WEBVTT 00:00:00.780 --> 00:00:05.480 Thanks, Luca, and folks, wonderful to see you here today, and welcome to those who are 00:00:05.480 --> 00:00:06.719 joining us online as well. 00:00:06.780 --> 00:00:08.859 It's wonderful to have you with us. 00:00:08.880 --> 00:00:13.439 Let me encourage you to have those verses in Ephesians chapter 2 open in front of you, 00:00:13.480 --> 00:00:17.019 your own Bibles if you have it there, or if you need to use your phone, use your phone. 00:00:17.580 --> 00:00:22.780 And let me just enthuse us for this passage today, because it is absolutely magnificent 00:00:22.780 --> 00:00:24.280 once we get to the heart of it. 00:00:24.280 --> 00:00:26.640 Let me just try and get us straight there. 00:00:26.640 --> 00:00:33.660 By telling you a question I was constantly asked when I was growing up, growing up in 00:00:33.660 --> 00:00:40.219 and around Glasgow, a question people always asked the first time they met you was, are 00:00:40.219 --> 00:00:41.620 you blue or are you green? 00:00:43.140 --> 00:00:44.600 Are you blue or are you green? 00:00:46.100 --> 00:00:50.219 And the thing that you soon realised, you soon clocked on to the more you were asked this 00:00:50.219 --> 00:00:55.280 question is that people were asking you way more than what football team you support. 00:00:55.280 --> 00:01:03.160 Actually what they were asking you deep down is, are you Protestant or are you Catholic? 00:01:03.859 --> 00:01:06.120 Is what they were asking us when we were growing up. 00:01:06.820 --> 00:01:10.040 And it's so revealing, that question, I remember being asked it all the time when I was young, 00:01:10.460 --> 00:01:19.480 so revealing of a deep, historic and at times really ugly divide that exists in that city. 00:01:19.480 --> 00:01:30.100 And if you think about it, it's just one example of many issues that we know so often divide the peoples of this world, right? 00:01:30.219 --> 00:01:37.700 Economic, slash financial, social, slash class, political. 00:01:39.080 --> 00:01:43.980 And what we've seen playing out right now in the US, in South Africa, didn't mean in the 90s, 00:01:43.980 --> 00:01:48.159 what do we see now playing out in the US? Racial divisions everywhere. 00:01:49.800 --> 00:01:51.560 So here's the question we're going to think about today. 00:01:52.140 --> 00:01:57.260 So think about the divisions in the world is, what is the answer to mankind's divisions? 00:01:58.780 --> 00:01:59.040 Right? 00:01:59.719 --> 00:02:01.320 What is the answer to mankind's divisions? 00:02:01.439 --> 00:02:02.700 Where is peace to be found? 00:02:02.760 --> 00:02:05.200 I remember when we were young, we used to mimic, right? 00:02:05.300 --> 00:02:06.020 Miss America. 00:02:07.100 --> 00:02:09.879 I don't know if you used to watch that kind of stuff when you were, I didn't watch it, 00:02:09.879 --> 00:02:11.180 but we kind of knew what went on. 00:02:12.079 --> 00:02:14.859 These kind of contests, and they would interview the winner, and they would say, 00:02:14.919 --> 00:02:15.879 well, what is it you want? 00:02:15.939 --> 00:02:18.240 What's the one thing that you'd want more than anything else? 00:02:18.319 --> 00:02:23.680 And the person would apply it with her crown on, I simply want world peace. 00:02:24.539 --> 00:02:24.639 Right? 00:02:24.659 --> 00:02:26.099 We all used to laugh at it in the playground. 00:02:27.019 --> 00:02:27.340 Right? 00:02:27.439 --> 00:02:29.159 Because it was a bit cliche, it was a bit cheesy. 00:02:29.800 --> 00:02:32.340 But more so, I think, because we thought, you dreamer. 00:02:33.319 --> 00:02:33.639 Right? 00:02:33.759 --> 00:02:34.400 You dreamer. 00:02:34.939 --> 00:02:36.539 Because we've realized the world in which we're living. 00:02:36.620 --> 00:02:37.120 You dreamer. 00:02:37.199 --> 00:02:38.039 You think it's going to be peace? 00:02:38.039 --> 00:02:43.139 Friends, what will bring peace to the peoples of our world? 00:02:43.199 --> 00:02:43.859 Here's what we try. 00:02:44.939 --> 00:02:45.840 We try education. 00:02:46.599 --> 00:02:48.199 We try money. 00:02:48.340 --> 00:02:49.039 And we try law. 00:02:49.979 --> 00:02:50.120 Right? 00:02:50.199 --> 00:02:50.599 Agreed? 00:02:51.039 --> 00:02:52.459 Three very good things. 00:02:52.979 --> 00:02:57.659 Good things that when we use them in really constructive ways can certainly help the situations. 00:02:57.819 --> 00:03:02.219 But here's the limitations of those, the limitation of those three things. 00:03:02.319 --> 00:03:04.319 Why they will not work. 00:03:04.319 --> 00:03:08.659 And is it those things cannot change the human heart? 00:03:09.780 --> 00:03:17.419 Isn't it so often the case that actually those three things bring out sometimes the worst in the human heart as we look over history? 00:03:18.579 --> 00:03:19.900 Cannot change the human heart. 00:03:19.959 --> 00:03:26.780 Which, if you track the Bible story, shows us that that is the very source of the problem. 00:03:26.780 --> 00:03:32.319 In other words, before the problem is out there, the problem exists in here. 00:03:33.340 --> 00:03:39.860 The shockwaves of sin ever since Genesis 3 enters the human equation as it causes havoc to humanity. 00:03:40.300 --> 00:03:44.659 I mean, you read from Genesis 3 onwards in the Bible story, you start to get words like shame. 