Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

The Body of Christ Pt.5

We'll pick up where we left off this morning. This is always an exciting study as we're looking at the Body of Christ and identifying, really, what God is doing in our lives; how He's placed us for His own purpose, His own glory. As we've spent a number of sessions developing that aspect of it--that it's not about our reputation, it's not for our ease and comfort, it's not for our benefit--but He's placed us in the Body, the Scripture says, number one, as it pleased Him; number two, for mutual edification that we would all have the same care one for another. So whenever you begin to identify--and we're going to take a look at that some tonight--whatever gift it is that you have received of the Lord, whatever gift you are to the Body of Christ, remember that it's for the purpose for having the care for other members. It doesn't stop with you. Everything that we have, everything that we have received of God, is for the purpose of caring for His Body, the purpose of bringing honor to the Head and, ultimately, to be presented as the gift that we have to the glory of our Father. As we begin to look at all of these things, keep that in mind.

We're not going to deal with some of the specific things. You need to find your calling, your gift, in these major categories. You'll notice that in this list in Romans, we're not going to find, "flower waterer." I've seen a number of you out there watering the flowers late in the evening. What a blessing to see, as unto the Lord, that we would give of our time and our energy. "Where does that fit?" "Where do I find that in this list?" You begin to understand from these things what the gift of ministry is. Let us wait on our ministering. That's where you find nursery workers. This gift is so broad that if goes from the, "flower waterers" into the ministry of the five fold ministry gifts. It includes the office of deacon. It's very vast in its scope. It's more of a spirit of service, than it is an identifiable function. It's a heart of humility. It's a heart that desires to give freely because it has so freely and abundantly received. God is putting that on each of our hearts.

We saw this morning that this ministry, the ministry of ministries, will never function until we experience individual humility. We're going to have to contend with this, because the natural tendency of man is always one of expecting to be exalted, expecting preference, expecting benefit. It may not always be public. A lot of us don't want public attention. Some of us are like the people that really run this country. The people that are running this country are not the guys who have been elected to office. They bought their office for them. The power is behind the scenes. A lot of us don't want to be visible. We just want the power to run our own lives. We need to see that spirit of humility.

Let's turn to Romans 12. Let's pick up where we left off this morning. We talked about the fact that we are not to think of ourselves, chapter 12, verse three, "...more highly than [we] ought to think; but to think soberly..." We talked about what that meant: "To think with a sound mind, a disciplined mind." We said that the word literally means, "To be sane," or, "To be in your right mind." We said that to be insane, then, is to think of yourself differently than God is revealing you to be; to have a different opinion of yourself that what God is revealing to you about yourself. So, insanity is not to hear what the spirit of God is saying. We said in relation to the teaching that we've been doing, is that insanity is to really separate ourselves from the ministry of the body, that lets us know who we really are. It's insane to stand alone and just have an opinion of yourself and not be open to the ministry of the body to speak into your life by the very obvious fruit that's being borne in our lives. We've said it so many times. We're so, so vulnerable to judging ourselves by our intentions and others by their actions. We have to be available, then, to what the spirit of God is going to say to us through the Body of Christ. Because the biblical principle is very clear: "By their fruit [finish it with me] you shall know them." Not by their intention, not by their own opinion of themselves, but by the observable fruit you shall know them.

"You just think you're seeing fruit. You don't really know my heart." You've just revealed your heart to me because you're thinking more highly of yourself than you ought to think. You are saying that the biblical principle of, "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks," doesn't apply to you. You're the only one that speaks contrary to the Word and doesn't mean it. We're talking about not thinking of yourself more highly than you ought, which means, don't think of yourself separate from how you relate to the Body of Christ. To think of yourself more highly than you ought is to separate yourself from the Body of Christ, to make yourself exclusive, unique, special. We are members one of another and we have to same care one for another. So there's that humility that has to take place in each of our lives.

Then it goes on and it says, "Now don't think more highly than you ought to think. Think with a sober mind, a disciplined mind. Allow the metamorphosis to take place through the renovation of your minds as God is causing you to see from the eternal, the spiritual. To begin to partake of the mind of Christ which is very clearly revealed to us as the spirit of humility. Put this mind in you that was also in Christ Jesus." As we take that on, we make ourselves very vulnerable to, and dependent upon, the Body of Christ. That's the humility we were speaking of this morning. The natural man wants to be independent, self-sufficient. We want to be as gods. Especially in our day and in our society, none of us wants to say that we are dependent upon others. We don't want to say that we're in a place of need in our lives, of lack. So it's important for us, beloved, to identity what God has revealed to us in the Scriptures.

