A church that values diversity

Now, I want to ask you a question about diversity.

Diversity.

Does anyone know what diversity means?

What is diversity?

Difference, yes.

It seems like the average age over this side is a lot lower than the average age over this side.

What's the gravity of the kids over here?

But anyway, yes, difference.

Diversity is difference.

Kids, anything to add?

Diversity, what does it mean?

Nobody knows.

A group?

It is a group.

It's a dance group, isn't it?

Is that right, yeah?

Yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking of, Jane, as well.

Diversity, the idea that we're all different, yeah?

We're all different.

There is difference between us.

Now, with the person next to you, ask this question.

Who invented diversity?

Cameron said it so loud that we all heard him.

Who invented diversity, Cameron?

God invented diversity.

Okay, that was an easy question.

Ask this one to the person next to you.

It might make you think a bit more.

God invented diversity for what reason?

For what reason did God invent diversity?

Talk to the person next to you about that for a second.

Okay, sorry to interrupt your conversations.

But turn in your Bibles to Revelation chapter 7, verses 9 and 10, and we will answer the question,

Revelation 7:9

why did God invent diversity?

God invented diversity for what reason?

Let's have a look.

Revelation chapter 7, verses 9 and 10.

Revelation 7:9

Let me read it to you.

After this...

Hi, guys.

Welcome.

No, don't worry.

It's fine.

Oh, they're going to run out of chairs.

You're going to have to sit on this side.

There you go.

Don't worry.

So we've just been chatting and thinking about the answer to this question.

God invented diversity for what reason?

Revelation chapter 7, verses 9 and 10 says this.

Revelation 7:9

After this, I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count,

from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb,

which is the Lord Jesus on the throne.

They were wearing white robes, and they were holding palm branches in their hands,

and they cried out in a loud voice,

Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb.

Why did God invent diversity?

He invented diversity for his glory.

Because God is glorified by people of all languages and nations and tribes gathering together

and worshipping and praising him.

If we were all the same, God would not be as glorious,

because we wouldn't see the glory that God has made in the diversity of different people

and different gifts and different cultures and different backgrounds.

Now, one last question.

I wonder this morning how many different languages there are in the room

that we could say, praise the Lord, in a different language.

You want to have a guess at how many languages you think you've got in the room?

How many different languages?

Have a guess.

What do you reckon?

Kerry-J, have you got a number in your head?

What do you think?

Alice thinks five.

Okay.

You think just four different languages.

Okay.

Well, let's start.

We can say, praise the Lord in English.

Yeah?

Anyone?

Praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord.

Okay.

Any other languages in the room that want to say praise the Lord?

Can we do it in French?

Alice, can you give us praise the Lord in French?

You can say it.

Can you do it in two?

Lordi.

Lordi.

Lordi.

Lordi.

Lordi.

Dieu.

My French is not very good.

But thank you, Dan.

That's brilliant.

Alice, let's give you another.

Go on, say it in your language.

Soma Yorba.

We're up to three now.

Dan, have you got another one?

Yeah.

Go on.

Kumisun Zambi.

Kumisun Zambi.

That's four.

We're up to four languages.

Okay.

So, any other languages?

Mortessa, you've got another language for us.

Just wait.

It's hard to say.

It's hard to say, so I will not repeat it.

I'm not going to say that.

I'm not going to say that.

Would you?

Mortessa's got no confidence in me.

Go on.

Okay.

So, we've got a fifth language.

Well done, Mortessa.

Just wait a second.

Vicky.

There we go.

We're up to six now, yeah?

I'm going to stop saying these because of fear of offending people with my...

Yes, where were we up to?

Do we have another one?

Oh, yes.

In Chinese.

In Chinese.

That's great.

We're up to seven.

Yeah, Google Translate doesn't count, right?

Nick?

Nick?

Doxa?

Doceo.

Doceo.

Doceo.

Doceo.

There we go.

So, we're up to eight.

Eight.

So, curry...

Is that right?

Yeah.

Well done.

So, we're up to nine.

Come on.

Have you got another one?

I think Nigeria is like...

