Sermon Central
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The Body Of Christ (Church)
Contributed by Anthony Zibolski on Apr 26, 2023 (message contributor)
Summary: What is the body of Christ and how does it function?
The Body of Christ (Church)
Good morning, I am glad you’re here today-
Were continuing our message on the church- last week we hit it hard.
That the church was the idea and plan of God for His people and those who wanted to find a relationship with God.
It is a building that you come too, a physical place to worship;
A place to get saved and be disciple to be more Christ-like.
It is an intentional place- you have got to get up out of the bed and go to church.
The church is a place that can change your life.
It is also a place inside a believer where the Spirit of the living God is dwelling where God is not limited by walls.
If this church building crumbled to the ground, we should still be the church.
We should not miss a beat with Him.
You cannot be the church if you are only staying in a holy huddle in any building.
The church has been under attack but don’t you think for a minute that the devil will ever shut the church down because Jesus himself said that the gates of hell itself will not prevail against the church that Jesus Christ Himself started.
I said last week that most of the world has the wrong idea of the church and what the church should be doing and how believers should be acting.
Some of that is our fault because the church universal has not been clear on what it mission is and how and by what power that we will achieve it.
In a day and age of technology, it has become too easy for some to just get a sermon, get a word of encouragement, check off an internal box that we have heard a message.
What if anything are you going to do with what you heard?
Jesus don’t want to hear from us about the hypocrites coming to church- there is room for one more! Each one of us has been or is a hypocrite in some area of our lives till Jesus stepped in and helped us.
Church is for those unsaved a place to find the Lord and those who know the Lord should be a place to be able to grow and be taught the things of God.
Church is to be in His house of worship and preparing ourselves for life in a world that is in chaos.
That can get messy because people are involved.
People blame the Lord for a lot of things- that happen inside of church. When people come into God’s house with wrong motives and bad attitudes- things happen that don’t please God and people get hurt.
It is not what the Lord intended but it happens and the closer we walk with Jesus we can forgive those that have hurt us and we can move into ministry to see people do amazing things in the name of Jesus.
The Church that Christ started-
Jesus told his disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit to come upon them as they gathered together in one place-
Acts 2:1- “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place” and the Holy Spirit fell on them, meaning that the Holy Spirit now dwelled within them.
They began to do amazing things- things beyond what they could in their own strength and wisdom.
Scattered- they were forced by persecution to move and go into all the world.
The scattered church that is ordained and instituted by God to go make a difference in the world is now sent out to be the church in the world.
The second part of last week message- Being the body of Christ- believers sent out, called out to BE THE BODY OF CHRIST.
There is only one way to be the body of Christ and that is by The Holy Spirit directing us in every area of life and ministry.
Paul reminds us of the believer’s freedom- 1 Corinthians 10:22-23
“I have the right to do anything, you say- but not everything is beneficial. I have a right to anything- but not everything is constructive.”
1 Corinthians 12 Paul talks about the gifts in the church to help us be who we are suppose to be in Christ.
You cannot be the church without Christ being the head of the body-
“He is the head of the church, and He is the beginning, the first born from the dead so that He Himself will come to have first place in EVERYTHING.”
Open your bibles and turn to 1 Corinthians 12:12-19 (Read clearly)
Teachers taught today and the worship team led us in worship this morning- they are a part of the body of Christ giving opportunity for each one of us to grow and draw closer to the Lord.
