Your Role in The Body
1 Corinthians 12:12-27
Tomorrow is our annual Harvest Festival (I think it’s our 12th annual Harvest Festival). This is one of the largest events that occur in this town each year. There will be over 1,200 people that join us tomorrow night. We’ll cook 1,000 hot dogs with street corn, chips, drinks, and popcorn (all free). We’ll have twenty carnival-type games, where we will give away 1,000 pounds of candy to the kids.
We’ll have a clown, face painting, a photo booth, a blow-up obstacle course, and a basketball challenge. We’ll have the Sheriff’s Department Mounted POSSE patrolling the area on horseback, and we will share the love of God, one-on-one, with most of the children who come. It’s a massive community event and a massive spiritual outreach event.
And we do it all with God’s provision through his givers and with God’s provision through his servants. And every one of those dollars will be given through people who have been gifted by God to be givers. AND the event will require over eighty committed servants to pull off.
Now, in case you’re watching online and think this is a big church, let me explain. During Covid, we went from two services in this room down to one. And until we go back to two services, we are maxed out at a little more than one hundred people in this room. That means eighty percent of the people who are currently attending this church have to serve in order to pull this event off. And I can tell you one hundred percent for sure that in the “normal” church leadership world, you would be out of your mind to think that eighty percent of your church was going to actively serve in a community outreach event. But we will tomorrow. We will see eighty percent of you here tomorrow afternoon to serve at the Harvest Festival. (And if you are not on that list yet, there is still time. See Lisa at the table.)
That is one of the reasons why I love this church so much. You guys want to actively serve the Lord, which is what we call “Being the Church.” The other thing that we are so excited about is the youngest and newest member of our ministry staff is fully and completely directing this entire event this year. You guys have been loving on Justo for four years. You gave the money for us to send him to Bible College, and at twenty-four years old, he is running the largest event we put on each year. And with Jacob, Lisa, and others helping so much. We are set for a huge “Community Serving” celebration tomorrow, all in the name of Jesus Christ, and all for his glory, and for the salvation of hundreds of kids.
But for a church this small to pull off an event this big, eighty percent of the church must be “Fulfilling Your Role in The Body.” So, I thought we’d talk a bit about that today.
If you don’t have the Word By Mail Bible Teaching App on your phone, I would encourage you to download it. (That’s our devotion and Bible teaching app.) And on the Word By Mail app, in the “Home” menu, search the words “Body of Christ,” and you will find sixty messages we’ve done that have to do with the “Body of Christ.” Many of them are about how we – each of us – are called to function IN the Body of Christ, and it’s times like these, with this huge event, that I get to see so many of you fulfilling your role in the Body.
So, let’s look at God’s Word about this critical part of being a Christ-follower. Let’s start with 1 Corinthians 12:18-26. If you really want to know HOW God has called the Body together to function together AS the Body of Christ. I’d encourage you to watch, listen, or read our entire verse-by-verse series on 1 Corinthians called “Life As The Church.” For today, let’s start with a long read in 1 Corinthians 12.
1 Corinthians 12:12–27 (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. (we work the same way)
13 Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized (identified) into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.
14 Yes, the body (both human and spiritual) 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. (If you are a FOOT or a hand, thank you for being 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? (If you are an EAR or an EYE, thank you for being 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?
18 But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. (Where God puts us in the Body – is where we function the best. God decides. Often trouble begins here because we think we know better than God and say, that’s not where I want to be. God has put each of us exactly where he wants us.)
19 How strange a body would be if it had only one part!
20 Yes, there are many parts, but only one body.
21 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.” (We are totally and completely dependent on one another. The Body only functions together when every part of the Body is doing its part. We need each other to function as a healthy body, and not any one part is more important than any other part)
22 In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. (The parts of the body that are in the background that are seen the least are actually the most necessary. If that is you, know that this Body of Christ CAN NOT function without you. The heart of the church is always the prayer warriors. It is the core of the church – there are things that seem the weakest but are actually the most important.)
23 And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen,
24 while the more honorable parts do not require this special care . . .
(God calls us – to give the greatest care – to the parts of the Body that are never seen – look at the rest of verse 24.)
24 . . . So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. (Meaning, the parts that receive less outward honor than the other parts.)
And then – verse 25 tells us why we are to give greater honor and care to the parts of the body that receive LESS “outward honor.”
