Transcription downloaded from https://yetanothersermon.host/_/lw/sermons/21370/together-in-unity/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] Okay, if you got your Bible, go to Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians chapter 2 is where we'll be this evening, and we're going to continue in our Together series that we started two weeks ago.

[0:39] First of all, I'm not sure that they're here tonight. If they are, I haven't seen you, but Joe and Tara did just a fantastic job last week sharing about WorldShare. In fact, I was warned that Joe is such a good speaker that I need to watch myself, that I could very easily be replaced. So they did just a great job, and I was so thankful for you to be able to hear their heart and to hear about their ministry and what a blessing it is to be able to partner with them. So back this week, and we're continuing, and really what's just a mini-series, we're going to spend a few weeks on this theme of togetherness. Two weeks ago, we talked about together as his body, what it means, why the body of Christ is so important, that we are people that have been bought by the blood of Christ, and that impacts the way we think about one another, the way we think about church. This is not just a gathering of a bunch of individuals. This is the body of the living Christ, and when we start thinking about that, it really changes the way we think about our togetherness. Well, tonight we're going to look at together in unity here in Ephesians chapter 2, beginning at verse 11. So if you are able to do so, would you please stand as we honor the reading of God's Word. Ephesians chapter 2, beginning at verse 11, the Apostle Paul here is writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and he writes to the church of Ephesus these words. He says, therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision, which is made in flesh by hands. Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you who were once 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 the 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.

[3:27] For through him we have access in one spirit to the Father. So then, you are no longer strangers, and aliens. 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. What a text. And we're going to unpack the meaning of every bit of that. I'm just kidding. Right? Here we go. Let's pray.

[4:14] God help us. There's so much in this passage to learn, but there is one central theme, one thing that by the Spirit, you had the Apostle Paul write about to these Ephesian believers. And so I pray that tonight you would speak to us this same word, that we would understand how significant and important our togetherness truly is, that we walk in unity. May we see the beauty of this, I pray in Jesus' name.

[4:44] God's people said, amen. You may be seated. Well, there were a lot of TV shows I enjoyed watching growing up as a kid in the late 70s and early 80s, which is weird given that I'm only 23.

[4:59] But they were shows like the Dukes of Hazzard, right? Absolutely one of my favorites. Of course, you can't really be a redneck and not like the Dukes of Hazzard. The A-Team, shows like Family Ties.

[5:11] Any of you remember these shows? Happy Days, The Fonz, right? Some of you are like, I have no idea of any of these because I'm old. Just to name a few. But there was actually another show that I must admit captured the attention of us Baptist boys, and I still remember the slogan. In your satin tights, fighting for your rights, and the old red, white, and blue, Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman.

[5:40] Now the world is ready for you. It was the Baptist version of Baywatch. And I am certain that Linda Carter would have been a perfect pastor's wife, but that's a whole other issue. What I did not know as a kid watching Wonder Woman was that Wonder Woman was more than a superhero. She was actually a symbol, a cultural symbol of the gender wars. You see, Wonder Woman was not the creation of a comic book writer. She was actually the creation of a man by the name of William Marston back in the 1940s.

[6:18] Marston actually also invented the lie detector, which is why Wonder Woman had the lasso of truth. Just making sure you're listening. Marston evaluated the comic book industry at the time, and he said that he believed it was too violent, too male. So he created a hero from an all-female tribe in the Amazon where they lived in nothing but tranquility and peace, which we all know is what happens when you get a bunch of women together, right? I mean, it's just nothing but tranquility and peace all the time. I had to bring Cousin Eddie back. So when Wonder Woman enters into the world, she does so to fight for people's rights. She was a symbol of individuality. That's what Wonder Woman was all about in her creation. But of course, Wonder Woman was not new in the 1940s. She actually goes a lot further back than that. You see, Marston crafted her after the goddess Artemis from Greek mythology. Artemis was a goddess who did not want to marry, only took the companionship of women, and so valued her individuality she would kill anything or anybody that threatened it.

[7:44] And the spirit of Artemis is still alive today. We as Americans highly value our individuality, do we not? I mean, we are all about speaking up for our rights. I mean, there's something new all the time on that issue. We cherish our individuality. You be you, boo. Like, you just be whoever you are.

[8:12] Express yourself. We celebrate our independence. We're all about freedom of speech and expressing whatever it is I want to say. The spirit of Wonder Woman is alive and well. And you say, what in the world does this have to do with our text?

[8:34] Guess who had a statue of Wonder Woman, Artemis, right in the middle of their city? Ephesus.

