This morning we're going to continue on with the book of Ephesians. So you can turn to Ephesians chapter 2. I'm going to complete chapter 2 this morning. Ephesians chapter 2, we're going to cover verses 11 through 22. Ephesians chapter 2, 11 through 22. Why don't we stand for the reading of God's word, and then we'll go over this passage. Paul says, therefore remember that you, talking about the Ephesians, once Gentiles in the flesh who are called uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision made in the flesh by hands, talking about the Jews, 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. 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 both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in his flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that he might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and to those who were near. For through him we both have access by one spirit to the Father. Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone in whom the whole building being fitted together grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. May the Lord bless the reading of his word. Let's bow our heads and we'll pray. Father, we thank you and praise you for this time that we have in your scriptures this morning. I pray that you help me to declare that which you've given me to put forth. May these passages, these verses be understandable to the hearers, And Lord, may it cause them to have a better understanding of you and your ways and therefore be more useful for you here in the earth. Lord, be glorified in the preaching of your word, I ask and pray in Jesus' holy name. Amen. You can be seated. In this passage here, Paul makes clear that there is a new vehicle in the earth through which the Lord makes himself known to the peoples of the earth. That vehicle is the church. It is made up of both Jews and Gentiles. Now, you may recall back in my sermon on chapter 1, the very first sermon I did out of this book called Ephesians, Paul had already alluded to speaking about this in chapter 1. I pointed this out back in chapter 1, verse 4. Look at it there. just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, talking about Paul talking about himself in the Ephesians, just as he chose us in him, talking about all those who would repent and believe in Christ. Scholars I've read point out that this is an allusion to where Paul is headed in chapter 2, where we're at now, because the Greek verb used for chose, here in verse 4, is the common one employed in the Subtuagent in connection with God's choice of Israel, natural, racial, geographical Israel. The Subtuagent, of course, is the Old Testament written in Greek. And so, in the Subtuagent, the same verb is used regarding the Jews of old, regarding natural, racial, geographical Israel, is now applied to Christians, to those who make up the church. to all those who repent and believe in Christ, they are now chosen of God. Hence, it's an allusion to something which Paul will describe in detail in chapter 2, where we're at now, namely, that they are the chosen people of God. These Gentiles at Ephesus who have believed in Christ are the chosen people of God. No longer is it natural, racial, geographical Israel, as he will lay out clearly here in chapter 2. Now it is all those who believe in Jesus, whether Jew or Gentile. And we saw in chapter 1, in my first sermon, that Paul further built upon this illusion throughout chapter 1 to where he was headed in chapter 2. For instance, in verse 6, look at it there, Paul calls them beloved, calls the Ephesians beloved, which is a term applied to Israel, and again is the same Greek word used in the Septuagint. regarding Israel in the Old Testament now applied to believers in Christ in the New Testament. Verses 9 and 10, we see that both Jews and Gentiles are brought together in one in Christ. And in verse 11, we see that that speaks of our inheritance. which was a term repeatedly applied in the past to natural Israel, is now made in reference to those who believe in Christ by Paul here in Ephesians chapter 1. So this had already been alluded to where he was headed in chapter 2. It had already been alluded to in chapter 1. And now here he is going to go into detail about the situation regarding Jews and Gentiles. So let's begin here in verse 11. Before we go through these verses, let's bring ourselves up to speed contextually. Paul has just reminded the Ephesians about God's rich mercy and great love in verse 4 of chapter 2. How the Lord has made them alive with Christ, verse 5. How they sit in heavenly places with Christ, verse 6. That in the ages to come, he would continue to show his kindness to them, verse 7. how they have been saved by grace through faith, verse 8, and that is kindness and grace of God is not based on their works, verse 9, and that they were created for good works to walk in them, verse 10. So now we get to verse 11 and 12, and he says, therefore, remember that once Gentiles in the flesh who are called uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision made in the flesh by hands. He's reminding the Ephesians that they have been circumcised in heart. They're not just merely circumcised in the flesh as the Jews of old