1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:05,080 Our sermon title this morning is brought into Oneness. 2 00:00:05,360 --> 00:00:10,760 We are in the Pentecost season and if I'm not mistaken, I think 3 00:00:10,760 --> 00:00:14,120 May 24 is the 5th Pentecost. Is that correct? 4 00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:20,240 And next Sunday in many church traditions, there will be 5 00:00:20,240 --> 00:00:24,640 baptism and people will celebrate with the baptism 6 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:26,320 service, a good time to do it in the year. 7 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:29,200 It's not not right or wrong. It's just when they it's, they 8 00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:32,400 go by what happened at Pentecost in the book of Acts in chapter 9 00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:35,920 2. The story tells us that they 10 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:39,320 were all together the believers in one place, and there was a 11 00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:43,000 sudden rushing of wind and tongues of fire. 12 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:45,920 What appeared to be tongues of fire settled on the heads of the 13 00:00:47,040 --> 00:00:50,320 apostles there together. And it tells us further in 14 00:00:50,320 --> 00:00:53,760 chapter 2 of Acts that there was a lot, there was a lot of people 15 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:57,040 in Jerusalem at the time from many different countries. 16 00:00:57,040 --> 00:00:59,200 I think there's 16 different nationalities mentioned. 17 00:00:59,720 --> 00:01:02,560 They all came together wondering what this is all about. 18 00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:06,680 And Peter got up and stood and preached, preached a powerful 19 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:08,880 sermon. And when the day before the day 20 00:01:08,880 --> 00:01:15,520 was over, 3000 Jews had repented of their sins have been baptized 21 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:20,240 into one name, the name of Jesus Christ, Father, Son, and Holy 22 00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:22,000 Spirit put baptized in the name of Jesus. 23 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:25,320 And that was the start of the church in the body of Christ. 24 00:01:25,320 --> 00:01:27,640 And they were all one. It tells us they were one. 25 00:01:28,320 --> 00:01:32,720 And this morning sermon is not a Pentecost sermon, but it builds 26 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:36,400 and expands on that concept. Today we're focusing again in 27 00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:40,800 our sermon series on Paul's teaching in the book of Ephesus. 28 00:01:42,040 --> 00:01:45,120 Jesus taught in the Gospel of John the importance of unity and 29 00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:47,360 oneness. That was his mission. 30 00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:50,920 That's what he came for, to bring the gospel to the world, 31 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:53,400 to preach the good news and to bring people to himself. 32 00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:56,640 And they would all become one. And he talks about that in the 33 00:01:56,640 --> 00:02:00,240 Gospel of John, chapter 17. He really iterates that. 34 00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:02,280 He really drives that point home. 35 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:05,880 But to do that, Jesus had to pay a price. 36 00:02:06,080 --> 00:02:09,280 It didn't come just free. It wasn't just OK, whatever. 37 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:12,080 It took a lot. And for him, it meant his life. 38 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:15,040 And we're going to go into that a little bit later on in the 39 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:19,360 sermon. But just before he died at the 40 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:22,520 Last Supper, before he went to the cross, he was serving his 41 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:26,920 disciples and he took the cup and he shared it with his 42 00:02:26,920 --> 00:02:29,520 disciples saying, this is my blood and the new covenant. 43 00:02:29,640 --> 00:02:31,080 He took the bread and broke that. 44 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:33,520 And he said, this is my body broken for you. 45 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:35,120 And then he washed the disciples feet. 46 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:38,280 He comes to Apostle Peter wants to wash his feet, his own, Oh 47 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:39,760 Lord, you're not going to wash my feet. 48 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:44,160 And Jesus says to him, unless I wash you, you have no part in 49 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:46,560 me. The Oneness of Christ covers all 50 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:50,800 aspects of church life. Jesus mission was to bring them 51 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:55,560 into one in all areas. And the main idea I want to look 52 00:02:55,560 --> 00:02:57,040 at this morning for us, we want together. 53 00:02:57,040 --> 00:03:00,880 Look at is God brought us together into one through 54 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:03,400 Christ. That's the main idea for today. 55 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:10,760 The truth is, for a people group to become one, they cannot 56 00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:14,400 remain as they are. For people to become one, they 57 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:17,360 cannot remain as they are. There is change that has to 58 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:21,120 happen, and we see this in all kinds of day-to-day events in 59 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:24,000 the physical world. For imagine a loaf of bread. 60 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:29,720 There's many different grains of wheat that are crushed and 61 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:35,000 ground into flour to make that wheat, that flour into a loaf of 62 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:38,120 bread. Or for instance, imagine grapes 63 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:41,480 on a vine. They're picked and crushed to 64 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:48,560 become a bottle of wine. The Bible has a lot to say about 65 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:51,800 being together in spirit and spirit of oneness and unity and 66 00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:54,320 fellowship. I want to say it this way. 67 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:58,200 We as human beings in this world were never created for 68 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:02,400 individualism. This idea of individualism is a 69 00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:05,680 modern idea has no basis in Scripture whatsoever. 