The scripture reading comes from 1 Corinthians chapters 12 and 13.
Please follow along in your bulletin or on the screen.
Now, there are a variety of gifts, but the same Spirit.
And there are varieties of service, but the same Lord.
And there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.
To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom.
And to another, the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit.
To another, faith by the same Spirit.
To another, gifts of healing by the one Spirit.
To another, the working of miracles.
To another, prophecy.
To another, the ability to distinguish between spirits.
To another, various kinds of tongues.
To another, the interpretation of tongues.
All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit.
Who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body.
So it is with Christ.
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.
Jews or Greeks, slaves or free.
And all were made to drink of one Spirit.
For the body does not consist of one member, but of many.
If the foot should say, because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body.
That would not make it any less a part of the body.
If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing?
If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?
But as it is, God arranged the members in the body.
Each one of them as he chose.
If all were a single member, where would the body be?
As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.
The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need for you.
Nor again the head to the feet.
I have no need of you.
On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.
And on those parts of the body that we think less honorable, we bestow the greater honor.
And our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty,
which our more presentable parts do not require.
But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it,
that there may be no division in the body,
but that the members may have the same care for one another.
If one member suffers, all suffer together.
If one member is honored, all rejoice together.
Now, you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers,
then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.
Are all apostles?
Are all prophets?
Are all teachers?
Do all work miracles?
Do all possess gifts of healing?
Do all speak with tongues?
Do all interpret?
Do all, are all angels.
Do all give us a prayer for our children.
And I will show you a still more excellent way.
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love,
I am a noisy gong, or a clanging cymbal.
And if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge,
and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains but have not love, I am nothing.
If I give away all I have and if I deliver up my body to be burned but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient and kind.
Love does not envy or boast.
It is not arrogant or rude.
It does not insist on its own way.
It is not irritable or resentful.
It does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.
Love bears all things.
Believes all things.
Hopes all things.
Endures all things.
This is the word of God.
Great.
Thanks, Angie and Celeste.
I have a new microphone today.
It's not new.
It's old but it's new.
And I said I feel like I look like Britney Spears.
I feel like that.
It is making some strange noises so I'm just bear with me and it is what it is.
But I'm sorry.
Oops, I did it again.
Sorry.
Thanks, Leo.
We may not pray now but I feel like it's hard to pray.
How do we pray off that low base?
So let's lift our sights a little higher and let's try and I'm sorry I messed it up.
Let's pray.
Let's come before our Heavenly Father.
Sovereign Lord, Majestic God, Great and Wonderful Savior, we've come to praise you and to worship you this morning.
We've come to adore your great name because you are God and we are not.
You are the Creator.
We are created.
You are the one true God and Father, you are perfect in all your ways.
God, how quickly we forget you.
How easily we find ourselves engrossed in our own worlds and our own lives, fixated by our own dreams and agendas.
And Father, if we honor so often you have pushed to the margins or the sidelines of our lives.
Father, how quickly and easily we forget your goodness and your profound, profound faithfulness to us.
God, at the end of our lives, one day we'll look back or when we get to eternity, we'll look back at our lives
and we'll marvel at the millions of ways which you are so faithful and of which we were completely ignorant.
God, this morning we want to take a moment to remind ourselves of that and to return that to you as an offering of praise.
And say all glory to you, God, for your profound faithfulness to us.
Father, we often think it's our own goodness and our own brilliance, our own devotion to you, which has gotten us to where we are.
But how foolish we are.
Forgive us this foolishness and this self-centeredness, we pray.
And so, Father, this morning we ask you to open our eyes to see you again.
Do a divine renovation of our hearts, God.
Lord, we pray that you will help us, Christ, as individuals and as a church and as a city to be more aligned with your heart.
More prone to love you and trust you and follow you, to obey you.
God, this morning we've come to worship you not out of obligation or duty, but out of delight, God.
Because in you we find life and truth and peace and strength.
Oh, Lord God, more than all the gold in the world, this morning we need you.
God, more than the protection from the coronavirus, God, we need you, Lord.
Father, more than the dream job or physical health or a marriage partner, God, we need you.
So, come and lift our eyes onto you this morning, we pray.
God, as we consider this passage that we read this morning, we ask you to impress it deeply upon our hearts.
God, help us not just to be hearers of your word, but also doers of your word.
Those who are convicted and respond appropriately.
Lead us to repentance where necessary.
Help us to see our own hearts.
Father, where we've been too individualistic, forgive us.
Where we haven't considered the importance of the well-being of the body, show us our hearts, we pray.
God, make us not just a strong community, but one that is formed by the gospel.
