WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.060 Now, clearly God has provided us a wind to keep 00:00:03.060 --> 00:00:06.139 you awake, so if things move around, we'll just 00:00:06.139 --> 00:00:09.339 have to deal with it as we go along. Also, thank 00:00:09.339 --> 00:00:13.019 you so much for having me here. I have to say, 00:00:13.199 --> 00:00:14.939 Far North Queensland is one of my favourite places 00:00:14.939 --> 00:00:18.079 on the planet and so it was a great privilege 00:00:18.079 --> 00:00:21.339 to come here. I've been praying for you as a 00:00:21.339 --> 00:00:23.879 church for some time. I know Brendan and I had 00:00:23.879 --> 00:00:26.480 lunch actually when you were having the conversation 00:00:26.480 --> 00:00:29.739 about whether you'd come up here. Yeah, it's 00:00:29.739 --> 00:00:33.840 been great to hear how things are going and I'd 00:00:33.840 --> 00:00:36.000 love to hear a bit more about how you see things 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:38.520 are going and how church is going and I'm glad 00:00:38.520 --> 00:00:40.880 that I get a chance to speak here. I know it's 00:00:40.880 --> 00:00:42.859 the first time you've had a Bible talk on a Saturday 00:00:42.859 --> 00:00:44.920 morning here so this will be the best Bible talk 00:00:44.920 --> 00:00:47.380 you've ever heard on a Saturday morning here 00:00:47.380 --> 00:00:51.399 so I'm glad that I can set the standard. Let 00:00:51.399 --> 00:00:56.210 me pray. Father, thank you for your Word. We 00:00:56.210 --> 00:00:58.829 thank you for the clarity that you have spoken 00:00:58.829 --> 00:01:01.869 to us in, but we pray now that you will open 00:01:01.869 --> 00:01:05.370 our eyes to lift our hearts to see the work that 00:01:05.370 --> 00:01:08.349 you are doing. Father, I pray that you'll help 00:01:08.349 --> 00:01:11.109 me to speak your words faithfully and truthfully, 00:01:11.750 --> 00:01:13.290 so that we might know you better and love you 00:01:13.290 --> 00:01:15.489 more, that we might know and understand what 00:01:15.489 --> 00:01:18.329 you are doing and give you great glory. And we 00:01:18.329 --> 00:01:22.170 pray this in Jesus' name, Amen. I want to start 00:01:22.170 --> 00:01:25.129 by a couple of questions, three questions really. 00:01:26.319 --> 00:01:28.159 The first question is, let me give you three 00:01:28.159 --> 00:01:32.560 people, and I want you to ask the question, why 00:01:32.560 --> 00:01:35.959 are they coming to church? First person is a 00:01:35.959 --> 00:01:39.980 lady called Karen. Karen's got two young kids, 00:01:40.260 --> 00:01:42.659 both under the age of three. They're a handful, 00:01:43.159 --> 00:01:46.299 they do a lot. It's just an effort to get them 00:01:46.299 --> 00:01:48.939 in the car on a Sunday morning. They get there, 00:01:48.939 --> 00:01:51.890 it's just... crazy she tries to come to church 00:01:51.890 --> 00:01:53.629 but at least one of them has a problem so she's 00:01:53.629 --> 00:01:55.290 got to go out to kids church and look after them 00:01:55.290 --> 00:01:57.409 and then she has morning tea and while she's 00:01:57.409 --> 00:01:59.390 having morning tea the whole conversations are 00:01:59.390 --> 00:02:01.849 usually just half conversations with people with 00:02:01.849 --> 00:02:03.829 half sentences while one of them is dragging 00:02:03.829 --> 00:02:06.370 her off because they need her attention they 00:02:06.370 --> 00:02:09.009 want to play with her and and then she she puts 00:02:09.009 --> 00:02:10.409 them back in the car goes home and goes well 00:02:10.409 --> 00:02:12.509 what was the point why why did I even come to 00:02:12.509 --> 00:02:18.520 church Kai is a guy who he's a Vietnamese background. 00:02:18.520 --> 00:02:22.159 He's got a he's very smart got a Degree in software 00:02:22.159 --> 00:02:25.939 engineering comes to church English is not great 00:02:25.939 --> 00:02:28.860 for him, but he's learned he's worked out something 00:02:28.860 --> 00:02:30.860 on his phone So he actually gets a translation 00:02:30.860 --> 00:02:33.680 of what's going on from the songs and the prayers 00:02:33.680 --> 00:02:35.659 and the Bible reading in the sermon So he understands 00:02:35.659 --> 00:02:40.020 that But morning tea is hard for him Morning 00:02:40.020 --> 00:02:43.120 tea he he's there. He just doesn't get the jokes 00:02:43.360 --> 00:02:46.520 uh he doesn't quite uh people talk too fast he 00:02:46.520 --> 00:02:49.759 can't quite keep up and honestly he kind of thinks 00:02:49.759 --> 00:02:52.259 this would be easier if i just stayed at home 00:02:52.259 --> 00:02:55.759 and watched the sermon on youtube with subtitles 00:02:55.759 --> 00:02:58.039 that would make things easier why does kai come 00:02:58.039 --> 00:03:02.280 to church let me give you one more kyle kyle's 00:03:02.280 --> 00:03:06.280 a tradie uh tradie uh kyle is good at doing things 00:03:06.280 --> 00:03:09.860 he's not good with words He struggles to sit 00:03:09.860 --> 00:03:13.340 through church. In fact, sitting down in church 00:03:13.340 --> 00:03:17.319 is the longest he sits still ever in his week. 00:03:18.039 --> 00:03:19.740 And so he really struggles with that, struggles 00:03:19.740 --> 00:03:24.039 to keep his attention. He's happy to serve and 00:03:24.039 --> 00:03:28.000 all three of these people love Jesus. But the 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:30.539 question is why should they keep coming to church? 00:03:31.659 --> 00:03:36.280 Each of them find it hard and what they get out 00:03:36.280 --> 00:03:39.599 of it is limited. So why do Karen, Kai and Kyle 00:03:39.599 --> 00:03:42.219 keep coming to church? That's the first question. 00:03:42.680 --> 00:03:44.280 And that may be the question that you have. Maybe 00:03:44.280 --> 00:03:47.080 you identify with one of them or maybe you have 00:03:47.080 --> 00:03:49.599 that kind of question of, I'm finding it hard 00:03:49.599 --> 00:03:52.919 to get to church. I feel like I don't get a lot 00:03:52.919 --> 00:03:57.620 out of it. Why am I coming? That's one question. 00:03:57.719 --> 00:04:02.520 Let me get my clicker. Here's my question. Towards 00:04:02.520 --> 00:04:05.520 the end of Ephesians chapters one to three, and 00:04:05.520 --> 00:04:06.840 I'll explain why we're doing one to three in 00:04:06.840 --> 00:04:09.139 a moment, there's a thing that goes, to him be 00:04:09.139 --> 00:04:11.560 glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout 00:04:11.560 --> 00:04:15.259 all generations forever and ever. Why is it in? 00:04:16.480 --> 00:04:18.879 That doesn't feel right, does it? Shouldn't it 00:04:18.879 --> 00:04:22.459 be glory from the church, glory through the church? 00:04:22.639 --> 00:04:23.980 I mean, why aren't we supposed to be glorifying 00:04:23.980 --> 00:04:28.600 God? To say glory in the church, it feels like 00:04:28.600 --> 00:04:31.740 Paul made a mistake there. He didn't quite get 00:04:31.740 --> 00:04:34.500 his words right. Or maybe there was a mistranslation. 00:04:35.040 --> 00:04:39.139 But it's not. Paul is very intentional. So why 00:04:39.139 --> 00:04:42.199 does he say glory in the church? That's my question. 