Thank you once again for listening to our Cultivating Growth podcast, where each and every week John and I will talk about various topics that are important for us to be considering our maturing in, our growing in, as we strive to be closer to God and be closer to each other. This week we're going to talk about the importance of growing as a member in the Lord's body or in the Lord's church, specifically a local church.

We'll talk about how that comes into play, why that's important and why God is looking for us to grow in that area. And so with that in mind, let's get right to it. 

Jeremy, you and I are actually on the very precipice of beginning a little bit of a series on the church over the next few months. And, uh, I'm looking forward to that. And I think maybe this conversation today is, is kind of one piece of that. Uh, certainly that's a big topic when we talk about the Lord's church and, and all that it is supposed to be and what it is and all of those things, but we individually have a responsibility within the Lord's church as members of his church here at Trader's Point, we have a responsibility and it's important to discuss what that responsibility looks like.

And really the impact that each of us doing our part or not doing our part is going to have on the other. And I think that's something that maybe it would do all of us good to spend some time with. And I know we're both open to first Corinthians chapter 12. That'll probably be where we spend a lot of our time as well as Romans chapter 12.

Two passages of scripture that really talk about the Lord's church as a body and the different aspects of that body and how each member plays a different role within the body. And that really speaks to the point that all of us have a vital role.  the church, wherever we may be here at Trader's Point.

You and I have a responsibility in this local church that if we don't fulfill then others around us are going to feel that. And there's going to be something off if we're not doing our part. And that's why a conversation like this is so important because it's not just the impact that it has on us, but the impact that it has on others around us.

Yeah, I mean, you open up the New Testament, and it doesn't take very long to realize that this is the design that God had in mind for His church. That there be, you know, bi communities, local groups, autonomous, dealing with, you know, their own issues, and growing, you know, closer together. I mean, you have various epistles written to, you know, to differing, you know, local bodies. 

Talking about the elder of the church shepherding the flock that is among you. And so this phraseology kind of puts us in a position to be thinking about, not in the grandest of schemes, but in our local body, our role there. And so when Paul writes to the brethren in Corinth in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, or he writes to the brethren in Rome in Romans chapter 12, you know, in a lot of ways, both books, writing to people that, in that local work.

have a lot of differences. They're talked about a lot in the book of 1 Corinthians. A lot of division that's happening there.  But in the book of Romans, you know,  Paul is writing to a church that, you know, is a collection of Jews and Gentiles, and the issues that they would have had, you know, in that region.

And so he has a lot to say, you know, about the metaphor of the body used in 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12. It's nice that both of those are taken 12 chapter. Yeah, and so it's easy to remember. Yeah, that's right. Well, you know you in 1st Corinthians, especially You mentioned the fact that this is a local church that Paul's writing to who's having a lot of problems There there is a lot of division among them.

There's sinful behavior among some of their members And so when you read through 1 Corinthians and you see what Paul is, is trying to help them sort through and you get to chapter 12, it almost becomes even more important what Paul saying here when put in context of the church that he's writing this to, this is a congregation who is, divided, who is struggling and he points out to them that unity can only be achieved if each of you is doing your part within the body.

And that's why he uses this analogy of the body and he talks about, you know, well, foot, if a foot says, because I'm not a hand, then I'm not a part of the body is not therefore not of the body. I mean, that's a ridiculous thing to think about, right? Right. of having, you know, two feet instead of hands, you know, how limited we would be if that were the case.

We need our hands just like we need our feet, but we need both of them. And the local church is the same way. Everybody plays an integral part in the unity and the success of a local church. Every single individual does. And a local church should. feel as if something is amiss if one individual is not doing their part.

That's how united we should be. That's how well functioning the local church should be. So much so, that if one person is not doing their part in the building up of the body, Then something is clearly wrong. There's a problem that needs to be fixed. If all of the sudden my right hand just stopped working. 

Then I would be panicked and I would be doing everything in my power to figure out what's wrong and how I can get it working again. Because I really, really need my right hand. The same is true with every member here at Trader's Point. If there's something wrong, then it should be cause for concern. An immediate concern.

Because we need the right hand. them to be functioning in the body the way that God created and designed them to. It's an immediate problem for the whole body, right? I mean, it is an immediate problem. You know, we've made mention of first Corinthians chapter 12, kind of at the very beginning of that discussion or that metaphor is really the idea that I like the best.

And I think it's the most helpful is he says in chapter 12 and verse 12 of first Corinthians as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body being many, Our one body, so also is Christ. And so just in that one verse, it's reiterated multiple times that even though there are many members, there is but one body.

And he says that a couple of different times in that same verse. And that reminds us that yeah,  there's a lot of us and we're different in so many ways and that's not a bad thing, that is an important thing.  And then he, he provides, you know, that metaphor that, you know, all the, you know, all the feet, you know, all our hands can't be feet.

We can't only be an eye, you know, he'll use that again, ridiculous, you know, scenario. If everybody was an eye, you know, how would we hear? And so you have this incredible picture given to us. You've made mention 12.  At the beginning of that, Conversation. He kind of gives some insight into, you know, how we best attack that kind of thought process.

We're saying Roman chapter 12 in verse three, you know, that we need to not to think of ourself more highly than we ought to think, but to think soberly is each was given a measure of faith. And so, In that passage in Roman chapter 12, he kind of helps us with how it is mindset wise that we can be approaching some of these things.

And I think our mindset is really crucial to this conversation because I have to always remember that I play an important part in the body here at Trader's Point.  No more important than anyone else. No less important than anyone else. We all play an equally important part in the success of the body here at Trader's Point.