[8:50] In fact, Ephesus, just like us, was so immersed in a culture of individuality that it was starting to influence. Listen to me, this is important. They were so immersed in a culture of individuality that it started to influence how they interacted with one another. I want to say that again because that context is significant to understand Ephesians 2. They were so immersed in a culture of individuality, it was influencing the way they were interacting with one another. So Paul writes this letter under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and he reminds these Ephesian Christians that God has not only bought you, he has brought you together. Look at what Paul is emphasizing here in verse 14.

[9:40] For he himself is our peace who made us both say it, one, and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility. By abolishing the law of commandments expressed in the ordinances that he might create in himself, say it, one new man in the place of the two, thereby killing the hostility, thereby making peace.

[10:14] So, in other words, the Apostle Paul is writing to a church in Ephesus that has a problem. And their problem here is this. They have, they're experiencing a major division. They have become so obsessed in their own individuality and their own rights that it has caused division in the church.

[10:36] And this division is far greater than Mac versus PC, which we all know, never mind, or Vikings versus Packers. It would be a lot more like segregation in the 1950s or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Middle East.

[10:58] There was a deep hostility, a deep division, and it was born out of a religious hostility, which is often the worst kind. Amen? This religious hostility was deep among the people of God. And what did it stem from?

[11:15] What was it coming from? Well, the Jews, Israel, believed rightly that they were the chosen people of God. That is, after all, what the Old Testament teaches. And because they were the chosen people of God, that made them superior to the Gentiles. They had more rights than the Gentiles did.

[11:37] I mean, after all, the Gentiles were people like this, verse 11. Remember at one time you were Gentiles in the flesh, called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision, which is made in flesh by hands.

[11:53] Remember that at one time you were separated from Christ. You were alienated from the commonwealth of Israel. You were strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

[12:07] In other words, Gentiles were not a part of God's people. They were separated from God. They were excluded from Israel. They had no participation whatsoever in the covenants that God gave to Abraham or Isaac or Jacob or David. God didn't give those promises to Germans.

[12:25] He didn't give those promises to Norwegians. Sorry, right? He didn't give those promises to Gentiles. They were excluded, meaning they had no hope in the world. And so this privilege that Israel was given, which might I just insert here that Israel was given this privilege by grace. Amen?

[12:48] God chose Israel before there was ever an Israel. It's not like God looked at all the nations and said, you know, that Israel is really special. I choose them. No, there wasn't even an Israel when he chose Israel and called Abraham out. And from Abraham comes the chosen people of God. There's a whole sermon here. I hope you're paying attention. Isn't it interesting how we take the grace of God and turn it into entitlement? The privilege Israel had was by grace. They didn't do anything at all to deserve it. And yet they turned it to make their rights more superior to anybody else. And that with the Gentiles created this relational division, this relational strife, the Jews thought the Gentiles were fuel for hell.

[13:46] Put that on a Hallmark card. They hated Gentiles. They called them the uncircumcised dogs. They would not help a Gentile woman give birth. Why would you want to bring another heathen into the world? They would wipe dirt off their feet if they walked into a Gentile land because they didn't want to bring that dirt back into their own land. They wouldn't let Gentiles in the temple. And of course, the Gentiles were no better. They thought Jews were barbarians. They called them the mutilators of the flesh. They mocked their religious practices. Listen, what I'm trying to describe to you in the context of which Paul is writing is that these two groups got along about as well as two women over the last sale item on Black Friday.

[14:45] So much for all that peace and tranquility talk. All right. That's what was going on here. There was a deep division, relational conflict, individuality in my own rights became superior over everything else.

[15:06] Now, let's bring this into our world. Most of us don't experience that kind of hostility towards one another in the church. At least that's never broken out here that I know of. Maybe I've already left when that happened, right? But all of us, now listen to me, all of us have people that we don't like or people that we try not to associate with. There may be people here in this faith family that have a different political point of view that you do. There may be people in this faith family that have different music preferences. They're from a different economic status. They have a different skin color. They grew up in a different denomination.

[15:49] They have a different personality than you do. And if we're not careful, listen, if we're not careful, those differences become a matter of division. And we got one pocket over here and one pocket over here.

