Journey Week 4

I’M IN—2 I’M INVALUABLE One of the most important messages ever preach! One of the most difficult for many you believe.

I’m In—Invited—Invaluable—Influential—Invested—(Invaluable GW!) You are: Called—Chosen—Capable—Invaluable GW! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ! Exact opposite of what most us feel (Church) (Prof / quote Bible verses)! ! Not good enough. Not talented. Not important. Don’t really matter! Past is too bad. Feel completely unworthy! Don’t know enough! (Job) ! Biggest lie many believe church: Weren’t here, wouldn’t matter! ! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12 The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ... 1 Cor 12:12 (Metaphor) ! •Invaluable—priceless, indispensable, irreplaceable. (Not valuable) ! • Group of elephants called a what? A herd. • Group of lions? A pride. •Group of cheetahs? Not Cheetos! . •Group of donkeys? Careful! . • Group of crows? A murder. (A murder of crows. Scary!) • Group of vultures? A committee.! Coalition of cheetahs A pace

Individually—Each animal has one name—Together—New identity! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ • What do call person surrendered to X? ! •Group of people surrendered? Church ! ! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------! •Every part of the body matters! ! 14 Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. 15 If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything? 1 Cor 12:14-17 ! •Every part of the body matters!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Paul contrasted EAR—EYE! (Beautiful ears) Easy EAR feel inferior—EYE! No one cares EAR—Eye attention. ! Xian, Follower Body of Christ Together—WE are His BODY—Body of Christ! You are Hands (Serve)—Feet (Go)—Mouth (Share)—Heart (Love) ! You are an invaluable part of the Body of Christ! ! No one “in love” ever stares longingly into the ear. (Break up) No one ever has Ear to Ear conversation! Seen movie “For Your Ears Only?” Beauty is in the Ear of the beholder—Gross!

! You’ve got bedroom Ears! Got stars in my Ears! Apple of my Ear! I’m not that important! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Every part of the body matters! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ! 22 In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary... 27 All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. 12: NLT ! ! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Gideon Story—(Mike)—Thrown in garbage! ! “Never knew if what I did really made much of a difference.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ! Church: If u aren’t engaged Involved—Serving— — Something God wants to be done isn’t being done! ( ) ! Limb Fall Asleep—(Could tell story) Part of his body is asleep—Paralyzed! •Pinky—50% of your hand strength comes from your little buddy! •Uvala—(Over lifetime) Secretes enough salvia fill 2 swimming pools! •Armpit hair (Defuse natural smell to attract a mate) ! Sometimes what you do is not as visible. Just because it’s not visible doesn’t mean it’s not important! You are — — ! —Invaluable to God’s work! Called Chosen Capable Loving Contributing Somewhere

! Rest body working harder—Something isn’t being accomplished. Need isn’t being met. Life isn’t being changed. Someone going hell. ! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------! But what about my past? (Lost marriage/Failed financially/Parent) Your past doesn’t disqualify you—It prepares you! ! Partied—(Testimony) Can’t be a pastor—Relate to those who partied! ! •Marriage failed—Can’t lead a LG—Perfect person to help heal! •Don’t know enough—If you know Jesus and love people—Know. •Addicted drugs—Can’t minister—Story will inspire others. ! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Your Presence matters—Your Worship Matters! Whole family—6 kids—3 son in laws—2 grandkids—All! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Not about your Ability—Availability! (Answer yes) ! ! Your words matter! ! Your encouragement matters! When you give an offering—Your gift makes a difference! When you pray a prayer—Your faith moves the heart of God! Invite someone to church—Your invitation could change life! ! When you greet, listen, open your home, when you make someone meal, Your story matters! Your voice matters! Your gifts matter! Your generosity matters!

You are showing the love of Jesus. ! What you do to the least of these—You are doing to Jesus! ! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ What do you call a person surrendered to Christ? Group of Xians—United glorify God—Live his mission—Body/Church! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ If YOU do YOUR part—WE do OUR part—Think what’s possible! ! Meet needs in our communities and all over the world! Help eradicate Bible poverty translating God’s Word into every language! Make God’s Word avail FREE—Not only 100’s of millions—Billions. ! Equip and bless hundreds of thousands of pastors/churches! Share gospel w/hurting people limited access gospel—COL! Start Life-Giving, Life Churches cities world. ! Mentor high-risk kids—Not only helping read—Know God cares! Get water to those who are thirsty—Food to those who are hungry Help to those who are hurting! ! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------! Every widow or elderly person could have their needs met. Anyone rejected or alone—Feel God’s love through people! Every foster child/orphan have the comfort of a loving family. Every pregnant girl who feels scared—Support! Every person trapped in addiction—Find freedom in Christ. Every lost person in your community—Could hear the love of Jesus! !

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------! Feet deliver the good news! Hands offer help to those without! Words bring hope to the hurting You are the body of Christ—You are invaluable to God’s Work. ! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------! The bat, used to hit a home run in Yankee Stadium against the Boston Red Sox on April 18, 1923, was given away by Ruth’s agent as a prize in a home run contest. No one at the competition got any contact information from the winner, so when he left with his bat, it disappeared from the public eye. ! In 1988, the man was sick on his deathbed losing the battle to a prolonged illness. He had outlived every member of his family, and his closest friend was a faithful nurse who’d served him for years during his sickness. Before he died, the man presented his nurse with his prized autographed bat. Although this gesture carried great sentimental value, she had no idea it was actually worth anything. For the next 18 years, she kept it under her bed. EXTRA MATERIAL !Or consider the value of his signature another way. Babe Ruth is, to this day, considered one of the greatest—if not the greatest—homerun slugger all time. During his career, the Great Bambino autographed many baseballs, but he only put his name on seven of the bats he’d used to hit home runs. Because he autographed so few, each of these bats is exceptionally valuable. The first of the bats vanished into thin air, lost for literally decades. Only when it resurfaced in 2006 was its story discovered. ! ! After retiring from nursing, she hoped to open a restaurant, but she didn’t have any money. One day she thought of her bat, and wondered if it might be worth something. She took it to a local sports memorabilia shop to have it appraised. When the owner suspected it might be the missing Babe Ruth bat, he brought in several experts. After hearing her story and carefully testing its condition and provenance, they determined it was the real deal. In 2006, she auctioned off the bat through Sotheby’s for almost 1.3 million dollars! ! The woman kept only as much of the money as she needed to start her restaurant, then gave the rest to begin a foundation to serve the children Babe Ruth wanted to help at the end of his life. ! When a reporter asked her why she would give away so much of her money, she answered, “The bat was only valuable because Babe Ruth’s name was on it. Since he made it valuable, the only reasonable thing I could do was something that would honor his life.” ! If you’re a Christian, what makes you valuable is the name of Jesus written on your heart. Because of what he did for us on the cross, our only reasonable response is to do something with our lives that honors him. ! !------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ! ! Jesus leaves the 100 for the one! Every one matters! If I have 100 AirPods—Lose one—No big deal! !

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6 kids—Lose one—Well I have 5 others! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Called to ministry You’re not needed. Babe ruth