00:04:43.379 --> 00:04:46.519 So why Karen, Kyle and Kai turning up to church? 00:04:47.560 --> 00:04:49.579 Why is it glory in the church? And the third 00:04:49.579 --> 00:04:53.579 question is, how do those two questions answer 00:04:53.579 --> 00:04:57.560 each other? So they're my three questions. Now 00:04:57.560 --> 00:05:00.279 as I said we're going to be working through Ephesians. 00:05:00.860 --> 00:05:02.459 If you've got the Bible you will find it helpful. 00:05:02.560 --> 00:05:04.579 I know I don't really have a lot of outline in 00:05:04.579 --> 00:05:06.420 the outline but you'll just have to go with me 00:05:06.420 --> 00:05:11.860 on that. But Ephesians is a great book. It's 00:05:11.860 --> 00:05:14.399 got a lot of different layers to it and if you 00:05:14.399 --> 00:05:16.519 can imagine there's a sort of a thread running 00:05:16.519 --> 00:05:18.800 through it. It is about church and it runs all 00:05:18.800 --> 00:05:21.529 the way through. We'll look at chapters one to 00:05:21.529 --> 00:05:23.569 three. I'm only looking at the first three because 00:05:23.569 --> 00:05:25.209 apparently I'm not allowed to speak for five 00:05:25.209 --> 00:05:30.149 hours. So we go to chapters four and five. There's 00:05:30.149 --> 00:05:33.149 a lot about how do you live as church. But Paul 00:05:33.149 --> 00:05:34.970 just keeps coming back to it. He goes, how do 00:05:34.970 --> 00:05:37.550 I explain to you what marriage is like? Chapter 00:05:37.550 --> 00:05:40.370 five? It's like Christ in the church. That's 00:05:40.370 --> 00:05:44.410 what it is. Even chapter six. Now some of you 00:05:44.410 --> 00:05:45.730 who will know your Bibles well, you remember 00:05:45.730 --> 00:05:48.649 chapter six. Chapter six is famous for the spiritual 00:05:48.649 --> 00:05:51.399 armour, isn't it? Right, I remember talking to 00:05:51.399 --> 00:05:55.360 a guy, he and I were speaking on a thing and 00:05:55.360 --> 00:05:58.560 we had some time where it was just him and I 00:05:58.560 --> 00:06:00.860 talking and he was a professor of ancient history 00:06:00.860 --> 00:06:03.500 and I was there to talk about theology at church, 00:06:03.500 --> 00:06:05.680 he was there to talk about the history of church 00:06:05.680 --> 00:06:07.360 and we were talking about Ephesians, how much 00:06:07.360 --> 00:06:09.000 we love Ephesians. He goes, yeah, yeah, it's 00:06:09.000 --> 00:06:10.379 great and church is all the way through it. I 00:06:10.379 --> 00:06:12.920 said, yeah, yeah, he goes, yeah and he goes, 00:06:13.000 --> 00:06:14.980 the one thing I find frustrating about Ephesians 00:06:14.980 --> 00:06:17.779 is when people write books about it, When they 00:06:17.779 --> 00:06:20.160 come to the spiritual armour of God, there's 00:06:20.160 --> 00:06:22.819 a picture. And the picture is always this picture 00:06:22.819 --> 00:06:25.680 of a soldier and he's standing there with a breastplate 00:06:25.680 --> 00:06:29.980 and a belt and a sword. And I'm kind of going, 00:06:30.160 --> 00:06:32.759 yeah, that's all the stuff that's in the passage. 00:06:33.860 --> 00:06:35.759 And he goes, oh, I find that really frustrating. 00:06:35.839 --> 00:06:38.339 And I said, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, it 00:06:38.339 --> 00:06:40.860 must be frustrating, yeah. Yeah, why is that 00:06:40.860 --> 00:06:43.839 again? And he said, because in the ancient world, 00:06:44.779 --> 00:06:47.899 a soldier never stands by himself. They always 00:06:47.899 --> 00:06:52.120 work as a unit. In fact, their shield never protects 00:06:52.120 --> 00:06:54.879 them, it protects the person on their left. And 00:06:54.879 --> 00:06:57.519 that person on your right protects you. He goes, 00:06:57.699 --> 00:06:59.899 the spiritual armour of God is all about church. 00:07:00.540 --> 00:07:03.519 It's not about you versus the devil, it's all 00:07:03.519 --> 00:07:07.579 of us versus the devil. But I'm jumping ahead 00:07:07.579 --> 00:07:09.860 and I've got to restrict myself to chapters one 00:07:09.860 --> 00:07:16.629 to three. Let me give you a quick tour of Chapter 00:07:16.629 --> 00:07:21.310 one. Chapter one begins and it's the picture 00:07:21.310 --> 00:07:25.310 of the church planned. This is the big, Paul 00:07:25.310 --> 00:07:26.889 is standing back and he goes, let me just give 00:07:26.889 --> 00:07:29.449 you a picture of all of history and the cosmos 00:07:29.449 --> 00:07:32.769 and where God, what God is doing. And it starts 00:07:32.769 --> 00:07:37.189 off. with this phrase, praise be to God and Father 00:07:37.189 --> 00:07:39.209 of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in 00:07:39.209 --> 00:07:41.930 the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing 00:07:41.930 --> 00:07:46.810 in Christ. And then he rambles for 11 verses 00:07:46.810 --> 00:07:49.850 without a break. In the Greek text, that is all 00:07:49.850 --> 00:07:53.269 one sentence, no punctuation. Fortunately, our 00:07:53.269 --> 00:07:56.790 English translators went, that is nuts. So we're 00:07:56.790 --> 00:07:58.870 gonna add in some full stops and some sentences 00:07:58.870 --> 00:08:01.129 to make it a bit more make sense. But here's 00:08:01.129 --> 00:08:04.290 where it all ends up. He goes through and he 00:08:04.290 --> 00:08:06.069 talks about history, he talks about adoption, 00:08:06.269 --> 00:08:08.529 he talks about redemption and grace, but all 00:08:08.529 --> 00:08:11.149 of this to be put into effect when the times 00:08:11.149 --> 00:08:15.769 have reached their fulfillment, to bring unity 00:08:15.769 --> 00:08:18.490 to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. 00:08:20.949 --> 00:08:22.990 Now let me ask you a question, what do you think 00:08:22.990 --> 00:08:27.680 God is doing in the world? it is important that 00:08:27.680 --> 00:08:30.000 you understand how to answer that question because 00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:32.159 if you don't answer that question correctly you 00:08:32.159 --> 00:08:35.539 will always be frustrated with God because he 00:08:35.539 --> 00:08:38.879 doesn't fit with your plan and I think what happens 00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:42.460 is that we sometimes think that God's plan for 00:08:42.460 --> 00:08:44.600 the world is that he's like a government department 00:08:44.600 --> 00:08:46.899 whose job it is to keep the universe running 00:08:46.899 --> 00:08:51.559 so that I can be comfortable and if you think 00:08:51.559 --> 00:08:53.980 that's his plan you will always be frustrated 00:08:53.980 --> 00:08:58.279 because all of a sudden you have to suffer and 00:08:58.279 --> 00:09:00.940 you things get uncomfortable and you're going 00:09:00.940 --> 00:09:02.259 God what are you doing you're not doing your 00:09:02.259 --> 00:09:05.980 job but this explains what God is doing is actually 00:09:05.980 --> 00:09:09.179 bringing everything under the lordship of Jesus 00:09:09.179 --> 00:09:13.379 that he might be our King great King wise good 00:09:13.379 --> 00:09:16.980 