All right, y'all love the book of Ephesians?
Amen, I do too.
It is full of just spiritual meat,
and I am loving diving into it in my study
and then sharing what God gives me for you all.
So let's go there.
Let's go to Ephesians chapter two.
Once again, this book is about who we are and how we live,
and right now we are in the who we are part.
So that's exciting.
We're discovering our identity in Christ,
not according to what man says about us,
but according to what we read in God's word,
what he says about us.
So that's what we're talking about today.
Book of Ephesians chapter two,
we did the first 11 verses,
I'm sorry, 10 verses last Sunday,
and today we are doing verses 11
through the end of the chapter.
For some reason, this isn't working, Floyd.
There we go, there we go.
Just needed a minute.
Kind of like me when I first wake up,
so that's good.
It just needs a minute sometimes.
Much of our series is taken from the Christ-centered exposition,
Exalting Jesus in Ephesians by Tony Merida,
and that's a great series to avail yourself of
if you ever have an opportunity.
The background of the book of Ephesians,
written by the Apostle Paul to the church in Ephesus
where he had pastored for three years,
and he was written under house arrest in Roman imprisonment
off in Rome far away from this church in Ephesus,
and it was delivered by courier to this church
and then passed around to many other early churches
back in those days.
The breakdown is the first three chapters,
who we are in Christ,
the next three chapters,
how we live for Christ.
So today, we're continuing our series
on who we are in Christ.
If you see in your bulletin,
there's some blanks to fill out,
and so try to follow along,
and you can fill in those blanks
and take that home and look that over later
if you'd like to.
Ephesians chapter 2,
beginning in verse 11.
If you're able to physically,
would you mind joining me in standing,
and we'll read beginning in verse 11.
I'm reading from the Christian Standard Bible.
So then, remember that at one time,
you were Gentiles in the flesh.
It is safe for us to place ourselves
into this you umbrella, all right?
This was written to the church in Ephesus,
but it was written for all the early church Christians,
and God included it in our New Testament
for all of us to benefit from
so we can place ourselves into that you
that this is written to.
So then, remember that at one time,
you were Gentiles in the flesh,
called the uncircumcised,
by those called the circumcised,
which is done in the flesh by human hands.
At that time, you were without Christ,
excluded from the citizenship of Israel,
foreigners to the covenants of promise,
without hope and without God in the world.
But now, in Christ Jesus,
you see a parallel there?
Back earlier in the first part of chapter 2,
when it talked about you previously
followed the ways of the world,
according to the ruler, the power of the air,
the spirit, work, and the disobedient,
you were children of wrath,
but then in verse 4 it said,
but God, who is rich in mercy,
made us alive.
There is a direct parallel between that,
and again, how he emphasizes this point,
drives it home for us,
here in verse 13.
But now, in Christ Jesus,
you, who were far away,
have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
For he is our peace,
who made both groups one,
and tore down the dividing wall of hostility.
In his flesh,
he made of no effect the law consisting of commands
and expressed in regulations,
so that he might create in himself
one new man from the two,
resulting in peace.
He did this so that he might reconcile both
to God in one body,
through the cross,
by which he put the hostility to death.
He came and proclaimed the good news of peace
to you who were far away,
and peace to those who were near.
For through him,
we both have access in one spirit to the Father.
So then you are no longer foreigners and strangers,
but now fellow citizens with the saints,
and members of God's household,
built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets
with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.
In him,
the whole building being put together
grows into a holy temple in the Lord.
In him,
you are also being built together
for God's dwelling in the Spirit.
Let's pray together.
God, I pray that you would speak to us
from Ephesians 2,
the latter part of that chapter.
I pray that you would drive this home,
that you are a God of peace.
You are a God of uniting.
You are a God of tearing down the walls,
reaching across the lines.
And we have benefited so greatly from that.
And it's in Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
You may be seated.
Who we are in Christ,
our collective identity.
So,
let's look at it.
Our collective identity.
Sorry, y'all.
I don't know why it's like that.
I think there was some weird way I made the slide,
and you know,
that's on me.
But you're just gonna have to,
you know,
look a little closer.
Like,
what is that again?
Our collective identity.
All right?
This is who we are together.
Now,
this is not
our collective identity.
This is not who we are together.
These are adversaries,
right?
What do we have here on the left?
Come on, y'all.
Let's get a little more audience participation.
This is the talkback time,
okay?
On the left,
what do we have?
Democrats.