00:03:45.060 --> 00:03:46.939 That didn't exist in Genesis 1 and 2. 00:03:48.060 --> 00:03:49.039 You start getting anger. 00:03:49.039 --> 00:03:50.379 You get murder. 00:03:50.560 --> 00:03:51.379 You get envy. 00:03:51.500 --> 00:03:53.039 And all these things coming in. 00:03:53.859 --> 00:03:58.399 And they're representative of a hostility that exists in two directions. 00:03:59.280 --> 00:03:59.419 Okay? 00:03:59.459 --> 00:04:02.340 A hostility between us and our Creator. 00:04:03.620 --> 00:04:07.819 And flowing from that, a hostility that goes out of the way. 00:04:08.060 --> 00:04:08.579 Vertically. 00:04:08.879 --> 00:04:09.620 Sorry, vertically. 00:04:09.780 --> 00:04:12.340 To the peoples of our world. 00:04:13.680 --> 00:04:16.819 Broken relationships everywhere you look. 00:04:17.100 --> 00:04:17.259 Right? 00:04:17.300 --> 00:04:18.680 I mean, how painful is it, friends? 00:04:18.680 --> 00:04:19.759 We know this in our lives. 00:04:19.819 --> 00:04:23.720 How painful is it when you've fallen out with somebody? 00:04:25.120 --> 00:04:25.480 Right? 00:04:25.600 --> 00:04:26.400 In your family. 00:04:26.519 --> 00:04:27.319 We know these things. 00:04:29.400 --> 00:04:30.600 Strained relationships. 00:04:31.400 --> 00:04:33.300 What is it they always told us growing up? 00:04:33.400 --> 00:04:36.280 Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will never harm you. 00:04:36.360 --> 00:04:36.759 Nonsense. 00:04:38.519 --> 00:04:39.500 I know my own life. 00:04:39.639 --> 00:04:40.759 We were thinking about this last week. 00:04:40.759 --> 00:04:48.040 How is it that so often the people that we love most are the ones that we seem to have the ability to hurt most? 00:04:48.680 --> 00:04:51.360 So, friends, what is the answer to mankind's divisions? 00:04:51.600 --> 00:04:53.100 This is the question of this passage. 00:04:53.240 --> 00:04:55.540 In Ephesians chapter 2, God makes his play. 00:04:56.660 --> 00:04:56.819 Okay? 00:04:56.939 --> 00:04:57.800 God makes his play. 00:04:57.879 --> 00:05:02.759 And he lays out his plan to bring unity to his people. 00:05:02.759 --> 00:05:08.060 Because there's a massive division that forms the backdrop of this passage today. 00:05:08.060 --> 00:05:09.879 If you've got it there, look at verse 14. 00:05:10.139 --> 00:05:16.000 Paul talks about the divide that exists between the Jews and the Gentiles. 00:05:16.099 --> 00:05:16.199 Right? 00:05:16.199 --> 00:05:19.659 So, you've got on one hand, you've got Jews, the historic people of God. 00:05:19.659 --> 00:05:26.219 On the other hand, you've got the Gentiles, the peoples of the pagan nations who exist outside of Israel. 00:05:27.279 --> 00:05:33.159 And this divide is ingrained in your mind if you're a Jew, that these people are different to us. 00:05:33.860 --> 00:05:34.000 Right? 00:05:34.120 --> 00:05:40.819 Jewish rabbis used to pray every day, Lord, thank you that you did not create me a Gentile. 00:05:40.819 --> 00:05:47.560 And the Gentiles used to repay the compliment as they mocked the Jews because they worshipped a God who you can't see. 00:05:48.420 --> 00:05:49.560 How foolish is that? 00:05:51.300 --> 00:05:55.060 In fact, there's a big sign in the temple in Jerusalem designed to keep the Gentiles out. 00:05:55.139 --> 00:05:58.959 The big sign that read, do not enter here if you're a Gentile. 00:05:59.000 --> 00:06:01.680 Because if you do, you will die. 00:06:01.759 --> 00:06:07.060 I mean, this is the equivalent of, this is the religious version, if you like, of social distancing. 00:06:07.319 --> 00:06:09.319 We keep away from them. 00:06:09.319 --> 00:06:19.860 And yet God has always promised, always promised, that there would be a day when the Gentiles would be grafted in and would be part of his united people. 00:06:19.959 --> 00:06:23.899 It's a glorious promise as you trace it through the Old Testament story. 00:06:24.279 --> 00:06:28.240 And the very fact that there's a church in Ephesus is proof of that. 00:06:29.779 --> 00:06:30.000 Right? 00:06:30.039 --> 00:06:34.959 A church where the majority of people in this church are from a Gentile background. 00:06:34.959 --> 00:06:38.739 But I'm assuming because we read that there's a synagogue in Acts 19. 00:06:39.379 --> 00:06:43.799 There may well be some Jewish people with a Jewish background in here as well. 00:06:43.859 --> 00:06:43.939 Right? 00:06:43.939 --> 00:06:49.159 You can understand that there's potential tensions that exist in this church. 00:06:49.259 --> 00:06:50.979 But Paul's big point here is this. 00:06:52.019 --> 00:06:56.839 That God, in Christ Jesus, has made you one. 00:06:56.839 --> 00:07:03.339 And here's the claim that God's word would make today. 00:07:04.979 --> 00:07:15.120 That the gospel has the power to smash to smithereens every single barrier that divides the people of the world. 00:07:15.120 --> 00:07:16.120 Okay? 00:07:17.540 --> 00:07:25.060 And so as we respond to this today, let me just ask us three quick questions to get us thinking along these lines as a church family. 00:07:25.259 --> 00:07:25.459 Okay? 00:07:25.519 --> 00:07:26.100 You ready for these? 00:07:26.160 --> 00:07:27.160 Here's the first question. 00:07:28.500 --> 00:07:30.780 Friends, are we humbled by our history? 