1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:02,480 What would you do if I said you can't be seated? 2 00:00:02,480 --> 00:00:04,920 Would you like rebel? Would you get like all mad and 3 00:00:04,920 --> 00:00:07,480 frustrated? You would just laugh? 4 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:10,600 No, you wouldn't. So I don't. 5 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:14,560 I don't know about you guys, but I fly around a good bit to do my 6 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:17,360 work. I work with churches to help 7 00:00:17,360 --> 00:00:19,280 them love their most vulnerable neighbors. 8 00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:22,280 And sometimes I find myself on Frontier flights. 9 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:27,080 Has anyone ever flown Frontier? OK, so there are a couple of 10 00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:29,680 miracles I've witnessed in the world, and one of them is 11 00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:33,200 falling asleep on the Frontier flight, man. 12 00:00:33,280 --> 00:00:38,600 So the other day I'm flying here by way of Vegas, which, 13 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:42,240 whatever, Frontier, thank you. But I'm on my way to Vegas. 14 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:45,960 And guys, you got to understand, it was a golden moment. 15 00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:48,920 Like, it was so good. Like, I'm all tucked in and all 16 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:50,960 cozy and all that. I'm like, laying like this in a 17 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:53,640 seat and like, kind of, you know, like kind of in a modified 18 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:55,560 fetal position. And I'm like this. 19 00:00:55,800 --> 00:01:00,960 And I drift into this beautiful, ethereal world that only English 20 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:04,080 playwrights know about, right? And then all of a sudden, 21 00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:08,720 someone violently hits me on the shoulder, sucking me from this 22 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:11,760 golden moment that I was experiencing, waking me up. 23 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:14,240 Now I'm groggy. Now I'm a little frustrated. 24 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:18,360 And he says, excuse me, I need to use the bathroom. 25 00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:21,200 And I'm sure he said it in a nicer tone, but that's how I 26 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:23,240 heard it. And so he's like, can you get 27 00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:25,240 up? And I'm like, can I? 28 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:28,320 And I get up? And these are all things I'm 29 00:01:28,320 --> 00:01:30,240 thinking, by the way, I didn't actually say them. 30 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:33,680 But I get up and he goes to the bathroom and I'm in like the 31 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:35,360 last seat. So it wasn't a far walk. 32 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:39,720 But as soon as he gets into the bathroom and shuts the door, we 33 00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:44,200 hit turbulence. It was so awesome. 34 00:01:44,600 --> 00:01:48,880 And I felt this like sinister grin well up within me. 35 00:01:48,880 --> 00:01:51,760 You know why? Because I'm petty, that's why. 36 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:58,080 Because I wanted him to suffer. The window seat man had become 37 00:01:58,080 --> 00:02:02,600 my arch nemesis. And if we're honest, they're 38 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:05,360 people that we like and they're people that we don't like. 39 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:11,080 We have our own concepts of us and them. 40 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:17,480 Here's a few Republican versus Democrat, Coke versus Pepsi, 41 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:22,880 Team Edward versus Team Jacob, Lord of the Rings versus 42 00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:26,520 Chronicles of Narnia, Married versus single, male versus 43 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:32,600 female, Oklahoma versus Texas, Oklahoma State versus Oklahoma, 44 00:02:35,920 --> 00:02:40,560 normal versus weird window seat people versus aisle seat people. 45 00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:46,120 We draw lines based on culture, race, socio economic factors, 46 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:49,560 and even like, our likes and dislikes, what we're comfortable 47 00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:51,080 with and what we're not comfortable with. 48 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:54,800 And I'd like to propose that this isn't it. 49 00:02:56,800 --> 00:02:58,600 We've lost the plot. We're missing the point. 