There you go.
On the right,
we have
Republicans.
That's right.
Some of the kids
who maybe haven't studied
and learned these party animals,
so to speak,
they're looking at it like,
what are they talking about?
That's a donkey
and an elephant.
Very patriotic looking
and angry at each other.
Well,
there you go.
That's our country,
right?
We divide.
We pit ourselves
against one another,
and throughout the time,
Democrats and Republicans
have even stood
for different things
throughout the years,
and so,
you know,
a hundred years ago,
you might have,
if you call yourself
Republican today,
who knows,
you might have been
a Democrat back then.
Man can change his mind
about things,
but what he doesn't seem
to change his mind about
is arguing with others.
That's what we continue to do.
Regardless of what we think,
we find somebody
who doesn't think like us,
and we argue against them,
and if we don't find,
if we don't have somebody
near and close
who disagrees with us,
we'll go out
and find somebody
who disagrees with us,
and that's what
the Internet's for.
If you were wondering
why the Internet was invented,
it's a platform
for disagreement
and fighting,
so,
and it fulfills
its purpose very well.
Obviously,
there's a little sarcasm
in there,
but there's some less,
you know,
I don't know,
less intense.
That's pretty intense
right there.
Rivalries out there.
Astros and Rangers,
we got any Astros fans
in the house?
Woo!
That are willing
to identify
as Astro fans right now?
How about the Rangers fans?
Let's go!
Yeah!
The,
sorry,
I shouldn't just say Rangers.
I should always say
world champion Rangers.
There you go.
Anybody actually
go to that parade?
No.
Yeah.
I was in Dallas
on the day
of the parade,
and I consciously
chose not to go.
It's like,
look,
I love my Rangers,
but no.
That was a madhouse.
About 700,000 people,
I think,
gathered down there.
Look,
Astros have had
a great run.
They've won
a couple of World Series,
so we're going to have
this rivalry
for years to come.
But,
you know,
we're pitted
against one another
in the same division.
We'll play each other.
How about this one?
Red River rivalry?
Got any Sooner fans
in here?
Thank God.
Got any Longhorn fans?
Let's go.
Come on.
Yes.
Y'all got us this year,
but overall,
we've had a far better season,
so let's see what happens.
That's the thing.
You never know
what's going to happen
in these rivalries.
People get up for them.
They feel emotional about them.
You know?
Oklahoma turned around
and lost to Kansas
and somebody else
that they shouldn't have
lost to right after that.
So,
clearly,
Texas was the better team,
but why did they lose?
Why did they lose that game?
Because it's the Red River rivalry
because you never know
what's going to happen.
One team could be ranked
in the top five
and the other one
have a losing record
and the losing record
comes in and wins that game
because everybody gets emotional.
They get worked up.
They get hyped up
and they go out
and play better
than they usually would otherwise.
And that's what happens sometimes
with these rivalries
because we get emotional about it.
We get passionate about it.
We pit ourselves
against one another.
How about this one?
We're not going to talk
about what happened this year,
but we'll get them next year,
all right?
So,
don't worry about it.
But y'all understand
we've got these rivalries.
We draw lines.
We draw dividing lines.
It's what we do.
We'll always do it.
I skipped one
and I want to get to it.
From the history of our country,
we did it.
We drew dividing lines.
We fought a war over it.
It's who we are as people.
And so,
man draws dividing lines.
God erases them.
You know what divides us ultimately?
Sin.
Sin is what divides us ultimately.
Now,
we can have fun
and we can choose
different sports teams
and root against the other one
and cheer for ours.
But there are very real fractures,
very real dividing lines
in our country,
across our world,
and sin is the cause.
100% of the time.
God created no dividing lines
in the Garden of Eden.
But sin divided us.
Sin divided Cain and Abel.
Sin divided all these countries
that have gone to war.
Sin divided the Gentiles
and the Jews.
Sin divided those who would follow God
and those who would oppose God.
Sin divided all these lines.
And God steps in and says,
I am the answer to the division.
I am the solution.
So,
number one,
excluded.
Excluded.
What we are without Jesus.
We read about this in verse 11.
So then,
remember that at one time
you were Gentiles in the flesh,
called the uncircumcised,
quote on quote.
There's two different groups here.
The uncircumcised,
the circumcised.
Without diving into the,
you know,
medical procedures of all that,
back then the Jews
were the only ones
who practiced circumcision.