00:07:32.120 --> 00:07:32.360 Okay? 00:07:32.540 --> 00:07:33.840 Are we humbled by our history? 00:07:33.959 --> 00:07:37.500 So there's a story told of a husband and wife in their 80s. 00:07:37.519 --> 00:07:39.040 They've been married for a very long time. 00:07:39.040 --> 00:07:44.660 One evening the wife comes in and says to the husband, my dearest, I just looked in the mirror and I didn't like what I saw. 00:07:45.220 --> 00:07:45.360 Right? 00:07:45.420 --> 00:07:46.439 My teeth are going yellow. 00:07:46.540 --> 00:07:47.439 My hair is going gray. 00:07:47.540 --> 00:07:48.760 There's wrinkles under my eyes. 00:07:48.840 --> 00:07:51.640 And the husband turns around and says, well, sweetheart, look on the bright side. 00:07:52.280 --> 00:07:54.720 At least your eyesight seems to be in good condition. 00:07:57.700 --> 00:07:59.060 Paul's saying the same thing here. 00:07:59.500 --> 00:07:59.680 Right? 00:08:00.960 --> 00:08:03.939 As he speaks to the Gentiles, which, by the way, is us. 00:08:05.580 --> 00:08:07.820 He's saying, do you see yourself clearly? 00:08:07.819 --> 00:08:12.480 Do you understand what you were? 00:08:13.839 --> 00:08:14.000 Right? 00:08:14.180 --> 00:08:14.920 Spiritually speaking. 00:08:15.860 --> 00:08:17.399 He says, remember at verse 11. 00:08:17.480 --> 00:08:18.099 Now, see that word? 00:08:18.180 --> 00:08:24.439 That is key because it is the only imperative in the whole first half of this letter, chapters 1, 2, and 3. 00:08:24.560 --> 00:08:25.480 He says, remember. 00:08:26.620 --> 00:08:32.939 Remember that as far as having any chance of knowing this magnificent God goes. 00:08:33.059 --> 00:08:33.240 Right? 00:08:33.779 --> 00:08:34.919 You had no chance. 00:08:34.919 --> 00:08:38.879 It wasn't as if you kind of ran for the bus and were banging on the door thinking, open up. 00:08:38.919 --> 00:08:40.959 And the bus went away thinking, oh, I was so close. 00:08:41.419 --> 00:08:44.279 He's saying you didn't have any hope of knowing this God. 00:08:44.379 --> 00:08:44.519 Right? 00:08:44.559 --> 00:08:46.339 Remember my grandpa used to say growing up. 00:08:46.599 --> 00:08:46.879 Right? 00:08:47.639 --> 00:08:48.419 You didn't have a Scooby. 00:08:49.259 --> 00:08:49.639 Right? 00:08:49.740 --> 00:08:50.699 Scooby-doo clue. 00:08:51.079 --> 00:08:51.259 Right? 00:08:51.360 --> 00:08:54.279 You didn't have a clue about this God. 00:08:54.279 --> 00:09:00.939 Not even the slightest notion of who he is, of what he'd done, of what he'd promised. 00:09:01.419 --> 00:09:02.980 I mean, look at the words that he uses there. 00:09:03.059 --> 00:09:03.539 Verse 12. 00:09:03.659 --> 00:09:05.120 Remember, he says, remember what? 00:09:05.360 --> 00:09:06.179 What were you? 00:09:07.179 --> 00:09:08.379 Separated from Christ. 00:09:09.839 --> 00:09:11.179 Alienated from God's people. 00:09:12.039 --> 00:09:13.879 And strangers to his promises. 00:09:14.319 --> 00:09:15.459 And having no hope. 00:09:16.139 --> 00:09:18.679 And without God in the world. 00:09:18.679 --> 00:09:21.719 And friends, right here is what we were before God. 00:09:21.799 --> 00:09:22.939 God involved in our life. 00:09:25.219 --> 00:09:27.539 And you say, well, why go to town on this? 00:09:28.139 --> 00:09:28.979 At this point. 00:09:29.059 --> 00:09:35.479 Well, I'm assuming it's because the key to unity is humility. 00:09:37.599 --> 00:09:39.879 You want to see more humility in your life? 00:09:39.939 --> 00:09:40.620 I know I do. 00:09:40.620 --> 00:09:51.299 How underrated a virtue in our world is gentleness and patience and humility. 00:09:51.480 --> 00:09:54.659 Paul's saying humility is the key to your unity. 00:09:54.860 --> 00:09:55.700 Friends, let me just ask you. 00:09:55.720 --> 00:09:56.759 And here's what I was thinking about this week. 00:09:56.860 --> 00:09:56.960 Right? 00:09:58.379 --> 00:10:05.620 Does it amaze us that by God's sheer grace that we've even heard about Jesus? 00:10:07.680 --> 00:10:07.799 Right? 00:10:07.799 --> 00:10:08.399 Does that? 00:10:08.480 --> 00:10:09.180 We think on that. 00:10:09.179 --> 00:10:13.379 The pursuing love of God for us. 00:10:13.579 --> 00:10:13.699 Right? 00:10:13.899 --> 00:10:15.679 That went after us. 00:10:15.839 --> 00:10:16.979 That hunted us. 00:10:17.159 --> 00:10:18.639 That sought us out. 00:10:18.739 --> 00:10:20.359 The pursuing love of God. 00:10:20.699 --> 00:10:23.279 As seen in the person of Jesus. 00:10:23.779 --> 00:10:26.859 Does it amaze us that we've even heard about Jesus? 00:10:27.079 --> 00:10:27.239 Right? 00:10:27.299 --> 00:10:28.139 It's a wonderful thing. 00:10:28.259 --> 00:10:31.159 The privilege I have of studying church history over the years. 00:10:31.219 --> 00:10:31.339 Right? 00:10:31.359 --> 00:10:36.179 You learn about people that God has used down the ages to get the message of Jesus. 00:10:36.339 --> 00:10:38.019 The gospel to these shores. 00:10:38.159 --> 00:10:38.299 Right? 00:10:38.299 --> 00:10:39.979 I'm thinking of William Tyndale this week. 00:10:41.099 --> 00:10:49.000 Great desire he had of translating the Bible from Latin into English so that the everyday people could understand it. 00:10:49.000 --> 00:10:54.000 Because when it was in Latin, it was simply the priest that controlled what was being said to the people. 