Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Speaker A: Good morning, church family.
[00:00:02] Speaker B: Could you please stand up and worship with us?
I won't go under, I won't drown.
When I'm in over my head I know that you won't let me down and when I'm broken and down to nothing I know that you are always up to something good.
I know that you are always up to something good.
Oh you'll make a way whatever it takes there's nothing your love won't endure.
I know that you are always up to something good.
Even through the deepest valley you go before me you are here for I know you'll never leave me your love surrounds me I won't feel and when I'm broken in times another I know that you are always up to something good.
I know that you are always up to something.
You make a way whatever it takes there's nothing your love won't endure I know that you are always up to something good.
Through the darkest night you are on my side you are always faithful through my fear and doubt you will lead me out you are always able through the darkest night you are on my side you are always faithful through my fear and doubt you will lead me out.
I know you are always able you are faithful cause I know that you are always up to something good.
I know that you are always up to something good.
You make a way whatever it takes there's nothing your love won't endure.
I know that you are always up to something good.
Oh, you'll make a way whatever it takes there's nothing your love won't endure I know that you are always up to something good.
Amen. Amen.
[00:04:11] Speaker C: You can have a seat for a few minutes.
Good morning.
[00:04:15] Speaker B: Welcome.
[00:04:16] Speaker C: I'm so glad that you all chose to join us this morning here on this beautiful fall day. Isn't it refreshing?
And welcome to all of our friends who are watching on the live stream today. We're just so glad that you chose. Wow, the words aren't words ing this morning, apparently.
I'm really glad you're here.
If you are a visitor, if you're a guest, maybe if you haven't been coming for a little while and just are ready to take the next step in getting to know us and allowing us to get to know you. I would encourage you to fill out the connection card in the pew in front of you and take that to our guest services center out here. They would love to give you a gift and just. We would just love to get to know you a little bit better. This is a beautiful family of Believers, a great place to belong. And I want to remind you, we actually have a women's retreat coming up.
[00:05:11] Speaker B: Woohoo.
[00:05:11] Speaker C: October 23rd through the 25th. If you have not registered yet, there still are spots available, but they are going quickly. So I would recommend that you either scan the QR code up here, you can head out to the table out in the W Cafe and grab a pamphlet there and talk to, maybe talk to somebody about it, or you can head to the Westgate. Or as always, the fantastic Westgate Chapel app. If you don't have that, I would highly recommend getting that. But we really want you to join us. It's going to be a beautiful time of fellowship. Now I would love to invite Sarah up here. We've got some cute babies on the way, you guys.
Good morning, everybody.
You are way more awake than first service, for sure.
My name is Sarah Knox. I'm the early childhood director here. And I get the amazing privilege of serving with some of our youngest families here at Westgate.
So we have had a class where we talked about the role and the purpose of child dedication. And we know that it's really the commitment that we make on the part of parents to raise our children to walk with the Lord and a commitment from the church to be here to support the families as they do this.
Our families are going to introduce themselves and their children and share with you some characteristics or a verse that they have chosen to pray over their children.
So I'm going to pass this down.
Yep. Hello. I'm Rachel. This is Cora and Elsa. And this is Paul. Andrew.
Paul means humble and Andrew means strong and brave.
Both of the girls wanted to share a verse. So here's Elsa.
[00:07:03] Speaker B: The Lord is good.
[00:07:04] Speaker A: What he does is and right. He shows the proper path to those who go astray.
[00:07:10] Speaker C: He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them his way. Psalms 25, 8, 9.
Be still and know that I am God.
[00:07:25] Speaker B: Hello, my name is Noah.
[00:07:27] Speaker A: This is my wife Helen, our daughter Autumn, and our son Henry.
And the words that we would like to pray over them are courage, humility, gratitude and joy.
Hi, my name is Joe Lewis. This is my wife Anneliese, our daughter
[00:07:44] Speaker C: Gwen, and Desmond Graham.
When I was pregnant with Desi, Gwen started to be really into the story of Samuel as a little boy in the tabernacle. So we pray for Desi, that he would be always listening to the voice of God.
Hi there.
[00:08:05] Speaker A: I'm Britton and this is my beautiful wife Adrienne. We've got Olive Oakley and Cedar, if you're Sensing a theme here. Yes. We've named our children after trees, biblical trees.
And cedar here was named after cedars of Lebanon.
Traditionally, or most cedar trees are actually shallowed root trees, but cedars of Lebanon are deep rooted, tap rooted trees. So our prayer for him, that is that he would be have deep roots for Christ.
[00:08:47] Speaker C: And cedars are mentioned nearly 100 times in the Bible. But the verse that we chose, one of our favorites that mentions cedars is Ezekiel 17:23.
On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird. In the shade of its branches, birds of every sort will nest.
[00:09:17] Speaker A: Hello, we're the Allisons. I'm Caleb. This is my wife Corinne. And this is all the boys.
We got Asher, Kaden, Griffin, or Beckett, and then Griffin.
Not going to wake him up. But my wife has the verse.
[00:09:33] Speaker C: Yeah. So the verse we chose for Griffin is Micah 6, 8. It says, he has shown you, oh man, what is good, to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God.
Good morning. We are the Yoshino family. I'm Abby. This is my husband Jared.
And these are our kids, Oliver, Nora, and Graham, who is being dedicated today. And the verse that we've chosen for him is Joshua 1:9, which says, Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged.
The Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
[00:10:13] Speaker A: That is awesome. Hey, would you. Would you thank each of them for sharing this morning?
You know, I love child dedication and everything that it stands for. You know, one of the some of the confusion that sometimes enters our culture is we think, well, child dedication is meant to solidify that one day my child will find and follow Jesus. And it doesn't guarantee salvation, but what it does and what we've seen all throughout Scripture is that the purpose of child dedication truly is a commitment for us as parents to come to the Lord and say, God, this gift that you have given to me, I am giving back to you. And Lord, you are the one that will give me all I need to lead my children to know you. And so I'm thankful that you are making that declaration this morning and dedicating your children to the Lord. I have a charge for each of you and I'll read that now, believing that your children are a gift from God and that he will hold you accountable for them, will you commit yourselves to the purpose of dedicating your children to the Lord and to his service today?