loving runs our lives better than we can how 00:09:16.980 --> 00:09:25.309 good is that that is what he is doing And sometimes 00:09:25.309 --> 00:09:29.190 that will involve suffering and hardship to make 00:09:29.190 --> 00:09:33.110 us more like Jesus. Sometimes it is because we 00:09:33.110 --> 00:09:37.049 follow Jesus and we are called to hardship. So 00:09:37.049 --> 00:09:40.029 I want you to just keep in mind, can you clearly 00:09:40.029 --> 00:09:44.309 understand what God is doing in the world? But 00:09:44.309 --> 00:09:47.750 Paul goes on. He then goes on, he prays for them. 00:09:48.169 --> 00:09:51.570 and he prays that God placed all things under 00:09:51.570 --> 00:09:53.909 his feet, that is Jesus, and appointed him to 00:09:53.909 --> 00:09:58.809 be the head over everything for the church, which 00:09:58.809 --> 00:10:02.649 is his body, the fullness of him who works, fullness 00:10:02.649 --> 00:10:06.710 of him who feels everything in every way. The 00:10:06.710 --> 00:10:08.970 message of Christianity is that Jesus is the 00:10:08.970 --> 00:10:12.710 King, and we need to acknowledge him as the King. 00:10:12.990 --> 00:10:14.929 It's a great, and this is a message, it goes 00:10:14.929 --> 00:10:17.480 out. throughout Cairns and throughout all of 00:10:17.480 --> 00:10:19.399 Far North Queensland and throughout all of Australia. 00:10:19.820 --> 00:10:23.340 But it's a message and our job is to take the 00:10:23.340 --> 00:10:25.720 message. We are like God's ambassadors, Paul 00:10:25.720 --> 00:10:28.159 kind of says that. And if we are God's ambassadors 00:10:28.159 --> 00:10:31.820 what does that make the church? His embassy. 00:10:32.980 --> 00:10:35.919 The embassy of the Kingdom of God here on earth. 00:10:37.399 --> 00:10:39.179 Now the church does a lot of things and we're 00:10:39.179 --> 00:10:40.799 going to come back to this tomorrow but church 00:10:40.799 --> 00:10:44.379 does a lot of things. We care for each other. 00:10:44.559 --> 00:10:47.000 We do a lot of things that other organisations 00:10:47.000 --> 00:10:50.860 will do. Like just watch today. I mean, the kids 00:10:50.860 --> 00:10:52.679 will have fun. There are other places where kids 00:10:52.679 --> 00:10:55.480 have fun. These aren't bad things. I mean, we're 00:10:55.480 --> 00:10:58.580 gonna have some food. I'm having some food together. 00:10:58.700 --> 00:11:01.840 Yeah, yeah. And so we're gonna have a potluck. 00:11:02.110 --> 00:11:04.470 Yeah and other organizations will do that and 00:11:04.470 --> 00:11:05.950 we're going to have pizza and other organizations 00:11:05.950 --> 00:11:08.649 do that. What is unique about the church though 00:11:08.649 --> 00:11:11.190 is that it is the only place where you'll hear 00:11:11.190 --> 00:11:15.850 the good news of Jesus. And so if we lose that 00:11:15.850 --> 00:11:19.149 then we're just like everybody else. And to put 00:11:19.149 --> 00:11:21.690 it, if I can put it bluntly, everybody else could 00:11:21.690 --> 00:11:25.870 probably do that better than us. But the one 00:11:25.870 --> 00:11:29.629 place The one thing that we must never lose sight 00:11:29.629 --> 00:11:32.350 of is that our role as the embassy of the kingdom 00:11:32.350 --> 00:11:36.049 to proclaim his message. And so that's what Paul 00:11:36.049 --> 00:11:39.009 is praying for. That the church might be the 00:11:39.009 --> 00:11:42.230 place that happens. That's why the church is 00:11:42.230 --> 00:11:47.370 such an important part of God's plan. Now that 00:11:47.370 --> 00:11:49.490 leads us to chapter 2, which was read for us. 00:11:50.050 --> 00:11:53.110 Here we see the church actually, that's God's 00:11:53.110 --> 00:11:55.149 plan, but what does it actually look like? Well, 00:11:55.169 --> 00:11:58.370 we start with chapter 2 and chapter 2, Paul goes 00:11:58.370 --> 00:12:00.669 completely undiplomatic at this point of time, 00:12:00.870 --> 00:12:02.750 doesn't he? He goes, let me just, hey Ephesians, 00:12:02.830 --> 00:12:05.490 let me remind you who you were. You were dead 00:12:05.490 --> 00:12:08.470 in your sins and transgressions. You are objects 00:12:08.470 --> 00:12:12.470 of God's wrath. Not exactly the most diplomatic, 00:12:12.649 --> 00:12:15.759 not exactly a hallmark card moment, is it? And 00:12:15.759 --> 00:12:16.960 yet he comes along and says, this is what you're 00:12:16.960 --> 00:12:19.879 like. And he goes, and you are dead to Christ's 00:12:19.879 --> 00:12:24.720 rule. You're not sick. You're not weak. You're 00:12:24.720 --> 00:12:27.980 not ignorant. You're not confused. And you can't 00:12:27.980 --> 00:12:29.980 just work harder. You just can't get better. 00:12:30.340 --> 00:12:34.960 It's like a dead body. You can't walk into a 00:12:34.960 --> 00:12:36.659 dead body and go, come on, let's go. Let's go 00:12:36.659 --> 00:12:38.799 for a run. You know what your problem is? You're 00:12:38.799 --> 00:12:41.980 just a bit too lazy. Let's go. Yeah, exactly. 00:12:42.179 --> 00:12:45.059 Good luck with that. That's what Paul's saying, 00:12:45.259 --> 00:12:46.840 yeah good luck with that, it is not going to 00:12:46.840 --> 00:12:51.320 work. And then throughout the New Testament you 00:12:51.320 --> 00:12:54.139 see one of the most amazing beautiful words ever, 00:12:55.259 --> 00:12:58.340 the word but. Because so often the New Testament 00:12:58.340 --> 00:13:03.340 explains this is what you are like, but, but 00:13:03.340 --> 00:13:05.960 now, but God, but something in this case, but 00:13:05.960 --> 00:13:11.509 because of His great love for us. Before us through 00:13:11.509 --> 00:13:13.190 His great love rose, God who was rich in mercy 00:13:13.190 --> 00:13:16.409 made us alive. We were dead. But even when we 00:13:16.409 --> 00:13:18.289 were dead in transgressions, it is by grace you 00:13:18.289 --> 00:13:20.610 have been saved. Jesus came to save sinners. 00:13:21.269 --> 00:13:24.809 I was a sinner. I am a sinner. And Jesus came 00:13:24.809 --> 00:13:30.370 to save me. And He came to save you. Now I, sorry, 00:13:30.389 --> 00:13:32.250 I don't know you. So let me just be clear. If 00:13:32.250 --> 00:13:34.250 you are someone who's still exploring Christianity, 00:13:34.389 --> 00:13:36.990 you haven't worked this out. Today is a good 00:13:36.990 --> 00:13:43.720 day to go, God... Save me, I am a sinner. But 00:13:43.720 --> 00:13:46.500 I also want to say, if you are here today, and 00:13:46.500 --> 00:13:49.259 you may have been coming to church for decades, 00:13:50.440 --> 00:13:53.980 and you think that you are a Christian because 00:13:53.980 --> 00:13:56.899 you deserve God's mercy, because you've turned 00:13:56.899 --> 00:14:00.559 up for decades, because you've served, because 00:14:00.559 --> 00:14:03.200 you've been on rosters, because you've been... 00:14:03.200 --> 00:14:06.700 No. You're still dead in your transgressions. 00:14:07.039 --> 00:14:10.000 It is only through God and through Christ that 00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:12.559 you have been saved. You don't deserve it. But 00:14:12.559 --> 00:14:14.759 what a great day. Why not go from being lost 00:14:14.759 --> 00:14:17.559 to being found, from being dead to being alive? 