Introduction

Last week I was listening to Albert Mohler’s podcast, and he had a fascinating discussion about the Army’s new recruiting strategy. The Army is struggling to recruit so, in 2021, they decided to try something different.

Specifically, the Army has always called young men to be a part of something bigger than yourself. Join a brotherhood. Be part of a team. Do something meaningful. But that message isn’t working with Gen Z youth. Afterall, they’ve been told their whole lives that life is all about me. “Be true to yourself. “Do your own thing.” “Be your own person.”

So, the army tried to lean into that. The first add in this new campaign begins with a soldier looking at the camera and saying: “The might of the U.S. Army doesn't lie in numbers. It lies in me. I am an army of one.”

Predictably, the campaign has fallen flat. For one, everyone knows it’s bologna. There’s no room for self-expression in the Army. But as well, the world can push individualism all it wants, but the truth remains that God made you for community. People want to belong, they need to belong, and they need shared purpose.

And today’s passage teaches that God specifically made Christians to belong to the Christian community, the church (read). We live in a culture of rogue individualism and anti-authoritarianism. The world preaches that you are awesome and that you don’t need anyone. But the God who knows you best has a simple message for you in this text. You need the church, and the church needs you. That’s a great challenge for a day when we will vote to receive people into membership. To get this point, God first challenges you to…

I.  Admit your need for the church (v. 3).

That sounds simple enough. But pride has deep roots in us all. If you let the Spirit search your heart, you’ll probably find that there’s more rogue individualism there than you care to admit.

In fact, notice that Paul doesn’t only address this verse to snotty people who push for attention. Verse 3 begins, “I say to everyone among you.” God is speaking to you. So, what does he want you to hear?

God commands you, “Not to think…” God is specifically forbiding a snotty attitude toward the church. This was probably on Paul’s mind because he was writing from Corinth, and the Corinthian congregation had the corner on arrogance. Many were in love with their own greatness. They flaunted their spiritual gifts, their knowledge, and their wealth. And they were so blinded by their pride that didn’t have any use for the poorer members, and they didn’t see any problem with locking them out of their fancy dinners.

But here’s the problem. They needed those poorer members. Notice that v. 3 ends by saying “God has allotted…” In context, Paul is talking about spiritual gifts. His point is that no Christian has every gift. We all have a measure of grace, but it is only a measure. God made all of us dependent.

So, God is telling you that you need the church. It doesn’t matter how mature you are, how intelligent and gifted you are, or how successful and wealthy you are. You need every member of Life Point. You have spiritual blind spots that others can see. You will need encouragement during hard times, and you will need a kick in the seat when you get lazy.

And no matter how gifted you are, you can’t fulfill the Great Commission by yourself. I’ve seen a lot of Christians try to be lone ranger ministers. But I’ve never seen a home church or a churchless Christian who effectively multiplies mature disciples. Why? Because effective discipleship demands the diverse gifts of a local church.

Therefore, God commands you, “Do not think…” How do you see yourself in relation to the other members of our church? Be honest. Do you believe that you need them? And not just some of them, but all of them? You might be more mature, more gifted, and smarter. But God still made you dependent. Do you really believe that?

And the proof is how you live. If being with the church is not a first priority, you don’t think you need the church. If you are quick to get annoyed and avoid people, you are proud, and you don’t believe you need them. If you never ask a brother for prayer or lean on his help for a spiritual struggle, you don’t understand how much you need the church.

You may have some crafty excuses, but just call it what it is. You believe that you are above depending on the church. You’re proud, and God hates pride.

So, what is the solution? Paul urges you “to think so as to have sound judgment.” In other words, see it the way God does. You only have a measure of faith. God made you dependent.

1 Corinthians 12:21–22 expresses this so well, “The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary.”

Think on that word necessary for a moment. Maybe you are a mature believer, you have significant spiritual gifts, and you don’t have any major struggles. You are tempted to think that an immature, weak believer has nothing to give you. You look down on him, get annoyed by him, or avoid him. But God put that person in our church because you need them. Their gifts and even their struggles are vital to your continued growth and to fulfilling your ministry.

