Introduction:
Imagine the Master Carpenter’s tools holding a conference: Brother Hammer presides, but several suggest he leave the meeting because he is too noisy.
Brother Hammer replies, “If I have to leave this shop, Brother Screwdriver must go also. You have to turn him around again and again to get him to accomplish anything.”
Brother Screwdriver speaks up. “If you wish, I’ll leave. But Brother Plane must leave, too. All his work is on the surface. His efforts have no depth.”
To this, Brother Plane responds, “Brother Rule will also have to withdraw, for he is always measuring folks as though he were the only one who is right.”
Brother Rule then complains about Brother Sandpaper: “He ought to leave, too, because he’s so rough and always rubbing people the wrong way.
In the midst of all this discussion, in walks the Carpenter of Nazareth. He has arrived to start his day’s work. Putting on his apron, he goes to the bench to make a pulpit from which to proclaim the gospel. He uses Brothers Hammer, Screw, Plane, Rule, Sandpaper, and all the other tools.
After the day’s work, when the pulpit is finished, Brother Saw arises and remarks, “Brethren, I observe that all of us are workers together with the Lord.”
Church Family of Here’s Hope, I am here today to say, “Nobody is a nobody in the body of Christ!” (Say it with me.)
1 Corinthians 12:14-26 NLT
Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. 15If the foot says, "I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand," that does not make it any less a part of the body. 16And if the ear says, "I am not part of the body because I am only an ear and not an eye," would that make it any less a part of the body? 17Suppose the whole body were an eye—then how would you hear? Or if your whole body were just one big ear, how could you smell anything? 18But God made our bodies with many parts, and he has put each part just where he wants it. 19What a strange thing a body would be if it had only one part!
20Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. 21The eye can never say to the hand, "I don’t need you." The head can’t say to the feet, "I don’t need you." 22In fact, some of the parts that seem weakest and least important are really the most necessary. 23And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect from the eyes of others those parts that should not be seen, 24while other parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together in such a way that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. 25This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other equally. 26If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.
As Roger has shared so well, each part of the body is important. We all play a different note in the symphony of God’s concert. We are all a part of the Family of God!
Study of the verses:
Verses 14-19 Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. 15If the foot says, "I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand," that does not make it any less a part of the body. 16And if the ear says, "I am not part of the body because I am only an ear and not an eye," would that make it any less a part of the body? 17Suppose the whole body were an eye—then how would you hear? Or if your whole body were just one big ear, how could you smell anything? 18But God made our bodies with many parts, and he has put each part just where he wants it. 19What a strange thing a body would be if it had only one part!
This deals with the diversity of the parts of the body and how God has made each part of the body exactly the way He desires it to be. He put each part of the body where he wanted it.
Paul puts this question in the mouth of anyone who feels excluded from the body. "I don’t have this certain spiritual gift. I guess I’m not part of the body of Jesus Christ."
If you think about it, hands and eyes seem more important and are certainly more "glamorous" than feet and ears or intestines!
Paul wants these Christians who feel excluded to know that they are valuable members of the body, and any sentiment that implies that they are not, is foolishness!
He sums up the paragraph by saying “God designed this body,” (Paul is speaking about the church family now).
And if God thinks enough of you to make you a person who is gifted in a certain way, are you going to refuse to be used? Or are you going to say, well, I can’t sing in the praise team, so I guess I can’t do anything.
God has no many niches for you to fill in the church family. Don’t ever sell yourself short!
20Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. 21The eye can never say to the hand, "I don’t need you." The head can’t say to the feet, "I don’t need you." 22In fact, some of the parts that seem weakest and least important are really the most necessary. 23And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect from the eyes of others those parts that should not be seen, 24while other parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together in such a way that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity.
In the divine design, everybody has something; but nobody has everything.
The weakest parts are really the most necessary. The belly and its internal organs is covered up so it isn’t visible…but it does such important work!
Mrs. Floyd Crook “I came home from school one day crying because I had been given only a small part in the children’s program, while my playmate got the leading role. After drying my tears, my mother took off her watch and put it in my hand. ‘What do you see?’ she asked. ‘A gold case, a face, and two hands,’ I replied. Opening the back, she repeated the question. I told her I saw many tiny wheels. ‘This watch would be useless,’ she said, ‘without every part—even the ones you can hardly see.’”
What appears on the surface to be the work of only one part of the body is actually a very complex and precise cooperative act of many members of the body.
The more mature we become in Christ, the more we realize that throughout our entire life we need each other more than ever.
I believe it is a mature Christian who understands this.
Can you imagine what our church family would be like without you?
When people leave to a church, I am not so sure that they think about the effect that they have upon the people left behind. If they knew the vacuum they left behind and the hole in the fabric of family, they might think twice.
Would any of us so carelessly leave our natural families? Perhaps the world does with its throwaway marriages, but the church shouldn’t treat family so lightly!
In a certain mountain village in Europe several centuries ago, a nobleman wondered what legacy he should leave to the townspeople. At last he decided to build them a church. No one saw the complete plans for the church until it was finished. When the people gathered, they marveled at its beauty and completeness. Then someone asked, “But where are the lamps? How will they be lighted?” The nobleman pointed to some brackets in the walls. Then he gave each family a lamp that they were to bring with them each time they came to worship. “Each time you are here the area where you are seated will be lighted,” the nobleman said. “Each time you are not here, that area will be dark. This is to remind you that whenever you fail to come to church, some part of God’s house will be dark”.
