How to Build a Beautiful Body-Part B

Have you noticed we carry pictures of ourselves and our family.

You never say show you my God's skillful structure or check out my soul with her sick were my pituitary is pretty cool, that is like the center of it all.

The center of your system will think about it so vital on scene so important to me just say when it comes to the church.

It's exactly the same way that will Skip with your division as we continue our series, Churchill Skip Heitzig draws a correlation between healthiness and effectiveness your physical health effects just about everything in your life from your performance at your job or school to your relationship with your family. Good physical health to make those things better for health will only make the words onto these projects Skip examines the connection between the health of the church. Our effectiveness in sharing the gospel some useful tips on how we can stay fit, as the church before we get started today. We want to tell you about a brand-new book from Levi Lesko is articulate, Skip resource for this month. Damning comments from the American time to buy some same thing because they are easy things against.

To accomplish this talents claim or accomplishment in history. Jesus Christ promised to write for the sins of the world resurrect to overcome death Levi Lesko thinking about is the last supper on the moon show a connection between the battle throughout the Concord interfaith cross like the tattered five is the only thing that An secular society, realizing there are downside to turning from God turned away church you know you see people leaving the church growth and not what you intend higher anxiety, higher lowering of intelligent and church were not in the Bible we are free to doing well there you go for on the new heart resource to $35 or more to support this just going to connect us to come hundred 92.com or call 800 9288 so will join Skip the start of our God is given to you that is given to me is it for individual gratification. I got a cool gift you like it.

It's for mutual edification for the profit of all for that to happen.

There must be communication if members don't communicate to each other and there isn't a coordinated effort.

It's going to be very jerky and movement and very spaz sick and not smooth and not coordinated.

It will be very destructive when my son was a toddler. He put his hand on the stove I got a phone call I was out of town and my wife said you wouldn't believe your son did electric stove red hot tea kettle about to go on.

He is curious and he puts his little hand on top and pushes it on the electric stovetop and for a long time. He wore that spiral Mark on his hand will luckily he had a gift from God's call pain. Pain is a gift.

As soon as he felt that, and that little pain message hit his brain.

He shouted to wake up the neighbor pulled his hand off and I'm so glad because imagine if something inhibited the message getting from the hand of the brain that this is really hot and destructive leprosy was all about the person conceal any longer. He couldn't feel the pain. He couldn't feel what was happening to his limbs.

The message system was not working. There was no communication, so that was the eventual death that a friend when I was growing up, good friend who got MS multiple sclerosis and I watched him deteriorate and I talked to some doctors about his condition, then the way they explained to me is that there are hardened patches that form on the on the cortex of the brain and the cortex of the spinal cord so that the messages the impulses are making contact and that's why his movements were so jerky and eventually was completely paralyzed while unfortunately that's what the world so often sees when he looks at the church and see this beautiful, wonderful, in shape body smooth, coordinated efforts so often at sea, striving and fighting and a weakened church and that's one of Satan's greatest desires that plays right into his desires.

One of his biggest traps is that he would get us to fight each other because now were so distracted fighting each other that were forgetting who the real enemy is when a word about the devil in the flesh and we fight each other and now the heats off of him. So as we recognize variety, but emphasize unity.

Think smooth out sing smooth third where to maximize inequality, maximize equality, such as one gift or one member that's more important. There is an equality.

Look at verse 14 for in fact the body is not one member, but many if the foot should say because I'm not a hand on not of the body is therefore not of the body, and if the ear should say because I'm not and I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing if the whole were hearing would be the smelling but now God has set the members each one of them in the body just as he pleased. And if they were all one member were that the body be now. Indeed, there are many members, yet one body. Now it seems, judging from the general overall context that the church at Corinth was emphasizing one gift over all the others. In particular, the gift of tongues. They thought tongues was it was a thing to have. That was the thing to exercise and what I was doing is causing other people who didn't have that prominent exaggerated gift to feel discontent unequal deprive and they stop participating. They don't need me.

I won't even get involved. So Paul again shows that the church is like a human body.

Every part is necessary because every part is necessary. All parts have an certain equality that they share.

There are no vestigial organs in the body of Christ noted vestigial organists. It's something that is thought to one time be useful, but now it's no longer useful. Did you knows thought that your appendix was a vestigial organ of vestige of your evolutionary past is unnecessary now, but as time went on, the most recent idea is that your appendix is indeed not a vestigial organ, but a very very important part of your immune system that it serves as the gatekeeper between your ilium, which is the sterile part of your alimentary canal and your colon, which is the very bacteria laden under sterile part of your alimentary canal.