He knows how to love and serve one another.
And then finally, Father, this morning we want to pray for our city and our world.
As we deal with the coronavirus, we bring our brothers and sisters in China before you.
We bring our brothers and sisters in Hong Kong and across Asia.
Father, God, those that are sick, we pray be with them and comfort them.
Give them excellent medical care, we pray.
Pray for Christian brothers and sisters to come around them.
God, for those that have already seen loved ones pass away, we pray won't you comfort them.
Make known to them your peace and your love in this time.
Father, bring followers of Jesus around them who will comfort them and point them to the hope of Christ.
Father, we pray for government officials and leaders and medical staff and medical officials who are needing such profound wisdom, God.
How to handle a situation.
Give them wisdom.
Give them insight.
Let them make brilliant decisions, we pray, Lord.
Father, we want to pray for doctors and nurses.
Those that are right at the front lines.
We pray for their safety.
Pray for their protection.
Pray for those that are tired and overworked and are pouring out their lives.
We thank you for their service.
God, be with them, we pray.
Even this morning, strengthen and encourage them, Lord.
And God, we pray for followers of Jesus.
Help us to be salt and light in our city at this time.
Not to think of ourselves, but how we can serve and love our city.
Christ, fill us with your spirit, we pray.
Lead and guide us in your wonderful name.
Amen.
Well, this morning, we are continuing working through our series called Watermark Essentials.
If you are new to us as a church, we are talking about our values.
The things that are printed on banners and bulletins and websites.
The things that we talk about a lot.
Carla, would you rather I use that one?
Okay, there we go.
Sorry about that.
That didn't last very long.
One minute in.
Okay.
So, we are talking about our values.
These things that we talk about a lot, but what do they actually mean?
And how does it really affect us?
And the three things at Watermark we talk about a lot are the gospel and community and mission.
And so, the beginning of the year, we spent four weeks talking about the gospel and what is that.
And then we've been talking a bit about community recently.
And Chris, two weeks ago, looked at Colossians chapter 3.
And we saw there that the Christian community is formed out of the gospel.
What forms the Christian community is not just common interests or similarities, but a common identity that Christ has formed us.
So, remember Colossians 3 says, you then, chosen and beloved children of God.
That's what forms us.
But then Chris also showed us that it's not only that the gospel forms community, but community helps get the gospel deeper into our hearts.
Because when you live in community, let's be honest, there are times when you rub against each other.
There are times when maybe you bother each other or you can take offense.
And those are great opportunities for us to explore our hearts and to get the gospel deep inside of us.
So, the gospel forms community, but then community also helps us get deeper into the gospel.
And then last week, it was just great having Paul here from Holy Light Church.
What encouragement just to hear the story after story of how God has used him and used those in his life to change so many people's lives.
And so, this morning, we come to this well-known passage in 1 Corinthians chapter 12.
Now, in order to understand this passage, we need to zoom back a little bit and understand what's going on in the Corinthian church.
So, what happens here is the Apostle Paul goes to the city of Corinth.
He plants this church a couple of years, number of years beforehand.
And he then writes back to this church.
And the church, at the time that the book is written, is not in a very good state.
There is all sorts of things going on.
So, the church is not very healthy.
But if you ask the people in the church, they would say their church is amazing.
They would say they are a very mature church.
The Christians are all very mature.
They would say this is a wonderful church to be part of.
And the reason is because the Corinthian church was very prolific, very abundant in their use of spiritual gifts.
Especially supernatural spiritual gifts.
And so, many people in the church would be praying in tongues.
People in the church would receive a prophetic word and then share that with someone else.
Maybe somebody else had incredible faith to trust God for miracles.
And they prayed and their healing is taking place.
And so, the church in Corinth was very prolific in their use of spiritual gifts.
It's supernatural spiritual gifts.
But for the Corinthian church, these spiritual gifts, for them, were seen as a sign or an indicator or a badge indicating how spiritually mature they were.
And so, the more you exercised or used one of these spiritual gifts, the more you thought, yeah, God must be really pleased with me.
Now, I must be a really mature and strong Christian because look at how I prophesy.
Look at how I speak in tongues.
And the more unusual or the more supernatural these gifts, the more that those people thought they were mature in their faith.
Okay?
So, for the Corinthians, this was one of the primary indicators or markers of spiritual maturity.
Now, one of the reasons why this was the case is because in the city of Corinth at the time, the cults, the religious cults or the temples in the city valued mystic spirituality.
And so, there were people around the temples that would go and be involved in all sorts of spiritual trances.
And this started to influence the church.
