One Body, Many Gears - Pastor Eric Skelton

What if the very thing that makes you feel ordinary is actually what makes you extraordinary in God's kingdom? Paul reveals that you're not an accidental spare part - you're placed exactly where God wants you. Are you trying to be someone else's gear instead of embracing who God made you to be? Your personality isn't a secular accident, it's a spiritual assignment.

At The Neighborhood Church, we believe faith is lived out in everyday rhythms of love, grace, and purpose. Learn more and connect with us at https://theneighborhoodchurch.com/

Transcript

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We're in week two of this series, common grace, uncommon power. We're just going to talk about this idea of one body in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verses uh starting in verse 12, it says this 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. Kind of a jumbled up uh passage there, right? I love I love the Apostle Paul um and what he has to say, but uh translating Paul from Greek to English, it's not easy. Uh Paul is the king of run-on sentences. Um I wish he just would have written it in English in the first place. No, that's not, we don't do that. But we need to dig in and see as he talks about this body is so diverse and so beautiful, but yet we're still one. Imagine that today, after service, we walk out of here, and you walk up to your car, and you look down, and there's this oily coated metal gear. You know what I'm saying? When I say a gear, you know what I'm talking about? A little cogwheel. You notice as you're getting ready to carry that's laying on the ground right next to your vehicle. Huh. It's probably got some oil, maybe some dirt on it. It's not pretty. It's not pretty. I don't think any of us would go pick it up and say, oh wow, look at this cool neat little thing. Well, maybe some of you might, but hopefully not. You probably think, instead of, oh wow, how neat, you're gonna probably think, uh, uh-oh. I hope that's not off my car. Right? I hope that didn't come out of my transmission. Why? Well, because listen, that gear that's only so big and now in the dirt and dirty and that's maybe only worth five, six, seven dollars while it's sitting there on the pavement has zero worth. The only value it has is when it's meshed back together with that whole transmission. Yes? We have any mechanics or people like to tinker in here? A handful? Yeah? So two weeks ago we talked about uh the purpose of tools and the fact that God has equipped all of us. All of us. You are all equipped in one way or another. But today we're gonna move from the the what to the how. That's an important step to take. We're gonna talk about how these tools begin to fit together. Paul uses this image of the human body, and and but for our modern, fast-paced world today, I'm gonna ask if you'd give me a little bit of liberty and we're gonna look at it today as kind of this complex engine. Is that okay? Let's read the rest of the passage and then we'll dig in. Starting in verse 13, for in one spirit we were all baptized into one body, Jews or Greeks, slave or free, and all were made to drink of the one spirit. For the body does not consist of one member, but of many, many. If the foot should say, Because I'm not a hand, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, Because I'm not an eye, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? 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 of 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 the parts 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 parts 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. The word of the Lord this morning. Remember, this is how Paul describes the picture of the body. He describes as a human body and how they all fit together. Today, though, I'm going to take a little bit of pastoral liberty and use it as a picture of a complex engine. We all utilize, probably at some point, an engine to get here this morning. Yes? And so here's what I want us to think of. As we begin digging into this passage, the church is not a theater for spectators. Would you agree with that? The church is not a theater for spectators. It's an engine where every gear is essential, and that uncommon power is only realized when the common grace of every member is functioning. I know that's a big long. I wanted to release my inner Paul for a long run-on sentence, right? But do you see that? Every gear is essential. Every part is essential. Big, small, it does not matter. A couple of weeks ago, we took a short little uh midweek trip with our family over to the Great Wolf Lodge in Naples. It's a really cool little place. It's only like an hour, 45 minutes away. Uh, but on the drive there, uh, guess what? The van had issues again. I love it. I love it. Um and the cause of the issue was a $14 sensor. A sensor, a plastic piece about that big that on one end it plugs into uh the engine side of the engine block, a little bitty tiny screw, and then a little connector on the outside. And that's it. Like 14. You look at it, it's like this is a piece of plastic. This is nothing. But that one little individual piece can shut down the entire thing. It's the same way with the body of Christ. We are all essential. You are all vitally important. I think to understand this passage in 1 Corinthians 12, we have to understand that the church that Paul was writing to in Corinth, they were a train wreck. They were they were trouble. Uh in fact, uh, it was this culture obsessed with status. We don't have that issue, do we? This is this is just strictly a biblical thing, right? It's not about us at all. In fact, it was a culture obsessed with status. In the Roman world, if you weren't like an orator or a philosopher or a person of high rank, or it