This broadcaster has 536 podcast archives available on-demand.
Keep up-to-date with this broadcaster on social media and their website.
November 9, 2020 7:00 am
Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ. God not only save us and made us alive. But God says that whenever you see this in a moment. Whenever you put your faith in Christ Bible Says You Pl. in Christ. What that means is that where you are, Christ that Paul says in another passage Christ in me the hope of glory. Your believer right now Jesus Christ is his inside but where Christ is, so are you serious that I've seen you in the heavenly places.
Now these are gun dealers, boxes, abundances, the finished field.
Not only are saved by grace but you been seated in the heavenly places. Joining us today on this additional Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana. Let's join Pastor Bill Gebhardt now again he shows us God's word meets our world. I don't think anybody will ever forget. I don't think anyone can say dear like no other year. One of the issues that has come up once again in our culture and something that you may feel and something you hear people talking about that we haven't really addressed culturally to the degree were addressing it right now. It's a single word. The word is prejudice. Just think over these last months prejudice. You start feeling it you start talking about it. The Oxford dictionary says this prejudice is an unfair and unreasonable opinion or feeling, especially when found, without thought or knowledge while unfair or unreasonable. Without thought and knowledge, and yet were prejudice prejudice as part of the human race. This idea of no thought, no knowledge and still be prejudice.
Let me illustrate the principle 500 years BC, Aristotle made this observation. He said that heavier objects will fall to earth to gravity faster than lighter objects will that was his conclusion and for 2000 years completely unchallenged.
Everyone said Aristotle said Mr. Mena 1589 Galileo decided he would challenge it and so he brought the leading scientist to the Tower of Pisa. Now I don't know how far the tower leaned then in 1589, but he took a 10 pound object in a 1 pound object up to the top of the tower and he dropped them both simultaneously and they observed that it hit the ground at the same time so he did it two more times.
Three times in a row when he had finished, the scientist said to him, we don't believe our eyes. Aristotle was right is prejudice.
We don't believe her eyes. Aristotle was right it still that way. That tells you how ingrained this idea of an unreasonable prejudice on our part is as being part of human beings. They been all over the world as long as urban people. There's been prejudice and what I want to talk about this morning is this.
If you are a child of God there is no place for prejudice in your heart, not you have no reason and no point to any prejudice at all. So want to start where we start, I want you to open your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 2 Ephesians chapter 2. This is one of the favored chapters for almost all evangelical believers. You'll notice of the verses in this chapter that you probably memorized. Now what I want to tell you today is this evangelical's love.
The first 10 verses they love those and they completely ignore verse 11 on. We love the first 10 but we don't even think about what occurs after that in the beginning hear what Paul writes is this God is going to tell you and me who we really are. That's what God is going to tell us who we really are from God's point of view. So he starts out and says this Paul speaking first the Gentiles. He says and you were dead in your trespasses and sins very are. That's God's assessment of you before Christ, you were dead in your trespasses and sins. While what, by the way, how many things in your life. Have you seen a corpse do I start thinking of all the possibilities of what a corpse can do that much because her dead is a year that was you. He said you were dead in your trespasses and sins, he said, in which you formerly walked that's a metaphor for lived according to the course of this world.
In other words, you live just like everybody else in the world and you were dead and they were dead.
He said according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, he said of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. He said you just simply follow the lead of Satan himself first sin originated with him, then spread to mankind and he says and that's all you're from God's point of view.
Many changes in verse three and he says this among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. Notice the pronoun changed and we all hooted talking about him choose.
He's talking about Jews, he says, first of the Gentiles, you were dead in your trespasses and sins, and by the way, all the Jews same thing. We were all dead in the trespasses and are of our sins, and he says that we formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh. We were by nature children even as the rest to what you told us so far.
What's God's assessment of mankind you're all dead religious Jew or the irreligious gent.
I will matter your all dead now if you came for an encouraging message. Those first three verses they don't help much doing and why it's what I needed to know. I'm dead, you're dead. Look at verse four though. But God, what is the solution to the death of mankind. But God but God, being rich in mercy and grace is getting what you don't deserve and mercy is not getting what you do deserve what you do deserve is the judgment of God. But God is going to show all humankind.
Mercy, he said, but God, he said, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us. For God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son for God so loved. Paul says in Romans that while we were still at enmity with God. He loved us. God solution.
The man is I love you so much. I was still my mercy on you through my own plan. He said even when we were dead in our transgressions.
God made us alive with Christ by grace you have been saved. God says these are all dead people all make them all live to tell us how in a moment but notice there's nothing that man does God made us alive. You don't make yourself alive.
