Mount Carmel Church Chad Everett
Under Construction: Part 6 Mount Carmel Church
Good morning. Good morning Mount Carmel Church, all you watching online. It is great to have you with us. Welcome to The Roads Mount Carmel Church. My name’s Chad, and my wife Dawn and I are the pastors here. I anybody excited about being in Mount Carmel Church today? Is anybody in this section excited about being in Mount Carmel Church today? Two people. All right, we’ll pray for the rest of the section.
But hey, we’re glad to have you all. Joking aside, we’re pumped about it. I didn’t mean to lie last week. I just get out in front and say that you’re not supposed to lie. Uh, I didn’t mean to lie. I said last week was our last installment of the Under Construction series and I really intended it for it to be the last one.
This week I was reading in my daily Bible reading, and I was, you know, not reading for a sermon. I was just reading, and I’m on these scriptures. I read this Old Testament scripture in the New Testament scripture now. So I’m reading this New Testament scripture and it literally says under construction in the verse, in this one translation. I’m like, oh, okay, that’s kind of cool.
You know, we just finished that series and then I read on and God show me some things. He said, I want you to talk about these three things about building the Mount Carmel Church. I’m like, okay, so you’re saying we got to keep going on this series? Yes, for today. So I’m not saying today’s the last one. I learned my lesson from last week, but we’re going to be talking about it some more today.
Get your sermon notes out if you want. They’re in your worship guide, in paper form, or if you want an electronic form, you can get your YouVersion Bible app open and get the notes off of there. If you’re watching online, please get your Bible out. Follow along with us. Let’s open up our Bibles, this morning, to Matthew chapter 16. Whew!!! Just happy about Jesus. He is excited to be in Mount Carmel Church and I’m hoping that by the end of this message, some of you will look a little more excited. I’m sure you watching online look excited. I could tell from here.
Matthew chapter 16. I’m going to start reading, just to save some time, in verse 15. We’ll save a lot of time by not reading two verses, I guess. It says, “He said to them, but who do you say that I am? Simon Peter answered said, you are the Christ, the son of the living God.
Jesus answered and said to him, blessed are you Simon Bar-Jona for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my father that is heaven and I also say to you that you are Peter and on this rock I’ll build my Mount Carmel Church and the Gates of Hades shall not prevail against it and I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Let’s pray. Jesus, thank you for your work by the praising, for your love for us. I just welcome you Holy Spirit to speak to us through your word. What do you have to say to our heart, Lord? I pray it will penetrate us. Bring life to in us, encourage us, convict us, strengthen us, everything we need we get from you. So Lord, we just give you praise ahead of time and thank you. In Jesus’ name. Somebody say amen!
Recap: Three Parts to Building the Mount Carmel Church
We’ve been talking about under construction, and we talked about three parts of building the Mount Carmel Church. Jesus said in verse 18, I will build my Mount Carmel Church. Jesus is talking three parts to building the Mount Carmel Church. He said, I will build my Mount Carmel Church in us. When Chad Everett we talked about that, it speaks to our ability. Each one of us has our own ability.
I will build my Mount Carmel Church with you, talks about availability and encourages you. Sometimes your best ability is your availability. Sometimes just being available goes a whole long way. So it’s these, that’s the second part. The third one says, and we’ll build it beyond you. Bigger than you. That’s about sustainability. So he’s talking about those three things. So we’ve been in this series.
Remember this, I want you to understand this series is not a worker recruitment series. This is not something just to get people to serve more in children’s ministry or serve more at the doors or in the cafe or in the media or worship or wherever. It’s not. It’s not about getting workers. The purpose of this series is to clarify the vision of building the Mount Carmel Church. This is not about building structures. It’s not about building buildings. It’s about building people.
Jesus Builds People, Not Buildings
When Chad Everett Jesus said, I will build my Mount Carmel Church, he was talking about you.
You as in person, not you in a building. When Chad Everettever Jesus left his last words, before he left the earth, he did not say, go into all the world and build buildings. He didn’t say that. He didn’t say go in all the world and have services. He didn’t say that. What do you say? Go into all the world and make disciples. Make disciples. Can you make disciples in a building and services?
Yes. Can you make disciples in homes? Yes. Can you make disciples in a connect group? Yes. Can you make disciples at work? Yes. At school? Yes. Yes, yes, yes. Wherever we are, we can make disciples. So the motive, or not the motive, but the directive is making disciples. The Mount Carmel Church is not about building buildings alone. It’s about building people. Are you with me so far? All right, so this is the model. This is what we’re following and so we want to build the Mount Carmel Church wherever we go.