were. Verse 12 says that at that time, talking about before they knew Christ, 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. Paul here is reminding the Ephesians of the condition they found themselves in prior to knowing Christ. They were not Jews. They were not part of the commonwealth of Israel. They weren't part of it racially or geographically, as was the paradigm of the Old Testament. So Paul says, you, speaking of the Ephesians and all Gentiles, were strangers from the covenants of promise having no hope and without God in the world. This was the condition of them prior to Christ and the new covenant. Verse 13 continues on, however, with the wonderful little three-letter conjunction called but. B-U-T. But now. But now, in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." Now, these terms, far off and near, were terms employed by the Jews themselves in their writings. They lived in Judea. They were Jews. Jerusalem was near to them. The Gentiles were not Jews. They did not live in Judea. They were far off from Jerusalem. The Jews used this terminology in their writings. They were the ones who were near. The Gentiles were far off, but here Paul tells the Ephesians, you who were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. I could do a whole sermon just on that phrase, by the blood of Christ, but I'm going to stick with the main point of this passage and work our way through it. They have been brought near through the blood of Christ. Remember when Christ's work was finished on the cross, the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom, showing that all men have access to the Father through Jesus. No longer would there be the blood of bulls and goats and lambs and that stuff. That was going to be stopped. That would be done away with. That would be abolished. It was judicially destroyed on that day when Christ died on the cross. The veil was opened up. written to by God himself to show that all men have access to him. All men. The veil itself, we know, was 60 feet tall in the temple there in Jerusalem. The fabric was so tough, the rabbis of that day said you could yoke 200 oxen on either end of it and drive them in opposite directions and the fabric could not be torn. So nobody came in with some hedge clippers and a stepladder and cut the veil in two. God himself rented in two, and it says from the top, 60 feet high, all the way to the bottom, showing that all men now have access to the Father, making it clear that the Old Testament sacrificial system was done away with, that it was traditionally destroyed on that day and would be physically destroyed in 70 AD. Verse 14 goes on and says, For he, talking about Christ, himself is our peace, who has made both one and has broken down the middle wall of separation. The first question we need to ask ourselves regarding verse 14 is who are the both who have been made one? The both who have both been made one are the Jews and the Gentiles. That's what's in purview here, clearly. the Jews and the Gentiles, and peace has been made between us through Christ. There is no longer a middle wall of separation. It has been broken down in Christ. We are all one in Christ. All, whether Jew or Gentile, relate with God the Father through Jesus Christ his Son. a new vehicle through which God makes himself known in the earth has been established. What's it called? The Church of Jesus Christ. The middle wall of separation probably refers to the balustrade, a fence or railing structure that separated the court of the Gentiles from the temple proper where only the Jews could go. Josephus himself wrote about this. He wrote about this balustrade He used the very same words in describing the balustrade as Paul uses here in Ephesians 2.14. On the fence or railing that was in the temple there in Jerusalem at that time were the words, an inscription, which bore these words, quote, no foreigner may enter within the barricade which surrounds the sanctuary and enclosure Anyone who is caught doing so will have himself to blame for his ensuing death. That's how strong the Jews were about the Gentiles being kept out of the temple proper. Of them being kept in what was known as the court of the Gentiles. It would be a death sentence for a Gentile to join with the Jews there in the temple in worship of the Lord. Remember in Acts chapter 21? In Acts chapter 21, Paul himself was accused of bringing a non-Jew, a foreigner, past the barricade. He was accused of bringing in a Gentile named Trophimus. And it says there in Acts chapter 21 that he was Trophimus the Ephesian. The epistle to the Ephesians was most likely penned subsequent to this occurrence where Paul was accused of bringing Trophimus into the temple proper. Hence, Paul assures the Ephesians in verse 19 here of Ephesians chapter 2. He assures them that now you are no longer foreigners. You are no longer strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. The middle wall or fence has been broken down in Christ. There is no longer Jew and Gentile, rather one new man. It's no longer God making himself known through racial, geographical Israel. He now makes himself known through the church, through all those, regardless of tongue or tribe or nation, who have bowed the knee to Christ and have believed in him. That's who he makes himself. through whom he makes himself known on the earth now. It's no longer Jews or Gentiles. Rather, one new man. Look what he goes on to say in verse 15. Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, that is the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in himself one new man from the two. Who are the two? The Jews and the Gentiles. Now there's one new man. It's the Christian. The Christian. It's the church of Jesus Christ. Thus making peace. Thus making peace. Having abolished what enmity is the question we need to ask of verse 15. It says he has abolished in his flesh the enmity. The enmity that is abolished through his death on the cross and the shedding of his blood, the resurrection, is the enmity between Jew and Gentile. An enmity that was seen repeatedly in history and is well documented by historians, the disdain between Jews and Gentiles towards each other. That enmity has been brought to an end. Peace has been made between these two groups through Christ. Why? Why? Because that which caused the enmity, the commandments, as it says there in verse 18, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, was abolished in Christ. We no longer relate with God through the ceremonial law, through the offering of blood of bulls and goats and a plethora of other things that were done which made that division between Jew and Gentile. The enmity that existed between Jews and Gentiles, you understand, even entered into the church of Jesus Christ and was addressed in numerous epistles by Paul. So strong was the enmity between Jew and Gentile. You look at the book of Acts and you see it written of, there in narrative form. You look at the book of Romans. And you see Paul having to address it repeatedly. The difference between Jew and Gentile. And to straighten things out in their minds in that regard. You look at the book of Galatians, he had to address it. Right? And even here in the book of Ephesians, he's addressing it. This was a problem getting them all to understand. All that old stuff, forget about it. We are brothers and sisters in Christ, whether Jew or Gentile. Christians have to become Israelites. They don't have to take on the customs and the handwriting of ordinances of the Jews. There's a new vehicle. A new wine. Jesus Himself spoke of that. How you can't put new wine into old wineskins. There's a new covenant. There is a new vehicle through whom he makes himself known in the earth. It's called the church. He does no longer do it through natural, racial, geographical Israel. They have been cut off. Christ has abolished the cause of the enmity, namely the ceremonial laws and customs of the Jews, not the moral law of God. Christ abolished or fulfilled the ceremonial laws. He also abolishes any use of the law, even the moral law of God, as a means for right-standing with God. That's abolished. Anyone who wants to use the moral law of God as a means for right-standing with God, you're believing something that's not right. Your only hope with right-standing with God is through Christ alone plus nothing. Now this is an important point. This point that what Paul was addressing here was the ceremonial laws. It was seen even with the incident regarding Trophimus, the Ephesian at the Jerusalem temple, that what was at stake was the ceremonial law and the customs of the Jews, not the moral law of God. Scholars I read point to the Greek to point out that this definitely had to do with the ceremonial law of God here and not with the moral law of God. And when you look back at Acts chapter 21, please turn there. We'll read verses 17 through 21. We see that what was at stake there was the ceremonial law and the customs of the Jews, not the moral law of God as many in American Christianity say that, oh, the moral law of God has been repudiated, has no place for man or the governance of men. Verse 17 of chapter 21 says, And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. On the following day, Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. When he had greeted them, he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and they said to him, You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law. But they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses. saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs. It was the ceremonial law. It was the customs of the Jews that was repudiated, not the moral law of God. When Christian men today refer to God's law as Moses, the law of Moses, they also are spurning the moral law of God, most of them. And that's false. That's wrong. What was at stake were the customs, was the ceremonial law. We know the moral law of God is nowhere in the New Testament abrogated. In fact, it is appealed to favorably by the New Testament writers scores of times. The only bespirchment of the moral law of God is when it is used as a means to obtain right standing with God. as we can only find right standing with God through Christ. So these ceremonial laws and customs of the Jews have been abolished through Christ to create one new man, the Christian man from the two Jews and Gentiles. Peace has been established between the two in Christ and through Christ. This is why Paul says in Galatians 3.28, There is neither Jew nor Gentile. And then he goes on to say, for you are all one in Christ. Galatians 3. 