And so, just like we read in the book of Revelation at the end of last year, what's happening is that the culture of the city of Corinth is influencing the Christians, the followers of Jesus, and their view of how the church should operate more than the other way around.
More than the followers of Jesus saying, this is the gospel and they're asked, now going to influence the city.
And so, they adopted this practice, brought it into the church, and similarly thought, well, those that speak in tongues must be really spiritual.
And those that prophesy or have faith, they must be amazing Christians.
And those that don't, well, they're kind of not really that dedicated.
And so, what this meant, of course, is that there's this subtle division in the church.
Some people would subtly, maybe even subconsciously, look down upon other people in the church that didn't really exercise spiritual gifts or supernatural gifts and didn't see God using them in that way.
And so, those who did speak in tongues would kind of look down at those who didn't.
Those who did prophesy would look down at those who didn't and think, you know, they're just baby Christians.
They're not really very spiritually mature.
But at the same time, those who maybe weren't very prolific in spiritual gifts would look up at those that did and think, wow, God must be really pleased with you.
You must be a really strong Christian that you get to do these kinds of things.
Maybe subconsciously, they would think, well, God must be really pleased with you that He's giving you these gifts.
And so, it made some people, especially those that weren't very prolific, think less of themselves or think of themselves as not very strong and mature Christians.
Now, what do you think happens to a church community that thinks like this?
Well, what happens is that there's all sorts of divisions in the church, okay?
So, there are those that are, there's hierarchies, there's camps, there's those groups of people that do that stuff, and there's these groups of people on this side,
and there's those that think, oh, we're not really that mature, and there's all sorts of camps and divisions emerging in the church in Corinth.
And we actually see this throughout the book of Corinthians.
So, in chapter 1, there's also divisions because some people are saying, well, you know, I really like Paul's teaching.
He's my apostle.
And then others are saying, no, no, Cephas, he's the real guy.
And then others are saying, no, no, Paulus.
And so, there's all these camps and divisions.
Then in chapter 11, we see when they come and take communion together, there's more divisions.
Because they would come to communion, and they'd all bring their meal, and they'd have a big feast together.
And around the table, they would break bread and drink wine.
But those that were maybe a little wealthier would bring, you know, their cordon bleu, five-class meal,
and their nice roasted bread, and their French wine.
And they would take communion together.
And then those that maybe weren't as financially empowered maybe arrive a little later because they're working late.
And they just brought what they could.
And there were all these divisions.
And then they wouldn't wait for one another.
And so, these guys would take communion by themselves, and those guys would be left out.
And there's just divisions all over the church.
And so, in chapter 6, we see that Paul says, some of you are even suing one another.
You can't even sit down and talk about these things.
But someone's got a problem with someone else, and they go to the courts and get involved in litigation.
And so, the church in Corinth was actually very divided.
Now, one of the divisions, of course, was the use of spiritual gifts.
Now, what does Paul tell them to do?
How does he address the situation?
Well, the one thing he doesn't do is to say, guys, spiritual gifts are causing divisions.
I think, just cut it out, let's just stop that, and let's just get on with the rest of life.
That's not what he does.
Just because some people are abusing the use of spiritual gifts doesn't mean that we should cut it out completely.
We should just find out what the Bible says, how we should really use them, right?
And so, Paul, rather than saying, okay, just forget about that stuff,
he calls them to a higher view of spiritual gifts, firstly,
and secondly, to a higher criteria of spiritual maturity.
That's really important.
A higher view of spiritual gifts and a higher criteria of what it means to be a mature follower of Jesus.
And so, look at what he does here.
Okay, this is just all background.
We're going to jump into the passage in a second.
In chapter 12, he writes this chapter on spiritual gifts and what their purpose is.
Okay, that's what we're going to look at in a bit.
In chapter 14, he writes this chapter on spiritual gifts and how to use them.
Okay?
And then sandwiched in between these two is 1 Corinthians chapter 13,
which is one of the most famous chapters in the whole Bible.
What does 1 Corinthians chapter 13 talk about?
Love, right?
It's that passage that everybody reads at their wedding.
Anyone here have 1 Corinthians 13 read at their wedding?
Okay, just a couple of us.
Which is actually not really about marriage at all.
It's about gospel community.
And so, Paul writes this.
And look at what he says.
Squeeze between these two chapters on spiritual gifts.
He says,
If I speak in the tongues of angels,
okay, that's speaking spiritual in tongues,
but I have not love,
I'm just a noisy gong.
I'm a clanging cymbal.
I'm an irritating noise.