00:14:18.620 --> 00:14:21.039 I haven't read the book about that one, about 00:14:21.039 --> 00:14:23.620 John Newton, but John Newton's story is just 00:14:23.620 --> 00:14:27.539 an incredible story of someone who was lost and 00:14:27.539 --> 00:14:30.899 is found. So when he writes Amazing Grace, he's 00:14:30.899 --> 00:14:33.139 not just going, well, here's an idea that I've 00:14:33.139 --> 00:14:34.519 been looking at in the Bible. He goes, no, that 00:14:34.519 --> 00:14:40.110 was me. That's my story. I was lost. Now I am 00:14:40.110 --> 00:14:44.129 found. But that's something you need to respond 00:14:44.129 --> 00:14:47.070 to. You need to hold on to this. Someone can't 00:14:47.070 --> 00:14:49.970 do it for you. Your spouse can't do it for you. 00:14:49.970 --> 00:14:52.289 Your parents can't do it for you. Your kids can't 00:14:52.289 --> 00:14:56.149 do it for you. Brendan can't do it for you. You 00:14:56.149 --> 00:14:59.289 need to do this. It's between you and God at 00:14:59.289 --> 00:15:08.409 this point of time. Have you done that? But what 00:15:08.409 --> 00:15:10.789 has this then got to do with church? Doesn't 00:15:10.789 --> 00:15:14.110 that make Christianity an individual sport, so 00:15:14.110 --> 00:15:19.090 to speak? No, because chapter two goes on. If 00:15:19.090 --> 00:15:20.470 you've got your Bibles open there, you'll see 00:15:20.470 --> 00:15:22.409 that what I've summarized is chapters two, one 00:15:22.409 --> 00:15:26.669 to ten, but it goes on. Because the cross doesn't 00:15:26.669 --> 00:15:30.429 merely reconcile sinners to God, it reconciles 00:15:30.429 --> 00:15:34.919 sinners to each other. And I think sometimes, 00:15:35.240 --> 00:15:36.820 particularly those of us who come from a Western 00:15:36.820 --> 00:15:40.019 background, we miss this bit. That's why I'm 00:15:40.019 --> 00:15:41.840 going to spend a little bit more time on it. 00:15:42.500 --> 00:15:44.039 We're not just saved, we're given a new people, 00:15:44.159 --> 00:15:47.460 a new family. Now keeping in mind, up to this 00:15:47.460 --> 00:15:50.019 point in the Bible, things have been divided. 00:15:50.340 --> 00:15:53.460 God has made a division. It is between those 00:15:53.460 --> 00:15:55.799 who are Jewish and those who are not Jewish. 00:15:55.899 --> 00:15:57.759 I don't know why they use the word Gentile, I 00:15:57.759 --> 00:15:59.259 still can't work that out, but that's just a 00:15:59.259 --> 00:16:01.389 little... Hobby horse of mine. I'm just gonna 00:16:01.389 --> 00:16:04.649 let it go. Let it go Pete. Yeah, but you see 00:16:04.649 --> 00:16:06.350 the word Gentile there But it's just someone 00:16:06.350 --> 00:16:08.470 anyone who's not Jewish and Jewish That's the 00:16:08.470 --> 00:16:10.970 division and God created that division and he 00:16:10.970 --> 00:16:12.769 worked through the Jewish people to bring about 00:16:12.769 --> 00:16:15.090 Jesus But now that Jesus has come he goes right. 00:16:15.090 --> 00:16:18.909 That's it. You don't need that Because now you 00:16:18.909 --> 00:16:20.970 are if you are saved by grace It doesn't matter 00:16:20.970 --> 00:16:23.389 who you are where you've come from what your 00:16:23.389 --> 00:16:25.490 race is what you've done in your background How 00:16:25.490 --> 00:16:27.669 old you are none of that matters only one thing 00:16:27.669 --> 00:16:31.399 matters. Do you trust Jesus? And so he says this, 00:16:31.460 --> 00:16:33.440 he goes, if you do, oh sorry, I've gone back, 00:16:33.500 --> 00:16:36.820 let me go back a bit, if you do, then keep this 00:16:36.820 --> 00:16:40.159 in mind. Therefore, remember that you, formerly 00:16:40.159 --> 00:16:42.860 who were Gentiles by birth, called uncircumcision, 00:16:42.899 --> 00:16:44.799 by those who call themselves the circumcision, 00:16:45.179 --> 00:16:47.320 which is done by, in the body by human hands, 00:16:47.759 --> 00:16:50.340 remember at one time you were separate from Christ, 00:16:51.419 --> 00:16:53.679 you were excluded from citizenship in Israel 00:16:53.679 --> 00:16:56.480 and foreigners to the covenants of the Pyramids. 00:16:56.759 --> 00:16:59.210 You're without hope. You're without God in the 00:16:59.210 --> 00:17:03.429 world. And then we have the word again. But now, 00:17:04.029 --> 00:17:06.650 in Christ, you who were once have been brought 00:17:06.650 --> 00:17:11.549 near in the blood of Christ. Because He created 00:17:11.549 --> 00:17:13.670 the division. And you know how there's, divisions 00:17:13.670 --> 00:17:15.369 always are tricky aren't they? There's, everyone 00:17:15.369 --> 00:17:18.150 feels, there's always a, you always feel like 00:17:18.150 --> 00:17:19.950 there's a division. There's always those who 00:17:19.950 --> 00:17:22.130 are in and those who are out. And you know how 00:17:22.130 --> 00:17:25.289 we always feel like we're on the out? No matter 00:17:25.289 --> 00:17:29.700 what the division is. I've got a friend, he lives 00:17:29.700 --> 00:17:30.819 across the road. I've been trying to get him 00:17:30.819 --> 00:17:33.359 to come to church. He is 78 years old, right? 00:17:33.420 --> 00:17:37.339 He's an older guy. Loves my daughters. He's been 00:17:37.339 --> 00:17:39.900 there. He's the guy in the street who's just 00:17:39.900 --> 00:17:41.440 watching everything, makes sure everyone's okay. 00:17:42.319 --> 00:17:46.220 But he is fit, right? I went and saw him the 00:17:46.220 --> 00:17:48.059 other day. I said, how you going? He goes, ah, 00:17:48.259 --> 00:17:50.240 yeah, I'm all right. I only did 50 Ks on the 00:17:50.240 --> 00:17:53.259 bike today. I'm going, dude, I did not drive 00:17:53.259 --> 00:17:56.869 that far. Just 78 and you're riding and he goes 00:17:56.869 --> 00:17:59.450 that was a that was a short ride Yeah, and then 00:17:59.450 --> 00:18:01.890 he you know he'll go out for a you know 15k walk 00:18:01.890 --> 00:18:07.029 You are so fit right you are just he makes me 00:18:07.029 --> 00:18:09.470 feel like he's the in and I'm the out cuz I'm 00:18:09.470 --> 00:18:12.950 the old I'm like I'm the young but unfit kind 00:18:12.950 --> 00:18:14.690 of slightly overweight guy like I'm there going 00:18:14.690 --> 00:18:17.509 man you're the in and I'm the out and I mentioned 00:18:17.509 --> 00:18:19.670 this to him he goes oh no no no mate so because 00:18:19.670 --> 00:18:21.789 he knows I like reading he's come over in there 00:18:21.789 --> 00:18:24.150 and he sees I do I love books I love reading 00:18:24.150 --> 00:18:26.390 he goes mate you've got it all up here yes I 00:18:26.390 --> 00:18:28.670 don't I don't have all these ideas you make me 00:18:28.670 --> 00:18:32.190 feel like I'm the out and you're the in but won't 00:18:32.190 --> 00:18:34.170 we all feel like that at some point there everyone 00:18:34.170 --> 00:18:38.230 else is in except for us whereas and and like 00:18:38.230 --> 00:18:40.369 I said there is that division that was there 00:18:40.369 --> 00:18:43.759 and then God has broken it down and he talks 00:18:43.759 --> 00:18:45.720 about it in terms of a temple but let me explain 00:18:45.720 --> 00:18:51.579 how clear that division is. The left -hand side 00:18:51.579 --> 00:18:54.559 is a brick that was from the temple. And what 00:18:54.559 --> 00:18:57.319 happens is there was a gate where if you were 00:18:57.319 --> 00:18:58.759 Jewish you're allowed to walk through the gate 00:18:58.759 --> 00:19:00.299 and if you were not Jewish you weren't allowed 00:19:00.299 --> 00:19:02.400 to walk through the gate. It's in Greek, I know 00:19:02.400 --> 00:19:05.160 how well you guys all know Greek, right? Let 00:19:05.160 --> 00:19:08.740 me read the translation to you. Let no foreigner, 00:19:08.960 --> 00:19:11.799 that is no non -Jewish person, enter within the 00:19:11.799 --> 00:19:13.680 parapet or the partition which surrounds the 00:19:13.680 --> 00:19:17.319 temple precincts. Anyone caught violating this 00:19:17.319 --> 00:19:19.980 will be held accountable for his ensuing death. 