24. As Paul moves on here in our passage here in Ephesians 2, in verse 16 he summarizes what he's already said. He says, and that he might reconcile them both, Jew and Gentile, to God in one body. The body of Christ. The church. through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity that existed between these two groups, the Jews and the Gentiles. It's done away with in Christ. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off. Here, Paul employs those terms again, which the Jews regularly used in their writings regarding themselves and the Gentiles. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. for through him we both, Jew and Gentile, have access by one Spirit to the Father. Now, now, verse 19, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. And in verse 20, 21 and 22, he makes clear the new vehicle through which God makes himself known in the earth. That it's the church. The church which is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. That's what he says regarding the household of God. Verse 20, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Something the Jews would spurn. The apostles have nothing to do with their idea of the household of God. There's a new vehicle, it's called the church, through whom God makes himself known in the earth. Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, the very stone that the Jews were stumbling at, Paul wrote about in Romans. In whom the whole building being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit." This is the church of Jesus Christ that he's talking about here. Remember, Paul already made this clear in chapter 1 of Ephesians. That the church is the vehicle through whom God makes himself known to the men of the earth. Look at verse 15 to 22. Verse 15 to 22 of chapter 1, Paul said there, Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation and the knowledge of him, talking about Christ, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. And what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe? According to the working of his mighty power, which he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And he put all things under his, Jesus' feet and gave him to be the head over all things to the church." The church is what the people of God consist of today. All those who repent and believe in Christ are the chosen people of God, as Paul says in verse 4 of chapter 1. Which is his body, verse 23, The fullness of Him who fills all in all. So he makes clear it's the church in chapter 1. He makes it clear here at the end of chapter 2 it's the church. And he goes on to again make clear that it's the church through whom he makes himself known. That the church consists of the chosen people of God. Not natural, racial, geographical Israel. Now some of you might be wondering, why are you harping on this point? because we have an American Christianity which ad nauseum goes on and on about how Israel is God's chosen people. I hear it over and over again how we need to always support Israel, honor and bless Israel so that we will be honored and blessed by God. It's like a form of Marianism. where we book Mary in the place of Jesus Christ like the Catholics do, that's what evangelicals have done with Israel. And then they have the audacity to call you a heretic and a promoter of replacement theology, unknown to most men who say the words, what it even means, to try to demonize you to other Christians. Paul makes it clear the church consists of the chosen people of God. All those who repent and believe in Jesus, whether Jew or Gentile, that the church is the vehicle through which God makes himself known in the earth. He brings it up again in chapter 3, as I was mentioning. Chapter 1, chapter 2. In chapter 3, look at verse 1 of chapter 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 and 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. It's not just Jews. who make up the church of Jesus Christ. It's Jews and Gentiles. And the Jewish believers, even the Jewish believers, many of them had a tough time accepting that because of the enmity that had existed for generations between Jew and Gentile. Paul had to address it over and over again in his epistles precisely because that old enmity was even brought into the church. And he's addressing it here in detail In this passage we're looking at now, 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. Why is he even saying this type of stuff? Because there were Jewish believers that thought it was crazy that he was preaching to the Gentiles. He had to affirm this over and over again in his epistles, that he was an apostle to the Gentiles. Verse 9, "...and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God and created all things through Jesus Christ." It's in verse 10 now, "...to the intent that now The manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church. Amen? What is the vehicle through which God makes himself known in the earth? It's the church, which consists of those who have repented and believed in Christ, whether Jew or Gentile. It is not racial, geographical Israel. We do not have to bless that