[16:05] And these people always sit together over there. And these people always talk to the same people every time they're here. And before you know it, that hostility, that division begins to creep in. Why is that the case? James tells us, look at James 4 verse 1. What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. Again, I don't think that's literal murder in this text. I think James is talking about you destroy one another with your tongue and the way you talk and you murder relationships. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight. That's why I think murder means. You fight and you quarrel. Let me just say, the best time to preach this message is not when that's happening. Amen? The reason why this is not an awkward sermon is because God's grace, we've experienced very little, if any at all, division or lack of unity in this body. But preventative medicine is the best kind. And this is a preventative medicine sermon to guard our togetherness, because we're going to see in this passage how our togetherness matters and why it matters.

[17:33] But faith family nations rage and families fight and churches split and people argue because at the heart of conflict is sin and sin is at the heart of us all. In Ephesus, it led to self-righteous Jews.

[17:53] I'm better than you. I've been here longer than you. I have a better, higher status than you. And it led to judgmental Gentiles. Well, at least I'm not as stuck up as you. At least I'm not a Pharisee like you. And on and on the division raged. And Paul writes and addresses this. Unfortunately, what was taking place in Ephesus is continuing in so many churches today, is it not? The nations rage, and so do churches. So what's the solution? What is it that brings us together? What is it that helps us walk in unity? Is it continuing education? Anger management classes. Conflict resolution sermons.

[18:49] Personality inventories. Let's find out what everybody is on the Myers-Briggs, right? Or what number you are, or what you are on the disk profile, and then we'll know who to avoid and who to associate with. No.

[19:02] What's the solution to the division that often occurs in the body of Christ? What does test here? Look at your text. What's the first word in verse 11? Just shout it out. Shout it out.

[19:18] Therefore. Therefore. Exactly. The first word in verse 11 is therefore, meaning that Paul is actually continuing an argument from something he's already said. So in verses 1 through 10, Paul is talking about, listen to me, faith family, the preacher's about to start preaching here. Paul speaks to the power of God to take individuals from death to life. He starts off at the beginning of chapter 2, many of you know this. You were dead in your trespasses and sin, and you walked according to the passions of this world. But God and his immeasurable grace has saved you. He saved you by grace, not of anything that you did. And so he's talking about this beautiful, miraculous, glorious salvation that brought you from death to life. This is the power of God in your life and bringing salvation in.

[20:18] And it's from that, are y'all with me? I think I'm excited for you. All right. It is from that he says this, the therefore, and then in verse 13, but now in Christ, you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ, having he himself as our, for he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh, the dividing wall of hostility. Preach it, Paul. Here is Paul's argument, and it's a beautiful biblical argument. Here it is. It's actually an argument from the greater to the lesser. And here's what Paul is saying. Notice it on the screen. If the cross was big enough to reconcile you to God, then the cross is big enough to reconcile you to one another. Now you let that sink in, faith family. If you're walking in conflict right now, maybe it's not even with somebody here at this faith family. Maybe it's somebody in your family. Maybe it's a different relationship. Listen, if the cross is big enough to reconcile you to God, Ephesians 2 verse 1 through verse 10, then the cross is big enough to reconcile you to one another, verse 11 on. If the cross is enough to bring us peace with God, stop. Think with me, faith family. Think with me. If the cross is big enough to bring you peace with God who is holy, then is not the cross big enough to bring you peace with one another when the person you're in conflict is just as sinful as you are? You say, oh, I'm not nearly as sinful as everybody else. Oh, oh, I forgot, right? But you get the point. Listen, if the cross is big big enough to take this sinful man and make peace with a holy God, certainly the cross is big enough to take one sinner, Jews, and other sinners, Gentiles, and make peace with one another.

[22:35] Amen. This is the beauty of what the cross has purchased, the apostle Paul says. So unity is maintained where the cross is ultimate. You cannot exalt Jesus and hate your brother. Let me say that again. You cannot exalt Jesus and hate your brother. So for Christians, the only reason for lacking unity is a failure to understand and apply the gospel of Jesus Christ, which of course has huge implications for our togetherness. Here's just a few. First of all, where the cross is ultimate, and oh, how I pray, faith family, pray with me, that the cross is ultimate at faith family. I mean, we want to be a gospel-centered, Christ-exalting, always bringing you to the cross and the empty tomb, and I hope we do that faithfully. I try to end every message that way. We try to pick songs that talk about that it's finished and he's risen. We want to constantly, when we're together, be constantly brought back to the cross and the empty tomb. Amen? And so that's what we're about.