didn't matter. That sounds nothing like what we're in today. And then what happened was they brought that mentality, that ideology, that superstar status into the church. And so pretty soon, in the church, they're fighting over who had the flashiest gifts, who was the most important, who received the most honor, who got the best seat. There's only one person on the front row. Thank you, Eric. I appreciate that. They thought the people in that time who spoke in tongues or preached the most beautiful messages were the high performance parts of the engine. Right? And everyone else was just there. They're just there. Paul writes to tell him, he says, hey, listen, your spiritual pride is actually spiritual paralysis. That's why you're stuck. That's why you're not getting anywhere. He uses the body metaphor in this passage to say you're arguing who's the head and who's the feet, and but the problem is you're refusing to walk. You're refusing to do anything. He's telling them this, and I think this is our beautiful Nazarene theology. He said, holiness isn't just about your personal purity. It's not just about your personal purity, it's about your communal participation. It's about being tied and connected into the body. In our Nazarene tradition, we talk about this phrase, perfect love. This idea of perfect love. Well, let me share with you: love isn't perfect if it's isolated. It's not perfect if it's isolated. We have to mesh together. We have to fit and work together. So Paul's writing to this church in Corinth 1980 years ago. I don't know how long ago it was. But here's the issue with that. We have the same problem today. It's here today. We live in this follower culture. Yeah? We live in this culture that, and we find this superstar pastor or or this YouTuber or or the best uh rated uh YouTube or uh spiritual worship leader on Spotify. We have our favorites, we have everything starred, we were following this person, we make sure they get we get their blog or or this devotional plugged in, and we follow that every every week. And subconsciously, what happens is we decide that they're the ones with the power. They're the most important, they're the ones who are elevated. And you might not notice it just yet, but what happens is we develop this picture that the church is a cruise ship where the professionals do the work and the passengers enjoy the buffet. That's why it's fun to go on a cruise. You don't do anything. But in fact, what you don't see is the two decks on the very bottom is a bustling city where all the work is happening. But here's the thing. I I I've I've read this book a couple of times. I think a few of you have read through this book a couple of times, right? I can't find anywhere in the scripture about professional Christians. I don't see anywhere in here about that. In fact, in verse 18 it says, but in fact, God has placed the parts of the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. Just as he wanted them to be. That's the important phrase. If you are here, I believe that you are placed. That means you're here on purpose. God has a plan for you. He has placed you here on purpose. You are not an accidental spare part. My dad was having, I think it must run in the family. He was having car trouble. Uh they they they bought a uh new to them car, right? A couple years old, used car. And uh they had come down for a visit here, and then they were driving back to Avon Park and traveling uh 27 north, which at night can get pretty dark. There's not a lot of lights. And as they were approaching, uh uh getting getting uh 30 miles out from Avon Park or whatever, they're driving, and well, my dad doesn't have the best eyesight. Uh and he noticed something in the row that he thought, oh, that must be like a blacktop asphalt patch or whatever. It was an alligator. And uh he ran over an alligator in their new to them car. And from the look on the outside, you know, there was no major damage. That little plastic piece, you know, the the underneath that that kind of got scuffed up, and but he didn't really see, and it was driving fine, it was working just fine for a couple of days. Um and then come to find out that alligator that he ran over had pushed the radiator and the AC condenser and some pieces under there, kind of pushed them together and actually punctured and created small holes to where it slowly began to leak out coolant, which you know you cannot drive a car if there's no coolant in it. Um and so he had to replace those parts. And my dad, being who he is, refuses to hire any work done. That's why I'm not a farmer. Um, I know enough about plumbing to be dangerous. I know enough about electrical to be dangerous. Um, I can weld, sort of. I can fix a car, sort of. Because he would never want to hire work done, so he's like, let's figure it out yourself. And uh so that's my dad. And so he's fixing the car, replacing it, uh, gets the new parts, puts it all in, and then my mom, who I'm on the phone with, says, What are all those extra pieces for? What are what are all that's a lot of extra pieces? Why aren't they connected? What's going on? Well, come to find out when he ordered the he ordered extra pieces just to be safe, right? That was forward thinking. But I want you to know that in the world of uh in the spiritual realm, in the world of the body of the church, there are no extra pieces left over. Every piece is essential. You are important to the body. You might think I'm not much more than a than a pinky toe. You ever stubbed your pinky toe at night trying to navigate? You know how bored a pinky toe is? Yeah? You are essential. Now, here's the thing though. I I I was working kind of trying to come up with this phrase, dealing with the whole engine stuff. Uh you are essential. I I want to say this. You are a sovereignly designed gear.