nation sitting in the Middle East called Israel in order for God to bless us. We do not have to honor them and give them a pass on all the evil they do in order for us to be blessed of God. We are blessed of God directly because of our relationship to Him through Christ. Through Christ, plus nothing. Verse 11, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. Amen? The church is part of His eternal purpose. We are the vehicle through which He makes Himself known to all the peoples of the earth. Do you see how important our role and function is in the earth? Do you know there's peoples in the earth today who have still never heard the name of Jesus Christ. That's a blot on our face. That that occurs with the money we have in this country, the riches we have, the freedoms we have, the ability to travel that we have, and there's still peoples on the earth who have never heard the name of Jesus Christ. That is astonishing. But that is the function and purpose is to point men to Christ, to declare His law and word to men. It's His eternal purpose, which He purposed in Christ Jesus. That's pretty big, right? Pretty big. One of the problems we have in missions work today, it's a huge problem. Missionaries and quasi-missionaries, all pile up on each other in the same geographical areas, living pretty nice lives, a lot of them. Meanwhile, there's whole people groups who have never heard the name of Christ. Perhaps God would have one of you go to them. This is the vehicle through which God manifests himself, the Church. Not Israel. Not Israel. Again, this is why Paul says in Galatians 3.28, there is neither Jew nor Gentile, for you are all one in Christ. This is why Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1.20, for all the promises of God in him are yes, and in him, amen, to the glory of God through us. The church is the vehicle. That's why we call it a new covenant. That's why Jesus spoke about new wine. There was going to be a paradigm shift. No longer would it be this one country called Israel sitting in one geographical spot to which all the peoples of the earth would hopefully be one to the Lord. They had failed in their mission, in their rebellion against the Lord. He cut them off in their rebellion. And he set up a new paradigm. And the new paradigm is, rather than all the peoples of the earth coming to or noticing one geographical nation, now he has people in every nation who have repented and believed in him. And he makes himself known. And we aren't to stay in one spot. We are to go out. That's what Jesus said. Go out. Not build a church and tell them all to come in He said, go out and declare his word to them. This current fanaticism that says the Jews or Israel are the chosen people of God, some of it even borders on idolatry. The chosen people of God are all those who believe in Christ, whether Jew or Gentile, not natural racial Israelites. Look what it says right here in Ephesians 1.4. Who are the chosen? It's those who believe in Christ. It's not racial, geographical Israelites. The chosen people of God are all those who repent and believe in Jesus. And this is the testimony throughout New Testament Scripture. Go to Colossians 3.12. as the elect of God, or to put it in its most rudimentary form, as the chosen people of God, which some translations render it that way. That's who the elect are, chosen of God. Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved," there's that word, holy and beloved, terms which were applied to Old Testament Israel being applied to Christians now, "...put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering." You look at 1 Peter 2. Turn there. 1 Peter 2. Verses 9 and 10. Peter says, but you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light, who once were not a people, but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy." Who's he talking about here, contextually? Verse 7, Therefore, to you who believe, All those who believe in Christ are the chosen people of God, whether Jew or Gentile. They are the chosen generation. They're the royal priesthood, a holy nation. This is all terms that have been applied to Old Testament natural racial Israel. Mark this down. Exodus 19, verses 5 and 6. Exodus 19, verses 5 and 6. Peter's taking what was said of them and is applying it to the church. Why? Because the church is the vehicle through whom God makes himself known in the earth. Because those who make up the church are the chosen people of God. Israel is not the chosen people of God. Understand what I'm saying? And we could go on and on and on and on in the New Testament pointing this out. Natural racial Israelites are not the people of God. We, all those of us who believe in Christ Jesus, whether Jew or Gentile, are the people of God, not Israel. Let's just look at a few more on this, regarding who's the people of God. Look at Romans chapter 9, verse 22. Romans chapter 9, verse 22. What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, Endured with much long-suffering, the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy which he had prepared beforehand for glory. Even us whom he called, look what Paul says, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles. And once he brings up the Gentiles, look what he goes on to say. And he says also in Hosea, the same thing we just saw Peter quoting. Here's Paul quoting, The people of God are all those who repent and believe in Jesus, whether Jew or Gentile. Look at 2 Corinthians 6. 