Which nowadays
happens right after a baby is born
and is common practice
across the United States
and around the world
because they see the health benefits
in that.
But this procedure
divided people.
You were part of the circumcised Jews
or the uncircumcised Philistines
or Gentiles.
And so,
that was done in the flesh
by human hands.
But,
at that time,
there was a real exclusion happening.
There was a real dividing line.
There were those
who followed Jesus
and there were those
who were without Christ.
Excluded,
verse 12 says.
Excluded from the citizenship
of Israel.
Foreigners to the covenants
of promise.
God made all these promises
in the Old Testament.
He made all these covenants.
He said,
I will be with you.
I will be your God.
You will be my people.
And those of us Gentiles
were excluded from that.
Foreigners to that.
Without hope
and without God.
Now,
we had all kinds of things
that we would call God.
Throughout time,
Gentiles have had all sorts of things
that they would call God.
They'll make up their own.
They'll build idols.
They'll make their own passions
and goals
and desires
and the objects
of their love
and affection.
They'll raise them
to the status of God.
So we'll do all kinds of things
but in reality,
we are without God.
So,
we were excluded.
Ephesians 4.18,
a couple chapters later,
it says,
they're darkened
in their understanding,
excluded
from the life
of God
because of the ignorance
that's in them,
the hardness
of their hearts.
That is a reminder
of who we are
without God.
We are ignorant
and have hard hearts.
That's us.
God is the only one
that can impart
true wisdom
and understanding
to us.
God is the only one
that can soften our hearts.
God's the only one
that can make us
nice.
God's the only one
that can make us
lovable.
God's the only one
that can make us
good and righteous.
And so,
apart from him,
we are excluded
from God's life.
Why were we excluded?
Excluded.
We were without Christ,
without Jesus.
He's the answer.
He's the Savior.
He's the only way.
So if you don't have him,
you're excluded.
We are without citizenship.
We had citizenship
of the world,
but we were without
citizenship
in God's kingdom.
All throughout the parable,
you see Jesus
constantly making reference
to the kingdom of God.
Right?
Jesus says,
the kingdom of God
is like this,
and he tells a parable.
The kingdom of God
is like this.
He came to build
his kingdom on earth,
but we were excluded
from that kingdom
until he made a way
to have citizenship.
We've got some people
who recently gained
citizenship
to the United States
right down front here.
Yeah.
That's exciting,
isn't it?
I didn't mean
to call him out
this morning at all.
I'm trying to embarrass him,
but I'm on the spot.
But that is such
an exciting thing
when you gain citizenship
that you're seeking.
But my goodness,
it doesn't,
it pales in comparison
to gaining citizenship
into God's heavenly kingdom.
And we're excluded
from that,
apart from Christ.
We're without hope.
We have no hope.
Then verse 12,
that's what it said,
without hope
and without God.
And those two
are linked together.
Man, if you have,
if you don't have God,
you have no hope.
That's why there's
so much suicide out there.
There's why there's
so much depression out there.
That's why there's
so much hopelessness out there.
That's why there's
so much anger.
People lashing out
because they don't have
a life.
You ever heard somebody
tell you to get a life?
I've had people tell me
to get a life before.
We have a life.
We have something
to live for.
We have a reason
to keep going
if we have God.
If we have no God,
then what's this
ultimately about?
Who ultimately gets to say
what's right or wrong?
Who ultimately gets to say
what our lives
should be about?
Unless God is real,
God is true,
God exists,
and He's here for us.
So we're excluded
without Christ,
without citizenship,
without hope,
and without God.
But that's not
where He leaves us.
Number two,
reconciled.
This is what Jesus
does for us.
Verse 13,
now in Christ Jesus,
you who were far away
have been brought near
by the blood of Christ.
Okay?
So that's what Jesus
does for us.
All the way down
through verse 18,
He talks about how
He can reconcile us.
How does He do it?
Verse 14,
the second part here,
it says He tears down walls.
He tore down
the dividing wall
of hostility.
This is what man does.
Man builds up walls.
We build up walls
around our own hearts,
right?
And we don't let people in.
We build up walls
between countries,
and we don't let people in.
We build up walls
around ourselves
and our houses,
and we don't let people in.
We build up privacy fences.
We put up walls
everywhere we go.
Why?
Because we don't trust people.
Sometimes,
a lot of times,
with good reason.
Right?
But God is there
to tear down walls.
He's not saying
you need to go home
and tear down your fence
and open the door
to your house
and say,
everybody come on in.