And I need you to be playing your part. You need me to be playing my part. We need to all be working together. And when we learn to celebrate the diversity among us.  As opposed to thinking that as a negative thing, but to celebrate the diversity among us, then that's when we're really going to experience the fullness of what the body of Christ can be.

We certainly celebrate, oftentimes unknowingly, the diversity within our own body. I'm very glad that I have a left hand and a right hand and not two left hands. Now, I don't think about that all the time, but when I do think about it, I'm very glad that God designed me the way that he did so that my body can function the way that it's supposed to.

I need to learn to celebrate the diversity of the people around me that make up the body here. I'm really happy. I'm really happy that I'm not like everyone else, and I'm really happy that they're not all like me. We all have differences, we all come from different backgrounds, we all bring different skill sets to the Lord's Church, and that should be celebrated, and we should be thanking God for that, because it's in that diversity that we see the picture of Romans 12 12 really coming to fruition, and the fullness of the body of Christ being seen.

Amen. In those diverse individuals that make up that body. And so I, I, I know in the past, I've not done a good enough job of being thankful for that and, and see maybe even speaking publicly about my thankfulness for the data, the diversity that we have here at Trader's Point, because that is a really, really important part of Christ's body functioning as it should.

Yeah, you know, in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, I mean, Paul talks to that directly. And so it is God warning us about that kind of thought when he talks about those members of the body that sometimes we deem as weaker or not necessary.  He says that even on those members, they should be bestowed greater honor.

And so he, he, he pushes against that mindset. That certainly is a temptation. And the reason that he does is given to us, at least the very beginning of verse 25 of first Corinthians 12, is that there'd be no division or schism in the body. That if you have the body fighting it, I mean, how ridiculous again, sticking with the metaphor, you know, if I'm going to pick up something with my right hand, but my left hand is just not having it.

You know just how ridiculous that that would be that you know my left hand is smack in my right hand You know when I go to pick up something or you know, whatever the case may be or if you're two feet Can't get on the same page. I mean you're not going anywhere I mean it is so if you carry out that metaphor It certainly makes perfect sense to us because we all have a few It's a physical body that works in perfect unison and perfect harmony.

That's what makes it the most efficient. And that's what this makes this metaphor so perfect because that's what God wants from his local churches. That's what he wants from his people to be working different,  but to be working in such unison, it's just perfect unity and nobody's, you're not thinking about the differences because everybody's working together.

And I think, you know, if we. Play out that scenario in a physical realm. If something in my body is not functioning correctly, if I have a broken arm or a broken leg or whatever it might be, something is, is wrong.  In those moments, I'm always longing for healing. I always want to do whatever it takes. To heal and recover so that I can get back to a body that is fully functioning properly.

And I think a local church should, should do the same. If there are times where we feel as if we're not functioning properly, where there's, there's a lack of unity among us. There should be a longing to get back to a fully functioning body of Christ, the way that's described in these two passages of scripture.

And so it should become a focal point for a congregation. Where is the problem? Why? Why are we not functioning like we should? What needs to change in order for this body to really be what God intended for it to be? And it almost becomes a singular focus. You know, again, if I, if I have a broken leg. Then, you know, once that bone heals, then I'm in therapy and rehab trying to strengthen it because I want to get back to normal as quickly as I can.

The local church should have that same urgency in trying to get to where Christ sees his body and what he wants it to be. And, you know, I read just the beginning of, Verse 25, but the end of verse 25 talks to that directly when he, you know, he makes the point that, you know, there'd be no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another.

And that ultimately is what it comes down to, is that we've got to have the same level of care, you know, for everybody. And, you know, what I love about this passage in 1 Corinthians 12, one thing that I think about a lot, you know, sometimes we talk about, you know, putting these thoughts into application, putting these thoughts into practice.

You know, there's a great way to do that given to us 

And it is something that I think a lot about, and there are,  there's some growth that even I need to take on when it comes to a passage like that, when it says, you know, if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it, if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. With it. And so that, that paints a picture in, in a, in a local church that if there is a, a part of that body that's suffering in some capacity, I'm right there next to them.

Yeah. Yeah. But yet on the, you know, and a lot of times we're good at that. A lot of times we're, and we need to be that that's something we need to be doing. But even the second part of the passage, I think we struggle with sometimes when there's a part of the body that is to be honored. Yeah. And there's rejoicing that happens.

Well, we, we gotta be right there. Yeah. You know, as well. And.  Sometimes pride and sometimes jealousy and envy, you know, get in the way of those kinds of things. But again, we could go back to the idea that we saw in Romans chapter 12, is that having that sober mind, and if I have care for each member, I'm going to be able to rejoice, I'm going to be able to suffer with each and every one, with each and every member.

Yeah, absolutely. Well, let's wrap things up in another passage that, um, In a lot of ways, it's similar to 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans chapter 12. Some of the wording that Paul uses in Ephesians chapter four, to what he has written to the church in Corinth and to the church in Rome, and we're going to end just by reading a couple of verses, verses 15 and 16 of Ephesians chapter four, and we'll stop there for the day.

But speaking the truth in love may grow up in all things into him who is the head Christ from whom the whole body. Joined and knit together by what every joint supplies according to the effective work by which every part does its share causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. 

Thank you for listening this week. If you haven't already done so, we'd appreciate it if you would take just a second to subscribe to the podcast, whatever platform you're listening, rate and review the show so we can continue to spread the good news of Jesus widely. And effectively as possible. Thanks again for joining us this week.

And we'll talk again next week.