Will you pray with them? And will you teach them to pray? Will you instruct them in God's word and be a faithful example of Christ to them? Will you teach your children to read God's word and lead a life completely dedicated to God through Jesus Christ?
And will you do everything within your power to provide for them an environment where they can come to know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior? If you will do these things, please say, we will.
Excellent. And church family, I want to invite you to stand and join us as well.
You know you're going to hear about this this morning, but we are talking together about the body of Christ. And the truth is, as the body of Christ, we each play an important role not only in the lives of each of these children, but in the lives of each of these parents and encouraging and supporting them. And so I have a charge for you this morning. As well as family friends and as a church family, we have a great responsibility to assist these families in what they're committing to this morning.
Will you, as family friends and church family, commit to always representing Jesus Christ to their children?
Will you commit to praying for them as God prompts you? And if given the opportunity, will you commit to supporting them by teaching their children about Jesus in the hope that they will one day respond and follow Christ with their whole life? If you will do these things, please say, we will.
Excellent. Let's pray together.
Gracious Father, we thank you so much for this day that we can gather together and worship you again. And Lord, I thank you for each one of these families that are here. I thank you, Father, for the desire that is in their own hearts to come and to take the beautiful gifts that you have given them and their children and to bring them back to you with the acknowledgement, God, that you are the most important person in their lives.
Lord, I want to pray over each one of these parents and I want to ask that in the days, the weeks and months to come that you would give them everything that they need to raise their children to know you. Lord, I pray that you would take them to deeper places in their faith and their trust in you. That, Lord, their children's first and greatest example of what it means to find and to faithfully follow Jesus would come from their parents, that they would see them actively wrestling with their faith and trusting in you and that from that, Lord, that it would develop a heart and a desire to choose to follow you. Lord, we pray for each one of these children that they would come to know you as their personal Lord and Savior from a Very young age. And that, Lord, through. Through the power of your Holy Spirit, that you would develop all of the giftedness that you have designed for them, that they would make an incredible impact for your kingdom as they love and serve others and share the good news of your son with other people. And so, Lord, we dedicate them to you this morning in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Knowing and believing God, you love them more than we do. And so, Father, have your way in their lives. We love you and we pray this together in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Would you congratulate each one of these parents this morning and their children?
And as they are making their way down the stage, we have got our threads of love. Ministry has a quilt for each of these families and kids, and so you can grab those on your way down. And as they are doing so, we would invite you to turn and welcome one another to our service this morning.
It's good to be together.
[00:16:25] Speaker B: Amen.
[00:16:27] Speaker A: You join me as we pray and continue our worship this morning.
Father, we thank you so much.
We thank you for bringing us here. God, we thank you for always making a way. God, we thank you for guiding us and directing us. Lord, I pray you would continue to be in our midst as we worship and honor you this morning.
Lord, we love you. It's in your name we pray.
[00:16:51] Speaker B: Amen.
There is a day coming.
When the old will pass away.
Every wrong will be made right no darkness, no night the sun will light the way There is a king coming.
The one who conquered death and grave no more pain, no more sorrow this hope for tomorrow is our hope for today.
He who was he who is
[00:18:08] Speaker A: he
[00:18:08] Speaker B: who was he who is he who is to come?
Christ, the Son of man Riding on the clouds with the crown upon his hand Every eye will see with the nail scars in his hands Hallelujah, Hallelujah.
There's only one worthy right of all glory and all praise, all wealth and all honor, strength, wisdom and power to the Lamb that was slain.
He who is to come.
Christ, the Son of man Riding on the clouds with the crown upon his head.
Every eye will see him with the male stars in his hands. Hallelujah.
Hallelujah.
Hallelujah.
Hallelujah.
Oh, can you feel it too?
All this tension Growing stronger?
[00:20:22] Speaker C: It's just a sign.
[00:20:23] Speaker B: He's getting closer.
[00:20:24] Speaker C: Closer.
[00:20:25] Speaker B: He's already on the move.
We all know how it is.
My future has an anchor.
My eyes are on the Savior.
He's coming back again. He's coming back.
Rejoice Rejoice even you shall come to the.
He who is to come.
Christ the son of man Riding on the clouds with the crown upon his head.
Every eye will see him with the nail scars in his hand. Hallelujah, Hallelujah.
Christ the son of man Riding on the clouds with the crown upon his head.
Every eye will see him with the nail scars in his hand. Hallelujah.
Hallelujah.
Hallelujah.
Hallelujah.
Hallelujah.
Hallelujah.
Sam.
Seasons will change, colors will fade But I know that you remain.
If the road changes course
[00:23:45] Speaker C: I compass
[00:23:46] Speaker B: your voice
[00:23:50] Speaker C: and you will not lead
[00:23:52] Speaker B: me somewhere you've never been.
Cause you go before me, you lead the way when you say to follow I won't be afraid.
Jesus, it's an honor to cast down these crowns what a privilege to lay my my life down.
Cause I know that all I have gained will fade by you will remain no one can see what I've given
[00:24:40] Speaker A: away
[00:24:44] Speaker B: and I can't out give all that you give.
And no song I could sing
[00:24:55] Speaker C: it's
[00:24:55] Speaker B: worth this robe and this ring But I'm going to sing it anyway.
Jesus, it's an honor to cast down these crowns What a privilege to lay my life down.
Cause I know that all I have gained will faith but you will remain in these treasures that life seems to bring they mean nothing if you're not with me Cause I know that all I have gained will faith but you will remain, you will remain, you will remain, you will remain When I see your face I wish I'd given more away so don't let me waste a trial don't let me miss the chance to praise Cause when I see your face I wish I'd given more away so don't let me waste a trial don't let me miss the chance to praise to praise.
Cause when I see your face I wish I'd given more away so don't let me waste your time trial don't let me miss the chance to praise we praise your name Cuz when I see your face I wish I given more away so don't let me waste a trial don't let me miss the chance to pray.
Jesus, it's an honor to cast down What a privilege to lay my life down.
Cause I know that all I have gained will faith are you will remain in these treasures that life seems to bring they mean nothing if you're not with me Cause I know that all I have gained will fail When I see your face I wish I'd given more away so don't let me waste a trial. Don't let me miss the chance to bring you praise. We praise you.
Cause when I see your face I wish I'd given more away?
So don't let me wait the trial don't let me miss the chance to pray.
We praise you.
We praise you, Father.
Oh, you remain.
[00:29:04] Speaker A: Church family. You may be seated.
Before we pray this morning, over offering, I have a quick, quick just testimony I want to share with you. Exciting stuff. This last, last weekend we had an event here with our student ministry program. You may be able to figure out what that event is because you're likely finding Nerf darts all over this building.
And if you find one in the pew, I hear Dan's giving away a hundred dollar prize. I'm just kidding.
But you know, we had an incredible event. I know they had like 120 middle schoolers show up for Nerf wars, which is great. Our students inviting their friends. I think somewhere around 90 to 100 high school students. It was great weekend, but one of the best parts of the whole thing is that they shared the gospel at each of these events. And on Friday evening, evening at the middle school, 11 students made a first time decision to say yes to Jesus. Super excited, super excited about that.
I know that on the high school evening there were a number of students that indicated because we have them fill out cards that they aren't quite ready to make that decision. But clearly articulated, we are. I am wrestling with faith and it gives us a great opportunity as a church to follow up with each of these students, whether they made a first time or they said, I'm not quite there yet, but I am wrestling with it. And so I just wanted to share that with you because one, what an incredible thing God is doing right, especially with our young people. We give all praise to him for that, but especially because you play such an important part within the body of Christ here at Westgate in enabling these things to happen through your prayers, through your serving, even through your giving as we'll do this morning. I often say as we take our offering when you give at Westgate, you are making an impact as we share the gospel here in our community but also throughout the world. And so I just want to say thank you for that investment and most importantly, I want us to give thanks to God this morning for how he is moving and working and shaping our church family. And so let's take a moment to go to prayer before we take our offering together this morning.
Lord, we want to give you all the glory and honor I thank you God for how you moved in these 11 students hearts last weekend. Father, how incredible to see as they are wrestling and their friends are sharing with them about your son that so many would make a decision to follow you. Thank you for the many that that also indicated that they're not quite there but wrestling. Lord, I pray for our student ministry team that as they follow up with these young people, discipling them in their new relationship, walking with and talking with those who are still wrestling. Lord, we pray that you would accomplish all you desire to do in each of their lives. And so Father, we just give you praise and glory and honor this morning. And we thank you, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for allowing us to participate in what you are doing so that more people in this world would know your son, Jesus Christ. As we give this morning with our tithes and offerings, we do so out of obedience. We do so, Father, out of great love and joy. Because we just love being a part of what you are doing. But Father, we do so with an expectation that you will multiply it so that more people in our community and to the edges of the earth would know your son, Jesus Christ. And so as we give, continue to shape our hearts. Lord, it is our great joy to be a part of the work that you are doing. And so we love you and we give this time as an act of worship to you. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. We're going to take our morning offering and so the buckets are here on the center aisles and our ushers will come along to help a bit, but we're going to pass those out to the sides. If you're in the balcony with us this morning, those buckets are in the corners and we'll pass them into the middle. But you let's use this time as our time to worship the Lord, express our dependence and thankfulness for him.
Well, if you were. I can't remember if I said anything about this last week if you were here with us, but last weekend I had the opportunity to do something I had never done before, which is was to go to a Michigan football game at the Big House. Now I know that will elicit boos and hisses from some of you and for some of you that will cause great joy. But I was only able to go because a very close friend of mine and many of yours invited me to come. Our former executive pastor Dave Johnson, who you'll see here on the screen. Dave invited me to come. And so we got together for that Michigan game.
It was quite the experience.
As they scroll through the pictures for you walking into the stadium, one of the things I noticed is, man, what a fantastic place to watch a game. Now, I have been to the Shoe, and I've also now been to the Big House. They are both great places to watch a game. But the excitement was exhilarating as the band was playing, as the team comes running out on the field. But one of the things that I noticed during the first half is that as Michigan wasn't quite playing up to standard and things were kind of mediocre against a very mediocre team, the crowd itself seemed to have all of the life sucked out of it. You'll see in this picture. Here was a picture that I snapped, and people are just kind of disengaged, disinterested. Dave kept leaning over, saying to me, it's not normally like this.
Not sure if I believe him. But, you know, I was bored enough to be taking pictures. And if you zoom in really closely on this picture, you'll see the Bentley family. I found them, all of them sitting there on the other side of the stadium.
Brielle looking at her phone, Calvin looking horribly disappointed, Kevin looking away. And, you know, it was a good picture of what was happening in the first half. But in the second half, things started to pick up. Underwood started to do his job a little bit better. You'll see here in this video, the energy in the room started to rise with this touchdown.
Yes, it was good. It was fun.
I zoomed out and I panned around the stadium, and you could see all of a sudden, people were starting to get excited. They felt like something good is beginning to happen. Now, obviously, if you watched this game or at least heard about what happened, the energy continued to rise. They continued to score almost at will in the second half. But then came the moment that I think many people have been waiting for.
When Tommy Carr, the backup quarterback, got put into the game, people started chanting his name. He started throwing some incredible passes, and then he threw this dime into the corner of the end zone, and the place went wild, including your pastor.
It was. It was fantastic. In the first half, I tried to get the we want Tommy channel chant started. Nobody would join me. They all just kind of laughed at me. But it was. It was a lot of fun, a great experience.
Now, obviously, I don't believe yesterday's game ended the same way. All right, There was a lot more sadness, I believe.
Oh, you. You guys are so petty.
You guys are so petty.
All I got to say is Texas, okay, so nobody's gonna listen to the sermon today.
Sackcloth and ashes are here later for Michigan fans. But I will say this.
One of the things that I noticed about these games is that we get these giant crowds together. And as you come together, there is this expectation that we are there to consume something that we hope is going to bring us a lot of joy and a lot of fulfillment.
And as I was thinking about that this past week, I was thinking about how that is true not only in our culture at large, that we are consumers. We are looking for things that will bring us joy. We gather together in crowds looking for fulfillment.
But I also began to think about how one of the most dangerous influences facing the church today is the consumer mentality of our culture.
I want you to think about it. We live in a culture that's trained us to ask, what do I get out of this? We evaluate our restaurants and the experience and food that we get by it. We evaluate businesses by the service that they provide. We evaluate things like products by the value that they deliver.
We evaluate anything and everything. And when this mentality enters into the church, we begin to believe that the church is a place that is meant to serve me.
It's meant to make me joyful and fulfilled. And it's easy to get a me consumer mentality in the process. What happens is that we miss God's intended purpose for the church. But I would say even more that we quench the Spirit's water work in us and also through us. When this mentality infiltrates our church families, as we have been going together through our deep roots in broad reach vision over the last five years, and as we have talked this past couple weeks about this five year vision, we're going into our final year of it together, I want to tell you that one of my greatest prayers has been that we would not be stagnated by a consumer mindset. It's easy when a church is growing, when great things are happening, to begin to think to ourselves, I am here to sit back and to just simply enjoy. For me, my prayer has been that we wouldn't be stagnated by that mindset, but that we would be reminded daily that, number one, the church isn't a product for me to consume, but as Paul said, it is a body to which I belong.
And that belonging has incredible significance in how I live my life out within the body. And so I want us to dive into that together. This morning as my prayer is that it would drive us as a church forward about how we are not consumers but contributors to the body of Christ. If you have your sermon notes, I'd invite you to pull those out. You can use them to follow along this morning as well.
If you have your Bibles, I would invite you to turn to First Corinthians, chapter 12, as that is where we will center ourselves today. The first point I want to make is the church isn't just a crowd, it's a body.
The church isn't just a crowd, a group of people gathering together, looking to gain something from something. No, the way that the Apostle Paul describes it in First Corinthians is it is a body. Let's look at that analogy that he uses together. Beginning in verse 12, he says these words, for just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many are one body, so it is with Christ.
For in one spirit we were all baptized into one body, Jews or Greeks, slave or free, and all were made to drink of one spirit. For the body does not consist of one member, but of many.
I want us to take a close look at the words that Paul is using. Here is what he describes as not just the church as a crowd of people that gather together, but as a body.
Letter A. Generally, what we see in our culture especially is that crowds are individual, looking usually to find something that will meet their felt needs.
Again, an example of this was Rochelle and I were on our trip a few weeks ago over in the Mediterranean. We took a cruise together and one of the things that was probably the least enjoyable for me was lunch and dinner time. We would go out into the windjammer on our ship, and everywhere you went, there were incredibly long lines of crowd crowds and consumers looking to get food. And not only were the lines long, but I found that people were. Were a bit disrespectful at times. Not, not having common courtesies, just pushing and shoving past people.
It was difficult. And everywhere you went it was just crowded, tons of people. Some people you couldn't find a seat half the time. Like, it was not necessarily for me, the most enjoyable situation, but largely because what I felt was the individualism in that crowd and that people were really only concerned about what they could get for themselves, even at the expense of others.
Well, one of the key problems within the church at Corinth was a severe case of individualism that was more concerned with meeting your own felt needs than being unified together with other believers.
Much of the culture that surrounded the church was actually seeped into this way of thinking a little bit of Information about Corinth. Corinth was one of the most influential cities in the Roman world. It was an important center for trade and for commerce, but not only because of that that importance. It was obsessed with things like wealth, education, social ranking and public reputation.
And with that, many of the inhabitants of Corinth reflected the loose morals and materialistic outlook that you might expect from a secular city such as Corinth. In fact, the immorality was so bad that the Greeks invented a word to describe the immoral life based off of the city of Corinth. What they called it was Corinthianizing. You were corinthianizing when you were living an immoral lifestyle style. But the problem is that the immorality that was rampant within this city was also infiltrating the church and causing incredible disunity to take place.
And so when Paul uses this illustration of the body addressing the disunity that was existing, what he says is these. What he says, letter B is. This is. Paul uses the human body.
[00:44:02] Speaker B: Body.
[00:44:02] Speaker A: It's meant to show intentional interconnectedness and interdependence. I'll say that again. Paul's use of the human body is meant to show intentional interconnectedness and interdependence.
Listen again to these words. He says, for just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many are one body, so it is is with Christ. He uses this example. And when you think about the analogy that he uses, the human body truly is fascinating. Your body is made up of an incredible number of different parts, and those parts are remarkably different from one another. Your heart does not look like your lungs. Your lungs don't function like your kidneys. Your eyes don't operate like your hands. Your bones don't do what your muscles do do. Your nerves don't function like your skin. And yet, somehow, all of these incredibly different parts work together to make one living body.
Your eyes can see, but they need your brain to interpret the information that is coming in. Your brain can process information, but it needs your eyes and your ears to receive it. Your legs can carry you, but your muscles, your bones, your tendons, your ligaments, your nerves, your blood supply makes all of that possible.
Every single part has its own function, but no part is completely independent from the rest. The beauty of the body is found then, not simply in the uniqueness of the individual parts, but in the way that these unique parts work together as one.
And this is the picture that Paul is painting of the body of Christ.
It isn't just that the church is made up of a lot of different people, but that God has intentionally designed the church to be interconnected and also interdependent on one another.
Think about it. Letter C. What he points out is we have, have in. We each have individual backgrounds, experiences, stories, strengths, weaknesses. There's a beauty in the individualism that we have, he says, for in one spirit, we were all baptized into one body. Jews or Greeks, slaves are free, and all were made to drink of one spirit. He points out the fact some of the greatest tensions that would have existed in the church. Jews and Greeks didn't necessarily get along. They came from different backgrounds, had different stories, different experiences. He talks about slaves and free people within Corinth. There was a huge, what's the word I'm looking for? There was a status that people were trying to attain, and if you were on the higher rung, you were important. On the lower rung, you were nothing. But that same thing that was happening in that culture was infiltrating in the church. Paul points it out and he says, look, all of us come from different experiences. We have different backgrounds, different stories, strengths, weaknesses. But most importantly, letter D. He says, in Christ, and through the Holy Spirit who lives within us, we share a common bond and a unity of purpose and of mission.
Every single part of the body of Christ matters. And Paul is going to push in and dive into the tensions that existed within the church where people were pulling away and becoming more consumer minded. Some people becoming more consumer minded in their engagement within the body, while others were pushing people out because of the pride that they had and who they were, thinking they were better than others.
He's going to address this because he knows and he believes with all of his heart, if the church is going to become all that God has designed it to be, then we must live in a unified way, interconnected with each other and interdependent on each other, valuing the importance of every single member.
He says, every part of the body matters. And here is why this, this is so significant.
One of the major issues plaguing the church in Corinth was divisions over spiritual gifts. At the beginning of this chapter, he be. Paul begins to talk about those gifts. And in the church in Corinth, there were some gifts that were being treated as more important than others. Speaking in tongues, healing, interpretation of tongues, a lot of the sign gifts. And because of that, there were different factions that were developing within the church, church in the same way that there was kind of this hierarchy within the culture that was beginning to develop in the church. And there was a sense of elitism that had developed and was looking down on those people who didn't necessarily exercise the, quote, greater gifts. And so as a result, scholars have recognized that when we look at the language of this text that Paul is addressing, that there are some people who have become very discouraged and we're actively disengaging from contributing within the church, becoming more consumer minded. If you will look with me at first Corinthians, chapter 12, beginning in verse 15 at what Paul says. He says, if the foot should say, because I am a hand, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less a part of the body.
[00:49:43] Speaker B: Body.
[00:49:43] Speaker A: 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. Look says, if a foot would say, I'm not a hand, therefore I'm not a part of the body. Like feet, right? They're really good for moving and traveling the body around, helping us. The toes giving us some nice balance. But I mean, could you imagine a foot sitting there going like, I know I play a role and maybe, maybe it's got some significance. But look at those hands, the fingers, they're way better than toes. And they can create and do really incredible cool things that I could never do. Therefore, I'm not a part of the body or an ear that would say, I'm not an eye. I just kind of sit on the side of the head. I don't even really move. I just receive sounds. That's all I do. The eyes, they get to see and look at all the beautiful things in this world and help develop pictures for the brain. And like, Paul uses this analogy to help us to take a look at this idea.
There are times in our church experience where we even develop insecurities and we think to ourself, I'm not that person over there. I'm not at that.
We even create hierarchies in our own minds. Therefore, maybe I'll just sit back and not engage.
What Paul does here, letter A, is he addresses insecurities that we feel hold us back from contributing within the body.
And I want to touch on some that I know we experience in the body of Christ on a regular basis for some. Number one, some people would say I'm not gifted.
I don't feel like I've got the gifts that other people have. Some people have great qualities about them, great leadership skills. Maybe they're, they're Great teachers or they play an instrument or they do something great, but I just don't have that. Therefore, with my insecurity, maybe I'll just sit back and receive.
There are some people, and I've noticed this throughout all of my years serving in church ministry number two, some would say, and because I'm too old, I'm past my time and therefore it's somebody else's turn, I will just sit back and receive. I can remember that one of my youth leaders In California, gosh, 20 something years ago, came to me, Vicki, and she said, you know, Rob, I think I'm done serving in student ministry. I just, I'm not sure that I'll be effective because I'm just, I'm getting older. And I thought to myself, and I looked at Vicki, I was like, Vicki, as long as God gives you breakfast breath, you are valuable for the kingdom of God. Please do not sit back. And I would say that to you this morning. I know that sometimes as we age and our bodies maybe don't do the things that we want that they used to do, and maybe we see other people stepping up and serving that. It's very easy to just sit back and consume.
But I want you to hear so abundantly clear this morning.
God did not create you and put breath in your lungs to sit in his church and not be active. There will always be ways that God can use you.
As long as you have breath, you are useful for his kingdom and needed within the body of Christ.
One particular way, older generation, hear me in this. You have years of wisdom, of walking with God, of learning lessons from your own failures, but also from the very grace of God. God. And there are young people in this church that need your story and your wisdom and need you to mentor and disciple. Whether that looks like serving in a ministry or inviting someone over to your home and pouring your life and the word of God into them. You can be useful as well. I would say you can. You say, maybe you can't do that. You can pray for your pastor, my goodness, regularly and for this church and have a ministry of prayer. You can have a ministry of encouragement. There are so many different ways to get involved. I want you to hear. You are needed within the body of Christ.
There are some that would say, I'm too young, that's number three. And they would disengage for that reason. Or we don't even give them an opportunity. I'll just give you an example of this, of how valuable young people are with within the body of Christ. It Was last week, right before Nerf Wars, I came home from work. I was gonna be taking Gracie to church. And she did what she typically does. She looks at me and she says, dad, I invited a friend to Nerf Wars. Can we pick them up? She's kind of waiting for me. Like, you know, she knows she's throwing off my plans, and she knows I'm gonna say yes. And so, yes, Gracie, we'll. We'll pick up your friend. And she goes, good, because when I told her, she told another friend, and they want to come too. Can we get them as well?
I'm getting sucked in, right? And so she tells me that. And so we were going to pick up these two friends to bring them to Nerf Wars. Both of them do not go to church. And then she says to me, she says, dad, when I asked my first friend, we had a spiritual conversation together.
She asked me what I believe and what my church believes. And so I got to tell her about Jesus.
And my heart melted. And she looks at me and she goes, do I get to put a pin in the wall in the cafe?
And I said, yes, but don't do it in front of her. It might be awkward. So.
But she loved that she got to tell somebody about Jesus.
Young people, you are equally as valuable as every single person in this room. It does not matter what your age.
God can use you within his body.
And I want you to hear this morning that God calls you to understand how he's wired you and how he wants to use you. Push in. Don't just sit back and receive. Look for ways to contribute.
Some people feel the insecurity number four of I don't know enough.
I haven't been a Christian long enough. I don't know enough about the Bible, and so I'll just sit back and. And receive. There are ways to engage and contribute. Number five, some people say I don't have enough experience. Other people are far more experienced with ministry than me. Why in the world would I step in? And yet I would say to you, why wouldn't you allow God to develop that experience alongside of other people?
Some people would say that, you know, I don't contribute much from my resources and my giving because I don't have much. And so, number six, I can. I can't give much. And so I don't give anything at all. But what point in all of this have we not said that what God is doing is taking each of us in our giftedness and in our contributions in many different ways and growing us in that process, I would also say, and I haven't put this down as a number for you to fill in, but as I was thinking about it early this morning, one of the other things that I think often holds people back and really directly connects to what is happening in the church in Corinth is that church hurt often holds people back. They've had a bad experience, whether that's serving or in the church that they were in. And so they move on to the next church and think, I'm just not going to engage.
I'm just going to hang back. I'll let other people do it. It hurts too much. I'm not sure that I would be a fit anyway.
And what this does is it causes the church to not function the way that it was designed to function.
Paul addresses those insecurities with the church, recognizing that there are people that are holding back within the body because they believe that somehow they don't measure up and they're tempted to just consume. And what Paul does here is letter B. He exposes the absurdity of uniformity.
Well, if I'm not a. If I'm not a hand, I can't participate. What does he say? He says, if the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? See, God has created us, each of us with different experiences and different sensibilities for a reason and for a purpose. It's absurd to think that we would all be the same thing with the same set of experiences.
Letter C. What he does is Paul levels the playing field by reminding them God intentionally has chosen you as an essential part of his body.
What does he say? He says, buzz as it is, God has arranged the members in the body, each one of them as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is? There are many parts, yet just one body.
The first thing that I want you to hear from this text this morning is this, Number one, God is the one who has gifted you. It is not about what your skill and your talent and your ability is. God is the one that has gifted you. And not only is God the one that has gifted you, he is the one that will continue to gift you for whatever work it is that he calls you to do. You may say, but I'm not as developed in this area as I would like to be. There are people that are better. Have you ever considered that there are seasons that God takes us through where he was growing us and giving Us more gifts. I will tell you this. This has been one of my pet peeves from the time that I was young, growing up in the church about how sometimes we talk about spiritual gifts in the church. We say, if you want to know what your spiritual gifts are, take this test.
Then you'll figure out what your top three are. And that's your lane. Stay in it. Well, I don't know about you, but you know what? My experience has been in the church, not even in the church, in my walk with God, is that in different seasons, God gifts me at different times and in different ways.
There are ways that he is constantly developing me. If you would have looked at me as a young youth pastor, you would have never thought I'd become a lead pastor. I had zero gifts of administration. It was one of my weakest areas.
And what I find crazy is the time where God began to prepare me and to lead me into these next roles.
I strangely love administration today. Like, there's something kind of weird and distorted about it. Even as a lead pastor, you think, aren't you supposed to leave that for other people? No. And they'll tell you I'm a control freak. But God has wired me differently in a different season.
And I want you to understand that truth. God is the one who is gifting you. And number two, he has chosen purpose for the seasons of life that we are in.
So no matter what season you are in, young, middle age, old, before kids, with kids, kids finally gone, whatever it may be, God has a purpose for you and he is gifting you for those moments. And number three, he has written a unique story in every individual life that is perfect for his church.
The Lord has done works in me that he has not done in you. He has shaped me in different ways than he has shaped you and vice versa. And all of that is needed. You know, I look back on my own life and how the Lord shaped me for ministry. I was a kid who had zero self esteem. I was a kid who didn't believe in Himself.
I was a kid that wasn't driven.
And yet God brought people into my life in the church.
Youth pastors, youth leaders, volunteers who loved me, poured into me, who helped me to find my worth and value, who pointed me consistently to Jesus, who he used to call me into ministry. And I believe fully that without those people pouring into my life with their different experiences, I would never have been where I am today. But God wrote that story in my life because what happened is because of those individuals, I now have a passion and I've had a passion since I was young that other people would experience the same thing through my life. That they would understand the intrinsic value and worth that they have to God, that they can be used by him, that they can have a significant impact within the kingdom of God.
And also I've watched as God has walked me through hard seasons of life and written stories that I haven't always enjoyed. Times where I've walked through painful experiences, but what has God done in those? He's increased my faith and he's taught me to have compassion. Who walk through with people who are walking through similar circumstances.
God has done the same thing in each of your lives.
He's written a story. And oftentimes much of the pain you've walked through, somebody else in this building is walking through it and needs you to care for them and to point them to our faithful God. And to understand the depth of faith that you've developed is something that they as well can develop. And for you to walk with them and to care for them. You see, we need unique stories and individuals within the church. God has wired his church that way. But what is he looking for, number four? He is looking for our faithfulness and our humility as we follow Him.
He has written a story on your life.
He has gifted you in very unique ways and he will continue to gift you for whatever he calls you to. What he's asking you is, would you be faithful to not just sit back and consume, but to understand? I've given you this body to contribute, to be a part. I've given you everything you need. Need. Would you trust me? And in the process, would you have great humility as you serve others.
You see, Paul wants the church to understand as people are struggling with whether or not to just sit back and consume or to get involved and contribute. He says, we need each other. This is how God has designed the body.
But as he continues, he's going to say letter A. Paul addresses now our natural inclination toward individualism that prevents others from contributing as well.
I want you to see this because Paul doesn't just address those people who were feeling discouraged in the church in Corinth and like they had nothing to give. What he actually does is he addresses also head on those who are actively discouraging others from engaging and contributing. Look at what he says in First Corinthians, chapter 12. Beginning in verse 21, he says, the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you. Nor again can the head to the feet, I have no need of you again. He calls out directly and says, this thing that is going on where there's this elitism taking place in the church, there is no place for you to look at another person and their giftedness and to say you don't belong, you aren't needed. Every single part has value and importance.
And what I see is that in our own culture today, even within our churches, there is this inclination towards individualism, preventing other people to contribute that manifests itself in a number of different ways. One of those ways is exactly what we see in the church in Corinth, a sense of pride and elitism. There's a sense that look at me, look at the gifts God has given me and how great those gifts are. And we allow them that to shape who we are to where we think only about ourselves rather than other people. And I'll talk just in a minute about how that continues to affect down the line. But pride and elitism is one way. Number two, a tribal mentality. We may serve within a group of people who are like minded and like gifted. And one of the things that can often happen then is that we exclude other people from those groups and clicks will, will happen within the church.
[01:05:42] Speaker B: Church.
[01:05:42] Speaker A: We only think about the people that are within our immediate circles and we exclude others as a process.
I would say another one, number three, is an attitude of perfectionism.
And the reason I can say this one is because this has been my own experience in ministry. It has been one of the greatest struggles that I've had from the time that I was young and growing as a minister and that I battle still today. Today it's the mentality that says it's just easier to do it myself because I know that it will get done right. Does anybody ever feel that way?
Maybe in your workplaces or your homes, you know that perfectionism robs people of using the gifts that God has given them.
But not only does it rob them of using those gifts, it robs the development of people's gifts that God wants to develop within them.
We have to learn that perfectionism is not the goal.
The goal is to be the body of Christ the way that God designed it to be.
Each of these first three lend to the last one, number four, a lack of vision for discipleship.
One of the greatest dangers within the church is that we allow pride and elitism, a tribal mentality or perfection to hold us back from developing future leaders within the church.
When we focus more on ourselves than bringing other people in and along, the church suffers.
And when one suffers, as Paul says, The whole thing suffers. And I have watched this happen in churches for years and years. Churches stop developing leaders. They focus on the few gifted. The church suffers and eventually the church dies.
What Paul does, letter C, is that he calls us to see past ourselves and to see the intrinsic value that God has placed on each of us as members of his body.
Look at these words that Paul speaks.
He says, on the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.
And on those parts of the body that we think less honorable, we bestow the greater honor. And our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require.
Think about the words that he says here. On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker. He doesn't say that they are weaker, but there is this sense that people have that maybe somebody's giftedness is not as strong as mine. But that's a fallacy because he says, they may seem weaker, but they're not. They're indispensable. He says there's some that get less honor, but it shouldn't be that way. They should be the ones that get the greater honor. Let me give you an example.
Every single week, people come up to me and they say, rob, you're doing such a great job. We love our channel church. You have done such a great job leading our church. I get lotted with praise and I and I'm being fully honest and transparent with you. It's encouraging. And yet I want you to understand one really vital truth.
I cannot keep this place going.
This place falls apart without people who are much less visible than I. I am one tiny, small piece of this puzzle.
Every single week, there are numerous different staff and lay leaders and volunteers that come together to make this church what it is.
I may be visible, but let me tell you, the more essential people, the people who deserve greater honor are the people that are often unseen. Our kids. Ministry workers on Sunday mornings in Midwest weeks who we don't see. But your kids are being taken care of. And not just taken care of, but they are being discipled to know Jesus while you are allowed to be in here worshiping and also working on your own heart with the Lord. They are serving tirelessly and relentlessly in our student ministry department. There are people that are serving and using their gifts on Sunday mornings at 9am during the Midwest doing the same things.
We have a custodial team here at Westgate led by Claire Caryer, and we've got Gary Lovell. And Thomas Dombroff, who on a weekly basis are going through not just cleaning, but doing all of the setup for every event, for every Bible study, for everything that takes place in this church. Never seen and often never given thanks.
But they are indispensable.
They are the ones that deserve the greater honor because without them, the wheels fall off. We have a maintenance team that keeps things fixed in John Heisinger and Al Jewell. We have production teams on Sunday morning that sit up in these booths and in back rooms. You'll never see them, but they make things run. We have people cooking in the kitchen for teenagers like the Farleys and Ned Lewis. We've got people who are giving to the church on a regular basis that are never seen, but helping to keep things moving.
And we have those who have bought into the vision and who on a regular basis throughout the week, are engaging in spiritual conversations with other people, recognizing that it's all of us who are carrying this vision together. All of these people, most of them unseen in what they do, often never getting a thank you. They are the ones that are the true body of Christ making this whole thing work.
I want you to hear that and please applaud them.
Because let me tell you something, please.
If we don't all contribute, we don't accomplish what God has designed for us to become.
What does Paul continue and say?
He says God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked honor, that there may be no division within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another.
If one member suffers, all suffer to together.
If one member is honored, then all rejoice together.
You now are the body of Christ and individually you are members of it.
I want you to own the words of Paul, because the culture that we live in today will teach you it's all around us to be consumers, to be those who come in. And whether it's because of our insecurities, whether it's because a culture that teach us just to sit and absorb, whether it's other people that have made us feel invaluable or not having worth, I want you to hear clearly that what God speaks through his servant in the word of God is that you were made to contribute to the body of Christ.
Everybody has a story, everybody has a background, everybody is gifted, everybody.
God has chosen a plan for your life to make an impact in the lives of others within this body and together with this body, outside of the walls of this church, to accomplish the vision that God has given us as a Church. As we move into this fifth year of our Deep Roots and Broad Reach initiative, I believe that some of the most essential, essential things that will take place as we grow, as we continue to see God do great things. This is most essential. Letter A. We must move past the consumer mentality of our culture and that is setting into our churches.
This is an aside. I am tired of watching churches just simply promote themselves as the cool place to be and you can come get a good experience and here's why. What it teaches us is that it's all about me coming and receiving.
Can you please hear my words?
I personally believe that that's damaging. It's damaging to our understanding of how the body of Christ is meant to function.
You were meant to function not as someone who comes and just consumes and receives, but as one who is actively engaging, being involved and using your your giftedness.
How do we move past a consumer mentality in this culture today? 1 It begins with our knowledge and understanding of God's Word and what it teaches us about his church and our role within it. We've studied that this morning.
The most important step following knowledge is that we allow Christ to change our hearts. That as we spend time with him and we pour into that relationship, that we allow him to change us from the inside out. It's not just go out and sign up to serve. It's God shift my thinking, my understanding of how I am to function so that I become all that you design me to be. Because I'll tell you what, when God gets your heart, nothing will stop what he wants to do in your life.
We got to move past that consumer mentality. Letter B. We must become active control contributors within the body. And my encouragement to you is as the Lord is shaping your heart for your role within his body is that you would take steps towards growth in this area.
Take a step to engage in community with other believers. Get connected with others in small groups. Get connected in serving. Get connected in Bible studies. Find a place where you are growing, but find places to serve and then take a step step as well to engage with the vision and share the good news of Jesus with other people.
Be an active contributor and Letter C and I say this especially for those who are actively serving.
Maybe you've got a giftedness that God has really given you. You've been using it for a very long time. The greatest danger for you is is that you get comfortable where you are and you just focus on you and what you are doing and nothing else. And I want you to hear this value helping people grow into becoming the contributors that God has purposed for them to be. Have your eyes open to see how God wants to use you not just to do what he's gifted you for, but also to invite other people along.
Reject a self focus and a tribal mentality.
See your role as initiating and inviting the development of new leaders into their giftedness. Give them the grace to learn and to grow and as Paul says in the process show them the same care, church, family as we embrace and understand this truth and allow God to shape our hearts to understand this place is not for us to consume, it is contribute. When we push into that together, there is nothing that can stop the movement of God as his spirit is moving and shaping us and developing within us. Fruit that will make an impact for the kingdom of God throughout this community and to the ends of the earth. Would you pray with me Lord, this morning? My prayer is that your Holy Spirit would speak into us each as individuals. For for some of us we have struggled with finding our place. Maybe we have sat at the back. Whether that's because of insecurity, whether it's because of hurt that we have experienced. Maybe it's simply because we think other people are better than we are. Whatever it may be, Father, would you remind us this morning of the truth that you have designed us all to contribute?
And Lord, would you shape our hearts to search with you for how it is you desire us to participate within that help us to understand our giftedness, the importance of the stories and experiences that you have written purposefully on our lives that we could pour into the lives of others, but also God. I pray that you would put within us a passion to also not just focus on ourselves but each other about how we can do more together with you. Teach us to be those who are consistently bringing people along, developing in them in their gifts, inviting them to participate so that, Father, we become the church that you have always intentioned for us to be. Ultimately that you and you alone, God would receive glory through your church. We pray this in Jesus name, Amen.
[01:19:11] Speaker B: If it's bandaging the broken or washing filthy feet Here I am, Lord, send me if it's loving one another even when we don't agree Here I am, Lord, send me.
If I'm poor or if I'm wealthy I'll serve you just the same Here I am Lord, send me on the mountain O the valley I will choose to praise Here I am, Lord, send me if I'm blown by how I love Let my life reflect how much I love you, I love of you and before you even ask oh my answer will be yes Cause I love you I love
[01:20:44] Speaker C: you.
[01:20:50] Speaker B: If the truth cuts like a nail I will say it anyway Here I am Lord, send me if it means that they'll reject me Lord I will still obey Here I am Lord send me if I know by how I love Let my life reflect how much I love you I love you and before you even ask oh my answer will be yes Cause I love you I love you
[01:21:51] Speaker A: this be your prayer
[01:21:52] Speaker B: today When I'm standing in your glory I'll be glad I chose to say Here I am Lord, send me well done, good and faithful I live to hear you say Here I am Lord, send me Here I am Lord, send me Here I am Lord Lord sa me if I'm known by how I love Let my life reflect how much I love you I love you and before you even ask oh my answer will be yes Because I love you I love you if I know by how I love Let my life reflect how much I love you I love you and before you even ask all my answers to will be yes Cause I love you I love you.
Here I am Lord, send me.
Sing it out.
Here I am Lord
[01:23:56] Speaker A: Let this be your posture this morning.
[01:23:59] Speaker B: Here I am Lord, send me Here I am Here I am Lord as one body we cry out to you Here I am Lord, send me. Send us out one more time singing Here I am Lord, send me.
[01:24:30] Speaker A: Let's give praise to the Lord together.
As we as we close our service this morning, a couple things that I want to remind you about. One is next weekend we begin our Missions emphasis week together as a church. And if you really want to dive into the heartbeat of who Westgate is, this is one of those pieces. As a part of the Christian Missionary alliance, every year we have a Missions emphasis week where we bring back some of our international workers from the field to come and to share the things that God is doing, but also to allow God to shape our hearts for what our role is within the greater body of Christ for reaching the nations with the good news of the gospel. We're going to have with us a couple of our international workers that are in a new partnership that we have developed from Central Asia in a closed access country. They're going to be sharing with us about incredible testimonies of what God has been doing, but also helping us to understand our role within the body of being a part of this global move of the gospel. And so I hope that you will be Here next week. It is going to be a fantastic kickoff to our Missions Emphasis Week. You'll see in the brochure, I think that you got this morning in your worship guide, a full schedule for the following week of ways to engage and to be a part. There are a lot of awesome opportunities. And the following Sunday, we're going to have with us the president of the Christian Missionary Alliance, Jonathan Schaefer. He is a good friend of Rochelle's and mine and I, I cannot wait for him to be here to share with you not only what is happening through the Christian Missionary alliance all around the world, but as well for you get to meet a man and hear his heart as God has put the mantle of leadership on him to lead our denomination in this missions movement. And so please, please, please do not miss these opportunities to engage and to understand your role and your part within it.
Then I'll let you know that in the the weeks to come following Missions Emphasis Week, if you'd like to begin reading, we're going to be doing a series together through the Book of Esther, so you can start reading that. And we're going to dive into that for a number of weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. And so please, please be prepared for that as well. Before I take us to prayer, I will just simply remind you that our prayer team is here at the front on each side. They would love the opportunity to minister to you this morning for any prayer needs that you have, whether that's for healing or if you've been wrestling with God, you need someone to talk to and to pray with, please come forward. They would love that opportunity to pray with you today.
Let's go to prayer. Father, thank you again for the time that we've had here to be together as your body.
Thank you, God, for the people all around this building, in this room that serve on a regular basis contributing to this body to make it what it is.
Lord, again, would you help us all to understand our role and so that, Father, as we find our place of connectedness, but also of contributing to the body that Father, you would use all of us as individuals but collectively together to share the good news of your son with more people throughout our community and to the ends of the earth that they might find and follow him. Our greatest desire is to be a part of the work that you are doing. So unify us, Lord. Help us to understand our purpose and our mission and our role within that, that you and you alone would receive all glory from our lives. We love you and we surrender our hearts to you in this week to come in Jesus name. Amen. God bless you church. Have a great week. Serving the Lord. What?
Oh, thank you.
There's a new people party, my friends.
If you are new here at Westgate today, in the last few weeks, if you've registered, come join us in the refinery for pizza and hanging out with the pastors.
Have a great week.
