Faithful in Fellowship

Can we be Christians without going to church listen to Adrian Rogers. It was kind of popular today to say well I'm a Christian, but I don't believe in organized churches are Jesus, yes, but the church so they don't attend all they may be members but they go about three times when they're born they get christen men when they are married they go and then when they die.

Perhaps the funeral is so they go when they're hatched and match dispatch the first time they throw water. The second time Rice third time after budget. But the Bible says that we ought not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as the matter of some in welcome to Leavenworth finding featuring profound truth. Simply stated by Pastor featuring Dr. Adrian Rogers. We understand the will of Jesus Christ and the church are not identical. They are inseparable. S.

Rogers said you are important to Jesus therefore you are important to his church and the church is vitally important to you. We cannot forsake the church. We must remain faithful in fellowship. If you have your Bible turned out of first Corinthians 12 verse 12 as Adrian Rogers instructs us and how to be faithful in fellowship. First Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 12 were talking about this factor of faithfulness and the factor to whip talking about today is fellowship and were talking about fellowship in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen for as the body is one and has many members, and all of the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ that is the body of Christ. First of all I want you to think with me about the function of a body. What is a body. Now we know what a physical body is a human body and the church is analogous to that.

So what is the purpose of my body. Well first of all, in my body there is a manifested person. Did you get it, a manifested person look at. You see me know you don't what you see is my body, will you ever know about Adrian Rogers is his body to cannot know anything else about me apart from my body or you say yes I can read what you wrote, who wrote this body you say. Well, I can hear what you say who says it. This body you see there's no way that you could know anything. Not one iota, not one simple tele-of the fact can you know about me apart from my body is my body that manifests me every thing that you know about me.

You have learned through my body. The body is a manifested person. What is the purpose of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is to manifest Jesus to make him known to this world as he inhabits our humanity, we display his deity and Jesus Christ is no through his body. Now anybody there is a manifested person in a body. There is a ministering purpose. Why does my body exist to serve me and then exists for any other purpose except to do the will of the person who lives inside this body I don't want my body to be doing anything for me nothing I want to do something through it.

I wanted to be there to do the bidding of a person who lives inside there is a ministering this. The body is to minister the life of the person who lives inside that body. Thirdly, anybody not only is there a manifested person.

Not only is there a ministering purpose, but there must be a motivating power got it. A motivating power. What makes my body a body is not only does it have eyes and hands and fingers and feet and and the legs, and I was, but it has life life is a spirit in me. This life, and when a man dies, he does what he gives the spirit. Now, what makes the church body is this that the church has life. The church is more than an organization. It is an organism, the life of my body is my spirit, the life of his body is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit of God. We saying it and say it brother and we met to worship and adore the Lord I got all they unless the spirit of the holy one comes down a body without the spirit is a cautious but a spirit without a body is a ghost, but the church is neither a Klotz nor Augustine is a body. The body of the Lord Jesus Christ to manifest his person to minister his purpose motivated by just how power of the Holy Spirit of God. Now, because there is a manifested person because there is a ministering purpose because there is a motivating power. There must be a mutual program a mutual program. What we do it together. Now look at verse 13 for by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles will we be bond or free and have been made all to drink at one spirit for the body is not one member, but many if the foot shall say, because I'm not the hand I'm out of the body. Is it therefore not of the body, and if the year shall say, because I'm not the high.

I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing. So what you say he saying we have a mutual program. We have many members but they all have one agenda so therefore the Bible is not against organization.

Your body is organized. That's the reason they call the parts of your body, what organs because they are organized now organization is not the purpose we exist for it, is to help us meet our purpose is like digestion when organization is working correctly, you're really not aware of it, but like digestion.

What is not working correctly, that's about the only thing you are aware of.

So we are to work together. The Bible says let everything be done decently and in order. Now that is the function of the body less talk about the formation of the body. How does this body get to be a body will look in verse 13. Look at for by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, will we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free and have been all made to drink into one Spirit that one spirit is the Holy Spirit house. The formation of the body. Three things. First of all there's a supernatural birth you are born again. When you receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal savior. Verse 13 calls it drinking in the one spirit that one spirit is the Holy Spirit. He is to you what water is to your body.