Okay.

Okay.

So, we've got some Nigerian down the front as well.

So, we're up to...

We're too shy to say it too loud.

So, we're up to ten.

We're up to ten.

Get off your phone, Cameron.

That's not...

Mike?

Okay.

So, we're up to eleven.

So, we're...

There was a bit of Hebrew, I think, over there.

Eleven languages.

Isn't that amazing?

That in this room...

Are we...

Have we got any more?

That's great.

That's twelve.

That's twelve.

That's great.

Any...

Any more?

You must have...

Yes.

Yes.

Great.

We're up to twelve.

We're up to twelve.

More...

Come on.

You can say it in Turkish as well.

So, where are we up to now?

Thirteen.

Thirteen.

So, that's Turkish as well.

Lucia?

Who's...

Lucia?

Neva's going to say it for you.

Don't worry.

How do you say praise the Lord?

Come on, Lucia.

Don't be shy.

Don't be shy.

It's the same as the French.

She doesn't know.

Don't worry.

Great.

Listen.

Listen.

Okay.

I'll try.

I'll try to get it all back together.

That's great, isn't it?

The Lord, even in this room, has given lots of different languages so that in our difference,

we can say the same thing, which is praise the Lord, because God in his greatness has made

us all different.

And we're going to be thinking some more about that together in our sermon.

But let me pray for us.

I'm going to pray for us as we read God's word and then listen to it taught.

Kids, I'm going to pray for you and for your Sunday school teachers this morning as you go

out to Sunday school.

So, let me pray for you before you go.

Let me pray.

Heavenly Father, thank you that you made us all different for your glory, that you are such a

great God that you couldn't just make one kind of person in one way, but you made all sorts of

different people and different languages and cultures.

And we thank you especially that as a church here, we get a taste of that with so many different

languages in the room.

And we want to say together, praise your name.

Praise the Lord in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Kids, go out to Sunday school.

Sunday school teachers, go well.

Right, we're going to read God's word together.

So, if you have a Bible, turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 12, 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verses

1 Corinthians 12 · chapter mention 1 Corinthians 12:12–31

12 to 31, and Liz is going to come and read God's word for us.

Liz.

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts.

And though all its parts are many, they form one body.

So it is with Christ.

For we are all baptized by one spirit into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free.

And we were all given the one spirit to drink.

Now the body is not made up of one part, but of many.

If the foot should say, because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body, it would not,

it would not for that reason, cease to be 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 the sense of smell be?

But in fact, God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.

If there were all one part, where would the body be?

As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

The eye cannot say to the hand, I don't need you.

And the head cannot say to the feet, I don't need you.

On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.

And the parts that we think are less honorable, we treat with special honor.

And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty.

While our presentable parts need no special treatment,

but God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it,

so that there should be no division in the body,

but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.

If one part suffers, every part suffers with it.

If one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

Now you are the body of Christ.

And each one of you is a part of it.

And in the church, God has appointed, first of all, apostles,

second, prophets, third, teachers, then workers of miracles.

Also those having gifts of healing, those able to help with others,

those with gifts of administration,

and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.

Are all apostles, are all prophets, are all teachers,

do all work miracles, do all have gifts of healing,

do all speak in tongues, do all interpret,

but eagerly desire the greater gifts.

And now I will show you the most excellent way.

Great, thank you, Liz, that's great.

Well, keep the passage open,

because we're going to be looking at it together for the next few moments.

And I want to start, if I can, by telling you what my goal is for the next,

I don't know, 20 minutes or so, 25 minutes maybe.

Here's my goal.

You can tell me then, after lunch, whether we hit the goal or not.

Here it is.

I want, if I can, through this passage,

the word of God and by the help of the Spirit of God,

I want us to be excited together as a church,

that here at West Kilburn Baptist Church,

we are the local expression of the body of Christ.

So much so that when we gather as a church,

when you walk in those doors at the back,

when you come together and sit with one another,

that you and I get to glimpse the Lord Jesus.

Not just each other.

And we get to glimpse him in a way that just wouldn't be possible

if we stayed at home and didn't come.

