October 23, 2016
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
The Body of
Christ…?
“Break my heart/I
want touch lives”
Psalm 145
1 Corinthians12:25-26
Romans 12:4-10
What Do You Really
Feel…
Prayer of adoration and for God’s
illumination so that His Word would be heard through me or in spite of me…
A reading from Paul’s 1st
letter to the Christians in Corinth, chapter 12, verses 25-26. Listen to the
Word of God…His Love Letter…to and for you and me…His beloved children…
Have you ever seen those commercials for the animal
shelters? Awe man…they just get right to my heart. I am just an old softy when
it comes to these commercials …and it doesn’t help as they are playing “The
Eyes of An Angel in the background. I want to adopt all the animals…I even
start crying sometimes. It just breaks my heart to see these poor animals. And
most of them have been rescued from horrible situations. I don’t know who could
ever hurt one of these little friends.
What breaks your heart? (give time for people to
answer) There are so many ways that our hearts are touched…our heart
breaks…for many different situations…the situations that are important to
us. It may be just looking around us…at
the world around us… That alone can break out hearts. Speaking of the
world around us, what do you think breaks God’s heart? What is it that He feels
as He too looks around at what He created and called it good… Do we even care
anymore about God’s heart?
Now
remember, as I said last week, as we think about…as we ponder this question or
these questions…God loves you and I so much that He thinks we are to die for…
As a matter of fact…that is exactly what He did…die for sinners like us…He who
knew no sin took our sin upon Himself… what breaks His heart and do we even
care anymore…
We have been trying to define…trying to open our
view of…the body of Christ? We have defined it as family. But how we do you and
I define “family?” But we don’t even come close to how God would define it. We
are not the ones who define family…the Creator of our diversely awesome family
is the One who defines it…remember “Ohana means family and family means no
one is left out or left behind.” We have
come to the realization that to become community in the world…to continue to be
relevant we, as Christ’s followers, need to wake up. Wake from our slumber…wake
from our complacency…wake from our numbness and see the world and people around
us who are looking for someone to reach out in love, hope and compassion. We
need to decide what is most important in our lives as Christ followers. And we
need to do this together…as one family…one body of Christ. We are called to
love one another. We are called to look into the eyes of those in need and help
fill that need. We are called to be the hands, feet and voice in the world.
Now all of this sounds great. These topics
we have talked about are vital if we are going to change the world and bring
God’s kingdom here on earth. But we are so tainted by the world around us how
are we going to be able to change it? Our vision is so clouded with the haze of
the enemy…that we cannot see clearly. We tend to not be able to see past our
own nose. Well...your right…we can’t do this on our own. Your right, the enemy
has put up such a smoke screen that we can’t see the truth half the time and
the other half we are afraid for the truth.
The Corinthians Letter I read from comes
from a time quite like our own. The church was fighting and back biting each
other and Paul had to remind them not only who but whose they were…sound familiar. They were all concerned
about themselves and their …individual agenda. They were fighting about who was
better, who had the best programs, who had the most correct doctrine, who had
the …Fill in the blank…you get what I am
saying.
They forgot one of the most important fact
about being the body of Christ…and we
still struggling today to get this one right…WE ARE ONE BODY…not several
different doing our own thing. So how do we turn the tide and come out
victorious…of course with God’s help that is…
This is how we start…ask God to break your
heart for what breaks His…God, I am
standing here before You and I want to help but am running here and there not
knowing what to do…what I need to be focused on. God, I am asking you to break
my heart for what breaks Yours…give me Your eyes and Your heart for Your people…
It is as simple as that. “How do you know this works Pastor?” …some of you may
be asking. Well…since I prayed this for myself…since I decided to step out of
the boat in deeper water…my heart has been changed. Those things that didn’t
affect me before brings me to my knees in prayer. When people ask me for prayer
I pray right there with them…where they are…even
in a drug store or out on the street…If one part hurts every part involved
hurts and works to heal…If one part flourishes every part flourishes and
rejoices. When one part of God’s creation hurts, or is in need all of God’s
creation…including you and me…hurts and when one part flourishes…we all
flourish. We are all part of God’s creation so we are each part of the whole
body…the whole of creation. Speak
from the Spirit about God’s people and how God must grieve…
1.
My Anthem
2.
Division and strife
3.
Continue to back bite each other because of our own
agenda
4.
Continue to gossip just to gossip…doesn’t even matter
if it is true or not
5.
If we are the body of Christ why are we not
healing…why are we not loving…why are we not speaking His love…why are we not
caring…why are we breaking down and not lifting up
Romans 12 verses 4-10 gives us a clue
about God’s design for His church. It
is found in the 12th chapter and goes from verse 4 through verse
10…listen and find the clue about His church…Read the Passage…
We
need everyone…even those people. When we turn them away we are missing a vital
part of the body…a piece of God’s church…and it remains missing until our
hearts break for them. Are we FAKE in our commitment to the Great Commission to
make disciples of all nations…all people?
So…questions posed earlier:
v What breaks your heart? Speak from the Spirit
v What breaks God’s heart? Speak from the Spirit
v Do you think His heart breaks when HE looks at His
creation including us? Why? Speak from the Spirit
v Do you even care? Chances are…at some point in
time…someone has cared enough about you to help you through rough patch on your
journey of faith…
v Are you willing to be changed from the inside out
as you pray for God to break your heart for what breaks His? That’s a
question that only you can answer. There is no doubt about it. This is a prayer
God will answer if you truly and humbly come before Him but be ready to be
changed…
OK…synopsis…As
we open our hearts and our doors to those who are on the outside we become
family. As we become family we can work together as the body of Christ…as a
family of believers who reach out to those who are looking for someone to grab
their hand to pull them out of the vortex they are in. As we come together the
word Ohana becomes our battle cry because no one is left out or left behind. As
we help others our focus is changed and we begin to think “we” instead of “me”.
We begin to see a change happen within our communities when we begin to
define…to specify what matters most. As
we look into the eyes of others and come up next to them and help them in their
need, we will model what Jesus did for you and me. As we open our hands and our
doors we begin to create a better world not only for ourselves but in our
community…our surrounding communities…and the world. We need to work together
as a church…as churches…as extended families…as the body of Christ…one body… As
we love a Jesus did our hearts and hands will be open to and for others. But we
need to have our hearts broken from this world and all that it holds to be open
to God’s vision and love of others. Then
and only then, we will become one as we do all of this in the name the One who
is head and shoulders above the rest…who is the head of the church, our hearts
and our minds…our Risen Lord Jesus Christ…
Are
you willing to be broken so that you may be made whole? Are you willing to pray
that prayer that will change your life...that has changed my life? Are you
willing to give it all to Jesus in sweet surrender and live your life abandoned
to God and His purposes? We all get to have choices in life? What will you
choose this day?
Amen
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