50 00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:01,440 This is not the way it should be. 51 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:04,160 So what does God have to say about this? 52 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:10,560 As we look at Ephesians 2 last week, you saw how Paul was 53 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:13,720 saying God has reconciled us to Himself. 54 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:18,120 Well, this week we see how God is reconciling us to each other. 55 00:03:19,640 --> 00:03:24,360 So as we approach chapter 2, verse 11 through 18, I want you 56 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:28,360 to remember that God has reversed your situation and 57 00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:31,960 reconciled you so that you can live in peace with Him and one 58 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:34,320 another. So I'm going to say it again for 59 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:38,160 those in the back. Remember that God has reversed 60 00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:41,960 your situation and reconciled you so that you can live in 61 00:03:41,960 --> 00:03:46,000 peace with Him and each other. So the first thing I want you to 62 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:50,240 see is that we need to remember who we were. 63 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:53,800 Have you ever heard this phrase? Sometimes you can forget where 64 00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:57,240 you came from. When I first moved to New York, 65 00:03:57,480 --> 00:04:00,080 God started giving me these real big opportunities. 66 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:03,640 And I'm in rooms with pastors who are leading the charge 67 00:04:03,640 --> 00:04:06,800 nationally and internationally. And sometimes you're just faking 68 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:10,880 it till you make it. But I never forgot really, my 69 00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:13,400 own style. I never tried to be something I 70 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:16,079 wasn't. And I remember speaking to this 71 00:04:16,079 --> 00:04:18,399 room of like, half of them have written books by this point. 72 00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:23,040 And I'm like, you know, I'm like leaning in and at the end of the 73 00:04:23,040 --> 00:04:26,400 meeting, this young woman who was in the meeting says, you're 74 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:29,760 from Florida, aren't you? I'm like, how do you know? 75 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:31,560 And she's like, I just saw the Florida swagger. 76 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:35,320 You, you act a certain way because Floridians were crazy. 77 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:37,880 We got issues. There's something that makes you 78 00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:41,600 weird growing up near the water. I don't know what it is, but it 79 00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:46,080 impacts all of us. Like you guys walk away from 80 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:48,320 alligators, right? Not me. 81 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:51,320 Like there's a guy in my neighborhood. 82 00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:53,280 He has an emotional support alligator. 83 00:04:53,440 --> 00:04:58,160 We are different and so we recognize each other. 84 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:06,200 Though I was living in Manhattan and working with all sorts of 85 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:08,520 new people, I didn't forget where I came from. 86 00:05:08,520 --> 00:05:14,600 And this is Paul's point. And verses 11 through 12 he 87 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:19,120 says, therefore, which calls us back to chapter 2, verse eight 88 00:05:19,120 --> 00:05:22,040 through 10. Remember that at one time 89 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:25,840 previously, you Gentiles in the flesh. 90 00:05:25,840 --> 00:05:28,120 Now I want you to pay attention to this phrase in the flesh 91 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:33,680 called the uncircumcision by the circumcision, which is made in 92 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:37,840 the flesh by human hands. And Paul right here is pointing 93 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:39,720 to the fact that this is the old way. 94 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:44,400 Remember that you were at that time. 95 00:05:44,400 --> 00:05:46,720 And again, he's pointing us back to that previous moment. 