I’ve certainly seen that in my life. It refreshes my soul to be around people who are learning about Christ for the first time. People who are struggling against deeply imbedded sin habits enrich my understanding of grace. And new believers are generally much better evangelists because they are excited about Christ, and they know more unbelievers. I need that Christian who is just learning to walk and so do you.

So, admit your need for the whole church. Then come as much as you can, and get them in your home because you need them. Don’t come here with snotty, entitled attitude. Don’t try to be the Holy Spirit for everyone else. Instead, come as a beggar hungry to be fed. Pursue everyone longing to receive and learn. Admit your need. God’s 2^nd command is…

II.  Love the church (vv. 4–5).

These verses are so important for our day. Many Christians go to church as spectators. They are there to watch an event, see a spectacle, or have an experience. But God says that we gather as an interdependent family. We are “members one of another.” But to fully appreciate it, you must accept two challenges. First…

Embrace the church’s diversity (v. 4). Just like your physical body, God says the members of the church have different functions. We have different backgrounds, different personalities, different perspectives, different strengths, and different weaknesses. And we especially have different spiritual gifts, which Paul highlights in vv. 6–8.

That’s great, but differences cause friction. The type A who is gifted to lead gets impatient with the person who is gifted to show mercy. And the merciful person is shocked by the leader’s directness. Old people and young people have conflicting preferences and priorities. On and on it goes.

Because of that, many Christians keep their distance or just watch preaching on YouTube. They have far more control, and they can avoid irritations. But God says that you need the church’s diversity, and especially the church’s diversity of gifts.

“If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. If they were all one member, where would the body be? But now there are many members, but one body” (1 Cor 12:17–20).

Our bodies are incredible. Just think about how many parts must work together for you to do a simple task like signing your name. There is incredible beauty in diversity.

It’s the same in the church. We would be in big trouble if you were all clones of me. The décor would be horrible. Our programs would be boring and nerdy. And we would struggle to reach many people with whom I struggle to connect. Praise God that you are not all like me!

Yes, diversity creates challenges, Meaningful relationships always create friction. But you need that. Embrace it. Pursue the person you naturally avoid. Fix the broken relationship. Get past being annoyed in certain settings and put yourself in the way of ministry. Embrace diversity. Then…

Pursue genuine unity (v. 5). God says that Life Point is “one body in Christ.” So, Christ draws us together. Sure, we might share other common interests, but unity built on personalities and worldly interests is fatally flawed because it is rooted in shifting sands. So, don’t base your friendships at church on hobbies or personalities. Build them on Christ!

Because when Christ binds us together, we don’t just coexist; instead, we are “individually members one of another.” That is a powerful unity that creates incredible strength.

For example, when I was growing up on the farm, we would occasionally get a tractor stuck in a mudhole. Typically, it wasn’t too hard to hook a chain to another tractor and pull it out. But sometimes we would burry a tractor and and when the other tractor began to pull, even a heavy chain would snap.

So, we would borrow our neighbor’s cable. It was way much lighter than the chain, but it was far stronger. We broke lots of chain links, but we never broke the cable. Why is that? It’s because a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, but a cable is made of many small and individually weak wires that are braided together in a complex web so that they equally share the load. Together they create incredible strength.

That’s how I picture being “members one of another.” We shouldn’t just sit in the same room once a week; you must engage with people like a complex weave. Care for people, build strong relationships, and be open about your needs. Support each other and work together to make disciples. Why, because you are much stronger and more effective, and you are far safer from Satan’s attacks when you are vitally connected to the church.

For example, I watched a nature documentary, and they were talking about small fish like herring. On its own a herring is no match for predators, so they gather in massive schools up to a billion in number. When a predator attacks the herring confuses it with their combined movement. The only way it can catch a fish is to break up the school.

