Body & Soul
Discovering Your Purpose In God
The human body is a designer’s original.
God is the designer. He put each part in its place. The
placement of each part was designed to function best at that
particular place. God put them in place so they would function
as He desired and so they would work together. The church is no
different. God gave the design of the church to His Son. Jesus
left the pattern for the officers of the church and how the
church should function. The Holy Spirit is carrying out the
building of the body. He is the one who puts each of us in the
right place. Your place might not be up front. You might not
ever get a thank you. People might not even know what your
function is in the church, but that’s all right. It is not about
you it is about doing the will of the Lord. If you are in the
will of the Lord that means you have surrendered to the place
you are to be in the body.
There is something unique about the body. If you stump your toe,
your whole body reacts as the pain shoot through the toe. The
same should apply to the Body of Christ know as the Church. When
one of us is hurting, the church should be hurting.
Unfortunately, we aren’t their yet, but in time I am sure we
will get there.
Quite often, when someone is hurting, they aren’t willing to
share with the church what is going on in there life. Why? Well,
the church has the spirit of gossip. No one wants their business
all over the church or all over town. A good pastor with good
deacons will know if someone is hurting. The first response we
often see when someone is hurt is their attendance pattern
changes. It is at this point that we should be reaching out and
asking what can we do to help. The church needs to cast out the
spirit of gossip and invite in the spirit of confidentiality.
When a person in the church is rejoicing, we should be rejoicing
with them instead of player hating. I love to see people being
blessed because it is clear evidence that God is still in the
blessing business. It also lets me know that he is in the
neighborhood and my blessing is on the way.
Paul finishes his discourse in verses 23-31. It says, Now here
is what I am trying to say: All of you together are the one body
of Christ, and each one of you is a separate and necessary part
of it. Here is a list of some of the parts he has placed in his
Church, which is his body: Apostles, Prophets those who preach
God's Word, Teachers, Those who do miracles, Those who have the
gift of healing; Those who can help others, Those who can get
others to work together, Those who speak in languages they have
never learned. Is everyone an apostle? Of course not. Is
everyone a preacher? No. Are all teachers? Does everyone have
the power to do miracles? Can everyone heal the sick? Of course
not. Does God give all of us the ability to speak in languages
we've never learned? Can just anyone understand and translate
what those are saying who have that gift of foreign speech? No,
but try your best to have the more important of these gifts.
(TLB)
He says I am trying to say that all of you
T(meaning the Corinthian church and us) together are one body and that body is the Body of Christ. The Body of Christ are those to have died to themselves and been raised up in a new life with Christ. When we died, we left behind worldly things and began to take on Christlike habits. This means we have surrendered to Christ’s will and His way. Fitting in, even if we aren’t up front, isn’t an issue anymore because we are doing it for Christ. We all have a place in the church so not everyone can be the pastor; not every preacher is called to be a pastor or teacher. Our goal should be to use our gifts in the church wherever the Holy Spirit places us.
I hesitate to put this in this article because someone
will use
it for an escape clause. Sometimes, we are members of the wrong
church. The new building, the comfortable church. The big choir
church. Service is not about comfort. Not about air conditioning
or being entertained or being where the crowd is. Service is
about doing the will of the Lord. The Holy Spirit has made it
clear to you that you are to do something specific. You go to
the pastor or leadership team and explain what you have been
told. They put someone else in the place you were to go. I
believe with all that is with in me that the pastor who is in
tune with the Lord will know what part you are to play. You
going to him is simply confirmation of your readiness to work.
If you have been rejected, please seek the Lord so he can guide
you to another church to work. Don’t get mad at the folks you
are leaving, just pray for them. You need to go to the pastor
and let him know that the Lord is moving you to another place to
work in the vineyard and request a letter of transfer. If he is
a true man of God, he will understand and bless you as you move
on.
The church has been established over 2000 years now. God made
sure we had a model to follow so we would know how to operate as
a church. We haven’t don’t very well thus far. Paul has given us
insight on what we need to do to get on the right track.
Reverend Dr. Henry Johnson
23 January 2006
doctorj@praisenet.org
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