Hello and welcome to the Sermon Recap! You and me are part of the Body of Christ, but the world has tried to wrap us up and hide us away. Let’s talk about it.

1 Corinthians 12:27 – “Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.”

Romans 12:5 – “So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another”

Colossians 2:19 – “And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.”

If we are part of the Body of Christ, then whatever flows out of the pulpit should flow into you and out from you to help encourage others. I am not a lone member and you are not a lone member, but we are all part of the Body of Christ. We are part of the living, walking body that Jesus died to redeem. When everything else has ended and stores, companies, ideas, and governments have gone away, there will still be a body of Christ. There will be a Church.

Matthew 27:57-60 – “When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple: He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.

John 19:38 – “And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.”

Joseph of Arimathaea followed Jesus secretly. Loving Jesus, but wondering if He was really worth the cost. He loved Jesus but would not share that information because he was afraid. That being said, Joseph probably had no public records to show he was a part of Jesus’ life or Jesus was a part of his life. It was most likely that he had to beg Pilate for the body because of the lack of records. This was because after someone was crucified, to get the body, you had to prove you were kin to the person, were a part of their life somehow, or one of you had worked for the other. Wouldn’t it be sad to work somewhere for 15 years and no one knew that you are a Christian? No one knew you had the Holy Ghost or went to church?

John 19:39 – “And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight.”

Nicodemus came to Jesus by night signifying another person who didn’t want others to know his connection with Jesus. God will not allow people to be closet Christians much longer. There will come a point where we must make up our minds and choose who we are going to serve. These men, Joseph and Nicodemus, decided to wrap up the body of Jesus, signifying they wanted a Jesus that could be controlled. They wanted a Jesus they could wrap up and hide behind a stone, buried.

When I saw that Joseph had to beg for the body of Jesus, I knew something was wrong. We should never have to beg Jesus to move for us. A child should never have to beg its father for a pair of shoes. All we have to do is come to Jesus as we are and He will provide for us.

Matthew 11:29-30 – “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”

There are people, churches, ministers, who want to take people’s money and give them a Jesus in a tomb in return. They will hand people a Jesus who used to save and used to heal. But my God is not in a tomb anymore! My God still saves, heals, and delivers! We have a church nowadays that doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings or make anyone uncomfortable. But if a child wants to play in rattlesnake territory, is it okay to let them just because we don’t want them to dislike us when we say ‘no?’ Of course not! If we let a child play with a rattlesnake, then we don’t care about that child. If we love our children, we will chastise them and teach them not to play with things that will hurt them. Real love chastises and says no.

I want to encourage you today!

You are not dead. You are not powerless and something for the enemy to run over. I want you to be loosed of your shyness, of your past, of your intimidation. Everything that you have been wrapped up in that tells you that you don’t matter, be free of it! The devil tells you that God won’t answer your prayers, but keep praying, God’s listening! Miracles and healings are on the way! You don’t belong in a tomb or in a closet. This generation needs what you have. Living right is right and sin is wrong! There’s a Hell to shun and a Heaven to gain! If others like the LGBTQ can come out of the closet, then why can’t the Christians come out and talk about our Savior and His Word?

The business, the stress, the people who beat you down, they have to loose you and let you go. The Master has need of you! You are a part of the body of Christ and you are bigger than the storms and battles that come your way! This situation, this test, these trials are no match for you! This generation needs to see you overcome. Jesus didn’t die for us to just hold on, but He died so we could have life and have it more abundantly. We are overcomers!

Ephesians 4:11-12 – “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:”

If you have been born again, you are called to the ministry of Christ. Stir and strengthen your ministry! You don’t have to be a preacher or some bishop. A 5-year-old can minister to a grandpa by telling him how much the child loves him. A real minister is not a tyrant or a dictator. A real minister is a servant and someone who will lay their life down for you. They will fight for you and lift your hands up and encourage you.

1 Corinthians 12:28 – “And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.”

We should start looking for people to help. We shouldn’t walk by needs. If we see someone who needs help, we should do something about it. After all, people will know we are Jesus’ disciples when we love each other and care for each other’s needs. If we can take care of someone’s need, let’s help them! What kind of move of God would we have if we cared for each other like real family?

Jesus didn’t die for Himself; those nails were not driven for Jesus. Jesus died for others. That is the ultimate example of how we should be. We should live and lay our lives down for others.

Thank you for reading! To listen to the sermon this post was based on then click the play button below. You’ll also get to worship with our praise team. I pray this word encouraged you and that you are blessed beyond belief! Stay tuned for the next Sermon Recap. God bless you!

Anthony Wynn