Morning, brothers and sisters.
One thing concerning the message last week: when it was originally taped and placed on the website, the recording was not very good. It was a quality message, but a poor-quality recording. That has since been corrected, so now on the website you can hear not only a quality message, but a quality recording of that message.
Let us have a word of prayer.
Lord, we are so grateful this day for Your love that has sought us and for Your love that has bought us. Lord, as we were those who were separated and far apart, we thank You that we have been brought nigh by the blood of the Lamb.
And Lord, as we have been brought nigh, we have been blessed so abundantly with every provision for life and godliness in Christ Jesus. As we come to Your Word this morning, we lay hold of that provision by faith—for speaking and for hearing—that You could truly accomplish all that You desire during this time.
Lord, as we touch on this really incomprehensible matter of corporate life, would a spirit of wisdom and revelation be with us to open the eyes of our hearts, that we might see a little more of what Your great desire and great passion is. In Jesus’ name, amen.
As Kenny shared last week, this month we are fellowshipping together on this matter of corporate life. He shared three aspects of it:
Today, as we continue on this matter of corporate life, we want to see again—not in an exhaustive way, because even as we fellowship and search the Scriptures this month, we will really only touch the tip of the iceberg. This is something that, while we are upon this earth, we will be learning more and more about: the preciousness of what we have been brought into.
I would like for us this morning to look at three little aspects of it. Continuing with Kenny’s piece—after the passion, the place, and the practice—we will look at:
All the Scriptures that Kenny read last week are essential and vital again this week. But just to show the comprehensive nature of the Lord’s burden for this corporate life to be expressed, I will refer to some other Scriptures that reveal the fullness of His heart throughout the Bible for this matter of corporate life.
As we come to this matter of the privilege of corporate life, let us turn to 1 Peter 2.
There are many Scriptures even within this chapter. It begins in verse 5 by speaking of us as living stones, being built together as a spiritual house and a holy priesthood. But I would like for us to look at verses 9 and 10.
As we read these verses, there is one little phrase I want us to keep in mind: we are. This is not speaking of what we will be. It is a testimony of what we are and what, by His great grace, we have been brought into.
But ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light:
Who in time past were no people, but now are the people of God:
Who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.—1 Peter 2:9-10
Brethren, as we reflect upon what the “we” have been brought into, we see the great privileged life into which we have been born. Often, we look upon people on this earth and say, “If they are a Rockefeller,” or whatever their heritage might be, “they have had a privileged birth. What a life.”
Brethren, it only pales in comparison to the privilege of the life into which we have been born. We are a chosen race. And Who did the choosing? We are chosen of God—chosen by Him, the King of kings and Lord of lords, to be the race that identifies with Him. He has brought us into that and made us that.
He has made us a royal priesthood—not merely a priesthood, but a royal, kingly priesthood unto Him. What a precious privilege this is.
He has made us a holy nation, not merely a common nation. The nations of this earth are common. Even so-called godly nations are common compared to the holy nation into which we have been brought as the kingdom, the nation, of God.
Again, we are God’s own possession. Oh, what a privileged birth we have! And you will note that each of these is another aspect of corporate expression. It is the priesthood, the nation, the race—not merely the individual.
Praise God that when we are born again, as Kenny shared last week, we have Christ in us and we are born into Christ. Being born into Christ means that we are born into the fullness of Christ. We are born into His body, the body of Christ.
The life we share in Him now is His life. It is not a fragmented life. Sometimes we speak of our individual life and our corporate life, but it is one life that we live—the life into which we have been brought. What a great privilege.
Many of the problems we face in this life come because we fragment and segment our lives. We look upon our individual life, our corporate life, our family life, and our work life. Then we try to manage and balance all these things, like a juggler. You might do it for a little while, but eventually it all collapses.
Many of our problems arise because we do not see that we live one life. The life we live is the life of Christ. Christ is our life.
As we see this one life into which we have been brought, we can allow Him, in the great majesty of His lordship, to lead us into a fuller and greater expression of that life as we are together as the body of Christ.
