All my sermons use illustrations found at www. Sermoncentral.com and all scripture is NIV unless otherwise stated.
KEYS FOR A MUSCLE CAR CHURCH
Recently I saw a show on television where a guy was very upset that his 1970 muscle car had been stolen. He was very attached to this powerful car, its racy motor and its REAL car look. Unfortunately for him his car was not only stolen BUT destroyed as well. At the end of the show, his partner spends some money and buys him a wrecked up, beaten down old car, and throws him the keys. He was so excited!! I thought about what it would feel like to have someone throw me the keys to a revved up, on fire, energized muscle church. I would be so excited.
We truly live in a very impersonal world. Technology has changed the way we interact with one another, e-mail, texting, Skype, tweeting, Facebook, cell phones and home computers have many people developing a tendency to isolate themselves from one another. In today’s passage of scripture 1 COR 12:12-26 Paul speaks clearly concerning the absolute necessity of involving ourselves with one another. He will use analogies about the physical body and drive home a point about how the church should look and act. The people in the church at Corinth lived in a world that was not so different from the world we live in. They were plagued by people who had bad habits and wanted only to take care of number one. Their world was very hostile toward the basic message of the Gospel which shows the necessity of love for one another.
Membership in the church means we have become an extended family and our relationships with one another should look the way a functional family would look. Now I understand that today the functional family is the minority, but with God’s help and following His written plan we should have a very functional church family. Unfortunately, Satan has worked to steal away our muscle car church, the church that could have so much power. I believe in my heart that when god’s children get together and use the gifts that God has given them, for His glory, the church becomes a very powerful force. It is our gifts that advance the Gospel message into the world and unifies us as a family. However, there are two things that are happening in our churches today that are keeping the church from having the power God intended it to have. Some tend to be proud and arrogant about their gifts and therefore bring God no glory, and push other family members away. Others have a tendency to neglect their gift altogether, instead they simply go through the motions of attending and fellowship, and the church remains a lemon.
This morning I want to take this passage and point out three things that might help us become the muscle car church God intended us to be.
1 Cor 12:12-26: The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body-whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free-and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
PRAYER
One might ask:
WHY DO WE EXIST?
WHY DOES THE CHURCH EXIST?
WE ARE NOT AN ORGANIZATION
WE ARE NOT AN OBLIGATION
WE ARE NOT A BUILDING
WE ARE THE CHURCH
YOU ARE THE CHURCH
WE ARE THE CHURCH
PEOPLE FLAWED
PEOPLE IMPERFECT
PEOPLE BROKEN
PEOPLE BRUISED
PEOPLE ARE THE CHURCH
WE ARE THE CHURCH
PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD
PEOPLE FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE
PEOPLE FROM ALL DIFFERENT RACES
PEOPLE FROM ALL KINDS OF BACKGROUNDS
WE ARE UNITED
WE ARE RELENTLESS
WE ARE ON A MISSON
WE ARE ON A MISSION TO GO
TO GO & MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS
WE ARE ON A MISSION TO LOVE
LOVE EVERYONE REGARDLESS
WE ARE ON A MISSION TO GROW
GROW INTO THE PERSON GOD WANTS US TO BE
WE ARE ON A MISSION TO REACH
REACH BEYOND THESE WALLS
REACH BEYOND CLICHES
REACH BEYOND STEREOTYPES
REACH BEYOND OUR COMFORT ZONE
OUR CHURCH DOESN’T EXIST JUST FOR US
IT EXISTS FOR THE WORLD
IT EXISTS TO CHANGE THE WORLD
IT EXISTS TO HEAL THE WORLD
THIS IS WHY WE ARE HERE
WE ARE THE CHURCH
I. ONE BODY MANY PARTS
Paul says we are one body, many parts, and although there are many parts we still form one body. A body that is lacking parts does not operate as well as God intended. We do not have the power God intended us to have if we are missing parts, or if parts are not working. Paul was telling the church in Corinth this so he could defuse their tendency to evaluate themselves as individuals and see others as meaningless. It is a problem in all churches, it is a problem in society. Each of us is of equal importance just as all parts of the body are important. Made by the same God and given the same gift of the Holy Spirit we are equally important. But we are only powerful and useful to God if we act as a unit. Paul describes the church as a body that is a unit. No matter our background, our race, our looks, our financial standing, no matter what, we are a part of the church. And we have no right to say to our brother or sister in Christ, “You are not worth much” or say “What a waste, you mean nothing to us.”