If I have prophetic powers,
and I can understand all mysteries and all knowledge,
if I have faith that I can move one mountain from here to there,
so imagine someone comes in here,
God's given them the gift of faith,
and for some reason,
they have the gift of faith,
and they pray,
and the piano gets up and moves across the room,
we'd be pretty impressed.
Yeah, I'd be pretty impressed.
First, if someone comes in and says,
I really feel like God is saying this,
and this, and this,
and they read exactly what's going in my heart,
this direct word of knowledge,
Paul says,
If that's the case,
but I have not love,
I don't love the brothers and sisters around me,
and the church family,
it's all for nothing.
That's an incredible statement.
He says,
If I'm generous,
and I give away everything that I have,
in fact,
I give up my body to be burnt in flames as a martyr,
but actually,
I don't care about my brothers and sisters,
I gain nothing.
And so Paul's writing here,
and he says,
Yes, spiritual gifts is good.
They're a gift from God.
We should utilize them,
but don't make that the marker of spiritual maturity.
Actually,
if you want to know what a healthy church family looks like,
it's your church that knows how to love one another.
Do you see that?
Does that make sense?
Okay,
so that's the context of what's going on here.
Now,
let's dive into chapter 12,
and see what Paul says.
Look at chapter 12.
Look at verse 12 with me.
He says this,
For just as the body,
he's talking about a physical human body,
just as the body is one,
and has many members,
and all the members of the body,
though many,
are one body,
so it is with Christ.
Okay,
so what's Paul saying here?
He's using the analogy of the human body,
and he's saying that's a good analogy
for the body of Christ,
which is the church.
He says,
Just like a human body consists of many parts,
okay,
like arms,
and legs,
and the spleen,
and all sorts of other interesting things,
so the body of Christ,
the church,
consists of many various parts
that aren't all exactly the same.
They're not equal in function,
but they are equal in importance.
And so Christ's body,
just like the human body,
has all these various parts
that are also not equal in function,
but they're equal in value and importance,
and they ought to be a unity
because together we form the body of Christ.
Now,
just as a side note,
look at what word he uses
when he describes the body parts.
What word does he use there?
He uses the word member,
okay,
and that's actually where we get the word
church member from.
So in Hong Kong,
sometimes when we think of someone
being a member of the church,
we think of like being a member of a club,
right?
You know,
you pay your subs,
and then you get to use their facilities.
That's not what Paul is talking about at all.
Where we get the word church member from
is this passage here.
Paul says,
just like your various body parts
are members of your body,
okay,
my arm is a member of my body,
and the various members contribute
to the well-being
and the health of my physical body,
in the same way,
the various members,
those that contribute
and sign up and say,
yeah,
count me in.
I'm part of this body here
form the body of Christ.
And what that means
is that actually being a member of a church
is really important.
It's a way of saying,
I'm part of this body
and this body is part of me.
I'm committing to this body
and this body is committing to me.
I'm not just part of the body
for when it suits me,
but when it doesn't,
I'm going my own way.
Actually,
I'm connected.
I'm unifying.
I'm joining myself to this body
and I know that I'm looking out for them
and they're looking out for me.
Okay?
Now,
Paul's now going to make two points.
His one point is
how he's going to emphasize
the need for diversity in the body.
So we're all not just the same.
And then he's going to emphasize
the need for unity in the body.
And so in verse 14 to 20,
first thing,
he emphasizes the need for diversity.
Look at what he says here
in verse 14.
He wants to show them
that Christ's body,
just like a human body,
needs a diversity of gifts
and contributions.
So look what he says,
verse 14.
He says,
for the body
does not consist of one member,
but of many.
If the foot should say,
because I'm not a hand,
I don't belong to the body,
that wouldn't make it
any less a part of the body.
If the ear should say,
because I'm not an eye,
I do not belong to the body,
that wouldn't make it
any less a part of the body.
If the whole body
were just eyes,
that would be a monster,
okay,
where would be the sense of hearing?
If the whole body
were just ears,
where would be the sense of smell?
So he's saying,
just as the human body
is made up of this complexity
of millions of various parts,
but together,
all of them unify the body,
so a healthy church body
needs a variety
and a complexity of parts.
A church body
that just has
a preacher
and one or two other people
and everyone else
is just sitting back
observing
is not going to be
a healthy church body.
Now,
in the Corinthian church,
what they valued
were certain gifts.
So there were a couple
of spiritual gifts,
particularly the supernatural gifts,
and those ones
they really elevated
and said,
okay,
these are the important ones.
This body really needs
those kind of people,
those that can pray in tongues
and prophesy
and words of knowledge
and gifts of healing.
Those guys
are the really important ones
and everyone else's contribution
was kind of like,
oh,
well,
you know,
sorry for you
that your gift
is just that you
can greet people
or have a smile
or something like that,
right?