That's a good way
to lose all your stuff
and maybe worse.
But,
hey,
Floyd,
I'm going to switch
to this handheld.
Sorry, man.
This thing's not staying put.
Check, check.
Y'all hear me?
There we go.
All right,
this will work.
This will work a lot better.
So,
God
tears down those walls
that we build.
He did it with sin.
He tore down
the wall
through his death
on the cross.
Now,
he didn't just go
and say,
sin's okay.
The things you have done
are okay now.
I'm changing the rules
and you're no longer
in trouble.
That's not what he did.
Sin is wicked.
Sin is terrible.
And something had
to be done about it.
A punishment
had to be made.
A sacrifice
had to be made.
Jesus made that sacrifice.
He took the punishment.
So,
then he said,
I can tear down
the wall now.
So,
now you can get
to God
because of me.
Jesus abolishes
legalism.
Verse 15,
he made of no effect
the law
consisting of commands
and expressed
in regulations.
You understand
what he's talking
about there?
All those
Old Testament commands,
many of which
God gave to
humanity himself.
He gave them
to his people
and established them
and then Jesus
abolished
the legalism.
That's what was needed
for that time
to show us
how freedom
in Christ
would look.
How exciting
and wonderful
it would be
when grace
replaced
the law.
You and I
cannot exist
by the law.
You and I
can't keep the law.
We can't follow it.
So,
I don't know about you
but I'm a pretty good person.
You're not good enough.
If you fail the point,
if you fail the law
in one point,
you've failed it all.
If you've broken
the law
in one area,
you've broken it all.
You're guilty
and you deserve
punishment
for your sin.
So,
Jesus said,
that's not the way
to God
and we don't need
to operate
that way
as people
of God.
Sometimes,
Christians have done
a poor job of that.
Sometimes,
we've carried on
legalistic practices
as though
the law
was still
the way
to God.
Sometimes,
we'll preach
grace.
We'll preach
salvation by grace
through faith
in Jesus
and yet,
we don't actually
live that way
where that grace
speaks louder
than the laws
we inflict upon people.
So,
we must be
very careful
as a church,
as the people of God,
to be people
of grace,
people of love,
people of compassion,
people of mercy
because that's
how God treats us.
I grew up
around a lot
of churches
in kind of a movement
that went really far
into legalism.
You know,
there was only
one version
of the Bible
you could use.
There was only
one type of music
that was acceptable.
There was only
one type of dress
that was acceptable.
You know,
you take it
as far as you want
to go,
but we kept
moving the needle
on what was
acceptable
in God's eyes
regardless of
whether God
actually said
anything about it
in the Bible.
And that's not
the Jesus
that came
to seek
and save
the lost.
That's not
the Jesus
that abolished
legalism.
Instead,
that Jesus
preached peace.
Preached peace.
That first part
of verse 14.
He is
our peace.
And then jump
down to verse 17.
He came
and proclaimed
the good news
of peace
to you
who were far away
and peace
to those
who were near.
That's what
Jesus does.
He came
to preach peace.
We're coming
into the Christmas
season.
We're going
to sing songs
all about
the Prince
of Peace,
about how
Jesus came
to bring peace
on earth.
Jesus
didn't come
just to bring
peace on earth.
The truth is
there's never
ultimately going
to be peace
on earth.
Jesus came
to bring peace
to the earth
through him.
He is the only
way to have
peace on this
earth.
But we're not
going to stay
here.
Eventually,
we're going
to get to go
up and be
with him
forever in
heaven.
So yes,
he said,
I came
to bring
peace on
earth and
have good
will toward
men,
but that's
only found
in him.
And someday,
this earth
will be
destroyed.
We read
about it
in the book
of Revelation.
Lanny's
teaching about
it on Wednesday
nights in the
book of Revelation,
but someday,
this earth's
going to go
away.
God's going
to start
over with
a new
heaven and
a new
earth,
and there
will be
peace.
But until
then,
he is the
Prince of
Peace for
us.
He preaches
the gospel
of peace,
and he's
given us
that gospel
of peace
to go
preach to
others.
Isn't it
good that
we have
a message
of peace?
You know,
we're not
the terrorists
who are going
around trying
to recruit
people to
a message
of war
and hate.
We have
a message
of peace.
We have
a message
of love.
We have
a message
of grace.
That's what
we get
to go tell
people about.
The good
news.
That's why
we call
it the gospel.
