The Joy of Cleaning the toilets in the house of the Lord!

Romans 12:4-5

Intro:

Good morning Body of Christ!

I am Andrew Schmidt, Lead Pastor here at All Nations.

I am full of joy!

I am in pain because my right foot hurts.

I am soaring in the Spirit because I get to preach today.

I am a bit anxious that my right ice burned foot won’t be happy when I go on my Canyoneering trip next Saturday.

I am over the top happy that I was able to change out the thermostats at church so we can enjoy lower utility bills and use the $ for ministry!

I am wondering, well worrying that i have damaged my foot enough that I can’t move around like i love to do.

I am ecstatic that I got to partner with Ashley and get most of the weeds eradicated from our parking lot.

I was extremely fearful that I incurred a major church expense that same day because we set off the fire alarm and could not figure out how to silence it.

DIDN’T want the fire trucks to show up when it was just this buffoon pastor trying to turn off electricity to do some work.

I am so glad that God doesn’t waste anything in our lives.

Has anyone here ever felt elated after completing a task, job, or project that you know that you know REALLY HELPED others as well?

Has anyone ever felt guilty for not doing what you know you should have done in the first place...and let others down...when you could have been really helpful??

Has anyone played golf and could hit their driver a long ways down the middle of the fairway  but can’t make a one foot putt to save their life?

Has anyone watched a basketball team lose because they can’t make free throws....the shot you get when the other team breaks the rules?

Has anyone experienced eating a meal dad prepared or tried to cook when mom was sick?

Has anyone ever experienced eating out where each person who you interacted with was really glad to be working there?  IT IS A WONDERFUL experience...

Well today we start a new series of sermons.

Today we start a new sermon series of what the Bible says about Church...what is a Church, how it functions, etc.  and to see if we are on the right track!

Today we get to see in particular, what the apostle Paul thinks about it.

In those days, in the near east, in biblical times and even today.....community was more important than individuality.  You were seen as a part of a bigger community around you...whether your family, or even bigger--the community.

People put community first

People put family unit first, not individuals.

Here in the west, we are too part of a community, but we celebrate individuals above community.

Back in biblical times in the ancient near east, standing out as an individual brought the entire family, and community UP.  It made the family and community look good.  The concept was always,  the family and community enabled this success, yet they are just one part of the whole.

Conversely, one bad apple could ruin the whole family.

Here in the west, we look at those bad apples as mostly making wrong decisions, not because of how they were raised.

As we read today’s scripture, Romans 12:4-5...it is important to know the context....

The readers of this were from the WEST!

Rome is WEST of jerusalem!  Jerusalem is seen as in the near east....and Rome is definitely the WEST

Rome was known for action!  Brutal action that conquered a huge swath of the earth during bible times.

In the gospel of Mark....his targeted audience was the romans...who loved action and what did jesus DO!

Romans celebrated individual effort.

So this letter to the  Romans was written by Paul to Roman believers.

Interestingly, the timing of the letter is fascinating.

It was written when christian-jews were let back into Rome after being away for 5 years.

They were gone for 5 years because of Claudius Caesar’s edict of expelling all the christian jews from Rome since they were causing disturbances...

Now the church of Jesus was being run by Gentile believers...those who were not jewish when they came to faith in Jesus.

So with the jews coming back and finding gentiles in charge of the church, there were problems....

This letter is where one comes to faith in Jesus by Grace and not by works....is found..

Again Paul writes this letter to solve some problems of the early church.....

So what is a church?

Is the church the building?

Is the church the people gathering together?

Yes, people gathering together.

To do what?

The Christian Church is gathering together to worship God through Jesus Christ.

TESTIMONIO says that The church consists of God's people. It is the assembly of believers in Jesus Christ.

Jesus says this...

Matthew 18:20 NIV

20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

So even when two people gather in Jesus’s name, He is there and thus makes a church gathering!

I see more than 2 people here.

We here at All Nations Vineyard Church gather to worship God through singing, fellowshipping, giving back to God what He gave us, sharing Communion, praying, and listening to a sermon based on the word of God, Jesus.

So we are here gathered in the name of Jesus.

He is here.

So this is church.