In the midst of this, contextually, we pick it up where we left off this morning, as God is dealing to every one of us the measure of faith. That measure of faith is not only to be able to orchestrate these gifts that we're going to look at tonight, but the measure of faith is necessary to be able to really discern our own hearts. We need this gift of faith, this grace, to believe about us what God is saying. That power is so strong in us, beloved. We just have trouble seeing our depravity. I'm not talking about doctrinally; I'm talking about practically. I liked one of the answers that the Young Adults filled out in their little lists. One of the first questions was about your dependence on God. I can't remember how it was worded. One of the people hit the nail right on the head. He said, " In my mind I understand it's to be 10, I am to be absolutely dependent upon God, but in reality I really still trust in my own abilities. I know intellectually I am to depend upon God. I know intellectually that without Him I can do nothing, but practically I still find myself, as the apostle said, 'Doing the things I don't want to do. Trusting in my own strength, trusting in my own wisdom.'"

It takes that measure of faith to really be able to see who and what we are in the natural. And then once we come to the understanding of depravity, it can be overwhelming, and then we need the measure of faith to see who and what you are in Christ, and how He's delivered us from that dominant power of sin. Sin now no longer has the dominion over us, that we can all do all things through Christ, which strengthens us. Are you ready to receive that gift? Are you hungry to know Him and the power of His resurrection, the fellowship of His sufferings? Are you ready to be made conformable by your own death? He says, "Now get ready, receive the measure of faith, receive the Word that I'm going to share with you about who you are and what I expect you to be. Because with the measure of faith not only comes ability, but responsibility. We're responsible for the revelation. We're responsible for what God reveals to us about ourselves, about what He expects us to do, and about how we relate to the community, the Body of Christ, the Church.

"For as we have many members in one body and all members have not the same office:" So immediately we begin to see then that there is a diversity of ability and responsibility. "...many members." We all are not of the same office. Go ahead and turn over to the Corinthians 12 passage because we'll be going back and forth a little bit here as we allow these gifts to be identified. Paul says it in chapter 12 of Corinthians, verses 18 down through 20; look at it, "But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, [and we have to work off of this] as it hath pleased him." As it pleased Him. He's not taken up with the fact whether you're pleased or anybody else around you is pleased. We've been gifted and placed as it (say it with me) pleased Him. We don't need you to ratify God's placing members in the body. In fact, it's not anything--you might as well not even consider transfer. Listen: Don't think with the natural mind that there will be advancement from the natural perspective. You will not advance--listen--from the natural perspective. It's sovereignly, as it pleases God.

Now, we're to covet the best gifts. We're to be available to be used of God in any way. Here is the spirit of how we approach this thing. "Father, here am I, send me. I'm ready to do anything You want me to do. I will be obedient. I'll go where You want me to go. I'll do what You want me to do. I will perform what You gift me, what You enabled me, to do." You say, "Yeah, That's obvious. We understand that." But there are other principles that until you prove yourself faithful in the small things--What you're saying when you say that is, "Lord, I'm ready for advancement. Here I am Lord, advance me. I'm willing to come out of this ministry of isolation into one of advancement, to recognition. I'm ready to move from uncomeliness to comeliness. I'm ready to be the greatest among us. I just don't want to be servant of all. I just want to be advanced without having to prove myself faithful in the small things. Lord, You know my heart is one of contentment. Now what do you have for me next? Surely you don't expect me to be in this ministry for two weeks before I get advanced into another area that I enjoy more." It may not even just be for recognition. It may just be for what your preferences are. It's natural. I heard a guy--it was humorous actually--I think it was one of the teachings I was listening to the other morning with--it might have been David Jeremiah or one of those. He was talking about this very thing of yielding ourselves totally to the will of God. He said, "That first response that everybody has, 'If I totally yield myself to God, the consequence of that is going to be that I'll have to remain single and go to Africa.'" So what's wrong with that, if that what pleases Him? So, we realize that, as the spirit of God is speaking to us here, we can have all the right doctrine. Where's the servant's heart in being ready to do what God has gifted us, placed us, to do? Are you pleased by pleasing Him? He places us as it pleases Him.