96 00:05:48,040 --> 00:05:50,800 You were separated from Christ, you were alienated from the 97 00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:53,520 Commonwealth of Israel, and you were strangers to the covenants 98 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:56,560 of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 99 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:01,560 See, Paul is calling his Ephesian non Jewish audience and 100 00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:04,120 us to remember where we came from. 101 00:06:05,240 --> 00:06:09,080 They were uncircumcised. They didn't have the sign that 102 00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:13,680 they were God's covenant people. They weren't like their Jewish 103 00:06:13,680 --> 00:06:16,640 counterparts. Now this mark in the flesh 104 00:06:16,840 --> 00:06:21,360 identified who was in and who was out, who was God's people 105 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:25,840 and who wasn't. And if you don't know what 106 00:06:25,960 --> 00:06:29,360 circumcision is, you can talk to the Matrix. 107 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:31,640 They'll be glad to tell you. And if you don't want to talk to 108 00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:34,400 the Matrix, I'll tell you when you're older. 109 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:40,320 But the point is that the importance of circumcision, it's 110 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:45,400 it's seen throughout the Old covenant, specifically in Exodus 111 00:06:45,400 --> 00:06:51,080 4, verse 24, which all the Jews in all of them would know. 112 00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:55,120 This verse you have Moses who represented the law. 113 00:06:56,800 --> 00:07:02,000 He had just had this incredible experience at the burning Bush. 114 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:06,400 And now he's going to Pharaoh. He's going to say, let my people 115 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:08,080 go. It's going to be this beautiful 116 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:12,000 moment. But then we have this in the 117 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:15,920 Scriptures at a lodging place on the way, the Lord met him and 118 00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:22,000 sought to put him to death. Then Zipporah, Moses's wife, 119 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:25,160 took a Flint and cut off her son's foreskin and touched 120 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:29,720 Moses's feet with it and said, surely you are a bridegroom of 121 00:07:29,720 --> 00:07:33,000 blood to me. I mean, this had to be a weird 122 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:34,880 Tuesday. Like they get down differently, 123 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:42,840 but like Moses is about to go to the Gentile leader of the world 124 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:47,040 who, you know, I'm not trying to get too, too much into his 125 00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:51,920 cornflakes, but he was uncircumcised and he's going to 126 00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:55,840 him and he hasn't even circumcised his own son. 127 00:07:57,600 --> 00:08:00,000 Moses had one job and he wasn't doing it. 128 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:01,800 And his wife had to step up and say, OK. 129 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:09,160 And the point of this passage, as awkward of a text as it can 130 00:08:09,160 --> 00:08:14,160 be, is that to the Jewish people, circumcision was 131 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:17,600 important. It was deathly important. 132 00:08:20,120 --> 00:08:22,680 So the Jews in a sense, are being obedient to the Old 133 00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:25,120 covenant. And Paul says here that the 134 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:28,040 circumcision is made by human hands. 135 00:08:33,289 --> 00:08:37,850 Rather than saying this is a divine, divinely ordained thing. 136 00:08:37,850 --> 00:08:39,770 He's like, no, this is made by human hands. 137 00:08:41,039 --> 00:08:43,960 This isn't what you think it is anymore. 138 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:49,840 And so Paul zeroes in to this gentile audience, and he has 139 00:08:49,840 --> 00:08:52,640 them focus on three things. He says this, remember. 