We Are The Body (Part Two)

It is so great to see everyone here this morning! I know on rainy days and harsh weather days, that it takes a concerted effort to make it to church, but it also shows a lot about how you think of coming to worship together!

It reminds me of the story about the man who got up one Sunday morning and went to his wife and said, “I’m not going to church this morning and I’ll give you three good reasons why I’m not going.”

“One, because I don’t like the building; I have never like that building, I don’t know why, but I just don’t like it."

“Two, because I don’t like the people.”

“ And three, because the people don’t like me! I can just tell it. They look at me funny. They just don’t like me!”

To this, the wife replied, as only a wife could, “Well, I have got three good reasons why you most definitely are going to church this morning buddy.”

“Number one, because I got myself up and I’m going.”

“Number two, because the kids are now up and their going.”

“And number three, because you’re the pastor and they are expecting you to be there!”

Acknowledge first time visitors!

A real quick announcement. Next Sunday is........ Resurrection Sunday, correct! And we are going to be holding a baptismal service immediately following the regular service. So, if you have given your life to Yeshua and you know that He is DEFINITELY Lord and Savior of your life, but you have never made the public profession of your faith, as the scriptures tell us to do, through our identifying with Him in water baptism, then next Sunday is your day!

I want you to understand, I don’t take this lightly and I won’t baptize you just because you think that you need to be dunked. This is very real and spiritual event in the new life of a believer and not some religious process as man had made it out to be!

Would you please open your Bibles with me this morning and turn to the book of Hebrews 10:19-25, 35-39, 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 and your Bible at the ready, let’s read the word of God together.

You know how we do this. I’ll read the first verse and then you all will read the next verse, until we have finished the passage.

Does everyone have Hebrews 10:19-25, 35-39, ready to go?

I’ll be reading our opening passage this morning from the NLT and we will have corresponding slides on the screen if you don’t have the NLT and want to read from that same version.

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.

Hebrews 10:35–39 NLT

35 So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! 36 Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised. 37 “For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. 38 And my righteous ones will live by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.” 39 But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved.

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

You may be seated!

You know, there should always be a reverent fear and expectation upon the heart of every man and woman and child, whenever you read, or hear the living, breathing Word of God being read aloud, amen?!!!

Just like when you read in the book of Nehemiah 8:1-8, where we read,

Nehemiah 8:1–8 NLT

1 all the people assembled with a unified purpose at the square just inside the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had given for Israel to obey. 2 So on October 8 Ezra the priest brought the Book of the Law before the assembly, which included the men and women and all the children old enough to understand. 3 He faced the square just inside the Water Gate from early morning until noon and read aloud to everyone who could understand. All the people listened closely to the Book of the Law. 4 Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform that had been made for the occasion. To his right stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah. To his left stood Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam. 5 Ezra stood on the platform in full view of all the people. When they saw him open the book, they all rose to their feet. 6 Then Ezra praised the Lord, the great God, and all the people chanted, “Amen! Amen!” as they lifted their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. 7 The Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah—then instructed the people in the Law while everyone remained in their places. 8 They read from the Book of the Law of God and clearly explained the meaning of what was being read, helping the people understand each passage.

Now, real quick, just a few of comments about these verses.

Verse 1, “all the people assembled with a unified purpose”.

The people of Israel came together in like mind and for the same purpose!

Does that sound familiar to anyone?

As Paul emphasized in Philippians 2:2, “Complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

In verse 2, the assembly included the men, women and ALL of the children who were old enough to understand!

It is so important for children who are of the age of accountability and understanding, to witness the men and the women in their homes and in these assemblies, reading the Word of God and discussing it together!

Verse 3 tells us, that Ezra stood and read the Word to the people for a matter of hours, as the people “listened closely” to the words being read!

I’m told today that preachers need to keep their entire messages to around 20-30 minutes, so that they don’t lose the attention span of the congregation!

These people “STOOD” for hours as they listened to the Word being read and they paid attention!

You see, where your interests lie, you will devote your time and attention.

Or, as Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your hearts will be also!”

Verse 5 says that when they people saw Ezra open the scroll of the law of God, they all stood.