That's why
we call
it the good
news.
It's not
bad news
you're going
to be
a way
out of it.
You're
just giving
them a way
out of it.
You're giving
them a way
of escape.
You're giving
them a way
of deliverance
and freedom.
And Jesus
gives access
to God.
Verse 18,
for through
him we
both,
Israelites,
Gentiles,
the people
that God
chose and
all the rest
of us,
we both
have access
in one
spirit,
the Holy
Spirit,
to the
Father.
So,
he gives
access to
God.
Now,
there we
go.
I want
to read
this to
you guys.
James
Denny was
a Scottish
theologian.
He says,
the cross,
the cross
of Jesus
is the
meeting
place not
only of
God and
man,
but of
all races,
all conditions
of men
with each
other.
There's
neither
Greek nor
Jew,
male nor
female,
bond,
meaning
slaves,
nor free.
The cross
is the
basis of
a universal
religion and
has in it
the hope
of a universal
peace.
You understand
that?
Of all the
Christian truths
which are
confessed in
words,
this is the
one.
The one that
the cross is
the basis of
a universal
religion has
this idea of
the universal
peace.
this is the
Christian truth
which is most
outrageously
denied
indeed.
There's not a
Christian church
in the world
which believes
heartily in
the atonement.
You understand
we're saying
the atonement,
Jesus' death
on the cross
which took
the place
for us
in that
atonement
as the
extinction
of privilege
and the
leveling up
of all
men
to the
same
possibility
of life
in Christ
to the
same
calling
to be
saints.
The spirit
of privilege
if you're not
tracking with me
yet,
watch this
last sentence.
The spirit
of privilege
in spite
of the
cross
is obstinately
rooted
everywhere
even among
Christians.
It's calling
us out a little
bit.
Okay?
You understand
what he's
saying?
We have
this idea
of privilege
privilege
just like
the Jews
had
when they
were the
circumcised
and they're
looking down
on everybody
who's not
circumcised.
Paul deals
with it
all throughout
the New Testament
letters to
those early
churches.
You and I
have the same
spirit of
privilege
that puts
us up
above everybody
else and looks
down our noses
at everybody
else.
Why?
Because we
draw dividing
lines.
It's what we
do.
We love our
rivalries.
We love our
this is our
tribe,
this is our
crowd and
you can't
sit with
us.
That's what
we do.
And God
is God
continually
having to
remind us
that that's
not who
he is.
He tears
down those
walls.
He blurs
those dividing
lines.
And so it's
absolutely
essential for
the people
of God to
be reconciled
to God and
to one another.
And that's
what we come
to on the
last point
here,
unified.
What Jesus
saved us to
become.
We are to
become unified
in him.
Because he
tears down
the walls,
because he
has reconciled
us to
himself,
we now have
this common
bond,
which is more
important than
any other
division that
we find between
ourselves.
Our common
bond and
reconciled with
God is what
can unify us
despite our
differences.
promises.
So,
what are we
talking about?
We're
citizens of
the same
kingdom.
Citizens of
the same
kingdom.
Look at
verse 19.
So then,
you are no
longer citizens
with the
saints,
but members
of God's
household.
So,
we live
together,
okay?
We live
together in
the household
of God.
Now,
sure,
we all have
our own
houses that
we go to.
we don't
all wake up
in the morning
and see each
other at the
breakfast table.
But we are
all members
of the same
household,
and so these
truths should
bind us
together because
we realize we
are citizens of
the same
kingdom,
not an
earthly kingdom,
a heavenly
kingdom.
And that is
far more
important than
the earthly
kingdom.
today,
we have
people that
went and
literally paid
the ultimate
sacrifice to
keep us free
here in
America.
But you
know what the
ultimate example
of that is?
Jesus paid the
ultimate sacrifice
to give us
freedom that we
could never
achieve and no
one else could
ever find for
us.
No one else
could ever pay
that penalty.
No one else
could ever make
that level of
sacrifice for
us, but
Jesus made
it.
That is what
gives us
freedom at the
spiritual level
in the heavenly
kingdom, not
this earthly
kingdom.
So we're
citizens of
the same
kingdom.
Philippians
chapter 3
and verse 20
talks about
that.
Our
citizenship,
lest we
forget, is
in heaven.
And we
eagerly wait
for a savior
from there,
the Lord
Jesus Christ.
You know, I
fly my flag on
4th of July.