It's the gatekeeper situated there is a part of that system will, I should get off that subject is very unpleasant. The point is in the church. There's no such thing as a vestigial organ and unnecessary part one of the reasons churches malfunction is they put certain people or gifts on a pedestal, leaving the rest of the people so I don't have that gift, I'm not that important, and the result is gift envy gift envy got yet feet saying I want to be hands you got here saying, but I wish I was an eyeball, and I've seen people get motivated in the ministry because they watch the church elevate one particular death. I think that's what I want to do.

That's what I want to be and so they go get trained to be that God never called them nor equip them to do that is the point Paul is making know what he does here as he compares a couple different parts of the human body to parts that are seen in visible and thus we think are important eyes and hands and to that aren't seen as much. Give them much attention. Years and feet. Your hands are visible.

We see your hands, you way with your hand you shake hands you embrace with your hands if you're Italian you talk with your see them a lot we don't see her feet as much. We keep them covered up. Generally we don't give as much attention to them as your hands. Same with the eyes versus the years. One of the first things you notice about people or their eyes when you meet because that's how we communicate to our eyes. That's why it's always bad form when you meet somebody to not look in there. I looked down to look for a look at the communicating something about yourself, and we notice them when I first met my sweet Linda. I noticed her eyes and I made a mental note beautiful beautiful eyes. I don't remember noticing her ears. I never walked away going that chick is great loads. Those are some cool ears, but I do remember her eyes.

However, ears as gnarly and ugly as they are serve a purpose. The direct sound is whether shape that way and feet have a purpose.

They transport us so you can't walk on your hands, you walking your feet. You don't shake see you shake hands, but you need your feet to walk.

The point is that all these parts are important to look at verse 1700 if you ever notice the humor in Scripture before but I want you to picture this as I read it. You're allowed to laugh because Paul is indeed ludicrous in this.

If the whole body were an eye, picturing a 6 foot eyeball where would be the hearing. What good would a 6 foot eyeball be if you can imagine that, especially if you need a contact lens you couldn't talk to it because he can hear you can go anywhere has to be carried it's absolutely useless. That's the point he is making it's absolutely ludicrous. And here's here's a greater point. We do that we make 6 foot eyeballs. When we put people on pedestals and say no you are so important. In fact, of greater importance in the body of Christ and everybody else. When we do that we elevate one gift over another gift. What essentially we are doing is setting up people to fall in the higher you put the pedestal further they will fall and they will fall and number two it creates inferiority among the people who don't have that gift for that calling go well, I'm not that gift that I can do that.

I'm not that important, so I won't get involved. Some of you will remember back in 1981 when Pres. Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hinckley Junior remember that you happen to Reagan.

Not only did he survive, but he was put in the hospital for a few weeks. He was out of his Oval Office for a few weeks he was in the hospital for weeks the Chief Executive Officer of the United States of America wasn't there running the country to the country shut down know we seem to go on quite well but what would happen if all of the garbage collectors the trash collectors of America went on strike to exactly what would happen. I read a report on this because it happened in one city back Alisa think was Philadelphia. They said within three weeks. The whole nation would reach crisis point and could potentially shut down.

Which begs the question, so is more important, President of the United States of America or all the trash collectors in America answer all of them are important. All of them are important. Every one of those people from top down are vital to the operation of the country.

One of the points that Paul is making is that point, just because you don't see someone or their talked about a lot or they're not is visible doesn't mean they're unimportant, unnoticed, does not mean unimportant.

Verse 23 and those members of the body which we think to be less honorable on these we bestow greater honor and our presentable parts of greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need for God is compose the body, having given greater honor to that part which will accept that there should be no schism or division in the body that the members should have the same care or equal care for one another. You can lose your eye and still live you can lose your hand and still live but if you lose your liver you will live. You lose your heart you will live but but how many times you really think about your liver a broad delivered unite.

Your spleen is been on my mind a lot this week. Have you noticed we carry pictures of ourselves or a family we never carry x-rays never say, hate, hate me so you might God's or might skeletal structure or check out my cell at Persico were my pituitary is pretty cool how but that is like the center of it all at the center of your endocrine system.

We don't think about it, but it's so vital on scene but so important. Let me just say when it comes to the church. It's exactly the same way I have the privilege of standing up here on Saturday nights and Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights and other times but I'm just a part-time a mouth, but there are so many people who are volunteers and prayer warriors. They form the heartbeat of the Fellowship unseen but so so vital.

The fourth and final way to beautify the body. In this chapter is to minimize self sufficiency.

