Creating a Great Nation

Ephesians 2:11-22

Main Point - There was one two types of humans - Jews and Gentiles that was the focus throughout the OT from the Time of Adam and Eve - chosen, blessed or lost, condemned. Christ by His blood reconciled the two into ONE. A new people with different spiritual focus; dead and now alive in Christ forming a new nation - CHRISTIAN. Fellowship and Foundation all connected to the Cornerstone, the foundation of Christ through the Spirit.

What makes a man great? It’s not how much money he has, but what contributions he has made to his people and community, to society. It’s about his generosity. It’s about his ideas, how he changed the world with them, how he made a difference, how he treats his people who need him at some point in time and many more. So, since a nation is nothing more than a collection of people living within a set of physical borders, we can measure the greatness of a nation in the same way. By the contributions, they have done to their people, to the world, to mankind. And by their generosity, how their ideas have benefited the human race, how a nation treats its poorest and weakest people who deserve and expect good support from their nation. And like these, there are so many factors which contribute to creating a great nation.

The New King James Version Chapter 2

Brought Near by His Blood

11 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called uthe Circumcision made in the flesh by hands—12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Christ Our Peace

14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one vnew man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might wreconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby xputting to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 18 For ythrough Him we both have access zby one Spirit to the Father.

Christ Our Cornerstone

19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been abuilt bon the foundation of the capostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being dthe chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into ea holy temple in the Lord, 22 fin whom you also are being built together for a gdwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Ephesians - Week 7 - Creating a Great Nation

Christ joined the Jews and the Gentile by His Blood, offering citizenship into a New Nation; a New Humanity. We miss this so often today in our battle of our own identity. We must be Christ Followers First in all things.

Custom

Welcome to Horizon Church

We exist to Glorify God by Growing Others in Christ

We believe that we cannot be Sunday Christians We are loved by Him We believe that knowing Jesus is the solution for all the world problems We believe that we must know that Jesus did so we can answer WWJD We believe you must commit to Jesus and LORD AND SAVIOR We believe that you come to move closer to Him – Sunday is the teaching, Monday- Friday you do the Pondering We teach for you to PAUSE, PRAY, PONDER and then PROCEED, and PRAISE We believe that knowing the LOVE, MERCY, and COMMANDS of CHRIST will CHANGE YOU.

Today we OPEN OUR BIBLES and NOTEBOOKS TO

Ephesians 3 “For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles—if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power. To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created …”

1 Series Mission:

To understand

Our God-Given Position

so we PROGRESS in living right in all ways

God promises us Protection and supplies the means for that Protection

All to Achieve His Purpose

Pastor Thomas

Application

What makes a man great?

we need to look at the pieces in order to understand the whole

It’s not how much money he has,

but what contributions he has made to his people and community, to society.

It’s about his generosity.

It’s about his ideas, how he changed the world with them,

how he made a difference,

how he treats his people who need him at some point in time and many more.

So, since a nation is nothing more than a collection of people living within a set of physical borders,

we can measure the greatness of a nationin the same way.

By the contributions, they have done to their people, to the world, to mankind.

And by their generosity,

how their ideas have benefited the human race,

how a nation treats its poorest and weakest people who deserve and expect good support from their nation.

Quote

Today's Mission:

Christ joined the Jews and the Gentile by His Blood, offering citizenship into a New Nation; a New Humanity. We miss this so often today in the battle of our own identity.

We must be Christ Followers First in all things.

Pastor Thomas

Application

A great nation recognizes the individual above every other creature or organization.

Groups of individuals (e.g. corporations or governments) rank below the individual.

The government's sole purpose is to protect the individual from force, fraud, and any disaster.

A nation where people are free to trade for their mutual benefit is a great nation.

In such a nation, people happily serve one another.

To build a great nation,

We must have a vision of what our nation would look like even before we start building it.

A Great nation doesn’t build in a day.

It takes years, decades and generations even,

but if we have a clear vision of what we want,

we can build on the foundations laid by others

and pass on the baton to the next generation when our time has expired.

