WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.680 As this song has said to us, we may bring our 00:00:03.680 --> 00:00:07.339 burdens directly to the Father because we have 00:00:07.339 --> 00:00:11.320 one who intercedes on our behalf before Him, 00:00:11.500 --> 00:00:16.679 even the Lord Jesus Christ. Will you give that 00:00:16.679 --> 00:00:22.239 burden to God right now and ask Him to bring 00:00:22.239 --> 00:00:29.059 strength or healing or renewed joy to your heart? 00:00:29.769 --> 00:00:33.070 as He lifts that burden. Let Him do it right 00:00:33.070 --> 00:00:42.590 now. Father, may we be free to receive what You 00:00:42.590 --> 00:00:45.049 have to say to us from the Word this morning. 00:00:46.689 --> 00:00:50.810 Liberate us from our own anxieties and from Satan's 00:00:50.810 --> 00:00:54.729 attacks so that we might be able to focus our 00:00:54.729 --> 00:00:57.329 minds and our hearts upon that which is eternal, 00:00:57.429 --> 00:01:01.259 even the Word of God. May the Holy Spirit do 00:01:01.259 --> 00:01:06.099 a work in us, uniting us together as one body 00:01:06.099 --> 00:01:09.760 in Jesus Christ, even as we meditate upon this 00:01:09.760 --> 00:01:13.599 truth this morning of your unity as God. In Jesus' 00:01:13.680 --> 00:01:19.640 name I pray, amen. A few days ago, a friend of 00:01:19.640 --> 00:01:22.260 mine here in the city invited me again to go 00:01:22.260 --> 00:01:26.680 to a rotary club meeting with him. I always enjoy 00:01:26.680 --> 00:01:28.680 that, not just because I have the opportunity 00:01:28.680 --> 00:01:30.920 to sit with him and fellowship for a while, but 00:01:30.920 --> 00:01:33.900 because it's just interesting and even fun to 00:01:33.900 --> 00:01:37.579 be out there with people in the community and 00:01:37.579 --> 00:01:39.859 to see how they talk and to see how they think. 00:01:41.920 --> 00:01:46.120 As we go to the Rotary Club, the session usually 00:01:46.120 --> 00:01:49.200 begins with the preliminaries. And usually that 00:01:49.200 --> 00:01:51.519 involves a Pledge of Allegiance and the singing 00:01:51.519 --> 00:01:54.870 of some kind of a song much like we used to begin 00:01:54.870 --> 00:02:00.689 school back in the olden days and then we have 00:02:00.689 --> 00:02:04.769 our meal together and someone usually asks blessing 00:02:04.769 --> 00:02:11.030 upon the food from God and then we eat and following 00:02:11.030 --> 00:02:14.930 that there is the the main program and then everybody 00:02:14.930 --> 00:02:18.259 goes home As we were walking out this last Monday, 00:02:18.300 --> 00:02:20.400 I said to my friend, you know, this is a religion 00:02:20.400 --> 00:02:23.319 to some of these people, isn't it? And being 00:02:23.319 --> 00:02:25.900 a member of the club and being there fairly regularly, 00:02:25.919 --> 00:02:29.099 he said, yes, in fact, it is. Many of these people 00:02:29.099 --> 00:02:32.539 belong to churches, but their real religion is 00:02:32.539 --> 00:02:34.580 rotary. It's a service club. And that's where 00:02:34.580 --> 00:02:38.620 they sense they belong. In fact, that sense of 00:02:38.620 --> 00:02:44.060 belonging is so real that at the club, they keep 00:02:44.060 --> 00:02:47.659 track of attendance. And this last Monday they 00:02:47.659 --> 00:02:51.120 published how many times each member had been 00:02:51.120 --> 00:02:53.960 there over the last few months and what the percentage 00:02:53.960 --> 00:02:56.439 was. And I thought to myself, what a great idea 00:02:56.439 --> 00:03:02.039 for a church. They're really serious at rotary 00:03:02.039 --> 00:03:09.099 regarding belonging to that organization. That 00:03:09.099 --> 00:03:11.419 all of us have heard in the last few weeks regarding 00:03:11.419 --> 00:03:16.139 the rise of gangs. especially in the inner city 00:03:16.139 --> 00:03:20.400 of North Minneapolis. Some of it apparently related 00:03:20.400 --> 00:03:27.900 to drugs, but these gangs are groups of kids 00:03:27.900 --> 00:03:33.699 who want to belong to something. Now certainly 00:03:33.699 --> 00:03:36.500 money is part of it, drugs is part of it, thrill 00:03:36.500 --> 00:03:39.780 may be part of it, but at the real heart of it. 00:03:41.170 --> 00:03:44.629 is a desire on the part of the kids to belong. 