I'm proud to be
an American, and
I got to see
Lee Greenwood
seen that live
at a Dallas
Cowboys game, and
that was so
much fun.
Y'all ever
heard Lee Greenwood
sing proud to be
an American?
All right, I'm
just making sure
you're looking at
me like I don't
know what you're
talking about.
So I love it.
I'm patriotic.
Thank God every
day that I got to
be born in
America.
There are people
who might walk
into our church
that didn't get to
be born in
America, and they
don't have that
bond with us.
But you know what
bond we do have?
God's love.
Our citizenship is
in the same
kingdom.
Our citizenship is
in heaven.
So we thank God
for our earthly
citizenship, and we
try to be as good
a citizens as we
can in our earthly
countries, remembering
that our real
citizenship is in
heaven.
And someday, when
earthly nations will
have passed, God
will still remain.
Heaven will still
remain.
And our citizenship
will be there.
And so we thank
him for that.
2 Timothy 1 and
verse 9, he has
saved us.
He's called us with
a holy calling, not
according to our
works, but according
to his own purpose
and grace, which was
given to us in Christ
Jesus before time
began.
He's called us to a
higher calling, a
higher plane.
He's got his own
purpose for us, and
we're members of the
same family.
Verse 19, we saw
that.
We're no longer
foreigners and
strangers.
We're members of
God's household.
Now, what is
something that is
always true about
family?
Y'all start throwing
some things at me.
What's that?
Always get along, he
says tongue-in-cheek,
sarcastically, and
immediately his kids
say no.
That's funny.
No, families don't
always get along, do
they.
That's right.
They're there for
each other.
Families can feud
within themselves, but
they sure will unite
against anybody else
trying to attack them,
right?
That's my brother to
fight with.
You can't fight with
him.
We are members of the
same family.
I'm trying to teach
Austin a bow right now,
and they're home sick,
so I'm not going to, I
can pick on them, and
you know, it's fine.
But I'm trying to teach
them right now, you
guys are brothers, you're
two years apart, you've
got to have each other's
backs.
You've got to have each
other's backs.
My brother was six years
older than I am, well,
still is.
He always had my back, and
I always had his back.
And that was just, you
know, we had that
relationship.
And I want my kids to
have the same thing.
And the truth is, you
and I should have the
same thing with each
other.
We should have each
other's backs.
We should pray for each
other.
We should not be out
there to undermine each
other.
Yes, thank you.
God bless you.
I know.
It's, I had a cold for
like a week, and now
this cough just won't go
away.
Pardon me for a
second.
Don't look at me.
I feel self-conscious.
All right.
Here we go.
Thank you.
I'm going to wet the
whistle.
But we are members of
the same family.
We've got to remember
that.
And so we must love each
other like family.
Understand there's going
to be disagreements.
We're going to feud
sometimes.
But don't let it get to
the point of breaking up
the family.
You understand?
At some point,
somebody's got to humble
themselves and go and say,
you know what?
I was wrong.
I got to make this right.
I have to do that.
I've had to do that a
couple times in the last
few weeks.
It happens.
I got to do that with my
own family.
I got to do that with
this family.
We've got to do that
with one another.
God's household is the
church.
1 Timothy 3 reminds us of
this.
God's household is the
church of the living God,
the pillar and foundation
of the truth.
You understand that last
part there?
The pillar and foundation
of the truth?
It means the church is
really important.
The church is essential
to the community.
If we don't have a strong
church in the community,
then the community will
suffer because the pillar
and foundation of the
truth is crumbling.
So we've got to be a
strong pillar that can't
be broken.
We've got to have a strong
foundation that can't be
shaken of the truth.
Who's the truth?
Jesus.
He said, I am the way, the
truth, and the life, right?
So we are the expression of
Jesus on earth.
Again, that's a terrifying
thought, right?
If you and I are the ones who
are supposed to express Jesus
on the earth, we do that so
poorly sometimes.
It's no wonder the world around
us is going to hell in a
handbasket, so to speak.
But when we are a strong
pillar and foundation as the
church, then the truth is
able to go out and be
received and make a
difference and change lives.
So we must remember that we
are part of the same family,
part of God's household.
That's our church.
Romans 12, verse 5.
We who are many are one body
in Christ and individually
members of one another.
It doesn't just say that we're
members of God's body.
It says we're members of one
another.
Man, God just takes it a step
further.
He says you've got to get along
because you are members of one
another.
If there is strife within the
body where the members are
fighting with each other, then
the whole body suffers.
