ARE
YOU A BROKEN PART?
By Margo Pitrone
Theme: We are the Body; Growing in Christ
Call to Worship: Christian Relationships, #812, SDA Hymnal
Opening Song: Love Divine, #191, SDA Hymnal
Closing Song: Lord I Want to Be a Christian, #319, SDA
Hymnal
Primary Bible Text: Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-16
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The day was spectacularly
beautiful! It was not only the kind of
day perfect for a walk, but for a race.
And the entire countryside was in anticipation of this yearly event, the
premier car race of the world, the Grand Prix.
Mario Andretti, the famed race car driver, winner of three previous
Grand Prix races, was ready for the race.
He was the leading contender, and the crowd's favorite. Though he was nervous, he was not afraid; he
had gone over every inch of his car, and it appeared to be in perfect
condition. All he needed was to drive to
the best of his ability.
The French countryside was bathed in
sunlight as the crowd watched the cars come to the starting line. There was a silence in that crowd, palpable
even over the engines being revved. The
flag dropped, and the cars roared out.
Mario Andretti was in the lead, and cars flocked close behind, as the
grueling race began. Along the race
course, throughout the countryside, people were lined up by the roads to watch
the event.
Mario Andretti loved racing, and he
loved the crowds. The Grand Prix is
still his favorite race because the people of the country become so much a part
of the event. As he drove, he
concentrated on not only the crowds, but on his car. It was very important to him that he know
every sound of his vehicle, for any change in movement or sound could be fatal
to him or his vehicle. Mile after mile,
hour after hour, the race continued. The
world's top racers were here, yet none came close to Mario Andretti; the news
was already proclaiming Andretti the winner if he stayed in his present
condition—both car and man seeming untired.
Suddenly, the crowd gasped and then
screamed as Andretti's car spun out of control.
It flipped, and burst into flames.
Pieces of the car were strewn along the road, bystanders were injured,
and the car appeared to be a living tomb.
It had happened so quickly, what had gone wrong?
Mario Andretti was raced to the
nearest burn center, and the pieces of his car were collected to be studied for
what might have gone wrong. As many of
you know, Mario Andretti survived the accident, but his car did not. It took many weeks before the cause of the
wreck was known; and when it became known, it was surprising. A tiny fracture in one of the pistons had
caused the engine to overheat, and then explode. It was such a tiny piece, it appeared to be
unimportant. It had been overlooked by
manufacturers, mechanics, and even Mario Andretti himself; yet it injured
several bystanders, destroyed a car, and almost cost Mario Andretti his
life. I think this small broken part was
very significant.
I would like to speak with you this
morning about apparently insignificant broken parts. Please turn with me in your Bibles to Ephesians,
chapter 4. I will be reading verses 1-7 and 11-16. The exhortation of Paul here is seen as being
addressed to more than the Ephesians, since the early manuscripts do not
contain any address to the Ephesians, only to Christians in general. Most scholars believe this was a letter
addressed to all of the Asian churches to which Paul had ministered. The message is to anyone who calls themself
by the name of Christ. For me, that
makes the message even more powerful. It
was given to any going by the name of Christ.
Are there any here this morning who go by the
name of Christ, Christian? Then the
message of the book of Ephesians applies to you. Paul is pointing to the person of Christ, and
how that Person is to be seen in the life of the church.
What does Paul say about the life of
the church? He pleads for us "to
lead a life worthy of the calling to which we have been called." To what life have we been called? To one of "lowliness
and meekness, with patience, with love toward one another, eager to maintain
unity of the Spirit in a bond of peace." This is a call to corporate unity, as well as
individual unity. We as a church are to
be lowly, patient and unified before the world; we as individuals are to be the
same with each other. We have been called
to represent to the world one body and one Spirit, and we are to present one
Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God our Father.
This calling is not an easy one to
fill, is it? I look at myself, I look at
my church, and it can be discouraging.
Yet, I do call myself a Christian, as do you, so this message is for me
and for you.
As we go into the holiday season and
approach a new year, I am going to challenge you about your corporate and
individual faith. I have to. In looking at this passage, I realize I am
not meek, I am not patient, and I am not in unity with the Spirit as I should be, nor do I have the peace I know God wants to give
me. And to be honest, I know that there
are many here this morning who are not meek, who are not patient, and who are
not in unity either with the Spirit or with each other. We are not always a people of peace. We often do not represent to the world one
Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one hope.
These words may be harsh, but I have
to speak them. We are a family. And
unless we take this passage seriously, we are in danger of not being used as
God intends us to be used. The purpose
of the church is to present to the world the love and unity of God our Father. We cannot live up to that calling unless
there is healing in our lives and in our church. For some there are differences that may have
remained unresolved for years; some of us maybe are unhappy about a teacher, or
one of the pastors, or even something the board of elders has done, or not
done. And there is the constant tension
that we all experience between those who are labelled "liberal" and
those who are labelled "conservative." And I ask myself, "Are we leading a life
worthy of the calling to which we have been called?" Are we patient and forbearing with one
another, willing to love one another in spite of our differences? Do we love each other? If I asked you to look around you right now,
could you look at those seated near you and love them, as Christ loves us? Because if you can't we have no hope of being
a body that will grow in unity and love.