00:10:54.079 --> 00:10:56.019 And his famous phrase, he said, 00:10:56.019 --> 00:11:03.120 If God spare my life before very long, I shall cause that the plow boy knows the scriptures better than you do. 00:11:03.179 --> 00:11:04.159 Talking to the priest. 00:11:05.419 --> 00:11:05.860 Right? 00:11:05.939 --> 00:11:09.319 The people that God has used to get the gospel here. 00:11:09.320 --> 00:11:16.780 And I think of the people that God has used to bring into my life over the years, the message of Jesus. 00:11:17.460 --> 00:11:17.900 Right? 00:11:17.960 --> 00:11:25.720 And each time that happens, it is if Jesus is standing there making his plea to me through them. 00:11:25.720 --> 00:11:28.620 It always amazes me. 00:11:28.680 --> 00:11:28.820 Right? 00:11:28.879 --> 00:11:30.240 So I'm on a school run each morning. 00:11:31.120 --> 00:11:32.399 And I'm speaking to parents. 00:11:32.519 --> 00:11:32.660 Right? 00:11:32.759 --> 00:11:34.300 And telling them what I do. 00:11:34.440 --> 00:11:35.460 Telling them about the church. 00:11:35.580 --> 00:11:36.120 What we do. 00:11:36.259 --> 00:11:37.340 Telling them about faith. 00:11:37.540 --> 00:11:42.660 And it amazes me just how many don't have the foggiest idea who Jesus is. 00:11:43.480 --> 00:11:46.500 There's no notion of what is going on. 00:11:46.500 --> 00:11:55.220 How often we just assume that the people that we rub shoulders with each and every day have heard about Jesus, but they've just said, nah, it's not for me. 00:11:56.700 --> 00:12:00.480 You know, the truth of the reality today is pretty much the opposite. 00:12:01.419 --> 00:12:04.620 The vast majority of people just haven't even heard. 00:12:06.600 --> 00:12:08.860 I always love the strapline of UCCF. 00:12:10.240 --> 00:12:11.879 One of our mission partners as well. 00:12:12.019 --> 00:12:13.899 Why do they exist on university campuses? 00:12:13.899 --> 00:12:19.179 And it's simply to give every student in Britain the opportunity to hear about Jesus. 00:12:21.360 --> 00:12:24.139 Friends, are we humbled by our history? 00:12:25.159 --> 00:12:27.879 And then secondly, are we thankful for our unity? 00:12:29.259 --> 00:12:29.500 Right? 00:12:29.559 --> 00:12:30.879 Because look what God has done. 00:12:30.980 --> 00:12:31.699 Verse 13. 00:12:32.120 --> 00:12:33.399 Just follow the language here. 00:12:33.439 --> 00:12:33.879 What has he done? 00:12:33.919 --> 00:12:34.819 He's brought us near. 00:12:36.019 --> 00:12:36.980 We were over there. 00:12:37.059 --> 00:12:37.679 We didn't have a clue. 00:12:37.919 --> 00:12:38.579 We were alone. 00:12:39.079 --> 00:12:40.199 He brought us near. 00:12:40.659 --> 00:12:40.799 Right? 00:12:40.960 --> 00:12:41.519 Sawed us out. 00:12:41.620 --> 00:12:42.319 Hunted us down. 00:12:42.419 --> 00:12:42.939 Brought us near. 00:12:42.940 --> 00:12:46.320 It's kind of like, I was trying to think of, it was like fishing this week. 00:12:46.380 --> 00:12:47.760 Remember doing that when I was growing up? 00:12:48.460 --> 00:12:49.300 Putting out the line. 00:12:49.560 --> 00:12:50.240 Getting a catch. 00:12:50.340 --> 00:12:50.860 Line out. 00:12:51.180 --> 00:12:51.940 Bring it home. 00:12:52.180 --> 00:12:52.280 Right? 00:12:52.340 --> 00:12:53.040 Bringing it near. 00:12:53.140 --> 00:12:55.000 This is what God's done through Jesus. 00:12:55.920 --> 00:12:57.120 And the power of the Spirit. 00:12:57.760 --> 00:12:58.820 And verse 14. 00:12:59.380 --> 00:12:59.540 Right? 00:12:59.600 --> 00:13:05.080 He has smashed down the dividing wall of hostility that exists between the Jews and the Gentiles. 00:13:05.280 --> 00:13:06.700 And he's made them one. 00:13:06.800 --> 00:13:07.720 Now that is stunning. 00:13:08.940 --> 00:13:09.200 Right? 00:13:09.580 --> 00:13:10.240 Brought you near. 00:13:10.420 --> 00:13:11.240 Smashed it down. 00:13:11.740 --> 00:13:12.300 Made you one. 00:13:12.299 --> 00:13:13.439 And this is what God has done. 00:13:14.099 --> 00:13:14.299 Right? 00:13:14.819 --> 00:13:15.479 Brought you near. 00:13:15.599 --> 00:13:16.299 Smashed it down. 00:13:16.439 --> 00:13:17.019 Made you one. 00:13:17.719 --> 00:13:18.579 And how has he done it? 00:13:18.659 --> 00:13:19.479 Verse 14. 00:13:20.579 --> 00:13:22.740 And if you enter into memory verses. 00:13:22.919 --> 00:13:24.319 Here's your memory verse for the week. 00:13:24.939 --> 00:13:25.179 Okay? 00:13:26.919 --> 00:13:27.759 Verse 14. 00:13:27.899 --> 00:13:30.059 Echoing the words of Isaiah 53. 00:13:31.179 --> 00:13:33.039 Isaiah talking about God speaking to Isaiah. 00:13:33.039 --> 00:13:37.059 Talking about the suffering servant who will accomplish his purposes in the world. 00:13:38.179 --> 00:13:39.259 Here's the phrase. 00:13:39.419 --> 00:13:40.079 Get it in your mind. 00:13:40.080 --> 00:13:43.120 He himself is our peace. 00:13:44.379 --> 00:13:45.800 Remember one thing from this. 00:13:45.940 --> 00:13:47.860 He himself is our peace. 00:13:47.960 --> 00:13:50.660 In other words, Paul wants them to see that peace is not a thing. 00:13:51.180 --> 00:13:52.180 It's a person. 00:13:54.040 --> 00:13:54.259 Okay? 00:13:54.259 --> 00:13:56.300 Remember I used to study with this guy called Suraj. 00:13:56.299 --> 00:13:59.479 Who's now planting churches in Nepal. 00:13:59.479 --> 00:14:00.479 Back in his homeland. 