"And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now are they many members, yet but one body." Back to Romans 12, Let's see if I can get back on course. "For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another" (Romans 12:4-5). We talked about this in our last session. The fact that even though you don't touch another segment of the Body--this finger is not in direct contact with this finger--but we are all members according to what the Spirit says of the same body we are all members one of another. We all relate (how?) through the Head. Though we don't touch the Head directly, as we saw this morning, the Head touches us through our nervous system, by the Spirit. You see, the Holy Spirit is the nervous system of the Body of Christ. The heart of God, the power of God, the mind of God is being communicated to every member. We're all receiving the revelation of God. We're all being prepared to bring glory to God simultaneously. We are all unified by the fact that it is the same source, the power, the presence of the Holy Spirit that is orchestrating.

So though our ministries (and even in a body this small) we may not always cross each other's paths. We may not always be in direct relationship to a specific individual, but we are all members one of another. As we go on in the study we will see, then, when one of us is exalted we are all to rejoice. When one of is being endangered or being hurt and under trial, then we all weep...unless we are out of touch in the Spirit by self-will, by our own personal agendas, we're too busy to care about the function of the rest of the Body. Only in the time of emergency, only in the time of injury and pain does it get our recognition. We saw this morning that there is not to be any schism or strife in the Body. That's not just talking about members being cut off and extreme trials. We're talking about schism coming because you're not doing your job. The flow, the energy is not coming through the Body and each member is not hitting on all cylinders and caring one for another. If one of the tasks is left out, the thing's just not going to work properly.

It's an interesting thing--I was watching, this afternoon in fact, some of the races that were taking place down in Atlanta. One of the things that's interesting with the drag cars--the pro guys, the big top fuel dragsters--some of you that don't know what those are, those are the long skinny cars that you see. They are extremely fast: A quarter mile in 4.4 seconds, 330 mph. That's impressive, but you know what makes them do that? There's a rule that they have. After the run those cars come back, and they have to be ready for the next run in 75 minutes. You think, "Well, big whoopee! I can get ready up here at the service station in about four and a half." Let me tell you what happens when they pull in there, in fact on the way back after the run: On the way back, there are people that are actually jumping onto that vehicle and beginning to dismantle it on the way back to the pits. When it gets there, it is totally taken apart. The engine is completely taken apart. (Those of you who are paying Greg, tell him to get on the stick, he's taking way too long.) These guys take an engine apart and put it back together. The transmission comes apart. All the clutches come out. This thing is dismantled and put back together in 75 minutes. If you've never seen it happen, it's almost unbelievable to watch.

How does that happen? Every person has one job and it looks like a bunch of ants jumping on the thing. You don't do anybody else's job, and you don't worry about what they're doing. You just get yours done...right. And if for some reason you don't do your job, it can be catastrophic. It's a great illustration of how we're to work together and each one be content. There's a young man that's having a good year this year. His Dad is one of the legends in drag racing, Kenny Bernstein. He retired last year. His son, Brandon, took over. It's kind of interesting that Brandon had a great year in top alcohol the year before. Then prior to driving and having a good year in alcohol--and he's going to take over the fuel car for his Dad, the legend--There was a year in between that, and do you know what he did? I think he has a very wise father. Multi, multi, multi-millionaires. The fame--the job's in the bag. Dad's going to give him the seat. The year between these two events, he worked on that crew, and he did every job that was to be done there, and he started with the dirtiest, lowest job. He worked side by side with all of those men that were going to be serving him the next year. He did everything that they did, so that he could appreciate what those men are going through to get his name on television, to put the fuel in his Leer jet. "Well, I wouldn't mind doing it for a year if I could get a Leer jet!" That's not the point. As it pleases [who?] Him. Even in the secular world, "There are some of those people who are just plain lucky and here I am stuck with me. Stuck with life. Stuck with this mundane job. I was created for something more than this." Yes, you were: Hell. That'll help you be thankful for what you have. Amen?

Let's take a look at this and see--I'm off course again--what it is that God's calling us to. We don't all have the same office. The Body of Christ is not communistic. We seem to think in the natural--You can see that Communism is so humanistic, so natural-man, so unregenerate thought process, to where each one of us to be exalted to equality; gods in our own eyes all deserving the same. And it's contrary to the Body of Christ. "For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us..." "Gifts differing according to the grace." "Gifts differing according to the grace. [This is almost redundant when we speak of the term grace] given to us.