00:03:48.210 --> 00:03:49.930 And we've gone from one end of the spectrum, 00:03:49.990 --> 00:03:52.469 a community service organization that does a 00:03:52.469 --> 00:03:56.909 lot of good, to a gang that does a lot of bad. 00:03:58.569 --> 00:04:01.150 But there's a common thread that ties them together, 00:04:01.150 --> 00:04:03.430 I think, and that is the desire on the part of 00:04:03.430 --> 00:04:10.539 members of both to belong. You see? God has put 00:04:10.539 --> 00:04:13.180 the desire to belong in the heart of every human 00:04:13.180 --> 00:04:18.740 being. I believe that that desire is a fingerprint 00:04:18.740 --> 00:04:26.120 of God upon every human life. We all want to 00:04:26.120 --> 00:04:30.379 be a part of something. We are living in an age 00:04:30.379 --> 00:04:33.620 when we are told there is a trend toward privatization. 00:04:34.839 --> 00:04:39.160 Some call it cocooning. where people are withdrawing 00:04:39.160 --> 00:04:41.439 into their own homes or their own apartments 00:04:41.439 --> 00:04:46.620 and conducting their business and even their 00:04:46.620 --> 00:04:49.779 social life in private away from everybody else. 00:04:50.819 --> 00:04:55.819 That is abnormal. In a certain sense, that's 00:04:55.819 --> 00:05:01.339 more abnormal than belonging to a gang. Because 00:05:01.339 --> 00:05:03.660 the normal thing is to want to be with others 00:05:03.660 --> 00:05:07.240 and to belong with others to something that is 00:05:07.240 --> 00:05:13.500 meaningful. I repeat, the belonging that we inherently 00:05:13.500 --> 00:05:19.620 seek I think is a fingerprint of God upon us. 00:05:22.300 --> 00:05:24.680 Think with me about the original creation and 00:05:24.680 --> 00:05:31.420 how it reflected a God -designed oneness. When 00:05:31.420 --> 00:05:33.319 you go back in your reading of the Bible and 00:05:33.319 --> 00:05:36.199 look at Genesis chapters 1 and 2, and you see 00:05:36.199 --> 00:05:40.160 how God created the world, the universe, and 00:05:40.160 --> 00:05:46.120 mankind, you see there an evident harmony between 00:05:46.120 --> 00:05:51.019 God and his creation. After God had finished 00:05:51.019 --> 00:05:53.699 his work, he looked at it and he said, it is 00:05:53.699 --> 00:06:00.339 very good. There was a harmony between God and 00:06:00.339 --> 00:06:04.540 that which He had brought into existence. And 00:06:04.540 --> 00:06:07.040 likewise, we see a harmony between the various 00:06:07.040 --> 00:06:11.379 categories, species, and kinds that are involved 00:06:11.379 --> 00:06:16.439 in creation. A wonderful oneness and harmony 00:06:16.439 --> 00:06:19.040 to the creation that God brought into existence. 00:06:19.759 --> 00:06:23.199 Now there was certain hierarchy, and there was 00:06:23.199 --> 00:06:26.889 order. But there was also a wonderful harmony 00:06:26.889 --> 00:06:31.209 to all things. Everything belonged together. 00:06:31.829 --> 00:06:38.810 It fit. Now why is that? Why did God create the 00:06:38.810 --> 00:06:43.329 world that way? He did not create it the way 00:06:43.329 --> 00:06:48.230 we see it today. He created it differently. It 00:06:48.230 --> 00:06:52.800 was a world that was harmonious. Well, the reason 00:06:52.800 --> 00:06:55.959 God created the world that way is because He 00:06:55.959 --> 00:07:02.680 desired that the creation reflect Himself. And 00:07:02.680 --> 00:07:10.199 God is one. In the unity of the Godhead, there 00:07:10.199 --> 00:07:12.860 are three persons, the Father, the Son, and the 00:07:12.860 --> 00:07:16.980 Holy Spirit. But it's not three gods. It's one 00:07:16.980 --> 00:07:23.339 God. The oneness of creation was the glory, the 00:07:23.339 --> 00:07:27.779 reflected glory, of God's essential oneness. 00:07:28.980 --> 00:07:34.339 God's oneness. That oneness is stated for us 00:07:34.339 --> 00:07:39.259 in Deuteronomy 6 .4, where it says, Hear, O Israel, 00:07:39.319 --> 00:07:44.300 the Lord is our God, the Lord is one. That is 00:07:44.300 --> 00:07:49.660 a basic tenet of Judaism. It's called the Shema. 