70 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:10,720 Unity, or one out of many, is the biblical concept. 71 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:14,640 So our Scripture passage in Ephesians this morning focuses 72 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:18,120 what God has done for us to bring us together into one unit, 73 00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:22,800 to bring us into one body, make US1 temple, and how God through 74 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:26,360 Christ broke down and removed the wall, the barrier that kept 75 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:31,320 us apart from one another. And in Jesus we're all unified 76 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:36,040 into one body. So let's take our Bibles and 77 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:40,240 read Ephesians chapter 2 beginning verse 11 to the end of 78 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:42,920 the chapter. Ephesians 211 to the end of the 79 00:04:42,920 --> 00:04:47,120 chapter Paul writes. Therefore remember that you once 80 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:50,480 Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by what is 81 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:53,680 called the circumcision, made in the flesh by hands, that at that 82 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:56,840 time you were without Christ, being aliens from the 83 00:04:56,840 --> 00:05:00,040 Commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenant of 84 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:04,200 promise, having no hope, and without God in the world. 85 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:07,800 But now in Christ Jesus, you who were once far off have been 86 00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:09,520 brought near by the blood of Christ. 87 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:14,840 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both 1 and has broken 88 00:05:14,840 --> 00:05:18,920 down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in 89 00:05:18,920 --> 00:05:21,920 His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments 90 00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:26,120 contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man 91 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:30,600 from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them 92 00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:34,120 both to God in one body through the cross, therefore putting to 93 00:05:34,120 --> 00:05:37,040 death the enmity. And He came and preached peace 94 00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:40,320 to you who were far off, and to those who were near. 95 00:05:40,720 --> 00:05:44,120 For through Him we both have access by 1 Spirit to the 96 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:46,280 Father. Now, therefore, you are no 97 00:05:46,280 --> 00:05:49,760 longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens, with the 98 00:05:49,760 --> 00:05:52,760 Saints and members of the household of God, having been 99 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:55,440 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. 100 00:05:55,920 --> 00:05:59,560 Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, and whom the 101 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:02,520 whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy 102 00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:05,800 temple in the Lord, And whom you also are being built together 103 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:08,560 for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. 104 00:06:09,280 --> 00:06:11,640 Thus far the reading of God's Word. 105 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:17,600 This idea of oneness comes through powerfully in this 106 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:19,960 passage. Here Paul is in some ways 107 00:06:19,960 --> 00:06:24,800 retracing his steps of what we looked at earlier in chapter 2, 108 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:28,840 verse one to 10 last Sunday. But he's doing it with a very 109 00:06:28,840 --> 00:06:34,000 deep and penetrating beam of light that highlights and brings 110 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:37,640 out this principle of oneness. As I've mentioned in the past, 111 00:06:37,880 --> 00:06:40,320 when this letter was written, like all the rest of Scripture, 112 00:06:40,320 --> 00:06:42,080 there were no chapters and verses. 113 00:06:42,240 --> 00:06:44,680 This would have been just one long letter in the original 114 00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:47,200 language. But the themes in the letter are 115 00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:51,800 very clear and distinct. They are very visible as we read 116 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:55,240 in verse 11. We read, therefore, when in our 117 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:57,640 reading we come to a word like the word, therefore, that 118 00:06:57,640 --> 00:06:59,960 indicates of something that came before. 119 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:04,320 Paul has been explaining to his readers what they had been back 120 00:07:04,320 --> 00:07:07,200 in chapter 1. Then in chapter 2 we read of 121 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:09,800 Paul teaching his readers what they are now in Christ. 122 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:13,640 You may have noticed as we're going through the sermon series 123 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:17,720 thus far that we have not touched on a lot of Christian 124 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:21,000 ministry or activity or works of service yet. 125 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:23,400 We've not done that yet in this series. 126 00:07:23,400 --> 00:07:27,040 That is still to come. So far we've been more in the 127 00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:29,880 preparation or foundation laying phase in the series. 128 00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:32,880 And there's a reason for this. It's important to have the 129 00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:36,080 foundational understanding of unity and oneness in place 130 00:07:36,480 --> 00:07:38,920 before we go on to the nuts and bolts of the Christian life. 131 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:42,720 Or we could say this way, we need a clear understanding and 132 00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:45,960 grounding of Christ's mission in our lives before we begin the 133 00:07:45,960 --> 00:07:47,800 boots on the ground engagement and ministry. 134 00:07:48,040 --> 00:07:50,920 This is very important, very critical in the Christian life. 135 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:55,600 If we focus on the boots on the ground teaching first, don't 136 00:07:55,600 --> 00:07:58,400 have the historical background and the theological Bible 137 00:07:58,400 --> 00:08:01,480 training background, we will not understand unity. 