An anointed and diverse community (Part 2)

This morning I had the privilege of being able to translate Pastor Greg's message in English since he was preaching in English and today, well, now I would like to bring more or less the same points that he brought and add some other things that the Lord has also put in my heart. But everything goes more or less in the same line. Let's say it's the second part of that message.

So if you want to listen to the first part you go on the Internet and you listen to the first part and now you get the second part. But it's going to make sense to you however you want. First Corinthians Chapter 12. We read in Scripture. I'm going to start by reading in verse 4. It says, “Now there are diversities of gifts but the same Spirit. There are diversity of ministries but the Lord is the same. There are diversity of operations but God who does all things in all is the same. But to each one is given manifestation of the Spirit for profit.

For to this one the Word is given by the Spirit of wisdom, to another the Word of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit. To other gifts of healing by the same Spirit, to another to perform miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to other diverse kinds of tongues and to other interpretation of tongues. But all things are made by one and the same Spirit, distributing to each one in particular as He wants”.

I go back and repeat that verse 11: “But all these things are done by one and the same Spirit, distributing to each one in particular as He wants”. There is something I would like to talk to you about this afternoon and it is about the dynamics of a supernatural body. How many of you understand that you have a supernatural body? If you look from the side or if you look at the front or if you look at the back, you can say I have a supernatural body. How many can say that?

How many of you are looking at yourself with the eyes of faith? If we look at each other with the eyes of faith, we all have a supernatural body, right? But you know what my brothers? All of us are part of a supernatural body and that is the body of Christ. And there is something that is immersed in this passage, which I wanted to reflect on today. And I wanted to put this more or less in context, my brothers, because I believe that Pastor Greg said some things that are very important this morning and I want you to receive them as well.

That there is something that for us to be able to understand the dynamics of this body of Christ, of this community of faith, this is something that is acquired or that we can enter into that type of dynamic only by the impartation of the spirit of God working in the midst of our lives. Every person who has received that baptism of the Holy Spirit who has entered, who has agreed to accept the person of Jesus in their life, in their heart, this is the key that opens that door for us to now be part of this family, of this community.

It's not a perfect community but it's still a supernatural community. For the one who operates in the midst of that community. And the Holy Spirit and as you see, this passage is that agent that works that imparts from God, from Jesus. In other words, in this passage, my brothers, I am going to read a little further on in verse 4. I want you to see this. It says: "Diversity of gifts but the same Spirit."

"Diversity of ministries but the Lord -speaking of Jesus- is the same and diversity of operations but God who does all things is the same in all". Here, first of all, we see a clear representation of what the Trinity is, my brothers: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit who is operating in that body. That energy that this body receives does not receive it from any other being, from any other thing that was created, but rather it receives it from a triune God.

A God that has an entity in itself but that at the same time has those functions that distinguish it. Greg was saying this morning – I really liked this – if you try to understand the Trinity, you're going to lose your mind. But if you don't try to understand it one way or another you may lose your soul. That is why it is so important for us to recognize, my brothers, that God our God operates in different ways but at the same time he does so by imparting on his body, the body of Christ. The blessings, the influence that he wants this body to have.

Now when we talk about the body, my brothers, we here, the León de Judá Congregation, are a body, we are a family, we are a community of faith. But this community is also part of an even larger body. What is said is the universal Church and I am not talking about a denomination, it is clear. I'm talking about the church of Christ that meets all over the world. You can go to China and you meet a Christian church and you are a part of that body in the name of Jesus.

You can come to Patagonia and find yourself in a Christian church and there you are in the body of Christ. You can go to Alaska at the top of one of the coldest mountains and if there are brothers and sisters there who are living and worshiping the King of kings and Lord of lords you are part of that body, too. I want us to be very clear about this, my brothers, because this has great implications.

It has very serious implications for each of us how we live and move in this body. And there are three things that I want to emphasize here today. I'm going to be quick on this. Three things: number 1, those three aspects of that body have something that is supernatural and number one is that it receives from God, it is nourished and transmitted. There are three parts that I want to mention with you.