His life is a life of purpose. He has not merely saved us for saving’s sake; He has saved us with a purpose. Even as we sang that hymn:
From heaven He came and sought her
To be His holy bride;
With His own blood He bought her,
And for her life He died.
Do we ever stop and think upon Luke 19:10, where it says that the Lord came to seek and to save that which was lost? What was lost? His bride was lost. That eternal companion was lost. He came to seek and save that eternal companion, and praise God, we have been brought into that.
This was His desire, His eternal purpose. Praise God for His eternal purpose, which He purposed in eternity past. We see it throughout the Scriptures, and we see it manifest as we come together and display His life as the body of Christ.
His purpose was made real in Him, and He desires that purpose to be made real within us. We see the privileged life into which we have been brought.
In 1 Peter 2:9, we also see that, as He has saved us, we have a glorious purpose. He works within us and transforms us, allowing us to be those who proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvellous light.
We, as the people of God, have such a calling upon our lives—a holy calling, a heavenly calling—to proclaim through our lives, not merely with our mouths.
We can say much with our mouths, but our lives speak ten times louder. We proclaim with our lives the excellency of what we have been called into. We proclaim all that the Lord desires for us to be in Him. We proclaim that we are a royal priesthood and a chosen people. Praise God for that.
Do we ever stop and reflect, even briefly, upon the privilege of so great a salvation? The privilege is not only that we are saved individually, but that we have been brought in as members of the body of Christ, members of the church, members of that eternal companion. What a calling we have.
We see this in part. We see a small glimpse of this great privilege. But brethren, as we see this privilege, it will change our whole perspective of life—our whole perspective of corporate life and life together.
Let us turn to Acts 2. In the beginning of Acts, we have the birth of the church. We have this precious testimony of the Lord’s gathering together of His people—what a healthy and good birth it was.
As we read these passages, we must ask: What is our perspective of these Scriptures? What do we see? What is our perspective of corporate life?
And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers.
And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.
And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
And they sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all, according as any man had need.
And day by day, continuing stedfastly with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they did take their food with gladness and singleness of heart,
Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to them day by day those that were saved.—Acts 2:42-47
As we look at these Scriptures, what do we see? We see life expressed. We see a life being lived out.
Actually, brothers and sisters, the key word for this month is life. Corporate is vital, but the essential word is life, because as we focus on life—and the life we are speaking of is our Lord Jesus—we see that it brings forth more life.
There is fruit that comes forth. There is fruit that abounds, and more fruit. There is fruit that remains, fruit that abides forever. There is this increase of life.
If we can focus on life, we see that these dear ones were sharing a life together. They did not have a book of church order. They did not have anything written about how they were supposed to do this or that. But there was a life within them that was leading and guiding them into a greater expression of that life.
As that life was expressed, what did it do? It caused them to grow. It brought forth more life, and it went out so that many were drawn in. Praise God for that.
Oh, today, would His life be expressed among the people of God. This is why, as we consider this matter, we are looking at a life—His life—and desiring that the strength of that life would grow within us.
So often, when we begin to get weak or dissipated, we look at the outward. We focus on the form and try to prop it up. We try to prop up the outward, but we do not have the inward life.
In times of weakness and dissipation, that is a signal for us to return and repent, that the life within us would be strengthened.
Remember when our Lord was looking at the churches in Revelation 2 and 3. Many of them had many outward actions going on. But what was the one thing our Lord was looking for in each of those seven churches? He was looking for the expression of His life among His people.
When He saw that, He said, “Amen.” But when He did not see His life being expressed, He cried out to them to repent: “Return to your first love. Buy of Me eye-salve. Buy of Me gold. Return unto Me.”
Brothers and sisters, He is jealous that His life would be expressed among His people. What a privilege we have been called into: to express that life.
Is our perspective of our times together from His perspective? It is interesting: as we have been sharing on corporate life, there is one word Kenny did not use last week, and one word that has not yet been used this week. What is that word?
Meetings.
How many, when we first said we were going to share on corporate life, immediately thought of meetings? Is that what we think of when we say “corporate life”?