Simply Gathering in the name of jesus to worship God.

Well,as we know, gathering in the name of Jesus on Sunday to worship is just a small sliver of what a Church is.

Paul never uses the word church,  he used the term Body of Christ.

Romans 12:4-5 NIV

4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

Ephesian 4:11b...ESV

11.....for building up the body of Christ.

Why would Paul use the phrase Body of Christ to describe a group of people who follow Jesus Christ?

He does so because he wants all believers to see that they belong to something bigger than themselves.

Paul wants believers in Jesus to realize that it is better to be in a local community than off by oneself.

Paul also is addressing  the problem the Jewish and Gentile Jesus Converts were facing when the Jews came back to Rome.

The problem was what is true faith in Jesus, and how to get along in the Church , and how important each one is to the whole church and how important each one is to each other in the church.

Romans 12:4-5 can be summed up as

WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER, WE NEED EACH OTHER TO FUNCTION WELL!!!!

Romans 12:4-5 NIV

4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

These two verses are sandwiched between some important HOW TO DO CHURCH RIGHT and HOW TO BE A TRUE CHRISTIAN scriptures.....

Chapter 12 of Romans is about how to be a true christian which helps us the Body of Christ excel and grow.

Romans 12:1-3 NIV

12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.

Romans 12:4-5 NIV

4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

Many, many sermons have been given about the body of Christ being made up of many members...but how many are living it out?

Today the main point is that

WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER, WE NEED EACH OTHER TO FUNCTION WELL!!!!

Listen to this, written by G.R. Osbourne,

A well respected american theologian who helped write the New Living Translation.

I read this because at this point in writing this sermon, I felt it mushrooming out of hand.  I could go a few directions...but after I put my head on my desk and uttered “ Oh God, where do I go now?  What are we as a church supposed to hear?”

And Mr. Osborne says it perfectly and SUCCINCTLY...better than I could.

Romans 12:4 NIV

4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function.

The body is a single mechanism that depends on all the members functioning together to work, yet at the same time each member performs a different task. If any of the parts of the body tries to function other than the way it was intended, the body is crippled.

All of us members are meant to “form one body,” the church, and to work together in unity to function as the church. As the members come together as one body, “each member belongs to all the others,” so that there is both unity and diversity in the church. God does not want us to be rugged individualists but wants us to think of ourselves as differing parts of one body. Vertically, we belong to Christ as part of his body (1 Cor 6:19–20). Horizontally, we belong to each other. This is the principle of the many and the one: many members that form one body and are interdependent.

Our “different gifts” are the way we blend into one body, with each of us playing a critical part. Since in the eyes of God no gift is more important than another, there is no place for pride or for churches that treat certain gifted individuals (by definition every believer is a gifted individual!) above others. The tendency in many churches to make their pastor a virtual demigod is a serious sin. None of us can function properly in the church without the other gifts at work blending with ours.

Studies have shown that in the average church about 15–20 percent are active in giving and serving in the church. If only 20 percent of a person’s physical body was functioning, they would be virtually a vegetable. Our churches are crippled by the unwillingness of so many members to use their gifts to minister to each other (Eph 4:12, 14). The key is for all of us to recognize we are “one body … in Christ” and to live as if that were so. Only in union with him and with each other can we gain the humility and the strength to function in unity as part of the body of Christ.

FUNNY that God would answer my prayer about this sermon with another Christian’s words...ALL Nations needed to hear from a PHD, not a tennis pro who is in the sun too much!

The Key is that we are to recognize that we are “one Body....in Christ”  using the gifts God gave us to build up each other.

In other words

WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER, WE NEED EACH OTHER TO FUNCTION WELL!!!!

We need to function in the gifts God gave us so we can be whole, functioning well.

Romans 12:3-8 NIV

3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

Friends....whether you believe it or not, this Church is full of Holy Spirit gifted people!

When we get to use our gift to help build the church up, wow is it intoxicating.

Last week I said a few times that God doesn’t waste anything.

God doesn’t waste any good or bad experience..He allows us to go through the good and bad so we can BENEFIT others!  Our lives are His, He will use us to build up the body of Christ!

Well I gotta story....

My foot hurts.

