Untitled Sermon (16)

We are going to look at Ephesians 2:11-22 this morning. Ephesians is such a beautiful book. It’s one of the few places in the New Testament that isn’t an “occasional letter”. Meaning there isn’t some situation that is provoking it. This is Paul’s book that he is writing— “This is what Jesus has done, this is how we live” and I think it’s meant to be spread to all the churches. The first three chapters tell us the great work that God has done in redeeming us. The second half tells us how we live in response.

As we are turning there I want you to do a little thought experiment with me. Imagine that you are an alien from another planet and you are sent to learn about humanity. Part of this is going to be learning about this gospel of Jesus thing.

Here is my question…I’ll phrase it like a nerd and then use a more normal word. Nerd phrase: What would be our greatest apologetic? Or to put that less nerdy--- “If that alien was to really understand the gospel. To really understand what Jesus does…what would that be?”

I know how we tend to answer that, especially in the Western world. We tell a story about who we once were…then we share about how Jesus changed us. What is the greatest apologetic? My changed life. I once cursed like a sailor. Now I don’t. I once was blasphemous. Now I’m not.

Now, that certainly is a way in which this alien could say---something is different with this guy, or this gal. She’s a totally different person. Something happened. Something changed.

But I think there is something else that speaks to this even more.

Ephesians 2:11–22 ESV

Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Sermon Introduction:

The Jew/Gentile division was massive. It colored everything in their world. I remember only a few news stories from my childhood. One of them was Mr. Gorbachev “tear down that wall”. The Berlin Wall , which the Soviet Union helped to build, divided eastern and western germany. It was a marker of the cold war. It was a symbol. “We aren’t like those people.”

I remember the wall crumbling. And I remember the German people themselves taking hammers and crowbars to the thing. But there was a wall that was even bigger than the Berlin Wall.

It was the dividing wall of hostility that we read about in Ephesians 2. The Jewish temple itself was a symbolic picture of this. There was a wall that divided God from the people—only the high priest could come beyond that wall once per year. Then there was another wall that divided. Then another wall. And finally on the outside there was this court of Gentiles.

Each wall said, “you don’t belong here”.

From any part of it the Gentiles could look up and view the temple, but were not allowed to approach it. They were cut off from it by the surrounding wall, which was a huge stone barricade, on which were displayed at intervals warning notices in Greek and Latin. Two of these “warning notices” have been found that are written in Greek. When translated they read: Two of the Greek signs have been discovered, one in 1871 and the other in 1935. The former, now housed in a museum in Istanbul, Turkey, is a white limestone slab approximately one meter across. It reads: "No foreigner may enter within the barrier and enclosure round the temple. Anyone who is caught doing so will have himself to blame for his ensuing death."

So when Paul says, “remember at one time...” They would have felt that division. You were cut off, you were aliens, strangers, separated from Christ, separated from all the blessings that come from a relationship with God. You had none of this.

Remember what it was like before you knew Jesus?

So if you were an alien who plopped down in the first century what you’d notice is this. There is a God who the people worship…but one in which they have very limited access. And people are divided. They are divided by race, by gender, by so many factors. You’d have noticed all these walls.

But if that alien had a little time traveling device and he could then propel himself about 50 years into the future…Let’s say 45 AD. What would he see?

He would see a Jew and a Gentile eating together. He would see old men and young men gathered together.

Acts 2:17–18 ESV

“ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.

He would see people who had nothing in common seeming to now have everything in common. He would see believers in one area of the world sacrificing in order to help those in another section of the world. He’d see some folks who had just been hammered by an earthquake…who had their own economy just plummeting…he’d see them taking up a collection in order to help some guys named Paul, and Timothy, and Barnabas tell other people about some guy named Jesus.

Whoa.

Something is different here. The whole fabric of the world has been changed. How are these people getting along?

That’s the difference between unity and uniformity. Uniformity just makes everybody the same. If I’m surrounded by people who believe just like me, hang out with people who are mostly the same, etc. then our alien friend isn’t going to look down upon this and say, “oh, man, that person has been changed.”

But unity. He’ll notice unity. Unity is when you have two people who have basically nothing else in common sacrificing all that other stuff for this one shared purpose. That’s fellowship. That’s unity. And that’s mind-blowing because it’s so contrary to how humans typically act.

This is why Jesus said what he did…right before he is going to die. Jesus tells his disciples this:

John 13:34–35 ESV

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

And that is what happened. That is why when our alien looks at the scene in 45 AD he sees a world that is completely changed. Jewish men are loving Roman’s and vice versa. Women among them are giving testimony of what this Jesus guy has done. There is an entirely different love that is taking place here.