It doesn’t say that Ezra and the Levites asked, or encouraged everyone to stand. They just stood!

They had forgotten the commands of God through the years, BUT, they still had a healthy reverent fear for Yahweh and for His Word!

The passage we just read goes on to say that after the Word had been read and God was praised, everyone worshipped God, with their faces to the ground, as the Levites instructed and taught and explained to everyone what the passages meant.

It’s important that the Word be explained to those who are listening, so that their spiritual eyes and ears may be opened to the truth of the Word!

Now let me continue in Nehemiah 8:9-12,

Nehemiah 8:9–12 NLT

9 Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were interpreting for the people said to them, “Don’t mourn or weep on such a day as this! For today is a sacred day before the Lord your God.” For the people had all been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law. 10 And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!” 11 And the Levites, too, quieted the people, telling them, “Hush! Don’t weep! For this is a sacred day.” 12 So the people went away to eat and drink at a festive meal, to share gifts of food, and to celebrate with great joy because they had heard God’s words and understood them.

Verse 9 is a picture of a place where I would love to see this nation enter into; that is, a time and place where the national political leaders and the representative leaders in the Body of Christ, along with the laypeople of the Body within this nation, would all come together to read the Word and to worship God, as one! And for no other reason than to glorify God!

Wouldn’t that be an amazing scene?! Praise God!!

And that is what we see in this verse. Nehemiah was a political leader (the governor of Judah as appointed by the Persian King), Ezra was the priest and scribe, along with the Levites (representing the religious leaders of the nation) and then all of the people of Judah (the laypeople).

And they were all together to read the words of God and worship Him as on nation!

And upon initially hearing the words of the law, the people were broken and they began weeping, because they realized that they had not been living according the laws and the will of God.

The realization that a people, whether nationally or individually, have transgressed God’s word and His laws, should bring about repentance and sorrow.

And when the hearts of people are broken and repentant for their transgressions, then comes forgiveness and the joy of the Lord fills those people.

Which is what we see happening in this passage, as Nehemiah encourages the people to celebrate before the Lord, after they had mourned in repentance over their sin and transgressions!

As the Bible tells us, “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”

And it’s here that Nehemiah utters the very famous verse in the Bible, “The Joy of the Lord is your strength!”

The passage ends with the nation of Judah celebrating before the Lord, filled with His joy, as one people, because they had heard the Word of the Lord and been taught its meaning!

That was and still is God’s will. To have for Himself, ONE BODY of people, who worship Him and Him alone!

This morning we are continuing with a message from last week, entitled, “We Are The Body”. I read a verse last week from Colossians 3:15, where the Apostle Paul tells us,

Colossians 3:15 NLT

15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

“As members of ONE BODY we are called to live in peace and always be thankful”!

What is that “body” that Paul is speaking of?

In I Corinthians 12:12-13 we read last week,

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.

And then again several verses later, in I Corinthians 12:27, Paul sums it again by stating,

1 Corinthians 12:27 NLT

27 All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.

Now, understand that Paul is speaking to the believers here in this letter, the Christians, within the city of Corinth.

And he reminds them that they, collectively, make up a part of the body of Christ.

One group, one city, one nation of believers does not make up the entire body of Christ, but they are all a part of it.

The Body of Christ is a UNIVERSAL body.

But what is that Body?

Well, as I have mentioned before, everything that God does, has a profound meaning. And the coming of His Son, Yeshua, was no different.

Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, existed eternally in heaven with God, before all of creation was ever spoken into existence.

And the Word of God tells us that because of the will of God, Yeshua (the obedient Son), stepped down from His position of glory and came to this earth and took on human form.

Philippians 2:6-8 says,

Philippians 2:6–8 NLT

6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

You see, it has always been God’s will to co-exist with His people here on earth, where He created us.

But because of the fall of mankind and the existence of sin, God could not exist in the presence of sin.

So, He had a place made where His presence could reside within the presence of His chosen people, but separate from their sin.

And this place, the tabernacle and then the temple, was filled with the implementations of worship that were used to purify and cleanse the people so that they could be around the presence of God and worship Him together!