Now, I want to suggest that we see that, we see the body of Christ,

not because we're all the same, but because we're all different.

And as we gather together, we see, don't we,

that God hasn't in church created, I don't know whether this works,

but like a sausage machine,

where basically he just churns out the same kind of person each time,

and everyone's exactly the same.

But rather the body of Christ, rather than a sausage machine,

is more like a mosaic,

as God knits together different people

from different cultural backgrounds with different gifts,

to make something in the combination of it,

which is wonderful and glorious and beautiful,

and so wonderful that it carries the label,

the body of Christ.

Now, I want to show you from 1 Corinthians 12

that we see that in at least four different ways.

So let's get on with it and see how we see the glory of the Lord Jesus.

So here's the first one.

We see Jesus in how we join the church.

We see Jesus in how we join the church.

Now, this is super important,

and in a way it's assumed by the rest of the passage.

So we need to get this clear in our minds as we start.

We join the body of Christ

by what Paul calls baptism by one spirit,

or later on, being given the one spirit to drink.

So look down at verse 13.

I'll read it to you again.

For we were all baptized by one spirit

so as to form one body,

whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free,

and we were all given the one spirit to drink.

Now, I grant you that Paul's language is not immediately clear here.

1 Corinthians is actually the reply to a letter

that the Corinthian church wrote to Paul.

So as you read 1 Corinthians,

it's like you're listening to just one half of a telephone call.

And so sometimes it's a little bit obscure what's going on.

But actually we do know bits,

and you can put it together as you read both Acts

and 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians.

And it seems as though the church have a particular problem

that they are rating one another's spirituality

on the basis of what people are able or not able to do.

It seems that they're especially excited

by people who can speak in tongues.

And they assume that if you could speak in tongues,

that's because you were a mega Christian.

You had a mega dose of the spirit.

And Paul is saying here,

no, that's not right.

That's not right.

Why?

Well, because every member of the church,

every part of the body

has been baptized into the spirit

and has drunk of the spirit.

All of us.

Because here's the important thing.

That's what conversion is about, says Paul.

In other words, Paul's point is that

regardless of who you are,

we join Christ,

we join the one body in the same way.

It doesn't matter who you are

or where you're from

or what language you speak

or what clothes you like

or what food you eat

or even how esteemed you are

by others in the church.

You all join church

in exactly the same way.

And what is that way?

Well, it's by recognizing

that before a holy God who made us,

we need to be washed clean

from the things that we've done wrong.

Or to use his language here,

we need to be baptized,

washed, dipped, dumped in one spirit.

And we need to admit, don't we,

that we need his help

to live for the Lord Jesus

because we cannot do that

in our own strength.

We need to drink of one spirit.

Now, stand back from this for a moment

and you can see why church gives us

a unique glimpse of the Lord Jesus.

You are getting to see something this morning

by being here with one another

that you would not be able to see

on your own at home

because the truth is that

every individual here,

regardless of who they are,

they're a Christian this morning,

they belong to the churches

because they've had the same

transforming experience of the Spirit

where we realize that living life for ourselves,

going our own way,

pursuing our own goals,

is not taking us to glory

but is dragging us to hell

because we're not the gods we thought we were.

And so instead we come to Christ,

we turn from our sin,

as the Bible calls it,

and we turn to him.

And by faith in him,

we reach out and receive the forgiveness

and mercy of the cross.

He exchanges our sin for his rightness,

doesn't he?

So Paul says we've all been baptized

into the one Spirit,

drunk of the one Spirit.

Now let me tell you,

I think that has two very big practical implications

for church life.

If we see Jesus by all joining church the same way,

it has two really big implications.

The first one is this.

It doesn't matter how many

West Kilburn Baptist Church services

that you have been to

or how long your association with the church.

It doesn't matter if you've been on the cleaning road

to the welcome team,

the Sunday school team.

It doesn't matter even if you've preached here before.

If you have not trusted Christ for yourself,

if you have not experienced this new life

by the Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ,

then in a profound sense,

you are not a member of the church.

