The Body of Christ
Romans 12:15-16
As the body of Christ, we can flashback to the life of Jesus and witness how he rejoiced in the success of his disciples and also wept with those who were hurting.
SLIDE #1
INTRODUCTION
• Today we will continue our “Flashback; Remembering the Work of the Cross” series. We are going to touch on a subject today that is vital as we all start to get to the point of being able to meet together again.
• One thing Covid-19 has done is to divide people.
• If you want to get depressed about the human condition, go to some social media pages and look at how divided people have become.
• I know there have always been divisions, political, racial, Cardinals, Cubs, but it seems to me that this virus has brought out the worst in people.
• I was reading a post on Facebook where this man was chastising everyone for wanting to get things moving again; he basically said if you were not an infectious disease specialist, shut your mouth, and you are stupid. All in cap locks, by the way.
• I thought, ok, let’s see where this leads, so I got my popcorn out to watch the kind rhetoric I knew would transpire.
• Well, I was not disappointed, it was nasty, and it got nasty quickly. Then to my surprise, the hypocrisy exploded on the screen before me.
• It turns out this guy owns (from what I can tell, he may have just worked there) a flooring business in another part of the state, WHICH HAS BEEN OPENED DURING THIS ENTIRE CRISIS.
• So this guy was making bank while other businesses may never open again. I digress.
• The situation we find ourselves in has great potential for Satan to come in and cause problems.
• As I stated last week in somewhat exaggerated terms, half the folks think we are all going to die if we go anywhere, except the grocery store and the hardware and liquor stores.
• In contrast, the other half thinks this is all stupid and politically motivated.
• We see some folks wearing masks, and some not. I saw a person in Frys the other day in a full out gas mask.
• We have some folks who want to shake hands and hug, and others who are not comfortable with doing so.
• Now the question is this, “HOW DO WE WITHIN FCC HANDLE ALL OF THIS? What do we do with those who may not agree with your individual assessment of the situation?
• Should we argue and fight? Should we socially shame each other?
• Should we have a mask or no-mask test of fellowship? Mask deniers?
• Today we are going to spend time in a message entitled, THE BODY OF CHRIST.
• We will examine three principles that should guide how we deal with one another.
• Let’s turn to Romans 12:15.
SLIDE #2
Bible Verse
Romans 12:15 (CSB)
15Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.
SLIDE #3
1. I. We are to rejoice with one another.
Explanation
• Paul encourages us in our relationships with one another, explaining how to be a community of brothers and sisters in Christ: “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15).
• First, we need to enter into the joy of others, by delighting and being glad when others are experiencing success, blessings, and good situations in life.
• We are called to rejoice with our brothers and sisters in Christ when they are rejoicing over something in their life.
• The word WITH means to join in the company with the rejoicing ones, whether weeping or rejoicing.
• When something good happens to a brother or sister in Christ, we must rejoice with them.
• We need to celebrate with them.
• However, at times we struggle to rejoice with those who are rejoicing.
• One of the most challenging things in life is to rejoice in the success and blessings of others, especially when we are hurting or in difficult situations.
• When the reports of Jesus’s success came to John the Baptist as John’s influence over the Israelites was decreasing, John’s response was found in John 3:27-30.
SLIDE #4
Bible Verse
John 3:27-30 (CSB)
27John responded, “No one can receive anything unless it has been given to him from heaven.
28You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah, but I’ve been sent ahead of him.’
29He who has the bride is the groom. But the groom’s friend, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the groom’s voice. So this joy of mine is complete.
30He must increase, but I must decrease.”
Explanation
• John was very popular, yet here Jesus comes on the scene and steals John’s glory!
• Is John mad? No, John knows that Jesus is doing what He was called to do, and John did what he was called to do.
• Have you ever thought, WHY DID THIS PERSON GET THAT BLESSING, IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN MINE!
• When I was at Square D, I saw this play out quite often when someone received a promotion.
• Instead of rejoicing with the one who got the promotion, people would grumble behind their back about how they did not deserve the person who received the promotion did not deserve it.
• The negativity would be followed by all the reasons the person was undeserving.
• I have seen this play out with material blessings also. So and so did not deserve to drive that nice car.
• Commentators have noted that it is easier to “sympathize” with those who mourn than to “congratulate” those who succeed and rejoice over their success because the latter usually excites envy and jealousy. For that reason, Paul puts rejoicing in the first place.
• Why do we need to rejoice with those who rejoice?
• The answer is simple; we are part of the body of Christ!
• When a great blessing happens for your children, how do you handle it? Do you rejoice, or are you envious?
• We rejoice because they are our children and we want the best for them, we are genuinely happy for them!
SLIDE #5
Bible Verse
1 Corinthians 12:25-26 (CSB)
25so that there would be no division in the body, but that the members would have the same concern for each other.
26So if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
Explanation
• We are to be one in Christ; we are to all be connected. When one of us is hurting, we all hurt with them, when one is rejoicing, we all rejoice with them!
• When we allow other envy and jealousy to enter the picture, it divides us. As Christians, we cannot allow things to divide us. We have to show love, compassion, and concern for each other.
• We have to show the world what unity looks like; we have to show the world that even when we may not agree with something, we stay loving and united!
• We are a part of one another; we are brothers and sisters in Christ!
• When we flashback to the life of Jesus, we witness Jesus rejoicing in the success of his disciples.
• Luke 10:17–21 declares that Jesus was “full of joy through the Holy Spirit” (v. 21).
• We often think of Jesus as the “man of sorrows,” yet Jesus was also filled with joy. Hebrews 1:9 and Psalm 45:6–7 declare that God anointed Jesus with “the oil of joy.”