Now, praise God, meetings are a vital aspect of corporate life. Every time there is a gathering of the Lord’s people, I want to be there. But praise God, meetings are not the totality of corporate life.
Meetings are part of it, but they are not the totality or comprehensiveness of it. As we look at these Scriptures, we see that, yes, they gathered together. They were hungry to be together. But they were also sharing and being together at other times.
Oh, brothers and sisters, may the Lord change our perspective of corporate life, that we would see it as a life together. Yes, we have our vital meetings, but it goes on so much further.
We need to be aware that we can be at every meeting and not enter into or experience corporate life. We can be sharing with and serving brothers and sisters every day in our homes or in other places and still not enter into or experience corporate life.
What is corporate life? Corporate life is a life with purpose. It is a life with direction. It is a life of entering into what is upon His heart for the time in which we are living. It is entering into His purpose.
Praise God, God has a purpose, and He wants that purpose lived out. Every time we are together, if we gather with His heart and purpose in mind—with the view that He would be satisfied—there is an increase of life.
If these dear ones in Acts 2 were gathering together, who was the focus? Who were they gathering for? They were not gathering for themselves. They were gathering to share and exchange His life, one with another.
This word fellowship gets so misused. The world has stolen it. We speak of fellowship about baseball or football. But fellowship is the sharing of the precious life of our Lord.
We share with Him. We share in Him. We have been called into the fellowship of the Father and the Son. Talk about a privileged life—we have been brought into a great, exclusive fellowship.
This is the sharing of life, one with another. That is the experience and expression of corporate life. Why are we gathering? Why are we doing what we are doing? May the Lord give us His perspective.
May we not gather merely for ourselves, but gather so that His heart and purpose would be satisfied and there would be a greater expression of His life.
One precious testimony in Acts 2 is found in verse 46. Some translations say they were of one mind; others say they were of one accord. It reminded me of how Paul encouraged those in Philippi: “Have this mind in you.”
What was their one accord? What was their one-mindedness? It was the mind of Christ. It was the heart of Christ—His mind leading them and drawing them together for the purpose of being strengthened and built together as a testimony unto Him.
Praise God, many of these believers at that time had no teaching concerning the church, and yet they were one of the greatest expressions of the church in history.
Sometimes our problem is that we have so much teaching, but we have not laid down our lives through the working of the cross in order to allow the reality of it to come forth. Would the Lord open our eyes and give us a fresh perspective of corporate life.
May He give us a fresh perspective of life together, far beyond meetings. Praise God that we can gather freely. The freedom in this country is so great that we can gather whenever we desire. We can have meals and lunches together. We can call one another without worrying that our phones or internet are being monitored, filtered, or censored.
We have such freedom. May we use that freedom for His glory and honor, that His testimony would be strengthened. As that occurs, we will see a greater expression of His life in our times together, because we are in this life twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
Would the Lord open our eyes to give us a fresh perspective of corporate life? And what is our perspective of the body of Christ? Is it merely a teaching? Is it some kind of ethereal thing? Has the reality of it captured our hearts in a fresh way?
Let us look at 1 Corinthians 12. Kenny shared from here last week, so I am avoiding his verses.
One thing he did share is that, according to 1 Corinthians 12:13, when we are born again, we are born into and baptized into the body of Christ. Praise God.
How did we get into the body of Christ? We were born into it. How did your hand get into your body? It came when you were born.
And when are you not a part of the body of Christ? When are we not a part of the body? We are always part of the body. It is a twenty-four-seven life that we live all the time.
The body of Christ is not something that gathers only on Sunday morning. The body of Christ is a living organism twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Would we have that perspective?
The question is not whether I am a member or part of the body. The question I have each morning is this: What type of member of the body of Christ am I going to be today?
As we give ourselves afresh to Him every morning, we can be living, vibrant members under His headship, allowing Him to lead us into whatever He has for us that day.
Every day is different. Even in the routine of life, there are little nuances each day—the people we meet, the phone calls we receive, the needs that arise. As we give ourselves to Him every day, we are equipped in Christ to be functioning members of the body of Christ.