138 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:06,160 Then everything very quickly falls out of alignment and falls 139 00:08:06,160 --> 00:08:08,160 apart. There are countless stories of 140 00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:10,200 churches where that's exactly the case. 141 00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:13,280 Some people want to start a church is a great idea. 142 00:08:13,600 --> 00:08:17,040 All have a different concept of church until they start, Oh wait 143 00:08:17,040 --> 00:08:18,520 a minute, we're not even aligned. 144 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:23,600 Paul does a very wonderful job in the book of Ephesians before 145 00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:26,200 he goes into the teaching telling him how to live, telling 146 00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:28,440 him what they are, what Christ has done. 147 00:08:28,440 --> 00:08:31,760 That comes first. We need that foundational 148 00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:34,760 understanding of who and what we are in Jesus, what he's done for 149 00:08:34,760 --> 00:08:37,120 us, how God brought us into oneness in Christ. 150 00:08:37,320 --> 00:08:40,360 We need to have all that before we start going into the teaching 151 00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:43,880 what God tells us how to live in a day-to-day lifestyle. 152 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:47,600 The nuts and bolts, so to speak of the day-to-day Christian life 153 00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:51,080 will yet come as you just keep coming to these services and you 154 00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:55,320 will get there. So now let's go and pick this 155 00:08:55,320 --> 00:08:57,200 apart. Let's go back to verse 11 to 13. 156 00:08:57,440 --> 00:09:00,320 I have this in the slides here. Now therefore, remember that you 157 00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:03,280 once Gentiles in the flesh who are called uncircumcision by 158 00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:06,480 what is called the circumcision made in the flesh by hands, that 159 00:09:06,480 --> 00:09:09,600 at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the 160 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:11,920 Commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenant of 161 00:09:11,920 --> 00:09:15,320 promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 162 00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:18,640 But now in Christ Jesus you were once far off, have been brought 163 00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:22,440 near by the blood of Christ. So the first thing I want to see 164 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:26,040 is we are brought near to God through Jesus blood. 165 00:09:26,920 --> 00:09:28,960 He just remember. That's what we got to remember 166 00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:30,520 first. There's something important that 167 00:09:30,520 --> 00:09:34,200 happens here. Paul wants us to remember who 168 00:09:34,360 --> 00:09:36,680 and wants them to remember and us to remember who we are in 169 00:09:36,680 --> 00:09:39,880 contrast to what we were. We are here together this 170 00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:42,960 morning in a place called a church, and that's not wrong. 171 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:44,880 But really it's just the building. 172 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:47,120 We're in a group setting here, and that's fine. 173 00:09:47,360 --> 00:09:51,960 But one day this building floor, walls will no longer exist. 174 00:09:51,960 --> 00:09:55,840 It will be gone and we will be dead and buried, but we will 175 00:09:55,840 --> 00:09:57,560 exist. We are never going to die. 176 00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:01,640 When Jesus talked about the church, he talked about an 177 00:10:01,640 --> 00:10:05,760 eternal thing, an eternal body. When Paul the apostle talked 178 00:10:05,760 --> 00:10:08,280 about the church, he was not having some mental image of some 179 00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:10,840 physical location, a building and so on. 180 00:10:12,800 --> 00:10:14,880 They talked of a gathering. There's a word for that. 181 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:18,800 They're not talking about a powerful, forceful organization. 182 00:10:18,800 --> 00:10:21,880 That was political power in which to get things done to 183 00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:23,840 Jesus. The church was his people 184 00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:26,960 gathered in his name, serving him, worshiping him. 185 00:10:28,320 --> 00:10:30,800 He even says in one of the Gospels where two or three are 186 00:10:30,800 --> 00:10:34,480 gathered there, He's among them. So in this passage it says we've 187 00:10:34,480 --> 00:10:36,760 been brought nearby. His blood were gathered near to 188 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:38,920 God. Remember you Gentiles once in 189 00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:40,160 the flesh. What does that mean? 190 00:10:40,600 --> 00:10:43,200 There was a time when it was Jews and Jews only. 191 00:10:43,560 --> 00:10:46,600 At Pentecost it was Jews and Jews only who were baptized. 192 00:10:46,760 --> 00:10:48,960 We don't read of Gentiles being baptized until a little bit 193 00:10:48,960 --> 00:10:51,720 later. And the Jews, really, they 194 00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:53,840 camped on that. They made very sure the 195 00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:57,520 differences were marked and clearly understood the imagery 196 00:10:57,520 --> 00:11:00,200 that Paul uses here of aliens and strangers and walls and 197 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:03,720 separation that was not lost to these to this audience. 198 00:11:03,720 --> 00:11:05,520 They knew exactly what he was talking about. 199 00:11:06,600 --> 00:11:09,480 The people of that time knew very well the significance of 200 00:11:09,480 --> 00:11:12,760 what Paul was saying. This passage as a whole shed 201 00:11:12,760 --> 00:11:15,600 light on both their past separation now in their present 202 00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:19,760 oneness in the body of Christ. And this passage applies to us 203 00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:24,040 in our time as much as it did for them and their time. 1 204 00:11:24,040 --> 00:11:25,840 Commentator Thomas Yoder put it this way. 205 00:11:25,840 --> 00:11:29,600 He says Ephesians chapter 2 verse 11 to 22 surely ranks at 206 00:11:29,600 --> 00:11:33,560 the top of the list of most memorable passages in Ephesians. 207 00:11:33,920 --> 00:11:37,280 It is one of the most profound and beautiful peace texts in the 208 00:11:37,280 --> 00:11:40,320 whole Bible. The image of the broken wall has 209 00:11:40,320 --> 00:11:43,440 exerted influence well beyond the borders of the Christian 210 00:11:43,680 --> 00:11:45,560 community. And he goes on in his commentary 211 00:11:45,560 --> 00:11:49,680 to talk about what walls do, what walls represent. 212 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:52,000 And for instance, he talks about the Berlin Wall. 213 00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:55,760 And when walls in general divide, separate. 