What Your Part Is In Christ's Body — Zac Poonen

Building the Body of Christ in the New Covenant

I'm very thankful that in the new covenant we don't just speak about overcoming sin but also about building the body. That's a very essential part of the new covenant because overcoming sin is a personal thing in which I can even sometimes glory in.

But when I'm put in a body I have to learn to appreciate others also and you know in the old testament under the old covenant anybody couldn't get up and prophesy. The spirit of God was only upon certain people and only they could be prophets or speak but in the new covenant the spirit is given to everyone in different degrees.

Prophecy and the Spirit's Gift to Every Believer

They can prophesy and it may be just a quoting a verse a child can quote a verse and it could be a prophecy that goes to somebody's heart. So this prophecy is a very big word and we always think of the old testament but it could just be sharing a word if that's a simpler word to free us from that burden of the word of prophecy.

But I thought of this verse in Ephesians 4 16 of how the body is built up and grows. How does the how is NCCF as a body? This church has to be an expression of the body of Christ it's not the total body of Christ which is worldwide and not only worldwide a lot of them are already in heaven part of the body.

So we're never going to see the whole body anytime on this earth till Jesus comes. But each local church even if it's three or four people in a church has to be an expression of the body of Christ. In other words the same principles that operate in the whole body must be found even in a small local church and in Ephesians 4 it tells us the last part how the body grows building up itself in love it's a tremendous expression the body of Christ grows building itself up in love.

Every Member Has a Function in Christ's Body

Now how is that going to happen there are two phrases before that which says every joint supplies something and each individual part works properly. So you may not be the tongue or the eye or the hand or the leg which are very very important parts of the body or you may not even be the heart or the liver or the kidney which are also important parts which are invisible.

What about a joint? A joint is such a small little thing but you know what happens to your hand if your elbow joint is causing a problem or you know what happens to your walking if your knee joint is not functioning properly every joint you may be a little joint.

Don't think you have no part in the body. I want to say to every one of you who has committed yourself to Christ and committed yourself to this body of believers you have a function and there's something which the body will miss or lose if you don't fulfill your function.

If you have such a inferiority feeling well I'm just I'm not gifted. I don't know the bible I don't know this or I don't even know what it is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. I want to say to you Christ lives in your heart.

You have a function definitely and if you exercise that function it'll grow. I mean even the doctors say that if a muscle is not exercised it gets useless. You won't be able to use it. People who lie in bed for a long time a lot of muscles in their body are not used.

They're not able to even walk properly when they get up after so many months in bed. Not because anything was wrong it's because they didn't use it and we don't realize what a blessing it is just to be walking around.

We're using something. And so I want to say to those of you who don't use what God has given you because you feel you're so unworthy or so useless. Or I've got nothing to contribute if you're not born again.

I fully agree you've got nothing to contribute to the body of Christ. But if you are born again today morning you have to think that. Well I've got something to contribute even if it's like a little joint or each individual part that could be smallest little thing.

I've often spoken about the nails which are very very small but how useful they are when we feel itchy somewhere there's no part of the body which is unimportant. Eyelids. Even eyelashes. I really I know what eyelids do.

They water your eyes. But I really don't know what eyelashes do except make people look nice or something. But I'm sure there's some function one day God will show us. Even eyelashes have some function.

What I'm saying is that the smallest little part of your body which appears to have no function one day we'll discover when God shows us in the human body every part is a function which even doctors didn't discover.

And even more in the body of Christ. It's very very important my dear brother sister if you've given your life to Christ you have to recognize and if you've committed yourself to this body you have a function to fulfill.

And it may not be sharing in a meeting. It may be more sharing in a weekday meeting when there's a smaller group. Very important. In fact I feel that in our church in Bangalore a lot of growth came in the weekday meetings in small groups and could possibly be true here as well.

Personal Growth Through a Daily Walk With God

But a personal walk with God is very important if we are to make that contribution because our personal walk with God means we are a healthy member. Only healthy members of the body can contribute something however small.

And to be a healthy member is very very easy. It just means keep your conscience clear. You know sometimes we can be overwhelmed by some of the commands in scripture for example think of this where it says in Ephesians 6.

And verse 18 is one of the most widest commands. Ephesians 6 18 it says with all prayer. What does that mean. With all prayer and all petition. Pray at all times. That's another huge expression at all times.

And it must be in the spirit and be on the alert with all perseverance and with petition. And here's the most difficult part for all the Saints how in the world can I do that. I read a verse like that and I'm absolutely overwhelmed.

I mean you can read it casually and say go on to the next verse and don't even take these verses seriously. But I've come to the place where I've taken I if I believe the Bible is God's Word. I've learned to turn every verse seriously but I don't let it condemn me.