25 This makes for harmony (Literally: No Division) among the members, so that all the members care for each other.
When we raise up the parts of the Body that aren’t seen (the prayer warriors and intercessors, those visiting the hospitals and the high school, those that go to homes where someone is about ready to be ushered into Heaven), it makes for harmony among the members.
We are called to care for EACH Member – Each Part – BECAUSE
26 If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.
We are IN THIS – Together. Everything that every one of us does is equally as important because when one part suffers, all parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. One Body, many parts.
It takes EACH one of us – fulfilling our Role in the Body to make the Body function as God designed it.
AS verse 27 says,
27 All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.
So, how many of us has God called to fill a role in the Body? The answer is all of us. If you have made Jesus Christ your Lord, you have been identified with him, and you have been made part of his Body (the Church). You have been positionally placed in the Body; whether you receive that or have acted on it, or embraced it, or figured it out, that’s another story. God has made you and equipped you and he has gifted you to fulfill a place, to fill a role in the Body. Psalm 139 says you were crafted for this in your mother’s womb. Every day was written for you before there was one. God gave you what we call “creation gifts.” He created you with the gifts in Romans 12. You have been individually and specifically gifted.
The Bible doesn’t really talk about JUST going to church. The Bible talks about BEING the Church (meaning being a functioning part of the Body of Christ), and then the Body gathers together (like this) to build up and strengthen and encourage each part of the Body.
We’ve all been called; we’ve all been placed in the Body, severally – meaning individually – as God wills. He has a role for us. He has or will enable us to fulfill that role. To give you some confidence of that, I’d like to run through a quick medley of verses. This is a great set of about eight verses.
1 Corinthians 12:7 (NLT)
7 A spiritual gift is given to EACH of us so we can help each other.
1 Corinthians 12:11 (NLT)
11 It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift EACH person should have.
1 Corinthians 12:18 (NLT)
18 But our bodies have many parts, and God has put EACH part just where he wants it.
1 Corinthians 7:7 (NLT)
7 But I wish everyone were single, just as I am. Yet EACH person has a special gift from God, of one kind or another.
Ephesians 4:7 (NLT)
7 However, he has given EACH one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ.
1 Peter 4:10 (NLT)
10 God has given EACH of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.
The purpose of our role in the Body is to use whatever gift or gifts God has given us to serve one another well.
And so, God pours these incredible, abundant gifts into the Body for the good of the Body. And then, we, as good stewards, are called to serve that God gave us the gifts FOR, which is one another.
That is the miraculous function of the Body of Christ, that he puts all that the Body needs in the Body so that the Body can minister to itself, for the edification of itself, the shoring up, the strengthening for the health of the Body. That’s the purpose.
And God has made the Body of Christ so vast and so diverse that we cannot put it in a mold. We can hardly describe it.
Back in 1 Corinthians 12, just up from our verses today.
1 Corinthians 12:4-7 (NKJV)
4 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord.
6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.
7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:
Each of us has been given gifts by the Spirit.
So, both manifestation gifts and ministry gifts. And there are two things that we’ve got to understand before we move ahead in this message.
1). If Jesus is your Lord, you have a role in the Body.
And if those eight verses or so didn’t convince you, I cut out four or five. If Jesus is your Lord, you have a role in the Body – period.
2). The purpose for Jesus giving you a role in the Body is for the person’s good sitting next to you.
That is the purpose that God has given you the gifts and that role in the Body. It’s to edify those in the Body so that the Body would strengthen itself. Minister to itself.
There are three primary (what we call) “summary gift lists” in the Body of Christ.
Romans 12:3-8 (“Creation Gifts”)
1 Corinthians 12
Ephesians 4:11-12 (“Leadership Gifts”)
If you add up these three summary gift lists, there are twenty-four separate summary gifts.
Is it a complete list? No chance. Could it be a complete list? No chance. Because under each of these twenty-four summary gifts, there are an immeasurable number of what we might call “sub-gifts.”
So, we can never put God in a box, and we can never put all his gifts for the Body in a list.
The things we do know are these. God says if you are an adopted son or daughter of God, then you have a role in the Body. Each. One. Each one is given gifts and given a role. Why? To minister to the Body. To edify the Body.
So, here’s what happens right here. Everyone wants to know what their gift is. And so, the church has come up with “Spiritual Gift Tests” …
Listen, there are no processes in the Bible, there are no recipes in the Bible, and there is a huge reason for that. Here’s why. The Bible is not about a process. It’s about a Person. It’s not about a recipe; it’s about a relationship. That’s why you don’t find processes or recipes in the Bible because the Bible is all about a relationship with the God of the Bible.