There is a precious testimony in 1 Corinthians 12:18:
But now hath God set the members each one of them in the body, even as it pleased Him.
—1 Corinthians 12:18
Do we ever stop and think about that? God says, in His infinite desire and love, “I have put this one right here. I have put that one right here.” We could go through every one of us. In His great love, God has carefully looked upon our lives.
We are fearfully and wonderfully made. He has not haphazardly thrown us together like a meatloaf. He has taken each one of us and placed us right where He wants us to be, where His glory and honor can be shown forth.
But where is the problem? Most of us do not like where we are.
If we could somehow step back and realize that we are where we are because of His great love and desire, that the life of His Son would be expressed through us, then we could see that the place where He has put each one of us is the best place for the life of Christ to be seen through us.
Praise God for His love that has placed us right where He desired. We had nothing to do with it. But in His infinite and marvelous wisdom, He has placed us where He wants us to be and called us simply to respond to the life within, that we might function and allow the headship of Christ to lead us into a fuller and greater expression.
In 1 Corinthians 12:14-25, we can see two categories. The first group thinks too little of itself: “I am of no value.” The second group thinks too highly of itself: “I am so valuable. Look at me.”
For the body is not one member, but many.
If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; it is not therefore not of the body.—1 Corinthians 12:14-15
So often, we find ourselves saying, “Because I am not this, I am worthless. Because I am not that, I am of no value.” No. Step back. The Lord has put you right there. He has made you a hand, a foot, or whatever part you are, to show forth His glory.
The foot may complain because everyone sees the hand. How many of you have looked at my feet since I have been up here? The feet may say, “I am ugly. He has to wear socks and shoes to cover me up. Everybody looks at his hand. The hand gets all the glory.”
But the hand would not get any glory if the feet were not standing there, holding up the body. Everything has a purpose. We get self-centered because our eyes are upon ourselves and not upon Him.
I enjoy reading biographies and church history. It is such a precious testimony to see how people whom the world—and even Christianity—may esteem as nothing can be used in mighty ways.
How many of us have heard of D. L. Moody? Everybody has heard of D. L. Moody. But how many know the Sunday school teacher who led Moody to the Lord? Edward Kimball.
Because of his faithfulness, Edward Kimball saw something in Moody and pursued him. He was Moody’s Sunday school teacher, and during the week he would go down to the shoe store where Moody worked. He would fellowship and share with him.
Moody came to the Lord because one brother—whom most of us may never have heard of—was faithful to the little thing the Lord had placed in his hand to do.
The Lord is after faithfulness. He is not after great works. He is after faithfulness right where we are. When we are faithful right where we are, there is a great hallelujah.
Our perspective can be so wrong. But I can imagine that, in glory, Edward Kimball will have a great reward because he was faithful. So often, we judge by the outward and by what is seen. But there was this faithful one, and one life affected so many.
We see this in William and Catherine Booth. Catherine Booth, as a young teenager, had read the Bible eight times and was so hungry that she kept reading it and reading it.
These two individuals started the Salvation Army, a marvelous work that, in its early days, was used to bring thousands to the Lord throughout England.
They were used so much by the Lord that the men who ran the pubs and brothels would hire gangs to go out and literally beat them up. But they kept going on, being faithful—faithful right where they were.
Would we see that every member of the body of Christ is of value?
In the second part of this passage, verses 19 through 25, there are those who think too highly of themselves.
And if they were all one member, where were the body?
But now they are many members, but one body.
And the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of thee.—1 Corinthians 12:19-21
Sometimes people can become self-sufficient. They think they do not need one another. But think about the eye. In a little while, we will have lunch together. We are going to have pizza today.
What if your eye fixed upon that great-looking slice of pizza—pepperoni, sausage, ham, the meat-lovers pizza? If you were merely an eye, what could you do? But that hand feeds you. The head is sitting there saying, “Aha, see? You need me.”
We need one another. So many of us are self-sufficient.
When you visit California, you see the redwood forests. I remember reading a sign about the sequoia trees. It said that you will never see a sequoia tree standing by itself.