First this idea that you receive that particular impartation. He receives it from the Spirit of God. This is not something deserved, my brothers, nor is it due to merit, but rather it comes by the grace of God on each one of our lives. We understand very well that nothing we do can, so to speak, earn us credit before God. Because what God gives for our lives, He gives it by grace, he gives it because he loves you.

He gives it because even when we were sinners, he sent his son to die for us and that is how he showed his favor for each of our lives. So this is not by merit but by the grace of God that we belong to this family. Look, when I see there in that verse number 7 that says: "But to each one he gives the manifestation of the Spirit for profit."

This makes me understand that each one of us my brothers, each one of us, you where you are; those who are seated in the back corner, behind there, here in front, those who are above, each one of you receives a particular impartation from the Spirit. Each of you has a gift from God. Perhaps you know it or perhaps you are ignorant of this gift. But there is something of God in you.

And what God has placed in your life is important for the functioning of this body. If what God has put in you is not put into operation, this body will not function fully. Now, but if each one of us does what we have to do, no matter how big or small, this body will be working at its peak. In its greatest possible efficiency as God intends.

And of course there are different things my brothers, as you see that list of gifts and believe me I echo something that Pastor Greg mentioned this morning. Remember that a gift is not the same as a talent. How many of you have talents here? Yeah? How many of you can play a guitar? How many of you can sing in the shower? That's a talent too. How many of you have a good eye for art, how you can make a good painting or something?

Or maybe you are a photographer and you can take photos that no one else can take because your eye is there? Anything. You can write a letter, you can make a phone call, and that may be something that comes naturally to you. You can run a mile in 5 minutes and Pastor Samuel can run in eight. That's a talent! What are we talented in one way or another!

I have to take someone point, since Patricia took me point, I'm going to take Pastor Samuel now point. Thanks Patricia, wherever you are. The issue is my brothers that each one of us has something innate, we are born with something, but that does not make it a gift. You can have a talent and you can dedicate it to the Lord. You can pray and say “Lord, what I have I dedicate to you. God can use it to bless this body."

But when we talk about gifts, they are those things that come directly from the spirit of God and that are planted there in our hearts, in our minds, in our complete being so that it works to build the body of Christ. Now it is very interesting because Paul begins that chapter number 12 with verse 1 saying: 'Brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant about the gifts of the Spirit.'

And that is very important because none of us can be ignorant of this. No matter where you are in your career, in your life, you cannot be ignorant of how God wants you to function, that God wants you to operate in the midst of this body. What you are, your life with its ups and downs, with its dark sides and its light sides, everything you are functions as part of God's purpose so that the body of Christ can function as He intends.

And we receive that from God. Now when we receive this, my brothers, too, we are nourished precisely by that impartation from God. How do we nourish my brothers? When we learn to live and see what it is like, those things that God gives are manifested in our midst. In some way or another, my brothers, the Spirit of God allows us to be able to discern, to be able to see how He is moving.

Not only in the midst of our individual lives but also as He moves through the stories and the accounts of other people around us. And through that we can learn. We can receive that grace from God to know how to function my brothers.

And this is very important because this means that we have to intentionally look for opportunities for this body to be together.

And that we can, as they say, touch our shoulders, our elbows and be able to grow with each other. In the Book of Hebrews chapter 10, verses 23 and 25 we are exhorted not to stop gathering together. This is very important, my brothers.

Every time we have the opportunity to come to any of the meetings that the church has, we cannot stop congregating because that is where, as they say, that fire ignites even more in the midst of our lives. If you catch the coals in the barbecue, right? And separates them, what happens? They are going to turn off. But if you keep them all together and fill them up they stay there boiling, cooking that meat that you put on the grill for those who are hungry. Good illustration.

Let's intentionally seek, my brothers, those opportunities and at the same time when we are part of that body, we resist - listen well - we have to resist anything to reject or evade other members of that body. And this is where I want to stop. Turn with me to verse 20.

He says: “But now the members are many but the body is still one. Not even the eye can say to the hand 'Hey! I do not need you. Nor can the head say to the feet, "I have no need of you." Rather, the members of the body that seem weaker are the most necessary and those of the body that seem less worthy to these we dress more worthily and those that in us are less decent are treated with more decorum.

