0:00 [Music] I've had something on my mind for quite a while now that I'm excited to share. Um, the Lord has revealed almost what would be like a secret to me from the 0:18 scriptures. Um, about something that the Lord is doing here amongst this body, the river of life. There's something that um just gets me excited when I think about it and I wanted to share that with you this morning. If you would 0:31 turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 12, we often ask for the Lord to do a work here or um you know, we want to see the spirit moving here. 0:48 And when I think of uh when I think of what the Lord has done, and in fact, we just heard that the whole time that you've been here, have you been growing in love? And uh I'll look at maybe about half a dozen or so verses that have just encouraged me 1:05 recently and for a while now in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. And I'd say this is probably the beginning of the secret that I've discovered here. Um, if you would look in verse four, he says, now I'm reading from the Living Bible, so 1:21 it's probably going to sound a little bit different this morning. He says, "Now God gives us many kinds of special abilities, but it is the same Holy Spirit who is the source of them all." And I'll read I'll jump around to 1:33 a few different verses here. Verse 7 again it says the Holy Spirit displays God's power through each of us at River of Life as a means of helping the entire church. I think that's it right there that I've come to realize it's the Holy 1:48 Spirit who's the source of them all. And here again he says he displays God's power through each of us each one of us that's a member here as a means of helping each other the entire church. Now he goes on to say some of these 2:03 gifts that um he's given u giving uh discernment and the ability to teach and heal and all these different gifts. But if you look at verse 11, he says it is the same and only Holy Spirit who gives 2:21 us all these gifts and powers deciding which each one of us should have. It's a really encouraging thought to me to think about how the Lord has called us from so many different places around the world really and he's decided um which 2:38 gifts that he has given to each one of us. Now keep on reading down and um the next few verses he talks about how you know we all can't just be one member of the body and one or or one part of the body. We can't all just be 2:55 ears or hands or something. Verse 18, he says, "But that isn't the way God has made us. He has made many parts for our bodies, and he has put each part just where he wants it." That is very encouraging to me to think about that, 3:10 that he's put each one of us exactly where he wants us. And I'd say the two or three most encouraging things that I would share this morning come in these next few verses. When I think about this, it says in verse 22, he says, "And some of the 3:28 parts that seem weakest and least important are really the most necessary." I don't know if you've ever thought about that when it says that some of the parts that seem weakest and least important are really the most necessary. So, the parts of the body, 3:43 um, now I don't think this is, by the way, I don't think this is talking about someone who just has a lack of self-esteem, but someone who doesn't have high thoughts of themselves. And so the person who might be might say, "Well, I'm I'm not 3:56 important at this in this church at all." That's good. No, actually that's great that you don't have any high thoughts of yourselves because the Lord says you're actually more necessary. So the person who says, "But I I or who 4:09 thinks that they are very important in this local body." If you actually do the reverse thinking, if if you're the least important, you're the most necessary. So if you think yourself to be the most important, you're probably actually the 4:21 least necessary. Um, and then he says here in verse 23, he says, "Yes, we are especially glad to have some parts that seem rather odd." And it says a little bit different there, but uh the parts that seem rather odd, maybe 4:37 they haven't quite found their place in the ministry, and this is at times I've even felt the same way. Perhaps this is the group that best explains me, the rather odd group. Um, and so maybe you're part of this group just like me 4:50 or you're not sure exactly where you might fit in. But he says, "We carefully protect from the eyes of others those parts that should not be seen while of course the parts that may be seen do not require this special care." And then I I 5:02 want to see show you this again because he keep I we started with saying the Holy Spirit is the source of them all. He displays uh you know his power through each of us. uh he decides right all these verses that we've seen um and he 5:19 says so God has put the body together in such a way that extra honor and care are given to those parts that might otherwise seem less important. I was thinking of this. Even if you were recently converted, there's this um 5:31 there's this man I know. I This is one of the strangest stories I've heard of when someone was recently converted. He was saying that he knew nothing about the scripture. Absolutely nothing. And he said that when he was uh he he knew 5:44 to believe in Jesus and he figured, well, I guess I'm just going to go to church because I believe in Jesus now. And I remember he told me the story a few times. He said that when he went to church, he said uh the nobody had knew 5:56 him there at this church. He just went to a local church. And he said that the preacher opened up and said uh turned to the