Well, I want to thank you for this opportunity to come and visit you.
How about we pray?
Our Father in heaven, we pray that you would give us insight,
understanding and conviction as we read your word
and pray that you would open up this to our hearts.
And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
We recently came to Australia again about three months ago
and we went through passport control at the airport,
but it's no longer called passport control.
That department is now called border force
and only those who are allowed were permitted to enter.
And there's a great emphasis on borders and securing borders.
It's not just Australia that is keen on securing borders,
but where we are in the Middle East,
refugees flow through in their thousands and tens of thousands.
Governments are scared of these immigrants
and sometimes they start up more checkpoints and more borders and more barriers.
But it's not just governments either.
I think we too in our families and in our lives are also interested in barriers.
We bought a new desk for our youngest two boys, aged four and seven.
And the first thing our four-year-old did was to get a piece of masking tape
straight down the middle of the desk and said,
this is my side and this is your side.
If you're familiar with the storyline of the Bible,
you'll know that borders are also a fair amount,
there's also a fair amount of them in the Old Testament.
What is it, for example, that made Samson, you know, the strong guy,
such a celebrated leader?
Or what was it about Deborah or Joshua or King David?
What made them such great celebrated leaders?
It was because they defended the borders of Israel
and killed the enemies of God's people.
You see, borders define privilege.
Now, although we see a lot of that in the Old Testament,
especially with the Israelites as they enter the promised land
and secure its borders from the Philistines and others, you may recall,
we also get hints throughout the Old Testament,
made clearer in the New, about another way of thinking of borders,
where the borders do not function to keep people out,
but instead attract people in.
You might recall, for example,
Abram, later named Abraham.
And he was promised by God,
not only that he would be blessed,
but that as he was blessed,
he would bring blessing to many other peoples and nations.
Again, this privilege would not be something that he would keep to himself,
but would flow out in blessing to others.
There are many other hints of this in the Old Testament,
but I'm going to focus a little bit on the Queen of Sheba,
whom we read about earlier.
My son just asked me,
what does Almogwood mean?
And I have no idea.
Sorry.
But apparently there was a lot of it that Queen of Sheba brought.
Anyway, she comes to Solomon,
and as something of the first for the kings of Israel,
he doesn't try to kill her.
Instead, Solomon welcomes her,
invites her into his kingdom
to see all of the things that God has given him.
It's as if he were to say,
come and share in the greatness that God has given to us.
And so the borders of Israel are no longer threatening borders,
like electric fences,
but instead they broadcast a welcome to foreigners.
Come and see what God has done,
how he has blessed us.
And this episode with the Queen of Sheba
was just a hint of what was later to come.
Because when Jesus came
and fulfilled all of these hints in the Old Testament,
we see that through his death,
he offered forgiveness to all people.
All people were offered new life.
The Holy Spirit.
It was a new kingdom.
And it wasn't one that killed people
to protect its privileges.
But it was more like Solomon's kingdom.
One which attracted foreigners in
by the greatness that God had given it.
And its borders were not defensive,
but they were more like a welcome doormat.
Please wipe your souls and come in.
Frequently in advertising,
we hear the word exclusive.
And it's supposed to attract us.
You know, this is exclusively for you.
This is exclusive membership.
Maybe a house in an exclusive suburb.
Just a couple of weeks ago,
when I was reading the newspaper on the weekend,
there was an exclusive offer just for me.
But then I realised, of course,
that most of Australians
would be receiving this same exclusive offer
that was printed and delivered to almost every home.
We like the idea of exclusivity.
I want you now to turn to Ephesians,
if you have it open.
Because in verse 6,
Paul says three words together,
which he just completely makes up,
that refer to the exact opposite of exclusivity.
He says that foreigners,
or the Gentiles,
are now no longer separated from God's people
without those privileges,
but now they are,
and he has three words here,
co-heirs,
co-sharers,
and co-members
of this new kingdom.
So there's no exclusivity left at all.
There is only co-membership,
co-sharing,
co-inheritance.
And Paul emphasises that
because of Jesus' death,
our forgiveness comes by grace,
and it's granted to everyone,
Jews,
Greeks,
Romans,
Americans,
Australians,
Arabs,
all kinds.