'Because those who are more decent in us have no need but God ordered the body giving more abundant honor to the one that lacked so that there is no disagreement in the body but that the members all care for each other'. Here my brothers I see two things that Pastor Greg also mentioned. Excuse me for repeating what Pastor Greg said but I want to be true to the words that he also mentioned this morning here today.

But here are two things. There is a sense of inferiority here and there is also a sense of superiority reflected in those verses. The mere fact that a person says 'Ah! Since I am the smallest toe and I am not an eye, it does not mean that I am not from the body or that I do not function in the body' or that a person says 'Ah! Because I am the eye and I am not the foot, because I do not need the foot. That is where the superiority is seen. One is considered more important than the other or the other is considered smaller than the other because it is closer to the floor or something.

Look, I assure you if you take your physical body right now and they cut off your little toe [mumble] What happens if they cut off your little toe? Apart from the fact that it's going to hurt, of course? The balance is going to go to adjustment. You are not going to have balance! The eardrum in the ear, what does the eardrum do? It affects the balance. When you have an ear problem, what happens? Uhhh, he's going on a trip all of a sudden.

What does the liver do? I'm teaching an anatomy class here. As was? I heard many things. The liver cleans what? I thought that those were the kidneys that purified the blood. We are related there, don't worry. I'm not expecting you to be science teachers now. But look what I'm telling you, my brothers. Those parts that seem smaller, that seem more unseemly or that perhaps cannot be seen.

Somebody say: 'Oh! Because I am the gallbladder and I am not exposed and they do not see me, because the gallbladder will say "I am not important." Although I know that there are times when the gallbladder is removed from people and people continue to function as if nothing had happened. But the gallbladder is an important part of the body. In the same way, my brothers, I want you to see this illustration because that is how we work in the body of Christ.

No one here can tell Hernán: "Hernán, I don't need you because you don't work within my Ministry." I can not do that. I can't tell him – let me see who else I can pick up, I'm going to get even now. Let's see, let's see... I'm going to get even now. Let me see who I can see around - Danny! Danny back there. My brother Danny, raise your hand, Danny. I can't tell Danny: 'Danny, like you, you don't preach the same as me, well I don't need you in this church.' I can't say that. God save me from saying that.

Let me see who else I can pick up. Rosa, do you want me to pick you up? You are doing like this. What's more, Tatiana. Tatiana back there. Tatiana sorry I caught you point. Raise your hand, Tatiana, say hi. I cannot tell Tatiana, 'Tatiana, I don't need you in this church because I haven't seen you doing anything.' I can't say anything about that, she is part of this church.

I can't tell brother Roberto Naranjo, back there, oh! imagine. I cannot say to brother Roberto Naranjo: 'Roberto Naranjo, like you, I'm going to make a joke: 'since you need 3 different glasses to read the Bible, I can't use you here in the Church'. I can't say that, and I'm going to explain the reason for the joke, can you give me permission, Roberto? Can?

Look, this was something funny yesterday. I'm going to make a parenthesis. Yesterday we were celebrating the life of our brother Ernesto González. Thank God for the González family we bless them. But yesterday my brother Roberto had to share a word and my brother Roberto while preparing to read the Bible, he took out a set of glasses from his pocket and those were not, he took another set of glasses from here and those were not either, and everyone had to, we had to laugh because it was like, which of all are the ones he uses to read the bible? Until he took out what they were and put them on so he could read.

Look my brothers, those things like that, that is what makes the body of Christ something supernatural. And maybe in the eyes of this world that will seem crazy but that is what makes the body of Christ something supernatural. Why does God bring this diversity of people from so many places. God brings a diversity of faces, God brings a diversity of personalities, God brings a diversity of stories, some backgrounds that many times if we sit down to listen to all those stories, Wow! We can make a novel, which earns five stars.

But the point is that God unites all these things, my brothers, and makes a body so, so, and so diverse, that that is where you see that supernatural nature of God. It is there where that manifestation of the Spirit occurs where people look for it, it is something more homogeneous where everyone can connect, God does it through diversity. God works through diversities.