00:07:51.579 --> 00:07:57.379 The Lord is one. And because of the misunderstanding 00:07:57.379 --> 00:08:00.060 of Jews about Christianity, they often say that 00:08:00.060 --> 00:08:03.660 we worship three gods, when in fact we worship 00:08:03.660 --> 00:08:09.160 the Lord who is one, but who eternally subsists 00:08:09.160 --> 00:08:13.220 in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the 00:08:13.220 --> 00:08:15.779 Holy Spirit. That involves the mystery of God's 00:08:15.779 --> 00:08:21.100 triunity. And God's tri -unity is an essential 00:08:21.100 --> 00:08:24.779 doctrine of Scripture, even though the word itself 00:08:24.779 --> 00:08:29.680 is not used. One cannot be a believer in the 00:08:29.680 --> 00:08:33.720 God of the Bible and reject the concept of God's 00:08:33.720 --> 00:08:38.440 tri -unity. But notice just in that word, the 00:08:38.440 --> 00:08:46.820 word unity, tri -unity, three in one. The idea, 00:08:46.940 --> 00:08:54.620 the concept of God being three in one was one 00:08:54.620 --> 00:08:58.179 that took a number of centuries for the church 00:08:58.179 --> 00:09:06.019 to begin to grasp and to articulate. It was a 00:09:06.019 --> 00:09:08.840 doctrine that was somewhat hidden in the Old 00:09:08.840 --> 00:09:12.039 Testament. We can go back with the searchlight 00:09:12.039 --> 00:09:14.940 of the New Testament and see it in various places. 00:09:15.419 --> 00:09:17.700 But it's not until the New Testament that the 00:09:17.700 --> 00:09:23.220 tri -unity of God is clearly evidenced. And yet 00:09:23.220 --> 00:09:25.940 it took the church several centuries to be able 00:09:25.940 --> 00:09:30.980 to come to grips with what that means. One of 00:09:30.980 --> 00:09:33.879 the oldest of the statements and clearest of 00:09:33.879 --> 00:09:36.679 the statements is called the Athanasian Creed. 00:09:38.340 --> 00:09:41.779 Athanasius was a church leader in the fourth 00:09:41.779 --> 00:09:47.210 century who debated and defeated the teachings 00:09:47.210 --> 00:09:52.789 of Arius, who denied the deity of Jesus Christ 00:09:52.789 --> 00:09:57.009 and the triunity of God. His modern -day descendants 00:09:57.009 --> 00:10:01.029 are the Jehovah's Witnesses. Now there's a creed 00:10:01.029 --> 00:10:03.330 that bears his name, although he did not write 00:10:03.330 --> 00:10:06.029 it. It's called the Athanasian Creed. It says, 00:10:06.309 --> 00:10:10.090 in part, the Catholic faith is that we venerate 00:10:10.090 --> 00:10:14.950 one God in Trinity and Trinity in unity. neither 00:10:14.950 --> 00:10:18.330 confounding the persons nor separating the substance. 00:10:18.870 --> 00:10:22.529 Sounds like a creed, doesn't it? The person of 00:10:22.529 --> 00:10:26.350 the Father is one, of the Son another, of the 00:10:26.350 --> 00:10:29.610 Holy Spirit another. But the divinity of the 00:10:29.610 --> 00:10:33.870 Father, Son, and Spirit is one, their glory equal, 00:10:34.549 --> 00:10:38.610 co -eternal, their majesty. The Father is neither 00:10:38.610 --> 00:10:42.700 made nor created nor begotten. The Son is from 00:10:42.700 --> 00:10:46.019 the Father alone, not made, nor created, but 00:10:46.019 --> 00:10:49.360 begotten. The Holy Spirit is from the Father 00:10:49.360 --> 00:10:52.259 and the Son, not made, nor created, nor begotten, 00:10:52.419 --> 00:10:55.759 but proceeding. Therefore there is one Father, 00:10:55.860 --> 00:10:59.659 not three Fathers, one Son, not three Sons, one 00:10:59.659 --> 00:11:03.879 Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits. And in this 00:11:03.879 --> 00:11:06.659 Trinity there is nothing prior or posterior, 00:11:07.200 --> 00:11:11.360 nothing greater or less. But all the three persons 00:11:11.360 --> 00:11:14.820 are co -eternal and co -equal, so that in all 00:11:14.820 --> 00:11:18.259 things both a trinity in unity and a unity in 00:11:18.259 --> 00:11:21.899 trinity is to be worshipped." Did you get that? 00:11:24.179 --> 00:11:26.960 Those are heavy duty thoughts that are compressed 00:11:26.960 --> 00:11:29.740 together in a creed, and that's what a creed 00:11:29.740 --> 00:11:33.580 is all about. But the point is this. Now we have 00:11:33.580 --> 00:11:36.879 come to an understanding of what this idea means 00:11:36.879 --> 00:11:41.480 that God is a