00:19:21.559 --> 00:19:27.000 That is... trespasses will be executed not persecuted 00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:30.519 we will kill you you cross that line because 00:19:30.519 --> 00:19:32.539 that's the line that God made and we're going 00:19:32.539 --> 00:19:37.700 to take that seriously but now God because of 00:19:37.700 --> 00:19:41.500 his grace has broken that wall down so when he 00:19:41.500 --> 00:19:43.920 says about the wall of hostility every Jewish 00:19:43.920 --> 00:19:46.299 person knows exactly what wall he is talking 00:19:46.299 --> 00:19:51.440 about he goes no no no That's not it and and 00:19:51.440 --> 00:19:54.420 no longer is it due over here and non -dual over 00:19:54.420 --> 00:19:57.599 here. I'm gonna create one new person It's not 00:19:57.599 --> 00:20:00.680 like you guys all come and join him or you guys 00:20:00.680 --> 00:20:03.700 all come and join them. He goes I've got a new 00:20:03.700 --> 00:20:11.980 people His purpose was to create in himself one 00:20:11.980 --> 00:20:16.279 new humanity out of the two Thus making peace 00:20:16.279 --> 00:20:19.210 and in one body to reconcile both of them to 00:20:19.210 --> 00:20:23.390 God through the cross by which He put to death 00:20:23.390 --> 00:20:28.910 their hostility. He goes, that division, it doesn't 00:20:28.910 --> 00:20:30.910 belong there anymore. There's a new community. 00:20:31.609 --> 00:20:33.690 I'm creating a new people. It's not going to 00:20:33.690 --> 00:20:36.849 be Jewish and non -Jewish. All that stuff about 00:20:36.849 --> 00:20:39.190 that particular idea from the Old Testament, 00:20:39.630 --> 00:20:41.910 that's not on play anymore because grace has 00:20:41.910 --> 00:20:44.789 come and it doesn't matter whether you're circumcised 00:20:44.789 --> 00:20:46.930 or you obey the law or you do the food things. 00:20:47.130 --> 00:20:50.519 He goes, no, no. now it matters what you make 00:20:50.519 --> 00:20:52.339 of Jesus, because that was all leading up to 00:20:52.339 --> 00:20:54.200 that point. And in fact, he goes on, I'm not 00:20:54.200 --> 00:20:56.180 going to look at it, but verses 19 to 22 he talks 00:20:56.180 --> 00:20:59.920 about, actually you are the new temple. The temple 00:20:59.920 --> 00:21:02.160 doesn't divide you anymore, you're the temple. 00:21:04.660 --> 00:21:07.220 But he says to put aside the hostilities that 00:21:07.220 --> 00:21:10.480 we might have. I want to take a moment, who's 00:21:10.480 --> 00:21:15.019 writing this? Remember who's writing this? Paul. 00:21:15.630 --> 00:21:18.890 What was Paul's previous career before he started 00:21:18.890 --> 00:21:22.730 following Jesus? Pharisee. What did a Pharisee 00:21:22.730 --> 00:21:26.549 do? The Pharisee's career was to make sure that 00:21:26.549 --> 00:21:31.910 wall of hostility was there. I still find it 00:21:31.910 --> 00:21:37.569 intriguing that Jesus sends a Pharisee whose 00:21:37.569 --> 00:21:40.250 job it is to put Gentiles down, put non -Jews 00:21:40.250 --> 00:21:43.970 down, call them dogs. He says that guy is going 00:21:43.970 --> 00:21:47.140 to be the Apostle too. the non -Jews to the nations. 00:21:48.359 --> 00:21:52.319 Isn't that incredible? In chapter 3, he kind 00:21:52.319 --> 00:21:54.519 of, he starts by explaining that. He goes, I'm 00:21:54.519 --> 00:21:57.640 an apostle to the Gentiles. Isn't that great? 00:21:58.539 --> 00:22:03.559 He, a Pharisee who does, but it is hard. It's 00:22:03.559 --> 00:22:07.819 not easy to be this one person. We're messy people 00:22:07.819 --> 00:22:10.220 and we're in a room with messy people and it 00:22:10.220 --> 00:22:14.000 does get messy, which is why we have the Spirit 00:22:14.000 --> 00:22:17.190 of God to help us. and why we have the instructions 00:22:17.190 --> 00:22:21.470 of chapters four to six to help us. For example, 00:22:21.490 --> 00:22:23.730 it doesn't say, bear with one another in love 00:22:23.730 --> 00:22:28.309 because it's easy. Let me give you another one. 00:22:28.829 --> 00:22:31.569 Later on in Ephesians chapter four it says, be 00:22:31.569 --> 00:22:33.789 kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving 00:22:33.789 --> 00:22:40.109 each other just as Christ forgave you. Forgive 00:22:40.109 --> 00:22:43.569 as Christ forgave you. Here's the mistake we 00:22:43.569 --> 00:22:50.000 make. We think because Christ has forgiven us 00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:54.259 so freely and that grace has come to us so readily 00:22:54.259 --> 00:22:59.019 that it should be easy to forgive people. Actually 00:22:59.019 --> 00:23:05.500 it's not. As Christ, what was it, how easy was 00:23:05.500 --> 00:23:11.319 it for God to forgive us? It cost him the life 00:23:11.319 --> 00:23:16.000 of his one and only son whom he loved. That was 00:23:16.000 --> 00:23:20.440 a high price. It is not easy to forgive. And 00:23:20.440 --> 00:23:21.819 if you think, oh, everyone should just forgive 00:23:21.819 --> 00:23:24.859 each other and move on, I'm sorry, you haven't 00:23:24.859 --> 00:23:27.220 understood the cross. You haven't understood 00:23:27.220 --> 00:23:29.440 the cost that was paid for you. I know we get 00:23:29.440 --> 00:23:31.759 it freely. It's great. I love that. I'm happy 00:23:31.759 --> 00:23:34.740 about that. But what it costs, God is enormous. 00:23:36.039 --> 00:23:38.220 And yet that's what we are called to do. Forgive 00:23:38.220 --> 00:23:41.859 as God has forgiven us. It's in the Lord's prayer, 00:23:41.960 --> 00:23:48.210 isn't it? It's not easy because we are messy, 00:23:48.309 --> 00:23:53.589 but it is hard and it is possible and it is necessary. 