And look here in the Church, it's good that one can share with people who are from their own country or who more or less share the same styles, the same ideas, but that's not the whole point. God intends that we live with a sense of discomfort at the same time because we are part of that body and there is something that flows and nourishes us so that we can function as part of that body.

Your story and my story, no matter how different it may be, with everything and that is part of God's story, so that his plans and purposes can be fulfilled in the time in which we are living. Can we say Amen to that? Look, there is something that I began to reflect on this morning. And I start to think sometimes, what is that element, that link that maintains unity in this whole body? Can some of you tell me? What is it that keeps this living body running? The Holy Spirit, of course, the Holy Spirit.

If we think of the human body, what would you tell me are the two most important organs in the human body? The heart and the brain and the ear. There is someone who understands that he is heard and wants to mention that hearing is important too. Look, do you know that your body can function without the brain? A person who falls into a coma, his brain is completely shut down, but if that heart continues to pump, that person, his body will be alive in quotes.

Now if your heart goes out, that's where everything else goes, but there is something much more subtle. Thank you. The blood my brothers. Isn't that interesting? Blood is the one that carries oxygen to the most remote places of the human body. If suddenly there is a clot that clogs the vein that supplies blood to your big toe, what will happen to that toe? How it is said? Does it give you gangrene? That toe begins to die and behind that toe follows the other part of the foot.

If there is a clot that clogs an artery that goes to the brain, what will happen to your brain? It goes fit. If there is a clot that gets into one of the carotid arteries that goes to the heart, what happens to the heart? It goes. A cardiac arrest that is so. The blood is the one that runs everywhere. It is the blood that carries clean oxygen, it is the blood that picks up all the toxins and eliminates them, it is the blood that does that.

How interesting that in the body of Christ it is the blood of Jesus, the one that cleanses us is the blood of Jesus, the one that frees us, it is the blood of Jesus that cleanses all the toxins in the midst of our lives, it is the blood of Jesus the one that keeps your part, my part, the one that keeps, what you do, the gift of yours that keeps it running that keeps it flowing. It is the blood of Christ with all its power working in our midst.

Now I'm not saying that we take, I'm not saying my brothers, that we take a bucket of blood like that and throw ourselves away, no, no, no!, that's something pagan, don't think that. Remember that the blood of Christ is the spiritual symbol that permeates everything we do. When one is praying for the power of the blood of Christ, look, the demons have to flee from wherever they are, because they cannot resist the power that is contained in the blood of our Lord Jesus and in the sacrifice that he made. for each one of us.

When we are part of that body, it is that same blood that unites us and the meaning behind that blood that what comes after it is the love of God. What the love of God was doing in each one of us, look, the love of God is the foundation of all things. Paul himself says in Colossians he says: “Put on all of you, then, with love, which is the perfect bond” with what? “of unity”. It is the perfect bond of unity, my brothers.

Here in this Church, with all the diversity of people that we have, look, we can say that we are a mostly Hispanic Church, right. How many agree with me? But even within this Hispanic community there is great diversity, isn't there Pastor Samuel? He is the first to have a great diversity inside.

He says he's Puerto Rican but I say he's “New Yorkrican”.

He's not a full-fledged Puerto Rican like me. But anyway we are part of the same body. Within the Hispanic community here there are almost 20 twenty countries represented. You mention them and likewise we hurt. How many of you when you heard the news of the earthquake that happened in Chile, how many of you did not feel it, right? Now I am going to ask one more question.

How many of you remembered your Chilean brothers here in the church and quickly began to think "Wow, does a relative in the church have someone there"? That's what the body of Christ does. I confess to you that before when I lived in Puerto Rico and I heard those disasters and the most that came out of my mouth “Oh! May God take care of you." That was the most that came out of my mouth and I'm being very honest.

But now that God has placed me, he has planted me here in this body and I am in contact with so many people from different places every time I hear something like this the first thing that comes to my mind is “Who in the church do we have? what's from there?" It is not going to be that they have a relative who has suffered or something. When the Haiti thing happened, the same thing happened. It's even more quickly we think of the Dominican Republic thinking about how the waves of that earthquake could have affected.