At least not in the way that Paul is thinking about here.

You're not part of the body.

Now I say that not because I'm trying to exclude you.

I'm not trying to slam the door in your face.

Quite the opposite.

I say that because I want to invite you

not only to attend here,

but to belong here,

to join here.

Not by asking you to join a rota

or give money

or even let alone dressing the same

as everybody else who comes through the door.

I'd be like trying to join a school

by starting to do the homework.

You need actually to join the register,

don't you, first?

So perhaps you've been coming here for years,

but still I want to invite you

to join West Kilburn Baptist Church by what?

Putting your faith in Jesus Christ

and experiencing new life by the Spirit

because the door is wide open

and there's no other door to membership.

There's no other door.

The other implication,

which I think is just as serious,

is that you can't become a Christian

without joining the body.

Not because joining a local church

makes you a Christian, does it?

Joining a local church

doesn't make you a Christian

in the sense of like coming along

or signing up for membership

doesn't make you a Christian.

Just like if you walk down the middle of the road,

it wouldn't make you a car, would it?

It would like to get you run over.

Rather, the point is that actually

as the Spirit makes us Christians,

we want to join a local church.

Just like a car when it has been made

drives down the road.

So a Christian, when they have been made,

join a local church.

So let me say to you this morning,

if COVID or maybe historic difficulties

at church or relational struggles

have made you cold on attending church,

made you withdraw a bit,

let me say to you,

I understand that,

but can I encourage you to come?

Not because all of those things

will immediately disappear,

but because if you're a Christian,

you need to be in church.

Cars that don't drive on the road

cause a mess.

So too that Christians

who try to live their lives

outside of any local church

also end in disaster, don't they?

So here's point one,

you see Jesus in the body of Christ here

because of the way that we get here.

We all join in the same way.

Secondly, you see Jesus in my difference

from others.

You see Jesus in my difference from others,

not just me,

my as in everybody's difference from others.

In the context of the passage,

Paul is talking about gifts.

If you glance down at chapter 12,

you'll notice in verses 7 to 11

and again in verses 27 to 31,

he is talking about gifts.

So part of the differences between us

in viewing the passage

is this idea that we've all been given gifts

by God to use for the good of one another

and for the growth of his kingdom.

We are all good at different things.

God has made us and gifted us that way

for the good of others.

One body, many parts, as he puts it.

Now that's certainly what's going on here,

but I want to start somewhere else

because I think Paul has something else in view

as well as our gifts.

Look at verse 13 and notice the differences there.

Notice in verse 13, he says,

Jews and Gentiles,

or Jews and Greeks,

slaves and free.

Here they are made into one body

through the work of the Spirit in conversion.

And the differences here

are not to do with what we are good at,

but rather to do with where I'm from,

my cultural background.

Now some of the church are Jews by birth,

says Paul.

They've been raised in the synagogue.

They've been taught the law of God,

but probably not taught the gospel.

Some of them are literally Greeks,

synonym there for Gentiles,

but with an emphasis on the Greek cultural background,

taught to think and reason in a slightly different way,

eating different foods,

considering all days the same.

And those people,

Jews, Gentiles, slaves, free,

are, verse 14,

many parts of the one body.

Now I warn you this morning,

I'm going to labor this

because I think this is super,

super important for us.

You can't miss this

all the way through the scriptures,

that God's people are made up

of all kinds of people.

Revelation chapter 7

Revelation 7 · chapter mention

that we were looking at

with the kids earlier,

this great final gathering

of God's people

is people from every tribe,

language, and nation.

And it's not that those cultural

and historic differences

are obliterated

by membership

of the local church,

but rather they are

an important aspect

of membership

of the local church,

where languages

and people groups

are visible

within the body of Christ

so that we can praise God

because in a way

that only he can,

he has brought together

a diverse group of people

without obliterating

their difference,

but by sanctifying

their difference.

The Greeks aren't pagans

in glory,

they're worshipping Jesus,

not the pantheon of gods

that they used to worship.