We're all reconciled to God
on that same basis.
And therefore,
as we're all friends with God now,
reconciled by Jesus' death,
there is nothing more
that separates us from each other.
You can no longer say,
like you could in the olden days,
in the times of Israel,
they are God's blessed people,
and we are on the outside.
They are higher than us.
Paul says,
no,
there is only now
co-membership,
co-sharing,
co-inheritance.
Both groups,
Jews,
and the rest of the world,
are saved,
so that they can be saved together.
In fact,
you're either saved together,
or you can't be saved at all.
Now,
this is,
according to Paul,
a great secret
that God has only revealed
in his preaching
and since the time of Jesus.
It was not made known
to widely in the Old Testament.
As I said,
there were hints about it,
but it wasn't,
if you like,
the norm.
And even in Paul's time,
it wasn't as if this idea
was common.
The Jews,
up until the time of Jesus,
never expected
that God
would invite
everybody in
to share their privileges.
No,
they expected
that God
would raise them up
victorious
over the Romans
and other filthy foreigners.
But that's not
what God did.
If you would have asked
the Romans
what they thought
their gods would do,
well,
they thought
that these strange Jews
who regarded themselves
so highly
would simply perish away
and fade.
But that didn't happen either.
You see,
with Jesus,
God's secret plan
only hinted at before,
but since the time
of Jesus made clear,
a new thing happened.
A church
was established,
a new community
where Jews
were saved,
foreigners were saved,
and both came together
as a result.
They would be
co-heirs,
co-members,
co-sharers
in all of these privileges.
There would be
no exclusivity.
And the church
was a big surprise
and no one
expected it.
I want you now
to have a look
at verse 10.
Paul says
that God's intent
was that now,
through the church,
the mighty wisdom
of God
should be made
known
to the rulers
and authorities
in the heavenly realms.
Now,
Paul
and his readers
knew that there
was evil
in this world.
They didn't know
much about it
in details
and they spoke
of it as belonging
to the heavenly realm
behind the scenes.
It's not something
you could
put in front of you
or see with a
magnifying glass.
It was their way
of speaking about
those things
that we cannot see,
the spirits
of evil.
If you would
have asked them,
what is it
that caused
nation
to go to war
against nation?
What causes
families
to struggle
and relationships
to break?
What causes
diseases
and grief?
And partly,
they would say,
it is these
spiritual forces
in the heavenly realms,
these darker powers
that work
against God.
And Paul says
of them
that they
are the ones
who need to hear
this message
about the church.
That through the church,
this mighty new wisdom
of God
of bringing people
together
should first of all
be announced
to those guys
out there
in the heavenly realms.
It's as if
God is playing
a mighty game
of cards
and
nobody knows
what he's doing
and he's surrounded
by these other
evil forces.
But in the end,
God lays down
his last card
which makes
clear
his strategy
from all along
and his wisdom
is now
apparent
for everybody
to see.
And God says,
I will not vindicate
the Jews
against the Romans
or vice versa.
I will make
the two
one.
Forgiveness
for all
and therefore
creating
a new community,
a church.
and so
as Jew
meets Roman
or as Australian
meets Arab
or as Australian
meets Australian,
they both
receive grace
in Christ
and this is
something that
those heavenly
powers
would never
have wanted
and never
have guessed.
Christ.
You see,
as we meet
in church
every week,
we recognise
in each other
that we are
receivers of grace.
We are not
privileged
more than
some other race
but we are
co-sharers,
recipients
of grace.
There is so
much in the
news,
you know,
that goads
us to
the old
ways of
hatred
from person
to person
and people
group to
people group.
So much
in the history
that we read
goads us
to despise
or to fear,
for example,
people in the
Middle East.
But
Christians
in Australia
are on the
same par
with Christians
in the Middle East.
We are all
part of the
same church,
recipients of
grace.
And this
is God's
masterstroke
and the
very fact
that he
wants those
rulers in
the heavenly
realms to
sit up and
take notice.
You see,
as we recognise
in each
other another
sharer of
God's grace,
another member
of God's
kingdom,
you know,
even if we
come from
very different
cultural
backgrounds,
even if we
are very
different ages
to each
other,
it's then
that God's
purposes in
the church
are made
clear.