And we start to think about all those things. That is what the connection of the body of Christ does, my brethren. That is why I emphasize so much what these verses say, my brothers. We have to reject that idea, completely eliminate it from our system that "Look, I can't touch this person or I can't talk to this person or I can't work with this person because I don't like his style or his hair is too gray." or because he has blonde hair” or whatever my brothers are.

We can't let that affect the functioning of this body. The first time we let it in, this body begins to "disfunction" in other words. We cannot, my brothers, we cannot give ourselves and look, I am telling you this and I am only asking God to give us discernment to know how these words apply to our lives.

How they apply to our ministries, how they apply to our families. We have to seek to take care of this body, my brothers. Take care of the diversity that God has placed in this body. What's more, take care of her and honor her and celebrate her my brothers. In the first service we celebrated the idea that we had people who are directly from Africa, Africans that we had here.

Africans who come with their style. That many of these people dress in their typical African costumes and come with these very large hats that sometimes look like a flower on their head. But that, there are times when one looks at it like "And where did that person come from?" But God looks at him like 'that's my daughter, that's my son and I want you to celebrate that'.

What if by chance a person like that arrives well dressed and with a very “proper” vocabulary and “Hello, how are you?” and treating everyone about you and your vocabulary is very philosophical, well elaborated and it is like poetry to my ears every time I hear a person talking like that. And suddenly I meet someone from the street "Oh my hand, what's going on, boy? You know how it is”, “Look my son, you didn't find out the last one” and they come talking to me like that and brother Elías, you know how it is, right?

And the only thing they tell you is that "You know how it is, right?" Because that's how we talk on the street. Look, there are times when one says, who would I like to talk to more, with this proper person or with this guy on the street who is all like that, "Look, man, you know?" Look in the body of Christ we have to embrace them both. I have to learn how to speak. [Applause]. I have to learn how to speak in an informed way with this person who is very proper and things like that.

And I also have to come here on the other side and talk to my brother on the side here and relax with him: “Chilling you know”. It is true that they will never see me wearing pants in the middle of… you know where, but I can connect with that person. This body also has a call, my brothers, and it is the call to transmit that same grace of God that is in us.

It's not just for this body to nourish itself, that we can look at each other and we can see each other and say “Wow! Cool! I can't wait for Wednesday to see you again. I can't wait for Sunday to come around to see your face again." It's like there's always that desire to connect with my brothers and sisters. But at the same time, we have to spread that blessing that God brings here out here wherever we go.

Because God calls us for that body to be a contagious body and it is not that we are infecting it with bad viruses but that we are infecting that same grace of God. Check this out. Jesus himself speaking in the Book of John Chapter 17 verse 21 when Jesus is in that intense and intimate prayer with the Father, one of the things that Jesus says to the Father is that He says to him is "Lord that they may to be one as you and I are one."

"Father that in his unity, the world believes that" what? "that you have sent me". It is in that unity many times my brothers, in that cotonía that is the theological expression I would say, in that community, in that sharing, in that camaraderie, when we are all in the same feeling, in the same mind and in the same spirit that the same blood runs for all of us.

When someone who is not part of that body comes, looks, and sees that energy that is running there, that person is not going to be able to avoid and resist saying: “Wow! Wait here there is something much more interesting than what is happening there”. There is something much more genuine than what I am finding out on the street. The body with which I connect in the bar on the corner that we are there until 3 in the morning drinking our sorrows and then I arrive at my house and I am totally alone, that body is not working.

But if that person arrives here and meets a brother, a sister who greets him, who gives him a smile, who says "Hey, I see you looking good!" even if it's ragged, look, that person is going to receive something different here. It is that unity that transmits the truth of God working in our midst. There is another text when Paul, in Second Corinthians chapter 2 verse 15, he says: "Wherever we go, we carry the smell or aroma of Christ to all places."

Ask the person next to you, what do you smell like? Tell him, what do you smell like that you smell so good? I mean, if it smells good, record it. Chantel, here you go Chantel, what do I know, Champs, Channel, whoops! Did you see there… Okay. For those who smell of Maja, there is a perfume called Maja or Majo. What do you smell? You carry the scent of Christ with you. Wherever you go you can say that you smell of Christ, that people stick to you and it's like Ah!