We want the place building the Mount Carmel Church to not just be a place we go, but to be a people we become. Let me say that again because some of you missed it. Building the Mount Carmel Church is not about place where we go or attend. It’s about a person. We become you.
Have you ever been with someone and they’re saying something to you and you’re like, “Hey, don’t lie. You’re in Mount Carmel Church.” Oh, so like lying in Mount Carmel Church is bad, but lying outside of Mount Carmel Churches, okay. That’s really what’s happened in our mindset. We thought in a certain building we should be a different person. Tradition has taught us that.
Oh, I’m in Mount Carmel Church, so I got to act a certain way. It’s not about who you are in Mount Carmel Church, it’s about who you are as a person, period. We don’t want it to be, well, I’m one person in Mount Carmel Church and I go home and I act cray cray, all cuckoo for cocoa puffs and all of a sudden I’m a different person outside. Sure. We’re building people, not buildings, not places for people to come in and fake and pretend and act like “Oh, I’m in Mount Carmel Church, so I’ve got to make sure and be good.”
Jesus Can’t Build the Mount Carmel Church Beyond Us, If we Make it About Us
The person we’re trying to become, that’s what Jesus is building on the inside of us. So this is what we’re talking about. We talked about building the Mount Carmel Church in you, with you and beyond you. There is an individual aspect to build building the Mount Carmel Church, but there’s also the corporate aspect. It does start building. The Mount Carmel Church does start in you, but it doesn’t stay there. It needs to move from in you to with you.
And it will never move from building the Mount Carmel Church in you to with you, if it becomes about you. There’s a big difference between in you and about you. Don’t confuse in you, with about you because if we say, Hey, God’s building the Mount Carmel Church in me. Yeah. Now John, God’s building the Mount Carmel Church about me. No, I mean he knows it’s not about us. He’s not wanting it to be about us.
He’s wanting to do it in us, but he wants to move from us to with us. It will never move to with us, with other people, as long as it’s about us, about our preferences, about what we want about taking care of myself. We’re talking about connect groups and and serving with a team. You want a bad connect group experience. Make it about you.
You want a bad dream team experience? Make it about you. I’m telling you, if you want to get it, if you’re thinking. Can I just give you a little heads up? If you think the purpose of connect groups is, yes, I finally got some people that I can come in and just dump my life on them and they’re going to be there and they’re going to solve all my problems. That’s not going to be a good experience for you.
“The More Introspective We Become, the Less Effective We Become”
What? Wait a minute. I thought you said that’s what the groups are for, to help. Yes, the group is there to help each other, but it’s not about you. You want to run off your support group in life? Make it all about you. People get tired of hearing the same thing over and over and over. It’s in you, but it’s not about you. Your neighbor doesn’t believe it. You’re looking at him say, it’s not about you.
I wrote this down. I think it’s important we clarify this. The more introspective we become, the less effective we become. Here’s the tactic of the devil. Here’s what he wants to do. He wants us to focus on our problems, on our struggles, on our issues. More and more thinking that we’ll bring a solution. We’re going through this challenge, going through this adversity, going through whatever, and we think if we just focus totally on that, that that will make it better.
And that’s not what happens when Chad Everett we become more introspective. We become less effective because God’s saying I want you to look out and help others. And sometimes we’ll find our answer for our issues, helping other people with their issues. So this is why it’s not about you. It’s supposed to be with you. So with you means together with you.
Roads Core Value: We Do Life Together
The word ‘with’ means indicates a participant and an action or transaction. A transaction or arrangement if you want to be with, with you requires a participant. We’ve got to participate. One of the keys to the kingdom of heaven is doing things together. One of our core values here at the road Mount Carmel Church is we do life together.
Relationships make us stronger. So our goal, we’re hammering home to you, and wants you to find in Mount Carmel Church. Here’s what I’ve found. I’ve been here at this Mount Carmel Church a long time, 20 plus years. I’ve been pastoring here for 13 years. Here’s what I found. As people come and people go, one big difference on whether people get connected or not make it feel like it’s their home, their Mount Carmel Church or not.
