We Are The Body

Greet everyone and make it a point to greet first time visitors!

Well, we have officially entered into the season of “spring”, as of yesterday! Amen!! I know that there are many of us who have been waiting for this to happen! (I believe that we have had a taste of “redbud winter” over the past few days, if I’m remembering correctly!) I know that we have different bouts of cold as spring initially comes upon us and we are always saying, “it’s this winter, or that winter”! All I know is that it’s cold and one day I’m outside in a short sleeved shirt and the next day, I’m wearing a long sleeve shirt and a down vest and coat!!

OPEN IN PRAYER!

Would you please open your Bibles with me this morning and turn to the book of Acts 2:42-47. As you are doing this, let me go ahead and ask you to stand with your Bible in hand, as we read our declaration together this morning.

“This is my Bible. I believe that this book and every word found within it are truly the living, breathing Words of almighty God! I know and believe that when I speak the words written in this book over my life and over my family, that I am literally bringing the authority and power of heaven into the midst of our lives and into whatever situation may be taking place. I believe that Jesus the Christ, is the Son of the living God and that He is the living, breathing Word of God! The Word of God is life, it is love, and it is power! This book was written with me in mind! Thank you God for your Word! Amen!”

Now, as you remain standing, we are going to do our cooperative reading of God’s perfect Word together.

Does everyone have Acts 2:42-47 in their Bibles? Then let’s begin with our reading. I will be reading from the ESV and we’ll also have the passages on the screen in the same version, if you would prefer to read along exactly as I am reading.

Acts 2:42–47 ESV

42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

​Good, now turn a couple of chapters forward to Acts 4:32-35 and lets continue with our reading together, please.

Acts 4:32–35 ESV

32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.

“The grass withers and the flower fades, but the Word of our God shall stand forever!” Amen!!!!!!

YOU MAY BE SEATED!

If you were here last Sunday, I spoke on the subject of being “strong and courageous” for the Lord, as He has commanded His people to do throughout the Bible.

How many of you were here last week and remember the phrase that I gave at the end of the message?

As we read from the holy scriptures together last week, we looked at certain passages like that of Joshua 1:9, in which we see the Lord God giving His people the following commandment,

Joshua 1:9 ESV

9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

The commandment that the Lord God gave, as seen in this passage, “Be strong and courageous”, in the Hebrew language, is the phrase, “Rak Chazaq Amats.

That was the closing thought that I left with everyone last week, to be “Chazaq Amats”, (strong and courageous) in the Lord God!

And as we learned last week, this comes not through our own ability, but rather through our dependence upon the Lord and through His strength at work within us.

As Paul recorded for us in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10,

2 Corinthians 12:9–10 ESV

9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

How many of you here this morning, or maybe some of you who are watching via the livestream, can say that you truly want to be “chazaq amats” (strong and courageous) in the Lord God almighty?

You know, in the natural, if we want to become physically strong and bulk up in muscle mass, then something has to happen.

It’s that word that many people regard as a slander and a dirty word.

Can anyone guess what that word might be?

EXERCISE........there, I said it. If you want to become stronger in your physical body, then you MUST exercise to build muscle mass and gain strength! Right?!!!

Well, with regard to our spiritual bodies, we must do things that are similar to spiritual calisthenics, spiritual strengthening exercises in order to grow in spiritual strength.

Now, as I said, we can only become truly strong and courageous in the Lord, when we give Him everything and depend upon Him to be our source of strength and power.

But, the Lord God is clear in His Word that He expects from us certain things in our walk with Him, that enable us to grow in our strength from Him, because He is a faithful and loving God and as His Word tells us, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you!”

When you and I begin to go after God and we desire to grow and strengthen our relationship with Him, He will meet us where we are and foster that intimacy with Him that we are longing for!

There is nothing more beautiful than seeing someone, and especially a young person, going after the Lord God and seeking Him with all of their heart and soul and spirit!

I just mentioned a minute ago the word “calisthenics”, as I was stressing that we must exercise spiritually, right?

Well, do you know where we get our word, “calisthenics”?

It is derived from two Greeks words, which are, “kallos” and “sthenos”.

“Kallos”, meaning “beauty” and “sthenos”, meaning “strength”.

Beauty in strength!

And that is exactly what we find when we go after the Lord God and pursue Him with everything that we are and strive to love Him as He deserves to be loved.

That is, with all of our heart, with all of our souls, with all of our minds and with all of our STRENGTH!

For as we truly grow in our spiritual strength, we will be strengthening our love for Yahweh!

And thus, we see “beauty in strength”!

And as we begin to give Him everything of ourselves, He will, in return, take all of our weaknesses and turn them into sources of strength and glory for His name’s sake.

When you grow in your strength in the Lord, there are exchanges that actually take place in your life.