214 00:11:55,800 --> 00:11:58,560 It's not always wrong to have a wall of separation from evil, 215 00:11:58,560 --> 00:12:01,320 let's say. But generally speaking, walls 216 00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:05,200 are not healthy for society. The imagery of walls is 217 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:07,600 powerful. There's a picture that I decided 218 00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:09,160 to include here. It's a picture of what the 219 00:12:09,160 --> 00:12:12,280 temple may have looked like. It's a vast complex and the 220 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:14,200 picture doesn't get really do justice to what it would have 221 00:12:14,200 --> 00:12:17,280 been really like. But it was a large area 222 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:20,880 surrounded with walls. The temple grounds was a huge 223 00:12:20,880 --> 00:12:25,440 open court area and there was different smaller buildings in 224 00:12:25,440 --> 00:12:27,840 the middle of it. First there's the outer 225 00:12:27,840 --> 00:12:29,680 structure called the Court of the Gentiles. 226 00:12:29,680 --> 00:12:31,400 This is where everybody could go. 227 00:12:31,680 --> 00:12:33,840 Anybody who came to Jerusalem could go into the Court of the 228 00:12:33,840 --> 00:12:36,960 Gentiles. Then there was another inner 229 00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:40,120 court, and that was the Court of the any Anybody who was a Jew 230 00:12:40,120 --> 00:12:42,080 could go in the inner court. Men and women could go to the 231 00:12:42,080 --> 00:12:45,280 inner court, and then inside the inner court there was a smaller 232 00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:46,960 area yet, and only the priest could go. 233 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:48,920 The men could go into that. And I think there was another 234 00:12:48,920 --> 00:12:50,320 one. I don't have my information 235 00:12:50,560 --> 00:12:53,760 totally with me, and I'm not sure exactly how it all was, but 236 00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:56,040 the closer you got to the center, the fewer people could 237 00:12:56,040 --> 00:12:57,560 go in. And then the high priest would 238 00:12:57,560 --> 00:13:00,120 go once a year to the Holy of Holies, that small little place 239 00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:03,520 where there was a veil that would would protect or shield 240 00:13:03,520 --> 00:13:06,240 the Ark of the Covenant. And once a year a priest would 241 00:13:06,240 --> 00:13:10,880 go in there. There's records that between the 242 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:13,960 Gentiles to the court of the Gentiles and the court of the 243 00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:16,320 Jews or the the where the men and the Jewish men and women 244 00:13:16,320 --> 00:13:20,880 could go, there was this signs carved in stone warning Gentiles 245 00:13:20,880 --> 00:13:25,160 not to go past those walls into the inner structure on pain of 246 00:13:25,160 --> 00:13:26,880 death. You could be killed if you'd go 247 00:13:26,880 --> 00:13:31,320 in there. What got Paul in trouble in Acts 248 00:13:31,320 --> 00:13:35,240 chapter 21, verse 28 was he had been on a mission trip, came 249 00:13:35,240 --> 00:13:36,640 back from his missionary journey. 250 00:13:36,880 --> 00:13:39,960 He went to the attempt and he was grabbed and arrested. 251 00:13:40,200 --> 00:13:42,840 He was accused of having brought Gentiles into the temple. 252 00:13:44,240 --> 00:13:47,240 There's a there's a passage in Acts chapter 21, verse 26. 253 00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:50,400 I'll just read that. And now Paul, this was before 254 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:52,560 Paul wrote Ephesians. This was before Paul got 255 00:13:52,560 --> 00:13:56,200 arrested. So Paul in Acts 21, verse 26, it 256 00:13:56,200 --> 00:14:00,120 says then Paul took men, then it took the men, and the next day, 257 00:14:00,120 --> 00:14:02,560 having been purified with him, entered the temple to announce 258 00:14:02,560 --> 00:14:05,400 the expiration of the days of purification, at which time an 259 00:14:05,400 --> 00:14:07,240 offering should be made for each one of them. 260 00:14:07,400 --> 00:14:09,560 So Paul was a Jew, he was not anti Jew. 261 00:14:09,960 --> 00:14:13,000 Then verse 27 and on he says now when the seven days were almost 262 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:15,960 ended, the Jews from Asia seeing him in the temple, stirred up 263 00:14:15,960 --> 00:14:17,880 the whole crowd, laid hands on him crying. 264 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:20,200 Men of Israel help. This is the man who teaches all 265 00:14:20,200 --> 00:14:22,680 men everywhere against the people, the law, and this place. 266 00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:25,320 And furthermore, he also brought Greeks into the temple and has 267 00:14:25,320 --> 00:14:28,640 defiled this holy place, for they had previously seen 268 00:14:28,640 --> 00:14:30,960 Trophimus, the Ephesian with him in the city with whom they 269 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:32,880 suppose that Paul had brought into the temple. 270 00:14:33,320 --> 00:14:36,920 This was all before Paul was arrested and then either house 271 00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:38,760 arrest or prison, and before he wrote Ephesians. 272 00:14:39,720 --> 00:14:41,320 So this experience was behind him. 273 00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:45,000 When this happened, the people, the Jewish people, were very 274 00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:47,560 precise. The Gentiles could come into the 275 00:14:47,560 --> 00:14:48,920 outer court, but not to the inner court. 276 00:14:48,920 --> 00:14:51,320 And so Paul has all of this imagery in mind when he's 277 00:14:51,320 --> 00:14:56,000 writing this passage. Paul is saying to the Ephesians, 278 00:14:56,240 --> 00:15:01,520 therefore remember you once you Gentiles uncircumcised by what's 279 00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:04,600 the circumcision of flesh, you were without Christ being aliens 280 00:15:04,600 --> 00:15:07,200 from the Commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants 281 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:09,480 of promise, having no hope and without God in the world, you 282 00:15:09,480 --> 00:15:11,640 were outsiders. You didn't belong. 283 00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:17,920 Without going into too many directions here this morning, I 284 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:20,480 want to say this. God's design for worship as 285 00:15:20,480 --> 00:15:25,080 described in the Old Testament was not intended for how the 286 00:15:25,080 --> 00:15:29,040 Jews practiced it. It was never that God did not 287 00:15:29,040 --> 00:15:32,320 love the Gentiles. God's plan all along was for the 288 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:34,360 whole world to receive the Messiah. 