So here is the M.I.P. (Most Important Point) of the day.
3). The road that we travel in order to find and fulfill our ROLE in the Body is as important, if not more important, than the end result.
Here’s why. It is the process that we go through that God is actually (in my opinion) more interested in than the ultimate position that we end up with. Why? Because it is traveling that road in which you come to know God.
The goal is to know God and to experience God. And one way you do that best is by serving him, by joining him where he is at work. By saying, “God, if you made me to do this, I’m going to go do this because it’s what you made me to do.”
It is the process of getting to that place where you have found and are fulfilling your role in the Body. It’s during that process that you come to know God. It’s during that process that you come to experience God.
And here’s what is most important, it is the road that you travel to find your place in the Body that causes you to be usable by God. It is the process that makes you usable.
And so, our focus is always on the gold medal; it’s always the end result to become something. But God is not that way. God is more interested in your relationship; in the process, it’s in your travel; it’s in the road less traveled. If we don’t travel that road with God, if we use that quick-fix, kind of rapid-fire spiritual gift test, plug me in, get me working, what happens is (I’m telling you the truth) you end up serving God in the flesh.
When you travel the road with God to find out where you’ve been made to be, in that process, God’s refining you, he’s pressuring you, he’s molding you, he’s shaping you, he’s grinding you, he’s breaking you. The more he wants to use you, the more he has to break you, and it happens on the road with him.
And so, if your flesh has this kind of personality, and you get plugged into the ministry, and all of a sudden, you’re serving God because of your personality, there needs to be a time out. Even if it’s good flesh, it’s still flesh. But this process that God takes us through to bring us to that point is what causes us to be wholly dependent, to be desperately dependent, to be more interested in knowing God than achieving something for him. To be more interested in seeing God work than accomplishing some goal. Do you understand the difference? The goal is the process – not the end result.
Following these guidelines on the road, you will come to know God. You will come to experience God, and God will make you usable.
And the greatest, most needed, most overwhelmingly powerful thing we can do is:
4) Be focused on Jesus Christ and your relationship with him
Focus on Jesus Christ. In Philippians 3, you will find my life’s verse. It is the first five words of verse 10. That I may know him. It is an appropriate response to every single situation you will ever find yourself in. That I may know him. The power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings.
Here is Paul’s overriding focus. I want you to see here that it is not the end result that Paul is focused on. It’s the process. This road that I have talked about. This road less traveled by Christians, the road that we hate to be on because we don’t understand its value. This is Paul’s goal – it’s to be on the road, not to be at the end. Watch how that develops.
Philippians 3:12-14 (NKJV)
12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.
Guys, Jesus Christ has laid hold of you for something, for a purpose. You have a role, and you have a specific role in the Body. And Christ has laid hold of you for it, and your entire focus should be to lay hold on that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of you. That is a good goal.
13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended (It’s not the reaching there, it’s the staying the course on the way); but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,
14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Guys, I’m telling you that Paul’s focus is pressing toward the goal. It’s not even achieving the goal because he never said he achieved the goal. In fact, the closer he got to Christ, the more of a sinner he understood he was until he called himself the chief of sinners. I’m telling you, his goal wasn’t achieving some gold medal or status or whatever. His goal was to stay the course. Press on. No matter what. It was to press on, to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of me. That’s his goal. It’s the road. It’s the process. The road less traveled.
I believe Paul’s goal was staying the course. I’m positive of it. It was the pressing on that which was his all-consuming purpose. Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. It’s a single-minded focus to stay on the course that Christ has laid.
One other thing is in Psalm 37. Please watch this because the whole message is wrapped up in this.
Psalm 37:3-5 (NKJV)
3 Trust in the Lord, and do (operative word) good; Dwell in the land (be at peace where God has you), and feed on His faithfulness (Be assured of his goodness).
4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Why? Because they are really his desires that he has planted in your heart. If you are trusting him and delighting yourself in him, you crucify your own desire, he replaces them with his, and then he is more than happy to give them to you. What God really wants is the relationship.
But here’s the verse I really want you to see.
5 Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.
What is the word “it” referring to? What does he mean, he shall bring it to pass? Your way. Read the beginning of the verse.
Commit your way The road. The process. The road you’re on and finding and fulfilling your role in the ministry. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in him, and he will bring it (meaning your way) to pass.