And Paul writes to him,
he says,
no,
not at all.
Not at all.
Paul says,
don't think that
just because your contribution
isn't the same as another,
it isn't equally valid.
That's like the foot saying,
oh,
I guess I'm not a hand,
I guess I don't really,
I don't have a role
in this body.
But actually,
we need every part,
every member
to play its contribution.
Now,
what does this mean for us?
Well,
one thing it means
is that a healthy church
is one in which
people don't attend
as consumers,
but everyone
sees themselves
as a contributor.
And not just
in a general sense,
like,
I contribute my money
and then you guys
do the work of ministry,
okay?
But everyone brings
the gifts
and the wiring
that God has given them
and says,
here,
let me bring my gift
to serve the body
because as a church family,
we need a diversity
of gifts.
And so,
let me ask you this question.
If you consider yourself
a part of Watermark family,
if this is your church,
how would this affect
the way that we come
to family worship
on a Sunday morning?
You see,
the one way to do it
is to say,
I'll run in here
at 10.30,
10.35,
actually,
because I know
there's the countdown
and that's extra
five minutes to sleep.
So,
10.35,
I'm going to run in
to church
and I hope
the preacher's
well prepared
and I hope he's got
something good
and I'll receive
what he has to give.
That's thinking
like a consumer,
right?
But there's another way
to think.
There's another way
to come,
which is to come
to church saying,
today I've got
some contribution
to bring.
And that may be
like we had earlier,
somebody came to Ed
with a piece of paper
and said,
I feel like God's
put this in my heart
for the church,
right?
And Ed said,
hey guys,
it feels like God's
got a word for us.
Don't be discouraged
in this time.
Keep doing what you're doing.
Could be that.
It could be that
somebody comes
and during times
of worship says,
I feel like I've got
the scripture in my heart
that I want to read
over us as a church
just to encourage us.
It could be somebody
coming and saying,
the person I sit next to,
I'm going to pray for them
throughout the service.
I'm just going to pray
that God speaks to them,
that God encounters them.
It could be that you come
and you just give
a listening ear
and pray with someone
that's going through
a difficult time.
It may be just extending
a warm welcome
to someone you don't know
or taking somebody
out for lunch
after church.
But what would it look like
for the church body
to come every Sunday
saying,
I'm here today
to contribute
to serve this body
in the role
that God's called me to?
Here's another
practical application
for us.
At Watermark,
one of the things
we're really fortunate
to have
is a whole bunch
of outstanding young people
in our church
and young leaders.
Henrika and the ICF team
have done an awesome job.
Our ICF students
are amazing.
A bunch of people
that have recently
graduated from ICF.
We've got a whole crew
of amazing young people
in our church.
Now one of the challenges
for that
is that sometimes
if you are,
let me say,
more seasoned at life,
more experienced at life,
if you are 50 plus,
it's very easy to think,
oh, this is just
a young person's church.
There's no place
for me anymore.
There's no contribution.
I don't have a role
to play.
And I just want to say
that is not true.
Don't buy the lie.
At this church,
because we're a body
made up of many parts,
we need everyone
to come and play
their role
and their contribution.
And so,
for everyone in our church,
for those especially
maybe who have learned
a thing or two in life
because you've been around
a little longer
than some of our ICF students,
I want to say
we need you in this church.
We need you to disciple
some of the young people
and to show them
what it looks
to live a life of faith,
trusting Jesus.
We need you,
as Paul says,
to admonish the idle,
encourage the faint-hearted,
help the weak,
show patience
to those that are struggling.
Maybe some of us
that are a little older,
you might never preach
or be on the stage
or lead a CG.
That's okay.
But what has God
called you to?
What is the contribution
that you can bring?
Don't think,
oh, this is just
a young person's church.
We need every member
to play their part.
And so this is what Paul
is saying to the Corinthian church.
And it's just as applicable
to here,
that the church body
is a diverse body
of gifts and contributions.
Each one is needed,
not just the pastors
or the staff
or those on stage.
Everyone that comes
to church
has a gift
and a contribution
to bring.
Okay, does that make sense?
Now,
look at the second part.
Look at what he says
in verse 21 to 26.
Here,
Paul emphasizes
the need
for unity.
So he just said,
listen,
we're not just all one.
We're not just all ears
or eyes
or, you know,
17 hands.
Okay,
that's not going to be
a healthy body.
We all,
God's so composed
the body,
bringing each one
as he desires.
But now he's saying,
if you overplay
that thought,
so if you overemphasize
the fact that we're all unique,
we can become individualistic.
