The Mystery, the Ministry, and Me, Part 1

Imagine what it was like for first century Jews to realize that their favored status with God had been broadened to include Gentiles through his death, burial and resurrection.

Jesus broke down the walls. The Gentiles outside the family.

This was good news to the Gentiles, but a personal threat to some of the religious leaders in the temple today on Insight for living.

Chuck Swindoll helps us understand the cultural conflict between Jews and Gentiles, and how the new world order impacts our lives today. Chuck titled his message. The mystery, the ministry and me. I want to read for you from the first part of the third chapter of the letter to the Ephesians. If you have a Bible, please locate that third chapter in me read the first 13 verses of for this reason I called the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles, if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace, which was given to me for you that by revelation. There was made known to me the mystery. As I wrote before brief by referring to this. When you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the spirit to be specific that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God's grace, which was given to me according to the working of his power to me the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things, so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which he carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in him. Therefore I ask you not to lose heart.

At my tribulations on your behalf for they are your glory see what we just read in verse 12, in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith. Let's enjoy that privileged position Bolden confident access, as we join together in prayer said just a few moments of complete silence since I don't know your needs, and couldn't possibly represent them in these few moments I lead us in prayer as your opportunity to do that.

What a great privilege provided by amazing Grace, you are amazing Grace that we can have this kind of access and bold confidence to come to you. Our father, our father, you have as our father provided all things for us richly to enjoy as our father, you have put your arms around us and you have comforted us when it seems like everything was coming apart as our father, you have cautioned us about the speed of our lives in the superficiality of our relationships and your counsel always being the wise counsel of our father has caught us up short reminded us that life is more than moving faster and making more money getting involved in more activities sometime. The best things you have for us come in solitude and quietness and you're there for us as our father when we are all alone and need time to think things through. Thank you for the mystery now being made known to us how you have drawn together, whether Jew or Gentile. All into one body to be unified in the family over which Christ is our head, our Lord and Master, we find great comfort in that because as our master, he will never take advantage of us will never abuse us never violate us. Thank you for your tender mercies your compassions that are new every morning in this unusual place to meet. We find great joy. Lord, is a body of your people.

Some here for the very first time, some having traveled hundreds of miles, some living within walking distance. We, various color and background in struggles and sends an and yes different kinds of conversions we come on the level playing at the foot of the cross and we have this great desire that whoever is in this place. Who doesn't know the Lord Jesus that might know him before they leave. May our fellowship be so genuine in our hearts. So, when some in warm the day without Christ might find themselves one to your son, whom we love and adore and Lord is our father. We counted a privilege to give in gratitude to you how seldom we pause to thank you for all you do for us. You have provided for our every needs every one of those needs. And thank you for that and now we want you to know these gifts are yours since you own it all.

This is just a portion of what you've entrusted to us, but we give to you gratefully, joyfully because of Jesus, in whose name we pray.

I had an interesting question asked me at the Dallas seminary this week by one of our students.

He said that of all the things that the Lord has taught you to something stand out more than any other, and I had to think back over more than 60 years here and consider what would be that statement and I will tell you what I told him and II still after a few days of thinking about it, believe it is one of the greatest things the Lord ever taught me not nothing touches us that has not first past through the fingers of God.

Nothing Peter says in first Peter chapter 5 verse six humble yourself under the mighty hand of God.

Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in proper time casting all your anxieties on him because he cares for you. That means that I live my life as a child of God under his mighty hand so that nothing I go through. Do I go through without his permission is not a great thought is that what it's great if it's good what I'm going through, but that's not that's not the whole picture.

See, as long as I can know he is behind it. I can endure it. That helps me.

It was Dr. Victor Frankel name made famous following the horrible Nazi Holocaust. In years past, who was taken into the prison camp. During that time is a Jewish physician does this practice was taken from his family was taken from him, his possessions everything every strip of clothing and he endured. He he was able to go through it all, and in a book he wrote following the horrors of his experience.

He said that we can endure any what is long as we have a Y whatever it is I go through.

Under this hand. I can go through it because I know it is coming from him or been allowed by him. That's what Joe after losing all 10 children. Can you imagine his entire ranch. All of his possessions and finally his health. Job could say. Shall we receive good at the hand of God and not also adversity the Lord gave the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

I'll tell you that is quite an attitude for a man who finds himself standing alongside 10 fresh graves with markers naming his children with servants with animals with crops with shelter gone and in a state of bankruptcy say Blessed be the name of the Lord. Now, when I came to Ephesians chapter 3 and look closely. I thought I'd be digging right away into all 13 verses of this third chapter and not a word got stuck in my throat. In the very first verse because it was so different it was unexpected. And if you've never read the New Testament or if you've never studied.

Ephesians when you come to this word and you see another name before it is say they don't go together. If it began. For this reason I Paul the apostle, you'd expected a good read on for this reason I Paul, the church planter, the missionary could go on prisoner prisoner I'm reading a letter from an inmate.

I'm reading something that a man wrote from jail. Literally he was under house arrest but nevertheless a prisoner and I don't read any pity party. I don't read any poor me I don't read anything but as were going to see rejoicing in gratitude and on and on.

I think how does he do it were back because Paul knew the why he could endure the what. Without God's permission.

Nothing happens see how he begins it. For this reason there is a Y for this reason I Paul prisoner not the prisoner of Rome, not the prisoner of angry Jews, prisoner of unfair circumstances.