00:23:55.730 --> 00:23:59.390 And if you are looking for miracles, that's the 00:23:59.390 --> 00:24:03.109 miracle. You know how we sometimes look at miracles 00:24:03.109 --> 00:24:04.809 and we go, oh, it's for that person who was sick 00:24:04.809 --> 00:24:08.210 and they were... Actually, this is the miracle 00:24:08.210 --> 00:24:12.670 that you are choosing to sit here. that you are 00:24:12.670 --> 00:24:15.190 choosing to be in community with people, that 00:24:15.190 --> 00:24:18.829 you, would you choose to be here if it wasn't 00:24:18.829 --> 00:24:23.930 for Jesus? One of the privileges I have is I 00:24:23.930 --> 00:24:27.369 do what's called planting assessments. So what 00:24:27.369 --> 00:24:29.849 happens is we sit down with a potential planter 00:24:29.849 --> 00:24:33.829 and we go through whether they know what they're 00:24:33.829 --> 00:24:35.390 doing, basically, is what we're trying to do. 00:24:36.130 --> 00:24:38.069 Don't tell them that, but yeah. Ah, this is being 00:24:38.069 --> 00:24:41.910 recorded. Anyway, they'll find out. We had this 00:24:41.910 --> 00:24:44.329 guy who came to us, a guy called Prosper. Prosper 00:24:44.329 --> 00:24:48.470 was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 00:24:49.609 --> 00:24:54.230 He had to flee the DRC because of persecution. 00:24:55.390 --> 00:24:59.009 He was a pastor actually in the DRC and he had 00:24:59.009 --> 00:25:02.009 to leave because of persecution. He ended up 00:25:02.009 --> 00:25:05.250 in Norway actually of all places. In Norway he 00:25:05.250 --> 00:25:06.849 heard about the Gospel of Grace which he had 00:25:06.849 --> 00:25:10.599 not heard even though he was a pastor. pay for 00:25:10.599 --> 00:25:13.640 our sins, we're free. That's amazing. So he then 00:25:13.640 --> 00:25:15.819 came back and he started planting churches in 00:25:15.819 --> 00:25:21.900 Uganda, in UN refugee camps in Uganda. And I 00:25:21.900 --> 00:25:23.259 said, how was that? And he goes, well, all the 00:25:23.259 --> 00:25:25.779 pastors around me told everyone I was a heretic 00:25:25.779 --> 00:25:28.000 because I kept talking about grace. He said, 00:25:28.039 --> 00:25:29.460 don't listen to that guy. No, no, you have to 00:25:29.460 --> 00:25:31.000 tithe, you have to come, you have to do this. 00:25:31.039 --> 00:25:34.900 And he goes, no, no, Jesus did that for us. Anyway, 00:25:34.940 --> 00:25:37.700 he's now come to Australia, he's found himself 00:25:37.700 --> 00:25:40.319 in Australia and he's about to plant a church 00:25:40.319 --> 00:25:44.680 for displaced people in Adelaide who've come 00:25:44.680 --> 00:25:48.180 from Africa. And there are several different 00:25:48.180 --> 00:25:49.799 tribes, they're all around the sort of the Great 00:25:49.799 --> 00:25:52.000 Lakes where DRC and Rwanda and that sort of thing 00:25:52.000 --> 00:25:57.240 is, and they've all come and so he is there to 00:25:57.240 --> 00:25:59.900 plant that church. And I said, what are some 00:25:59.900 --> 00:26:02.000 of the things, the pastoral things that you think 00:26:02.000 --> 00:26:03.700 you're going to have to address? And he said, 00:26:03.759 --> 00:26:06.809 well, We are going to be sitting in a room where 00:26:06.809 --> 00:26:09.609 there are people from different tribes and everyone 00:26:09.609 --> 00:26:13.690 Will know someone from that tribe who has been 00:26:13.690 --> 00:26:15.970 killed by somebody else from another tribe sitting 00:26:15.970 --> 00:26:20.630 across the way and It will be there will be generational 00:26:20.630 --> 00:26:24.589 trauma They're used to shooting each other and 00:26:24.589 --> 00:26:27.210 I have to teach them that their identity is not 00:26:27.210 --> 00:26:30.950 in their tribe, but in Jesus Jesus is their new 00:26:30.950 --> 00:26:35.319 people. He is they are his new tribe And that 00:26:35.319 --> 00:26:40.759 is not going to be easy. It's not. But that's 00:26:40.759 --> 00:26:43.740 what God is doing. He's creating a new people. 00:26:43.900 --> 00:26:45.640 If you want to know what is God doing, He's creating 00:26:45.640 --> 00:26:50.400 a new people. And it matters that we come together, 00:26:50.539 --> 00:26:54.500 that this is the miracle. Because let me move 00:26:54.500 --> 00:26:58.220 to chapter 3. In chapter 3 we see the church 00:26:58.220 --> 00:27:01.519 displayed. Let me give you this. It was His intent 00:27:01.519 --> 00:27:05.589 now. that through the church the manifold wisdom 00:27:05.589 --> 00:27:07.789 of God should be made known to rulers and authorities 00:27:07.789 --> 00:27:10.289 in the heavenly realms according to His eternal 00:27:10.289 --> 00:27:12.329 purpose that He accomplished in Christ Jesus 00:27:12.329 --> 00:27:15.509 our Lord. The rulers and authorities in the heavenly 00:27:15.509 --> 00:27:19.549 realms was the way that the Ephesian city, they 00:27:19.549 --> 00:27:22.009 understood what we would say angels and demons. 00:27:23.150 --> 00:27:28.299 So that's how I want you to think about it. We 00:27:28.299 --> 00:27:30.339 are physically sitting here, it's a beautiful 00:27:30.339 --> 00:27:31.819 day, it's a wonderful thing, we're sitting here, 00:27:31.839 --> 00:27:33.500 we've got the wind blowing, and that's what we're 00:27:33.500 --> 00:27:37.059 seeing physically. But I want you to step back 00:27:37.059 --> 00:27:39.759 and look, what are we seeing in that spiritual 00:27:39.759 --> 00:27:45.839 dimension, in that spiritual realm? They are 00:27:45.839 --> 00:27:48.640 watching and they are sitting there and they 00:27:48.640 --> 00:27:52.079 are currently watching us as God's eternal plan 00:27:52.079 --> 00:27:56.339 is being displayed as He gathers people by grace. 00:27:56.589 --> 00:27:59.710 as He takes people who are sinners, who were 00:27:59.710 --> 00:28:03.250 dead, and now sitting under the Lordship of Jesus, 00:28:03.250 --> 00:28:13.210 and now they are a new people. And angels, yes, 00:28:14.130 --> 00:28:18.869 yes. And demons are watching this going, no. 00:28:20.410 --> 00:28:24.549 And you're just sitting there. as the wind blows 00:28:24.549 --> 00:28:26.329 trying to kick -track what this guy at the front 00:28:26.329 --> 00:28:31.369 is saying. You see, that, this is the evidence 00:28:31.369 --> 00:28:34.269 that the Gospel works. They're not watching, 00:28:34.309 --> 00:28:35.710 I don't think they're really watching what to, 00:28:35.809 --> 00:28:37.869 I think we sometimes make the mistake because 00:28:37.869 --> 00:28:40.349 the way we put chairs out is that church happens 00:28:40.349 --> 00:28:43.710 up here, so is what I'm doing and what the ladies 00:28:43.710 --> 00:28:45.930 are doing with the music and there's, but that, 00:28:46.029 --> 00:28:47.750 no, no, no, they're not watching that, they're 00:28:47.750 --> 00:28:50.230 watching this, this is the miracle, this displays 00:28:50.230 --> 00:28:57.049 God's glory, this is the amazing thing. This 00:28:57.049 --> 00:29:00.170 is the main event. And just, I mean, have a look 00:29:00.170 --> 00:29:01.769 around. There are people here, you've got people 00:29:01.769 --> 00:29:04.670 from different ages, different backgrounds, different 00:29:04.670 --> 00:29:08.930 personalities, different incomes, different stories. 00:29:10.910 --> 00:29:16.269 We all have sin affecting us in different ways. 00:29:17.890 --> 00:29:19.990 And for some of us, it's other people's sin that 00:29:19.990 --> 00:29:23.349 has affected us. Some of it is the sin that we've 00:29:23.349 --> 00:29:28.039 been struggling with for some time. messy. Yeah, 00:29:28.039 --> 00:29:33.099 I get it. It is messy. But that's the whole point, 00:29:33.160 --> 00:29:36.960 isn't it? That God, if God, if it was easy, and 00:29:36.960 --> 00:29:39.000 we weren't messy, it'd be easy for us all to 00:29:39.000 --> 00:29:40.940 come together, wouldn't it? But the fact that 00:29:40.940 --> 00:29:44.900 God brings messy people together, that's incredible. 