He will bring your role in the Body to pass. He will bring to pass what he has laid hold of you for. If you will trust in him, delight yourself in him, and commit your way to him, he will bring your way to pass, and you will not only find – but you will fulfill – and by remaining focused on him, you will stay in the role that he has chosen you for in the Body.
We’ll have a clown, face painting, a photo booth, a blow-up obstacle course, and a basketball challenge. We’ll have the Sheriff’s Department Mounted POSSE patrolling the area on horseback, and we will share the love of God, one-on-one, with most of the children who come. It’s a massive community event and a massive spiritual outreach event.
And we do it all with God’s provision through his givers and with God’s provision through his servants. And every one of those dollars will be given through people who have been gifted by God to be givers. AND the event will require over eighty committed servants to pull off.
Now, in case you’re watching online and think this is a big church, let me explain. During Covid, we went from two services in this room down to one. And until we go back to two services, we are maxed out at a little more than one hundred people in this room. That means eighty percent of the people who are currently attending this church have to serve in order to pull this event off. And I can tell you one hundred percent for sure that in the “normal” church leadership world, you would be out of your mind to think that eighty percent of your church was going to actively serve in a community outreach event. But we will tomorrow. We will see eighty percent of you here tomorrow afternoon to serve at the Harvest Festival. (And if you are not on that list yet, there is still time. See Lisa at the table.)
That is one of the reasons why I love this church so much. You guys want to actively serve the Lord, which is what we call “Being the Church.” The other thing that we are so excited about is the youngest and newest member of our ministry staff is fully and completely directing this entire event this year. You guys have been loving on Justo for four years. You gave the money for us to send him to Bible College, and at twenty-four years old, he is running the largest event we put on each year. And with Jacob, Lisa, and others helping so much. We are set for a huge “Community Serving” celebration tomorrow, all in the name of Jesus Christ, and all for his glory, and for the salvation of hundreds of kids.
But for a church this small to pull off an event this big, eighty percent of the church must be “Fulfilling Your Role in The Body.” So, I thought we’d talk a bit about that today.
If you don’t have the Word By Mail Bible Teaching App on your phone, I would encourage you to download it. (That’s our devotion and Bible teaching app.) And on the Word By Mail app, in the “Home” menu, search the words “Body of Christ,” and you will find sixty messages we’ve done that have to do with the “Body of Christ.” Many of them are about how we – each of us – are called to function IN the Body of Christ, and it’s times like these, with this huge event, that I get to see so many of you fulfilling your role in the Body.
So, let’s look at God’s Word about this critical part of being a Christ-follower. Let’s start with 1 Corinthians 12:18-26. If you really want to know HOW God has called the Body together to function together AS the Body of Christ. I’d encourage you to watch, listen, or read our entire verse-by-verse series on 1 Corinthians called “Life As The Church.” For today, let’s start with a long read in 1 Corinthians 12.
1 Corinthians 12:12–27 (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. (we work the same way)
13 Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized (identified) into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.
14 Yes, the body (both human and spiritual) 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. (If you are a FOOT or a hand, thank you for being 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? (If you are an EAR or an EYE, thank you for being 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?
18 But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. (Where God puts us in the Body – is where we function the best. God decides. Often trouble begins here because we think we know better than God and say, that’s not where I want to be. God has put each of us exactly where he wants us.)
19 How strange a body would be if it had only one part!
20 Yes, there are many parts, but only one body.
21 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.” (We are totally and completely dependent on one another. The Body only functions together when every part of the Body is doing its part. We need each other to function as a healthy body, and not any one part is more important than any other part)
22 In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. (The parts of the body that are in the background that are seen the least are actually the most necessary. If that is you, know that this Body of Christ CAN NOT function without you. The heart of the church is always the prayer warriors. It is the core of the church – there are things that seem the weakest but are actually the most important.)
23 And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen,
24 while the more honorable parts do not require this special care . . .
(God calls us – to give the greatest care – to the parts of the Body that are never seen – look at the rest of verse 24.)
24 . . . So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. (Meaning, the parts that receive less outward honor than the other parts.)
And then – verse 25 tells us why we are to give greater honor and care to the parts of the body that receive LESS “outward honor.”
25 This makes for harmony (Literally: No Division) among the members, so that all the members care for each other.
When we raise up the parts of the Body that aren’t seen (the prayer warriors and intercessors, those visiting the hospitals and the high school, those that go to homes where someone is about ready to be ushered into Heaven), it makes for harmony among the members.