The fact is that many churches fail here, they may not utter these words to one another, but that is how people feel about others. I learned the importance of a unit when I served in the United States Marines Corps. We were trained from the very start that we never leave anyone behind. We were taught to trust each other, to depend on one another, to know that the guy next to you was going to cover your back. We knew that we could only be as strong as our weakest man. We trained this way, if we were running a ten mile track, we could not stop until everyone completed the ten miles. If one man got in trouble, the entire unit paid the price, and if one man had a great success we all celebrated.
This is what God intended His church to be, united and strong, a powerful unit in this weak and battered world. Paul reminds us that the feet and the hands need each other, and that both ears and eyes are essential. The fretful foot, the handsome hand, and the jealous ear are all vital to the church body. The fact that we each have different gifts, different abilities should never result in parts having arrogance, or thinking they are better or more essential to the life of a body.
WHAT IS THE GOAL OF PLAYING FOOTBALL?
Well, of course, we would say winning. But there is a clearer point than winning, it is scoring points. We might score 6 points in a touchdown, three points in a field goal, two points in a safety, or one point in a point after the touch down.
WHAT IF I TOLD YOU OF A MAN THAT PLAYED FOOTBALL 23 YEARS, 15 YEARS IN THE NFL, FOUR YEARS IN COLLEGE, AND FOUR YEARS IN HIGH SCHOOL AND HE NEVER SCORED A TOUCH DOWN OR MADE A POINT?
He never even scored one point?
THIS MAN WOULD HAVE TO BE A FAILURE WOULDN’T HE?
Well, let’s look at this? This man never made a touch down, but he played in 245 games in his career. Why start a man that can’t score? He made 1,032 tackles, pretty impressive? He blocked 86 passes. He made 19 fumble recoveries, but still no touch downs? He made 3 interceptions, but no touchdowns? While in a football game everything centers on the football and the goal line, but there is more to the game than that.
THE MAN’S NAME IS ED "TOO TALL" JONES!
Ed "Too Tall" Jones is in the Football Hall of Fame, the reason he never made a touchdown was his position --- Ed was an All Pro Defensive End, he played 15 years for the Dallas Cowboys. Ed was a TEAM PLAYER, he never played to make touchdowns, he played to help his team win. Not everyone that plays football is there to make touchdowns.
TEAM
T-OGETHER
E- ACH
A- CCOMPLISHES
M- ORE
II . FIND YOUR TRUE PURPOSE IN THE BODY
Later in this chapter Paul lists some of the gifts that were given in those times, but according to Biblical scholars there are many more gifts. Paul talks about Apostles, prophets and workers of miracles, BUT he also mentions teachers and those who do administration. He does so in the same breath, showing how very important it is that everyone find their gifts and use them to benefit the church and glorify our God.
There are so many things that need to be done to allow the body of Christ to be a force in this world. Just as every part of a car serves some purpose, and every part for the body serves a purpose, every member of a football team serves a purpose and every member of the church must also serve a purpose. WHAT’S YOURS?
During the depression this field was a sheep ranch owned by a man named Yates. Mr. Yates wasn’t able to make enough on his ranching operation to pay the principal and interest on the mortgage, so he was in danger of losing his ranch.
With little money for clothes or food, his family (like many others) had to live on government subsidy. Day after day, as he grazed his sheep over those rolling West Texas hills, he was no doubt greatly troubled about how he would pay his bills. Then a seismographic crew from an oil company came into the area and told him there might be oil on his land. They asked permission to drill a wildcat well, and he signed a lease contract. At 1,115 feet they struck a huge oil reserve. The first well came in at 80,000 barrels a day. Many subsequent wells were more than twice as large. In fact, 30 years after the discovery, a government test of one of the wells showed it still had the potential flow of 125,000 barrels of oil a day. And Mr. Yates owned it all. The day he purchased the land he had received the oil and mineral rights. Yet, he’d been living on relief. A multimillionaire living in poverty. The problem? He didn’t know the oil was there even though he owned it.