The Jews are no longer trusting

in their own righteousness

and glory either,

they're trusting in Christ alone,

but still in a refined

and glorified

and sanctified ways,

those differences

remain visible,

but united in Christ.

Why?

Well, because part of the way

the church represents Christ

as his body

is by its diversity

and not its uniformity.

Let me try and put it

like this if I can.

The goal of Islam

is to make all of its worshippers

look the same.

Yeah?

To pray in row upon row

of uniformed men

bowing down

at the same time.

I think the little kid

there in the middle

didn't get the memo,

did he?

Why?

Well, because Allah,

the God of Islam,

cannot handle

cultural difference.

So he obliterates it,

bans it even.

But instead,

as we gather as a church

on a Sunday,

what we long for

is not row upon row

upon row of people

who look exactly the same

and are doing

exactly the same thing.

We're looking for

row upon row upon row

of people who look

different to one another.

Men and women,

boys and girls,

some in suits,

some in shorts,

some with tattoos

at their arms,

others with knots,

faces from all over the world.

And when they sing,

you know,

some people stand and sing

and they're hardly moving.

Wonder whether they died

standing up.

That's me.

Others are dancing around

with their arms in the air.

Why?

Well, because our God,

the true God,

is the God who made

the whole world

and all of its languages

and cultures

and all of its difference.

You see,

our God,

the God of the Bible,

the God who is really there,

the God who made us,

is the God who put rhythm

in reggae music.

Yeah?

He put spice in chicken.

Incredible.

He's the God

who put the twang

in the Scouse accent

that you'll notice

some of my children have.

He's the one who put the rhyming

in Cockney rhyming slang.

Our God is the God

who made some people

to dance

and other people like me

who can't dance.

He's glorified

in the excitement

of a child

because he made

that excitement.

He's glorified

in the steadiness

of a grandparent

because he made that too.

And the point is

that coming to God

in Christ

doesn't obliterate

those differences.

It sanctifies them.

It rives them

of lust

and pride

and self-obsession.

But the spice

is still there.

The rhythm

is still there

because God,

the true God,

is worshipped

by all languages,

tribes,

peoples,

and nations.

I used to have

this vague hope

when I was at school

because I was so bad

at French.

I thought maybe

we'll all speak

the same language

in heaven

and maybe there won't

be French in heaven

anymore.

I won't have to learn it.

But that's not right,

is it?

In eternity,

God is glorified

by a plethora

of languages

and we have

thousands of years

to learn them.

What a great,

diverse bunch

of people

worshipping God

for his praise

and his glory.

Now,

if you come back

to the passage,

you can see that

Paul's point

with this body image

in verse 15 to 20

is firstly

to help us

understand ourselves.

Look down at verse 15.

Let me just read it

to you again.

Now,

if the foot should say,

because I'm not a hand,

I don't belong to the body,

it wouldn't for that reason

stop being part

of the body.

And if the ear

should say,

oh,

because I'm not an eye,

I don't belong to the body,

it wouldn't for that reason

stop being 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 the sense

of smell be?

But in fact,

God has placed the parts

in the body,

every one of them,

just as he wanted them to be.

If they were all one part,

where would the body be?

As it is,

there are many parts

but one body.

Notice this.

This is so important.

In this first part

of the passage,

the voice,

the person speaking

is not the hand

speaking to the foot

to exclude it

or the eye

talking to the ear

to exclude the ear.

Rather,

this is the foot

saying to itself,

I'm not a hand

so I don't belong.

The ear saying to itself

that it's not an eye

so it doesn't belong.

In other words,

the first thing

the passage is addressing

is personal insecurity.

How do I understand

my own difference

to everybody else

in the room?

Why?

Well, I think because

Paul thinks

the first person

who has to come to terms

with their difference

from everybody else

at church

is not everybody else

but you, me.

I have to come to terms

with the fact

that I'm different

to everybody else

in the room.

I have to come to terms

with the fact

that by belonging

to church

is by definition

belonging to a group

of people

who are not like me.