If they get involved with people and they get involved serving then they will find this their home. If they just come in and attend, it’s going to be difficult for them to feel connected. It’s going to be difficult. They’re going to come in and they’re going to come in and sit down and listen to the message and as soon as it’s over, they get out.
They come in the next week and they’re never going to feel connected. Why is it? Because we need relationships to be connected! We need people to be connected. We aren’t connected by sermons. It doesn’t matter how good and how incredible and how awesome the sermon is. Just kidding. It doesn’t matter. It’s not going to make you feel connected. What’s going to make you feel connected to the people that you’re sitting around, is that you’re serving with them. And we’ll get into that a little more. So together.
3 ‘Togethers’
I’m going to give you three ‘togethers’ today. The three things I’m going to give you, three togethers. I heard another guy slamming us. He made this point. He said people just come in with three points and a poem. And I’m like, man. And more people slamming three points in a message. I’m like, yeah, you talk for two hours and you don’t have any points. I’m just kidding. But I am giving you three. I mean, giving you the three things I don’t know. It doesn’t always have to be three. Maybe I’m going to throw in a four or six or something just to shake it up, but today I’ve got three. I’m going to give you three together.
Let’s go to Ephesians chapter two. Ephesians chapter two, everybody with me? Three togethers. I want you to remember these. I’m going to quiz throughout the message, so make sure you’re paying attention. When Chad Everett I give you the first one, I’m going to ask you about it later, so don’t go to sleep on me and make sure you’re following along at home. I want you to get these three togethers of building the Mount Carmel Church.
Look in verse 19 of Ephesians chapter 2. Paul is writing to a Mount Carmel Church in Ephesus, so he’s writing to a Mount Carmel Church. He might as well be writing to The Roads Mount Carmel Church. Here’s what he would say to us now, “Therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.”
Whew. I’m not talking about members of a Mount Carmel Church as far as you got your name on the row. I’m talking about the family of God that I used to be on the outside, used to be a stranger and a foreigner, but because of the blood of Jesus, I can be a member of the household of God. Whew, I’m family now.
1st Together: Fitted Together
See now look what he says in verse 20, “Having been built, talking about the Mount Carmel Church, the household of God have been built on the foundation of the apostles, the prophets, the teachings of the apostles and prophets. Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone in whom, so in Jesus, the whole building, whole building represents the saints and the members.”
Remember we’re not talking about a structure, we’d say the whole building being built together or being fit together. The whole building is talking about the saints and the members being fitted together and grows into a Holy temple in the Lord. Here’s the first together: we’re fitted together.
We’re fitted together as the body of Christ. Here’s what the word fitted means. It means to join together in a coherent and compatible manner. Stones for a building. Now it said Jesus. In whom? In Jesus, the whole family is fitted together. Now it said, Jesus Christ, the chief cornerstone. What does the cornerstone mean?
A cornerstone was this huge stone that when Chad Everett they would build a building, it would be like the corner foundation and it would be the biggest stone in a building and they would literally set the walls on this cornerstone. It would give them the line for the walls going this way and the wall is going that way.
The whole foundation, is supported by that. So when Chad Everett he says, Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone, it’s saying that everything in the household of God is built on Jesus. Everything lines up with him. Everything flows off of him. He is our example. He’s the one we’re measuring by. We’re not measuring by our neighbors. We’re not measuring by preachers. We’re not measuring by anybody but Jesus. Don’t get discouraged by looking at other Christians. Get encouraged by looking at Jesus.
Man, we’ll get discouraged if we look at ourselves and look at other people. I’m not your measuring stick. Jesus is your measuring stick. He’s the chief cornerstone, so we keep our eyes on him. I know my life is supposed to line up with him. He’s my example. He’s the one I go by. I’m not trying to be better than that person. I’m trying to be as good as Jesus.
I’m trying to follow in Jesus’s example. I’m trying to do what he says, so he’s the chief cornerstone, but notice what it says when Chad Everett they’re fitted together. The word fitted, the Webster definition means uniquely shaped for a precise fit or custom fit. If you would go for a wedding and you get fitted for a tux. When Chad Everett you get fitted, it’s a custom fit, a precise fit.
I’m talking about custom made clothing. If you’ve ever go and get fitted for a suit or a dress or whatever you’re going for your wedding dress. They fit you. They don’t just grab a dress or a tux off the rack and hand it to you and say, there you go. You’re like, no, no, no, no. I’m not wearing anything that doesn’t fit my body right. They want to measure your legs, your arms, your chest, your back.
