As Savior, Jesus is the builder. Matthew 16:18, "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it." Jesus didn't say,"You will build My church. He didn’t say, "You will build your church." Nor did He say, "I will build your church." He did say, "I will build My church." As Savior, Jesus is the builder! As the Church, we are the body! Ephesians 1:22-23, "And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all." Colossians 1:18, "And He is the head of the body, the church..." And as Head: He calls the shots! He gives direction! He provides the strategy for growth and health! As Savior, He is the builder of the church! As the Church, we are the body of Christ! As for our Future, it is bright and certain! Jesus said, " I will build My church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it." Our Savior... Our Church... Our Future!
Let’s think about Our Savior... Our Church... Our Future.... we talked about...(1) God's Perspectives of His Church. And those two perspectives were...
-the church gathers for a reason. Every time we gather, we gather for Worship, Bible Study, Fellowship, Discipleship and Encouragement.(evangelism). But for the church to be the church, we've got to take it one step further. The church not only gathers for a reason, the church scatters for a reason. After gathering, we scatter just like the first century church did in Acts 8:1,".. and they all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria..." Everywhere they went, there went the church! As they scattered, they took with them the message and hope of Jesus! As they scattered, they shared the good news of Jesus with those they came into contact with. And for us to become a first century church in this twenty-first century world, we must not only gather for worship, we must scatter for witness! Now don't get the idea that everyone they witnessed to was open to the gospel. Not everyone is receptive.
Everywhere to everybody we meet, church is people that love Jesus and share Jesus and worship Jesus.So, there is (1) God's Perspectives of the Church. (2) God's Priorities for His Church. God blesses churches with blessings that practice and prioritize His priorities! His priorities must be our priorities in order to experience His blessings and
best!
And those three priorities are: Exalting the Savior, Equipping the Saints, and Evangelizing the Sinner. The purpose of our church should either be to Exalt the Savior or to Equip the Saints or to Evangelize the Sinner.
For example...
Our morning worship time is 3 fold:
(1) Exalt the Savior
(2) Equip the Saints
(3) Evangelize unbelievers.
Now in our time remaining, look with me to 1 Corinthians 12. Here, Paul compares the body of Christ to the human body and in doing so, explains how the church gives Jesus the preeminence.
1 Corinthians 12.12-14, "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 is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many." You ought to underline these phrases: one body, one body, one Spirit, one body, one member. What is Paul talking about? He's talking about Unity in Christ. You put it down: there is great power in unity! Now unity doesn't mean everybody thinks the same. But it does mean that everybody works together to accomplish a task just like our bodies do! Now too often we have the attitude that says: "Believe as I believe, no more no less, that I am right and no one else, confess. Feel as I feel, Think as I think, Eat as I eat and Drink as I drink; Look as I look, do as I do, then I'll have fellowship with you." Now there is a difference between unity and being together. We can be together here and not have unity. You can take two cats and tie their tails together and throw them over a telephone line. Now those cats are together... but they are not unified!
When the unity of the church disintegrates, the power of God becomes depleted! We only have a certain amount of time, energy and ability. And when our unity breaks down, we no longer focus on the mission of Jesus and everything breaks down. No wonder we read in Psalm 133:1, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity." And don't think for a second that unity just happens. You have to work at it. You have to put your mind to it! Paul says in Ephesians 4:3, "endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling." The word "endeavoring" means "to exert one's self, to give diligence, to be zealous. Let me ask you a question, are you exerting yourself to keep the unity? Are you giving diligence toward the unity of our fellowship? Are you being zealous to keep the unity of the Spirit?
10 Little Christians standing in line
1 disliked the preacher, then there were 9.
9 little Christians stayed up very late
1 overslept on Sunday, then there were 8.
8 little Christians on their way to heaven
1 took the low road and then there were 7.
7 little Christians chirping like chicks
1 disliked the music, then there were 6.
6 little Christians seemed very much alive
but 1 lost his interest then there were 5.
5 little Christians pulling for Heaven's shore
but 1 stopped to rest, then there were 4.
4 little Christians each busy as a bee
1 got his feelings hurt, then there were 3.
3 little Christians knew not what to do
1 joined the sporty crowd, then there were 2.
2 little Christians, our rhyme is nearly, done
differed with each other, then there was 1.
1 little Christian can't do much tis true,
brought his friend to Bible study, then there were 2.
2 earnest Christians, each won one more
that doubled the number, then there were 4.
4 sincere Christians worked early and late
each won another then there were 8.
8 splendid Christians if they doubled as before, in just so many Sundays, we'd have 1024.
In this little jingle, there is a lesson true, You belong either to the building or the wrecking crew! One body, one spirit! Through our unity, we exalt the savior! We can accomplish the impossible as we stay in one accord! So, one way we exalt the savior is through the unity of the being together at least once a WEEK. When people see and hear that we are unified here, that tells them that there really is something to Jesus! Ephesians 4:1-3, "I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."
Endeavoring, exerting yourself, giving diligence to keep the unity!
In the high priestly prayer of Jesus that is recorded in John 17, we read in verse 21, Our Savior, He is the builder of the church! Our Church, We are the body of Christ! As we live out the life of christ Our Future is bright and certain!
Join us Sunday morning at 10am as we Worship God together
53 South Dean Rd. Orlando, FL 32825
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The link to this past Sundays sermon is below
https://www.facebook.com/FriendsCommunityChurchOrlando/videos/274792161829083