• This is one of the things I enjoyed as I watch The Chosen. I loved the way the portrayed (I think accurately) as a person full of love and joy.
• Let’s look at verse 15 again!
SLIDE #6
Bible Verse
Romans 12:15 (CSB)
15Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.
SLIDE #7
2. II. We are to weep with one another.
Explanation
• The part of the verse may be easier to carry out than the first part at times.
• However, it is easy to become insensitive to the plight of other people. Sometimes there is so much stuff going on around us, we can forget about what our brothers and sisters in Christ are going through.
• There are also times when we think that what is happening to them is their fault.
• If we are going to be able to weep with those who weep (and by the way, this applies to having the ability to rejoice with those who rejoice), we MUST allow ourselves to enter the pain of others.
• When people are hurting, merely being with them and weeping with them is the most excellent ministry you can provide them.
• That is precisely what Jesus did with Mary.
• Also, Job’s friends did wonderfully at first, when “they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was” (Job 2:13).
• It was when they opened their mouths and attempted to offer their wisdom and understanding that things went downhill in the story.
• When we flashback to Jesus, we see the Son of God weeping with those who wept as He approached the tomb of Lazarus.
• In John 11:35, it is written, “Jesus wept.”
• In John 11, Jesus learns that his good friend Lazarus has died.
• When Jesus arrives in Bethany at the home of Lazarus’s sisters, Mary and Martha, four days have passed since Lazarus had died and was buried.
• In this story, Jesus steps into one of humankind’s greatest griefs—the loss of a loved one.
• The pain and emotional agony that Martha and Mary felt were overwhelming.
• In the same manner, Jesus steps into our moments of greatest hurt, confusion, loss, and trials.
• Mary goes out to meet Jesus, falls at his feet, and utters the exact words that Martha also spoke: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:32).
• As Mary was in the presence of Jesus, the Scriptures tell us that Jesus “was deeply moved in spirit and troubled” (John 11:33).
• Jesus’s reaction is powerful. Jesus is not removed from our sufferings, pain, and heartbreak.
• Jesus enters into our emotional pain.
• Jesus entered the world of those who were morning the loss of Lazarus. Jesus KNEW what He was about to do (John 11:23), He knew He was going to call Lazarus out of the grave!
• But rather than seeking to encourage Mary and telling her just to wait because everything was about to change, and joy was moments away, Jesus wept.
• The biblical response to those who are hurting and in pain is first to comfort.
• Jesus weeps with those who weep. In her moment of sorrow, Jesus entered into Mary’s pain to comfort her.
• We have to grow close enough to be able to enter into the pain of others. Listen, when my girls are hurting, I AM HURTING, and if you hurt one of my girls, YOU WILL BE HURTING!
• Entering people’s pain can be very challenging for us for several reasons:
o (1) Fear of not knowing what to say or do. (Remember, we do not need to say anything, but simply be present with them and listen if they want to talk.)
o (2) Being too busy. (Weeping with who are hurting takes time—a lot of time. Yet Jesus went out of his way to comfort those in pain.)
o (3) Being afraid you won’t be able to answer their questions. (Again, we aren’t there to provide answers but to provide comfort.) (4) Being worried, we can’t fix their sorrow. (It is not our job to fix them. Their healing will be a journey with the Father.
• This requirement of love that will seem difficult for many, because it focuses on the emotional life.
• Many of us have enough difficulty “getting in touch with” our own feelings, but Paul exhorts us to get in touch even with the feelings of others!
• He calls for compassion, which literally means “suffering with”; and for empathy, which is the ability to identify with and actually experience the feelings and inner dispositions of others. See 1 Cor 12:26.34 (College Press Commentary)
• Do not be afraid to enter the world of others.
• Even with the virus we are dealing with, before you judge the response of others before you think they are stupid and write them off, try entering their world for a while, or as we say, walk a mile in their shoes before you callously write them off.
• Let’s turn to verse 16 for a final thought.
SLIDE #8
Bible Verse
Romans 12:16 (CSB)
16Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation.
SLIDE #9
3. III. We are to live in harmony with one another.
Explanation
• This verse rings true for us yet today as we strive to put together the pieces from the destruction of Covid-19.
• Many lives have been seemingly ruined both by the virus as well as the steps taken to protect people from the virus.
• Whether it is politics or Covid-19, those things are not to be the focus of our faith, that is supposed to be Jesus, the author, and perfector of our faith!
• The command to live in harmony does not mean we all have to think the same way about everything, but rather, the command indicates we are to think the same thing toward each other or to have the same regard for one another.
• The word for “think” gives the idea is that we should all have the same attitude toward one another.
• Living in harmony with one another is not an issue of thinking the same thing about issues, it is more about having the same attitude about one another.
• The two other commands found in verse 16 are to be taken in that context.
• The command not to be proud, but rather, associate with the humble is a plea not to allow social, economic, or any other area to keep you from treating everyone with the same love.
• When you think you are better than others, you will put all your needs, wants, and desires above them.
• Then the last command to not be wise in your own estimation is a plea not to discount the thoughts of others because you think you know it all.
• Another way to say this is not to take your self too seriously because others can teach you something!
Application
• Being brothers and sisters in Christ means that we share the joys and burdens of one another. and we strive to lie in harmony with one another!
CONCLUSION
• I have seen some signs around town telling us that we are all in this together. Church are all in this together, we cannot allow anything to challenge or change that truth.
• When in doubt, take the path of love, not the path of division, strife, and anger!