Application

today we celebrate the Sacrifice of Christ to Reconcile and Join together a new nation

The Church

Our text today is Totally about the forming of a NEW Nation

not Jew or Gentile but CHRISTIAN

About centering the reason for life from self, or nation to CHRIST and HIS CHURCH

Application

the United States -- united individual states under the constitution

we have courts and legal systems to ensure that we interpret the constitution with the Goal of UNIFICATION

There is likely an argument that this is a lot of our problem in our Country and our church today

People or groups seeking to bend the constitution to their ways for selfish means We are losing the focus on GOD -- on GOD's Word -- On asking God first and seeking HIS truth and direction

We need a TRUTH, SPIRITUAL, Recentering RIVIAL

We can make a difference. We act like a CHRIST FOLLOWER -- A citizen of Heaven first

Quote

We must be Christian First in All Things

Pastor Thomas

2

His Blood Unifies

Bible Passage

Ephesians 2:11-12 (ESV - English Standard Version)

11Therefore 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—

12remember 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.

Application

If we look at the address in this verse it it to YOU GENTILES

and i would suggest we make a duality in our message today

Jew and Gentile -- is the context

Believer and Unbeliever is the application

Application

When we talk about coming to Christ

we draw the diagram of Separation

and Paul tells us it is more then that

it is ALIENATION

Separate is apart

but alienation is willful separation ----

Illustration

We can be outside of a city or a nation and separate

but alienation is the fact we are NOT ALLOWED to enter.

That is the context here...

Jews were IN and Gentiles were out and limited access

Application

Paul goes on to clarify and refers to the practice of uncircumcised and circumcised

this is a culture reference to the time of Christ

the "uncircumcised" were the UNBLESSED, the LOST, Having NO God but themselves

The JEWs were under a promise ---- Remember the Promise (or Convenant of Abraham) in Genesis 1What were the three main promises in the Abrahamic covenant?

The covenant between Abraham and God consisted of three separate parts:

the promised land. the promise of the descendants. the promise of blessing and redemption.

The Jews were special --- SET APART

This was the CHANGE that CHRIST ushered in

no more SPECIAL

God gave them the LAND

God gave them the DESCENDANTS

and at the CROSS HE gave the blessing and the REDEMPTION

The BLOOD OF CHRIST RECONCILED

The BLOOD OF CHRIST Brought a New Nation

Focused and Glorifying HIM

Jews had to stop thinking Jewish

and GENTILES had to stop thinking Alienation

3

Christ Our Peace

Bible Passage

Ephesians 2:14-18 (ESV - English Standard Version)

14For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility

15by 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,

16and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

17And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.

18For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

Application

Christ came and Paid the Price to Purchase a NEW NATION

He removed the WALL

Paul sets out to establish a theological basis for unity among Christians.

He has established that salvation is dependent on Christ and not works (2:1–10),

so all people come to Jesus in the same manner.

By reminding the Ephesians of this, Paul articulates an argument that will be foundational for his later exhortation for a unified church (4:1–6).

He explains that Jesus has brought Jews and gentiles together because they both are dependent on Christ for salvation.

Since they are unified in salvation (2:14–18),

they are also unified in one body/temple of the Lord (2:19–22).

He wants the Ephesians to remember this foundational truth (2:11–13),

as it will be the basis on which his later instructions hinge.

Illustration

In 19 B.C., when Herod the Great began his most ambitious building project to rebuild the Temple to YHWH, he wanted everything done on a grand scale.

The Temple enclosure that he built was the largest religious structure in the world at that time by two and a half times.

It was 1200′ long North to South, and 900′ wide East to West and the Temple itself was fifteen stories tall.

The Temple grounds consisted of five different courts; the Gentile Court, Court of Women, Israelite Court, Priest’s Court, and the Holy of Holies.

By far the largest of the courts was the Gentile Court.

there was actually a Sign that was found by archelogist that state -- DO NOT allow a GENTILE TO ENTER ON FEAR OF DEATH

The Gentile Court was 1200′in length and surrounded the entire Temple area.

It was paved with marble and was surrounded by colonnades on all four sides.