The alien notices that in Roman society nothing seems to have changed. He notices that among the Jewish religious leaders of the day nothing much has changed. But there is this little band of outliers, this pocket of people who are…well…weird. Different from the others. Something has happened here. There was virtually NOBODY in the world like this before. And this little group is growing and spreading. This way of living is different than anything we’ve ever seen.

What has happened, asks the alien, and Paul sets him aside and says, “Jesus did this.

Ephesians 2:14 ESV

For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility

It’s Jesus. That’s the bond. That’s what is uniting these people. That’s what has transformed these Gentiles. That’s what has transformed these Jews.

Ephesians 2:18 ESV

For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

The good news of Jesus has changed everything. See how we love one another?

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Now our alien grabs his little time machine thing and fast forwards to 2022. Southwest Missouri.

What does he see?

He looks upon the world structures. Looks at the governments within the world. And what does he see? The same thing he saw in the world system in 700BC in 0AD in 45 AD in 1542 in 1973 and now today in 2022. Fighting, war, hatred, strife, enmity. Bitterness. Anger. Selfishness. Pride.

He reads the newspaper and what does he see? He sees a leader invading a country, killing civilians, he sees millions of displaced children. And he sees how people are arguing about this action. He sees a flood of misinformation and how suddenly some people are making the guy who invaded the country a hero. A hero!!!! This alien is baffled by how truth seems to matter even less than it did thousands of years ago.

And then he turns and he looks at a group of people who have taken upon themselves a name that sounds really familiar. Jesus.

That’s the guy from all those years ago. And when people in 45 AD were talking about this Jesus guy....oh man, he changed everything.

What does he see?

Last Thursday we had an opportunity, myself and some on our Acts 1:8 missions team to meet with a guy named Ryan Burton King. But let me rewind just a little bit.

We met together—Acts 1:8 a couple weeks ago and we talked about that situation in Ukraine. Our hearts just breaking. But not knowing what to do. We expressed really wishing we could help with the displaced children, so many orphans, the orphanages that have just been emptied. We prayed that God would open up doors for us.

Next morning I’m scrolling through social media and notice a friend…I say friend…I honestly don’t know the guy. Online friends. Not even sure why I’m following him or he is following me. That’s not incredibly uncommon…my online and writing ministry has kind of created that kind of thing. But I notice that he’s talking about doing something in Ukraine. He’s a pastor in London and his wife is Ukranian. He’s got his foot in the door here somehow.

So I reached out and said, “if our church is wanting to do something specific to help in Ukraine where would we look to find opportunities.”

He shared a little about some of the bigger organizations that are helping and how he was working with a couple of churches on the ground. He said this:

Bigger charities are getting much by way of donations which is great at a macro level, but at a micro level local churches and Christian workers are having to figure out how to financially support displaced family and church members, plus care for their communities, many of which already had a "hand to mouth" existence reliant on "daily bread". There is a pastor I know and trust, who is doing terrific church planting and training work from Kyiv who has requested support. Unfortunately we are operating, even with additional appeals, beyond capacity at the moment. Instead of turning him down though, I am looking for a church who would be willing to partner with him and his church. Would this be of interest to you? If so, I'd be happy to connect you for more info.

So we connected.

And it was only a few moments before my message to him that he had reached out to this Ukranian pastor who had requested support. Ryan had to turn him down but said, “I’ll pray that God will connect someone to you.”

That pastor’s name is Nikolay. And Ryan shared with us this video:

Ephesians 2:4–7 ESV

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Show the immeasurable riches of his grace....

If we want our alien friend to see the amazing love of Jesus and the work of Christ...If he is dropped into 2022 SWMO...

When God answers prayers of a pastor in London, answers the prayer of our missions team, and connects us to very tangible help.

What does the church do?

I know what you do. I know how if you are in Christ your heart is bubbling. Your spiritual gifts are getting little sparks and jolts. “I can pray. I can give. I can organize. I can encourage. I can write.”

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Listen, I don’t want to frame this like the only fitting response for a believer is to do X. Or say, if you don’t feel compelled to partner with Nickolay you must not know Jesus. No, that’s borderline abusive. That could be incredibly manipulative.

But what I am saying is that the gospel DOES do something in our hearts. And there are things that the world system does. If we view this type of stuff through a primarily party lens…through a governmental lens…through a national lens…that’s not what the gospel does.

The gospel…that gospel that was changing everything in 45 AD and having a Jew sit down with a Gentile…what that gospel did is it created a bond that said, “a believer in Ukraine has more of a bond with a believer in the US, or Canada, or France, or Russia than a believer has with an unbeliever in his own country.” Our primary citizenship is in heaven and we MUST view the world through this lens.

Jesus have this...