140 00:08:57,680 --> 00:08:59,960 And don't worry, we'll talk about circumcision more in a 141 00:08:59,960 --> 00:09:03,560 little bit. But he zeroes in and he says, 142 00:09:03,560 --> 00:09:07,840 remember, you were separated. You were alienated, and you were 143 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:10,440 strangers. You're separated from the person 144 00:09:10,440 --> 00:09:14,560 of Christ. There is no name under heaven by 145 00:09:14,560 --> 00:09:17,880 which men will be saved. And you were separated from 146 00:09:17,880 --> 00:09:20,680 that. You were alienated from the 147 00:09:20,680 --> 00:09:26,240 people of God, the community where you can find the way to 148 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:30,080 God. You weren't a part of them, and 149 00:09:30,080 --> 00:09:33,720 you are strangers to the promises of God, to the 150 00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:39,200 covenantal promises that we see in the covenant with Abraham, 151 00:09:39,240 --> 00:09:43,120 Isaac, Jacob and David. These promises which said that 152 00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:46,400 the Jewish people would be a light to the Gentiles in 153 00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:49,320 Abraham, all the nations of the world would be blessed. 154 00:09:49,680 --> 00:09:53,400 But we as Gentiles were strangers to that. 155 00:09:53,520 --> 00:09:55,760 We were ignorant. We didn't know. 156 00:09:57,040 --> 00:10:02,960 We had no idea. You see, what Paul is doing is 157 00:10:02,960 --> 00:10:07,920 he is showcasing the law before he gets to the gospel. 158 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:13,240 He is showing us just how hopeless we are because he says 159 00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:17,040 because you were separated from this three, from these three 160 00:10:17,040 --> 00:10:20,040 things, you were alone. You are without hope. 161 00:10:20,160 --> 00:10:25,040 You are without help. You were destitute and in need. 162 00:10:26,040 --> 00:10:33,720 You had no protection. In 2015, Robert Eggers wrote and 163 00:10:33,720 --> 00:10:40,440 directed a movie called The Witch, and this movie is about a 164 00:10:40,440 --> 00:10:46,440 family in Puritan New England in the 1630s who has a dispute in 165 00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:49,480 their town. And because of this dispute, 166 00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:52,160 they fell on the wrong side of of the ruling. 167 00:10:52,640 --> 00:10:56,760 And so they were excommunicated. They were put outside of the 168 00:10:56,760 --> 00:11:02,360 walls of the town, and the rest of the storyline goes and shows 169 00:11:02,360 --> 00:11:06,120 that because they were separated from the promises, the people, 170 00:11:06,240 --> 00:11:10,920 and in this sense from Christ, they were laid bare to the 171 00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:17,120 attacks of the enemy, to the witchcraft that lay outside of 172 00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:24,760 the gates of the town. You see, Paul wants the 173 00:11:24,760 --> 00:11:29,080 Ephesians to know you had it bad, it wasn't good. 174 00:11:29,440 --> 00:11:32,080 There was no vitamin C in where you were. 175 00:11:32,280 --> 00:11:36,280 You were in a terrible place and you were in danger at every 176 00:11:36,280 --> 00:11:38,680 turn. And I think when we remember who 177 00:11:38,680 --> 00:11:42,240 we were, gratitude starts welling up, right? 178 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:46,560 I was once lost, but now I am found. 179 00:11:46,640 --> 00:11:51,800 Was blind. But now I see sometimes we can 180 00:11:51,800 --> 00:11:55,200 get comfortable where we are and we forget where we came from. 181 00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:59,040 And Paul's saying, don't forget, don't forget, because when you 182 00:11:59,040 --> 00:12:01,400 forget, that's when you start zigging, when you should zag, 183 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:07,480 stay focused. You see, when we remember where 184 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:11,280 we came from, we can realize that God has reversed our 185 00:12:11,280 --> 00:12:17,040 situation. And verses 13 through 15, Paul 186 00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:21,040 plays, I mean, basically he plays the Nuno reverse card, he 187 00:12:21,040 --> 00:12:25,120 says, but now something new. There's a contrast. 188 00:12:25,120 --> 00:12:29,640 This is like Ephesians 24 where it says but God but now in 189 00:12:29,640 --> 00:12:32,120 Christ Jesus. Not in circumcision or any other 190 00:12:32,120 --> 00:12:35,120 religious observance, but now in Christ Jesus. 191 00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:40,280 You who were far off have been brought near by the blood of 192 00:12:40,280 --> 00:12:42,960 Christ. Notice the verb tense here. 193 00:12:44,840 --> 00:12:47,440 You have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 194 00:12:47,440 --> 00:12:49,960 You did not bring yourself, you did not invite yourself to this 195 00:12:49,960 --> 00:12:53,360 party. God came and got you and God 196 00:12:53,360 --> 00:13:00,160 keeps you. You couldn't do anything to get 197 00:13:00,160 --> 00:13:04,200 near to God because you were separated, but you have been 198 00:13:04,400 --> 00:13:09,080 brought near by the blood of Christ through the finished work 199 00:13:09,080 --> 00:13:13,120 of Christ on your behalf, through his life, death and 200 00:13:13,120 --> 00:13:17,000 resurrection. For you, this decisive act 201 00:13:17,160 --> 00:13:20,840 changed your whole situation. I don't know about you. 202 00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:26,480 This is humbling for me because I'm way I'm I'm a recovering 203 00:13:26,480 --> 00:13:32,640 perfectionist. My whole life I've thought that 204 00:13:32,640 --> 00:13:34,880 if I just work hard enough, I'll be loved. 