[We realize that what we are, God has made us. Our responsibilities to function in harmony in the Body of Christ can only be accomplished by the grace of God. Without it, we're going to be self-serving, we're going to be getting into schism, we're going to be in strife. Verse nine, let's skip the gifts for just a minute.] Let love be without dissimulation. [That word means "pretense." When we really begin to love as we've been loved: freely.] Abhor that which is evil; [What would you think evil is, in the context of this? Selfishness, self-will, independence. Abhor the independent spirit. Abhor anything that is going to bring disharmony to the Body of Christ. Abhor anything that is self-exalting and brings glory to self. Let your love be without pretense.] cleave to that which is good. [Be followers of those who through faith and patience are inheriting the promises of God. Surround yourself with people that are content in the Body of Christ, serving, fulfilling their role.] Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; [Very interesting phrase here, kindly affectioned. It's two terms, phileo and storgae that are kind of incorporated here. A natural love, an emotional attachment, a comradery, a commonness, we just enjoy this person. But the kindly affectioned spirit goes beyond that and it also, talking about storgae, it's taking about, a natural relation, blood kin. We're blood relatives through the blood of Jesus, Amen? Now you can choose your friends but you're stuck with your family. Guess what? We're stuck. We're family. Some of us wouldn't choose each other as friends, but, you see, we can't isolate. We don't have that luxury of choosing the people we want to be around, because we've been placed in a body as it pleases Him. So he says, "Since God has adopted you, since God has chosen your family, then you by faith and you by humility are to be kindly affectioned one to another with this brotherly love..." Now watch.] in honor preferring one another." Powerful phrase. In honor, not in resentment, not in an obligatory manner, but honoring that person, honoring the wife as the (what?) weaker vessel. We've taught on that so many times. Why is it that the man is to give such honor to this woman in her role? Because God has called her and placed her in a subservient role and when she is functioning properly, when she is submitting, when she is obeying, when she is choosing to humble herself and put herself under, He says, "Don't you dare take advantage of that. You esteem her and you honor her because of her commitment to the call of God on her life." This is how we're to relate to one another.

So, as we're kindly affectionate toward one another, as we in honor prefer one another, what we're doing is we're looking for those among us that are fulfilling the call in their lives and we look to give them honor ("Honor to whom honor is due"). We look for ways to recognize their benefit to the community. We look for ways to bless them, to esteem them. If we, according to 1 Timothy six, happened to be a people that are blessed, as Paul speaks of it in the monetary realm--let's say we're one of those people who happen to be the rich among us. What is it that the rich are supposed to do? They're supposed to be ready to communicate and ready to distribute. Part of that, then, becomes how others' among us needs are met.

We talked about in our disciple training here just recently, as we've encouraged each one of us to be diligent in our responsibility. We've talked to certain individuals and there are certain individuals who don't have the wherewithal. It's not because they've been frivolous and they've got satellite or cable TV or they stop at 7-Eleven. They're not being frivolous; they just don't have it. We, in honor, prefer them. Those that are blessed, those that have, give to those that don't have in those particulars, but in the Body we also understand that there's no welfare mentality in the Body of Christ. We've all been gifted and graced with time, with energy; and so we've shared with some of these families, "You don't have money? That's not a problem." We suggested this, and some are doing it and they're going to reap some great benefits from it, and some great dividends from it. We said, "Get your kids and come up here on certain evenings or on a Saturday and tell them, 'This is what we're going to do: We're going to pull weeds, we're going to clean, we're going to do this kind of stuff and this is what we have to contribute to the edification of the body.'" You begin to teach your children giving and community and responsibility.

In the natural, what would happen? A person in that role would seem to--pride would rise up and say, "I'm not taking any handouts." We're not talking handouts. We're talking about, you've been gifted, you've been placed as God is pleased. Are you doing all you can do? Are you contributing to the community? Then we bestow more abundant honor upon these members the Scripture says, in 1 Corinthians 12. Why? Because of their obedience. That's not an easy ministry to fulfill. "It's more blessed to give than to receive." Yes it is a blessing to give, but you know, it's a blessing to receive in the right spirit. I think it's more of a blessing to give than to receive. I'd give a lot easier than I'd receive. How about you? Yeah. Pride doesn't let us receive very well, does it? Some of us are great givers; we just can't receive anything. Well you say, "I don't have that problem. Just come and talk to me. I think I'm the greatest receiver among us. I'll destroy all of Jerry Rice's records. I am THE receiver."