But I am the prisoner of Christ Jesus, under whose banner I live my life regardless of my circumstances say that but your attitude would you could you could you say that you find yourself today. It was a man named FDR Maltby who first said Jesus promised his disciples. Three things I always smile when I read them that they will be absurdly happy, completely fearless and in constant trouble expected to come out like that. If they start with absurdly happy.

That's a great adverb by the way, absurdly happy, completely fearless, but in constant trouble. You say I qualify. That's where I am today. Well, you're in good company. I'm a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles if I wind up under arrest. It's no shock to God. It's all part of his plan, and especially if it is an unfair arrest. It helps me if I know why. Then I can go through the what we been pretty serious for the last several studies, so it's time to have a little fun. One of our members send me a cute story Ellen show our bungee jumping. One day Al Sr. Joe, you know, we could make a lot of money running our own bungee jumping service down in Mexico.

Joe thinks this is a great idea. So they pooled their money and they buy everything they need a tower platform and elastic cord. The harness insurance. The signs the travel to Mexico and the beginner set up on the town square is there constructing the tower a crowd begins to form more and more people are watching as they finished their work and when they finally finish there's such a crowd.

They think this is our moment to give a demonstration. So how shops he bounces to the end of the cord and when he comes back up.

Joe notices that his a few cuts and scratches and unfortunately Joe is unable to catch them. So it falls again and this time he comes back up bruises and bleeding and he misses him again and the last time he goes back down the because backup is really messed up with three broken bones almost unconscious. Luckily, Joe reaches out and grabs it misses out happens accord too long.

No, barely able to speak. He gasps no bungee cords find it. It's a crowd put in the world is a piņata if you know why you can handle it all. If you know you don't set up a bungee jumping business in Guadalajara, from the ridiculous back to the sublime here. I thought that would wake you up. Paul says I am a prisoner of Christ Jesus and I love it that there is no feeling sorry for me in his line here or anywhere else in his writing. I don't know of anyone who rose above the circumstances better in the New Testament save Christ alone than the apostle Paul is a logical reason that he's in prison see the words for this reason I got in my mind an arrow that points straight up into chapter 2.

What's the logical reason.

But his message. He has had a message that was very unpopular among the Jews dated what that message preached all of their lives. Certainly all of their religion they had seen themselves as uniquely exclusive to God. They are God's people and they took them God's law was given and from them God's truth was to be made known. They were to be the missionaries to the Gentiles.

They forgot that they miss that part of the course in God's curriculum and finally God broke through and gave the apostle Paul, the revelation that whatever any Gentile or shoe converts to Christ they become one great body in the family of God. So logically, logically, the message would cause the day the messages set forth in verses 11 to 22 chapter 2 so that's the reason he's in prison. Logical reason I'm proclaiming a revolutionary paradigm shift in the message of the gospel. Up till now it's from the Jew to the Jew through the Jew that the message would be made known. Paul says when you're a Gentile and you come to Christ you're in the same family as a Jew who comes to Christ, which brings up the racial reason he was imprisoned his enemies check acts chapter 21 acts chapter 22. Acts chapter 28 and you will see that the Jews together made sure that he was out of circulation.

We don't want this man to preach that message to these Gentiles. He's a hated man because he was doing it to give you an illustration that hits close to home. Back in the 1950s before the civil rights movement was really underway before it became legislation and are in that long-awaited and long needed piece of legislation.

Those who were whites and took the side of the black remark. Men not only were they not understood they were hated by fellow whites, especially whites, who were prejudice all the way to the soles of their feet.

Paul is in that category.

Here he is a Jew. One of the Jews telling the Gentiles you're in the same family through Christ. So they have been imprisoned as a theological reason is Lord is Lord has made sure he's there, stop and think what else would Paul have had the time to write for letters if it hadn't been for two years in prison. Think about. I mean the mantis is like a disease like the Energizer Bunny all over the New Testament is going from one place to another and he doesn't run down, he gets knocked down because backup goes here and he gets told he gets up and pushes the rock side moves on you found this church and found that certain founder the Lord to hold wait a minute I got have some letters written quite say it like that but think of the letters he wrote Philemon. He wrote in Colossians, he wrote Ephesians and he wrote Philippians he wrote all four of these letters during the two year imprisonment. That's why they're called the prison epistles while in that house arrest. He wrote those letters. Furthermore, he was evangelizing Caesar's household is great.I love that idea always I would like to be so much fun to walk up to Caesar and Satan and we got the gospel right in the heart of your house while you hated it and you didn't want there. Philippians chapter 1 verse 12 just the next book after Ephesians, Philippians 112. I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances. That is, imprisonment have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel. Verse 13 so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well-known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else look at this next one in four of think it's for 22 all the saints, greet you, especially those of Caesar's also how their prisoner chain right here. He can't get a woman you got a guard train to the prisoner imposes on the tell you about Christ, the guards, as I don't want to hear well a lot, a lot, to tell you anyway.

You're not going anywhere any gels of Christ and any comes to know Christ receives the Lord Jesus so he gets unshackled and goes back to the berries and is believed but I just met the most amazing manual ever made.

All you kidding that's same God told you, but yeah, you're on duty tomorrow. By the way, and this guy goes the next day and he gets trained in filing the word traveled all across Caesar's also has the will these imprisoned in the they're under house arrest waiting for trial. I just think it's fantastic.

That's part of God's plan management scenario like this one. Paul chained to a prison guard sharing the good news about Jesus you're listening to the Bible teaching of pastor and author Chuck Swindoll and Mrs. Insight for living.

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