And we can easily think,
oh, you know,
I've got a gift,
but it's my gift
and I will contribute it
when I want,
how I want,
because I am so uniquely wonderful,
there's no one else like me.
Right?
And Paul's saying,
it's true that you are diverse,
but don't forget the fact
that you also won.
Just as the human body
has a diversity of members,
but actually they're all part
of one body,
so it's true in the church.
In other words,
how weird would it be
if you're standing
by the bus stop
and you just see
two pairs of feet
just walking down the road,
right?
And I'm just,
you know,
I'm just so unique
and it's just me,
my pair of feet.
That would be weird.
The feet have a unique role
to play,
but they're part of the body
to contribute
to the well-being
of the body.
Imagine you're about to
sit down at lunch
with your girlfriends,
parents,
or your in-laws
and your hand
just says to your mouth,
no,
I don't feel like working today.
I'm taking a Sabbath.
Just eat your own dinner,
right?
That's going to be
a messy meal.
It's not going to look
too good,
right?
In other words,
every member
has a unique contribution,
but they're part of the body
for the unity
and the oneness
of the body.
And so look at what Paul says here
in verse 21.
He says,
the eye cannot say
to the hand,
I have no need
of you today,
nor the head
to the feet.
I don't need you.
On the contrary,
the parts of the body
that seem to be weaker
are indispensable
and those parts
of the body
that we think
are less honorable,
we actually bestow
the greater honor.
So what Paul is saying here
is that in the human body,
there are parts of the body
that may be physically weaker
or that we don't give
a lot of thought
or attention to.
So like your organs,
internal organs,
how many people
have thought about
your kidney
or your intestines
this week?
Okay,
so thank you Dr. Sam.
If you're a doctor,
maybe you have.
But not a lot of us
give a lot of thought
to these parts
that are physically weaker
and we don't give
a lot of attention to.
But just because
they may be physically weaker
doesn't mean
they are any less valuable
to the health
or the well-being
of the body.
In fact,
some of our external parts
may be even stronger.
They can put up
with a little bit more
toughness.
And we spend far more time
and attention
on those things
but they actually,
they may be not as vital,
right?
How much time
and money
do people spend
looking after their hair?
But actually,
let's be honest,
it's not the most vital
part of your body.
And that's what Paul's
point is here.
He's saying there's some parts
that we think
just because something
is invisible,
we don't see it
or give a lot of thought
to it,
doesn't mean it's less valuable.
And Paul's point
is the same is true
for Christ's body.
There are members
of the body
that may seem hidden,
they may seem weaker,
they're not as prominent,
they're never going to
be on stage
or lead a ministry,
but their apparent
hiddenness
has no relationship
to their value
or the necessity
of their church.
And so some person,
maybe the gift
that they bring
is that they are
the most wonderful
welcomers
and they make people
feel welcome.
And it's easy to think,
oh, you know,
that's a cute gift,
that doesn't really help.
But actually,
that's a vital gift.
Maybe,
Charles Spurgeon,
greatest preacher
of the 19th century,
okay,
just the most
outstanding preacher,
25 years old,
he's preaching
to 10,000 people,
hundreds and thousands
of people
came to Christ
through his ministry.
He sent out
hundreds of church
planters all over
the world.
And one stage,
someone said,
Charles,
what's the secret
to your ministry?
How is it so successful?
He said,
the secret to my ministry
is that there are
a bunch of ladies
who pray for me
every day.
Now,
nobody knows
those people's names.
There's no history books
that write about
those people's names.
But that actually
was one of the most
vital parts
that brought revival
to London
in many ways.
Because some old lady
decided we're going
to pray.
Paul's point is that
there's some parts
of the body
that are less visible,
less apparent,
maybe don't get
the limelight,
but that has no bearing
on their usefulness
or their value
or the necessity
of the body.
And so look at what
he says here
in verse 24.
For God has so composed
the body,
giving greater honor
to the parts
that lacked it.
Now that's really
interesting.
God in his wisdom
has somehow chosen
to give greater honor
to the parts
that apparently
don't seem
very honorable.
In God's
upside down economy,
the first
are last
and the last
are first.
The overlooked
are often
the most important.
The least
is often
the greatest.
As Paul says
in chapter 1,
God chooses
to use
the weak things
of the world
to shame the strong.
The foolish things
in the eyes
of the world
to shame
that which
seems wise.
And God
has so composed
his body like this
that to God
sometimes the most
valuable and honorable
parts of the body
are actually those
that in our eyes
don't seem very valuable
or very honorable
at all.
Verse 24.