This court was the Jew’s way of responding to the Prophet Isaiah’s decree five hundreds years previous, in Isaiah 56:3-7,

that all the nations of the world would come to Jerusalem to worship YHWH and that his House would be called a House of Prayer for all the nations.

It was not called the Gentile court because Jews didn’t go there,

but because this was as far as the Gentiles could go in the Temple enclosure to worship the Jewish God.

Application

Christ removed that WALL

all come to GOD

the Holy of Holy was NOW INSIDE a BELIEVER

God through CHRIST -- Placed HIMSELF in the HOLY SPIRIT inside of every TRUE Believer

NOTE: Calling yourself a Christian -- because you said a prayer and GO to church when convenient does not make you a Christian

Living IN CHRIST, FOR CHRIST and BY CHRIST -- Makes a Christian

You come to church, you belong to a local BODY to

GLORIFY GOD by GROWING yourself and OTHERS in CHRIST

Application

Christ fulfilled the LAW

he brought the HOLY into YOU

no more do you have to follow STRICT guidelines to EARN Salvation

You have SALVATION -- YOU have NO Separation because of CHRIST and the CROSS

Application

Christ came and preached PEACE

Christ came and PROCLAIMED that He was the GOSPEL

the reconcilation for ALL TIMES

no more separation in the Temple

no more sacrifices to cleanse

no more Chief PRIEST entering the HOLY OF HOLIES

but CHRIST IN US

giving us access to GOD

Viewed by God as HIS PEOPLE unified by the Work of Christ and the WORKING Daily of the HOLY SPIRIT

its hard for us to understand the world prior to CHRIST and probably the EARLY CHURCH

we live in a nation of churches, and denomination

a world where we think we chose the church and the belief system

RATHER than allowing GOD to plant us and staying FIRM to HIS world

not be entertainment value but BY growth desire

BE AT A CHURCH COMMITTED TO GROWING YOU

this church desires to be the gasoline on your flame of the Holy Spirit inside of you.

4

Christ the Cornerstone

Bible Passage

Ephesians 2:19-22 (ESV - English Standard Version)

19So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,

20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,

21in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

22In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Illustration

Many times in our Church and interactions with other Believers we address each other as Brother and Sister

DO NOT TAKE THIS LIGHTLY

You are of a FAMILY of CHRIST

He is the Head -- the Father

We are His Children --- we are brothers and Sisters.

Fellow Citizens of a TRULY GREAT NATION

our coming to CHRIST was the INDEPENDENCE DAY

YES we should celebrate

Gather weekly the COOKOUT of the WORD

Turn up the Speakers with GLORIFYING MUSIC

and gather to watch the FIREWORKS of the HOLY SPIRIT in each of US.

Application

That CORNERSTONE is the foundation

it sets the build

it dictates direction

get the cornerstone wrong and your house is not right

Jesus is the foundation and the direction in a Christians life

it is important to submit to Jesus and not allow our personal desires to overtake our actions

Application

in the last few weeks

we have been teaching of our position

and the Foundation of Grace

not by our works - so that we do not boast

Paul follows this with our teaching today

Quote

We are Christian First

We are Christ Followers above all earthly things

We are His and part of the Greatest Nation of ALL Times

We are Christian of the Nation of CHRIST

Pastor Thomas

Application

i want to take a moment this morning as we close and ask the Elders to come forward

Donald and Amaya

sending and blessing them in their NEW Calling

5

Conclusion

Application

Next week we will learn about Equality of the Spirit and the great mystery of the Gospel

lets sing and close in prayer

The Bible Reader’s Companion Luke 20

Christ the Cornerstone (20:17–18). The “cornerstone” was either the key stone in the foundation, on which a structure rests, or the key stone in an arch, which binds the structure together. Each image beautifully reflects the role of Christ in God’s plan of salvation. Everything rests on Him, and He holds all things together. Those who launch themselves against this stone will be crushed, along with all their hopes.

This is a picture of one cornerstone it is a great illustration of the jews and gentiles coming together, joined together and only functioning as one because of the cornerstone or capstone. Individual blocks, refined, to come together into a new creation.