In other words,

I don't walk into church

and go,

brilliant,

that's a church

for old people

and I'm an old person

or brilliant,

that's a church

for rich people

and I'm a rich person

or even the opposite

or that's a church

for rich people

and I'm a poor person

and I don't belong

or that's a church

for Caribbean people

and I'm from Nigeria

so I don't belong

or that's a church

for suit wearers

and I don't have a suit

so I don't belong.

That's not true.

Why?

Look at verse 18.

What's the true story

of diversity

in the local church?

It's that God

is placing people

exactly where

they're supposed to be.

This is fantastic,

isn't it?

Through the door

of faith in Christ,

through God's sovereignty

over where you live,

who you know,

the twists and turns

of your life,

God has brought

you to this fellowship

with your cultural difference

and background

and your particular gifts,

your particular wounds

and needs,

your insights

and perspectives

because this

is exactly

where he wants you

and without you

and without your difference

to everyone here,

well, we'd all be worse off

like a body

with no sense of smell

or no feet

or no eyes for seeing

and just because

you think you don't fit

doesn't mean

you don't belong

because actually

the fact that you don't fit

means you do belong.

See, this is it.

When you and I

walk into church,

we say,

brilliant,

this is where I belong.

Not because everybody

looks like me,

not because everybody

sounds like me,

not because everyone

dresses like me.

That's a terrible church.

If you find yourself

in that church,

run away.

Instead,

you walk into church

and you see,

what do you see?

You see the Lord Jesus.

How do you see

the Lord Jesus?

Because you see

that everybody

is different to you

but that you belong

to them through

the Lord Jesus Christ.

That you are part

of this mosaic

that Jesus is putting

together to his glory.

Jesus and the power

of his cross

is the only one

who can bring together

all of these

cultural differences

and hold them

for his glory.

Thirdly,

see Jesus

seeing others

difference from me.

This then,

I think,

is the focus

in the next part

of chapter 12

and verses 21

down to verse 26.

The temptation here,

I think,

is slightly different.

And I don't think

the temptation

is so much

to say to others,

oh, you don't belong here.

I think perhaps

we all know that's wrong.

Rather,

the temptation is,

I think,

to say that other people

aren't so valuable here.

Do you notice that?

The temptation

is that we look

at others

who are different

in the church

and we don't say,

oh, you don't belong

because we know

that's too rude.

Rather,

we say,

oh, no,

you're not as honourable

or as important

as everybody else

to use the language

of the passage.

Let me give you

a concrete example

so that we can

work out

what we're talking about.

Turn back,

just if you will,

to chapter 11

of 1 Corinthians.

You see a practical

outworking of this

in verse 17.

The Corinthian church,

you should,

if you've never read

1 Corinthians,

read 1 Corinthians

because it will

fill you full of joy

because the Corinthian church

was such a mess

and yet Paul still thinks

they're full of saints

and they're worshipping

for the glory of God.

If you thought,

if you think our church

is messy,

you should read 1 Corinthians.

It's really,

really,

really great.

They come together

to celebrate the Lord's Supper.

This is how chaotic

their church life is.

They come together

to celebrate the Lord's Supper.

They're gathering

on a Sunday,

and so some people

are having to work

on a Sunday

and they celebrate

the Lord's Supper

but they don't wait

for one another

until the slaves

in the church

come late to church

because they've been

working all day.

They've been working late

and they don't get there

as quickly as everybody

else is able to get there.

By the time they arrive

in church,

all of the Lord's Supper

has been eaten

and people are even

drunk in church

because they've drunk

so much of the wine.

The slaves don't get

to have any

of the Lord's Supper.

It was totally,

totally chaotic.

He says that

there's nothing

to commend

the way they do

the Lord's Supper.

In fact,

it's doing more harm

than good.

He's saying to them,

listen,

your church gathering

is so bad.

Close the doors

and don't do it

because it would be better

if you didn't do it

than the way you are doing it.

Crazy, isn't it?

But what does he say

in verse 20

about what that means

for everybody

in the church?

Listen to how he puts it.

Verse 20,

so then when you come together

it's not the Lord's Supper

you eat.

For when you are eating,

some of you go ahead

with your own private suppers.