As we look at this spirit, then, he talks about how are in honor to prefer one another. Not slothful in business. This isn't talking about your secular business. This is talking about the business of the kingdom. You can apply it to the secular because the principles always apply. "Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; [look at the next phrase] serving the Lord; [Everything you do that benefits the body is serving the Lord. Everything you do in preferring the community is serving the Lord. Everything you do in kindly affection relationship to one another is serving the Lord, the Head; it's benefiting the Head.] Rejoicing in [favorable expectation]; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. Bless them which persecute you: [He's talking about the Body of Christ. Did you know that people in the Body of Christ are going to persecute at times? We've all experienced different types of this.] bless, and curse not. [Your blessing will deliver them. Your rendering good for evil is going to reap coals of fire on their head.] bless, and curse not Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. [or in your own estimation of yourself.] Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. [I like this phrase:] If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men."

The reason we've skipped over to this part of the chapter (and we're going to go back and identify the specific offices and try to find what we've been gifted to do), I want you to see--When you begin to identify what your call is and what your office is, I want you to see the spirit that it operates in. Here's the purpose for your gift: To do all these things. Do you see what we're reading right here? Regardless of where your ministry is: prophecy, ministry, teaching, exhortation, whatever those general categories are, here is what it's supposed to be doing: "They will all do this." They all will be kindly affectioned one to another. They all will be diligent in business. They all will be fervent in spirit. They all will continue instant in prayer. All of these offices will distribute to the necessity of the saints. Do you see what we're saying? You can begin to identify that we've all got the same responsibility, regardless of how we've been gifted. It's just going to be at different levels that these things are being accomplished. Different levels of responsibility, different quantities of ability, but this is what it's supposed to be doing.

He says in verse 19, "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." So we see, then, the spirit revealing to us the responsibilities of the community, the Body of Christ. Now, what have you been called to do? Well, if you've been called to prophesy, "...let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;" The word prophesy literally means, "To speak forth." Have you been called? Have you been placed in the Body of Christ to be a prophet? It's amazing how many people think they have been. But in it's generic term--Let's use the word here to prophesy in its generic sense. (Not the gift of prophecy necessarily as 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 speak of it. That aspect of prophesying, the gift of prophecy is to speak unto edification, exhortation, and comfort.) But this, "speaking forth," if you're called to prophesy, then according to the portion of faith.

Now watch. How does that apply to us in this community, in the body? What are we going to speak forth? We are going to speak forth as the oracles of God. This ministry, and the other one that's going to come up in a minute, exhortation, has to do with what we talked about earlier, what one of our greatest responsibilities is: That's to provoke one another to love and good works. We are constantly to be holding the Word of God forth to one another and to begin to bring reproof, rebuke and instruction to righteousness. If you've been called to prophesy, to speak forth, do it in proportion to the spirit of faith. In other words, beloved, if you're gifted, if God's called you to do this, you know what else He's going to gift you to do? He's going to gift you to be a doer of the Word, not just a speaker. People ought to see the fruit in your life.

Now we're not limited to prophesy. We don't have to be perfect to prophesy, but beloved, we need to be mature. We need to prophesy according to the proportion of our faith, the faith that is working in us. It should be working for you before you're trying to instruct others. It needs to be a reality to you. Men, I'd encourage you to come to grips with this. Does this mean that until you get perfect and you get everything working in your life, you can't require of your wife to function in her role and your children to function in their roles? No, that's not what we're saying. We're saying that if you want these gifts to operate properly and at their best, don't provoke others to wrath by requiring of them to do things that you're not doing. There's a lot of our children that get whipped for things--We spank them and we're doing the same thing, just in a mature realm. As we're looking to cause our children to mature, and we're going to prophesy, than we need to be able to speak to them and say, "Look, I'm not just going to instruct you in righteousness. Follow me as I follow Christ." But then don't limit God's Word to your experience but prophesy according to the proportion of faith. We can call things that are not as though they were. We know that what God's speaking is true, we speak it in faith, we require it of ourselves and those that are around us. The portion of faith: That expectation that this is God and that it will bring results in our lives and in those that hear us.