For God has so composed
the body,
giving greater honor
to the parts
that lacked it,
so that there may be
no division,
but that all the members
may have the same care
for one another.
For if one member
suffers,
all suffer together.
If one member
is honored,
all rejoice together.
So friends,
what that means
is that for every person
that calls Watermark home,
God has given you
a gift,
a contribution
to bring
to the body.
But it can turn
into a curse
when we see that
as our own,
as that's my gift
that I bring
when I want.
God has so composed
the body
that if one member
suffers,
all suffer together.
If one member
is honored,
all rejoice together.
Now,
what does that
actually mean?
Okay?
So we see the two
things.
Paul emphasizes
the need for diversity.
Now he's emphasizing
the need for unity.
What does that
actually mean?
Well,
in some ways,
what it means
is that my
spiritual well-being
is some way
dependent upon you.
And your spiritual
well-being is
dependent upon me
and vice versa
and the people
around us.
In other words,
in biblical culture,
your life never
entirely belongs
to yourself,
but partly belongs
to the community
that you're a part of.
In other words,
in the Bible,
those that you
choose to align
yourself to,
those that you
choose to find
solidarity with,
to some extent,
you're responsible
for them
and they're
responsible for you.
And that's why
in chapter 5
in Corinthians,
Paul actually says
something really
pretty hectic.
He says,
sin is like
yeast
or like cancer
that can actually
spread throughout
the body.
And that's why
he says,
you guys are
responsible for
one another.
And so in the
Corinthians church,
there's this guy
and he's having
sex with his
stepmom.
And the
Corinthians church
is all saying,
yeah, well,
you know,
that's your life
and we've got our
life,
we're not going
to interfere.
And Paul says,
what are you
talking about?
Don't you realize
that that's like a
cancer that's going
to affect your body?
You're responsible
for him and he's
responsible for you.
And if you let
that thing go
unchecked,
it's going to grow
and it's going to
consume all of you.
And so Paul says,
someone go and
speak to him.
And if he doesn't
change,
someone else go and
speak to him.
And if he still
doesn't change,
it's time to cut
him off and to
say you can no
longer be a part
of this body.
That sin cannot
affect this body
otherwise it will
destroy all of us.
Do you see the
importance of that?
In some ways,
when you commit to
a church family,
it's saying I'm
responsible for you
and you're
responsible for me.
And that means,
friends,
that committing
to a church is
very important,
but it's also
important what church
you commit to.
And so can I
just say that for
some of us who
will one day move
on from Hong Kong,
move to another
city or another
place,
when you choose a
church,
choose a healthy
church.
Choose a strong
church.
Don't just go to
church where the
music's good and the
pastor tells good
jokes or he's got
good social media
following.
Choose a church
that's going to tell
you about Jesus.
Find a church that's
going to preach the
Bible.
Find a church that
together you can
commit to them and
they can commit to
you and together you
can point one another
to the hope of
Jesus.
The church that you
join is going to
have a direct impact
on your spiritual
journey and you on
theirs.
Now, as we come to
a close, we need to
acknowledge that this
is really hard.
This is really hard to
do.
And it's hard because
being committed to a
church family is
costly and it's
inconvenient, right?
It's so much easier
just to live for
ourselves.
Every one of us by
nature, because of
the reality of sin in
our lives, our hearts
are turned into
ourselves and by
nature we love to
live for ourselves.
There's a tendency in
every human heart to
think about me
primarily and my own
desires and my own
needs.
We like to be served
rather than to serve.
We naturally like to
consume rather than
contribute.
And we tend to give
ourselves to things
that work the way we
want to rather than
things that don't work
the way we want them
to.
And ultimately, sin is
so deceptive that we
can even deceive
ourselves and oftentimes
we can serve others
but even if I'm honest
there can be a selfish
motivation behind that.
I serve others because
it makes me feel good
about myself or because
what others will think
of me.
Friends, almost everyone
likes the idea of
community as long as it
doesn't cost me too
much.
But being part of
Christ's body necessarily
involves a cost and
inconvenience.
Jesus in Ephesians 4
says we are to forgive
one another in the same
way that Christ forgives
us.
That's a radical call to
forgiveness.
In John 13, Jesus says
serve one another in the
same way that I have
served you.
Isn't that amazing?
The same way that Jesus
serves us, he calls us to
serve one another?
Jesus calls us to a
radical level of
community and laying
down our lives for one
another.
Now the question is, how
do we do that?
How do we become the
kind of people that see
ourselves as part of this
body and lay down our
lives and serve one
another?
The answer is it's
almost impossible.
It's very difficult.
So how do we do that?