[23:45] And if the cross and the empty tomb, the gospel is lifted in this place, then guess what can't be? Personal preferences. Because what was happening in Ephesus is, well, we're going to do it according to our traditions. We're going to do it the Jewish way. And the Gentiles, that's nonsense. Why would we want to do it the Jewish way, right? You're barbarians. We're going to do it our way. And so preferences and tradition started to cause division, and the cross was being minimized. Are you with me in this? This is super practical. Let me ask you to do this. And please don't say these out loud because we're recording this, all right? What are the things you don't like about faith family? I don't want you to say it out loud because some of you are going to go, the preacher, and I don't want to hear that, all right? What is it that you don't like about faith family? And some of you might say, well, I don't like lyric videos. I prefer a live band. And some of you'd say, well, I hope we never have a live band. I hope we have lyric videos forever. Some would say, I think the music's too loud. I don't think it's loud enough, whatever.

[24:48] On and on. I wish we had our own place. I wish we weren't this. I wish we weren't that. What is it that you do not like about our faith family? And here's my question. Another question. What is it that you do like?

[25:02] What are the things that you really appreciate about faith family? And my question is, are any of these things more important than the gospel? Because here's what's going to happen. And at this point, I'm not exegeting the text. I'm speaking to you as your pastor. What's going to happen? Because I've seen it in 25 years of ministry. You give a church long enough and traditions can become more valuable than the gospel. And that's when you lose your unity. That's when division begins to creep in.

[25:40] Because what's happened is you've replaced the thing that matters most, that is the gospel, with the thing that really doesn't matter at all. And that's the way you like church. And that's very dangerous. It's very dangerous. It was tearing Ephesus apart. And Paul said, enough of this. Christ has made you one. Put your Jewishness aside. Put your Gentileness aside and all the things you value with that and be one in Christ. Secondly, is when the cross is ultimate, people actively seek peace, not division. The way I've shared this with our leadership team is this, is that everybody walks around here. Every time you show up, I don't care at what gathering it is. It may be a men's event. It may be a women's event. It may be a weekend gathering. And you carry with you every time two buckets. One filled with water and one filled with gas. And every time you walk into that conversation that's a little bit of gossip, every time you walk into that conversation that's, did you hear what he did? Did you see what she did? You have an opportunity to either help put it out or help make it worse. And which decision you make tells you something about your belief in the gospel.

[27:09] Because the gospel has made us not more divided. The gospel has made us what? One. So if the cross is ultimate, we will be a people that actively seek peace, not seek to stir up more division. Are y'all with me tonight? This is really important for us as a church if we're truly going to be together. So I've unpacked here the problem that was taking place in Ephesus and how that Jesus has purchased their unity. He has made them one. And if the power of Christ is able to save us from death, the power of Christ is able to bring us together. But Paul now takes this further and shows us that at the cross, Jesus not only purchases our unity, he actually makes us a whole new identity. Verse 15 again. By abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in the place of the two, so making peace. And might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. In other words, what Paul is saying here is we are a new people. One of the things that

[28:34] Ephesus needed to realize, and we need to realize, God speak to us here, is there's no such thing as Jewish Christian. I mean, you're all tied up. We got to do it the Jewish way. But there isn't a Jewish way.

[28:52] There's a Jesus way. If your Jewishness meant anything, it was to get you to Jesus. So now, get over your Jewishness. And by the way, there's no Gentile Christian. And by the way, there's no white Christian. And by the way, there's no black Christian or poor Christian. There's no longer any, like, affinity group Christian. There is just, are you ready? Christian. There's no, I'm a male Christian. I'm a female Christian. No, there is one new man. We belong to one people. We are united with Jesus. And therefore, this is the good news of the gospel. Somebody ought to shout hallelujah, that it doesn't matter who you are. It doesn't matter where you come from. It doesn't matter what you look like. It doesn't matter what's in your past. We all belong together in Christ.

[30:00] Praise God. There's no redneck Christian. There's just Christian. We are one in him. There's a story that was told about a World War II soldier that was killed, and his comrades were trying to find a place to bury him. They come upon this Catholic church, and they asked the priest if they could bury their fallen friend in the church's cemetery. The priest asked them, is he Catholic? To which they said, no, he's not. And the priest refused. They then took him outside the fence and buried him there. Before leaving the area, a few days later, they came back to visit their friend's grave, and it was gone. They went to the door of the church, knocked on the door. The priest came out, and they asked about the location of the grave. The priest said this, quote, after you left, all I could think about was how this man gave his life, and I wouldn't let him in.

[31:05] So where then did you put the grave, they asked? Why did you move it? And the priest said, I didn't move the grave. I moved the fence. Faith family, in the death of Jesus, God moved the fence. It's no longer Jewish anymore. It is Jew and Gentile. It's not about two, because those two are now one in Christ.