He is indeed that water of life, and we drink in that spirit, there will be a supernatural birth and after supernatural birth. There will be a spiritual baptism look at it again. Verse 13 for by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, who is the baptizer. The Holy Spirit and what does he baptize us the body of Christ as he baptize all of us who have drunk into that spirit a supernatural birth a spiritual baptism, and then a single body look at it again in verse 13 for by one Spirit are we all baptized and how many bodies body a single body. He takes many of us, and he makes us one body in the Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians chapter 4 verse four there is one body and one spirit, how to. That's why there is the true unity of all true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now is move on to the third thing I've talked to you about the function of the body and II and I mention those things a manifested person and so for.

I talked about the formation of the body is a supernatural birth the spiritual baptism in a single body that results now let me talk about the Fellowship of the body. What is the Fellowship of the body.

Well first of all because we're in the body we share a common life. Look in verse 15 if the foot shall say, because I'm not the hand I'm not of the body.

Is it therefore not of the body, and if the year shall say, because I'm not the I I am not of the body.

Is it therefore not of the body. What is he saying here in these verses. He say that we are bound together we share a common life because the Holy Spirit that's in you is the Holy Spirit to send me we belong to one another. We can't be in competition with one another nor should we live in isolation from one another. The foot and the hand both belong to the body. Look at your hands, relatively attractive, you put jewelry on your hands.

You can see your feet as I doubt anybody here is barefooted.

Most of you don't have gloves on. Interesting is my hands a little more attractive feet generally are ugly, true hands or something about hands that are beautiful. People like to paint hands and look at hands, and so forth. But the foot is not as noticeable as the handbook you have difficulty getting in here today when I get all and each member of the body is important. You see, God made us where we need one another in that wonderful bill why God made us different so I can make this one of us can function apart for myself. Eyes are beautiful eyes in the mirror of the soul. You look in a person's eyes and you can just sing to see the beauty of Jesus in person really loves the Lord. But suppose you open the dresser drawer in about nine of them rolling around in their faint.

Suppose you walked in the lobby of the church this morning. There were a hand out there on the floor. You see, we have significance as we find ourselves in the body. God made us different that he might make us one that some members of the body.

Therefore, they don't seem necessary. Very necessary question was last time you ever said, Lord, I really do thank you for my pancreas blessing God for my wonderful spleen. They don't do that you pancreas starts acting up.

Then, you might say thank you Lord for my pancreas Joyce agon somewhere and I was doing the cooking in my house so I didn't want to cook so I went to the corner restaurant for lunch and got a chili dog covered with chili and then that evening I thought I cook for myself and I went to the shelf in the can of tamales that Joyce never would open it. Somebody given us so I put that thing and then opened it and filled with Tabasco sauce and put it in the oven and heated it up and wolfed it down. Then about 930 or 10 o'clock at night I was in my recliner going over my sermon notes for the next morning and I started to get up and didn't want to move there was a pain that started here and when here down around here and there is a well unit less indigestion chili dog and tamales and so I got some Alka-Seltzer that didn't help and I got some aspirin and that didn't help amounts getting to be wanted to in the morning and in excruciating pain, so I got a medical book and began to read.

Find out what's wrong with me and is about one in the morning to my daughter who happened to be there said daddy you going hospice, me, I'll be all right. She said that you're hurting you going to the hospital. The hospital look like Shanghai surrender walk-in at nighttime, and so I did a man the doctor begins to poke around me and so forth. A nice enough doctor is not my lungs not my heart doctors and would you be quiet for just said those are. You had a gallbladder attack belied all these years I've never praise God for my gallbladder one time and I thank God for my wonderful gallbladder done so much good ask you question that you take certain things for granted until they are gone or they begin to malfunction. So what I'm saying is this why what is the Fellowship of the body. We share a common life and not only do we share common life, but we are to show a common love look in verse 25 God says he does this, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care one for my mother and whether one member suffer all the members suffer with it all one member of the owner.

All the members rejoice with it. Take with me loving brother or sister in Christ because we're in the same body. There can be no arrogance. I can never say I don't need you there can be no envy I can't say well I want to be my like you, rather than a near or what ever.