How was it that Paul said it to Timothy? "Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee" (I Timothy 4:16). So, according to the portion of faith that's been given to us. What's another way of saying it? Do you believe what you're saying? Do you have expectation that God's going to bring this about in our midst? Do you want to prophesy? It's very similar to what he says about speaking in tongues. "If you're going to speak in tongues, pray that you might [what?] interpret; to finish this thing so that the body can be edified." If you're going to prophesy, if you're going to speak the promises of God, if you're going to speak about whatever it is--prosperity, healing, unity, responsibility, diligence or whatever, prophesy according to the portion of faith. Know that God is the one that is orchestrating this, that is prompting you and believe that He will do it through you as the example, so that others can be edified by your obedience, by it working in you; that God could be glorified.

That's part of what's happening here in this particular rendering that Paul is speaking. Look what else he goes on. (Romans 12:7) "Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering..." We talked about that a little bit this morning and we'll end with this for this evening. If you're going to minister, wait on your ministering. In other words, serve. Wait on it. That doesn't just mean to sit. We're not talking about passivity here. Ministry, service--"If you've been called to service, then get about serving," is what he's saying. Wait on it. Be a waiter. What's the deacon's role? They waited on tables, didn't they? A lot of people mess that up in the Body of Christ. We all understand what the office of deacon is and what it means to wait on the tables. What it meant was that there's not preferential treatment being given to anybody. The office of deacon was to make sure that nobody that had a need was being overlooked. They were going around serving and looking into the lives of one another and making sure that every need was met.

Though you may not have the office of deacon, you have the ministry of deacon, every one of you, every one of us in the Body of Christ. We're constantly to be making sure that everybody's taken care of, that nobody is being overlooked, that nobody is hurting that we are not aware of, that there's not a need in our midst that's not being ministered to. "...let us wait on our ministering: [In other words, look for opportunities to care, to minister. We've been called to the same care one of another, 1 Corinthians 12 says. Wait upon that. Look and watch for the opportunities to speak into lives, to care and to lift up hands that are hanging down, to comfort the feeble minded.] or he that teacheth, on teaching;" The teaching ministry is one that requires of lot of study, it requires time in the presence of God to get the mind of the Spirit. Teaching ministry is not just regurgitating facts out of a textbook. The one thing that I have emphasized to our pastors and to our teachers over the years and it's sometimes, especially as you're younger and depending in our opinion of yourself, it's always a little more difficult to grab hold of. But most of our men have this now and I've shared with them: "Listen. Teach the people, not the message." So many times you want to get up and have your message polished to the place where you know whether it's in delivery or in the content or whatever it is, in the actual presentation of it. We just want everything to be just right. We want to do it for the glory of God, of course. We sure don't want to-we're not doing it so that when we're done we can feel that we've done a good job and pleased with ourselves. We're doing it for God. The men are catching this and it's something that if we're going to teach.

I like what Kenny Schmitt told me years ago. It's simple, but to me it was profound. It changed my life as I was looking at the teaching ministry: "The teacher is only a helper to the learner." You're finding where they are and helping them to grasp where they're wanting to be. You don't have to force feed; you don't have to spell it all out, but you need to help them in their hunger to learn. In other words, don't answer questions that aren't being asked. A lot of us want to teach what we prefer, the things that we enjoy. Well, that might not be what we need. One thing about the pastoral ministry is you have to minister to the needs of the body at that time. That's why it's frustrating sometimes to the teacher--it is to me at certain times--and why you may wonder, "We're going on a series and then all of sudden, we're over here." Why? Because we have a need here in our midst, and you have to speak toward what the need is in the pastoral ministry, because it's not just a teaching ministry, it's a shepherding ministry. The Bible college professor has the luxury of teaching the lesson. The pastor-teacher has to teach toward the need.

We're talking about your gift, how we relate to one another, how we teach one another. "We want to get together and fellowship and we want to teach them what God is revealing to me in my quiet time." They may not need that; they may need something else. "Let me tell you, I've figured out who the Antichrist is..." They don't need to know that; they just lost their job. "Well the Antichrist took it, that's what it was." So if we're going to teach, be sensitive to what the need is. Don't just teach your pet doctrine, don't just harp on certain subjects. One of the things that Pentecostals have been infamous for over the years, and people still think it's the case, you go to a Pentecostal church and all you hear about is tongues and healing. And tragically, that's been the case for a lot of years. If we're called to teach--and we all are, to instruct and edify one another, to bring reproof and rebuke--then let's be sensitive to the need and teach. Speak toward the need.