And all of the things that were created for the worship of God, here on earth, were but copies of things that already existed in heaven, as Hebrews 8:5 tells us that when God instructed Moses on what to build and how to build it, everything that he was making, were copies, shadows of the real things already in heaven.

In other words, God was bringing some of heaven to earth in a veiled form, to fulfill a greater reality that was coming!

Moses had seen some of the glory of God, as the Lord allowed him to on the mountain and the people of Israel witnessed the fading glory of God on Moses’ face when he came down from the mountain, but God was going to bring His glory directly into the midst of humanity and heaven was coming down to earth to live!

That is what happened when Jesus came to the earth. He was God incarnate!

The Bible tells us in Colossians 2:9,

Colossians 2:9 NLT

9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.

John 1:14 says,

John 1:14 NLT

14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

And again in Hebrews 1:3, we read,

Hebrews 1:3 ESV

3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

Yeshua, the Son of the living God, according to the will of God, came to this earth and took on a human body, so that the glory of God might dwell amongst us in the a pure and sinless vessel!

And when Jesus went to the cross and shed His pure, spotless blood for the sin of the world, He made a way for God to continue existing with us here on earth, as a part of us, and no longer bound to a building and with copies of the things of heaven!

When you and I were washed by the precious blood of Yeshua and made pure and clean inside, then God filled us with His Spirit and heaven began dwelling within us!

That is why Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven had come, because it had, with and through Him.

And now, it continues to dwell here through those who have truly been cleaned by the blood of the Lamb of God!

So, God wanted to dwell here on earth with us and He made a place to dwell in, the temple and the ark, which were just temporary versions of the true temple that was coming!

Then, through Jesus, God was able to dwell with us and within us, as we became the “living temples” of His presence, as the Bible calls us in I and II Corinthians and Ephesians and I Peter.

Paul said, “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? For we are the temple of the living God!

And when Jesus’ body ascended, His work of proclaiming and growing the kingdom of God on earth didn’t end with His leaving, instead, we became His “living body” here on earth and He now resides as the head of that body and controls it from heaven!

We, you and I and every other Christian alive on the earth, collectively, are the living, breathing body of Christ, here on earth. We are His hands and His feet and His mouth here on earth and He is the head of this body.

Ephesians 4:15-16 tells us,

Ephesians 4:15–16 NLT

15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

Who is the body of Christ? Right, we are. (Every Christian on earth.)

And who is the head over this body? Exactly, Yeshua is!

Paul said in Ephesians 1, “God gave Jesus as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”

And when it comes to talking about the Body of Christ, there is a never ending sermon that can come from this topic. It is perpetual and growing daily!

Just as the Lord God spoke and the universe was created and it began to grow, it is still expanding even as I say these words right now, so it is with the Body of Christ, since it was birthed on Pentecost, some 2,000 years ago.

It is continually growing and changing all around the earth!

In a matter of seconds, one of our brothers/sisters goes home to the Father and another believer is born again and we gain back a new brother/sister in Christ as a part of His body here on earth!

It is the perpetual cycle of change in the Body of Christ.

A believer goes home and a new believer is spiritually born again.

The body changes in size and appearance, but God and His Word and His will never change, amen?!!

And ever since the event in Matthew 16:13-20 took place, in which Peter had his revelation from God about who and what Yeshua truly was and still is, the words of the Christ have never changed either! (REMIND EVERYONE OF WHAT HAPPENED IN MATTHEW 16.)

Jesus gave us authority as His body here on earth to act as agents, or as Paul said it, as “ambassadors” of heaven.

That is, we can make judicial decision here on earth concerning the kingdom of heaven and God will back up those decisions in authority and power.

PROVIDING THAT WE ARE ACTING IN ACCORDANCE TO HIS WORD AND HIS WILL, BY HIS HOLY SPIRIT!!!

So, when Jesus said, “I will build my church”, He meant exactly what He said. The word used for “church”, as we find in all modern translations of the Greek New Testament, is the Greek word, ekklesia.

Is “church” the true translation of the word, “ekklesia”?

The short answer, is NO. The word “church” that we find in all of our Bibles is not a translation, but rather it is a “transliteration” of another word altogether in the Greek. A word, by the way, that only occurs twice in the entire New Testament.