unity, God is one, and yet eternally 00:11:41.480 --> 00:11:45.360 exists in three persons. Now we can't fully explain 00:11:45.360 --> 00:11:49.059 it. It's impossible for us to reason this, but 00:11:49.059 --> 00:11:52.000 we begin to understand what the Word of God reveals 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:55.539 to us about the majesty of this one that we call 00:11:55.539 --> 00:12:02.049 God. And the creation was harmonious. Even though 00:12:02.049 --> 00:12:05.190 it was diverse, it was harmonious because it 00:12:05.190 --> 00:12:09.190 reflected His glory as the one God. But God's 00:12:09.190 --> 00:12:15.250 original design was ruined. The oneness was destroyed 00:12:15.250 --> 00:12:21.409 by the entrance of sin. Sin is the great separator. 00:12:21.970 --> 00:12:27.649 Sin separated God from man. Sin separated man 00:12:27.649 --> 00:12:30.990 from man. Sin separated human beings from animals. 00:12:31.669 --> 00:12:36.169 It's the great separator. The glory of God's 00:12:36.169 --> 00:12:40.090 oneness was no longer evident in the fallen order. 00:12:43.029 --> 00:12:46.490 And so God's purpose in Jesus Christ is to restore 00:12:46.490 --> 00:12:52.549 the glory of his oneness to creation. Turn with 00:12:52.549 --> 00:13:02.370 me to Colossians, chapter 1. And look at verses 00:13:02.370 --> 00:13:07.970 19 and 20. It was the Father's good pleasure 00:13:07.970 --> 00:13:14.250 for all the fullness to dwell in Christ, and 00:13:14.250 --> 00:13:19.230 through Him to reconcile all things to Himself. 00:13:19.820 --> 00:13:23.679 Having made peace through the blood of his cross 00:13:23.679 --> 00:13:27.200 through him I say whether things on earth or 00:13:27.200 --> 00:13:31.779 things in heaven Part of the purpose of redemption 00:13:31.779 --> 00:13:35.440 of the work of the cross of Jesus Christ is to 00:13:35.440 --> 00:13:39.299 reconcile all things Whether in heaven or on 00:13:39.299 --> 00:13:44.419 earth to God To bring things full circle as it 00:13:44.419 --> 00:13:50.779 were back to this oneness Look in Ephesians chapter 00:13:50.779 --> 00:13:57.799 1 in verse 9 It says he made known to us the 00:13:57.799 --> 00:14:01.320 mystery of his will according to his kind intention 00:14:01.320 --> 00:14:06.059 which he purposed in Christ with a view to an 00:14:06.059 --> 00:14:10.460 administration suitable to the fullness of the 00:14:10.460 --> 00:14:14.440 times The apostle is looking ahead when everything 00:14:14.440 --> 00:14:18.220 is consummated all of God's purposes are finally 00:14:18.220 --> 00:14:21.879 realized. He calls that the fullness of the times. 00:14:23.460 --> 00:14:26.440 It's the destiny toward which everything is moving. 00:14:28.120 --> 00:14:32.460 And he says that is the summing up of all things 00:14:32.460 --> 00:14:37.460 in Christ. Things in the heavens and things upon 00:14:37.460 --> 00:14:41.960 the earth. You say where is history leading? 00:14:42.840 --> 00:14:47.299 It's leading to a summation. Where everything 00:14:47.299 --> 00:14:51.620 will be summed up in Jesus Christ There will 00:14:51.620 --> 00:14:57.539 be a unity or rather a harmony a oneness About 00:14:57.539 --> 00:15:02.639 creation again in its relationship to its creator 00:15:02.639 --> 00:15:07.559 And just one more text in Romans chapter 8 where 00:15:07.559 --> 00:15:12.720 we see the same basic idea In verse 20 of this 00:15:12.720 --> 00:15:17.299 great chapter it says the creation was subjected 00:15:17.299 --> 00:15:20.100 to futility, not of its own will, but because 00:15:20.100 --> 00:15:24.960 of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation 00:15:24.960 --> 00:15:28.240 itself also will be set free from its slavery 00:15:28.240 --> 00:15:31.340 to corruption into the freedom of the glory of 00:15:31.340 --> 00:15:35.179 the children of God. You see, the work of Jesus 00:15:35.179 --> 00:15:37.500 Christ at the cross certainly dealt with our 00:15:37.500 --> 00:15:41.919 sin. That's the primary focus of it, but in the 00:15:41.919 --> 00:15:47.539 focus as well. is the liberation of creation 00:15:47.539 --> 00:15:52.299 and the bringing back to a harmony and a oneness 00:15:52.299 --> 00:15:56.700 that the whole universe will share in by the 00:15:56.700 --> 00:16:00.820 work of Jesus Christ. God is in the business 00:16:00.820 --> 00:16:04.379 today of bringing together a people for His name's 00:16:04.379 --> 00:16:10.860 sake. A people who are at one with Him and who 00:16:10.860 --> 00:16:14.080 someday will be at one with all of the creation. 