"...he that exhorteth, on exhortation..." What a ministry to the Body of Christ: Exhorter. What's an exhorter? A cheerleader. How many of us need cheering up periodically? Motivated. "Come on, you can do it. God's good. God's for us; who can be against us?" We've got our cheerleaders, and they make up their cheers: "We will, we will." So we can make up our cheers: "He will, He will." "He will, He will, heal you." Be an exhorter, praise God. Let them know what God is doing in their life and what the promises are. Exhortation doesn't have to be in-depth teaching. You don't have to give somebody in-depth teaching every time you're going to help them out. "I don't need doctrine. I need a pat on the back or a kick in the motivating area. I need to be motivated." Exhortation. We talked about prophecy: "Edify, exhort or comfort." Edify: Build up. Exhort: Stir up. Comfort: Cheer up. Prophecy edifies, exhorts and comforts. It builds up, it stirs up, it cheers up and keeps us with an expectation of the promises of God and the victory that's been given to us as a community, and that He that's begun the work in us will perform it, praise God.

You're not limited to any of these general offices but, in fact, the responsibility of these belong to every one of us. But some of us are going to be gifted to affect these to a greater degree than others. So we'll talk about identifying those later; we got off course too many times tonight. I don't want to take any more time. We want to spend some time at the Lord's Table. Just receive these admonitions tonight and see, then, that regardless of what general category you fall into, the responsibility of those gifts are seen in the latter part of that 12^th chapter and how we're to be kind-hearted, moving in brotherly love, preferring one another in love, never vengeful, never selfish, never self-absorbed in any way but always seeking the community's good through the presenting of ourselves as living sacrifices, through the humbling of ourselves, of not thinking too highly of ourselves than we ought to think, through the confidence that He's placed us as it pleases Him.

As Gary plays for us and the brethren come, we're going to take some time--As we shared this morning, remember as we're preparing to fellowship at the Lord's table, it's a time of discerning the Body of Christ. His physical body that was broken for us, that was wounded, the stripes that He bore for our healing, the vehicle by which He lived a sinless life so that we can be exhorted to be holy as He is holy. Then there's the discerning of His spiritual Body, the Church. To fail to discern either of those, the latter would not be in existence without the former. Because He had a sinless physical body, we can expect a mature, perfect, spiritual Body, the Church, as each one of us appropriates by faith, that grace that's been given to us. As He evidenced Himself in a natural body, He's now expressing Himself through a spiritual Body. For us to fail to discern this spiritual Body and how we relate to it, for us to refuse to accept the care and the ministry of the other members of the Body, is to eat and drink to ourselves damnation. To take this communion and say, "I'm part of the Body of Christ, I am willing to serve as I've been placed," but to live selfishly, to exclude others and refuse admonition, reproof, rebuke, is to damn yourself. Is to be moving in the spirit of Ananias and Sapphira; to say that "I am part of the Body" when you're living to yourself. Be very careful that you discern what it is that we're doing here tonight. When you take that cup in your hand, you're saying, "I am publicly professing I don't live to myself, I don't die to myself. I am part of a whole. I will not live separate from the Headship of Jesus carried through the corporate Body of Christ."

If you can do that in faith tonight, if you can do that in reality, then just the opposite is going to take place: Not only will you not be eating and drinking to yourself damnation, but you will be, by faith, receiving edification and making yourself available to the Holy Spirit to just continue to give you greater revelation of His will for your life. As you publicly profess it, He's then going to be able to use your profession of faith as a vehicle to reveal Himself in even a greater way. We're going to take by faith tonight. We're going to expect the full benefit of the Body of Christ to manifest when we take tonight. So often we emphasize our individual healing and victory, and you can expect that, but tonight when we partake be believing for the preparation in your life to cause you to serve and to contribute to others, preferring others better than ourselves. That's what our Master did; that's what He expects us to do.

As you're served, just hold these emblems and we'll partake together in just a moment. Eat in faith tonight. Expect to be changed. Expect that humility to manifest in a greater degree tonight that He might be all in all. Let's sing this together as the brethren serve us. Lord, we're one in Thee... Sing it one more time. Just offer yourself up to Him tonight. Lord, here am I. Oh, thank You, Jesus. Lord, we're one in Thee. Oh, Lord, we're Your Body. We'll love what You love, hate what You hate. Hallelujah! Just take some time, let Him begin to speak to your heart.