unknown 15:36

No?

SPEAKER_00 15:37

I didn't get the reaction I thought. That's okay. Let me let me go into. Here's the thing though. If you don't turn, if that sovereignly designed gear doesn't turn, everything next to you grinds. You ever heard metal grinding on metal? It's not a pretty sound. It doesn't work. And the truth is, when we refuse to use our common grace that God has placed in all of us, our ability to listen. Maybe you have a knack for numbers or a or a heart for children or youth. If you refuse to use that common grace, you aren't just sitting out. You aren't just sitting in the in the back row. You're not just attending. In fact, what you're doing is you're causing grinding in the engine of the kingdom. That's not a good thing. I think Paul gets a little bit funny in this passage. And in verses 15 to 17, he he talks about, you know, if the foot should say, because I'm not a hand, I don't belong. Remember that part? I think we do this all the time. We as in the church, and I'm gonna say, me, I do this. I'll say, because I'm not spiritual like so-and-so, or because I can't preach like that person, or because I can't ex uh uh expose on a certain on a passage of scripture the way that theologian can, my gear isn't as important and really doesn't count. I think what we have is we have gear envy. The quiet person maybe envies the bold person. The logical person maybe envies the emotional person. But listen, unity is not uniformity. Unity is not uniformity. An engine that's made entirely of smart plugs is just a pile of ceramic and wire. Doesn't do a thing. It'll never go anywhere. God made you a foot because there's a territory that he needs you to go and claim. He made you an ear because maybe there's a cry in your neighborhood that you're the only one that can hear. When you try to be someone else's gear, when you try to look like someone else or to be like someone else, the whole machine grinds to a halt. And it stops. And it's dead. So stop apologizing for the gear that you are and start asking God who needs you to start turning. Stop apologizing for, well, I don't have that gift. I can't, I'm not skilled in the area. I just can't. Yes, you can. God has placed with inside you amazing and beautiful and wonderful things, and the kingdom is dependent on you using the gifts that He has blessed you with. Let's take this a step further. The people in your lives are dependent on you for their spiritual journey. I heard a preacher say this one time and it it stopped me in my tracks. Said, if you're not willing to to witness, to share your witness, to share, whether that's can be done a number of ways. Preaching your story, telling your story, uh telling somebody about Jesus, whatever. It can be verbal, it can be the way you live, it can be the way you work, it can be whatever example that you use to share Jesus, right? It can be a number of ways. But he said, if you're unwilling to do that, if you're unwilling to share with your neighbor about Jesus, what you're saying without speaking at all is you can go to hell. That stopped me down in my tracks. He said, He said that, he said that from the pulpit. I just did too. If we're unwilling to let our gears turn and be part of the body, we're stopping the whole process. And we might be, we might be one of the reasons why someone else doesn't hear about Jesus. It may not be your job to tell them or to talk to them about it. That may not be your job at all, but if we stop the process of the body, someone else might miss the opportunity because we've caused frustration over here. Am I making sense? That little bitty plastic piece in our van, that that $14, $15 sensor, really had no part of the, there was no metal, it didn't have part of the engine, it wasn't a gear, it wasn't a piston, it wasn't a rod, it wasn't any of that stuff. But that little piece caused a disruption in the communication from the computer to the engine to say it needs more gas. It doesn't matter what your piece is in the kingdom, every single one is critical. You are vital. That's why it's so important. That's why it's so important that you take care of your spiritual journey. That's why it's so important that you develop your spiritual time, your time to pray, your alone time, your time to dig into the word and to study, your time to worship. That's why it's important to gather together as the body so that we can encourage one another and build each other up. Your own spiritual journey is vital to others' spiritual journey. We're all connected, folks. And not one of us is any better than the other. So what do we do when we leave? What do we do when when we sing our song, we pray, we have a blessing, and we leave. What do we do with that? Well, I like to simplify things, and I think it's simple as this. Instead of having