289 00:15:34,720 --> 00:15:37,360 We read that in Genesis chapter 12, the first part where God 290 00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:40,640 said to Abraham, through you all nations will be blessed, and 291 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:44,080 many other passages in the Old Testament we read of God's plan 292 00:15:44,080 --> 00:15:47,400 for all of mankind through the message of the gospel. 293 00:15:47,600 --> 00:15:50,360 They will be. They were drawn to Christ. 294 00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:53,720 God's purpose for the Old Testament judicial system, the 295 00:15:53,720 --> 00:15:57,640 law, and everything else was to show His Holiness, His mercy and 296 00:15:57,640 --> 00:15:59,160 kindness, His love and His grace. 297 00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:02,800 Of course, that system could not save them, but it was to lead 298 00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:05,680 them to fear and seek God. And so God had built this, had 299 00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:08,520 them build this place. And when the people of Israel 300 00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:11,280 earlier on in their existence were in the desert, they had the 301 00:16:11,280 --> 00:16:13,280 tent of meeting and the promised land. 302 00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:16,000 Solomon built a temple. It was destroyed when the nation 303 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:19,200 was invaded and taken captive 700 plus years before Christ. 304 00:16:19,520 --> 00:16:21,680 Later when they returned from captivity, they built another 305 00:16:21,680 --> 00:16:23,120 temple. Not as good as the first one. 306 00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:26,840 But then in the New Testament we find that Herod the king built 307 00:16:26,840 --> 00:16:29,720 the Jews this magnificent temple that took him decades to build. 308 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:33,640 But it didn't make them holy. Their hearts were still not 309 00:16:33,640 --> 00:16:36,880 changed. And he's called him out on their 310 00:16:36,880 --> 00:16:39,400 hypocrisy. But back to Paul in the letter 311 00:16:39,400 --> 00:16:41,280 of Ephesus. Paul was familiar with all of 312 00:16:41,280 --> 00:16:42,280 that. He knew the history. 313 00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:47,080 And he knew that, yes, the laws had been given to the Jews in 314 00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:49,520 the early face of God's people. The Gentiles had not been given 315 00:16:49,520 --> 00:16:51,600 what the Jews had. But with the coming of Jesus, 316 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:54,760 all that changed. So let's read again verse 13. 317 00:16:55,760 --> 00:16:58,200 But now in Christ Jesus Paul's words. 318 00:16:58,200 --> 00:17:01,880 But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been 319 00:17:01,880 --> 00:17:03,520 brought near by the blood of Christ. 320 00:17:05,119 --> 00:17:08,520 So the Gentiles were not welcome in the old system, but now they 321 00:17:08,520 --> 00:17:11,520 are now in Jesus, they're as welcome as anybody. 322 00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:12,960 That's us. We're Gentiles. 323 00:17:14,440 --> 00:17:16,760 And we read in the Gospel of John, Jesus says to the 324 00:17:16,760 --> 00:17:20,079 Samaritan woman the following words, God is spirit. 325 00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:24,200 Those who worship him in must worship him in spirit and truth. 326 00:17:24,200 --> 00:17:29,880 And again Paul says in Christ, we who were once far off have 327 00:17:29,880 --> 00:17:32,200 been brought near. Why is blood such a big deal? 328 00:17:32,600 --> 00:17:36,680 Why is blood such so important? Because blood equals life. 329 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:40,200 Blood equals life. We read in the Old Testament 330 00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:42,280 right after Noah came out of the ark after the flood. 331 00:17:42,440 --> 00:17:45,520 God told him you can eat animals, but you can't eat the 332 00:17:45,520 --> 00:17:48,280 blood, can't drink the blood, It's forbidden because it 333 00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:49,960 clearly taught life is in the blood. 334 00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:54,280 So why are we brought near? Blood is the life of the one in 335 00:17:54,280 --> 00:17:56,880 whom the blood is. And Jesus said his blood as the 336 00:17:56,880 --> 00:17:59,920 full payment for the sins of the world, for both Jews and 337 00:17:59,920 --> 00:18:02,800 Gentiles. It's through the blood of Christ 338 00:18:02,800 --> 00:18:05,920 that everyone, both Jews and Gentiles, men and women, young 339 00:18:05,920 --> 00:18:09,560 and old, everyone in the world is placed on the same level. 340 00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:13,080 There's no longer any preference, any distinction in 341 00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:19,160 that the sacrifice of Jesus once for all, even the score. 342 00:18:19,440 --> 00:18:22,200 Everybody now has the same access to Christ. 343 00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:25,920 And whoever repents and believes puts their faith in Christ is 344 00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:30,600 saved. Well, what did all of this 345 00:18:30,600 --> 00:18:32,360 accomplish? What did it achieve? 346 00:18:32,360 --> 00:18:35,080 Well, let's look at verse 14. It says for he himself as our 347 00:18:35,080 --> 00:18:37,560 peace was made, both one has broken down the middle wall of 348 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:40,280 separation. So there's no no longer any 349 00:18:40,280 --> 00:18:42,800 walls in that place. That place has no walls. 350 00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:46,200 Maybe the physical one would if it stood, but the real one 351 00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:48,600 wouldn't. The next point is God has broken 352 00:18:48,600 --> 00:18:51,480 down the walls. Remember the picture of the 353 00:18:51,480 --> 00:18:53,680 temple Paul wrote in his letter? The temple in Jerusalem is 354 00:18:53,680 --> 00:18:55,680 probably still standing when Paul wrote this. 355 00:18:56,280 --> 00:18:59,520 This was before the destruction of Jerusalem, while the Romans 356 00:18:59,520 --> 00:19:03,040 would come in, in 76 AD, after Christ, the Romans broke 357 00:19:03,040 --> 00:19:04,760 everything down, the temple and everything. 358 00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:08,760 But when Paul wrote this, as far as we know, the wall was still 359 00:19:08,760 --> 00:19:12,880 standing. And the wall that Paul is 360 00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:16,640 talking about here is not the wall of brick and mortar. 361 00:19:17,360 --> 00:19:22,080 He's talking about a wall of rules and traditions and and 362 00:19:22,720 --> 00:19:27,240 laws and so on, cultural boundaries that were as good as 363 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:30,840 written in stone. The wall that Paul has in mind 364 00:19:30,840 --> 00:19:34,320 is the wall of enmity. God's plan was to do away with 365 00:19:34,320 --> 00:19:37,160 all of this that keeps people separate, to bring them to 366 00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:40,480 unity, into oneness. Let's read verse 15 again. 