book of Job. And when he was um sitting there for whatever the sermon length was, maybe 30, 40 minutes, 6:11 uh he kept on looking in his Bible for the book of Job. And as the preacher was preaching, the whole service went went by and he came to the guy afterwards and he said, you know, he wanted to introduce himself and he said that he 6:27 noticed that he was really intently searching the word as he was speaking and he wanted to know what this guy was thinking. And um and the guy said, "Uh, yeah, I I was looking in in the Bible." He he said uh I I didn't get 6:45 much from the sermon because he said that I didn't get anywhere past the first statement you made. And the preacher was thinking what was the first statement I made and he said it was to turn to the book of Job. And this guy 6:56 knew so little of the Bible. He wasn't kidding when he said this. He knew such little of the Bible that he said yeah I kept looking and I could never find it but I did find this one book and it was called Job. And I think I'm not trying to be 7:09 funny but it is does sound funny though. He knew so little and you think, how could this person possibly be that important in the body, you know, he's a new convert, he wouldn't have been able to have shared, right? If we passed the 7:21 microphone around, he wouldn't have been able to really share anything. But even then, it's encouraging to think even that in that example, his diligence to search the scriptures because he really didn't know. He he was looking for the 7:36 book of Job the entire time. Um so even those so no matter what the abilities are here even in that case um it's encouraging to me that those who are the weakest least important the Lord has placed each one of us here in this 7:54 body and he says in verse 25 this makes for happiness among the parts so that the parts have the same care for each other that they do for themselves. If one part suffers, all parts suffer with it. And if one part is honored, all the 8:07 parts are glad. And Paul continues on to say here, now here is what I'm trying to say. All of you together are the one body of Christ. And each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it. And he goes on to say just a couple things 8:21 or a few different um parts of the body. And one of them, the way the Living Bible says here, it says one of the the gifts to the body, one of the parts that he places in here, and you might think of like the the big stuff, the miracles, 8:37 the gift of healing, apostles, prophets, some of the big stuff. But then there's this one little one that he says, those who can get others to work together. That's your part in the body is getting people to work together. Getting people 8:49 from different cultures, from different races, from different parts of the world. and he says this is the this is why you're here at River of Life so that you get others to work together. Um so again I'm I'm excited to share that 9:04 because I've I've been thinking about that. You know this is if you're a member here you know that we we spend our lives together here with each other and we see each other throughout the week and it's it's an exciting thing to 9:17 think about that it's not any one of us that is really building the body. Um, it's the Lord that's doing it. He's the source of it all. He says, "You have this gift. You have this ability." And and for the person that maybe doesn't do a whole lot, maybe they 9:35 just sit here and listen and he says, "Well, you're actually the most necessary." I don't know how it all works. The Lord has figured that out. Um, but but it's something to get for me. It's something to get exciting about. I I I almost feel 9:52 bad for the people who say, "Well, I've been going to church my whole life, and you know, 30, 40, 50, 60 years, it's hard to get excited anymore because I've been doing this my whole life." For me, it's still exciting to see how the Lord 10:03 adds to this church, how he builds it up. Um, and he decides, you know, and it's not for the eye to say to the hand, right, that I don't have any need for you. He's the one who builds us up. He's the one that has fitted each one of us 10:19 together. So, it's something I'm very thankful for what the Lord is has done and is doing and will do. I believe he'll definitely do even more here uh than what we've seen so far. Amen. I just wanted to read a few verses from um 10:34 John chapter 20, which um the Lord encouraged me with um starting from verse 19. John 20:1 19 and this was uh John chapter 20 is the is a chapter that speaks about Jesus resurrection in um the many times uh he 10:54 appeared to his disciples in different places and chapter um chapter 20 19 on the evening of that day the first day of the week the doors being locked where his disciples were for fear of the Jews Jesus came and stood among them and said 11:11 to them peace be with do. And then again, a few verses down because Thomas had not been with them in verse 26, 8 days later, the disciples were inside again. And Thomas was was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus 11:27 came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." And Jesus chose the same words both times. As soon as he appeared to them, he used the same words, "Peace be with you." And just this past week, I was um I woke up one day, there had been a couple 11:46 incidents at work. And I was also sick a little bit. And I remember waking up that morning a little troubled, a little anxious. And John chapter 20 was the chapter I was reading that day. And I came to these verses and it felt like 12:00 the Lord was speaking the same words to me. Peace be with you. And