some big complex answer, we just we go and we be the church. We go and we be. Folks, your personality is not a secular accident. It's a spiritual assignment. God designed you on purpose for a reason. If you're a detail person, if your gear is into details, I think God wants to use your precision to bring order to maybe a chaotic workplace. He's gifted you for that. That's uncommon power in action. Maybe you have a mercy gear. Maybe your gear is mercy. God wants to use your empathy to comfort a grieving neighbor or friend or coworker. We have to move from the point of being a church that says, come and see, to go, to be a church that goes and bees. So we're going to start using that phrase a little bit more and more. So here's your go and be challenge for the week. You ready for a challenge? Identify your gear type. Identify your gear type. Are you an encourager? Are you a helper? Are you a leader? Are you an organizer? I'm not saying to go look for a church committee to join. In fact, that committee is a bad word. I don't like that. We're not going to use committee. That's just a so can board members, can you hold me to that? We're done using the word committee. That's a no-no word. Don't look for another group or whatever. Look for that place where your gears mesh together. And where the cogs fit perfectly in, and so they work around you. That mesh point is where your common grace meets someone else's uncommon need. You were designed for others. God will use you in ways that you never ever thought or imagined if we just surrender ourselves to him. So maybe when you're at the grocery store or at the gym or at the office, maybe you just say a simple prayer. Lord, am I am I meshed right now? Or am I just a gear that's laying in the parking lot? Folks, I really think this. I really think the world is is tired of superstar Christianity. I really think that. I think they're done with superstar Christianity. They've seen the whole come and see shows, and let's just be honest, they're unimpressed because there's a whole lot of things they could be doing. I think what the world is hungry for, and if if we're out in our neighborhoods and talking to people and seeing the, I think what the world is hungry for is a community, a body. Being welcomed, being connected, finding relationship. A community where the strong protect the weak and and where the hidden parts are honored. And I believe they're looking for a place where every gear is turning in sync. Because there's something beautiful when you get in that car that's finely tuned, and everything is precisioned and put together, and you turn that key, or now I guess you push the button today, but as that vehicle sparks and turns on and that engine begins to hum, there's something beautiful to that sound when it all works. It's the same in the church. That's attractive. When everything is functioning together and all those wheels are turning together, all those gears are connected and spinning the right way. Beauty happens. Out of that, life change happens. Folks, uncommon power doesn't fall on a person in isolation. It falls on the body in motion. I want to see more of God working through his church, through his people. And I think that's where all of us have to get together and function and work together. Yes. In the coming weeks, we're going to talk more about this and continue this metaphor of how these pieces fit together. We're even going to go as far as doing some spiritual gifts, testing things like that. How do we work together? What's my gift? What's my skill? We're going to look at all this stuff together as a body, as a family. And I believe God is placing us on a journey that's going to stretch us. We're going to ask questions. We're going to look at some of the hard things of, okay, God, what do you want us to do? How do you want us to go and be the church? But I think the very first part is saying, God, I'm going to surrender to your will in my own spiritual journey. Help me develop what that gear looks like so I can know where I fit in. So it starts with me, with you, with us as individuals. And knowing that you are here on purpose for a reason. God has designed you in such a way that is magnificent and beautiful, and there was no one else at all like you. Which means you are vital. You are important. I want to invite you to stand with me. Pastor Thad's going to lead us in a song. And I want you to hear this today. You are indispensable. Not just on Sundays, but you are indispensable throughout the week. People know if you're not here or a small group or you're missed because you're vital. You're important. God designed you on purpose. And we all have a job to do. Big or small, we all have a job. Folks, the world does not need more spectators in pews. It needs more gears working together.