Discerning The Body of Christ
(PowerPoint Slides from this Sermon)

THE POINT:

As the physical representation of the Lord Jesus Christ on this earth, we have responsibilities to Him and to each other.

DISCERNING THE BODY

As we study the Holy Spirit, we do it with the understanding that

His Spirit goes in His Body

1 Corinthians 11:28-32 (NKJV)
But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment [crime] to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.

•     We have a serious responsibility before God use our gifts to help each other.

•     This responsibility implies that we

–   Know what our gifts are

–   Become excellent at applying them

–   Are generous with using them

Romans 12:6-8 (NLT)
In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you.
If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well.
If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

1 Corinthians 12:17-22 (NLT)
If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?
But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange a body would be if it had only one part!
Yes, there are many parts, but only one body.
The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”
In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary.

WE NO LONGER HAVE TIME FOR

·         False humility

·         Comparing ourselves to others

·         Being jealous of other people’s gifts

·         Being selfish with our gifts

·         Thinking that we need to be strong in all the gifts

·         Thinking we don’t need anybody else

·         Thinking nobody else needs us

GROWTH POINTS REVISITED

 Learning about the Holy Spirit needs to be done with the purpose of building up the Body of Christ.  This means two things…

·         You need to know your gifts and be using them generously and with excellence.

·         You need to be connected to the rest of the body.

WHAT THEN SHALL WE DO?

·         Make sure you have at least two other people (that you’re not related to) in this church to whom you are REALLY connected.

·         Work toward knowing what your gifts are and becoming excellent in them.

Pick some aspect of your life that you want to become more excellent in, and engage the people above to help you grow in that area.