm a lot better than most of these people! Why isn't God exalting me? Why am I limited in the scope of my influence? Why is it that I have to experience this? How come they get blessed? How come they get healed? How come they get recognition? How come...?" Humility: grasping reality with thanksgiving. In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

So, there needs to be a humbling in our lives, a coming to grips with who we really are in light of eternity, a coming to grips with who we are from the eternal perspective and not the temporal perspective. And that's why Paul says in Romans 12, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this [world's perspective of reality, this world's definition of who you are]: but be ye transformed..." The word "transformed" there is the word "metamorphosis." A metamorphosis is not only a changing, but it talks about a changing from within. It's going to happen internally; it's going to be something that happens inside of you, and it starts inside before it's seen outside. Our changes don't start externally; they start internally, this conforming into the image of Jesus that each one of us is called to. Be transformed (a metamorphosis). A metamorphosis causes us to go from one species to another. We're not just a better worm; we're a butterfly, praise God! As God is changing us, old things pass away and, behold, all things become new. Are you different? Are you a new creation?

The body of Christ helps in this metamorphosis. In fact, without the body of Christ, there couldn't be the metamorphosis that each one of us needs. We seem to think, "It's just me and Jesus!" That 17th chapter of John kind of shoots that in the head, doesn't it? Where do you see a "me and You" prayer in John 17? "Father, I would that you bless me and Bubba." Our blessing is through our union. His promises flow through us and they don't stop to us; it never ends with you. Whether it's financial blessings, healing, deliverance from oppressions and fears, or whatever it is, it doesn't stop there. It can't, because everything that we've freely received, we freely give. The Scripture makes it very clear that the whole purpose of your refining, the reason of the trial, the reason for the visitation, the blessing, the healing, is so that we might comfort with the same comfort wherewith we've been comforted. We go through trials, we experience things in life, not just to make us bigger and stronger and better, but so we could assist others who are going to be there. There's no temptation that takes us but such that is common to man, and with every temptation, He makes a way of escape through someone who's been through it before us, praise God! They can point the way and say, "Listen; if you'll pray, if you'll rest, God will deliver you. His Word is true, praise God! He's sanctifying us through His Word. His promises are yea and amen. He is no respecter of persons."

We come to the simplest definition of what faith really is. We know the Bible definition: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Faith, in its simplest definition, is trusting the goodness of God. We're able to just turn around to those that are next to us and say, "Hey, I want you to understand something. It's bad now, but God's good! And all things will work together for good to those that love God and are called according to His purposes. [Do you believe that this morning? That's what we're here for.] Look! I've been where you are, and I'm still standing, praise God!" "Yeah, but your eye is black, your teeth are missing, and both your arms are broken!" "Isn't God good? Look at how good my leg still works!"

"Do whatever you want, but you can't have his life," is what Father said about Job. "I can put teeth back in and heal arms. All I need is a heart to work with." I'm after the heart. This body's going to be raised incorruptible; I need a heart. We're so body-conscious, so sense-oriented. This thing's going to the grave, man! It's going to decompose; but we're going to be raised victorious, glorious, corruption taking on incorruption, and mortality taking on immortality! Everything that's happening here in this body is preparing us for an eternal reward.

So, as we talk about the body of Christ, remember how it all works and what He's saying to us. He says, "Be transformed by the renewing of your minds." What does it mean to have our minds "renewed"? That word's interesting; it means "renovated." How many of you have ever had anything renovated at home? This renewing process is a renovation; it's remodeling; it's a mess! Some of us need to be renovated and updated from all of the world's ways of doing things. The things that we used to think were great and the means of success are all out-of-date in this kingdom we're living in. Some of you need to have your orange shag carpet taken up! We used to think that was really cool. I can't believe they're trying to promote that stuff again! I was in the store the other day--ugly, orange, brown, dear Lord! People are going to be driving around in VW buses again! And we're being renovated (made new, the tearing out of the old). The renewing process that's taking place in our minds is always changing to the better. The renewing process, then, is really sanctification. Regeneration is what caused the awareness of the need of renovation. You weren't even aware how ugly that shag carpet was until you were born again. Then you said, "Dear Lord! I've been living with this in my house?" "Yeah; you were so stoned you didn't realize it!" Now you've come to life, and there's a metamorphosis that's taking place. And all of a sudden, you look and say, "Dear Lord, look at this mess I'm living in!" Some of us used to boast in it. "Well, you know, this is genetic, and this is just one of my family traits." And we seem to think that somehow our family's great and special. You get regenerated, and you look at them and say, "Dear Lord, thank you for saving me from my family!" Recently, that's been one of Greer's favorite forms of entertainment: hearing me tell stories about how stupid my family is. She just laughs and thinks that's so funny. Yeah, and I know a little bit about hers, too!