2 Corinthians 6 verse 16. And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. Who's a temple of the living God? The believers in Christ are the temple of the living God. As God has said, I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God. and they shall be my people." The New Testament repeatedly refers to Christians as the people of God. To believers as the people of God. It is not the Israelites. It is not natural, racial Israel. We can look at other verses. I'll show you one more. Titus chapter 2, verses 11-14. Let's turn there. Titus 2, 11-14, For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for himself his own special people, zealous for good works. Amen. The people of God consists of all those who believe in Jesus Christ. We have been brought near. We are no longer strangers. We're no longer foreigners. We are the household of God. all those who believe in Christ, whether Jew or Gentile. Amen? And this is no small thing. As the ones through whom he makes himself known in the earth, do you see how important your mission is? That you should not be silent. That you must tell others of him. That as his ambassadors, as Paul calls us in Corinthians, his ambassadors, you must make known his law and his great salvation. to the peoples of the nations as well as the magistrates of the nations. We should not squander our days or squander our lives in quietness, afraid to speak to others about the Lord and the things of Him. We must speak and we must point them unto Christ His Son. Amen. I have a song that we can listen to that was sung by the Talbot brothers about 300 years ago. I'm just kidding. It was written and sung 30 years ago, but sometimes it feels like 300 years ago. And it's actually a song found out of Ephesians chapter 2. So why don't you go ahead and play that then, Brian. And then we'll close in prayer after that. Was you a stranger to the kind that passed on by? Born without hope, grew without God We have now been brought near No longer strangers No longer aliens Now we are citizens Kingdom of God Is He who is our King He is our Lord To break down the barrier of hostility and terrors in this world To Jesus draw near to the kingdom of God No longer No longer aliens, now we are citizens with the saints in the kingdom of God. No longer strangers No longer aliens Now we are citizens We're the saints In the kingdom of God. No longer strangers to the covenant, the promise of God Are we good to go back here with me? Or on here? Okay, good. When the apostles talking about you who are far off have been brought near, he wasn't talking about what the Jews were talking about. He wasn't talking about physical Jerusalem there in Judea. You understand that, right? That wasn't what he was talking about. We know that from Scripture. Turn with me to Hebrews 12. Hebrews 12. Starting in verse 18. For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire into blackness and darkness and tempest and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. He's talking about the old covenant. For they could not endure what was commanded, and if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow. And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, I am exceedingly afraid and trembling. And then look what the writer of the Hebrews says in verse 22. But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn." When Paul was talking about you are far off and have been brought near, he wasn't talking about the temple there in Jerusalem. He was talking about the new, heavenly Jerusalem. Amen? He's talking about the new covenant. He's talking about the church. of Jesus Christ. Understand? Racial, geographical Israel is not the people of God. They are not the chosen of God. All those who repent and believe in Christ, whether Jew or Gentile, are the chosen people of God. That is the clear teaching of Holy Scripture. Let's stand up and we'll close in a word of prayer. Father, we give thanks and praise to you for this time that we had in your Scriptures this day. I ask that you would use what was preached here for good in the hearts and minds of those gathered. That they would see that bad theology in any area entangles so many other areas, O God. Lord, may we see from Scripture the falseness of such an assertion, and may we instruct other men in its falseness. God, I ask and pray that we would be true to You, that we would follow after You, that we would love You, and that we would make You known in the earth as You've put our hands to do. We thank You that You have redeemed us, that You brought us out of our sin and blindness made us new creatures. May we not waste our days. Lord, guide us and lead us in how best our lives can be used to the glory of your name. And I ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. You can be seated. We're going to take communion at this time. You can feel free to take communion with us as long as you're a Christian. If you're not a Christian, we ask that you not take communion. This time at the Lord's table is only for believers