205 00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:37,760 If I just do the right thing, I'll be enough. 206 00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:42,080 But no matter how hard I work, I just keep messing up because on 207 00:13:42,080 --> 00:13:47,040 my best day I'm a dumpster fire. You know that's right. 208 00:13:48,040 --> 00:13:50,560 And I think that's where we all are. 209 00:13:50,560 --> 00:13:53,960 We on our best days we can't get right. 210 00:13:55,840 --> 00:14:00,040 But this humbles me because it tells me that I was never the 211 00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:03,440 one who was meant to be perfect, that the perfect one stands for 212 00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:07,400 me, the perfect one came for me, the perfect one died for me and 213 00:14:07,400 --> 00:14:11,640 rose for me to make me right. And that takes a load off. 214 00:14:13,120 --> 00:14:15,880 See, Christ changed my situation and our situation when I 215 00:14:15,880 --> 00:14:20,680 couldn't, when we can't, when we were hopeless without God and 216 00:14:20,680 --> 00:14:24,960 exposed to all the horrors of the world, Christ became our 217 00:14:24,960 --> 00:14:32,640 bridegroom of blood. Verse 14 explains how we were 218 00:14:32,640 --> 00:14:38,520 brought near. For He Himself is our peace. 219 00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:43,800 I love this word is He is actively our peace. 220 00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:48,240 And you know, I want us to notice you know, the first 221 00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:53,040 couple of verses he Paul was saying you now he's he's 222 00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:57,720 switched it up to our see Jew and Gentile had been brought 223 00:14:57,720 --> 00:15:04,840 together and he says for he himself is our peace who has 224 00:15:04,840 --> 00:15:09,360 made us both one and broken down in his flesh. 225 00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:13,400 The dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of the 226 00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:15,760 commandments expressed in the ordinances. 227 00:15:17,760 --> 00:15:21,640 So he says two things here. Christ is our peace because he's 228 00:15:21,640 --> 00:15:26,360 made US1. He's made US1 by breaking down 229 00:15:26,360 --> 00:15:32,120 the wall in his flesh. So remember how circumcision was 230 00:15:32,160 --> 00:15:35,600 a mark in our flesh? Now the wall is actually broken 231 00:15:35,600 --> 00:15:38,200 down because of what happened in Christ's flesh for us. 232 00:15:41,040 --> 00:15:45,760 What the law couldn't do, Christ did at the cross. 233 00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:50,480 And what's interesting is when he is talking about this wall of 234 00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:54,520 hostility, those who are worshipping in the temple were 235 00:15:54,520 --> 00:15:58,720 actually separated by a wall. The Gentiles could only go so 236 00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:06,920 far. And then we can see that the 237 00:16:06,920 --> 00:16:10,520 wall is torn down because the law has been abolished. 238 00:16:10,800 --> 00:16:15,200 Christ fulfilled the law as someone who was perfect, and He 239 00:16:15,200 --> 00:16:23,040 suffered as a law breaker in our place by living and dying for 240 00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:26,480 us. He dealt with the law and the 241 00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:31,240 wall this week. I don't know about you guys, but 242 00:16:31,240 --> 00:16:34,840 I was drinking some coffee and I was on my way to Comma. 243 00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:38,560 Like, they know me by name now. And I'm on my way to Comma 244 00:16:38,560 --> 00:16:40,560 Coffee with Isaiah. Buck. 245 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:43,040 Isaiah, raise your hand so he can be embarrassed. 246 00:16:43,040 --> 00:16:45,560 Yeah, there he is. Embarrassing. 247 00:16:45,920 --> 00:16:49,480 So Isaiah and I are in in the truck and we're driving. 248 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:54,480 And, you know, I got lost. And then I find my way back. 249 00:16:54,520 --> 00:16:57,960 And then I turn on the Main Street. 