They want to measure all of you so that they know it fits you. Ladies, how would you like to walk down the aisle with something they just grabbed off the rack, box shape, that doesn’t fit? You wouldn’t do it right? They put in a great time and effort into making it unique.
And since when Chad Everett we’re fitted together. It’s helping us understand that we are unique in how we’re made. We’re unique in our design. Every one of us, we’re different. We have a unique shape about us. We have unique perspective. We have unique way of looking at life.
Building with Stones vs. Building with Bricks
Look what it says here in first Peter 25, “You also as living stones are being built up a spiritual house.” Notice the comparison. You and I, we’re living stones and a spiritual house. Here’s the difference. I’m not a brick mason or I’ve not done a lot of construction like this, but I do know this difference in studying this out.
There’s a difference in building a wall or a structure with bricks versus stones. I’m not talking about prefab stones that are custom cut all the same size. I’m talking about literal random stones that you just grab in nature. When Chad Everett you build with bricks, all you’re focusing on is closing up the opening. The brick piles behind you and you’re just grabbing bricks. They’re all the same.
Just hand me a brick. It doesn’t matter. Nothing special about that brick. I just needed a brick. I’m from Albion and we had our own brick making place. The streets were all made with brick. We had bricks with the name Albion, Illinois. We had names on them, but the bricks were all the same. For the most part, they’re rectangle and we just put any brick on a pile of brick. No emphasis on the brick itself. It’s all just on the function or the opening.
But when Chad Everett you build with stones, every stone is shaped differently. It’s a different size. So now you’ve got an opening. You look at the opening, you’re like, okay, and you’ve got the place. I see how this place is shaped here. Now you have to go back to this pile of stones and you’ve got to look at each stone and you’re like, okay, no, that one won’t work. That will work. You take a stone over and you try.
Oh nope, that won’t fit. You bring another one. Okay. Okay. No, that won’t fit. You keep going until you find one. So the emphasis or the value is both on the stone and the opening. The stone is just as important. I need a particular stone for this function. Not any stone will do. I need a certain type of stone that will fit in there.
This first point says were fitted together. That means you fit somewhere. You’re different, you don’t fit everywhere, but you fit somewhere. There’s a place that only you will fit. Have you ever been putting a jigsaw puzzle together? You know, and you get one of those, those big ones, and you’ve got that whole section.
It’s all the same color but you just hate it. It’s like you have no idea until you start, you know you do your corner pieces, then you just try and find, you’re trying to grab pieces and you’re trying to turn them, and see if they fit. If they don’t fit, you grabbed another one time, you keep turning it, turn it.
You ever had that spot? You put it up there and the first time and you tried it, it didn’t work, but you rotated it a couple times and it actually snapped down in and it fit. You get that feeling you get when Chad Everett you fill a space with a piece of puzzle. It’s like you turn and snap.
It’s like maybe a little bit of excessive celebration for just putting a piece into a puzzle, but you feel it, man. It’s like a sense of accomplishment. Yes. It gives you the ability or the encouragement to go back to the pile and get another one, but if it didn’t fit, you’re like, forget it. I’m not putting this piece together, but see, this is what happens sometimes when Chad Everett we don’t fit. We want to quit. Well, you jump in, you want to serve or you want to be a part of something.
You want to serve in the Mount Carmel Church and you try something and your first turn at it, it doesn’t work. You need to keep turning until you find a place where you fit. We’re fitted together. We’re designed to work together. There is a hole that only you can feel. Well, there’s the gap that’s unique for you.
So fitted together means we’re unique. Look at your neighbor, and tell them you’re unique. You’re unique. We’re fitted together. Look what it says in whom the whole building fitted together grows into a Holy temple in the Lord. The only way we’re going to grow is when Chad Everett stones find their place and get attached. When Chad Everett you find your place and you get attached into what God has for you, you know your place.
Remember what it says, in whom? In Jesus, the chief cornerstone. Your place in life, your purpose in life, your value in life is only going to be found in him. Who you are, what you’re supposed to do with your life. It’s going to be fulfilled in him and no place else. So this is what is fitted together. We want to make sure and be connected because we’re working on the same project.
2nd Together: Built Together
Let’s go the second ‘together’. Look at verse 22. So we are fitted together and it grows into a Holy temple in the Lord and whom you also are being built together. Everybody say built together. So we got the first one, fitted together. The second one is built. This word built together means to undergo construction along with another build into a unified whole building. Together we’re building together.