00:14:00.479 --> 00:14:01.620 In his previous life. 00:14:01.859 --> 00:14:04.359 And I'll maybe share it later on Facebook or something like that. 00:14:04.559 --> 00:14:05.679 Testimony he gave recently. 00:14:06.599 --> 00:14:07.259 Previous life. 00:14:07.359 --> 00:14:07.939 Into drugs. 00:14:08.099 --> 00:14:08.779 Into gangs. 00:14:08.939 --> 00:14:10.519 Into frequent run-ins with the police. 00:14:10.639 --> 00:14:11.959 Repeatedly in and out of jail. 00:14:12.099 --> 00:14:15.839 Inside he was just saying that he was angry all the time. 00:14:16.559 --> 00:14:16.659 Right? 00:14:16.659 --> 00:14:18.579 Just angry at everybody in life. 00:14:18.580 --> 00:14:21.820 He was about Jesus. 00:14:22.460 --> 00:14:22.620 Right? 00:14:22.639 --> 00:14:23.320 About his sin. 00:14:23.460 --> 00:14:24.139 He's undone. 00:14:26.080 --> 00:14:27.379 And about the God who loves him. 00:14:27.560 --> 00:14:29.160 About the God who sought him out. 00:14:29.360 --> 00:14:31.139 And he said for the first time in his life. 00:14:31.200 --> 00:14:32.580 When he understood those things. 00:14:33.000 --> 00:14:35.580 He said, I had peace. 00:14:37.879 --> 00:14:38.360 Peace. 00:14:38.360 --> 00:14:38.960 Right? 00:14:38.960 --> 00:14:39.360 Why? 00:14:40.360 --> 00:14:42.300 Because he's been arrested, if you like. 00:14:42.800 --> 00:14:44.440 By the Prince of Peace. 00:14:45.800 --> 00:14:46.240 Right? 00:14:46.279 --> 00:14:46.580 I love it. 00:14:46.620 --> 00:14:48.820 The first words that Jesus gives after he's risen. 00:14:48.940 --> 00:14:50.840 As he encounters his disciples in that room. 00:14:50.879 --> 00:14:51.419 What does he say? 00:14:51.480 --> 00:14:52.600 One of the first words out of his mouth. 00:14:53.120 --> 00:14:54.100 Peace I give to you. 00:14:55.860 --> 00:14:56.300 Peace. 00:14:56.659 --> 00:14:56.840 Right? 00:14:56.899 --> 00:14:58.480 How did Jesus bring peace? 00:14:59.519 --> 00:15:00.220 Verse 16. 00:15:00.279 --> 00:15:01.279 He did it by the cross. 00:15:02.720 --> 00:15:03.159 See? 00:15:03.279 --> 00:15:09.340 Because the cross is the place where the Prince of Peace. 00:15:09.340 --> 00:15:10.639 Peace wins our peace. 00:15:10.740 --> 00:15:16.840 Where the hostility between us and God and us and others is blown out of the water. 00:15:17.100 --> 00:15:17.300 Right? 00:15:17.460 --> 00:15:19.100 Because, and I think this is what's going on here. 00:15:19.180 --> 00:15:21.580 Paul is saying that the way to God now is the same. 00:15:23.280 --> 00:15:23.620 Okay? 00:15:24.480 --> 00:15:26.040 There are not different ways to God. 00:15:26.200 --> 00:15:29.840 This is not you take the high road, I'll take the low road, and I'll be a Christian before you. 00:15:29.879 --> 00:15:30.019 Right? 00:15:30.080 --> 00:15:33.060 There is one way to God, and it's the same. 00:15:33.120 --> 00:15:34.379 And it's not by our efforts. 00:15:34.500 --> 00:15:35.740 It's not by our ethnicity. 00:15:35.740 --> 00:15:39.940 It's not about Gentiles becoming Jews or even Jews becoming Gentiles. 00:15:40.039 --> 00:15:41.480 It is by sheer grace. 00:15:42.820 --> 00:15:45.840 Through the one who called himself the gate for the sheep. 00:15:46.899 --> 00:15:49.620 It's by faith in Jesus and in him. 00:15:50.200 --> 00:15:55.200 And him alone becoming, verse 15, this one new man. 00:15:55.200 --> 00:15:58.240 One new man. 00:15:58.420 --> 00:15:59.140 What does that mean? 00:15:59.200 --> 00:16:08.080 It means that as Christ's people across the world, down ages, we have access and share the same heavenly Father. 00:16:08.259 --> 00:16:10.280 And he has made us family. 00:16:12.080 --> 00:16:12.480 Family. 00:16:12.640 --> 00:16:13.259 Not just friends. 00:16:13.379 --> 00:16:13.900 Not just mates. 00:16:13.980 --> 00:16:15.100 Not just plain happy families. 00:16:15.759 --> 00:16:16.680 He's made us family. 00:16:16.800 --> 00:16:17.580 He's made us one. 00:16:17.580 --> 00:16:21.379 And I would just say, we're thankful for our unity. 00:16:21.580 --> 00:16:27.300 It's one of the most powerful apologetics that we can offer for the truth of Jesus to the watching world. 00:16:27.440 --> 00:16:31.280 You know, I remember, I've told you a story before, but I love this story, so I'm going to tell it again. 00:16:31.379 --> 00:16:31.480 Right? 00:16:31.540 --> 00:16:32.720 Preachers, prerogative, and all that. 00:16:33.780 --> 00:16:35.100 Michael Otts tells his story. 00:16:35.200 --> 00:16:36.340 He's an evangelist. 00:16:37.000 --> 00:16:37.580 Travels around. 00:16:37.759 --> 00:16:39.520 There's a lot of work with UCCF and all over the world. 00:16:39.520 --> 00:16:42.980 Traveling around, just telling people about the Lord Jesus. 00:16:43.240 --> 00:16:43.280 Right? 00:16:43.320 --> 00:16:46.500 And he tells his story about a little community, church community down in Bristol. 00:16:48.500 --> 00:16:50.960 Bristol is a very multicultural diversity. 00:16:51.100 --> 00:16:51.960 Remember when we lived there? 00:16:52.240 --> 00:16:55.080 Alex and I, I lived there for just under two years. 00:16:55.240 --> 00:16:58.259 And I used to live on the border of this area called St. Paul's. 00:16:58.280 --> 00:16:58.379 Right? 00:16:58.400 --> 00:16:59.720 Just to give you an example of this. 00:16:59.920 --> 00:17:08.620 And distinctly remember at the bottom of this junction, there was a Jamaican community, a Somalian community, a Nigerian community, an English community. 