In Isaiah 61:3 we find the following reference to what the Christ will do when we allow Him to come into our lives,

Isaiah 61:3 KJV 1900

3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, To give unto them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they might be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.

And there you see what happens when we turn to the Lord.

HE, (notice the point of emphasis here), HE takes the ashes of sorrow and gloom and replaces them with the beauty of His presence in our lives.

HE gives us His Holy Spirit as the oil of joy, in replacement of the mourning and sadness of our broken spirits.

HE covers us with the spiritual garments of praise that are light and pleasant to wear, in replacement of the burdensome spirit of heaviness that the enemy drapes upon us!

And HE makes us CHAZAQ, “strong”, like trees of righteousness, that are planted by the Lord Himself, strong and immovable in His might and all for His glory!!

You see dear friends, when we trust in ourselves and in our flesh, we are weak and completely incapable of standing against the storms and trials of life!

But when we put all of our trust and hope in the Lord and in His perfect strength, we become strong like mighty trees that are deeply rooted by the river bank.

Or, as Jeremiah 17:5-8 tells us,

Jeremiah 17:5–8 NLT

5 This is what the Lord says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord. 6 They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land. 7 “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. 8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.

Which one are you today, or which one do you want to be like?

Are you the immovable strong tree planted by the source of all strength? Do you produce fruit all year long in your spiritual life?

Or, are you like the stunted shrub, which has no hope for a future and is weak and barren?

The choice is ultimately yours. You can turn your life completely over to the Lord and grow in His perfect strength, or you can continue going down the path of self-sufficiency and pride and do it your own way.

But, as the Lord Himself has declared, there is no future for you on this path!

I ask you now, the same thing that Joshua asked the nation of Israel thousands of years ago as he stood before them and said, “Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served, or the gods in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

You see, it is a choice that you and I get to make each and every day of our lives. Choose God and His perfect way for our lives and grow in strength and character, or do it our own way and suffer the consequences.

And as I mentioned a few minutes ago in saying that there are things that we can do, that are like “spiritual exercises/ spiritual calisthenics”, that help us to grow in our strength in the Lord, I would like to expound on that right now.

Although the strength that we develop in our walk with Yeshua, is ultimately from the Lord God and by His blessed Holy Spirit active and alive inside of us, the decision to pursue God’s strength is ours to make.

And there are “exercises” that you and I can do, that will help us to grow in the Lord’s strength.

That is, there are things that you and I can do and that we should do, if we want to grow and mature and become strong in the Lord.

The Lord is faithful and true and He will strengthen those who choose to go after Him.

In Isaiah 41:10, the Lord says,

Isaiah 41:10 ESV

10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Who strengthens us? Right, the Lord God does.

Isaiah says in another passage, “He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might He increases strength.”

One of the most important exercises that any Christian can perform, DAILY, in his/her life to grow spiritually strong in the Lord, is that of FEEDING upon the living breathing Word of God!

If you’re not DAILY reading the Word of God, then you are starving your spirit and soul and your spiritual growth has been stunted!

You become the ones that the author of Hebrews mentions, where they say in Hebrews 5:12, “You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food.”

So, if you want to grow strong in the Lord, then you must read His Word, it is life and strength to the believer.

What does the longest chapter in the entire Bible teach us?

The longest chapter of the entire Bible, is of course..........?

Psalm 119! Exactly!

And what is Psalm 119 and all of its 176 verses about?

It’s all about loving the law of God; loving God’s Word and staying fixed on His Word!

And as Psalm 119:28 reminds us,

Psalm 119:28 ESV

28 My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to your word!

So, if you want to grow strong in the Lord and in His might, then you MUST read His Word, each and every day of your life!

By the way, if the longest chapter in the entire Bible is Psalm 119, does anyone know where we would find the shortest chapter in the entire Bible?

Psalm 117! It has only 2 verses and 17 words in Hebrew.

Interestingly enough, Psalm 117 is actually the exact center point of the Bible; that is, it is the middle of the entire Bible.

It is the 595th chapter found in the Word, with 594 chapters before it and 594 chapters after it!

And guess what the exact center of the Word of God is all about?

Well, lets read it for ourselves!!

Psalm 117 says,

Psalm 117 NLT

1 Praise the Lord, all you nations. Praise him, all you people of the earth. 2 For his unfailing love for us is powerful; the Lord’s faithfulness endures forever. Praise the Lord!

The praise and worship of almighty God is the very central passage of the Word of God and it is also to be the central focus in the life of any believer!

And there lies another spiritual exercise that you and I must do, if we want to grow strong in the Lord and in His might.......we must give Him all of our praise and worship!!

That is why you read many times over within the Word of God, about the praise and worship of God. For two simple reasons:

Because He deserves it!

And because we need it!

Psalm 29:2 says,

Psalm 29:2 ESV

2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.