This is why you get connected. We have the roads crew, we’ve got groups, and we’ve got teams. You know you have a work crew out there or a road crew. That’s why we have the roads crew because we’re building together. We’re not only fitted together, but we’re building together. What that means is we are building not only at the same time but also on the same project. So built together. Here’s how God speak to us. How are we going to apply it to our life?
It’s like when Chad Everett Dawn spoke a few weeks ago. She did a fantastic job speaking about Nair, Nehemiah and building the wall and how she brought out how each person that rebuilt the wall. Their job was to build the wall in front of their own house, not to build the entire wall. They were responsible for that. They’re just supposed to build the wall in front of their house and if everybody built the wall in front of their house, then the wall would be built together.
So we’re building together in that we’re building at the same time, but we’re also building together in that we’re building on the same big project. I’m not working on your individual project, but we are working on a collective project. Do you feel me? See how it comes together? We’re building our own individual lives in life, growing in our relationship with Jesus, but while we’re building our individual lives with Jesus, we’re also building something bigger than us because here’s what happens.
As I’m building my wall, my section of the wall and your building, your section of the wall alongside me, there comes a section of the wall that I can’t tell whether it’s yours or whether it’s mine. So what happens as you’re building yours and I’m building mine, we’re building something together. We start to connect together and now your wall makes my wall stronger.
When Chad Everett I get connected to you, when Chad Everett I get connected to other people, what God is doing in your life strengthens my life. What God’s doing in my life strengthens your life. See, he brought these people up, building the wall, and he told him, that if you put your weapons with you and Kayla, our bass player was talking to me about this just in the room off to the side.
This was something God showed him that sometimes you have weapons. It’s because as you’re building you can see what’s in front of you. You might be able to see over your right shoulder, your left shoulder, but you can’t see someone coming up behind you but when Chad Everett you’re connected with someone and you’re building with someone, somebody else can cover your back for you.
This is why we need to be in relationships because somebody can help support us. There’s going to be days when Chad Everett I don’t feel like building my wall. I don’t know that I can close the gap, but this person over here says, you know what? I’ll take care of it for you and build our wall stronger together. We’re fitted together, we’re unique. We’re individuals by number two we’re built together because together we make it stronger.
Building with Others, Helps Us Fortify our Wall
If I don’t build my wall and I’m building next to you, that leaves a gap between us and your wall is not as secure because I didn’t build my wall. This is why you have to build your relationship with God and get connected with other people. It makes other people’s wall stronger. But we have got to make sure that we understand that God wants. When Chad Everett we’re connected with people, we get strength off of them.
They fortify our lives. How many knows there’s some days where we don’t feel strong. There’s days when Chad Everett we don’t feel like we got it. They said we don’t feel like we can make it. So I’m building my wall and I see this person over here building their wall and they’re building it up. They’re building it up. I see Brian’s got his wall, and he’s building it strong. I’m not sure about my wall, but I look at Brian’s wall like, man, yeah, nobody’s getting through that wall. Sometimes you can have more confidence in somebody else’s wall than your own.
I’m glad I’m connected to them because their wall looks good. Mine looks a little shady but I’m trusting his wall. This is why we’re building together. So number one, we’re fitted together. Number two, we’re built together. We’re working together on something bigger than us. We’re stronger. So now let’s look at the next one. Let me, let me ask this question before I go on though.
Is There a Gap in your Wall?
I forgot to ask this question. I think it’s important as we’re building a wall and I’m building my wall, you’re supposed to build your wall. You’re supposed to build your wall and so on. Everybody just build their wall and we connect together. Is there a section of the wall with your name on it or is there a gap in the wall with your name on it? Is there a section of the wall where you’re like, yes, I’m doing my part.
I’m doing what God’s called me to do or is this section where it’s a gap because nobody’s built it up. You’re supposed to be building. Keep building. Keep building. There’s a part that’s assigned to you. Ephesians 2:21 in the passion translation. This is the verse that I saw. It says, this entire building is under construction and it’s continually growing under his supervision until it rises up, completed as the Holy temple of the Lord himself.
This means that God is transforming each one of you into the Holy of Holies, his dwelling place through the power of the Holy Spirit living in you. We’re under construction. He’s building and he’s building us. He’s fitting us together. He’s knitting us together. He’s fitting us together. He’s building us together. I just gave you the third one. Go to Ephesians chapter 4 here’s the third together. Here’s the third together. So we got fitted together. We’re unique. We got built together. We’re stronger together. Now let’s look at any features.