These are the largest trees upon the earth. They are huge. People used to drive cars through them before environmentalists stopped people from cutting holes through them. But these trees are so huge, and yet they have a shallow root system.
If one sequoia or redwood tries to stand isolated by itself, a little wind can come along and blow it over. How does it get its strength? The root systems of all the sequoias knit themselves together.
They need one another to hold them up and to stand against the winds, the battles, and the pressures of life. We need one another. Let us not think that we stand, lest we fall.
The issue is not whether we think too little of ourselves or too much of ourselves. The issue is not to think of ourselves. We do not think of ourselves; we think of Christ.
Some of us get in trouble because we think too little of ourselves; some because we think too highly of ourselves. But we think nothing of ourselves. We think of Christ and allow Him to give us His perspective.
Would we see our privilege and the wonderful place into which He has brought us within the body of Christ? If the eyes of our hearts are opened to see this privilege and to see it from His perspective, it will change the priorities of our lives.
The life within will become the priority of our lives. That life within is what set the priority in Paul’s life. Let us look at 2 Corinthians 5:14-15.
For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that One died for all, therefore all died;
And He died for all, that they that live should no longer live unto themselves, but unto Him who for their sakes died and rose again.—2 Corinthians 5:14-15
What controlled Paul’s life? The love of Christ constrained him. The love of Christ governed him. The love of Christ set the priorities within his life.
It was not Paul’s love for Christ. Praise God for that. It is not our love for Him that will set our priorities; it is His love for us.
And it goes beyond His love for us. It is His love for the Father. It is His love for that companion. The love of Christ is so comprehensive, so full of purpose.
Paul was captured by this love and by this purpose. He said, “For to me to live is Christ.” The life I live now, I live by faith in the One who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Because of this great love, we no longer live for ourselves. For whom are we living? We are living for Him who loved us, died for us, and rose again on our behalf. We are not our own. We are captured by Him, and we are living for Him.
Would the Lord give us a clear perspective so that our priorities can be right and properly set? The priorities of this life impact us every day, even when we do not recognize what our priorities are.
The priorities of our lives affect us very practically every day. They affect the choices we make and our relationships with one another.
The priorities of our lives impact the choices we make. They reveal what is important to us. Our desires are expressed in our lives. Our lives reflect what is valuable to us.
We can say that something is valuable with our mouths. We can teach it and preach it. But do our lives reflect it? If our lives do not reflect it, our word is of no value. The truth is of value, but our word is of no value if our lives contradict it.
We can speak all the time about the great value and preciousness of the body of Christ. We can expound all the truth concerning it. We can read books about it and study it. Actually, that is the easy part.
There are many books available on the body of Christ. We can have knowledge of the body of Christ, a mental comprehension of it. But sometimes we read something or hear someone speak, and their life is not being expressed through them.
That is why I said earlier that the focus this month is life being expressed. Praise God for the knowledge we can receive, but if it stops there, it is of no value. It is vanity of vanities.
Would His life capture us in such a way that we would allow its reality to come within our lives? We must ask ourselves whether the value and preciousness of that unto which the Lord has called us has captured our lives. Is it setting the priorities within our lives?
We need to take an inventory of our lives and every aspect of them. We need to ask, “Lord, are these things helping or hindering me from entering into what You desire?”
Consider our jobs. Is my job helping me, or hindering me, from entering into what Your call is for my life? Are we willing to change if necessary? Are we willing to make adjustments?
Consider education. When we think about an education, do we stop and ask whether it will help or hinder us in our life within the body of Christ?
There are certain careers that are contrary to body life. There are careers that can make it almost impossible to be active, participating members of the body of Christ.
Is this what we want to encourage our children to pursue? If we are on a certain path, if we are in school and pursuing a particular major, we should look at others who have gone before us in that field. Are they able to enter into corporate life? Are they able to participate in body life?
Or are they so occupied with their jobs that there is no way for His life to be expressed? Yes, they may make it to a meeting on Sunday or Wednesday. But is that all? We have said earlier that it is a twenty-four-seven life unto which we are called.