There can be no rival array we belong to one another. I don't need to try to get ahead of you there can be no self-sufficiency where I try to operate apart from you. There can be no disunity. Why don't like you. We are not divided all one body we want and hope and doctorate wanting charity onward. Then you people join our happy throng plan with hours your voices and the triumphs and we belong to one another. He says here when one member suffers, every member suffers with I frequently use this illustration ever picture from with a hammer.

I mean really hit it.

I'm about want to give you a blue thumbnail for six months.

What's the first thing you did. I was never allowed to exactly what you did.

You grab it. Your hand came the rescue.

Same thing you did you pop in your mouth, don't tell you that you did you pop in your mouth, and 1/3 thing you may do little dance now what these have to do with the thumb. I don't know, but you gotta have advanced. I mean it's all together when one member suffers, every member suffers with it. The ice cream. It feels good all over. One member rejoices. Every member rejoices with that's what God has intended the church to be friend.

When we come to charge and wish our sorrows. They are divided and we share our joy is there, multiply pets, why we have that's the Fellowship. We are the body of the Lord Jesus, we share the same life we show the same love, why because we serve the same Lord. Look in verse 27 now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular loyalty to Jesus means loyalty to his body. You cannot love Jesus without loving what Jesus love granted for no other reason I could while you are loved the church, because God's son loves the church all its faults. All its flaws and failures, all of its foibles. Laos – and so should you. If you love Jesus, you will love what Jesus loves you, love the head you love the body now make some suggestions do your somebody in his body. Accept yourself.

You may not be a shoulder to bear burdens, you may simply be an ear to listen when I want except yourself member to be yourself don't try to be somebody else.

When I first started preaching I would look at other preachers not sourly him me him. I figured out I can never be one of them up, but I can be the best.

Adrian Rogers ever is. Accept yourself.

Be yourself and then give yourself every part of the body. Do you the heart gives the lungs give the leverage is and you have to give to get to land when together. Accept yourself.

Be yourself yourself to and when we do the you know who will be shown. Jesus goes he lives in this body water Fellowship. What a joy divine. We are the body of Christ in that wonderful and you get into the body when you get saved I want you to pray this prayer if you're not certain that your say right now I want you to pray this prayer dear God just talking right now. If you're not certain that your saving. You want to be near God. I know that you love me and I know that you want to save me Jesus you died to save me, you promise to save me if I would trust you. I believe you are the son of God. I believe you died for my sin and paid for my sin with your blood on the cross.

I believe that God raised from the dead and now by faith I received in my heart come into my life coming now. Right now, take control of my life and began to make me the person you want me to be Lord Jesus, I will make it public.

I will not be ashamed of you.

You just give me the strength make it public today that I love you. You pray that you can tell the name of Jesus. Amen. If you prayed to receive Jesus just now. We would love to celebrate with you and invite you to our website's discovery, Jesus page you find answers there.

You may need about your newfound faith. We have a response section. You can share your testimony or tell us how this message is impacted your life go to LWF.org/radio and click Discover Jesus welcome to God's forever family. We can't wait to hear from you today if you like to order a copy of today's message.

Call us at 1877 love God and request the title faithful in fellowship. This message is also part of the insightful factors of faithfulness series for that complete collection all seven powerful messages: 1877 love God or you can order online@lwf.org/radio or write us at love worth finding box 38, 600 Memphis, TN 38183. We are all somebody in his body except your role whether an ear to hear or an IDC your self and give yourself to the church's work with each other. Jesus Christ will be seen through this drug is next time for more. I am Terry Vaughn, CEO love worth finding with Adrian Rogers. I hope you and your family have enjoyed a beautiful Easter season. As we celebrate the most important event in history. Here's the to work? Now what 2000 years ago Jesus gave us the answer in the great commission going to all the world and proclaim the gospel friend. I want to ask you today to grasp the baton with love was fun to run with all the strength the Lord gives us and to extend the gospel together as far as we can reach out for is that broadcast digital and print media LWF website and app love worth finding reaches across the nation and around the globe with the good news of Jesus Christ. I'm humbly asking you to consider a special and generous love offering give to expand the ways LWF is working to fulfill the great commission. This grass the baton together and run the kingdom race until Christ returns