00:29:45.619 --> 00:29:52.700 That is glorious. Some of us might not have even 00:29:52.700 --> 00:29:58.500 liked each other. But here we are. We're singing. 00:29:59.359 --> 00:30:03.000 We're choosing to spend today together. That's 00:30:03.000 --> 00:30:05.380 incredible. Again, this is where the angels are 00:30:05.380 --> 00:30:08.519 going, yes, praise God! And demons are going, 00:30:08.880 --> 00:30:13.960 no, let me stop this from happening. And this 00:30:13.960 --> 00:30:17.180 is how God shows off. You ever stop to think, 00:30:17.180 --> 00:30:21.220 how does God display His greatness? I mean, I 00:30:21.220 --> 00:30:23.740 love far North Queensland and I see God display 00:30:23.740 --> 00:30:26.339 His greatness in all sorts of, like, in creation 00:30:26.339 --> 00:30:30.480 up here. I remember I was on a tour up here, 00:30:30.539 --> 00:30:33.539 I went to Cape Tribulation, I was there with 00:30:33.539 --> 00:30:35.259 a guy, we didn't know each other before the tour, 00:30:35.319 --> 00:30:36.559 but we got to know each other over the tour, 00:30:36.619 --> 00:30:39.299 and we got to Cape Tribulation. Man, this is 00:30:39.299 --> 00:30:42.220 amazing! And then we were going to go for a swim, 00:30:42.380 --> 00:30:44.690 and then we were told... you are not coming out 00:30:44.690 --> 00:30:47.490 of the water if you go for a swim. Sorry, just 00:30:47.490 --> 00:30:49.170 a side thing, it was an interesting moment of 00:30:49.170 --> 00:30:51.009 me understanding, that's what sin is like, isn't 00:30:51.009 --> 00:30:53.089 it? It looks so enticing, but it's there to kill 00:30:53.089 --> 00:30:54.990 you. And I went, that is what Cape Tribulation 00:30:54.990 --> 00:30:58.450 is. But it is, it's beautiful. But how does God 00:30:58.450 --> 00:31:00.410 display His grace? Is it creating galaxies, parting 00:31:00.410 --> 00:31:03.230 sea, raising the dead? Yeah, yeah, He does that. 00:31:03.730 --> 00:31:07.029 But actually what He does is this. And we look 00:31:07.029 --> 00:31:10.569 at this and go, well, you know, I mean, how often 00:31:10.569 --> 00:31:14.039 do you sit there and you go, well, you know coffee 00:31:14.039 --> 00:31:16.299 wasn't that great today and I didn't really like 00:31:16.299 --> 00:31:18.180 the chairs and I've got to set this thing up 00:31:18.180 --> 00:31:23.960 every week and you know that person I don't like 00:31:23.960 --> 00:31:26.559 the music the music isn't that great I mean you 00:31:26.559 --> 00:31:30.140 can I watched a guy and he listed like the things 00:31:30.140 --> 00:31:33.220 to complain about in church and he had like about 00:31:33.220 --> 00:31:35.559 50 different things there you I mean you could 00:31:35.559 --> 00:31:37.200 add to that it's easy to find things to complain 00:31:37.200 --> 00:31:40.160 about in church but At this point in time, you 00:31:40.160 --> 00:31:43.059 need to take off your glasses of seeing it as 00:31:43.059 --> 00:31:45.759 we see it and see it as angels and demons see 00:31:45.759 --> 00:31:49.380 it and go, whoa, this is incredible. This is 00:31:49.380 --> 00:31:52.339 amazing. I'm not saying those other things don't 00:31:52.339 --> 00:31:54.200 matter, they matter and we need to keep working 00:31:54.200 --> 00:31:59.059 on them. But here's the thing, church is not 00:31:59.059 --> 00:32:03.920 just merely something that, it's not just something 00:32:03.920 --> 00:32:08.500 that we get something out of, like a service. 00:32:08.799 --> 00:32:10.779 Like it's not the place where you go and I just 00:32:10.779 --> 00:32:12.660 get my spiritual kind of shot in the arm to get 00:32:12.660 --> 00:32:15.400 me through the week. There are things, I'm going 00:32:15.400 --> 00:32:17.259 to talk a little bit about that tomorrow, but 00:32:17.259 --> 00:32:19.619 there are some things that help us. We need to 00:32:19.619 --> 00:32:23.380 be building each other up. But before we do this, 00:32:23.400 --> 00:32:27.579 there are some things where we need to remember 00:32:27.579 --> 00:32:30.779 that just turning up matters. I heard this story, 00:32:30.799 --> 00:32:33.180 I can't tell whether it's a urban myth or not, 00:32:33.180 --> 00:32:34.480 but it's such a great story, I'm going to tell 00:32:34.480 --> 00:32:38.660 you anyway. There was this little old country 00:32:38.660 --> 00:32:44.099 town and they had this church and people would 00:32:44.099 --> 00:32:45.799 turn up but there was this old, I don't know 00:32:45.799 --> 00:32:48.779 why, he was an archdeacon and he was an Anglican 00:32:48.779 --> 00:32:52.799 person and he would turn up but he was kind of 00:32:52.799 --> 00:32:55.000 blind, couldn't quite see anything and he was 00:32:55.000 --> 00:32:58.950 very deaf. And you know those people, I'm sorry 00:32:58.950 --> 00:33:00.769 if I'm insulting you, I don't know you, but there 00:33:00.769 --> 00:33:03.390 was these, he was the kind of guy who got there 00:33:03.390 --> 00:33:05.190 and people would start singing and he'd kind 00:33:05.190 --> 00:33:07.490 of work out what the song was, but he would finish 00:33:07.490 --> 00:33:10.609 half a line after everybody else, because he 00:33:10.609 --> 00:33:12.009 couldn't hear what was going on, but he was going, 00:33:12.029 --> 00:33:15.250 I'm gonna sing anyway, and he couldn't quite 00:33:15.250 --> 00:33:17.150 see the Bible, he couldn't quite hear the sermon, 00:33:17.230 --> 00:33:21.670 and so someone tried to go, why do you keep coming 00:33:21.670 --> 00:33:24.309 to church? Of course because he was deaf it took 00:33:24.309 --> 00:33:26.029 him a while to get that across and they couldn't 00:33:26.029 --> 00:33:27.769 write a thing out but they finally got the question 00:33:27.769 --> 00:33:29.869 across to him and they go, why do you keep coming 00:33:29.869 --> 00:33:34.609 to church? And his answer was so incredibly profound 00:33:34.609 --> 00:33:38.630 because I want everyone to know whose side I'm 00:33:38.630 --> 00:33:47.250 on. When you come to church on Sunday and you 00:33:47.250 --> 00:33:49.589 get out of the car and some of you might have 00:33:49.589 --> 00:33:51.710 been Karens and you've got your kids and you've 00:33:51.710 --> 00:33:54.440 got the thing and I want you to just take, before 00:33:54.440 --> 00:33:57.859 you open the door, just take a moment and set 00:33:57.859 --> 00:34:00.220 your eyes on what angels or demons are doing 00:34:00.220 --> 00:34:02.460 right now just because you made it to the car 00:34:02.460 --> 00:34:07.819 park. I know you found it hard, I know you found 00:34:07.819 --> 00:34:13.440 it difficult, but just take a moment to see this 00:34:13.440 --> 00:34:16.559 as an amazing moment and then if you're like 00:34:16.559 --> 00:34:20.869 me drag the kids in and try to get them. But 