Well, for those of us that
are believers, I want us
just to take a few minutes
and just think about our
salvation for a second.
Think about what does it
mean to be a Christian?
A Christian is someone who
deserves God's judgment
because of our sin, but
who gets God's favor and
acceptance instead because
Jesus died on the cross for
us.
A Christian is someone who
was once outside of God's
family and the God's
judgment, but now has been
included into God's favor,
into God's family, someone
who was once an outsider,
but is now an insider because
Jesus, because our sin was
credited to Jesus.
Friends, a Christian is
someone who knows that he's
a sinner saved by grace
alone and therefore has no
reason to either elevate
some or look down on
others.
A Christian is someone who
has been, who knows his
acceptance before God is
based on Jesus' righteousness,
not his own.
Friends, a Christian is
someone who knows they have
nothing to bring to God
except their sin and yet has
been given a righteousness
from Christ instead.
Friends, given that
definition, are you a
Christian this morning?
Given that definition, do
you know that your only hope
is in Jesus, that he is your
perfect righteousness?
Friends, if you are a
Christian this morning, think
for a moment how Jesus so
committed himself to us, even
though we had nothing to give
him, nothing to bring him.
Jesus so aligned himself to
us that he took on our sin as
if it was his own and he gave
us his righteousness as if that
was our own.
Jesus found such solidarity
with us that the perfect
righteousness of Christ is
given to us, not because of
what we could give him, but
because of what we would get
in the process.
Friends, the gospel reminds us
that we, our righteousness is
not our spiritual gifts.
Our righteousness is Jesus
alone.
The gospel reminds us that all
of us are broken and sinful and
yet Christ has welcomed us into
his family.
And out of that, we are given
the resources to love and
serve and lay down our lives
for one another.
Remember how we started off
this year looking at the
gospel and we looked at this
passage in 1 Corinthians
chapter 15.
And it says this, this is
straight after, you know, the
second chapter on spiritual
gifts.
Paul says this, he says,
Friends, in the gospel, you and
I are given such security, such
an identity.
We are bestowed with such an
honor.
We don't need to look out for
or look after ourselves.
In Christ, we are given all the
resources we need to put ourselves
out there and to spend ourselves
for the sake of one another.
Friends, how do we become the
kind of community which really
do give ourselves?
We don't elevate certain gifts
or look down upon others.
Think of some as superior or
others as inferior.
How do we become the kind of
community that really does love
and serve one another for the
common good?
Paul says, I want to remind you
of the gospel.
The gospel I preached to you.
The gospel in which you now
stand.
The gospel in which you need to
keep on believing.
And melting your heart.
And changing you.
The gospel reminds us that all
of us in the same boat.
And yet Jesus died for the
brother and the sister next to
us as much as he died for us.
Friends, this is the way we
will become a kind of community
that we want to be.
By holding fast to the
gospel.
By preaching the gospel to
ourselves each and every day.
Friends, by arriving at church
each Sunday with our hearts
full of the gospel.
Saturated with the gospel.
Because we've been holding on
to Christ.
Friends, hold on to Christ.
Friends, look to Jesus.
Remind ourselves each and every
day that you are in Christ and
what you have in Christ is
enough.
And he'll make us the kind of
people who don't look to
ourselves and look after
ourselves, but who live for
others.
Live for Christ.
Pouring out ourselves for the
sake of the rest of the body.
Let's pray together.
Father.
Let's pray.
Oh Lord God, when we look at
these scriptures, Father, and we
see what is happening in
Corinth, we must confess that our
hearts are not too far or too
dissimilar.
God, it's so easy to elevate some
people and to look on others with
inferiority.
Father, our sinful hearts still want
to have hierarchies, God.
We tend to think of ourselves more
highly than we ought.
Oh Father, forgive us, we pray.
God, I pray for each one of us here
and we pray for us as a church.
God, we pray that we will be a
healthy body with a diversity of
gifts.
Each one of us bringing the gifts
that you've brought.
And yet, God, also knowing that it's
not about us, but it's about the
community.
It's about you and your glory.
And so God, help us, we pray.
God, change us and transform us,
God.
Make us a radical community that
really can make a difference in our
city because you've made a
difference in our hearts, Lord.
Father, I pray that just this verse
that says, you have so arranged the
members of the body as you desire,
that God, that will sit in our hearts,
that each one of us will know what it
is that you've called us to, the
gifts you've given us, the
contribution that we bring.
God, we pray through this very
ordinary and simple church called
Watermark Church.
God, do something extraordinary.
Glorify your name.
Put your glory on display, God.
Because you're at work within us, we
pray.
We pray these things in your powerful
name.
Amen.