367 00:19:40,720 --> 00:19:45,080 Having abolished in His flesh the enmity that is the law of 368 00:19:45,080 --> 00:19:47,840 commandments contained in ordinances so as to create in 369 00:19:47,840 --> 00:19:53,440 himself one new man from the two, thus making peace. 370 00:19:54,280 --> 00:19:58,120 God's plan was and is to bring all of humanity under the same 371 00:19:58,120 --> 00:20:02,280 umbrella, the umbrella of grace and forgiveness. 372 00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:06,000 He wants all humankind to be united into one. 373 00:20:07,280 --> 00:20:09,560 Let's just pause for a moment. Let that sink in. 374 00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:15,400 Does that look like our world? Does that look like our homes? 375 00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:20,120 What about our marriages or our churches? 376 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:23,040 We're so good at splitting and dividing. 377 00:20:23,720 --> 00:20:25,920 I'm not saying churches shouldn't split off and expand. 378 00:20:25,920 --> 00:20:29,040 That's fine. But in the spirit of hostility 379 00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:33,680 and division, we don't like you. You, we're going to kick you 380 00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:38,920 out, that kind of thing. Let's imagine for just a moment 381 00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:45,040 if enmity was a physical material matter contained in a 382 00:20:45,040 --> 00:20:50,960 box, and unity was a physical material matter contained in a 383 00:20:50,960 --> 00:20:55,760 box. And we would put all the enmity 384 00:20:55,760 --> 00:21:00,800 in the world in a pile, like maybe in a big pile, we put all 385 00:21:00,800 --> 00:21:02,760 the unity in the world in another pile. 386 00:21:02,920 --> 00:21:07,200 Which pile would be greater? We know the answer to that one. 387 00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:08,440 We don't even have to think about it. 388 00:21:08,960 --> 00:21:13,760 The world is buried in enmity. It's sinking in enmity. 389 00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:17,360 It's destroying itself, blowing itself to pieces through enmity, 390 00:21:17,360 --> 00:21:24,960 and the unity is in short supply everywhere, whether it's in our 391 00:21:24,960 --> 00:21:28,800 marriages, whether it's in churches, whether it's in our 392 00:21:28,800 --> 00:21:32,040 communities, in our country. And we just have to turn on the 393 00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:33,160 news. And it's right there. 394 00:21:34,520 --> 00:21:37,120 Let's be honest. If God abolished in his flesh 395 00:21:37,160 --> 00:21:39,520 the enmity, why is there still so much of it? 396 00:21:40,800 --> 00:21:43,880 The only thing that makes any sense is because we're not as 397 00:21:43,880 --> 00:21:47,640 near to God yet as we should be. The body of Christ was 398 00:21:47,640 --> 00:21:49,800 sacrificed. This enmity would be destroyed, 399 00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:52,760 and in Christ it is. And so if we come to Christ, 400 00:21:52,760 --> 00:21:54,680 receive his peace, the enmity's gone. 401 00:21:56,000 --> 00:22:00,440 If we consider what God did for us that he did that for us, if 402 00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:03,800 we call ourselves Christ's followers, should we then not 403 00:22:03,880 --> 00:22:10,840 lead by example and ask ourselves how well are we doing? 404 00:22:13,040 --> 00:22:16,680 It's so much easier just to I'll do my thing, you do your thing, 405 00:22:16,680 --> 00:22:23,600 each to their own. Let's be honest, we do live in 406 00:22:23,600 --> 00:22:27,760 times of growing isolation, growing hostility, growing 407 00:22:27,760 --> 00:22:32,240 individualism, and how we live our lives reveals our state of 408 00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:37,320 being, what values we have. If you study trends over time, 409 00:22:37,680 --> 00:22:40,720 even the way people build their houses is an indicator of what 410 00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:43,400 their values are. I'm not judging anybody for the 411 00:22:43,400 --> 00:22:44,280 size of their house. Don't. 412 00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:47,520 That's not what I'm pointing to. Just go back over 100 years. 413 00:22:47,520 --> 00:22:49,760 Look at houses, how they were built in the 1900s. 414 00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:51,400 Some of you heard me talk about this before. 415 00:22:51,880 --> 00:22:54,960 Go to the downtown old parts of Windsor someday, just for just 416 00:22:54,960 --> 00:22:56,880 for a drive, the old university area. 417 00:22:57,560 --> 00:23:00,560 Look at the houses that were built in the 1800s or 1900s. 418 00:23:00,760 --> 00:23:03,120 They have, not all of them the same, but front porches, 419 00:23:03,360 --> 00:23:06,120 verandas, whatnot. You can put tables and chairs 420 00:23:06,120 --> 00:23:06,760 there. Why? 421 00:23:07,160 --> 00:23:09,320 Because they're community minded people who built them. 422 00:23:10,840 --> 00:23:12,920 They have problems too. Yes, they have all kinds of 423 00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:15,040 problems, tribalism and disunity. 424 00:23:15,040 --> 00:23:16,240 There's all kinds of problems too. 425 00:23:17,840 --> 00:23:20,120 But they would sit in the front porch in the evening after work 426 00:23:20,120 --> 00:23:21,560 and chat to the neighbor walking by. 427 00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:26,480 People got to know each other. Today we have a garage that 428 00:23:26,480 --> 00:23:29,520 closes in the front door to go inside in the backyard that's 429 00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:32,600 fenced in. That's what we do now. 430 00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:37,240 That's real. My yard's fenced in too, and my 431 00:23:37,240 --> 00:23:39,400 wife and I did the same. We have a nice fenced yard, so 432 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:46,120 we have privacy. We drive in cars that have 433 00:23:46,120 --> 00:23:49,680 windows rolled up back then we've drove in horse and buggy. 434 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:51,200 We could say hi to. We'd talk to the neighbors that 435 00:23:51,200 --> 00:23:54,120 drive by. I'm not saying we can change all 436 00:23:54,120 --> 00:23:57,640 this and that, but what I'm trying to say is how private are 437 00:23:57,640 --> 00:23:59,960 we? How oneness our minded are we? 438 00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:07,560 The new subdivisions in town, I like looking at new houses. 439 00:24:07,680 --> 00:24:09,680 I just wonder what they're thinking. 440 00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:13,040 Are they designed for group gathering? 