Let's look at that verse 21 and 22 and the I cannot say to the hand. I have no need of you, nor again the head to the feet. I have no need of you know, much rather those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary as a whole different attitude. These verses from the previous ones in the previous set of verses. It dealt with the attitude that said, will they don't need me I'm not as gifted as they are. That gift is so important and I don't have it.

They don't need me this is a different attitude is the attitude that says I don't need them. I am self-sufficient.

I've got all that it takes right here. That attitude stinks, it stinks in the secular world stinks in the workplace.

You have a secular environment give one self-sufficient, uncooperative, prideful person and everything messes up but it's far worse in the church. Sometimes people say church I don't need the church. I don't need anyone that is a big fat lie. Of course you do. That's the whole point of this but were fighting something were actually fighting our culture. One of the hallmarks of American life is been this rugged individualism.

This pioneer don't need anybody else go out there on my own on the Lone Ranger. Remember that show Lone Ranger, you can't be a Lone Ranger Christian you can't be a self-sufficient Christian that that goes completely against the intention of the church.

See the whole reason Jesus wanted to build his church is to have a new society as a new community. This is on display before the world. This is what I can do with a person and another person in a whole bunch of people who are redeemed is what they look like that's what they look like when the world sees us moved considerate, loving, vibrant body makes an impact if they see a self-sufficient and biting and devouring group. It also makes an impact but not for the gospel, but against what's the message and those of the four principles something else. I was wondering as I was looking at first Corinthians 12 about how the early church dealt with problems before Paul came along we been studying the book of acts.

And there comes a time when problems enter this beautiful church of acts, and I wondered how did they fix the problem here. I discovered that by applying these four principles. I want you to look real quickly at a few verses in acts chapter 6 as we bring this to a close this morning.

Acts chapter 6, verse one. Now in those days when the number of the disciples was multiplying. There arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists or the Greeks because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution, then the 12 summoned the multitude of the disciples and said it's not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Therefore, brethren seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business, but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and the ministry of the word and assaying pleased the whole multitude, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip progress Nicanor and the rest by the way, all of them have Greek names as the Greeks were complaining verse six, whom they set before the apostles and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them, then the word of God spread and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem. Now here's a church there's a body that is losing its beauty and becoming ugly because of problems where they do first of all, they recognize variety right the recognize like not all of us are apostles there. Some of us were apostles will tender this business. There are some who are called of that business and so they recognize variety number two. They emphasize unity, for they said we should leave the word of God and serve tables you choose seven from among you from among you.

There's the unity that they recognized and strove for in the body. Number three.

They maximize the quality seven were chosen by the congregation.

But the 12 also came along and bore witness with them and appointed them for they minimize self-sufficiency says the same pleased the whole multitude you don't read of anybody in that group saying I don't like the decision I'm leaving it please the whole multitude they minimize any ideas self-sufficiency. I don't need you. You don't need me there was a beautiful unity now there was a woman, a wife who invited some friends over to dinner. They came over to dinner.

The two families were at the dinner table and this mother turned her six-year-old daughter and said, sweetheart. I want you to say the prayer the blessing and so the six-year-old looked up and said I would know what to say.

Mom mom said sweetheart. Just say what you hear mom say you six-year-old closed her eyes, bowed her head and said, dear Lord, why on earth did I invite these people to dinner. Amen to truth is, here's the truth God has invited lots of people to his dinner. Lots of people to his dinner, and we wouldn't naturally come together or agree or have things in common were it not for the fact that Jesus invited us all to his dinner and now we have him in common and that's what she tells us together were invited to his supper, his dinner, and all of us have gifts and if you discovered your gift in your employing dad and using that your bettering all of us but if you haven't discovered it and you're not using it you are hurting us and hurting the impact we could have in this community. Jesus said, I stand at the door knob and if anyone will open the door, I will come in and sup with him, have dinner with him and he with me. The first step to be a part of this wonderful grand design.

Jesus called his church is to receive safe zero to let them in your heart to confess him as Lord and Savior.

Maybe you're listening to today's teaching and giving Jesus as your Lord and Savior torture. How well in truth it's actually quite simple would be happy to talk with you about that when you call us at 1-800-922-1880 if you'd like a copy of today's teaching. Just visit connectwithskip.com or call 1-800-922-1888 to order today's teaching on CD for just four dollars for shipping.

One of the unfortunate truth of our world is the church don't get along sometimes in our next study will learn how to prevent division in the church right here in connect with Skip division. The presentation of connection so you never change, and ever-changing time