00:17:08.620 --> 00:17:10.620 And there was a token Scot in there as well. 00:17:11.900 --> 00:17:17.299 It was only after I moved there that I realized that St. Paul's was one of the hubs of the riots in Bristol. 00:17:17.299 --> 00:17:18.299 Bristol in the 1980s. 00:17:18.339 --> 00:17:18.419 Right? 00:17:18.440 --> 00:17:19.940 Never tell you that when you sign your lease. 00:17:20.059 --> 00:17:20.819 But that's what they do. 00:17:20.940 --> 00:17:21.759 The riots in Bristol. 00:17:22.460 --> 00:17:23.680 But this is Bristol. 00:17:23.799 --> 00:17:25.099 Very multicultural city. 00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:27.659 Michael Otts tells a story about a local MP. 00:17:28.799 --> 00:17:30.859 He went and visited one of the churches in this city. 00:17:30.859 --> 00:17:34.579 And he looked around and he kind of took it in. 00:17:34.799 --> 00:17:45.240 And what he saw was different people from all these different groups getting on and singing and laughing and crying and eating and praying. 00:17:45.979 --> 00:17:49.099 You know, just doing kind of church together that we so often take it for granted. 00:17:49.099 --> 00:17:50.679 And he was so amazed. 00:17:50.859 --> 00:17:59.719 And what he said to the minister there, he said, each year I spend millions of pounds on my budget trying to get people from that area to get on with people from that area. 00:18:00.019 --> 00:18:02.759 And I walk in here and I see that you do it for free. 00:18:05.939 --> 00:18:06.879 There's our unity. 00:18:07.379 --> 00:18:10.459 What does it say to the watching world about who Jesus is and what he's done? 00:18:10.460 --> 00:18:15.400 And, you know, it was J.I. Packer who said that reconciliation is the very heart of the gospel. 00:18:17.519 --> 00:18:26.799 Of course, later when we come on to this, maybe the beginning of next year, Paul's going to plead with us, chapter 4, to make every effort to maintain the unity of the spirit. 00:18:26.940 --> 00:18:27.779 Every effort. 00:18:27.960 --> 00:18:28.259 Why? 00:18:28.720 --> 00:18:39.019 Well, because he knows not only is it such a precious thing, but surely it's the one thing that the devil would go after to discredit what Jesus has done in the eyes of the watching world. 00:18:39.019 --> 00:18:42.559 Our God has made us one. 00:18:42.660 --> 00:18:43.859 In him our hearts unite. 00:18:44.740 --> 00:18:50.279 When we, his children, share his joy, his love, rather, our joy is his delight. 00:18:50.400 --> 00:18:52.000 Friends, are we thankful for our unity? 00:18:52.819 --> 00:18:55.680 And then lastly and thirdly, are we amazed at the reality? 00:18:56.160 --> 00:18:56.299 Right. 00:18:56.420 --> 00:18:57.059 Verse 21. 00:18:57.240 --> 00:18:57.639 Come here. 00:18:59.160 --> 00:18:59.639 Come with me. 00:18:59.680 --> 00:19:05.740 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 00:19:05.740 --> 00:19:13.700 Now, the temple in the Old Testament story, if you follow it through, is the very place where God himself is said to live. 00:19:15.440 --> 00:19:24.200 And now, says Paul, in Christ and with the Holy Spirit residing in each of your hearts, you are now the temple of God. 00:19:24.279 --> 00:19:24.559 What? 00:19:24.559 --> 00:19:27.159 But you are now the temple of God. 00:19:28.240 --> 00:19:37.159 In you, individually, and I think probably more so in the context corporately as a church, you are now the very place where God lives by his spirit. 00:19:38.500 --> 00:19:47.859 So think about these folks in Ephesus that are living in the lives in this city, surrounded, if you remember it in Acts 19, by this massive temple of Artemis. 00:19:47.859 --> 00:19:51.939 Paul's saying that's not the real temple in the city. 00:19:53.039 --> 00:19:54.579 You are the real temple in the city. 00:19:55.519 --> 00:19:56.199 You are, right? 00:19:56.240 --> 00:20:07.299 As you meet together, as you grow, as you rejoice, as you weep, as you cry, as you love, as you laugh, as you go through the highs and lows of life together. 00:20:07.959 --> 00:20:13.479 You think there's nothing going on there, but let me tell you, there's everything going on there because there's a purpose to it. 00:20:13.519 --> 00:20:14.219 What's the purpose? 00:20:14.219 --> 00:20:15.119 Verse 22. 00:20:15.119 --> 00:20:25.319 And in him, you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his spirit. 00:20:26.199 --> 00:20:27.139 Isn't that incredible? 00:20:29.019 --> 00:20:32.099 Changes the way you come to the prayer meeting, doesn't it, on a Monday? 00:20:33.119 --> 00:20:36.219 Changes how you think about that one-to-one when you meet with somebody during the week. 00:20:36.339 --> 00:20:39.159 Changes the way when you start off the day reading the Bible. 00:20:39.419 --> 00:20:40.159 Those things. 00:20:40.859 --> 00:20:42.000 That's what God is doing. 00:20:42.000 --> 00:20:45.000 You know, one of the programs we love to watch is Grand Designs. 00:20:45.759 --> 00:20:45.859 Right? 00:20:45.920 --> 00:20:47.519 Getting to the age where that's what we love. 00:20:49.220 --> 00:20:51.140 The home of the ambitious building project. 00:20:51.299 --> 00:20:51.759 You know what it's like? 00:20:51.819 --> 00:20:55.920 Kevin MacLeod goes in and he whacks his lyrical about the project. 