441 00:24:13,080 --> 00:24:17,160 For community? How well are we doing at getting 442 00:24:17,160 --> 00:24:19,680 to know our neighbors to building bridges instead of 443 00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:21,960 walls? How good are we connecting and 444 00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:26,800 removing walls of separation? And I have to say to our Shamus 445 00:24:26,800 --> 00:24:28,840 and a Baptist, we have not always done very well. 446 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:32,160 We let's move away from here. Not saying we should never move 447 00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:34,760 away, Paul, Jesus talks about run to the mountains and 448 00:24:34,760 --> 00:24:37,560 persecution. But at the same time, do we care 449 00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:40,080 enough about our community that we integrate ourselves into our 450 00:24:40,080 --> 00:24:42,640 community to help the community become a better community or 451 00:24:42,640 --> 00:24:46,120 let's just get away from it. Jesus broke down the middle wall 452 00:24:46,120 --> 00:24:48,680 of separation. What separates us from one 453 00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:51,360 another? You know what separates us? 454 00:24:51,480 --> 00:24:56,920 Fear, hostility and I'm not now saying this morning we should go 455 00:24:56,920 --> 00:24:59,840 and subject ourselves to unsafe environments and unsafe people. 456 00:24:59,960 --> 00:25:01,440 That's not the point of my sermon. 457 00:25:01,760 --> 00:25:04,080 Some people literally are dangerous physically, socially, 458 00:25:04,080 --> 00:25:06,400 morally, and we're to be careful who we interact with. 459 00:25:06,400 --> 00:25:10,200 The Bible tells us that too. But do I have a me focus or an 460 00:25:10,200 --> 00:25:20,080 other focus And he did that to reconcile both to God in one 461 00:25:20,080 --> 00:25:23,240 body through Christ. Verse 16 tells us put him to 462 00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:27,160 death. The enmity preaching peace to 463 00:25:27,160 --> 00:25:30,920 those who are near and verse 18 for through him we both have 464 00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:33,560 access by 1 spirit to the Father. 465 00:25:33,560 --> 00:25:36,320 And so now, OK, now let's let's imagine, let's we do this. 466 00:25:36,320 --> 00:25:37,960 OK, let's do this. So it's going to be easy. 467 00:25:37,960 --> 00:25:42,200 No, this path leads to the cross. 468 00:25:44,160 --> 00:25:46,720 The path through the cross kills a lot of things. 469 00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:50,960 Sending people's lives is alive and well in many cases, but it 470 00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:53,840 can't stand the fire of the cross or the pain of the cross. 471 00:25:53,840 --> 00:25:57,160 It dies there. No sin gets past it. 472 00:25:57,680 --> 00:26:00,120 Sin can't stand the experience of the cross. 473 00:26:03,080 --> 00:26:06,720 It seems to me in our day we do too little preaching and 474 00:26:06,720 --> 00:26:09,080 teaching on the concept of the cross, what it means. 475 00:26:09,320 --> 00:26:11,240 Paul had a real good understanding of it. 476 00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:14,560 He understood that to be one with Christ meant to suffer for 477 00:26:14,560 --> 00:26:18,480 Jesus. Again, we're 16 that He might 478 00:26:18,480 --> 00:26:22,160 reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, 479 00:26:22,160 --> 00:26:24,600 therefore putting to death the enmity. 480 00:26:25,200 --> 00:26:28,160 When both Jew and Gentile have embraced and experienced the 481 00:26:28,160 --> 00:26:31,760 cross, the enmity's gone. They no longer care or worry 482 00:26:31,760 --> 00:26:33,960 about their personal ambitions and goals and dreams and 483 00:26:33,960 --> 00:26:36,400 whatnot. Only in the context of what 484 00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:42,080 helps us all. In verse 18 He says for through 485 00:26:42,080 --> 00:26:48,360 Him we both have access by 1 spirit to the Father. 486 00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:53,680 That's so good through Jesus, both Jew and Gentile have access 487 00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:56,440 by 1 spirit to the same Father, the same spirit. 488 00:26:56,760 --> 00:27:00,840 Both have the connecting link. You see, this is where good 489 00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:03,520 people sometimes get it wrong and fall down. 490 00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:07,160 There's sometimes people who've lived a good moral life for 491 00:27:07,160 --> 00:27:10,240 pretty much their whole life. They never wrecked the sinners. 492 00:27:10,240 --> 00:27:13,200 They didn't commit adultery, they didn't steal, and they had 493 00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:15,680 a good credit score, so to speak, in society. 494 00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:19,520 And, and then, then all of a sudden, one day there's this bad 495 00:27:19,520 --> 00:27:22,640 guy who's done time in prison, let's say, and he's got a bad 496 00:27:22,640 --> 00:27:26,640 record and, and now he wants to join. 497 00:27:28,240 --> 00:27:30,600 And then the walls go up. Do we trust him? 498 00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:35,200 You see, friends, for morally upright people, their sin is not 499 00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:37,440 in committing adultery or stealing or anything like that. 500 00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:41,160 Their sin is in the pride. You know, we're good in the eyes 501 00:27:41,160 --> 00:27:43,520 of God. Pride is the worst of all sins, 502 00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:48,240 yet at the end of the day, there's no other path except for 503 00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:50,360 the cross. No matter how good we've been or 504 00:27:50,360 --> 00:27:52,720 how bad we've been, it doesn't make any difference. 505 00:27:54,480 --> 00:27:56,440 No one is good enough to get a free pass. 506 00:27:57,840 --> 00:28:01,560 Nobody makes the grade. We all come through the cross, 507 00:28:02,520 --> 00:28:07,560 each one of us. When we've come that far that we 508 00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:10,200 have surrendered ourselves to Christ, we've repented our our 509 00:28:10,200 --> 00:28:14,320 sins or our self righteousness or self-sufficiency or or sell 510 00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:18,360 independence, the enmity is gone. 511 00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:20,400 You know what then? Then we become family. 512 00:28:20,800 --> 00:28:24,360 Verse 19. Now therefore, you are no longer 513 00:28:24,360 --> 00:28:27,240 strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the Saints 514 00:28:27,240 --> 00:28:29,760 and members of the household of God having been built on the 515 00:28:29,760 --> 00:28:32,840 foundations, the apostles and prophets. 516 00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:38,120 Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the 517 00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:41,280 whole building being fitted together grows into a holy 518 00:28:41,280 --> 00:28:45,680 temple, not temples, temple and the Lord and whom also you are 519 00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:52,440 being built together for a get this a dwelling place of God in 520 00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:54,000 spirit. Let's just pause for a moment 521 00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:59,360 again from being people who can't stand each other, drowning 522 00:28:59,360 --> 00:29:02,160 in enmity, who have nothing to do with each other. 