By the way, that's would be a definition in this context of what religion is what religion you make yourself alive. But here's the problem. How does a dead person make themselves alive we've all lost loved ones that you wish you good luck in the casket to make yourself alive that people can make themselves alive. God can and God, he says, made us alive. He said by grace we have been saved and he raised us up with him and he seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. So God not only saved us and made us alive. But God says that whenever you see this in a moment. Whenever you put your faith in Christ. The Bible Says Your Pl. in Christ.
What that means is that where you are. Christ is in fact Paul says in another passage Christ in me the hope of glory.
If your believer right now Jesus Christ is here in your presence. He's inside you through a spirit but where Christ is, so are you. So he said I've seated you in the heavenly places. Now these are done deals. Gotchas have done.
This is the finished deal. You not only are saved by grace for you been seated in the heavenly places. He said in verse seven and so that in the ages to come he might show the surpassing riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. By the way it last forever in the ages to come. Gotchas I save you I made you alive. I put Christ in you and you in Christ and where you are. He is aware he is you are and by the way, this last forever. That's great news that is really really good news considering the bad news of verses 1 to 3 but I want to understand something. It's all in the context of you. Understanding who you are all that you and I all that we are is a sinner saved by grace.
There is nothing else that we are. You don't bring anything intrinsically good to the table and will God save me because I'm so lovable. See, now that's not true at all. Now he explains it in verse eight, the very famous verse, he explains it in verse eight with the word for and I always tell you that some explanatory garden Greek.
Let me explain what I mean. For by grace you have been saved by grace the gift of God by grace you have been saved through faith. There's are part through faith we understand something here.
Faith has no merit in and of itself. Everybody has faith. The only merits of faith is what is your faith in and so no matter everybody in the world has faith if I were staunch atheist. I have faith in my own reasoning I can't prove God doesn't exist, but I believe that's faith that he doesn't exist. So I have faith. Everyone has faith. There's no merit in faith. The reason I say that as someone will interpret this in a little bit different way. In a moment.
It says, for by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves is the gift of God. The word that what does that mean because it says and that not of yourselves. It's the gift of God, hyper Calvinist will take that passage and say the words that the antecedent of the word that is the word faith.
In other words, your saving faith is in your faith God gave you a supernatural faith that actually believe this. That's what he means, but it doesn't it's really simple and Greek word that in Greek is neuter.
The word faith in the word grace in this passage are feminine. You never use a neuter UC pronoun to talk about something that's feminine. Even John Calvin when he did this passage himself, said he's not talking about faith and grace he's talking about salvation or the gift he's talking about your salvation. Notice, for by grace you have been saved through faith and that your salvation, your gift is not of yourselves. It's the gift of God. Notice why says that nine not as a result of works, so no one can boast. It's very important for us to understand other than faith with doesn't have merit. What else did you do in order to be as a person and the answer is zero. Nothing under heaven bound eternity with God is amazing gift you have. Paul says in Ephesians, once we have all the spiritual heavenly all the gifts and spiritual in heavenly places is a wonderful thing, but what did you do to get those nothing is a why do you keep saying this because prejudice is always based on your own pride and I'm here to tell you, you have nothing to be proud nothing you bring anything to the table you just believed what Christ did for you notice he says not a result of work, so that no one can boast. Now he says them explains of the know we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them or live in them.
When I think of that and myself. I think I am the work I am God's workmanship and sorry I am God's workmanship when I mean God did this, whatever I am God. Okay, now after I become saved. Do I do good work for God's glory. Yes, that's pointy sedation walk not to get saved but the fact that I am saying is about as clear as something could be now.
What's interesting about that is so he is said everybody's lost Gentiles are lost, Jews lost the only saved by grace and mercy of God. That's the only thing you have. So the distinction of human beings is there's no such thing as a Gentile human being or Jewish human being or black human being or white human being from God's point of view. None of that exist there only lost human beings and save human beings and the only differences the grace of God through faith.
That's a difference. So therefore admit this is what that's so important what I've said before, was simply this, when you get there and you see what he's talking about and how this works. When you get down to verse 11. Now he tells you why he wrote the first 10 verses you see, he wrote the first 10 verses, not just to tell us about salvation by grace and grace alone and faith of faith alone in Jesus Christ. That's true and it's wonderful and it makes a great refrigerator magnet.
That's not why told us he told her so that were not prejudice you should not be prejudice against anyone, anyone there's no room for prejudice in your heart now is going to explain what he means by that piece is therefore remember what uptight you if you see a therefore in the Bible, what question to be asked what is it therefore there forces inclusion in fact everything he said in the first 10 verses is this is what I want to talk about. Therefore, all sin and fall short of the glory of God.