We could,
for example,
have, you
know, one
church for
this racial
minority group
and another
church for
this age
group, you
know, perhaps
47 to 50
year olds,
and another
church for
this other
group with
people with
blonde hair.
people with
love.
But you see,
that wouldn't
be the
people come
together,
that they
are co-sharers,
co-members,
and co-inheritors
of these great
privileges and
forgiveness from
God.
It's either a
co-church or it's
not a church at
all.
See, God is
interested in
the church
because it
shows what he
has been
planning all
along.
It is his
greatest master
stroke.
See, where do
you see the
wisdom of
God?
Well, you
could see it
in the birds
and clouds
and in the
universe.
But what is
God most
proud of?
What is it
that he wants
to put on
display, even
to those
heavenly rulers?
Well, it's
the thing that
he kept hidden
until the time
of Jesus, until
that last
moment.
It's the
church.
all of us
being saved
by the
same grace.
So this
idea that
God, being
motivated by
such kindness
to all and
refusing to
vindicate one
above the
other, especially
as both are
sinners, but
instead urging
them to come
together in
forgiveness in
Christ to
himself and
to each other,
this is God's
plan.
And this is the
basic reason why
our family is in
the Middle East.
You see, the
church in the
Middle East lacks
trainers and
people with good
education in
theology at the
moment.
A hundred years
ago it was
different.
A hundred years
from now it
might be the
other way
around.
Who knows?
And recently
the church in the
Middle East has
found new
opportunities to
respond to
questions from
Muslims.
And the
church has
faced new
challenges as
its own
members have
been alerted
to new
questions about
the Christian
faith from
the internet
and so on.
So of course
the church which
has rich resources
in this area,
being co-members
and co-sharers
with the church
in the Middle
East, of course
will share with
them and by
doing so show
those heavenly
rulers God's
great plan of
forgiveness for
all and joining
disparate groups
who were once
enemies of each
other.
So once we
understand God's
plan and what
he's most proud
of, then sending
people to the
Middle East is a
natural and an
obvious thing to
do because we
realise what the
church is.
So my challenge
to you this
morning is just
to continue to
you being that
kind of church.
Not just the
church in
Kilara made up
of people who
are a certain
age group with
a certain
hairstyle or
lack of hair,
but the church
that Paul speaks
of, a church
where all are
co-members, all
are co-sharers
and co-inheritors
of these great
privileges, God's
masterpiece built
on grace.
A few verses
later in
Ephesians, not
in the part that
we read earlier,
but around verse
17, Paul says
this, and you
might remember
this quotation,
and I pray that
you, being
rooted and
established in
love, may
have power
together with
all the Lord's
holy people
to grasp how
wide and how
long and high
and deep is
the love of
Christ.
And I don't
think Paul is
speaking here about
God's love for
us at an
individual level,
although that's
true, he does
love us individually,
widely and deeply
and so on.
But he's speaking
about how wide
God's love is
across nations,
across Jews and
Gentiles originally,
but now across all
nations, across all
different types of
people that are
sitting here this
morning.
Do you realise how
wide God's love is
that that person
next to you is
also a co-sharer of
those same privileges
that you have?
When Christ died,
he died for all.
And Christ died so
that all may come
together with him
through the Father.
He's not interested,
God is not interested
in lots of little
relationships of this
person with God and
that person with God.
God's finishing
masterpiece is the
church where those
who are once
estranged come
now together
and serve each
other and show
the heavenly
rulers out there
just what the
power of God
and the love of
God is.
Let's pray.
Our Father,
we thank you for
this great love
that you have
shown us
and this grace.
Father,
we pray that you
would remind us
always how we
are co-sharers,
co-members and
co-inheritors.
And these things
that we have from
you, we have not
exclusively,
but we have them
through love and
grace and we share
them with each other
through the church.
And we pray that
through our
demonstration of that
love and things
we do each day
and the way we
do church together
that might bring
glory to you
as others see
just how you
bring people
together to you
and to each other.
And we ask this
in Jesus' name.
Amen.