250 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:01,000 And I'm not kidding, guys. As soon as we turn on the Main 251 00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:06,720 Street, we see what looks like an explosion, a plume of smoke, 252 00:17:06,960 --> 00:17:12,520 a loud bang, debris everywhere. We were like 2 to 3 seconds from 253 00:17:12,520 --> 00:17:14,640 being in the middle of that, which would have been awkward 254 00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:19,400 because I was driving your pastor's truck and I had a 255 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:21,720 student in the car. So it's like there's so many 256 00:17:21,720 --> 00:17:23,400 ways that this could have gone wrong. 257 00:17:25,680 --> 00:17:29,040 And of course, Buck and I, which is our style, we get out of the 258 00:17:29,040 --> 00:17:31,440 truck and we want to, we want to talk to people, right? 259 00:17:31,440 --> 00:17:34,360 So we get out, we're talking. And what was interesting, this 260 00:17:34,360 --> 00:17:38,920 wall, because of the wind and some just former fire damage and 261 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:46,560 all that, the wall fell down and crashed and everyone came out. 262 00:17:47,120 --> 00:17:50,240 People who would never hang out together. 263 00:17:50,440 --> 00:17:53,800 We're all there together and I'm like shooting a video and this 264 00:17:53,800 --> 00:17:58,200 guy walks under me because I'm insanely tall and he says hope 265 00:17:58,200 --> 00:18:01,800 they had Allstate. And I mean, we're cackling, 266 00:18:01,840 --> 00:18:05,560 we're laughing, but it's like we're all sharing this moment 267 00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:11,560 because the wall was torn down. This is what Christ did for us 268 00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:17,760 when he tore down this wall. Everyone came out, everyone was 269 00:18:17,760 --> 00:18:21,320 brought together, people who had nothing in common before. 270 00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:26,120 All of a sudden you're on the same team, You're together. 271 00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:32,840 This is what He did for us. He has destroyed the wall of 272 00:18:32,840 --> 00:18:34,920 division and He did this for a purpose. 273 00:18:35,280 --> 00:18:39,160 You see, Christ reversed our situation and He did it to make 274 00:18:39,160 --> 00:18:44,240 us right with Him. The third thing I want you to 275 00:18:44,240 --> 00:18:52,040 see is that you can rest in your reconciled identity. 276 00:18:54,200 --> 00:18:56,920 Christ not only reconciles you to Him, He reconciles you to 277 00:18:56,920 --> 00:18:59,800 each other. So let's keep with this thought, 278 00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:08,360 verse 15, that this kind of denotes purpose that he Christ 279 00:19:08,600 --> 00:19:12,480 might create in himself in his body one new man in the place of 280 00:19:12,480 --> 00:19:19,120 two kind of has that image of being grafted into the into the 281 00:19:19,120 --> 00:19:22,200 vine. He said that he might create in 282 00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:31,280 himself one new man in a place of two so making peace and he 283 00:19:31,280 --> 00:19:34,720 might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, 284 00:19:34,760 --> 00:19:40,040 thereby killing the hostility. He does what the law couldn't 285 00:19:40,040 --> 00:19:42,280 do. He brings people who didn't want 286 00:19:42,280 --> 00:19:49,240 to be together, together. And so when we rest in our new 287 00:19:49,240 --> 00:19:53,840 reconciled identity, this not only ensures our forgiveness, 288 00:19:54,080 --> 00:19:55,960 but it frees us to forgive others. 289 00:19:56,320 --> 00:19:59,440 It overflows into our daily lives. 290 00:19:59,720 --> 00:20:03,920 We start caring for each other. We're no longer hell bent on 291 00:20:03,920 --> 00:20:07,160 protecting ourselves at the expense of protecting others. 292 00:20:07,360 --> 00:20:11,640 Now we can open our eyes and stop navel gazing and look out 293 00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:15,880 and see our brother and sister and actually do something. 294 00:20:19,120 --> 00:20:22,280 You know, when I work with the church, I always like to tell 295 00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:25,080 them that. Because of the cross, there's no 296 00:20:25,080 --> 00:20:27,160 longer than us and them. It's just us. 297 00:20:27,880 --> 00:20:31,160 And when you see a church who gets this, you will see someone 298 00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:33,880 who has money sitting to someone who has not. 299 00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:37,760 You'll see a millionaire sitting next to a pauper. 