But some of you are trying to swim alone. No one in the church has any idea what you are facing because you refuse to let them in. You say that you are a private person, but you are really just proud. Maybe you’d say, “I’m afraid of getting hurt or embarrassed.” But who’s the bigger threat—the sea lion or the other herring? You need the church.

And you will make a far greater impact working with the church than without it. Your discipleship will leave holes. You need others to plug them, and God has put people all around you who can. That’s awesome!

So, love the church family that God has put in your life today. Our church has endured a lot of transition the last few years, and it’s easy to long for the old days. But nostalgia is a Satanic cancer. Don’t live in the past. Get excited about new life and new opportunities. Be where God has put you today. Love the people and lean on the people that God has put in our life right now.

Many of you need to make a conscious choice to move toward the center. You’ve been hanging out on the edges, making excuses. Come back on Sunday nights. Go to men’s and women’s studies. Become a member. Join a ministry.

Christian, love the church! Love this church. We are a strange collection of people, but that’s part of God’s beautiful design. Don’t bristle against that. Love it! We have different functions, but are “one body in Christ.” Praise God! God’s 3^rd major command in this text is to…

III.  Serve in the church (vv. 6–8).

Unfortunately, we don’t have time to fully develop these verses; instead, I’d like to highlight two important principles. First…

God gave you a role (v. 6a). God says he has given every believer a different grace. Based on what follows he is clearly talking about spiritual gifts. So, God has given you a unique and vital role in the church’s mission.

Now, maybe you think that you are the exception and that the church would be better off without you. But you are wrong. Verse 3 addressed “everyone among you” and said we all have a “measure of faith” a necessary role.

That’s really important, because a lot of Christians think they are fine just watching Charles Stanley on T.V. Or they’ll come to church, but they won’t commit, and they aren’t serving anywhere. It’s not because they can’t; it’s because they think they are just fine staying away or staying distant.

The NT denies that, but even if you could thrive spiritually without the church, God says there is a massive hole in your discipleship if you don’t serve through the church.

God saved you to fulfill a role, and vv. 6–8 command you to fulfill it. So, if you aren’t serving through the church, you are ignoring a major aspect of discipleship. You are a deformed disciple.

Now, I recognize that some people have physical limitations, health issues, job issues, etc. God knows all of those things, and we want to be sensitive to them also. So, I’m not saying that those who can only watch online or who are stuck at home are living in sin, and I’m certainly not looking down my nose at them. We can’t fight providence; we trust it.

But God gave every other Christian you a gift to use to advance his church. And vv. 6–8 command you to use that gift. Don’t ignore part of God’s Word. Obey it all. Which brings me to the 2^nd principle I want to highlight.

Fulfill your role enthusiastically. This is one of several lists in the NT of spiritual gifts. None of them are the same, and none of them are exhaustive. The point is to illustrate the various ways that God gifts his people to edify the church. I love how simply 1 Corinthians 12:7 puts it, “To each one (every Christian) is given the manifestation of the Spirit (a spiritual gift) for the common good (the edification of the church).

You must find out what that gift is and how you can use it at Life Point. If you need help with that, ask. I’d love to have that conversation. Church is not a spectator sport. It’s an interdependent family. So, don’t be content on the sidelines. The people around you need you, and our town needs us healthy and effective. Find your role.

Then fulfill it and do so enthusiastically. Notice the adverbs in v. 8. The same zeal applies to all the gifts. Don’t just go through the motions. Serve liberally, diligently, and cheerfully. Why? Because the church needs you and because it’s a privilege to serve the Lord.

Conclusion

You need the church, and the church needs you. So, get very practical right now. Become a member. Give generously and sacrificially to the church. Start attending more services and more activities. Get people into your home. Have real conversations and share burdens. Impact the people of this church for Christ so that we can reach more people outside our church for Christ.