00:20:56.039 --> 00:20:56.119 Right? 00:20:56.119 --> 00:21:02.539 He meets the family and they've normally bought, what is it, a kind of derelict shed or a shack or a building or a plot of land. 00:21:02.839 --> 00:21:05.140 And he goes in and he says, what on earth are you going to do with this one? 00:21:05.140 --> 00:21:10.460 And so they bring out the architect's plans and they say, here's what we're building. 00:21:11.920 --> 00:21:12.280 Right? 00:21:12.380 --> 00:21:16.680 And we're all having a good laugh at home watching it thinking, you're absolute dreamers. 00:21:16.880 --> 00:21:17.620 How you build that? 00:21:19.640 --> 00:21:20.800 At the end of the show, what is it? 00:21:20.820 --> 00:21:22.180 They go back and there it is. 00:21:22.320 --> 00:21:22.740 Vroomf. 00:21:23.520 --> 00:21:24.180 It's the reality. 00:21:24.400 --> 00:21:24.800 It's there. 00:21:26.480 --> 00:21:27.440 So that's what Paul is saying. 00:21:27.520 --> 00:21:28.759 Here is God's building project. 00:21:28.960 --> 00:21:29.860 Here's what he's doing. 00:21:30.940 --> 00:21:31.320 Right? 00:21:31.400 --> 00:21:32.820 He is building a people. 00:21:32.819 --> 00:21:36.859 It's a wonderful metaphor, isn't it? 00:21:36.879 --> 00:21:38.519 To capture this truth, he's building a people. 00:21:38.639 --> 00:21:39.980 Christ is the cornerstone. 00:21:40.819 --> 00:21:41.619 He's the cornerstone. 00:21:41.700 --> 00:21:46.779 Now whether that's referring to the first brick in the building project or probably the most important one that holds it together. 00:21:47.460 --> 00:21:48.179 Could be both. 00:21:48.319 --> 00:21:48.819 Could be either. 00:21:48.939 --> 00:21:49.599 It doesn't really matter. 00:21:49.700 --> 00:21:50.319 You get the point. 00:21:52.139 --> 00:21:53.200 He is the cornerstone. 00:21:53.500 --> 00:21:53.819 Christ. 00:21:55.000 --> 00:21:56.059 And we are the bricks. 00:21:56.279 --> 00:21:56.839 And think about that. 00:21:56.879 --> 00:21:57.500 What does that mean? 00:21:57.500 --> 00:22:01.259 Have you ever watched a person building a kind of dry stone dike? 00:22:01.339 --> 00:22:02.220 That's what's going on, right? 00:22:02.220 --> 00:22:03.860 Just different shaped bricks. 00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:05.400 And yet God is chiseling. 00:22:05.620 --> 00:22:06.160 He's working. 00:22:06.500 --> 00:22:08.140 He's forming us. 00:22:08.200 --> 00:22:08.920 He's shaping us. 00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:09.960 He's building us together. 00:22:10.100 --> 00:22:11.500 And he's doing that right now. 00:22:13.039 --> 00:22:14.240 And this is the vision. 00:22:15.539 --> 00:22:15.700 Right? 00:22:15.779 --> 00:22:18.980 And one day, and this reminded me of the kind of John Lewis cranes down there. 00:22:19.019 --> 00:22:20.460 How long that's been going on for. 00:22:20.519 --> 00:22:21.960 But the thing is, one day that will be finished. 00:22:22.059 --> 00:22:24.079 And everyone will see what was going on. 00:22:26.559 --> 00:22:28.539 Paul is saying one day the scaffolding will be gone. 00:22:28.600 --> 00:22:31.120 And we'll see the beautiful thing that God has been building. 00:22:31.119 --> 00:22:33.119 He's been building his people. 00:22:34.759 --> 00:22:35.199 Right? 00:22:35.259 --> 00:22:38.179 And we get that wonderful picture at the end of the Bible story in Revelation. 00:22:39.539 --> 00:22:41.279 Of people worshipping God. 00:22:41.599 --> 00:22:44.299 And who makes up the people? 00:22:45.259 --> 00:22:48.759 People of every tribe and tongue and nation. 00:22:48.939 --> 00:22:49.679 And what are they doing? 00:22:49.759 --> 00:22:51.699 They're worshipping the lamb that was slain. 00:22:52.839 --> 00:22:53.079 Right? 00:22:53.159 --> 00:22:57.000 It seems to me, friends, that heaven never gets over the glory of the cross. 00:22:57.000 --> 00:22:59.420 And so neither should we. 00:23:00.240 --> 00:23:04.299 Because Christ is our life. 00:23:05.119 --> 00:23:08.420 And the cross is the power of God unto salvation. 00:23:08.680 --> 00:23:11.420 And it is the thing that has reconciled us to God. 00:23:11.559 --> 00:23:13.660 And has reconciled us to one another. 00:23:15.299 --> 00:23:18.299 Friends, are we amazed at the reality? 00:23:18.299 --> 00:23:20.940 Are we humbled by our history? 00:23:25.159 --> 00:23:26.259 I've forgotten the second point. 00:23:26.700 --> 00:23:28.079 Are we humbled by our history? 00:23:29.039 --> 00:23:30.599 Are we thankful for our unity? 00:23:31.359 --> 00:23:33.000 And, friends, are we amazed at the reality? 00:23:33.180 --> 00:23:35.059 And let me just, if you're still not with me on this one, right, 00:23:35.079 --> 00:23:37.220 let me give you one story to close. 00:23:38.779 --> 00:23:40.000 One story to close. 00:23:41.180 --> 00:23:42.460 Now, you remember when I started, 00:23:42.619 --> 00:23:45.279 we told you that question I was always asked when I was growing up, right? 00:23:45.339 --> 00:23:46.899 Are you blue or are you green? 00:23:46.899 --> 00:23:47.119 Are you blue or are you green? 00:23:48.299 --> 00:23:51.680 We know the history of this great divide. 00:23:51.899 --> 00:23:53.259 Really, you'll know Glasgow. 00:23:53.460 --> 00:23:56.899 It's nothing compared to the heights of the problems that happened in Northern Ireland, 00:23:57.059 --> 00:24:00.379 kind of fought from the 70s onwards over this issue. 