(Detour) WHY CHURCH - 4

Continuing on our 5 part series on “Why Church,” today we will talk about the I and the S. We have already discussed that it is Commanded to meet together with other Christians regularly as God knows that we need it desperately. We discussed that it is Hard to remain faithful without regularly being with and living alongside other Christians. We said that the church does not force you to lose your identity, but on the contrary, is the place where you will finally Realize your identity and why you were created the way that you were created. Today we will discuss our next two points with our acronym of CHRIST.

I.

Imitate Jesus

Luke 4:16

(The message puts it like this) As He always did on the Sabbath, He went to the meeting place

One of the goals of Christian life is to become more like Christ in every way (which includes in suffering by the way, but that’s another article). It was important to Jesus to meet together with other believers and others that were trying to follow the Father. As Luke puts it here, as Jesus always did, He went to the meeting place on the Sabbath.

I wonder why Jesus went. I wonder if he left the meeting saying things like “Man that singing or music really just didn’t do it for me,” or “Well the preaching was a bit dull and I didn’t get much out of it.”

What do you think? What was His purpose for going?

Jesus did not go to the meeting place primarily for Himself, He went primarily for others.

S.

Selfish not to.

Woah Rene, it is selfish not to put a priority on meeting together with other Christians? Ouch, don’t you think that is a little harsh?

Here’s the truth:

Romans 12:5-8

For as in one body we have many members,  and the members do not all have the same function, ⁵ so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. ⁶ Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them.

1 Corinthians 12:12, 14-21

  

For the body does not consist of one member but of many. ¹⁵ If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?¹⁸ But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. ¹⁹ If all were a single member, where would the body be? ²⁰ As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”

We discussed last time that we are all members of a body, and that we realize our identity once we become part of that body. I gave the illustration that if a hand is lying on the ground on its own, it wonders why it exists, its life makes no sense, what was it made for; however, as soon as it is placed onto a body, it begins to understand why it was made the way that it was made, and the purpose for its life.

Now look at it from the other side. If there is a hand lying on the ground, there is also a body that is missing a hand. Look at verse 21 of 1 Corinthians 12 again:

“The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’”

You want to know why the eye cannot say that to the hand or the head cannot say that to the feet? Because THE EYE NEEDS THE HAND! THE HEAD NEEDS THE FEET! We need each other! If you are a hand that refuses to be constantly and consistently joined with the rest of the body, then we are handless.

I have heard some say, “There is a YOU shaped hole in the body of Christ that was made for you to fill.”

Look at this verse:

1 Peter 4:10

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace

God has gifted us all in a specific way, and He says that the reason you have that gift is to serve one another.

The reason God made you a hand or a foot is so that you may be attached to the body and become the missing hand or foot that the body needs.

If you decide to keep your gifts to yourself, to not primarily use them for others, to not attach yourself to the church and to not put a priority in your life on regularly being with and living alongside other Christians, that is selfishness.

Grace and Peace

Rene

Conclusion hopefully tomorrow.