Many Christians live in spiritual poverty. They are entitled to the gifts of the Holy Spirit and his energizing power, but they are not aware of their birthright. We must find our gift and our purpose in the body and use it to strengthen the body and bring God glory.
III. ITS NOT ABOUT WHAT WE GET, IT’S ALL ABOUT WHAT WE GIVE.
What are those famous words of President John F. Kennedy? Ask NOT what your church can do for you, ask what you can do for your church.? Are we not instructed to serve and meet the needs of others? Eyes, hands, or heads may not say to one another, “you are not needed” we are here for each other. Are we not instructed to help the weak become strong? Weaker, less mature members are to be helped by those that are more mature. That is the function of the strong and that is the purpose of the mature. They are to have compassion and guide gently the less mature Christians in the way of the Lord. Paul tells the church in Galatia, 6:1 Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.
If the quarterback gets knocked down, the team must step up and fill the void, help the back-up. If the body loses a part the rest of the body must work harder to make up for this. If a church has people out, or people weak, the stronger must step up and fill the gap.
If you look closely at verse 24 you see Paul tell us: while our presentable parts NEED NO special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given GREATER HONOR to the parts that lacked it,
In other words we are told that those of us that are able to serve, those of us that are able to share, those of us that are giving NEED NO SPECIAL TREATMENT. But those that are not able to give much, those who struggle to serve, those who have only a little to share, they should be given GREATER HONOR.
I have long pondered this and I have long wondered why God commands this. I see now, after many years, that just like a rookie to a football team, it is the veterans that must step up, taking little credit and motivate the rookies, FOR THE GOOD OF THE TEAM! The same thing applies for the church. We are the Body, we are the team, and WE must worry not about what we get, or how we are recognized, but how we can help for the good of the church as a whole.
I have seen through the years that there is a movement toward being critical about the faults of a church, rather than doing what is right in the eyes of our God.
Two taxidermists stopped in front of a window where an owl was on display. They immediately began to criticize the way it was mounted. Its eyes were not natural; its wings were not in proportion with its head; its feathers were not neatly arranged; and its feet could be improved. Just when they had finished with their criticism, the owl turned his head...and blinked. It’s easier to be critical than correct.
I know that if all of God’s children would stop pointing out the faults of others and strive to make the church what HE wants it to be we could be so much more than we are. It is all about being united and being the powerful unit God intended us to be.
Have you ever wondered what makes the difference between a spotlight and a laser beam?
How can a medium-powered laser burn through steel in a matter of seconds, while the most powerful spotlight can only make it warm? Both may have the same electrical power requirements. The difference is unity.
A laser can be simply described as a medium of excited molecules with mirrors at each end. Some of the excited molecules naturally decay into a less excited state. In the decay process they release a photon, a particle of light. It is here that the unique process of the laser begins. The photon moves along and “tickles” another molecule, inviting another photon to join him on his journey. Then these two photons “tickle” two more molecules and invite two more photons to join the parade.
Soon there is a huge army of photons marching in step with each other. It is this unity that gives the laser its power. A spotlight may have just as many photons, but each is going its own independent way, occasionally interfering with other photons. As a result, much of its power is wasted and cannot be focused to do any useful work. However, the laser, because of its unity, is like an army marching in tight formation and is able to focus all its power on its objective.
This morning I ask you are you ready to be a part of the body as God intended you to be? Are you ready to discover your gift and use it for the team, wanting nothing in return but all to glorify Christ? Our invitation song this morning is # 630 in your hymnal, “What a Friend we Have in Jesus” we will sing all the verses, and you can use this time to accept God’s invitation to answer His calling whatever that might be.
INVITATION