00:16:14.320 --> 00:16:17.000 that God will make in the new heaven and the 00:16:17.000 --> 00:16:21.100 new earth. God is bringing together a people 00:16:21.100 --> 00:16:25.960 who are also to be one with one another. It is 00:16:25.960 --> 00:16:30.179 the Holy Spirit who makes this oneness a reality 00:16:30.179 --> 00:16:34.779 when we're saved. In 1 Corinthians chapter 12, 00:16:34.919 --> 00:16:37.960 the Apostle says, we're all baptized by one Spirit 00:16:37.960 --> 00:16:42.149 into one body. It means that the Holy Spirit 00:16:42.149 --> 00:16:45.769 places us into the body of Jesus Christ so that 00:16:45.769 --> 00:16:54.289 we belong. It's fine to belong to Rotary or to 00:16:54.289 --> 00:16:59.809 the PTA or to the 4 -H or to whatever else one 00:16:59.809 --> 00:17:02.110 wants to belong to in this world and has the 00:17:02.110 --> 00:17:05.170 time and energy and money to be a part of. It's 00:17:05.170 --> 00:17:08.200 fine to belong to those things. But I want you 00:17:08.200 --> 00:17:11.079 to know that the greatest belonging there is, 00:17:11.460 --> 00:17:15.920 is to belong to Jesus Christ and to His body. 00:17:17.720 --> 00:17:19.619 That's the greatest belonging in the universe. 00:17:20.799 --> 00:17:26.440 There is no association of people that is greater 00:17:26.440 --> 00:17:29.539 than that association that is brought about by 00:17:29.539 --> 00:17:32.740 the blood of Jesus Christ and people who trust 00:17:32.740 --> 00:17:39.700 in Him. The ultimate in belonging is to belong 00:17:39.700 --> 00:17:43.940 to Him. Turn back again to 1 Corinthians and 00:17:43.940 --> 00:17:47.599 look in chapter 3, and I want you to notice something 00:17:47.599 --> 00:17:52.960 that I think is very special. He talks about 00:17:52.960 --> 00:17:56.539 how wonderful it is to know God in these early 00:17:56.539 --> 00:17:59.240 chapters of 1 Corinthians 3, to have that true 00:17:59.240 --> 00:18:05.599 wisdom. And he says in verse 21 of 1 Corinthians 00:18:05.599 --> 00:18:11.039 3, so then let no one boast in men. You remember 00:18:11.039 --> 00:18:13.799 that's what these people were doing. They were 00:18:13.799 --> 00:18:17.160 winding up with various Bible teachers or apostles 00:18:17.160 --> 00:18:20.519 and they were saying, I'm the follower of this 00:18:20.519 --> 00:18:24.640 one or I follow that one. And the apostle says, 00:18:24.740 --> 00:18:29.380 let no one boast in men for all things belong 00:18:29.380 --> 00:18:33.220 to you. Let's just stop there for a minute. Just 00:18:33.220 --> 00:18:36.099 park your car for just a minute on that phrase. 00:18:37.140 --> 00:18:43.259 All things belong to you. Just think of that. 00:18:44.700 --> 00:18:49.400 All things belong to you. He goes on to say whether 00:18:49.400 --> 00:18:56.920 Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life 00:18:56.920 --> 00:19:05.059 or death or things that are present right now, 00:19:06.240 --> 00:19:11.440 or the future, things to come. He says all things 00:19:11.440 --> 00:19:21.039 belong to you. Sometimes we mope around and we 00:19:21.039 --> 00:19:24.640 crawl around like we are the poppers of the earth. 00:19:27.079 --> 00:19:29.240 Sometimes our checkbook does reflect something 00:19:29.240 --> 00:19:32.809 pretty similar to that, doesn't it? But folks, 00:19:33.109 --> 00:19:39.650 spiritually, we are the princes of God's creation. 00:19:40.569 --> 00:19:44.450 We are the royalty of God's creation. And all 00:19:44.450 --> 00:19:49.910 things in God's universe belong to us. But there's 00:19:49.910 --> 00:19:52.750 something even more wonderful than that. It goes 00:19:52.750 --> 00:20:01.289 on to say, and you belong to Christ. Now put 00:20:01.289 --> 00:20:03.069 your car in park again and just stay there for 00:20:03.069 --> 00:20:07.410 a minute. Think about that. Just look at this 00:20:07.410 --> 00:20:10.170 spectacle. You belong to Christ. Someone told 00:20:10.170 --> 00:20:14.630 me that as you drive down Interstate 35 through 00:20:14.630 --> 00:20:17.589 Iowa that there is a place called Scenic Overlook. 