Samuel definitely smells of Christ even in the second service. Even more still. (Applause). Look at Ephesians 3, I like this a lot, I'm finishing now. Paul also says something else that is very important. He's talking here in Ephesians 3, verse 10, he's talking about the calling of the church as part of the church says “so that the manifold wisdom of God may now be made known through the church, the principalities and powers in the heavenly places."

That phrase "the manifold wisdom of God." What is something multiform? Which obviously has different forms. God is not in the shape of a box, God is not in the shape of a circle, God is not in the shape of a pentagon. God is not in the shape of a triangle. I want you to imagine all those shapes rolled into one, what will that look like? That's like a chemical molecule.

You know the chemical molecules that have different shapes that go one leg over there and one leg over there.

And they continue to spread like this and you don't know what kind of shape it has but it has a shape. That is the manifold wisdom of God. God can reveal himself to you, brother César, in a totally different way from the way he can reveal himself to my sister Ana Andújar. God can reveal himself in a totally different way to my sister Clarita and he can reveal himself in a totally different way to my brother Quique as well.

God can be revealed to her in a totally different way than my sister Lisie and he can be revealed to her in a totally different way than what's your name? No, him, what's your name? Daniel. Daniel, church, church Daniel, nice to meet you. It can be revealed to you in a totally different form. God reveals himself in different ways, my brothers and sisters. Just because He reveals Himself to you in one way and to someone else in another does not mean that you are more important than the other.

No! Because God, however, is revealing himself to his body, he is transmitting something, he is communicating something. And my brothers, we have to understand that dynamic that when we see that God moves in different ways and the entire body with its leaders as if seeking to understand what God is communicating and when we receive it, when we grasp it, it is like we can have the full extent of that knowledge of God.

So that body is called to communicate those mysteries of God to the world, to the society in which we live. That is something that the same body of Christ cannot limit or prevent. The first time the body of Christ stops making that contact outwards, it loses part of its functionality. Because then the body is going to be here filling, filling and filling.

We are all going to be getting fat, from “spiritual fat” and then the body little by little is going to be damaged. More, however, when we remain active, we are always reaching out to our community, looking for ways to reach more people for Christ, how to share his love, how to work on the purpose of transforming our society, our community.

When we exercise in this way, look, that body is going to have a supernatural shape without a doubt because it is going to be exercising a call, a purpose that is from God, it comes from the heart of God. So my brothers and sisters this afternoon I want to close with this: each one of these parts of the body needs itself. That phrase is key in this text. I can't tell anyone “Look, I don't need you, get over there”.

I can't say that. In some way or another, even those parts that are not seen, right here in our midst, look, there are people who are secretly praying in their homes. There are people who spend hours praying, interceding for one of you, interceding for us leaders, interceding for the purposes of the church at a local level and the purpose of the church at a larger level.

There are people who are praying and perhaps you will never meet them. What's more, it may be that you have even greeted them but you don't know that this person has that calling. That his function is that, to be praying, to be interceding in any part of his house or wherever he goes, that person is constantly praying, interceding. None of us can say to those people “Ah! But who are you? I don't see you, I don't need you”.

Look, God rebuke that. Devil's lie because those are the people we need the most, who keep that prayer oil running through this body running and keep that machinery running there at all times. Each of the parts are necessary my brothers. From the person who brings a glass of water to the preacher so he doesn't drown when he is speaking to the person who makes phone calls.

The person who, when they meet someone out there on the street and recognize them, calls their name “Hey! How are you? Look, I'm glad you're coming to church, keep coming with us." Or that you are working like this and you have a colleague and that colleague sees it and recognizes it. Ah! Look at this person I saw in church the other days. And you go and approach him and you can talk to that person and that person breaks down in tears and tells you all his traumas.

And you kind of Wow! What do I do now? God's grace is working through you. That is what this body is called to be without being a diverse body and to recognize that diversity, celebrate it but at the same time function according to the intentions and purposes of God. Look at yourself, my brother, my sister.