I read that verse and say I Lord maybe I'm not yet mature enough to understand how in the world to do it. But I see if I not yet able to do it I see it as a goal that I will come to. Maybe it'll take me 20 years to get there but I'm gonna get there.

It's like a marathon race. It may take you many hours to reach the finishing line but you're determined to pursue and go on. So it's very easy to get condemned by some very difficult command. But I want to encourage you to pursue it.

Hearing God's Word Daily

So one of the thoughts that's been coming is an old old thought that's come to my mind from many years almost from the beginning of my Christian life what Jesus said about Mary in Luke 1042 that Mary has chosen that good part to sit at my feet and listen to my word which is far more important than doing a lot of service for me like Martha was doing in the kitchen so that coupled with Jesus first words in his ministry man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

It's come more and more to my mind that every day I must receive something from the Lord. Maybe one word or one sentence from the Lord to be the word I have to live by. Man shall not live by bread alone and every day all of us eat some food even if it's a glass of juice of your fasting some little bit we all take every day.

And it says that's not enough. The Lord says there must be a word from God as well. Man shall not live even with a glass of juice or a cup of coffee or breakfast lunch or dinner. But by every word that proceeds from God's mouth there's a word that God wants to give us every day.

And as I've often said Genesis chapter 1 tells us one thing that God spoke every day. On the first day he spoke and the second day he spoke the third day he spoke fourth day teaching me right in the very first page of the Bible that God speaks every day.

I must listen. And if I don't listen like it says in Hebrews 5 I can be dull of hearing. John says in Revelation chapter 1 he heard God's voice like a trumpet. Whereas many believers say I don't hear it at all.

That must be because there's a dullness of hearing because there's something in your conscience that is not set right. Be very careful. Have you heard somebody ask his forgiveness. I believe God's laid that so much on my heart this business of asking forgiveness that I'll keep on preaching it till Jesus comes.

Repentance, Forgiveness, and Peace With Others

I don't know why it is. I never preached it so much in past years but from this year onwards that burden has tremendously come upon me must be because we are coming close to the coming of the Lord and people must be ready.

And the other burden is to forgive people to ask forgiveness. Matthew chapter 5 if your brother is something against you don't pray. Can you imagine the Lord saying don't pray. There is a command like that don't pray.

Leave your offering there. God's not gonna accept your prayer. Go first and settle matters with that person you hurt. Then come and offer your prayer. And I don't want to meet the Lord with having something.

I hurt somebody and I'm not asked forgiveness. Some debt I never even tried to repay. At least if you try to repay even if you don't finish repayment in your life God will accept it as repayment. But if you don't even attempt it you don't even attempt to make us forgiveness.

You will not live in peace with everybody. Romans 12 16 is very clear as much as lies in. You live at peace. But I must do my part. And the other is if there's a single person on earth whom I have not forgiven I'm conscious of.

I'm conscious and there may be many things I'm unconscious of. But if I'm conscious and I'm not forgiven it's clear that God will not forgive me. So this is something which I want to emphasize. That's the oh these are the only two things always very often that hinders us from hearing.

Please say Lord I want to hear you every day. The other thing that I was thinking out which I've repeated before and I never hesitate to mention again and again. Jesus went into the wilderness because he wanted to be alone.

Finding a Wilderness of Solitude With God

I thought much about that Lord. We live in a city where there's no wilderness anywhere nearby. And even if there were we don't have time to go into the wilderness. Our life is so busy. Where can I be alone.

Our life in a home is so rushed with children we don't have a spot to be by ourselves. I've discovered that my wilderness is when I'm awake in bed early in the morning before getting out of bed. Or at any time when I'm in bed when the whole world is asleep around me.

And it's just me and God. It could be in the middle of the night away for 10 minutes. That's the wilderness I find. So there is a place for every one of us to have a time alone with God. A wilderness when you're all alone.

And it could be other times as well when you're alone in the home no disturbance. And all of us certainly when we are in bed take those times the Lord speak to me. I believe God will speak if he sees you're eager and thirsty for it.

Christ's Prayer and Victory Over Temptation

And the other word that came to me in relation to prayer was it says about Jesus not only went into the wilderness but it says in Hebrews 5 that he prayed with loud crying and tears to be saved. He needed to be prayed to save from sin.

I don't want to sin father I don't want to sin. And he cried out with loud crying and tears. It's an amazing verse. It's most Christians don't even believe that Jesus ever prayed like this to be free to be overcome temptation.

They thought it was easy just like walking on the water. It wasn't. He had to pray with loud crying and tears because temptation was so strong and to be alert all the time. Not even he could not allow one single sin and thought a word or deed or attitude or motive to come in.