Even within our families, whom are our families living for? Is our goal merely to have a good family, or do we desire that our family would serve the purpose of God in this generation? Which direction are we giving our families?
This becomes very practical. Sometimes we can think that teaching on corporate life and God’s eternal purpose is ethereal. It is not merely ethereal. It comes down to where the rubber meets the road.
We have to ask, “Lord, how does what You have for me impact my life?” Do we find ourselves in financial situations where we are so overextended that there seems to be no way we can serve God?
Praise God, when we find ourselves in any of these situations, there is a way. The enemy says, “There is no way you can change. There is no way you can change your job, your career, or your financial situation.” But that is a lie.
We know there is every provision for life and godliness in Christ Jesus. There is a way. The question is: Are we willing to go that way?
Over the years, many have come and said, “Mac, I have financial problems. Help me with my finances.” But often—probably more than ninety percent of the time—finances are not the problem. Finances are a symptom.
Finances are often a symptom of a priority problem. We had our priorities wrong, and we found ourselves in such a situation.
Would the priority of God’s life, heart, and purpose capture us in such a way that, even when we make little decisions, we would ask, “Lord, is this of You or not?” We can become entrapped by these things.
Brothers and sisters, how we need to have our minds renewed. This is the mind of Christ. We think differently.
That is why Romans 12 tells us to present ourselves unto the Lord as a living sacrifice—for the renewing and transforming of our minds. What is our mind being transformed into? That the mind of Christ would richly dwell among us.
We need to think from His perspective rather than our own perspective. He has so much that He wants us to enjoy.
At the end of 1 Timothy 6, we read that God has blessed us with all things richly to enjoy. Sometimes we do not think Christians can enjoy things. But God has given us much, and He wants us to enjoy it. Yet what is the source of our joy?
The world promotes and sells joy, happiness, peace, and contentment. But all we may have after a week on an island—besides a sunburn—is an overbalanced credit card, and then we are back in the woes of life.
But the Lord gives us joy and desires that we enter into all that He has provided for us. Oh, would our minds be renewed.
When we allow the Lord to touch us on the priority of corporate life, it not only affects the choices we make; it also affects our relationships with one another. It goes right to the heart of those relationships.
If you look through chapters that deal with corporate life—Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4 through 6, and many others—what are they dealing with much of the time? Relationships with one another.
One thing I would encourage you to study this month, as you think and meditate before the Lord on corporate life, is the little phrase one another.
It is rich: love one another, forgive one another, pray for one another, accept one another, forbear one another, be kind to one another, receive one another as the Lord has received us, encourage one another, and on and on.
Type it into your computer, if you have a computer. If you have a concordance, look under “another.” You will see the riches of the relationship into which we have been called.
Brothers and sisters, the relationships we have with one another are the visible testimony of the body of Christ. There is an unseen testimony, yes, but the visible testimony seen upon this earth is our relationships to one another.
This is what the Lord is after. He desires that His people show forth the excellency of His life as we accept, forgive, and tolerate one another.
Our brother encouraged us Wednesday night, at the end of the prayer meeting, to hang in there with one another. When the going gets tough, we can suddenly bail out.
As we deal with one another, it is not a matter of whether you are going to be offended; it is a matter of when. Your feelings are going to be hurt. We are going to hurt one another.
But praise God for all the hurts, because you cannot hurt someone you are not close to. Whom do you hurt the most? The ones you are closest to in life. Any husband knows that the person he has hurt most in his life is his wife.
But praise God, there is repentance. There is reconciliation. There is coming in. It is not a time for bailing out; it is a time for pushing through.
We must see the Lord Jesus Christ and allow Him to knit us together in the bond of love. That bond of love grows stronger and stronger as we come together and allow His life to hold us and build us up into what He desires us to be.
It is not merely our words or teaching, but our relationships that are seen and that become the visible testimony of the body of Christ.
We have these relationships as we love one another as He has loved us. He laid down His life.