We are called to care for EACH Member – Each Part – BECAUSE
26 If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.
We are IN THIS – Together. Everything that every one of us does is equally as important because when one part suffers, all parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. One Body, many parts.
It takes EACH one of us – fulfilling our Role in the Body to make the Body function as God designed it.
AS verse 27 says,
27 All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.
So, how many of us has God called to fill a role in the Body? The answer is all of us. If you have made Jesus Christ your Lord, you have been identified with him, and you have been made part of his Body (the Church). You have been positionally placed in the Body; whether you receive that or have acted on it, or embraced it, or figured it out, that’s another story. God has made you and equipped you and he has gifted you to fulfill a place, to fill a role in the Body. Psalm 139 says you were crafted for this in your mother’s womb. Every day was written for you before there was one. God gave you what we call “creation gifts.” He created you with the gifts in Romans 12. You have been individually and specifically gifted.
The Bible doesn’t really talk about JUST going to church. The Bible talks about BEING the Church (meaning being a functioning part of the Body of Christ), and then the Body gathers together (like this) to build up and strengthen and encourage each part of the Body.
We’ve all been called; we’ve all been placed in the Body, severally – meaning individually – as God wills. He has a role for us. He has or will enable us to fulfill that role. To give you some confidence of that, I’d like to run through a quick medley of verses. This is a great set of about eight verses.
1 Corinthians 12:7 (NLT)
7 A spiritual gift is given to EACH of us so we can help each other.
1 Corinthians 12:11 (NLT)
11 It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift EACH person should have.
1 Corinthians 12:18 (NLT)
18 But our bodies have many parts, and God has put EACH part just where he wants it.
1 Corinthians 7:7 (NLT)
7 But I wish everyone were single, just as I am. Yet EACH person has a special gift from God, of one kind or another.
Ephesians 4:7 (NLT)
7 However, he has given EACH one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ.
1 Peter 4:10 (NLT)
10 God has given EACH of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.
The purpose of our role in the Body is to use whatever gift or gifts God has given us to serve one another well.
And so, God pours these incredible, abundant gifts into the Body for the good of the Body. And then, we, as good stewards, are called to serve that God gave us the gifts FOR, which is one another.
That is the miraculous function of the Body of Christ, that he puts all that the Body needs in the Body so that the Body can minister to itself, for the edification of itself, the shoring up, the strengthening for the health of the Body. That’s the purpose.
And God has made the Body of Christ so vast and so diverse that we cannot put it in a mold. We can hardly describe it.
Back in 1 Corinthians 12, just up from our verses today.
1 Corinthians 12:4-7 (NKJV)
4 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord.
6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.
7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:
Each of us has been given gifts by the Spirit.
So, both manifestation gifts and ministry gifts. And there are two things that we’ve got to understand before we move ahead in this message.
1). If Jesus is your Lord, you have a role in the Body.
And if those eight verses or so didn’t convince you, I cut out four or five. If Jesus is your Lord, you have a role in the Body – period.
2). The purpose for Jesus giving you a role in the Body is for the person’s good sitting next to you.
That is the purpose that God has given you the gifts and that role in the Body. It’s to edify those in the Body so that the Body would strengthen itself. Minister to itself.
There are three primary (what we call) “summary gift lists” in the Body of Christ.
Romans 12:3-8 (“Creation Gifts”)
1 Corinthians 12
Ephesians 4:11-12 (“Leadership Gifts”)
If you add up these three summary gift lists, there are twenty-four separate summary gifts.
Is it a complete list? No chance. Could it be a complete list? No chance. Because under each of these twenty-four summary gifts, there are an immeasurable number of what we might call “sub-gifts.”
So, we can never put God in a box, and we can never put all his gifts for the Body in a list.
The things we do know are these. God says if you are an adopted son or daughter of God, then you have a role in the Body. Each. One. Each one is given gifts and given a role. Why? To minister to the Body. To edify the Body.
So, here’s what happens right here. Everyone wants to know what their gift is. And so, the church has come up with “Spiritual Gift Tests” …
Listen, there are no processes in the Bible, there are no recipes in the Bible, and there is a huge reason for that. Here’s why. The Bible is not about a process. It’s about a Person. It’s not about a recipe; it’s about a relationship. That’s why you don’t find processes or recipes in the Bible because the Bible is all about a relationship with the God of the Bible.
So here is the M.I.P. (Most Important Point) of the day.
3). The road that we travel in order to find and fulfill our ROLE in the Body is as important, if not more important, than the end result.