As a result,

one person remains hungry,

that's a person coming late,

and another gets drunk.

Don't you have homes

to eat and drink in

or do you despise

the church of God

by humiliating

those who have nothing?

What shall I say to you?

Shall I praise you?

Certainly not

in this matter.

Now notice what he says.

Because of the way

they are doing it,

this ceases

to be the Lord's Supper

even for the rich people

who get to eat it all

and drink it all.

Do you notice that?

Because the rich

aren't valuing the poor

in the sharing

of the Lord's Supper,

then not even the rich

are celebrating

the Lord's Supper.

You know,

they're eating and drinking

but it's not the Lord's Supper

they're celebrating.

In other words,

the lack of honoring

of the weak

in the church

means that church

is no longer church

for the rich.

Now bring that back

to chapter 12

and it seems

that this tendency

of the church

to overlook

or not value

certain people

from certain backgrounds

or not to esteem

their gifts

as much as other people's

particularly if people

can't speak in tongues

it seems.

They treat those people

as second class citizens

and Paul says

using the body metaphor

listen,

that's the opposite

of what church

should be like.

When it comes to a body

the parts

that we are most

embarrassed about

work out which parts

those are yourself

we don't want to

show them in public

those are the parts

over which we take

the most care

verse 23

whereas the parts

that we don't

worry about

that we think

are great and attractive

well we don't need

to worry about them

at all do we

verse 24

and so it should be

in the gathering

of the local church

that the weak

the vulnerable

those whose contribution

might be small

those are the people

we should take

extra care over

those we should

make sure we are

honoring in the

gatherings of the church

again let me say to you

this is unique

in the church

of Jesus Christ

now if we said

before that the

God of Islam

obliterates cultural

difference

then notice that

the God of

Western materialism

runs over all

the weak and the

vulnerable

you've noticed

that haven't you

yeah at work

who is it that

gets esteemed

at work

is it the person

whose health

means that they've

had to drop

to part time

because they can't

any longer work

full time

no it's not

is it

everyone's

sort of scowling

about them

or talking about

them behind their

back

is it the

cleaner who

nobody notices

who empties the

bin down the

row of desks

and no one even

stops to say

thank you

of course they

don't honor that

who's the person

who's honored at

work

it's the person

who makes the

most money

isn't it

the person who

produces the

most

it's the person

whose name is

at the top

of the headed

paper

whenever we used

to have that

of course that's

how the world

works

not in the

church

in the body

of christ

it's different

because listen

your value

here is not a

function of your

productivity

your value

here is not

about the

glamour of

your gifting

your value

here is in

what

you're attached

to christ

jesus the

head

and the

weaker and the

more vulnerable

you are the

greater discretion

and care we

should treat

you with

see this is

it when you

walk into

church

you see

jesus

how

well you

see jesus

because that's

how everybody

joined the

church

you see

jesus because

you see

that you are

belonging to

a mosaic of

people that

he is gathering

in his name

and you see

jesus because

you see weak

and vulnerable

people being

cared for and

loved in a

way that cannot

be explained

other than

the work of

christ

jesus loves

the weak

and the

broken

gathers them

into his

church a

bruised reed

he doesn't

break and a

smouldering

wick he

won't put

out

finally then

we see

jesus in

our shared

priority

our shared

priority

i want you

to notice

as we

finish that

the passage

comes on

to say

one more

important thing

in these

closing verses

see if

church displays

jesus by

being one

body in

many parts

then it

also shows

jesus in

what it

does together

let me

reread these

closing verses

to you

verse 27

now you

are the

body of

christ and

each one of

you is a

part of it

and god has

placed in

the church

first of

all apostles

second

prophets

third teachers

then miracles

then gifts

of healing

of helping

of guidance

and of

different kinds

of tongues

are all

apostles

are all

prophets

are all

teachers

do all

work

miracles

do all

have gifts

of healing

do all

speak in

tongues

do all

interpret

now

eagerly

desire the

greater gifts

and yet i

will show you

the most

excellent way

now as you

first read

that it

sounds like a

contradiction of

everything else

we've just

been saying

surely the

whole point

that we've been

noticing is that

there's not

supposed to be a

hierarchy in

church but now

it seems as if