All are dead spiritually dead. The only ones who have received the mercy and grace of God done through through faith. And it doesn't matter if you're a Gentile or a Jew.
None of that matters. Therefore, remember that he said formally you Nice talking now to the Gentiles in the flesh who are called un-circumcision by the so-called circumcision, which is performed in flesh by human hands. You remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the Commit commonwealth of Israel, strangers of the covenants of promise and having no hope and without God in the world know the reason he is saying this is this everybody's prejudice. You go anywhere in the world and you find prejudicial people. I mean I always think about this when I think of prejudice.
I grew up in a town about three or 4000 people. That was totally the people that that's a small town right and I lived in the west end of town in the west end of town was called the extension is called the extension of town, not the real time just extension and almost everybody except three or four families in that area, not my family but all the families and about eight or 10 boxer were all Hungarian immigrants all making to work in the factories of my friends, their parents spoke Hungarian.
There my friends to speak English and Hungarian but they all spoke Hungarian so when I started having friends who were from the regular part will be called uptown their parents even was say to me. Oh, you're from hunky Bill what you from hunky billiard, the Hungarians are his only town of 4000. My goodness, hunky Bill, what is that just prejudice were prejudice about almost anything.
I mean you can go anywhere in the world and you find people which prejudice we had missionaries in Africa and they've talk how prejudice one tribe is against the other tribes. Unbelievably, so in places like Rwanda, they committed genocide because of prejudice. We hate anybody who isn't my guts. That's prejudice. That's the way this is but of all the people that are prejudice in the world. Probably there is no group of people at this time more prejudice than Jews.
The most prejudice people and the reason are the most prejudice people, and please understand what I'm saying when I say this is because God initiated a form they got mine.
You are my chosen people see you are my chosen people. You are not they are. You are so what you think the chosen people and they're not the chosen people, so they ended up calling the Gentiles to everyone who wasn't Jewish and Gentile the call the Gentiles the filthy gleam. The filthy Gentiles they didn't have anything to do with Gentiles.
In fact, they were socially distancing from Gentiles along before 2020.
They social distance from them completely. They don't want even touch them.
The run clean prejudice while the other group and an emphasis on the Greeks. Now the Greeks are an extremely prejudicial group with Gentiles.
The Greeks are prejudice against anybody who is not Greek.
If you're not Greek you're no good. The Greeks gave us a word from back then that we still use today.
They gave us the word barbarian okay in the Greeks.
Beulah barbarian is this everybody was, not Greek speaks like this bar bar bar bar bar bar bar bar. That's the way they speak in their all barbarians were Greeks, so you take the prejudicial Greeks and you take the super prejudicial Jews and guess where they all find himself in church. Here we are now in church using that's not the only problem.
The church of Jesus Christ has Masters in it and slaves now there's some prejudice going on here. Masters and slaves. Slaves and masters. You see, and that's what Paul was trying to address. So he says to the Greeks. He said the circumcision calls you uncircumcised, he said notice so there's things about you that are true. One your separate from Christ to your excluded from Israel the chosen people. Three.
Your strangers of the covenant of promise, for you have no hope in five your without God in the world. Paul sets the record straight for that. And so what were talking about is to completely completely lost group of people in our world prejudices become a little more narrow, especially over the last six months. Americans are notoriously prejudice based on race. That's how Americans them and us different races that should never be the case for any believer bathroom never if you ever miss one of our broadcast or maybe you just like listening to the message one more time.
Remember the good a great website called one place.com that's one place.com and you can listen the fellowship and the word online that website you will find on with today's broadcast but also many of her previous audio program is no have Fellowship in the Word. We are thankful for those who financially support our ministry and make his broadcast possible with all of our listeners to prayerfully consider how you might help his radio ministry continuous broadcast on this radio station by supporting us monthly with just a one-time gift support for ministry can be sent to Fellowship in the Word. 4600 Clearview Pkwy., Metairie, LA 7006 if you would be interested in hearing today's message in its original format that is is a sermon, the pastor will deliver during a Sunday morning service at Fellowship monitored visit our website FPC Nola.org that FPC and of LA.Margie at our website you will find hundreds of possible sermon you can browse through our sermon archives defined sensors are looking for, or you can search by title.
Once you find the message you're looking for. You can listen online or if you prefer, you can download the sermon on listening and anchoring.
And remember all this absolutely free of charge. Once again our website is FPC Nola.org forecaster Bill Gebhardt and Jason Gebhardt.
Thanking you for listening to fellowship in order