300 00:20:38,560 --> 00:20:43,800 You'll see someone in a mansion sitting next to someone who's 301 00:20:43,800 --> 00:20:48,800 experiencing homelessness. Because I think that's what it's 302 00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:51,920 supposed to look like. Because Christ died for all of 303 00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:56,840 us, and He reconciles us so that we can live in peace with each 304 00:20:56,840 --> 00:21:06,080 other. Verse 17 And he came, and this 305 00:21:06,360 --> 00:21:08,680 kind of this is really the gospel, you know. 306 00:21:08,720 --> 00:21:13,840 He came and preached peace. He proclaimed and announced to 307 00:21:13,840 --> 00:21:15,920 everyone. He shouted it from the 308 00:21:16,160 --> 00:21:20,040 mountaintops that where there was disunity, now there is 309 00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:22,200 unity. Where there was 2, now there is 310 00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:25,800 one. Where there was inreconcilable 311 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:29,120 differences, now you are reconciled. 312 00:21:30,680 --> 00:21:39,760 He waved the white flag of our surrender for us, and he came 313 00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:43,560 and preached peace to those who were far off the Gentiles, and 314 00:21:43,560 --> 00:21:50,120 peace to those who are near. Now they are 1. 315 00:21:50,560 --> 00:21:53,360 You see, this reminds me of the parable of the prodigal son, 316 00:21:53,360 --> 00:21:55,520 right? Because we love to get hung up 317 00:21:55,520 --> 00:21:59,920 on the one who was far away. But if we look at the scripture, 318 00:21:59,920 --> 00:22:01,640 there were two prodigals in that parable. 319 00:22:02,320 --> 00:22:06,040 There was the one who was near, who was close to the Father but 320 00:22:06,040 --> 00:22:08,160 didn't get it. You see, they both needed 321 00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:10,000 saving. They both needed the Father's 322 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:12,120 love, and they both needed to be reconciled. 323 00:22:13,400 --> 00:22:19,360 And that's what Paul is saying. We both need peace and he's 324 00:22:19,360 --> 00:22:24,360 saying in Christ we have it. And now that we are one, we go 325 00:22:24,360 --> 00:22:27,360 to God together. That wall separating the 326 00:22:27,360 --> 00:22:30,480 Gentiles is no longer there. The temple has been destroyed in 327 00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:34,440 8070. So we can go to God together. 328 00:22:34,440 --> 00:22:39,840 We have access to Him. Verse 18 says this, for through 329 00:22:39,840 --> 00:22:42,720 him we have access in one spirit to the Father. 330 00:22:43,840 --> 00:22:48,640 That's the result in Christ. We are connected to God the 331 00:22:48,640 --> 00:22:55,520 Father through the Spirit. I'd be remiss if I didn't tell 332 00:22:55,520 --> 00:22:58,440 you that there's a Trinitarian formula here. 333 00:23:00,600 --> 00:23:03,480 And what Paul is doing, he's like, he's not doing it by 334 00:23:03,480 --> 00:23:07,040 accident. He's saying, look at God's 335 00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:12,760 unity. Now what if our unity reflected 336 00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:17,480 that? This is our new unity. 337 00:23:19,840 --> 00:23:23,560 You see, back in the day, the Levitical priest, what they 338 00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:28,520 would do is they would sew buttons into their robes and 339 00:23:28,520 --> 00:23:31,160 they would have a rope around them so that when they went to 340 00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:37,480 the holy place to make offering for sin, just in case they were 341 00:23:37,480 --> 00:23:42,440 seen as sinful and God struck them down, someone could pull 342 00:23:42,440 --> 00:23:44,480 them out because they stopped hearing the bells. 343 00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:54,120 In this text, we realized that Christ was struck down for us so 344 00:23:54,120 --> 00:23:59,240 that we all have access. So no matter where you've been, 345 00:23:59,240 --> 00:24:01,880 what you've experienced, what you've done, or what's been done 346 00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:06,400 to you, who, where you're from, who you're from, who your people 347 00:24:06,400 --> 00:24:10,120 are, who your people aren't, none of that matters because 348 00:24:10,120 --> 00:24:13,080 what matters is what Christ has done for all of us. 349 00:24:14,320 --> 00:24:17,240 We have access to God because of Christ. 350 00:24:17,640 --> 00:24:21,640 He hears our prayers. You can rest in your reconciled 351 00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:26,120 identity. So in closing, I want to tell 352 00:24:26,120 --> 00:24:30,280 you why this is important to me. Let my people go. 353 00:24:30,280 --> 00:24:34,560 As I said earlier, we want to empower the local church to love 354 00:24:34,560 --> 00:24:37,920 those most vulnerable, to love those neighbors who have 355 00:24:37,920 --> 00:24:41,920 something, may have have different experiences than we 356 00:24:41,920 --> 00:24:44,880 have had. And we want to help churches 357 00:24:44,880 --> 00:24:48,960 actually engage these people that they may not have much in 358 00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:53,800 common with, at least at face value. 