But then the sacrifice would be imperfect on the cross. So we had to be very careful. Far more careful than we are. Because we tend to take it lightly because if you slip up somewhere you say well the blood of Jesus cleanses me.

Jesus couldn't do that. Imagine I have thought of it like this. Sometimes when the Lord says to me I've forgiven all your sin until today. But from today onwards I'm not going to forgive any more of your sins.

Just be careful. Would I take more sin seriously if I heard the Lord say that to me. It's a question all of us can ask ourselves. Would you take sin more seriously if the Lord told you from today onwards.

No more forgiveness. Just be careful. We tend to take it so lightly because unconsciously at the back of our mind is the blood of Christ the blood of Christ. We've made the blood of Christ like tap water.

We need to take it more seriously. I want to say so this loud crying and tears. Also I discovered when I'm alone again when I'm in bed I can cry out aloud in my heart without any sound coming out of my mouth.

I've experienced it and you can experience it. It's a loud cry in the heart. Oh God help me keep me pure at any cost. And not a sound comes out of our mouth. I encourage you to pursue it. Your life will be changed.

The Greatest Command: Loving as Jesus Loved

And one last thing what is the most difficult commandment that Jesus gave. We have studied much on the sermon on the mountain. For some people would say well it's anger. Or I'm just not able to overcome my anger.

And the Lord says anger is the first of three steps to hell in Matthew chapter 5 and verse 22 onwards. And for some people it may be lusting with the eyes. Oh Lord I'm just not able to get over this lusting with the eyes.

Just not able to get over this occasional watching of pornography. Those are not the most difficult commands. Those are some of the easier commands I've we we have to start with easier ones. You have to start with two plus two before you go to multiplication and division and square root and all that.

So I'm not saying you should jump to the higher classes if you're in the kindergarten. Be faithful in the kindergarten. But don't stick. Get stuck in the kindergarten. Move on to first grade and second grade and third grade.

Move on to a PhD. You want to get a PhD on a post-doctoral in following the Lord. But as I've thought about it more and more is this is the most difficult command for myself anyway a new commandment I give you that you love one another.

Love others as your name as you love your neighbors. Yourself is an old covenant thing. But to love one another as I have loved you John 13 34 is absolutely nothing more difficult than that. To love somebody who hates you and who's hurt you badly done evil to you.

And to love everybody in NCCF. That's easy. That's kindergarten stuff. But to love people who hate you and even some who call themselves believers. And Jesus loved when he died on the cross. He wasn't dying for believers.

He was dying for everybody. There's one John 2 says he died for the whole world. And I think of I think of people who may hate me and detest me and I forgive them. Okay. But am I willing to die on a cross to save those people from hell.

Am I willing to experience hell like Jesus experienced on the cross to save those people from hell. I say no lord. I'm sorry. But if that's the goal you want me to pursue I'm ready work in my heart through the spirit.

I don't want to imagine myself as a spiritual person if I'm not pursuing this. That's why the Holy Spirit says in 1 Corinthians 14 1 pursue after love. Read 1 Corinthians 13. Love never seeks its own.

It's the most difficult command of all. The mark of being filled with the Holy Spirit is that the love of God should have brought in our hearts. Pursue it. Don't say it's impossible. Nothing is impossible with God.

Say lord I want this. I want to be able to love as you loved. If it takes me a lifetime so be it. But I'm going to pursue it. And some of these other things like anger and lusting and all will fall into place when I pursue this.

God bless you all. Thank you. Continuing on the basis of what I just shared earlier Luke 22 verse 14 onwards when the hour had come he reclined at table and the apostles with him. This is where the first breaking of bread.

The Lord's Supper as a Covenant of Sacrificial Love

And listen to these words I've earnestly desired to eat this with you before I suffer. And in some translations is with desire. I have desired and it was. It's an expression of tremendous love. I mean if you think about it it's exactly what I said.

To love one another as I have loved you means he was willing to. I want to say this reverently. He was willing to experience hell to save others from hell. That's exactly what he experienced on the cross.

That's why I said it is the most difficult command to obey and let. Let's not take lightly this command to love one another. I think we have taken it too lightly. It's far I have. And I want to repent of it and pursue it more eagerly.

And to never seek my own. Love does not seek its own in anything. And when we break bread together we are making a covenant of love. Saying we want to love like Jesus loved us. We are not there but we want to get there.

And I want to encourage you my brothers and sisters that this symbol of Jesus body and blood the in the bread and the cup his body broken and blood poured out. Let's see why he did it and for whom he did it.

And let's say Lord I want to go that way myself amen.