Let me use another analogy, that of flying a kite. As we consider this activity, we may ask, “Who flew the kite?” “I did,” comes a reply from the wind! “I did,” shouts the paper! “I did,” exclaims the tail! “I did,” says the string! “I did,” boasts the boy! But in reality, they ALL flew the kite! If the wind had lulled, if the paper had torn, if the tail had gotten caught in the tree, if the string had broken, or the boy had fallen, then the kite would have come down! EACH HAD A PART TO PLAY! God has placed you here in a strategic role! You are an important part of the successfulness and effectiveness of this church. Everyone else is depending on you to be here and to carry out your function. And when you fail to be here and/or carry out your function in this body, the whole church suffers. So use your gifts to the glory of God and leave the results to him. Remember: God needs you! And we need one another!!!!
Here is the most important verses in this passage – 1 Cor. 12:25-26 “so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.” (NAS)
“no division” = the word Greek word for schism.
The picture being painted here is that if one organ of the body is not functioning properly, the entire body feels the effect.
Often we consider parts of our physical body unimportant or expendable until they are injured or hurt.
For those of you who have had migraine headaches, you know how incapacitating they are. Or a injured knee, hip or leg as several of our ladies have experienced in the past few months. One organ, one part of the body not working as it was designed leads to the entire body becoming ineffective.
The second half of verse 25 says, ‘but that the members may have the SAME CARE for one another.”
The Greek word used there is the word translated “anxiety.”
It is stronger than the way our bibles translate it as mere awareness or concern of another’s need. It has to do with being “troubled by concern.”
How troubled with concern are you when a family member is sick, hospitalized or hurting? If your mother or brother or sister is sick or hurting, you are likely beside yourself with concern aren’t you?
God desires that we have anxious concern for our church family members.
Vince Lombardi once told his team, “if you’re going to play together as a team, you’ve got to care for one another. You’ve got to love each other. Each player has to be thinking about the next guy and saying to himself "If I don’t block that man, Paul is going to get his legs broken. I have to do my job well in order that he can do his."
The difference between mediocrity and greatness, Lombardi said that night, is the feeling these guys have for each other.
So also, in the healthy church, each Christian learns to care for others. As we take seriously Jesus’ command to "love one another," we contribute to a winning team.
When we love one another with this anxious concern, we won’t think of our church as a disposable commodity that I can replace by going down the street to another. We are family.
Fortunately, in our church, many of you understand that it isn’t just the pastor’s job to show concern. It is the entire family’s job to demonstrate concern for one another, and to be anxiously troubled enough to pray for one another.
Why this message today?
You need to know how much God loves you, not because of what you do but because of who you are. We all need to hear that God wants us to see ourselves as family, and love one another accordingly.
Your actions and service are the way that you express your love and thanksgiving and worship to God for who He is and what He has done in your life.
If you aren’t giving your time to make a difference in the lives of others, you can.
I had a conversation a few weeks ago with a family who had been out of church for a long time. They used to be very involved in their local church family in another city, but after moving, had gotten disconnected and unplugged from serving. As they described to me all that they had done over the years, and as I watched their eyes twinkle as they recounted how God had used them to make a difference in people’s lives and the life of their church, I asked them, “So, do you miss being used by God?”
That is the question I want you to answer today. Do you want to be used by God? Has it been awhile since you have been used by Him to make a difference?
atrophy: a decrease in size of an organ caused by disease or disuse. 2: any weakening or degeneration (especially through lack of use) v : undergo atrophy; "Muscles that are not used will atrophy"
If you aren’t making yourself useful to God then you will atrophy spiritually. You will find less and less meaning and value in your relationship with God. You will dry up on the vine. Don’t let that happen to you. Plug in. Commit. Give your gifts and talents and time to others. Watch God use you!
Another reason for this message is that we need to learn to treasure one another’s gift.
You know the people who are really good at serving tasks are often the ones who don’t have the gift of public speaking.
Those who get the upfront jobs are often the ones who get accolades and “nice job pastor” as people go out the door.
It would be nice for me to overhear you saying to all of the others, “Nice job on the sound board” “nice solo today” and “you played the piano so wonderfully” or “thanks for an inspiring Sunday School lesson” or even “wow, the lawn looks really good.”
Unfortunately, we rarely hear that.
Today, we will! I would like to do something different today. I wish to ask everyone of you to consider affirming publicly the roles people play (without mentioning names). Consider standing up and blessing others. Let me give you an example:
I want to praise God for those who donated and those who packed the Easter Eggs for the kids last Sunday!
Final conclusion: In today’s worship service, there were many contributors. It was a concert, with many instruments. We had the opening prayer, the sound board, powerpoint, the piano and praise team. We had Roger sharing a powerful illustration. We had a duet and a sermon. We had an offering in which almost everyone participated. And we had dozens of people affirm the value and contributions of the people in our church. It was a concert, where every one of us got to play a part. The Holy Spirit is the conductor and the message He wanted to communicate is that we are interconnected, and invaluable to one another and to God’s purposes on this earth and in eternity. When you play your part, the concert is heard all over the world!