Psalm 99:5,

Psalm 99:5 ESV

5 Exalt the Lord our God; worship at his footstool! Holy is he!

Exalt literally means to elevate, to raise up!

To worship, literally means to bow down and even go prostrate.

So, we are elevate God and lift Him and His mighty name up, while we lower ourselves down before Him!

He must increase and we must decrease in order for our spirits to grow in strength!

Because when we humble ourselves before God and seek to glorify Him and His mighty name first above anyone and anything else in our lives, something supernatural takes place inside of the believer!

The Lord God takes hold of you and begins to build you up in strength and might!

I Peter 5:6,

1 Peter 5:6 NLT

6 So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor.

When you and I put aside the things that we want and need in the natural (in our flesh) and instead we begin to praise the name of God first and use these earthen vessels as instruments of praise for Yahweh, then His Holy Spirit rises up inside of us and begins to strengthen our spirit man with supernatural power!

Acts 16, Paul and Silas were declaring the gospel message and because of this, they were stripped of their garments, beaten with rods and thrown into prison, in shackles and chains. The Bible says that at the midnight hour, instead of crying out and moaning about their circumstances, they began to pray and sing hymns to God!

And the ground began to shake, and all of the prison doors were opened and all of the prisoner’s chains fell off!

And instead of having a “righteous indignation” against the jailer and letting him kill himself over the apparent loss of the prisoners, Paul stopped him and witnessed to him and lead that guard and his entire family to the Lord that very night!

Why and how? Because Paul and Silas had been strengthened in their hearts by their praising of God and lifting Him up first, when, in the natural, they may have thought that their circumstances warranted the attention and their time and energy!

And because of that, because they desired to praise God and give Him all of the glory versus glorifying their circumstances, Holy Spirit flooded their hearts and minds and strengthened them with His presence of peace and joy!

And the joy of the Lord is our strength!

So praise the Lord God and worship Him with all of your heart and soul and mind and strength!

As Paul encouraged the believers in Colossae to do, where he said, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

Paul said in that same chapter in Colossians 3 that we are to, “Let the peace that comes from Christ rule in our hearts. For as members of one body we are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.”

And from those two passages in Colossians, comes another very important spiritual exercise that we MUST do, if we want to grow strong in the Lord.

Paul said that we are always be thankful and that we are called to live in peace, as members of ONE BODY!

How many bodies did Paul say that we make up?

Hmmmmmm, was that “one body” per denomination?

One body per nation?

One body per every 200 people in a certain geographic region?

NO...........ONE BODY.......period!!

Paul said in I Corinthians 12:12-13,

1 Corinthians 12:12–13 NLT

12 The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. 13 Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.

I believe that I will stop here for today, upon giving the next spiritual exercise that we must engage in, in order for our lives to grow strong and healthy in the Lord.

Now listen to me carefully and pay close attention to this next spiritual exercise that you and I MUST do, if we are to be a strong and healthy believer in the kingdom of God.

We MUST assemble ourselves together as believers, for the good of THE BODY!

Did everyone catch that? Do you know and understand what I am saying to you?

If so, nod your heads front to back for “yes”, or turn them side to side for “no”!!

I am going to close with the reading of the main scripture passage for this week’s and next week’s message, which is Hebrews 10:19-25.

This passage is what I call the salad passage.

I call it this, because starting in verse 22, you have a lot of “let us”!

Hebrews 10:19–25 NLT

19 And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. 21 And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 22 let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

OK, so next week, we are hopefully going to be spending some time looking at what the Body of Christ really is and why this subject is so important for every believer.

This message today was pretty much leading into next week’s message and they will make up a series of messages entitled, “We Are The Body”.

Now, I have done some messages before entitled, “The Body of Christ”, in which I looked at certain individual aspects of the body of Christ, in comparison to the human body, but this group of messages is to focused on the Body of Christ as a whole and of its great importance for each and every one of us!

And it was for this set of messages, that I was led to open this morning’s message with the passages from Acts that we opened up reading together.

And from those passages, we will find a kind of “manifesto” for how and why we are to operate as the “Body of Christ”!

Everyone say, “I am the body”

Now look at someone and say, “and you are the body”

And now everyone say together, “WE ARE THE BODY OF CHRIST”!

Next week, we are going to look closely at what the Body of Christ is and also what it isn’t!

So, if you can make it next week, please do so, as you will hopefully be encouraged and exhorted from the message!

If you have need of prayer this morning and you would like for one of our prayer team members to listen and agree with you in prayer, then please come forward.

Please also keep in mind, that although we say someone will agree with you in prayer, that may also mean that they will pray with you and for you, but not in agreement with what is going on in your life!

The Bible makes it clear, we are to speak truth into every situation and if you are in a place of turmoil or unrest, and you are living in sin, then you need someone to speak the truth of God into your situation, in love and care, but the truth none the less, amen?!!!