00:20:18.750 --> 00:20:20.369 Now immediately you see the contradiction, don't 00:20:20.369 --> 00:20:24.269 you? But there it says Scenic Overlook, and as 00:20:24.269 --> 00:20:27.190 you drive back into this Scenic Overlook, you 00:20:27.190 --> 00:20:31.940 drive back into a soybean field. And that's all 00:20:31.940 --> 00:20:36.440 there is. They were going to make a lake, but 00:20:36.440 --> 00:20:38.480 they decided not to do that. But they kept the 00:20:38.480 --> 00:20:41.460 scenic overlook. So you drive back into the soybean 00:20:41.460 --> 00:20:44.039 field and all you see is soybeans. I want you 00:20:44.039 --> 00:20:46.440 to drive into this scenic overlook for a minute 00:20:46.440 --> 00:20:51.440 and realize that you belong to Jesus Christ. 00:20:57.240 --> 00:21:02.089 That means you don't belong to this world. You 00:21:02.089 --> 00:21:07.450 don't belong to this world. You don't even belong 00:21:07.450 --> 00:21:11.569 really to yourself. You've been redeemed with 00:21:11.569 --> 00:21:15.650 the price. You belong to Jesus Christ. You're 00:21:15.650 --> 00:21:23.210 His possession. You're His treasure. You're His 00:21:23.210 --> 00:21:29.730 body. I had a part in a wedding yesterday. and 00:21:29.730 --> 00:21:33.329 read Ephesians chapter 5. No man ever yet hated 00:21:33.329 --> 00:21:37.829 his own body, but he nourishes and cherishes 00:21:37.829 --> 00:21:43.549 it. That's true of all of us. We nourish and 00:21:43.549 --> 00:21:47.230 cherish our own bodies. Why? Because it belongs 00:21:47.230 --> 00:21:53.049 to us. And you are Jesus Christ's body. And that 00:21:53.049 --> 00:21:57.289 text says that he nourishes and he cleanses and 00:21:57.289 --> 00:22:02.539 he treasures You because you belong to him talk 00:22:02.539 --> 00:22:07.819 about belonging What a wonderful calling God 00:22:07.819 --> 00:22:11.859 has given to us that we should belong to Jesus 00:22:11.859 --> 00:22:16.559 Christ Because we belong to him all things belong 00:22:16.559 --> 00:22:20.539 to us It's all for our benefit. It doesn't mean 00:22:20.539 --> 00:22:23.660 that it's all focused on us Because it's all 00:22:23.660 --> 00:22:28.259 focused on God But we are called to be heirs 00:22:28.349 --> 00:22:32.750 of the kingdom which God has promised to those 00:22:32.750 --> 00:22:39.130 that love Him. James 2 verse 5. We are a part 00:22:39.130 --> 00:22:42.609 of God's kingdom, God's family, God's church 00:22:42.609 --> 00:22:46.210 in the world. Now there are some implications 00:22:46.210 --> 00:22:49.230 to this. And now we come to our text for today 00:22:49.230 --> 00:22:52.750 which is Ephesians chapter 4 which was read earlier. 00:22:55.550 --> 00:22:58.210 Now if you've parked long enough at this scenic 00:22:58.210 --> 00:23:01.269 overlook, you can come back to Ephesians 4 .1 00:23:01.269 --> 00:23:05.589 and see why Paul says what he does. I therefore 00:23:05.589 --> 00:23:07.789 the prisoner of the Lord entreat you to walk 00:23:07.789 --> 00:23:12.329 in a manner worthy of the calling with which 00:23:12.329 --> 00:23:15.710 you've been called. To belong to Jesus Christ. 00:23:17.529 --> 00:23:21.609 To be in harmony with God. To be reconciled to 00:23:21.609 --> 00:23:27.380 God. He says, I plead with you, walk worthy of 00:23:27.380 --> 00:23:31.440 that calling. Don't walk less than worthy of 00:23:31.440 --> 00:23:36.160 it. How do we do that? Well, he says, walk with 00:23:36.160 --> 00:23:42.079 humility, all humility and gentleness, with patience, 00:23:43.619 --> 00:23:49.259 showing forbearance to one another in love, being 00:23:49.259 --> 00:23:52.339 diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit. 00:23:52.779 --> 00:23:58.579 in the bond of peace. You and I are redeemed 00:23:58.579 --> 00:24:04.960 to share in a new order of creation. It is a 00:24:04.960 --> 00:24:08.059 renewed oneness that is going to characterize 00:24:08.059 --> 00:24:12.099 the new heavens and the new earth. You and I 00:24:12.099 --> 00:24:15.700 are called by God to be a part of this summation 00:24:15.700 --> 00:24:20.660 of all things. You say, won't all people be there? 