paul is giving

one but look

carefully with me

at the verses

and let's see the

point together

there's a theme

running through

these chapters

which we notice

in chapter 11

and it's carrying

on all the way

through into

chapter 14

it's all about

their gatherings

as a local

church what they

do when they

come together

and the point

is that a

diverse company

of people

the body of

christ

should have

a particular

focus when

they gather

together

and what is

that purpose

well it's the

purpose of

building one

another up in

the lord

he calls it

edifying one

another

if you glance

over to

chapter 14

and verse 12

you'll see paul

spell it out

there let me

read chapter 14

verse 12 to

you

so it is with

you since you

are eager for

gifts of the

spirit you

really want

these exciting

gifts of the

spirit if you're

eager for those

try to excel

in what those

that build up

the church

now those gifts

that edify the

church or build

up the church

are listed in an

order at the

end of chapter

12 and the

point is not

that this is a

complete list

it's not supposed

to be a complete

list instead the

point is that the

list is in the

opposite order to

which the

corinthian church

would have put

them right

because right at

the bottom of the

list the least

valuable thing to

do when you're

gathered together

is what

speaking tongues

he says it's

right at the

bottom and it

starts instead

with the apostles

and prophets and

then teaching and

then the signs that

in the first

century particularly

accompanied the

apostles ministry

miracles and

healing then

helping and

guidance or

administration and

last of all

tongues now at

the end of a

long sermon I am

not going to get

into a debate

about charismatic

gifts you can

ask me that after

lunch as we

gather again

rather the point

seems to be here

the big point is

that the church

is to have a

particular focus

when it gathers

together and the

focus is not

showing off your

gift not on

impressing others

but on building

one another up

and how is the

church built up

well it's done by

prioritizing the

teaching and

proclamation of the

apostles message

you notice that

that's why they're at

the top of the

list a message

testified to by

the miracles and

healings that

accompany their work

it means that the

gathering of the

local church is not

primarily about

self-expression

you might be good

at many things that

you don't get to

show off in the

gatherings of the

local church

that's okay because

the gatherings of the

local church are not

meant to be the

occasion for us to

show off all the

different things we're

good at

rather gatherings of

the local church are

to be about building

one another up

and we do that

don't we as the

message of the

apostles and

prophets is made

clear as the

gospel is made

clear we are

built up and

that doesn't make

the teacher a more

important person it

doesn't even make the

apostles and prophets

more important than

us you know they're

Christians just like we

are they're standing

before God is exactly

the same as ours they

have been baptized by

the same spirit and

they drink the same

spirit but it does

give their work an

important place in the

gatherings of the

church even as we all

use our gifts to make

those times useful

even as we guide and

encourage one another in

the body of Christ and

we do that verse 31 in

the most excellent way

what is the most

excellent way love

chapter 13 so here it

is let me finish now

when you walk into

West Kilburn Baptist

Church you see Jesus

because you are seeing

his body a body of

people you have been

uniquely joined to him

by faith where everyone

is different in a way

that reflects the

glorious diversity of

our triune God Father

Son and Spirit a place

where we value the weak

and the needy just like

the Lord Jesus did and a

place where you find his

message of salvation is

sung about is read is

prayed and is preached

that together we might

see the Lord Jesus in his

beauty and his glory let me

pray for us

heavenly father thank you

that you have made us all

different and that we

gather and come to church in

the same way by faith in the

Lord Jesus Christ thank you

that that means that nobody

here is a better Christian

than anybody else because we

have all been made right by

Jesus and not by our

actions thank you that

you've made us all

different to one another

and that that difference

doesn't mean that we don't

belong but that means we

have a unique opportunity to

bring you glory as we

gather together in Jesus

name and we pray that our

church and our gatherings

together would build one

another up in faith as we

make the gospel clear in the

words that we sing in our

conversations with one

another in the things that

are prayed in your word as

it's opened and taught bring

yourself glory we pray in

Jesus name amen amen