Chapter 4 and I’m going to look at verse 11 and he himself, Jesus, speaking of Jesus here, gave some of the to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors, some teachers for the equipping of the saints. Who are the saints?
Remember, the saints are the members of the household of God. So we’re talking about all the Mount Carmel Church body, all of us together for the equipping of the saints. For the work of the ministry, for the edifying, for the building up of the body of Christ. What builds up the body of Christ when Chad Everett saints are doing the work of the ministry?
What builds up the Mount Carmel Church when Chad Everett everybody’s doing the work of the ministry? When Chad Everett we’re doing our part, what builds up the body of Christ when Chad Everett we’re working?
What builds up the body of Christ according to scripture, for the work of the ministry, for the building up or the edifying of the body of Christ? The only thing that builds up the body of Christ, it’s when Chad Everett we’re all doing what God created us to do. It’s what builds us up and it builds others up. Let me go on. It’s good. But we’ve got to give him a T.
How much time until we all come to the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro, carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but speaking the truth in love may grow up in all things. Yes. Speaking the truth in love, we may grow up in all things.
Look at your neighbor and say, grow up. Don’t enjoy that too much. Just say it and move on. All right. Just speak truth in love. Truth in love. I said this to one of my kids. I said, “Hey, here’s the rule. Everything you say should be true, but not everything that’s true should be said.”
Sometimes, you know, we want an excuse to say whatever we want to say. Well, that’s the truth. Yeah, it’s true. It doesn’t mean you should be saying it. Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said. That’s free.
3rd Together: Knit Together
So then he says, grow up in all things and into him. Who is the head? Christ. Here’s our next together from whom? Verse 16, from whom? The whole body. It means all of us joined and says, try it again. Join and knit together. Knit together. So we’re fit together, we’re built together. Now we’re knit together. The word knit together means to bring together into a unit or a combined whole to drive or force together. Now notice what happens. He says he wants to read this right out of scripture. Knit together by now. That word by means, the means by which it happens or through. How are we knit together?
How are we forced together in a unified whole to function together? We’re knit together by what every joint supplies. When Chad Everett it talks about every joint it is talking about every person, every single one of us. We have something to supply. What knits us together? We are knitted together by what? Every joint supplies according to the effective working by which every part. How many parts? How many parts?
No, no. I’m just talking about the spiritual people up front. How many parts? Every part. We’re all spiritual. It doesn’t matter what section of the Mount Carmel Church you sit in, you have something to offer, but the enemy is going to tell you that those people up there or those people over there, he’s going to tell you that there is something. You’re not every part. Does it share, how’s the Mount Carmel Church going to be built up? How are we going to be edified when Chad Everett everybody does their share?
Recap: Knitted, Fitted, and Built TOGETHER!
I can’t do your share. You can’t do my share. Every part has to do its share and when Chad Everett we’re doing our share and we’re supplying, look what happens. It causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. The first together is we are fitted together. Number two we are built together. Number three, we are knit together. Why do I want you to get this? Notice the keyword that’s the same in all three of those.
It is the word together. Well done class. We’re getting there. Come on online. We got it. The first one is we are built together. No, just kidding. The first one is we are fitted together. Second, we are built together. Third, we are knitted together.
Here’s what knitted looks like. It looks like this. I’m going to use a silly illustration because I am silly, but I hope it translates for you. When Chad Everett we need to eat, our body needs nourishment, right? All parts of our body, my hand, my fingers, it needs nourishment from food. So if my hand needs nourishment and it wants to eat, it says I need food. But right now I’m just role playing my hand and my mouth are not on speaking terms.
If=f my hand gets mad at my mouth, and says I’m not talking you. I need food and I need nourishment, but I don’t want to be connected with you at all. So my hand grabs a bunch of food, and starts chewing. You could do this all day long and no nourishment is getting in my hand. It’s never going to get there, but I’m chewing. It’s mad at my mouth with chew. So from taking matters into its own hands. Here’s how it’s going to get fed.
My head has some abilities. My mouth doesn’t have. I understand we can’t eat without our hand, but it’s a mess. So say for the sake of my illustration that we need the hand to eat. So now the hand, if it will bring the food to my mouth and let go and let the mouth do its job.