And then the whole community
suffers.
And then the whole county
suffers.
And the whole state suffers.
And the whole nation suffers.
And the whole world suffers.
And you start to see why
there's so much turmoil and
strife because often the
church drops the ball.
Ultimately, we are the light
in the dark world.
So when the light shines
brightly, people are drawn to
it.
When it's dim or when it's kind
of flickering, it's not as
effective.
And when it turns out, the
community is lost.
So we pray that God would not
extinguish our light, that we
would get along, that we would
be members of one another,
united as God's household.
We are stones in the same
temple.
Verse 20 through verse 22.
Verse 20, we're built on the
foundation of the apostles and
prophets with Christ Jesus
himself as the cornerstone.
In Christ Jesus, the whole
building being put together
grows into a holy temple in the
Lord.
In him, you also are being built
together for God's dwelling in
the spirit.
He's not just working on me.
He's working on all of us
together.
Okay?
They couldn't have said together
more times than they did.
It's like every sentence had the
word together in it.
We are being built together.
We're stones in the same temple.
So we're supposed to fit.
God's building us into what he
wants us to be and he's
building us together.
So we are stones in the same
temple.
Look at 1 Peter chapter 2
verses 4 and 5.
As you come to him, Jesus, a
living stone.
He is the living stone we're
talking about here.
There's this typology that we're
reading here.
Jesus is the living stone
rejected by people but chosen
and honored by God.
Then, verse 5, view yourselves
as living stones.
We're also living stones like
Jesus.
A spiritual house are being
built to be a holy priesthood.
God is building us together into
this beautiful spiritual house.
But we've got to fit together.
Okay?
If we get all bent out of shape,
then the stones don't fit.
And the house doesn't get built.
So, what's our takeaway?
We should daily trade our earthly
identities for our heavenly
identities.
That's our takeaway.
Daily trade my earthly identity
for my heavenly identity.
That is a daily action.
It's a daily realization.
Adopting my heavenly identity.
Why?
Why do we have to remind ourselves
daily?
Because we're trapped in this body.
We're trapped in this flesh.
We're not going to come by it
naturally.
You're not going to wake up
and be filled with the Spirit.
You'll have the Spirit of God
if you put your faith in Jesus
and are His child.
He's there.
But you've got to consciously
turn to Him
and say,
I'm taking on my heavenly identity
today
because the people around me
don't need earthly me.
Right?
They need heavenly me.
I can always tell
when my family
is getting earthly Sam
as opposed to heavenly Sam.
And they usually suffer
a little bit for that.
I can always tell
when I'm dealing with people
in my earthly self
as opposed to my heavenly self.
And then I've got to go
make that right.
And you've got to do
the same thing.
So we must daily trade
our earthly identities
for our heavenly identities.
Real quick and we're done.
What does this look like?
Identity switch.
Okay?
Identity switch.
Here we go.
I give up earthly privileges.
That's what that guy
was talking about,
James Denny,
that Scottish theologian.
You know,
we carry around this idea
of privilege with us.
And I'm not even referencing
the, you know,
this,
the woke ideology out there
of white privilege
and, you know,
that kind of stuff.
That's not what I'm talking about.
I'm talking about
this Christian privilege
that comes into our minds.
This Christian privilege
of I'm above that.
I'm a good person
because I go to church.
I've been going to church
my whole life.
I'm a deacon.
I give my tithe.
You know,
we get this idea
of earthly privilege
in our heads.
We've got to get that out
and remind ourselves
that we are
who God says we are.
We are wicked,
evil sinners
on our way to hell.
But God came in
and rescued us
and changed us.
And now the only good in us
is because of him.
So now we are
simply stones
being built
into the building
that he wants us to be.
We are lights
shining in the darkness.
We give up our privileges
and we take on
his responsibility,
his mission for us,
his purpose for us.
I give up earthly preferences.
Number two,
I give up earthly preferences.
Okay?
You might feel one way about it.
What did we say
back in our series
on the church?
Don't let secondary things
become primary.
Anybody remember that?
Good.
Don't let secondary things
become primary.
We've got to at some point
give up our earthly preferences
out of preference
for others.
Say, you know,
this is what I would prefer,
but that's not
what really matters.
What really matters
is we fit together.
We are unified
and we can go forward.
It doesn't matter
if I win.
I don't have to win
as long as Jesus wins.
I give up earthly preferences
and then I give up
earthly priorities.