to observe. And we do observe the Lord's table here at Mercy Seek Christian Church each week that we gather because it was the tradition of the church to do so. It was the pattern laid out by the early church. And we follow in that history, that pattern. We also do it because we need to be reminded of God's great salvation. Thank you. This time at his table reminds us yet again that our only approach to the Father is through Christ alone because there's only two elements at his table, the bread representing his body and the fruit of the vine representing his blood. Absolutely nothing else at the table, which means it's through Christ alone whereby God accepts us. Praise his holy name. The Apostle Paul wrote of the Lord's table in 1 Corinthians 11. He said in verse 23, For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, Take, eat. This is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same manner, he also took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood. This do as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. Or as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till he comes. Now, Paul was writing here because there had been trouble regarding the Lord's table at the church in Corinth. Paul nowhere says to them, oh, you shouldn't be observing communion. No, it's an accepted fact that this was the right thing to do. To every week they met, they observed the Lord's table. We know that historically. Every single week. the Lord's Table was observed. And Paul was addressing some abuses of the Lord's Table regarding the church at Corinth. And if he, like many of the churches today, wanted to put aside the Lord's Table, he could have done it right then and there and said, this is preposterous that you're doing this every week. Why are you doing this? This is crazy. No, he affirms them and what they're doing and tries to correct the abuses in which they're participating in regarding the Lord's table. It is good for us to observe the Lord's table first and foremost because it reminds us that it's through Christ alone whereby God accepts us and that's important for us to remember. The reason it's important for us to remember is because Man in all his religiosity, it's so easy for us to think that it's Jesus plus something I've done that gives me right standing with God. And that's a lie. It's a lie. You can only meet with God through Christ. Always only. Plus nothing. The soul means whereby God will meet with you is only through his Son. If you've sinned, you need to confess your sin. The Scriptures say he's faithful and just to forgive you. He isn't going to forgive you because you feel blue about your sins for a week or two. He'll only forgive you because of what Christ did when he died on the cross. If you've been doing really good and you're thinking, oh yeah, you know, there's something. You need to put aside your pride and arrogance, humble yourself, and approach God simply through Christ. Because that's the sole means whereby you can meet with him. Always, ever, is through Jesus. And this time at his table reminds us of that important fact. If you try to relate with God on the basis of your goodness, at some point, you will fall. And you'll be finding yourself exactly what Paul described in Galatians 3. The curse of the law. You'll be frustrated. And you'll frustrate the grace of God. You need to approach God always only through the means which He has provided, which is through His Son, Jesus. And then you'll experience fellowship with Him. You actually feel His presence right inside your body. I know some of you have never felt God's presence in your body. That's an abnormal Christian experience. When you know Christ, you will experience fellowship with Him. You will feel His presence. You will taste it. You will experience it. That is a bona fide fact. I remember years ago when I was a young Christian, There would be times where I'd approach God, and I'd say, Father, I come before you through faith in Jesus, but that's what I'd say with my mouth. But in my mind, I was thinking, how good have I been? And I was really relating my acceptance with Him based on my goodness, not simply on the perpetuatory substitutionary work of Christ. And I would feel like I didn't experience God's presence. And I remember I went through this a number of weeks and I thought, what is happening? Why aren't I feeling those things anymore? And I remember I read all kinds of works by Christians, you know, trying to figure it out. People said, God's testing your faith to see if you'll still believe in him even though you don't experience his presence. And I had, you know, in good evangelical fashion, evangelicals pointing me out to mystics like Madame Gayo and others. And she didn't feel God's presence for seven years, she wrote. I remember I closed the book and I put it down and I thought to myself, God, if I don't feel your presence for seven years, I don't know if I'll continue on with you. But see, that's all crazy. God never intended you not to be in communion with him. He never intended you not to experience his fellowship. And when I put all my goodness aside and all this nonsense, and simply approach through the means which He has provided, which is Christ plus nothing. I