523 00:29:02,720 --> 00:29:05,880 Paul says members of the household of God and a dwelling 524 00:29:05,880 --> 00:29:09,880 place of God in the spirit. So in that last point, as 525 00:29:09,880 --> 00:29:13,840 family, we become a living temple of God, no longer 526 00:29:13,840 --> 00:29:17,160 strangers. We're citizens, fellow citizens 527 00:29:17,280 --> 00:29:21,320 with the Saints. Paul uses the illustration of a 528 00:29:21,320 --> 00:29:23,880 temple. He says they're integrated into 529 00:29:23,880 --> 00:29:26,640 the building, this living temple of God, the chief cornerstone 530 00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:30,760 being Jesus Christ himself. It's a, it's a living, growing 531 00:29:30,760 --> 00:29:33,440 thing. Think about that for a moment. 532 00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:38,520 God wants us to be one with one another, with him in spirit. 533 00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:44,280 We have to finally say, in that case, nothing in this world 534 00:29:44,280 --> 00:29:47,720 matters in comparison. The Saints of old understood 535 00:29:47,720 --> 00:29:52,240 this powerful, deep truth. This was so deeply rooted in 536 00:29:52,240 --> 00:29:55,640 their souls. They chose rather to suffer and 537 00:29:55,640 --> 00:29:59,640 die, then give this up. And continuing on. 538 00:29:59,640 --> 00:30:02,880 Today, there are many people who continue to be arrested and 539 00:30:02,880 --> 00:30:04,480 tortured and killed for their faith in Jesus. 540 00:30:04,560 --> 00:30:06,280 You can read these stories. They're never on the mainstream 541 00:30:06,280 --> 00:30:09,480 media, but they are there. They've gone over from death to 542 00:30:09,480 --> 00:30:11,160 life. They've become members of this 543 00:30:11,160 --> 00:30:13,720 household. The world doesn't know what to 544 00:30:13,720 --> 00:30:17,680 do with people like that. The world has no, no, no concept 545 00:30:17,680 --> 00:30:20,040 of this. The world does not understand a 546 00:30:20,040 --> 00:30:23,320 relationship with Jesus. But for all who give themselves 547 00:30:23,320 --> 00:30:26,000 to Jesus, as they grow and develop, this becomes an 548 00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:28,640 increasingly powerful reality in their lives. 549 00:30:28,640 --> 00:30:31,520 And as they grow and mature, God can and doesn't trust them to 550 00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:34,280 greater and deeper paths of discovery about Himself. 551 00:30:36,160 --> 00:30:40,160 As God's people grow and become stronger, they come to a point 552 00:30:40,560 --> 00:30:43,920 where suffering for Jesus really is not a big deal anymore in the 553 00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:47,840 sense, Oh, we're so surprised. No, it it come to expect that 554 00:30:47,840 --> 00:30:50,280 Paul writes in first Timothy in Philippians chapter one, verse 555 00:30:50,280 --> 00:30:53,480 29. He says for to you it has been 556 00:30:53,480 --> 00:30:56,760 granted by the way he wrote this from prison for to you it has 557 00:30:56,760 --> 00:31:01,040 been granted on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but 558 00:31:01,040 --> 00:31:04,920 also to suffer for his sake having the same conflict you saw 559 00:31:04,920 --> 00:31:09,440 in me and now here is in which you saw in me and now here is in 560 00:31:09,440 --> 00:31:13,320 me. That first part granted, granted 561 00:31:14,200 --> 00:31:21,080 to suffer as if it's a gift. What Paul was who he was was not 562 00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:24,000 based on the world around him. He was so totally grounded in 563 00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:26,200 the Lord Jesus. This been has been true and 564 00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:28,720 continues to be true for thousands of Saints through 565 00:31:28,720 --> 00:31:36,000 history who go through this. And when they do that, this 566 00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:37,520 prepares them for greater service. 567 00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:39,800 So we're still in the preparation phase in the 568 00:31:39,800 --> 00:31:43,040 learning stage and the and the and the teaching stage. 569 00:31:43,040 --> 00:31:46,040 But in the next few chapters, we're going to start seeing how 570 00:31:46,040 --> 00:31:48,400 God through Christ now prepares us for service. 571 00:31:48,400 --> 00:31:51,080 So let's wrap this up. We're brought near to God 572 00:31:51,080 --> 00:31:52,880 through Jesus blood. There's no other payment. 573 00:31:52,960 --> 00:31:55,080 The walls are broken down. We're no longer strangers and 574 00:31:55,080 --> 00:31:56,880 aliens. We belong to the household of 575 00:31:56,880 --> 00:32:00,000 God. Our common ground, our path to 576 00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:02,560 oneness is to the cross. The message. 577 00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:05,440 The message of the cross will never be received by this world, 578 00:32:05,640 --> 00:32:07,400 but for the Saints of God, it's a gift. 579 00:32:08,440 --> 00:32:10,080 It's a sign of victory over death. 580 00:32:11,080 --> 00:32:13,960 And because we're God's family, we have unity among us that bind 581 00:32:13,960 --> 00:32:16,400 us all together into one that draws more people into this. 582 00:32:16,680 --> 00:32:22,640 We are a living temple of God. Are there walls that separate 583 00:32:22,640 --> 00:32:25,840 you and I today? Let's be open to the leading of 584 00:32:25,840 --> 00:32:29,240 the Spirit in our lives. He wants to be among us, to us, 585 00:32:29,240 --> 00:32:30,880 us to be one with each other and with Him. 586 00:32:31,040 --> 00:32:34,640 He wants us to be His temple. Imagine the God of the universe 587 00:32:34,800 --> 00:32:37,840 wanting to connect with us in such a way spiritually, wants to 588 00:32:37,840 --> 00:32:40,880 be inside of us. It should humble us, make us 589 00:32:40,880 --> 00:32:43,560 Revere Him, fear Him and and make us grateful. 590 00:32:44,320 --> 00:32:48,080 I trust that we will live out this calling of God in our lives 591 00:32:48,080 --> 00:32:50,760 and that our lives will demonstrate that we are a people 592 00:32:50,760 --> 00:32:52,840 in whom the walls of enmity are broken down. 593 00:32:53,080 --> 00:32:55,840 We will be a people who've laid down whatever it is that's 594 00:32:55,840 --> 00:32:58,240 holding us back from serving Him faithfully. 595 00:32:58,840 --> 00:33:04,440 And we will rejoice that we're called to be the family of God 596 00:33:04,720 --> 00:33:07,080 and we are the family of God. Let us pray. 597 00:33:07,560 --> 00:33:11,400 Thank you, Lord, for your grace to us, for doing for us what we 598 00:33:11,400 --> 00:33:15,560 could never do for ourselves. I pray our hearts when we turn 599 00:33:15,560 --> 00:33:19,760 to you, away from our own sinful, selfish desires, and 600 00:33:19,760 --> 00:33:21,440 pray that in our hearts you will always be. 601 00:33:21,440 --> 00:33:23,920 Lord, thank you for the work of salvation. 602 00:33:24,680 --> 00:33:27,280 Thank you for saving us. Thank you for making us part of 603 00:33:27,280 --> 00:33:30,040 your temple. Your body, Your name we pray. 604 00:33:30,320 --> 00:33:30,560 Amen.