00:24:20.660 --> 00:24:24.940 No. I am sorry to say and I am saddened to say 00:24:24.940 --> 00:24:28.440 all people will not be a part of this, only the 00:24:28.440 --> 00:24:33.779 redeemed. Only those who have come to faith in 00:24:33.779 --> 00:24:36.619 Jesus Christ will be a part of this summation. 00:24:38.779 --> 00:24:41.680 Those who reject Jesus Christ will go to the 00:24:41.680 --> 00:24:45.500 eternity they have chosen to be separated from 00:24:45.500 --> 00:24:49.420 God and from His glory and to perish forever. 00:24:53.420 --> 00:24:57.319 That's worth parking on for a while too. But 00:24:57.319 --> 00:25:02.359 we don't have time to do it. But those of us 00:25:02.359 --> 00:25:07.900 who have trusted in Jesus Christ, look what we're 00:25:07.900 --> 00:25:12.680 part of. God has called us to share the destiny 00:25:12.680 --> 00:25:15.940 of His kingdom that is going to last forever. 00:25:16.559 --> 00:25:19.240 Now He says right now in this world, where you 00:25:19.240 --> 00:25:21.740 are in your church, in your community, live like 00:25:21.740 --> 00:25:29.170 it. Live like it. Live like God's royalty with 00:25:29.170 --> 00:25:33.130 humility and gentleness and patience and forbearance 00:25:33.130 --> 00:25:36.809 and love and being diligent to preserve what 00:25:36.809 --> 00:25:40.650 God has created, unity in the body of Christ. 00:25:42.609 --> 00:25:46.529 That's how we experience a foretaste of the oneness 00:25:46.529 --> 00:25:51.579 that's to come. by preserving the unity in this 00:25:51.579 --> 00:25:58.880 new community of our local church. The fellowship 00:25:58.880 --> 00:26:01.920 of God's people in this world breaks the barriers. 00:26:03.440 --> 00:26:05.900 God is not only the God of the Jews, He is the 00:26:05.900 --> 00:26:09.799 God of the Gentiles. He is not only the God of 00:26:09.799 --> 00:26:12.519 the slaves, He is the God of the free people. 00:26:13.099 --> 00:26:19.759 He breaks down the human social barriers. We're 00:26:19.759 --> 00:26:26.660 made one in Jesus Christ. A friend of mine for 00:26:26.660 --> 00:26:28.900 a number of years pastored the Miramante Baptist 00:26:28.900 --> 00:26:34.099 Church in San Salvador, El Salvador. When he 00:26:34.099 --> 00:26:35.980 pastored that church, he had the privilege of 00:26:35.980 --> 00:26:39.400 leading to faith in Jesus Christ, one of the 00:26:39.400 --> 00:26:43.819 leading rightists in that country who happened 00:26:43.819 --> 00:26:48.329 to be a general in the military. He also led 00:26:48.329 --> 00:26:50.609 to Jesus Christ, one of the intellectuals in 00:26:50.609 --> 00:26:54.789 El Salvador, who was an attorney and a professor 00:26:54.789 --> 00:27:00.170 at one of the universities. Both of them, on 00:27:00.170 --> 00:27:03.589 opposite ends of the political spectrum, were 00:27:03.589 --> 00:27:07.329 baptized into the fellowship of one local church. 00:27:09.230 --> 00:27:11.509 And learned to love each other as brothers in 00:27:11.509 --> 00:27:14.170 Jesus Christ, though they had different perspectives 00:27:14.170 --> 00:27:18.609 on some of the problems of the people of El Salvador. 00:27:20.470 --> 00:27:24.730 There is oneness in the church. The distinctions 00:27:24.730 --> 00:27:29.009 that are out there in the world do not belong 00:27:29.009 --> 00:27:34.509 in the body of Christ. Now he says preserve that 00:27:34.509 --> 00:27:39.869 unity. Preserve that oneness. Guard that harmony. 00:27:40.789 --> 00:27:44.890 Don't let anything arise that creates division. 