359 00:24:56,120 --> 00:24:58,240 I mean, This is why we've been partnering with Heritage. 360 00:25:00,560 --> 00:25:02,680 And it reminds me of one of the churches I partnered with in 361 00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:05,280 Pennsylvania. This church was an Amish 362 00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:08,080 country, so it's very fascinating. 363 00:25:08,080 --> 00:25:11,040 A lot of good candies, though, and really nice handmade 364 00:25:11,040 --> 00:25:15,680 furniture that was kind of cool. But one thing I noticed was at 365 00:25:15,680 --> 00:25:19,240 this church, if you went in the church, right, it was this 366 00:25:19,240 --> 00:25:21,640 beautiful sanctuary. And when I say beautiful, I mean 367 00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:24,040 it was ornate. There's like gold, like 368 00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:25,480 filigree. I don't even really know what 369 00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:26,960 filigree is, but it sounds fancy. 370 00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:29,960 And there was a lot of it. And then there was like, all 371 00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:33,360 these, like, sculptures and, you know, kind of like these things 372 00:25:33,360 --> 00:25:34,400 actually. That's really nice. 373 00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:37,840 But they were like gold, and it was really fancy. 374 00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:43,960 And then they had a gym. Well, everyone in the gold 375 00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:46,960 church looked a certain way, but everyone in the gym was 376 00:25:46,960 --> 00:25:48,920 experiencing homelessness, and they were unhoused. 377 00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:53,160 And so we debriefed after the service. 378 00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:58,840 And people, they were really curious because they recognize 379 00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:02,440 that there was a dividing line and no one from either side 380 00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:08,440 crossed it. And they asked me, how do we 381 00:26:08,440 --> 00:26:13,000 bridge this gap? I think Paul's words for us 382 00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:17,400 today are an answer. Whatever our dichotomies, we are 383 00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:25,960 one people in Christ. So remember that Christ reversed 384 00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:29,800 your situation and reconciled you so that you can live in 385 00:26:29,800 --> 00:26:33,280 peace with Him and one another. You were hopeless. 386 00:26:34,120 --> 00:26:37,320 Now you're hopeful. You were far away, but now 387 00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:39,000 you're near. You were strangers, but now 388 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:41,840 you're family. You were kept away from God, but 389 00:26:41,840 --> 00:26:49,040 now you have unfettered access. Like Paul says in another letter 390 00:26:49,040 --> 00:26:52,520 to the Galatian church. There is neither Jew nor Greek, 391 00:26:52,520 --> 00:26:57,000 slave nor free, male or female, for you are all one in Christ 392 00:26:57,000 --> 00:27:01,720 Jesus. So knowing this truth, that we 393 00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:04,840 used to be two, but now we're one, what does this mean for 394 00:27:04,840 --> 00:27:06,480 heritage? What does this mean for you? 395 00:27:09,600 --> 00:27:13,000 We love building walls as humans, don't we? 396 00:27:13,520 --> 00:27:15,920 We love saying who's in and who's out. 397 00:27:16,840 --> 00:27:19,120 But you know what? God delights in tearing those 398 00:27:19,120 --> 00:27:24,640 walls down. Who is your neighbor on the 399 00:27:24,640 --> 00:27:29,280 other side of the wall? Who has God put in your path? 400 00:27:30,960 --> 00:27:35,760 Let's pray, God, I don't know what you have for us. 401 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:43,160 And sometimes you continue to apply the message even after we 402 00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:46,720 leave. And so I pray, Holy Spirit, that 403 00:27:46,720 --> 00:27:51,680 you would open our eyes and our hearts to who our neighbor is 404 00:27:51,680 --> 00:27:58,360 and remind us that you died for all of us, regardless of whether 405 00:27:58,360 --> 00:28:00,560 we like it or not. It's in your name we pray. 406 00:28:01,200 --> 00:28:04,000 Amen. Thanks for listening. 407 00:28:04,120 --> 00:28:06,720 To learn more about Heritage Church or if you'd like to 408 00:28:06,720 --> 00:28:09,160 respond to this sermon, visit our website at 409 00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:12,680 www.heritageshawnee.org.