This brings us to the greatest hindrance we have in going on and expressing His life. The greatest hindrance within the body of Christ to fully expressing His life is our refusal of the cross working within us.
We may be going along, and suddenly something happens, and we say no to the cross. We love to celebrate—and praise God for—the work our Lord did at Calvary as He brought about our great salvation.
But the refusal of each one of us individually to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him in the midst of the difficulties we face becomes the greatest hindrance in relating to one another.
Would the Lord allow us to push through? We can talk about the cross. Next month, as we continue in this series, we will begin considering some essentials within corporate life: the cross, the person and work of the Holy Spirit, and divine order.
Next month, we will share on the cross—not so much the cross as it relates to our initial salvation, but the daily working of the cross, that subjective work within us that allows His life to come forth.
This is what the Lord desires. This is what He is after among His people. We do not have mottos and slogans, but would that our motto be:
Not my will, but Thy will be done.
As we relate with brothers and sisters, would we begin from the place of saying, “Not my will, Lord, but Thy will be done”? Oh, work within us, Lord, that our whole perspective of the body of Christ might be changed.
Would the Lord open our eyes to see that every decision and choice we make reflects what is important to us? And this sends a message to our brothers and sisters.
Do we ever stop and think, “I am choosing to do this, but what message will this send to my younger brothers and sisters concerning what is a priority in my life?”
If I use the freedom I have in the Lord to do something, what message will that send to others, particularly to younger brothers and sisters? If we have the love of Christ, we may say no to ourselves.
We may have freedom to do something, but Paul teaches us that we do not use our freedom for our own selves or flesh. We use it to serve one another.
Is this even within our thought process? This is part of having our minds renewed. When decisions are made and actions are taken, may our minds be renewed so that we stop and ask, “How will this impact my beloved brethren?”
Will this help them, or will it be a stumbling block? Am I willing to deny myself what I want to do because I love my brethren and do not want it to become a potential stumbling block?
That is where our perspective needs changing. I know mine does. So often, I think about it after the fact. I desire that my mind would be renewed so that I could enter into truly caring for and loving the brethren in a fresh and new way.
Everything we do impacts one another. May we stop and consider one another as more important than ourselves. Oh, would the Lord refresh us in this.
As we begin considering this whole matter of corporate life, the key to it begins and continues with each individual believer daily presenting himself or herself to the Lord.
Daily saying no to myself. Daily saying, “Lord, today I will take up Your cross and follow You.”
Corporate life does not begin with a group. The expression and strengthening of corporate life, body life, and church life begin with each individual brother and sister strengthening his or her relationship with the Lord.
It begins as we allow the Lord to touch us daily in such a way that our minds are renewed and we can offer ourselves afresh unto Him.
As we search the Scriptures this month, may we follow the encouragement of our dear brethren in Berea. May we come before the Lord in a fresh way and ask Him to show us this privilege into which we have been brought.
Would that privilege begin to give us a fresh perspective of the life together that we have? As that perspective is worked within us, would it begin to impact the priorities of our lives—priorities made manifest in the choices we make and in our relationships with one another?
The Lord is jealous for His life to be expressed. He was so jealous that from heaven He came and sought her to be His holy bride. With His own blood He bought her, and for her life He died.
That is the life living within us now. It was jealous when our Lord came to this earth, and it is just as jealous today for His bride to be made ready. May we be found cooperating with that life within us.
Let us pray.
Lord, in many ways we are overwhelmed when we really stop and consider the greatness of what we have been called into.
But Lord, so much of our being overwhelmed is simply because we have our eyes upon ourselves and our own inabilities rather than looking unto You.
Lord, thank You for those who have gone before, whose eyes have seen the King. We turn our eyes unto You. We cannot do this in ourselves. It cannot merely be taught or read; it must be revealed through Your Holy Spirit.
So we pray that, as we are together this month, a great spirit of wisdom and revelation would be poured out upon us.
Lord, may we offer our hearts unto You and give You freedom to work within our lives—to do that continual work of renewing our minds, conforming us to Your image, and allowing us to be faithful ones who are found hastening Your return.
In Jesus’ name, amen.