00:24:00.799 --> 00:24:05.879 Epitomized at the time between these kind of emergence of two rival enemy groups 00:24:05.879 --> 00:24:09.059 that were just out to kill one another, right, fighting on each side. 00:24:09.180 --> 00:24:12.079 You had, I guess, the Irish Republican Army, the IRA on one side, 00:24:12.119 --> 00:24:15.259 and you had the Ulster Volunteer Force, the UVF on the other side, right? 00:24:15.259 --> 00:24:18.480 These two groups, horrific hostility. 00:24:18.480 --> 00:24:20.279 And it's where you get, I guess, that U2 song. 00:24:20.359 --> 00:24:22.180 You've heard of it, Sunday, Bloody Sunday. 00:24:23.000 --> 00:24:27.119 Talks about the trenches that have been dug deep inside of our hearts as a people. 00:24:27.240 --> 00:24:29.180 This is kind of what's going on at the height of the troubles. 00:24:29.180 --> 00:24:34.220 But then let me take you from Northern Ireland in the 1970s, right, 00:24:34.820 --> 00:24:37.620 to Nidre Community Church last year. 00:24:38.779 --> 00:24:40.820 Okay, they're running what they do every year. 00:24:40.900 --> 00:24:48.279 They run this church planting weekend for people all up in, I guess, in Britain, UK, Ireland, 00:24:48.519 --> 00:24:49.420 all over the world, actually. 00:24:49.420 --> 00:24:56.920 They come, people who are interested in planting churches in some of the roughest areas of our country, right? 00:24:57.340 --> 00:24:59.820 And so at this weekend, there's two guys having dinner together. 00:25:01.440 --> 00:25:02.220 And they're sitting there. 00:25:02.259 --> 00:25:05.580 They're having a laugh and talking about what God is doing in their lives. 00:25:05.680 --> 00:25:07.220 And at some point, they must have both, it was hot, 00:25:07.300 --> 00:25:09.160 and they must have both taken off their jumpers, right? 00:25:10.180 --> 00:25:11.360 And they both look at one another, 00:25:11.400 --> 00:25:15.960 and they both realize that they've got two tattoos eating their forearms, right? 00:25:16.440 --> 00:25:17.340 Let me put the picture up. 00:25:17.360 --> 00:25:17.779 Is that right? 00:25:17.779 --> 00:25:20.420 Two tattoos in their forearms, but different tattoos. 00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:22.920 And here's a picture. 00:25:23.039 --> 00:25:25.960 So one guy, he's got an IRA tattoo. 00:25:27.339 --> 00:25:29.859 And the other guy has got a UVF tattoo. 00:25:31.399 --> 00:25:33.259 And so they take this picture, and they put it on Twitter. 00:25:34.460 --> 00:25:36.639 And the tweet's up there for you to read. 00:25:36.680 --> 00:25:37.420 It simply reads, 00:25:37.700 --> 00:25:39.920 This picture right here is the power of the gospel. 00:25:41.139 --> 00:25:46.720 Once both enemies, now joined together in fellowship in Jesus Christ. 00:25:46.720 --> 00:25:51.039 Hashtag, the gospel has no borders. 00:25:51.039 --> 00:25:54.379 That's the message of Ephesians 2. 00:25:55.700 --> 00:26:04.299 The gospel has the power to smash to smithereens every single barrier that divides the people of the world. 00:26:04.839 --> 00:26:10.180 Because Jesus Christ is in the business of transforming hearts, 00:26:10.299 --> 00:26:14.879 of taking out the heart of stone and putting in its place the heart of flesh. 00:26:14.880 --> 00:26:18.740 And friends, remember that verse 14 as we finish. 00:26:19.420 --> 00:26:19.800 Why? 00:26:20.800 --> 00:26:24.280 He himself is our peace. 00:26:25.940 --> 00:26:26.640 Let's pray. 00:26:26.640 --> 00:26:40.980 Lord, Father, we just humbled, Lord, as we come to the end of this time together looking at your word. 00:26:41.120 --> 00:26:43.640 Father, what an incredible God you are. 00:26:46.020 --> 00:26:48.200 Father, the God of magnificent love. 00:26:48.400 --> 00:26:50.960 The God who pursued us when we were far off. 00:26:50.960 --> 00:26:54.680 The God who sent your son, that he would die on the cross. 00:26:54.819 --> 00:27:00.819 That he would pay the price to win us for himself, the price of our sin. 00:27:01.140 --> 00:27:06.960 And reconcile us to you and to fellow brothers and sisters who believe in Jesus too. 00:27:07.079 --> 00:27:08.799 Father, what an incredible God you are. 00:27:10.140 --> 00:27:12.120 And so, Father, I pray that as we go from here, 00:27:12.119 --> 00:27:20.719 that you would help us as a local church here to visibly demonstrate that unity that you have won for us to the watching world. 00:27:21.099 --> 00:27:23.159 That they too might come to know Jesus. 00:27:23.479 --> 00:27:28.639 And so, Father, I pray maybe this morning it's touched on some painful subjects for some people. 00:27:30.359 --> 00:27:34.299 And so, Lord, I pray that you would just be at work by your spirit just now in the silence, Lord. 00:27:35.939 --> 00:27:39.479 As we bring to you maybe those relationships, Lord, that we know are strained. 00:27:39.480 --> 00:27:45.180 As we bring to you the people in our minds who we would long that they would hear and respond to the message of Jesus. 00:27:47.200 --> 00:27:49.039 Father, we would just bring that all to you now. 00:27:52.360 --> 00:27:53.700 Father, thank you that you care. 00:27:54.819 --> 00:27:58.019 And so we pray all these things in Jesus' precious name. 00:27:58.599 --> 00:27:58.940 Amen.