I remember the first time I ever heard that chorus. A young person that was under our ministry in California wrote that chorus. It was a great time, during the Jesus Movement. And to see a lot of these young people coming off the street--living for themselves, independent, runaways, dropouts--and to see their lives be healed and kids delivered from drugs and from the free-love movement. Young people just destroyed by promiscuity and drugs, and all that the sixties were, to see them come in and, by the blood of Jesus--Some of them so ashamed by the destruction of their bodies and the vileness of theirs, then to come in and be accepted in the beloved and, knowing how impure they were truly in the natural, to be cleansed by the blood of Jesus and be restored in their minds and in their hearts to something that was acceptable to God. Kids that had been on their own, now becoming part of a family, the Body of Christ, loved like they've never been loved before. That's what birthed a chorus like that, as Romans 13 was made real to them. Runaways, off the streets, now coming into a community and humbling themselves. When the cry of society was, "Down with authority," they came looking for authority. They'd seen what it was to be free and independent, and it was death. Their minds were renewed and they were grafted in, and now loving what He loved and hating what He hated, overcoming evil with good. That's what part of this Body is about, the part of the service that we have. Do you want to love what He loves? He loves His Church, His Body. What commitment are you willing to make to contribute toward the good of His Body?

Let's stand before Him tonight as we prepare to partake of these gifts. Don't count it common to be a part of a family. It's a privilege to be a part of a family, to be loved, to be accepted, to be a contributor. What a great privilege we have. Jesus, as we hold in our hand these emblems tonight, we are ever grateful for You becoming flesh and dwelling among us. And through Your perfection, Your sinless life, You destroyed sin's power and offered Yourself the perfect propitiation to God. We stand free and we stand in peace with God because of Your victory and we recognize Your victory was won through this bread and this cup. In that victory You ascended and You now carry on this ministry through Your mystical Body, Your spiritual Body, the Church, of which You are the Head. The exceeding greatness of Your power is evident in those that would unify and submit themselves to Your Headship. We desire tonight, Lord, not only to be pure but to be powerful. Our hearts' desire is to come to a unity that would give opportunity for You to express Yourself in our midst in power and show Your victory won, that you might be glorified. So, tonight we commit ourselves to that unity so that You might be glorified, and we eat this in recognition that it is available to us if we would dare believe it and appropriate it by individual death to self. It can only be accomplished as we recognize Your death and our identity with it. By faith, we receive that done, in Jesus' name, Amen.

Let's partake of the bread together. And the victory in His blood in Jesus' name. Let's partake together. Hallelujah! Just rejoice tonight, that by your recognition of His victory you now--This very moment, you are a candidate for Him to show Himself in you. And we as a community now can be molded in unity that He might show His power among us. Make it your heart's cry tonight: "Lord, that we would become so much one that there would be no limit to how You could express Yourself in our midst, that our very reason for being would be to exalt You, Lord, through the edification of Your Body. I want to, in honor, prefer others, Lord. I want to be kindly affectioned through brotherly love. Lord, it's my heart's desire to not bring any schism in this Body, but only edification. I want to do my part. Make me what You want me to be, mold me through the pressure of the rest of the Body of Christ, help me to be thankful for the privilege of serving and that there is no service of the Head, but through the members in particular of the Body." Let's sing this together. Oh Lord, Your steadfast love and tender mercies have been our salvation. Oh Lord, we bless You. You're so good to us, Lord. For by Your hand...

So often our time of communion is a time of praise and thanksgiving, and tonight I sense that it is somewhat different. We're so thankful and our hearts full of worship, but there's more a spirit of resolve in this communion tonight. A spirit to be like Him, a spirit to evidence through our unity and our love for one another that he was sent of the Father and that Jesus has been raised from the dead. We commit ourselves to that, Lord, because we recognize the worth of Your Body. Let men see and let our Father be glorified, we ask, in Jesus' name, Amen. Before you go, turn to somebody next to you and say, "We're members one of another," praise God. Amen. Go in peace. God's love go with you.

Back to Top | Audio   |   Purchase Audio   |   Bible Teachings   |   Print