00:27:45.160 --> 00:27:50.779 in the body of Christ. Belonging is God's plan. 00:27:52.259 --> 00:27:55.880 I am convinced that it is God's plan for every 00:27:55.880 --> 00:28:01.980 Christian to belong to a local church. I mean 00:28:01.980 --> 00:28:04.559 that is just in the warp and the woof of the 00:28:04.559 --> 00:28:08.099 whole New Testament. Belonging. Being a part 00:28:08.099 --> 00:28:13.339 of it. Joining. Being a member. That's God's 00:28:13.339 --> 00:28:16.799 plan. It's not man's plan, it's God's plan in 00:28:16.799 --> 00:28:22.220 God's order. Someone asked recently, well, in 00:28:22.220 --> 00:28:25.960 joining, what are the benefits of joining? Ask 00:28:25.960 --> 00:28:30.819 like a true 19th, 20th century American. What 00:28:30.819 --> 00:28:33.420 are the benefits in joining? And my answer was, 00:28:33.519 --> 00:28:37.579 number one, obedience. Do we need to go beyond 00:28:37.579 --> 00:28:45.369 that, really? In the church, God wants us to 00:28:45.369 --> 00:28:50.029 know acceptance. He wants us to know mutual commitment, 00:28:51.490 --> 00:28:54.910 seeking the good of others, a loving honesty, 00:28:55.250 --> 00:28:58.950 a forgiveness, truth and goodness, purity and 00:28:58.950 --> 00:29:01.730 peace. Those things are to be a part of God's 00:29:01.730 --> 00:29:04.750 church. And you and I are responsible to promote 00:29:04.750 --> 00:29:07.410 and to preserve those things which are produced 00:29:07.410 --> 00:29:11.720 by the Holy Spirit in our midst. The fellowship 00:29:11.720 --> 00:29:17.039 of the new community of God. Present in the local 00:29:17.039 --> 00:29:21.160 church is a precious thing. To undermine it is 00:29:21.160 --> 00:29:24.960 to strike at the very glory of God. Because unity, 00:29:24.960 --> 00:29:32.000 you see, reflects God's unity. And disunity denies 00:29:32.000 --> 00:29:36.940 God's unity. And it's also destructive to the 00:29:36.940 --> 00:29:42.359 people of God. in an old monastery in Germany, 00:29:42.900 --> 00:29:46.119 who were told that there are two deer antlers 00:29:46.119 --> 00:29:51.380 that are permanently interlocked. The antlers 00:29:51.380 --> 00:29:53.839 are there displayed in that church and they've 00:29:53.839 --> 00:29:57.940 been there for many years. Apparently what happened 00:29:57.940 --> 00:30:03.380 was two deer were fighting fiercely and their 00:30:03.380 --> 00:30:07.380 horns became so entangled as they fought with 00:30:07.380 --> 00:30:10.900 each other. that they became locked in that position 00:30:10.900 --> 00:30:13.299 and could not free themselves, they could not 00:30:13.299 --> 00:30:17.819 disengage, and both of them perished from hunger. 00:30:23.140 --> 00:30:25.240 One man comments about that, I would like to 00:30:25.240 --> 00:30:27.980 carry those horns into every home and school 00:30:27.980 --> 00:30:31.519 as a warning against fighting to the last ditch 00:30:31.519 --> 00:30:34.799 to have your own way. I would also bring them 00:30:34.799 --> 00:30:37.980 into every church so that their silent message 00:30:37.980 --> 00:30:40.259 might sink deep into the hearts of those who 00:30:40.259 --> 00:30:43.720 seem to delight in locking horns with other Christians 00:30:43.720 --> 00:30:51.480 at the least provocation." God's plan is unity, 00:30:52.539 --> 00:30:58.380 and God's command is that we preserve it. What 00:30:58.380 --> 00:31:01.680 an exciting thing to be called by God to belong 00:31:01.680 --> 00:31:07.059 to His new order. It's okay to belong to human 00:31:07.059 --> 00:31:11.380 organizations, but friend, don't miss God's. 00:31:12.940 --> 00:31:15.460 It's a fine thing to belong to an organization 00:31:15.460 --> 00:31:17.539 that's going to last a few years in this world, 00:31:17.680 --> 00:31:20.559 but don't miss the one that's going to last forever. 00:31:23.299 --> 00:31:27.440 God's family. And being a part of God's family, 00:31:27.579 --> 00:31:29.900 be a part of that expression of His family in 00:31:29.900 --> 00:31:34.420 a church, a local church. and there seek to promote 00:31:34.420 --> 00:31:38.779 and to preserve unity because that unity is a 00:31:38.779 --> 00:31:43.299 reflection of the oneness of the God that we 00:31:43.299 --> 00:31:49.980 worship. Would you take a hymnal please and turn 00:31:49.980 --> 00:31:54.519 with me? I'd like for us to sing a verse of hymn 00:31:54.519 --> 00:32:00.000 44. Now this probably is a new hymn to most of 00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:07.480 us. But it's a very simple tune. And I think 00:32:07.480 --> 00:32:09.839 you'll be able to pick it up very quickly. It's 00:32:09.839 --> 00:32:12.500 called We Believe in One True God. It's number 00:32:12.500 --> 00:32:16.380 44. Let's stand together as we sing.