[31:45] And there is no one, and I mean no one, that is outside the saving power of Jesus Christ. This is what Christ has done, and how did he do this? Well, Paul tells us here, he did it by fulfilling and abolishing the law. And this is beautiful. Give me just a second here. We don't like them much, much longer. What Paul says here, preach, Paul. Just preach to us here. He says this, listen.

[32:14] Hey, hey, Jews, you know the thing that you're using to feel superior to the Gentiles, the law? You know how you like to brag about how you're better at that than anybody else, and you're more obedient to that than anybody else? Well, guess what? Jesus abolished it. He took the very thing you use to advocate for your rights, the very thing you use to make yourself feel and look better over everybody else, and he destroyed it. And I wonder what it is for us that we look to to make us feel just a little bit better than anybody else. What is it that makes you feel superior? Is it you think you're more obedient? You think you're more righteous? You think your skin color earns you anything? You think your financial status earns you any kind of superiority? Well, let me tell you what the gospel says to you. You are so sinful. The only way out of your sin was God had to die in your place. So much for your superiority. And then for those of you that feel inferior, maybe like the Gentiles in Ephesus, you're constantly told that you're not enough, you'll never be enough, you can never live up, you can never do enough, and you feel like there's no way you could ever be a part of this beautiful body of Christ. Well, here's what the gospel says to you. You're so loved that God willingly died for you. So much for your pity and feeling like you're not enough. You see, here's the point I'm making everybody right here. The gospel makes us all equal. It takes the thing you use to prop yourself up and destroys it. And it takes the thing that you use to wallow in self-pity and shame and guilt and destroys it and brings us all together. Or I'm not better than you. You could amen that, right? That was a great place for an amen and you missed it. I'm not better than you. Listen, come on. Stop this nonsense here at Faith Family. Just because I sit up here on this stage and preach a sermon doesn't for a moment make me better than any place, anybody in this room. No one. Thank you, Neil. I knew you'd jump on that opportunity, right? We may have different gifts, but our gifts do not make us superior or more important in the body of Christ. We are one. And the gospel makes us all equal at the feet of Jesus.

[35:00] To which someone might be thinking, yeah, but if there are people around me that aren't like me, then I won't get the kind of church I want. That's the point. You see, Faith Family, the church is not a special interest group and it is not a political party. The church is a new humanity that has been brought together by the blood of Christ. Birds of a feather may flock together in the world, but that's not the reality in the kingdom of God. All of us from all of our differences have been made one and united together through what Christ has done. Let me finish with this. There's some pictures that Paul gives us here in this passage as we close that when we walk in this unity and we live in this reality, we display, and this is what I want you to see why the unity of the church and us being together really matters is because we are displaying something that is beautiful to the world. Let me give you just these real quick. First is we display God. Paul in this passage will speak of one spirit to the

[36:14] Father purchased by the Son. This is a very Trinitarian passage. You see Father, Son, and Holy Spirit frequently throughout Ephesians, but certainly here in this text. Here's the point I'm trying to make.

[36:28] Our unity is a picture of the unity of God, which by the way is why Satan hates it. What's the one thing he wants to take from a church first? Their unity. Make them divided because when a church is united, when they're together, they demonstrate the beauty of God, and that is why Satan always goes after the togetherness and unity of the church. Number two is there's a picture of heaven. In verse 19 he talks about you were strangers, but now you're fellow citizens. That is your citizenship has changed, and listen, the church, the local church is a foretaste. It's an appetizer of the kingdom to come.

[37:13] I don't know if you know this, but we are all going to get along in heaven, okay? Those of you taking notes, you might jot that down. That was very profound, right? In heaven, there is not going to be any division.

[37:24] There's not going to be any fighting. There's not going to be any like, the music's too loud or whatever. None of that's going to be taking place in heaven, right? Which means when somebody walks into Faith Family and they see the beauty of gospel unity, they get a taste of heaven now.

[37:45] They sit back and say, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, that would never happen at my office. Oh, no. No, no, no. People don't act that way in my family. Why is it different here? Because we are citizens of a different place.

[38:05] Because, and it is only by God's grace that we get this right, and trust me, we get this, we don't always get this right, but when we walk in unity, people get a taste of what it's like to belong to God's kingdom, and what it will be like in heaven. When a church walks, when a person walks into a church from a world that is broken, and they experience unity, they get a glimpse of eternity.