So, we realize that there's this awareness of what has to happen in our lives. Are we submitting ourselves to this? Are we coming and letting God change us by the renewing of our minds, that we might prove what is the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God? Go on over to Romans 12, and I want to talk about this unifying process. There can't be unity until there's transformation--the willful humbling of ourselves and the submitting of our wills to the will of God. In other words (listen to me), if you are not born again, you will never be pliable enough to be put into the body of Christ. No matter how much pressure the body puts on you, you will always rebel. You will always look for a way to get your will done. You'll manipulate, defy, defect, dissimulate, and separate yourself long enough to hide out until you can come back and try to be accepted again. You'll stay until it's revealed who and what you really are, and then you'll run again, and then you'll come back. You can do that physically; we've seen people do that here in our fellowship. They'll physically be gone for awhile, and then they come back. You can do it emotionally, by intent. It can be done knowingly (premeditated), or it can be done naturally (it's just an instinct, and you don't even know you're doing it). But I've said all that to say this: until there's a humbling of ourselves, there is not the pliableness, the death, that allows you to be molded. You are not presenting your bodies as living sacrifices. You do not respond to the Word, to authority, or to love because of self-love and self-will. And it's because (he goes on to say in verse 3) you're thinking of yourself more highly than you ought to think. You're not the exception.

This aspect of thinking of yourself more highly than you ought to think has two avenues to it. One is a boasting or thinking you're greater than you are, and the other is thinking that you're the exception: God can't use you, you have no gifts, you have no talents; therefore you're not responsible to contribute anything. You're thinking of yourself too highly. You're thinking that God can't use you, but the Scripture says that everyone has been given the measure of faith. To think you're an exception to that, to think that you don't have to fit in because you're too good or you're not good enough (1 Corinthians 12 talks about that) is to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think. Or, as we said the other night, it's to think of yourself. Stop thinking of yourself; think of the body, think of the Head.

So, there has to be this offering up of our minds, this renovation of our minds. I don't care what you were; I don't care what you think you were. The renewed mind is pliable, subject to the Word of God, and subject to the order of God. The new mind obeys its parents; the new mind submits to its husband; the new mind ranks under an order in the body of Christ as God has set order. The new mind has confidence in the Head, that what's happening in your life is for your good and for the sake of the body of Christ. That's totally contrary to everything that each one of us naturally has working in our members. What Paul is saying here, the natural man can't do. We can feign it, because you're going to see later that he says, "Don't let your love be feigned." It can't be with dissimulation. We can try to plug in. We can make our best run, but we usually end up with an Ananias-and-Sapphira type thing, where we start having to live in hypocrisy and try to cause others to think we're really something we're not, or that we're doing what really isn't our heart to do. Pride doesn't want to admit that it's a failure; pride doesn't want to let others really understand how ugly they really are. Why are you trying to protect your image when we all know what you are? "What do you mean?" We know what you are; the Bible tells us what you are. You're "no good thing," and so are we! You just need to come and join the club--you know, like the Little Rascals' woman-haters club! You need to join up and just realize that we know what we are. Without this metamorphosis, without this renewing, you're deceived. You think you're really slick; you think you're really pulling something off. You're blind; you're deceived! You're the only one who doesn't know what you are; everybody else does! You think you've got everybody fooled, and the only person that's fooled is you. And until you humble yourself and die, you'll never be free.

As we individually experience this, we can be built up into a holy temple, the habitation of God, to where He can now freely move. Now He's free to speak through us through gifts of prophecy. Now we can lay hands on one another and be healed, because all of the motivations are right, praise God! And it's not that we're trying to protect some doctrine of divine healing. It's not that we're trying to show how much faith we have. It's not that we're trying to see how sanctified we are or how holy we are. It's just the fact that we love one another, and we believe, by faith in the goodness of God. We just simply trust in how good our Father is. What a simplifying of the kingdom of God and of faith, when we can see what the body of Christ is really all about!

He said, "[I want you to prove the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God.] For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but think soberly..." That word "sober" just means "to be of right mind, to be of sound mind." "Being of sound mind, I realize I'm depraved. I've finally gotten a glimpse of myself, and I'm undone. There's no good thing in me. Anything that happens that's good is of God." To think any differently of yourself is really insanity. This word "sober" means "sane." It's an interesting thing. Insanity is to think of yourself differently than God has revealed you to be. That's insanity. We think of just some raving lunatic, but true insanity is to see yourself differently than God has revealed you to be. Disagreeing with the Word of God is insanity; to defy God is insanity. So he says, "Think of yourself sanely, with a right mind. Let the Word tell you who you are." Do you want to be insane? Let me tell you how to be insane: think that you know yourself better than the body knows you. "Well, they don't know what I am; they don't know my heart." Really? They're listening to your words, because out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. No; you don't know your heart. We're hearing your words; you're not listening to your words. You're not coming to grips with who you are. We know who you are by what you say. We know who you are by what you do. You think you're who you are by what you intend to do, what you hope to be. You will never be what you hope to be if you don't identify what you are. Or, as the great philosopher Yogi Berra said, "If you don't know where you're going, you might end up somewhere else." He's the same guy that said, "Nobody goes to that restaurant anymore; it's too crowded." That's thinking of yourself more highly than you ought to think. In other words, "I don't go there anymore, because it's too crowded." Nobody goes there anymore; it's too crowded. Yogi-isms are great. "Everybody line up in alphabetical order by height!" Try that one. He knew what he meant.

The body of Christ--we need one another. We need one another. It is not good for man to be alone; he needs a help meet. You say, "My husband sure does; that guy doesn't even know how to come in out of the rain!" Can I share something with you, Mrs. Help Meet? You need help. Can I share something with you, Mr. Head of the House? You need help. We have not been called to individual households that all establish different doctrines. Every home in the body of Christ--whether it be in Africa, China, or Sterling--believes the same doctrine. Each home is subordinate to the same biblical principles, the same divine order, the same headship, the same obedience, the same love, and the same disciplines, because the body is one. Culture doesn't change it; gender doesn't change it. As you read through Romans and also into Corinthians, you're going to see that.

In fact, it's interesting that Romans 12 follows the context of chapters 9, 10, and 11, dealing with the cutting off of Israel, the grafting in of the Gentiles, and the reinstitution of Israel. This all leads up to Paul saying, "Therefore, it's not by works; it's not by nationality. It is by individual submission to the will of God, so present your body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. It's not what the Jews believe; it's not by pharisaical righteousness. It's not strictly by a faith without works, Gentiles. You've been grafted in, and it's by faith; but it's not by faith without works. So, present your bodies a living sacrifice; there's work to be done." So, as we're reading this 12th chapter of Romans, he's taking regeneration by grace and faith unto good works, not good works unto faith. He's saying, "If you're going to benefit from regeneration, you're going to have to offer yourselves up. And if you're going to continue the renewing process [an improving of yourself--the renewing of the mind is just another phrase for sanctification], then I want you to understand how important your relation to the body is. No man lives to himself or dies to himself." Jesus said, "I'm building a church; I'm building a holy habitation. I'm creating a wife, a bride."

How many of you men would like to be able to create your own wife? Yeah; you're not going to commit now with them watching, right? Okay; that's smart. God's creating His own bride just the way He wants her: perfect. Now, if you created your own wife, you'd make a mess. Do you want to know why? It's because you're imperfect. Do you know what would happen? You'd create a wife just like you, man! And two blind people fall in a ditch. God's creating a wife just like Him, and He's perfect; so is His wife going to be.

Let's finish with this. Think soberly, sanely. The soberness of mind is a controlled, disciplined thought process. Think with discipline. Don't just go with whims. Everything that goes through your head isn't wisdom. Hold it up against the Word of God, and think in proportion to the measure of faith. In other words, we're going to have to find out now, "Who am I? What has God called me to be? What has God gifted me to be?" Do you know what? Some of you ladies haven't figured out yet that you haven't been called to be the husband. The moment you can finally figure out you're not the husband, you're not the head, things are going to start working better for you. You're thinking of yourself more highly than you ought to think. You're not thinking soberly. You don't understand what God has gifted you to be, what God has called you to be. Men, you've been called to love your wives, to lay your life down for them, to love them as Jesus loves the church. Only in one place in the Scriptures is the wife ever told to love the husband, but the continual commandment to the man is to love his wife. We won't get off into all of the aspects of what love is, but we know that love doesn't mean to let them do what they want to do. If you turn your wife loose in the natural to do what she wants to do, she's going to bring you a fruit salad home.

We understand how difficult it is. We seem to think it's easy, but it's not real easy. In these roles I'm talking about here it's easy, but it's not always easy to identify, "What is the measure of faith? What has God called me to do? What is my place in the body of Christ?" And that's what we're going to talk about tonight: finding your place in the body of Christ. Have you been called to prophesy? Then don't prophesy beyond the measure of faith. What does that mean? We'll explain that tonight, as he goes through here and talks about the ministry that we've been called to. Have you been called to the ministry? A lot of us want to be called to the ministry. Well, what is the ministry? "I don't know; I think it's like working one day a week?" Do you know what the word "ministry" means? It means "to be a servant." "Oh. Well, is there any call to like king?" That position's taken, it happens to be your husband: King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Your job is ministry, serving Him. Then wait on your ministry. That word "wait" is an interesting word. We know what a waitress is, right? Tend to it; just do the job of ministry, of serving. "Yeah, but what's my salary going to be? And what are my tips going to be?"

You know, tipping bugs me. I don't like tipping. Now, those of you who have been waitresses think, "Well, they don't pay enough, and we're supposed to be tipped." No; tipping is wrong. Now, we're not going to change things, but it's wrong. The laborer is worthy of his hire. Raise the price on the menu! Pay the people what they're worth. You all know what the tip is for, right? It's to insure promptness. How many of you think people ought to be tipped if that's the definition? I'm not saying it's not a hard job; I'm saying the laborer is worthy of his hire. You don't work for a tip; you work to the glory of God. Christians don't work for what we get remunerated for. You don't work any harder for money than you do for nothing, because everything we do, we do it as unto the Lord. When we have that kind of a heart, then we know what it means to be a minister.

Wait on your ministering. If God placed you to be a servant--the cleaner of toilets, the wiper of babies' both ends--then you do it as unto the Lord, and you wait upon it. You're diligent, and you look for more opportunities to serve. Giving with simplicity, mercy with cheerfulness. We'll get into those aspects tonight and see the call of God on our lives. We'll see how we're responsible to not only identify what we've been gifted and placed to do, but the motivation and the attitude that's to be exhibited as we mutually care one for another. We'll realize, "I've been put in here for one purpose, and that's to contribute to the rest of the body. What I'm doing lends to the overall strength of the body. Take out my ministry, and somebody suffers; the body becomes weaker; there begins to be an infection. Give me the wrong attitude, and the greatest enemy of the church manifests (and we'll talk about that some this evening): strife." We know the biblical definition of strife is "expressed hatred." And it doesn't just mean verbalizing; it's also expressed in attitude. What kind of a spirit is that? That's not humility; that's not cheerfulness. That's not gratitude for the privilege of serving, for being redeemed from a devil's hell and given grace and mercy without merit. Strife in the body of Christ originates in refusing to accept with thanksgiving your placement by God in the body of Christ. Strife not only begins with attitude, but with ignorance. There's strife if you haven't come to find out who you are yet and you don't know what your job is. There's strife; there's a schism. And where there's a schism (and there is to be no schism), there's strife; there's brokenness.

What am I saying? It's your responsibility to find out who you are, what your role is, and begin to contribute. And to not do that is to be in strife with the rest of the body. You're death; you're a tumor; you're foreign matter within the body. And sometimes people that are in that condition think they're popular. "Man, look at all these people gathering around me!" They're there to kill you; they're attacking you; they're called white blood cells. What are you doing here? "Boy, everybody's so taken up with me being here, praise God!" What are you doing here? We're trying to identify if you're part of us or if you're foreign to the body.

It's an interesting study, this measure of faith, this being placed as it pleases Him; the prophesying in proportion to faith. So, be prayerful this afternoon. We're going to come back and sit at the Lord's table and discern His body this evening, and not only His body that was broken naturally, the body that He took upon Himself. To not discern the body of Christ (to take this communion cup and be in strife with the body of Christ, to be an individual, to be a rebel, to be independent) is to eat and drink to yourself damnation. The Scripture says, "But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup" (1 Corinthians 11:28). In other words, repent, die, be metamorphosed, be renovated, and let God be glorified

Father, we thank You for Your Word this morning, and as we continue this study we just seek Your glory in our midst. It's so natural, Lord, to just gravitate toward the Head, because You're so lovely, and Your ways are perfect. Give us the faith to believe that Your perfection can manifest through the imperfect members of Your body, because that's Your will, and that's what You've ordained. Give us confidence to know that we don't have to go to the Head, but the Head is coming to us through members in particular. Imperfect as that member may be, it carries the nature, the will, the wisdom, and the power of the Head. And if we can't come to believe that, we will never be whole, we will never be healed, and we will not be the habitation of God. We must believe that Your perfection can manifest through members that are under renovation. Give us that confidence in Your provision, Father, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

Let's stand before the Lord. Take a minute, as Gary plays for us, and hear what the Spirit has to say to us this morning. God doesn't want to make you a better worm; He wants you to be a butterfly this morning. Regardless of what you think, you can't go exclusively to the Head. Oh, He'll come and visit you, but it will be in His sovereign purposes and ways. You can go directly to Him as it pertains to regeneration, but sanctification comes through the body. You'll never be sanctified without opposition, without trials, without the proving of your service, without the humbling of yourself, and the death to individualism, independence, and pride. Those things are only evidenced when things aren't going our way. It's easy to be at peace and to trust God when everything's going right, the way you want it to go. What about when everything's going the way you don't want it to go? How do you respond then? "Lord, humble me that I might humble myself." He loves you enough that He'll bring you into that place of humility. And He'll do it again, and again, and again, and again, until you learn. Are you tired of going around the mountain? Die. You know what I'm talking about--all of that hassle, your besetting sin--you know what the scenario is. It'll never stop. You're going to go through it again and again until you become sanctified, until you die, until you're renewed, until there's a renovation, until you come to grips with reality, and you humble yourself, and you're thankful for who and what you are. "You mean I'm not special, I'm not great, I'm not privileged?" You're what God created you to be for His eternal glory and purposes. Can you rejoice in His glory? Can you seek others' riches and not your own? Can you rejoice when another member in the body is exalted and you're not? Do you weep when they're broken, as if it were your very loss? Be renewed that you might prove what is the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God.

Let's sing this together and just give Him His glory this morning. We do thank you, Father. "Here we are in your presence" Just thank Him this morning for His goodness. Thank Him for His presence in your life. Thank Him for what He's brought you through and that it's for an eternal purpose. He's not through with you yet, praise God! There's more to be done. Just rejoice in the good work that's being done in you. It's not over; it's just beginning.

I told you that there were things that I heard myself praying that were a blessing. I heard these words come out of my mouth as I was in prayer the other night: "Lord, I want to come to the place of thanksgiving where I don't have to express it." Now, we all like to be told, "Thank you," and I'm not talking about that. I'm not talking about not worshipping the Lord. Here's what I believe the Spirit was saying through me. "Lord, I just want to be so thankful I don't have to express it. I want to be so content in my thanksgiving that I don't have to say, "Thank You," but I exhibit the thankfulness by the joy, contentment, and peace that's reigning in my life. I am just so absolutely at peace in Your presence, and so satisfied with what You've given me, that I can use it for Your glory. That's the greatest expression of my thanksgiving." The greatest expression of our thankfulness is that His blessings don't stop with us; they flow through us and affect other people's lives. Our contentment, our peace, our joy affects others. Make it real, we ask, Father, in Jesus' name. Amen.

Before you go, turn to somebody next to you and say, "We're members one of another." Praise God! Go in peace; God's love go with you.

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