always experience fellowship with Him. Always. Always. Should I say that one more time? Always. It's true. I don't know what you guys are thinking. Some of you are looking at me kind of funny, but it's true. And that's how you need to approach the Father, is through Christ plus nothing. God meets with you. You experience His presence. He supplies you with His Spirit. The Spirit is the one who enables you to live a Christian life. You can't do it in your own strength. It's an impossibility. It's totally impossible. So this is a very important point to understand how you're accepted of God. Remember what Paul said in Galatians at the end of chapter 2? He says, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. In the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God. For if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain. You cannot relate with the Father on the basis of anything you do. Anything, any little standard you concoct, if you think you pray in a certain fashion or sing a certain fuzzy song, anything you do to try to meet with God, you're saying Christ died in vain. We can only meet with the Father based on the grace that is found in Jesus. Always only. And I want to encourage you in that. The accuser of the brethren wants you to feel bad when you sin or you haven't been doing good or you maybe mistreated a brother or sister. His whole goal is to drive you away from God. He wants you to think you're never going to be good. But his whole goal is to drive you away from God and that's the worst thing you can do. You need to fall on your face before him and cry out to him. Acknowledge your sin. Ask for his forgiveness and get up and walk and continue to live for him. It's very important. I know people who didn't understand this little point that I'm ad nauseumly going over with you right now. Who walked away from following Christ precisely because they didn't understand this. And they became so frustrated. You must always only relate with the Father on the basis of faith in Christ. You'll then experience His presence, His fellowship. Amen? And it's real. If you're a young person, or even an old person, because there's old people who don't know Christ who go to church every Sunday, and you're like, what's this guy talking about? This is freaky. You need to understand you can know God. You can know Him. Literally feel His presence inside your body. Amen? And He's made clear in His Word how you come into that position of right standing with Him. That it's through Jesus. That's why Jesus died on the cross. He took upon Himself the sins of all men. So that if a man will believe in Him, God will forgive him of his sin and he can have right standing with God. That's why Jesus died on the cross. to take upon himself your sins, you should have been killed for your sins. He died in your place. So that if you believe in him, you won't have to spend eternity in hell. You can actually be in right relationship with God and spend eternity in heaven. That's pretty awesome stuff when you think about it. God sending his own son for us in that regard. Let's bow our heads and we'll pray. Lord, we give thanks and praise to you for this time that we have at your table. I ask that you would use it for good in each one's heart and mind. That we would understand the unsearchable riches of Christ as Paul describes them. Better, O Lord. Father, we do pray for any amongst us who may not know you. We ask that your Holy Spirit would convict them of sin, righteousness, and judgment. That they would see their need for your Son, Jesus Christ. That they would taste your holiness and your love. That they'd be translated out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of your dear Son, regenerated by the power of your Holy Spirit. Hallelujah, Lord. Lord, for any who are enthralled with this world, find church boring, and the world exciting and interesting. Lord, I just ask and pray that they would see the vanity of this present evil age, that they would draw close to you, that they would know you, and that their lives would count in the earth. Short as our lives are, Lord, as many days as we squander and fritter away, Lord, continue to build your kingdom in our lives, that we might bring glory to your name here in the earth. with the days we have left. And we ask these things in Christ Jesus' holy name. Amen. Let's partake together. Hallelujah. Praise His holy name. Amen. Stand up while closing a word of prayer. Father, we rejoice in You and give thanks and praise to You. I ask that Your hand be upon each one gathered here together today. I pray that this week they would stop somewhere along their busy routine and ponder what was said here this day. Lord, I ask and pray that they would stop along their busy routine and draw close to You. Seek Your face. May each of us do it as individuals. Lord, may each home conduct family worship within it. We might gather together as families to talk about the things of you, to be instructed in the faith. Lord, I ask and pray that you would continue to be glorified through each one here and through our congregation here in the earth. And Lord, may we be faithful and true to you in these dark days. And I ask this in Jesus' holy name. Amen. God bless you.