[38:30] And it is only by God's grace that that can happen here. Thirdly, is a picture of family. Family. In verse 19, Paul also talks about we are members of the household of God. That is, when we walk in this unity, we experience true belonging. I will never forget, he's not going to remember this, and he'll probably be embarrassed of me saying this, but when Caleb was young, he took my middle daughter, Audrey, he took one of her toys, took off running down the hallway, and she's just sobbing. Of course, you know, now they love each other and never argue.

[39:09] And I just remember she was sobbing. She was so upset that Caleb took her toy, and I went to console her, and I just remember Audrey looking at me in these big tears, and she's like, Daddy, we're going to have to give Caleb away.

[39:25] And I remember looking at her and saying, sweetheart, we can't give Caleb away. We can sell him, but we're just not going to, not going to just give him away, right? Got to get something from him. No, I looked at her and I said, he's your brother. He's your brother. Faith family, we are blood.

[39:54] Not our blood. His blood. That is our family heritage. That is what brings us together. It is the blood of Jesus. And when we start thinking about this, we begin to treat one another differently.

[40:20] Lastly, is worship. Lastly, worship. In verse 20 and 22 through 22, you can read it. Paul talks about how this is all being formed. This one new man, this new humanity is being made into the temple of God.

[40:38] Here's a thought I want you to leave with. I got to wrap it up. When we think about worship, we tend to think about songs we sing or services we attend. But listen to me, faith family. Our being together in unity is an act of worship. Let me say that again. Our act of worship is as much about our being in unity together as singing a worship song or attending a service. God through the body is bringing us together in a temple whereby we worship him. Because our coming together worships him for what his grace has accomplished in our lives. Are y'all with me tonight? Are you seeing from two weeks ago and from this passage, and we got a few more weeks, why our togetherness really matters? I close with this. One of the comic strips that I liked when I was a boy. You know some of the TV shows I watched.

[41:41] One of the comic strips was Calvin and Hobbes. And in one of the episodes, Calvin is unable to sleep. There's something perplexing him, something on his mind keeping him up. And he yells out for his mom.

[41:56] And she runs into the room. She's half asleep. She's wearing her gown. And she asks, what's wrong? And Calvin tells her this question that has been perplexing him throughout the night.

[42:06] He says this, how do ugly things like octopuses and hairy bugs reproduce? Are they actually attracted to each other? Realizing that this is why her son woke her up in the middle of the night. She screams, it's 3 a.m. Go to sleep. After she leaves, Calvin ponders the question a little further. And he asks, come to think of it, I wonder how people are attracted to each other. And his buddy Hobbes says, yeah, I bet that's why they close their eyes when they smooch.

[42:49] What brings people together? What brings us together? It's a question not just for a six-year-old boy.

[43:11] It's a question for Faith Family Church. And while I can't speak for Harry Bug, I do know why God has brought us together. And it's not because we're attracted to one another.

[43:26] It's because God has drawn us together. It's not because we first loved one another. It's because he first loved us. And it is certainly not because we have a lot in common. It's because we have Jesus in common. And that's enough. Faith Family, in a culture that is not all that different from Ephesus, a culture that was surrounded by all kinds of icons of individuality, and we are as well.

[44:01] I remind you tonight that we are followers of a different kind of hero. He is not one that fought for his rights. He is one that laid his rights down. And he did so not only so that you could have peace with God.

[44:21] He did so that you would live in peace with one another. So I ask you this, in light of what Jesus has done for us, how can we not be together? And all God's people said, amen. Let's pray together.

[44:41] Lord, thank you for this passage tonight. It's so relevant. It's always needed in church life. We are sinful people. And what causes fights and quarrels among us is that we are sinful, and we want what we want, and we put our preferences above the gospel. And Lord, I do that too. And so thank you for reminding us in this series of just how important the togetherness of the body of Christ truly is.

[45:17] That we belong to Jesus. We are his church. And that the very same power that brought us from death to life is the same power that has made us one. So if there is anything that we are leaning up against to make us feel better or superior to anybody in this place, God, I pray that we would crucify it tonight.

[45:44] And if there are people here that feel inferior, like they'll never measure up, may they be reminded at the cross of just how much they are loved by you, oh God. You have made us one.

[45:56] Now help us walk in that spirit of oneness that we might image you and truly be a faith family, part of the household of God, and worship you as we demonstrate to a broken world what oneness looks like. So help us do that because I'm very well aware that we don't have the power or strength to do that. So work by your spirit in us for your glory in this faith family. In Jesus' name, amen.

[46:49]  Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass