Who Are We?

My name is Dr. Mike Letterman and I am an evangelist. I preach into 166 countries and a listening audience of 1.6-1.7M every Sunday morning. But that’s not me. That’s God. Pastor Mike is just not that good. I’m not the one people come to hear. They come to hear the Holy Spirit and that is what I am proud to be part of.Now my daddy had a sayin’ about a lot of things and one of these was about titles. Daddy had a sayin’ about a lot of things, like looking down a fence row and only seeing one fence post (unless you liked taking them out and doing them over). He used to have some sayin’s about not fallin through the outhouse seat. Other than my relationship with God he had two dreams for me. He wanted me to have dinner with the President of the United States and never forget what that black dirt felt like as it squashed between your toes from a freshly ploughed field. I’ve done both and I never forgot.One of Daddy’s sayin’s was about titles. He used to say titles on a man was like trying’ to put socks on a pig. Just doesn’t fit. So I’m just Mike or Pastor Mike, which I think is one of the most revered titles a man can strive for. As to the socks on a pig, there is truth to that as my cousin and I had to find out after we heard it. The pig won and mama skinned me alive for crawling in that hog pen full of mud and other less savory material with my good clothes on. Dad’s other sayin’ was that you just can’t put a grown man’s head on a boy’s shoulders. Daddy was right about a lot of things. Mama’s sayin’ was spare the rod and spoil the child. I’m just plain Mike. I just finished 28 lessons from the book of Ephesians and I’d like to cover a few things with you today. Intro: To understand the book of Ephesians, you must understand the concept of the church as the body of Christ. The revelation that the redeemed are the Lord’s body in this world is the essential key for understanding this great book. Ephesians 1:3-6King James Version3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. As you know, God utilizes many metaphors to describe His people. He calls us a bride, a family, a household, a kingdom, a flock, a vine and branches, and a building. In Ephesians, Paul introduces the idea that the church is also a body. This descriptive term most completely describes what the church is all about. The word body brings to mind images of unity, diversity and mutual dependence. In our human body, every muscle, every bone, every nerve and every fiber is essential to a proper functioning of this body. The same is true in the body of Christ.