If at any time that thought has crossed your mind, 'this church is too big for me. Here nobody knows me, I feel alone. I feel lonely'. Look right now eliminate that thought. This church is the body of Christ. This church is a community of faith, this church is your family. You are as much a part of this church whether you arrived yesterday, whether you arrived today, as if you have been here for the 25 years that this church has been in operation.

You are part of this family. That there are parts in which you can connect, yes, and we as a church have the call to find ways to help you connect with those other parts of the body. But that you feel that it is not, (onomatopoeic sound of 'no'). Not here. Not here. Maybe you won't be able to learn the names of the nine hundred or so people who come here constantly on Sundays. But if you learn the name of at least fifty or 25 or 5 or 10 or one other person, you are part of this church.

You are part of this community, you are part of this body. In other words you are part of Christ. You are part of God. (Applause) You are a part of Him and He is a part of you. He is a part of you too. So I want you to stand up. Let's pray. And I'm going to do the same thing that Pastor Greg did this morning. I respectfully ask that you look at the person next to you and tell that person "Look, I need you."

I need you for my growth, I need you to have joy, to have life. Look if it's your husband or your wife take advantage. Give him the kiss and hug that you haven't given him today. If it's your mom or dad, take advantage of it, also give them that love and if it's a brother or sister in the church, look, build the body of Christ rather. Let's tell it like this. Lord Jesus we are before you. You are the head of this body Lord.

It is from you that all life comes Lord. It is your blood that runs through all the parts of this body, Lord, cleaning us, purifying us, bringing life, bringing that oxygen that we need to be able to function. And Lord right now, I present you to all the parts of this body, no matter how big or how small they may be. Lord, whether we are public parties, exposed, my God, in our work, in our operation, or whether we are parties that work behind the scenes, my God.

Where nobody sees us but we are there very active, Lord. Nurturing the life of this church, of this community. You are calling us to recognize that supernatural aspect of this body, Lord, where miracles and healings do operate, but one of the greatest miracles that we can see is the brotherhood that exists between each one of us, Lord. That is a miracle of each day, of each moment.

That maybe despite our differences, Lord, despite the misunderstandings that we may have at one time or another, Lord, we can once again... meet that person and apologize, Lord and hug each other. And look, keep working together, Lord, we don't extirpate each other but we seek to heal each other, Lord. When a part of that body hurts, we all hurt with that part, Lord. And when one part of that body is honored, Lord, we are all honored.

And we rejoice in that part, Lord. Father I celebrate the life that is here right now Lord. I celebrate the life of this community, Lord Jesus, the diversity that exists in our midst. Father, continue to bring that diversity into the midst of our lives and teach us to know how to receive it, Lord, how to nourish ourselves with that diversity, how to learn to live with one another.

So that at the same time you can continue transmitting your grace, your power and your anointing, Lord, in the different places where we can enter. Father, may this be a transforming community, a transforming body, Lord. That the people who continue to unite here can be impacted with the power of your love working in their midst and that all of us, my God, can be, can call each other that we are part of your body. That we are all one family, Lord.

May we always be willing to listen, Lord when it's time to listen. To be able to talk when it's time to talk. To be able to extend your hand when you have to extend it, to be able to hug when you have to hug, to be able to cry when we have to cry and to be able to laugh when you have to laugh, Lord. To be silent when it is necessary to do so and to declare your justice when it is also the opportune moment to do so. I bless this town, Lord.

May your grace and your power continue to work, Lord day after day, hour after hour, minute after minute, Lord Jesus. May your grace work, Lord, in a very fluid way here in our midst. To you we give glory and honor forever Lord Jesus. We thank you Dad. Hallelujah. Amen, amen. Thank you Jesus. Hey, say hello to the foot, the hand, the eye, the ear that is there next to you. Say hello to the gallbladder next to you. Say hello to the lung that is there next to you.

I salute the atom, the smallest molecule that is there next to you. Greet him in love, Lord. Brothers, may the Lord bless you, may the Lord keep you. Forward in forever. It will be until next time. Blessings.