Here’s why. It is the process that we go through that God is actually (in my opinion) more interested in than the ultimate position that we end up with. Why? Because it is traveling that road in which you come to know God.
The goal is to know God and to experience God. And one way you do that best is by serving him, by joining him where he is at work. By saying, “God, if you made me to do this, I’m going to go do this because it’s what you made me to do.”
It is the process of getting to that place where you have found and are fulfilling your role in the Body. It’s during that process that you come to know God. It’s during that process that you come to experience God.
And here’s what is most important, it is the road that you travel to find your place in the Body that causes you to be usable by God. It is the process that makes you usable.
And so, our focus is always on the gold medal; it’s always the end result to become something. But God is not that way. God is more interested in your relationship; in the process, it’s in your travel; it’s in the road less traveled. If we don’t travel that road with God, if we use that quick-fix, kind of rapid-fire spiritual gift test, plug me in, get me working, what happens is (I’m telling you the truth) you end up serving God in the flesh.
When you travel the road with God to find out where you’ve been made to be, in that process, God’s refining you, he’s pressuring you, he’s molding you, he’s shaping you, he’s grinding you, he’s breaking you. The more he wants to use you, the more he has to break you, and it happens on the road with him.
And so, if your flesh has this kind of personality, and you get plugged into the ministry, and all of a sudden, you’re serving God because of your personality, there needs to be a time out. Even if it’s good flesh, it’s still flesh. But this process that God takes us through to bring us to that point is what causes us to be wholly dependent, to be desperately dependent, to be more interested in knowing God than achieving something for him. To be more interested in seeing God work than accomplishing some goal. Do you understand the difference? The goal is the process – not the end result.
Following these guidelines on the road, you will come to know God. You will come to experience God, and God will make you usable.
And the greatest, most needed, most overwhelmingly powerful thing we can do is:
4) Be focused on Jesus Christ and your relationship with him
Focus on Jesus Christ. In Philippians 3, you will find my life’s verse. It is the first five words of verse 10. That I may know him. It is an appropriate response to every single situation you will ever find yourself in. That I may know him. The power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings.
Here is Paul’s overriding focus. I want you to see here that it is not the end result that Paul is focused on. It’s the process. This road that I have talked about. This road less traveled by Christians, the road that we hate to be on because we don’t understand its value. This is Paul’s goal – it’s to be on the road, not to be at the end. Watch how that develops.
Philippians 3:12-14 (NKJV)
12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.
Guys, Jesus Christ has laid hold of you for something, for a purpose. You have a role, and you have a specific role in the Body. And Christ has laid hold of you for it, and your entire focus should be to lay hold on that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of you. That is a good goal.
13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended (It’s not the reaching there, it’s the staying the course on the way); but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,
14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Guys, I’m telling you that Paul’s focus is pressing toward the goal. It’s not even achieving the goal because he never said he achieved the goal. In fact, the closer he got to Christ, the more of a sinner he understood he was until he called himself the chief of sinners. I’m telling you, his goal wasn’t achieving some gold medal or status or whatever. His goal was to stay the course. Press on. No matter what. It was to press on, to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of me. That’s his goal. It’s the road. It’s the process. The road less traveled.
I believe Paul’s goal was staying the course. I’m positive of it. It was the pressing on that which was his all-consuming purpose. Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. It’s a single-minded focus to stay on the course that Christ has laid.
One other thing is in Psalm 37. Please watch this because the whole message is wrapped up in this.
Psalm 37:3-5 (NKJV)
3 Trust in the Lord, and do (operative word) good; Dwell in the land (be at peace where God has you), and feed on His faithfulness (Be assured of his goodness).
4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Why? Because they are really his desires that he has planted in your heart. If you are trusting him and delighting yourself in him, you crucify your own desire, he replaces them with his, and then he is more than happy to give them to you. What God really wants is the relationship.
But here’s the verse I really want you to see.
5 Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.
What is the word “it” referring to? What does he mean, he shall bring it to pass? Your way. Read the beginning of the verse.
Commit your way The road. The process. The road you’re on and finding and fulfilling your role in the ministry. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in him, and he will bring it (meaning your way) to pass.
He will bring your role in the Body to pass. He will bring to pass what he has laid hold of you for. If you will trust in him, delight yourself in him, and commit your way to him, he will bring your way to pass, and you will not only find – but you will fulfill – and by remaining focused on him, you will stay in the role that he has chosen you for in the Body.