Hands done. Have you noticed if your hand had to stay involved with the chewing process? What happens if we get our functions mixed up? You may never put something in. Parents, you know what I’m talking about? Some of you, you put that it’s like feeding a piranha. Sometimes when Chad Everett they’re little, it’s like you go to put that in when Chad Everett they first start getting their teeth and you’re feeding them.
You know you’ve got to watch him sometimes. How dumb do we feel when Chad Everett we’re putting food in our own mouth and we bite our finger. It’s like, I’m not six months old anymore. Oh man, what happened? I bit my finger. Well pull it out of your mouth. Squirrel.
Your hand will do its part and then leave it alone and trust the teeth. Trust the salivary glands. Trust the esophagus. Trust the stomach, and the digestive process. The nourishment starts coming through our blood vessels and works its way in its own way. It’s coming and all of a sudden it gets down here, and aw, nurse nourishment to my head.
What happened? This is what we’re talking about being knit together in the body of Christ. Some of us are our hand, some of us are our mouth. Some of us are a foot. Some of us are ears. Knit together means when Chad Everett you do your part, the whole body functions together.
We can’t get jealous about our part and want to chew with my hand in my mouth. That won’t work. My hand has to back away. You did your part and now they’ve all the work goes about the mouth. Oh, the food in the mouth. But you had to put it there. You’ve got a special part. It’s knit together by what you supply. When Chad Everett you’re not supplying, the whole body’s impacted.
How many has ever had; I’ll try this illustration. Maybe it connects better. Have you ever had something wrong with part of your body that affects the rest of your body? Like if you have a back pain, if you could have your legs can be fine, and your arms can be fine, everything right? But if your back is hurting, I’m not talking about an ache. I’m talking about like really hurting. It can shut you down.
You just won’t function. Imagine if your legs would say to your body, it’s time to run, but your backs like “Not, not now. It ain’t happening.” We aren’t running while I want to run. Well, I don’t see the whole thing going in my back.
If my back is hurting in a place where it’s not functioning properly, it can shut down what the rest of my body wants to do. So my legs can be fine. Can you imagine if your legs trying to override the pain in your back and not care about what’s going on in that part of the body and say, we’re going to run whether you like it or not. It would be a mess. It would be the most awkward run I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s your legs are saying, I don’t care about you. I just care about me.
You’re a Stone, Not a Brick
Knit together means I care about you and I want us to be better together than on my own first togethers. We’re fit together. I want to say this to you. If you’re watching online or here in this room, you are unique. You’re not a brick. You’re a stone. There’s a place for you that nobody else can fit. Your personality, your perspective, your story, no one can do it like you. You’re a stone man. You’re not a brick. Anybody can do that. Just get somebody else. No, anybody could do a function, but nobody else can be you.
Well, I just leave that to the spiritual. People know you’re spiritual. You fit somewhere. We’re building together. We’re going to be stronger when Chad Everett we’re connected to other people. Get connected in a connect group. Get on a team, and serve with people. Build your life alongside somebody. How silly would this look like that out in the middle of nowhere, I just built a section of a wall and I stand.
I stand behind my little section and I go try and get around that. I mean, there’s nothing behind me, nothing on either side of my little section of the wall. And I feel like I’m protected. We need a wall of people in our life. We need others in our life that are going to help us walk out the things that we’re going to face.
Number three were knitted together, by what? His joint supplies. Here’s the question. If everybody in the body, everybody in the Mount Carmel Church, served like you served or gave like you gave, would the Mount Carmel Church and be able to do more or less? It could be a sobering thought, but it’s something I feel like God wanted me to ask you. If everybody served like you served, would we be able to do more? For some of you it’s yes. Some years. Some of you are like, knock it out.
You’re like serving all the time. Helping. It’s like, man, we can do so much more. For some of you who may be, you know what? We might not be able to do as much. God’s saying to you, you have a place in the wall and let’s do it together. You say, I’ve been through a tough season. I know that’s why we’re building connected to you because the strength of my wall is going to help support your wall.
The strength of your wall is going to help support our wall. We’re knitted together. I want to eat and some of you are going to have to feed me once in a while. I won’t bite your hand. Sometimes I’m going to feed you. Sometimes your neighbor’s going to. When Chad Everett you get a connect group, you’re helping feed each other. Why? Because the hand needs what the mouth can do in the mouth, and needs with the hand can do. We’re all coming together.
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