The Greek word kuriakos, is the word that our word, “church” comes from as a transliteration.(It is an adjective that means, “of or belonging to the Lord”).

Like in I Corinthians 11:20, “The Lord’s supper”

Revelation 1:10, “the Lord’s day”.

It is NOT a transliteration or a translation of the word that Jesus used, ekklesia. (Which, is used some 114 times in the New Testament!)

Like so many other things that man does so well, we changed the word and thus the meaning of what the “Body of Christ” was and is supposed to be!

I’m not trying to make some doctrinal stance here about the word “church”, but rather, simply to point out that man began to change things to fit his need and his agenda!

When you think about the “church” of America over the years, there are pictures that stand out in your heads.

Images of these buildings with the big steeple on top and the cross at the top of the steeple.

Buildings with ornate stained glass windows and wooden pews inside.

Buildings with elaborate decor and fancy garments and symbols of liturgy.

In the modern church, we’ve changed a lot of the old look for the more contemporary look and feel.

We’ve added state of the art coffee shops, and full book stores and stands that sale clothing and stickers with our building’s name and icons on them.

We’ve added luxury to the buildings to make sure that the people are comfortable and that they have a pleasurable “experience”.

It’s all about the building and making sure that the people in that building are happy and being kept appeased!

We have missed the mark horrifically from what Yeshua called us in the beginning.

We were called out of the world to be His hands and feet and spread the gospel message.

Not sit in buildings and hold meetings about how to make bigger buildings and grow bigger budgets!

I’m not saying that the buildings do not serve a purpose, as having a building to meet in is a blessing from God.

But, it’s what goes on in that building and WHY we come into those buildings that really matters!

That building could be an abandoned auto garage with absolutely no decor and no plush amenities and if the people that are in it, are truly the “ekklesia” of Jesus, then God is there and His name is being exalted!

I’m not going to list the pastor’s name, as it doesn’t matter, but a well known pastor several years ago, made the following statement, “Anyone can be won to Christ if you discover the key to his/her heart.....the most likely place to start is with the person’s felt needs.”

Let me point out one thing very quickly, Yeshua said in John 6:44, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent me draws him.”

My point being, when you make a statement like, “Anyone can be won to Christ if you discover the key to his/her heart”, you are seemingly overstepping the words of the Christ.

Jesus said that no one can come to Him unless the Father draws that person, which is the work of Holy Spirit.

When you begin to indoctrinate into the minds of people that you can draw people to Christ by trying to meet each person’s “felt needs”, then you are removing the work of Holy Spirit and replacing it with man’s works and efforts and all the while doing it to appease the wants and needs of men!

Other pastors have actually made similar statements to the one I just read, such as, “Well, whatever works and whatever pleases God, that’s what I’ll do.”

To this quote, another famous pastor said in rebuttal, “No, whatever pleases God.......PERIOD!”

I’m going to close out here today, because next week I’m going to look at how we are to function as the Body of Christ. That is, what does the Bible show us about who and what we are and what we are to do as His living, breathing body here on earth?

I find it very relevant to teach on this subject on a day in which we celebrate the death and burial and resurrection of the body of Yeshua!

What better day to teach about His body now?!

But I’m going to close with a thought and a statement that I will most likely jump right back on top of next week, in talking about the Body of Christ.

From the Old Testament and all the way throughout the New Testament, the Word of God clearly shows us that EVERYTHING that God does, is for His eternal glory.

Does God change? NO, absolutely not. And neither do His ways and His intentions and His will for us, His servants.

From the creation of earth, to the creation of mankind and everything in between, God and His Word shows us that He did it all for HIS GLORY, period!

And I will most likely elaborate on this next week, but suffice it to say, that when a body of people, who claim the title as His believers, His followers, and a part of His (ekklesia), His church, operate in such a way, so as to hold onto numbers and people, while doing some of the work of the body according to the Bible, then they are not doing everything for the glory of God!

And I will leave you with that thought this morning for your own life. The Word tells us in I Corinthians 10:31, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

Is everything that you do in your life, being done for His glory, or for your own wants and needs?

I know that this is a daunting task in the natural, but spiritually, we can do all things through Christ whom strengthens us!