Started 3 weeks ago... my feet really don’t ever hurt.

God gave me a system of taking care of my feet since i cried out to him 14 years ago about it.

I teach tennis...and if my feet hurt...all i think about is me and not whom I am trying to help.

I needed new shoes.  I rotate 4 or 5 pairs and they last a year and my feet stay happy!!!  My clients get my full attention.

Well, my feet hurt and I go to the site i get my fat, 4E width shoes....OUT OF STOCK....I go to the company who makes the shoes....OUT OF STOCK.

I contact my source and ask when???

Sometime in July.  Well this pandemic and the Container Tanker getting stuck for 3 weeks 4 months ago has supply channels dry, slow and unpredictable.

I check the website everyday, sometimes twice a day. Nothing for 21 days! Then boom!  They are in!

Only 5 of them in my size!  CLICK< CLICK later and they are on their way!

So they are delivered.  I WAIT 3 days to put them in service...why?  Because i am a knucklehead!  I wanted to be able to remember when I put them in service...on August 1st.  DUMB move.

My feet start hurting worse those three days.

Finally God breaks through and says...I can’t supply you with more shoes when you need them.  Get them when you need them...not making them last longer so you get a full YEAR in!!!  He didn’t say this...but my brain added you KNUCKLEHEAD as God’s salutation.

So i put them in service....feet still hurt...yet a little better. But i am kicking myself for neglecting my lowly feet 3 extra days so my brain can be satisfied in using them on a easy to remember day August 1st.

I start therapy for my feet....finally.  I look up to see if icing them would help...duh...of course.

So i ice.  Oooh, that hurts but they feel a bit better.

Then I do something really dumb...I ice them directly pressed to the surface of the cold pack.

Wow, that icing hurt more than yesterday!  My feet sure feel hot hours later.....while i am on the court!

Come to find out that I gave myself an ICE BURN!

Yes you can burn your skin by icing it too long and by not using a cloth or SOMETHING between the cold source and skin.  I KNEW THIS ALREADY!!!  Where is my brain!  I know better.  My brain wasn’t functioning well because my feet hurt and now my feet hurt worse.

NOW i gotta take a whole day off from teaching tennis to rest my ICE BURNED FEET!

Yet God doesn’t waste any experience whether good or bad.

Since I had sit actually sit down all day....I was able to really dig into what is going on at our Church in terms of running the building.

Before this ICE BURN event...I was starting to panic. I didn’t really have my head around the running of the building part of church and I KNOW if I don’t have that corralled, then all other aspects would suffer greatly.

So friends,  this whole ICE BURN let me realize yet again that in order for me to function well at my full time job of teaching tennis, my feet need to be happy.  If my feet are happy, then my brain can coach well. To help others.

Same thing with the Church...if one part is not doing well, then the whole church suffers.

Yet we have a God who understands all of this.

WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER, WE NEED EACH OTHER TO FUNCTION WELL!!!!

We need to function in the gifts God gave us so our church can be whole, functioning well.

This is why God chose Paul to write the to the church in Rome:

12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,[b] do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

Conclusion:

Friends.

Fellow body of Christ parts.

WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER, WE NEED EACH OTHER TO FUNCTION WELL!!!!

We need to function in the gifts God gave us so our church can be whole, functioning well.

Some of you already know what your Gift from God is for the church..let Dinah, Robert, and I know.  We desire all of us to be functioning in our gifts so our local body of Christ is functioning well!

ACTS 6:1-7 NIV

6 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

Peter saw that God called them to pray and preach AND that they needed help with other things. IMPORTANT things like taking care of the widows.

NOBODY can do it all.  Nobody can be the whole church.

Nobody is gifted to do all the necessary things so the church functions well.

YET, God has distributed gifts to those in the church to build it up.

God has gifted Robert, Dinah and me to pastor and teach so we can equip everyone else, of every age, to works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.

Ephesians 4:11-12 NIV

11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.

WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER, WE NEED EACH OTHER TO FUNCTION WELL!!!!

We need to function in the gifts God gave us so our church can be whole, functioning well.

LET us know friends how you see yourself helping ALL NATIONS VINEYARD Church be built up and function well.