situationally um when we arrive at verse 19, disciples like it said were hiding from the Jews. They were fearing that the same thing that happened to Jesus would happen to them. 12:18 They were they were hiding from the Jews, keeping a low profile and they were also hearing these mixed messages. Um Peter and John had been to the tomb, but they didn't see Jesus risen. But they saw the the the the clothes that he 12:32 was the cloth that he was wrapped with lying there. It says John believed and then Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene and she came back and reported to the disciples. But they clearly didn't believe yet because they were still in 12:45 fear and they were hiding. And they were also sad, depressed that Jesus was not with them anymore. And so many things that were that were on their minds at that moment. Jesus appeared, stood in the midst of them and said, "Peace be with you." And 13:02 I feel he was saying the same thing to me this week. Peace be with you. And verse 20, right after he said that, it says, "When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. And then the disciples were glad when 13:19 they saw the Lord." And I thought about that. Why did Jesus show show them his hands and his side? you know, Thomas asked for for that, but but at this point in verse 20, um Thomas wasn't even with them, but Jesus showed them his hands and his 13:33 side. And it's almost as if Jesus was saying, "I know the thing that you guys fear. You fear that you will be uh you will suffer the same thing that I suffered, that you will be killed." But then he showed them his hands and his 13:45 side and say, "See, they tried to do it. They tried to overcome me with death, but I overcame death instead. see my hands and my side. They killed me. They nailed me to the cross. But I have overcome even death. I've overcome the 13:58 grave so that you don't have to be afraid anymore. It reminded me of of before the Lord went to the cross. Um in John 16 when he was preparing his disciples for what was to come in verse 32, Jesus said, "Behold, the hour is coming. 14:17 Indeed, it has come when you will all be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet, I am not alone, for the Father is with me. And verse 33, I've said these things to you that in me you may have peace. And in the world you will have 14:32 tribulation, but take heart, take heart. I have overcome the world. And then when he appeared to them in John 20, he said, I have overcome the world. And he showed them the proof. Look at my look at the scars on my hands and my side 14:47 which is pierced. They tried to overcome me with death, but I have overcome death and I've risen over all of that and therefore you can have peace. And Jesus said to them again, verse 21, peace be with you. As the father has sent me, 15:00 even so I am sending you. And I want to take that as an encouragement for my situations. Um, a lot smaller than what the disciples were going through here. They were going through the biggest crisis of their lives. I go through much 15:13 smaller crisis during the week, during my days. But I believe the promise of the Lord is still the same for me. Peace be with you. That Jesus stands in the midst of my troubles. Whatever it is, physical sickness or at work, something seems 15:27 overwhelming. He stands in the midst of it all and says, "Peace be with you. I'm here. I've overcome any trouble that you'll ever face on this earth and I'm with you." And I also um took as an encouragement that I don't come here every Sunday morning and 15:44 Jesus says Jesus gives me a word whether whether it be this word peace be with you and sends me away and says try it out this week and come back next week. Tell me how it worked out. But he goes with me. He is with me. Peace be with 15:56 you because I'm here. I'm here with you in this room or in that meeting where where I'm being overwhelmed or when my flesh is raging within me and I'm tempted to be myself, he says peace be with you. I'm here. And not only that, 16:12 um verse 22, and when he said peace be with you a second time, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit." And I want to make this my prayer. Sometimes I wake up in the morning and I'm so overwhelmed by the day that is ahead of 16:27 me. I want to pray to the Lord who is with me and say, "Lord, breathe on me this morning. I need you. I need your Holy Spirit." Like Dave was just sharing, everything that we do, it's the same spirit that gives us the strength. 16:41 And I need the Holy Spirit for that day. Um in John chapter 14 and verse 26, Jesus promised the Holy Spirit. He said, "But the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the father will send in my name will come and he will teach you all 17:00 things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." And write with the promise of the Holy Spirit. The next verse, verse 27, Jesus promised peace. He said, "Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world 17:13 gives do I give to you. And therefore, let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. And so I want to seek that on on a daily basis. I want to seek first of all for the breath of God to be breathed on me, for the Holy 17:28 Spirit to fill me and to seek the peace that only he brings. Um, it's not a piece that that I receive on a Sunday morning when I'm here at church, but it's a piece that I can receive every single day, every single moment. Um, in 17:43 my strong moments, weak moments, moments of desperation, moments where I feel helpless, I can look to him and say, "Lord, breathe on me. I need your spirit. I need your peace." Amen. [Music]