00:34:20.869 --> 00:34:22.889 keep that in mind as you see others so when you 00:34:22.889 --> 00:34:25.309 see Karen and she's struggling with the kids 00:34:25.309 --> 00:34:27.750 and there's a Go and play with the kids so that 00:34:27.750 --> 00:34:30.269 she can have more than just one or two half conversations 00:34:30.269 --> 00:34:33.489 with people Help her to realize. Yes. It's important 00:34:33.489 --> 00:34:35.789 that you are here because you are displaying 00:34:35.789 --> 00:34:39.989 God's glory When you see Kai and you can see 00:34:39.989 --> 00:34:42.030 these struggling to understand what's going on 00:34:42.030 --> 00:34:44.550 Just pull him aside try to explain to him why 00:34:44.550 --> 00:34:46.570 it's funny for Australians to put each other 00:34:46.570 --> 00:34:48.590 down I still haven't worked that out myself, 00:34:48.590 --> 00:34:50.869 but try and explain to him what the humor is 00:34:50.869 --> 00:34:54.130 and why people find that funny. When you see 00:34:54.130 --> 00:34:56.469 Kyle and he's struggling to kind of sit, go and 00:34:56.469 --> 00:34:57.889 stand with him at the back of church and go, 00:34:57.929 --> 00:35:00.070 mate, it's okay. As long as you're in the room, 00:35:00.230 --> 00:35:01.349 doesn't matter whether you're sitting down or 00:35:01.349 --> 00:35:03.769 standing up, I'll stand with you, make you feel 00:35:03.769 --> 00:35:10.690 comfortable. Because being here matters. It matters. 00:35:11.929 --> 00:35:14.369 And wherever you can do that to help others to 00:35:14.369 --> 00:35:18.010 realize, hey, us being here matters and I'll 00:35:18.010 --> 00:35:22.570 do whatever I can to help you be here. In our 00:35:22.570 --> 00:35:25.809 church we have a number of people with different 00:35:25.809 --> 00:35:29.710 kind of things that they're carrying. Eliza is 00:35:29.710 --> 00:35:31.869 a girl who comes along, she comes along quite 00:35:31.869 --> 00:35:35.730 regularly, she's got an intellectual disability, 00:35:35.809 --> 00:35:40.349 she just really struggles to keep up and there 00:35:40.349 --> 00:35:44.199 was a moment not my best moment, there was a 00:35:44.199 --> 00:35:47.139 moment where we're in church, they were reading 00:35:47.139 --> 00:35:50.219 the Bible and she was visibly upset going, she's 00:35:50.219 --> 00:35:52.079 just struggling to keep up with the Bible reading. 00:35:53.559 --> 00:35:56.340 And look, I was tired and grumpy and so I'm sitting 00:35:56.340 --> 00:35:58.860 there going and I saw the staff came over and 00:35:58.860 --> 00:36:01.539 they tried to give her an outline of the sermon 00:36:01.539 --> 00:36:03.480 so she could follow along and that sort of thing 00:36:03.480 --> 00:36:06.039 and I went, someone's got to go and sit with 00:36:06.039 --> 00:36:09.409 her and I'm going, righto. Okay, Hughes, get 00:36:09.409 --> 00:36:15.730 up, let's go. And so, but before I did, I watched, 00:36:16.690 --> 00:36:18.829 sorry, I get emotional about this. I watched 00:36:18.829 --> 00:36:25.010 this girl called Taylor and Taylor, she loves, 00:36:25.389 --> 00:36:28.050 she's a beautiful, bright, bubbly girl. And one 00:36:28.050 --> 00:36:30.630 of her highlights of her week is that she comes 00:36:30.630 --> 00:36:32.630 from a non -Christian family and she loves sitting 00:36:32.630 --> 00:36:35.090 with her young adult friends in church. That's 00:36:35.090 --> 00:36:39.019 like the highlight of her week. And I know that. 00:36:41.980 --> 00:36:47.920 And I watch Taylor get up, leave her friends, 00:36:48.900 --> 00:36:51.199 and go and sit with Eliza, and she just patiently, 00:36:51.360 --> 00:36:53.800 far more patiently than me, thank God, but patiently, 00:36:54.280 --> 00:36:57.199 she goes through the service and helps Eliza 00:36:57.199 --> 00:36:59.019 through it, because the fact that Eliza there 00:36:59.019 --> 00:37:03.059 matters, and Taylor understood that. And there 00:37:03.059 --> 00:37:05.019 was a moment in church where I'm watching all 00:37:05.019 --> 00:37:06.789 of this happen. And I wanted to stand up and 00:37:06.789 --> 00:37:10.230 go to everyone. See that? That's church. That's 00:37:10.230 --> 00:37:13.550 God's glory. That's what happens. I didn't because 00:37:13.550 --> 00:37:16.230 it would have been odd and embarrassing and Taylor 00:37:16.230 --> 00:37:17.809 would have died a thousand deaths if I hadn't 00:37:17.809 --> 00:37:22.150 done that to her. But that's it. This is the 00:37:22.150 --> 00:37:24.289 glory of God. Don't ever lose sight of the fact 00:37:24.289 --> 00:37:30.489 turning up matters. And if you feel, if you're 00:37:30.489 --> 00:37:32.650 like me and you go, I don't feel like going to 00:37:32.650 --> 00:37:34.070 church today, I want you to just take a moment 00:37:34.070 --> 00:37:35.969 and go, that's what a demon would want me to 00:37:35.969 --> 00:37:40.590 do. So I'm a contrarian person, I'm going anyway 00:37:40.590 --> 00:37:45.710 just because he doesn't want me to. But give 00:37:45.710 --> 00:37:49.769 angels something to rejoice about. Because God 00:37:49.769 --> 00:37:53.789 is glorified in the church. Because in the church 00:37:53.789 --> 00:37:58.550 is where His plan is fulfilled. in the church 00:37:58.550 --> 00:38:03.829 is where his wisdom is. And so now to him who 00:38:03.829 --> 00:38:07.130 is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or 00:38:07.130 --> 00:38:10.769 imagine, according to his power which is at work 00:38:10.769 --> 00:38:19.230 within us, to him be glory in the church and 00:38:19.230 --> 00:38:21.929 in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever 00:38:21.929 --> 00:38:28.289 and ever. Amen. Let me pray. Lord, it is such 00:38:28.289 --> 00:38:33.050 a great privilege for us to be a part of the 00:38:33.050 --> 00:38:37.650 Bride of Christ the Church. Father, we confess 00:38:37.650 --> 00:38:41.750 that sometimes we've walked into church probably 00:38:41.750 --> 00:38:44.469 not with the right attitude. I know I haven't. 00:38:45.809 --> 00:38:49.329 Some of us, I know we've also been people who 00:38:49.329 --> 00:38:52.289 have sat in church and found those things to 00:38:52.289 --> 00:38:57.050 grumble about. But father I pray that your spirit 00:38:57.050 --> 00:38:59.130 will be at work that he will open our eyes so 00:38:59.130 --> 00:39:02.349 that we might see What a glorious thing it is 00:39:02.349 --> 00:39:06.409 for your saints together That we stand together 00:39:06.409 --> 00:39:09.670 and go we are the new people that God is making 00:39:09.670 --> 00:39:15.010 That we come together so that angels and demons 00:39:15.010 --> 00:39:20.969 will know whose side we are on I Know some will 00:39:20.969 --> 00:39:25.019 find that harder than others For those of us 00:39:25.019 --> 00:39:28.000 who find it a little easier, help us to have 00:39:28.000 --> 00:39:30.179 the strength and courage to help those who need 00:39:30.179 --> 00:39:36.860 a bit more help. Father, please help us to display 00:39:36.860 --> 00:39:42.820 your incredible glory by being the Church. Let 00:39:42.820 --> 00:39:44.579 me pray this in Jesus' name, Amen.