But before I sound like we are
hopeless, I would like to go on and address what the rest of the passage offers
as to how to live as a Christian body.
Verse 7 points to the grace that is offered to each of us through
Christ. We do not try to be loving on our own, nor do
we through or own will power become meek and patient and unified. The promise is here; Christ has promised each
of us gifts. It is here that the
significance of each part of the body become
prominent; it is here that we see it is important to have every part working
properly in order to have success in what we were created to be. And it is here we see that seemingly
insignificant broken parts can destroy the rest of the body.
Verse 11 describes what each of our
gifts are:
apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, the equipping of the
saints for the work of ministry, and the building up of the body of
Christ. So often we think that ministry
belongs to the pastors, or the evangelists, or to the conference. Because of this view, individual members have
lost sight of their own importance in the functioning of this body. We are each, men and women, ministers of the gospel, any work done to build up the body of Christ is a
ministry. Each person in this building
right now is essential to the proper functioning of this church! Just as surely as Mario Andretti's car was
destroyed by the malfunction of a tiny part of his engine, we as a church can
be destroyed by the malfunction of even one of our own members. Because each is essential to our growth, it
is essential that each part be maintained.
I would like to ask you this morning:
Are you a broken part?
What can we
as a church body do with the broken parts?
There are two sides to this question.
First, we need to ask ourselves if we are a broken part; and if we are,
we need to be repaired. Repair may come
by your being able to make something right with another person,
or it may be that you need to go see someone to help with the repair; or it may
be as basic as recognizing that not all is right with God. The second side of this question is: Are we, the corporate church body, as aware
of each other as we should be? There are
usually signs when there is a broken part; are we listening, looking, and
helping when we see that someone is experiencing brokenness? What are we willing to do to help with the
repair? There are also many of us who
are broken who do not appear to be, and though we may remain hidden from the
mechanics, there will be effects of that broken part.
The passage goes on to describe the
reason for unity, the need for every part of our body to be working
properly. It is for us to gain knowledge
of the Son of God, to reach spiritual maturity, and to measure to the stature
of the fullness of Christ. We need to be
like Christ with each other, with the world.
Do you know what Christ was like?
Desire of Ages, p. 90, tells us that Jesus brought a purer
atmosphere in His home, and that He was like leaven amid the elements of
society. "Harmless and undefiled,
He walked among the thoughtless, the rude, the uncourteous; amid the unjust
publicans, the reckless prodigals, the unrighteous Samaritans, the heathen
soldiers, the rough peasants. He spoke a
word of sympathy here and a word of comfort there as He saw men weary, yet
compelled to carry heavy burdens. He
taught all to look upon themselves as endowed
with precious talents. He passed by no
human being as worthless, but sought to apply the saving remedy to every soul. Those whom He thus helped were convinced that
here was One in whom they could trust with perfect confidence. He would not betray the secrets they poured
into His sympathizing ear." This is
what we are called to be with each other.
And in order to be that, we must be willing to accept the grace and the
gift given to each of us. We also need
to be less thin-skinned, more sure of our relationship with God and with each
other.
This surety will keep us from being
tossed about by every wind of doctrine, and from the deceitfulness of humans,
as verse 14 mentions. It is only the
Christian who stands firm in relationship to God, filled with love, that can remain unmoved no matter what others may say
about them. And it is only this sort of
Christian who has the right to speak the truth.
Verse 15 says that the message of truth will always be spoken in love,
and done only in a manner which will allow ourselves
and each other to grow into Christ.
Every one of us this morning is challenged to grow into Christ, for
Jesus to become so much a part of us that we are indistinguishable from Christ.
The power of the illustration Paul
uses in verse 16 is like a grand finale at fireworks for the Fourth of
July. Every word of the passage has been
beautiful and thought provoking, but in verse 16 Paul gives the real show. We are the body—Christ is the head. It is the whole body,
joined and knit together by every joint with which it is supplied, when each
part is working properly; then and only then will the body grow and upbuild
itself! Then and only then will we be
worthy of the calling to which we have been called. There is no insignificant part in this body!!
Martin Luther once said, "The
church that functions only because of its leadership will soon die. Unless the church remains its people, it will
become apathetic. Christ intended that
each person claiming to be His would also take up His ministry. The most destructive act Christianity has
done for itself is to remove ministry from the hands
of each member and place it in the hands of church leadership. The work of God will be finished, and the
person of Christ fully reflected when, and only when, each person within
Christianity is wholly committed to Christ and to each other."
I pray for healing for any brokenness
I may have within myself this morning. I
pray for healing for any of you here who may also have brokenness in your
life. That brokenness may be destructive
for us as individuals, or as a church; and I desire, deeply desire, for us to
be healthy and mature Christians. But,
most of all, I pray for us to lead a life worthy of the calling to which we
have been called as a church family.
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Bio Information on Sermon Writer: Marge Pitrone was raised in