Your priority
about the music
might be something.
Your priority
about how the church looks
might be something.
Your priority
about how you spend
your time
might be one way.
Your priority
about what you spend
your money on
might be one way.
God,
I can tell you,
I can promise you,
is here to rearrange
your priorities.
God will do that.
The closer you walk
with God,
he will give you
new priorities.
And if you give up
your earthly identity
and you take on
your heavenly identity,
your priorities
will change.
Alright?
But they'll change
for the better.
God will make something
so much more beautiful
out of your life
through that reordering
of your priorities
than you ever could.
I can promise that.
I can testify that.
He's done it in mine.
And then I give up
earthly passions.
I give up
earthly passions.
You might be
passionate about something
that God doesn't want
you to be passionate about.
You might be
dominated or controlled
by the lusts
of your flesh.
You might have
worldly sinful appetites
that are driving you
away from God.
And that's a constant
battle going on
between the flesh
and the spirit
in your life.
When you take on
your heavenly identity,
you give up
those earthly passions.
Say,
God,
I love how it makes me feel.
I love doing this.
It's my go-to.
It's my escape.
But instead,
you're going to have
to provide a new escape
for me.
He will.
You're going to have
to provide release
for me,
deliverance for me,
freedom for me.
He will.
He'll give you
new passions.
You can become
passionate about
your family.
You can become
passionate about
his will for your life.
You can become
passionate about
the people in your life
that don't know Jesus
and helping them
meet him for the first time.
He'll give you
new passions.
Galatians 3.28.
It's printed
in your bulletin there.
There is no Jew
or Greek.
There's no slave
or free.
There's no male
and female
since you are
all one
in Christ Jesus.
All right?
You got that?
Did we get it
across this morning?
That's who we are.
We are one
in Jesus.
That's who God
says we are.
We sang it earlier.
I am
who you say I am.
Who he says we are
is one
in Christ Jesus.
There's this song
that was written
by this guy
who said his name
was John Oxenham.
That wasn't his real name
but that was the name
he wrote music under.
And so he says
in Christ
there is
no
east
or west.
It's in our
Baptist hymnal.
In Christ
there is
no east
or west.
If you don't believe me
you can pull it out
and search in the back
it'll be there.
In him
no south
or north.
The whole song
I encourage you
to look at it
when you get home
tonight
it's 12 o'clock
we're not going
to take time
to go through
it all right now.
But the principle
is there
in Christ
there is
no east
or west
in him
no south
or north.
Man draws
these divisions.
Man back
in the time
in the day
when this song
was written
the north
and south
that was
a major division.
Right?
Man has always
throughout time
drawn lines
drawn dividing lines.
God is here
to blur those lines.
God is here
to tear down
those walls.
We must daily trade
our earthly identity
and all that goes
along with it
all that baggage
that makes up
our earthly identity
lay it down
and take on
our heavenly identity
and say God
as best I can
with the help
of your spirit
I'm going to be
who you say
I am today.
Would you pray with me?
Let's bow our heads.
Lord Jesus
I thank you
for teaching us
from your word.
I thank you
for convicting me
for convicting
I'm sure many hearts
in here
by your spirit
that we don't always
act like who
we actually are.
We often
act out of our
earthly identity
instead of our
heavenly identity.
And our priorities
and our passions
and our preferences
always come up
to the forefront.
I pray that we would
confess that to you.
Thank you for your forgiveness
and walk forward
by the power
of your spirit.
Church with every head bowed
and every eye closed
right now
let me ask you
this question.
How many of you
would say
there's some things
that God needs to change
in my heart?
to become that heavenly
version of me
that he wants me to be
instead of that
earthly version?
There's some things
he needs to change in me.
Would you slip your hand up
and I'll pray for you?
All across the room
thank you.
You can put your hands down.
How many of you would say
I don't even know Jesus yet.
I need to be saved.
I need to confess my sins
and turn from my sin
and turn to Jesus
to forgive me
become his child.
Would you slip your hand up?
I'll pray for you as well.
Thank you.
God you've seen the hands
you know what's going on
in each heart.
I ask that you would
embolden us
give us the courage
and give us the strength
to take the steps necessary
to lay down
ourselves
and take on our identity
in you.
Make us fit together
as a beautiful
holy building
of a church
that can go out
in this community
and truly show off
Jesus
and not ourselves.
We'll trust you
to do it
it's in Jesus name
we pray.
Amen.
Thank you.