East End

4-13-08

Text: 1 Cor. 12:12-31

Have you ever asked yourself why you go to the church that you attend? Or have you ever asked yourself how you fit in with our church? I would encourage you if you have never asked those questions to ask them of yourself and then seek God’s answer to those questions. As 1 Corinthians 12:12 tells us, “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also in Christ…” We all belong to one another because we belong to God. The text would go on to talk about how some people are an eye, some a hand, some feet, etc. The fact of the matter is, we are all different. We come from different backgrounds, educational levels, jobs, and lifestyles. What works for one person may not work for another and we must be willing to embrace that. Undoubtedly there will be people in church that do things differently than you do but that doesn’t make them any less important than you. You have probably heard the sayings “Different strokes for different folks” or “It takes all sorts of people to make the world go around.” These sayings apply just the same to the church. If Microsoft and Apple did things the exact same way there would be no difference in their products and they couldn’t offer people different features that are important to them. However because they do offer different things, people have a choice as to which one they will buy according to their needs. Let’s apply that to churches. If all churches played the same music, worshipped the same, and had the same traditions, some people would like it but many others would not. Therefore some churches have a worship service a little different, and some churches have different styles of music. Does that make them any less of a church? Absolutely not! Notice the one thing that was left off, preaching. That is the one area in which you can never compromise in. You must preach the word of God by the power of God. We must never change the message the message must always change us! The same Spirit that called us and drew us to God is the same Spirit that unifies us all even though we may do things differently. Therefore don’t let anyone tell you that your service to God is not important. If it is what God has called and gifted you to do go ahead and do it all for the glory of God. I submit to you all that if we all would get on mission with God and preach the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ we wouldn’t have time to fuss and fight over worship styles or traditions and we may be able to reach more people. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 16, “Upon this rock I will build My church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it…” (Mt. 16:18). The devil already knows he has lost but the question is, are you living like you have already won? We have a Savior who was crucified on our behalf but three days later walked out of that tomb and because of our faith in that we to will take part in a resurrection when Jesus comes back. Let’s start living what we say that we believe and by the power of God bring about true change in this country and world.