The Mystery and Mission of the Church

Life with JD Greer. There's one problem of man supersedes race, religion, gender, education, and even political persuasion, and that problem is sin, and the solution to that problem is the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ. All none of us could do for ourselves. The Bible teaching ministry of Pastor Arthur and Elysian JD Greer. I'm your host Molly okay razor you ever tried investigating your family tree seems like everyone wants to know who they are and where they come from. These days, so it's no surprise that ancestry testing is so popular right now but does our family tree really define who we are. We truly find out what we should be doing just by having this information in our pocket. I think we agree the answer is no, but Pastor Jenny addresses that question had on today as he continues our teaching series called mystery and clarity helping us understand our true identity and our purpose in a message he title history and mission of the church. So grab your Bible and let's get started this turn in Ephesians 211 where he starts talking about the church. This passage begins the very first word is therefore, therefore, that is very significant because therefore What he is about to say with what he is just set words is not just randomly bring you up church you saying the incredible experience of salvation, but he's just described in Ephesians 12 will lead you to involvement in the church.

If you really get it. Much of you have your Bibles and I hope you do open them up to Ephesians chapter 2 beginning in verse 11. Revisions to verse 11 that why your tournament this passage I will acknowledge freely before you is very challenging for most Americans because sociologist who studies spirituality in America say a couple of things are true about us as Americans. The first thing is that there is enormous spiritual hunger in America back that's kind of at an all-time high in our country right now. Second thing they say, though, is at the same time there is a move away from institutional religion right so a high desire for spirituality but a move away from institutional religion, 81% of Americans answered yes to this question. Do you believe that you can be a very good Christian without attending a church, 81% of Americans said yes.

So here's the way I would state the question you can God be powerfully at work in your life. Apart from being a part of Christ's body, the church ready for this most politically incorrect statement of the day.

The answer in the New Testament consistently and without exception, is resoundingly no no you cannot now I know some of you say what you talking us were the good guys were here right now yeah I know you guys are here, but many of you that are here are not here.

If you know what I mean, you're still on the sidelines.

The joke that I use every single starting point. We do which of that event where people better start to get connected to the church of the first place I go starting point, but the joke that I use every time is that the church in many ways is a lot like UNC football game UNC football game got 22 guys in desperate need of rest throughout about 22,000 people in desperate need of exercise. That's the church of the 4000 or so that come to church here in a weekend only about one third she's the one half of you are connected in a small group, whether through one of our small groups or some other group that matter, only about 1/2 of your are connected in that way only about 1/3 of you are involved in some kind of intentional ministry about a way that's not all bad. I realize because we get a lot of new people here you are new. I want you to feel like you could take your time and checking things out before you get involved especially for new Christianity and knowledge of garage. What you don't like a friend of mine says what you feel like you can sit and soak for a while until some of you are starting to get waterlogged starting to look about you that you give you been in the bathtub to all of you been here so long you're start in the mold night. If you have been a Christian as you me if you are a Christian and you have been here for six months or more and you still don't know anybody except the Greer that you sorta know to greet you every time you come into worship.that's the only person you really know if you're still not connected or involved in anything we need to send you back to Toyota because you are a factory defect not something stuck on you. Something is not working. It was written read this passage Paul talks about the nature and the purpose of the church to try to answer four questions here they are. First question is why we should be involved in the church. The second question is how involved we should be in the church and the third question is what the mission of the church is full of your quotations about offer for you right ready person. Were you there is work like this passage the beginning of verse 11. Therefore, therefore, remember that one time you Gentiles in the flesh you were separated from Christ and you were alienated from the commonwealth of Israel you like. Commonwealth, West Virginia got to do with this was a Commonwealth anyway.

My wife is from Virginia and I'm always a question to be a state like everybody else I don't know.

Don't get caught up on that word. The important figures are not, will be important things.

First, what is what it says in verse 12 it to be separated from Israel was to be separated from Christ, you see that Joe says separated from Christ, alienated from Israel.

God revealed himself first to and through the nation of Israel is what you were separated from Israel. You were separated from Christ. The other nations did know God and they wanted to know God. They had to become Jews and to enter the nation of Israel. You Ephesians, Paul says, and you Americans for that matter. You are part of the separated alien nations. You were verse 12 strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world now. This is crucial to everything Paul is about to tell Paul is reminding them that they were people who were outsiders with no in this perspective was to form how they think about all of their relationships.

So, since it is so important. Could we stop and just reflect on that for a minute about us also when the gospel was first preaching to the about this when the gospel was first preached in this book. Ephesians was written are people our ancestors unless you were Jewish.

Greater Italian are people. Our ancestors were about the farthest people from God that you could imagine. And sometimes we forget that when Jesus and the apostles talk about taking the gospel to the uttermost parts of Europe. They were talking about us.

The civilized had a name for us.

The barbarians, when Jesus gave the great commission. Our great-great-grandparents were swinging from trees with their faces painted blue and clubbing each other with wooden mallets for ancestors redo our society was like one big Cameron indoor Stadium I complete with no crazy. Tell God and cheering fans and their speeders. That was that was us back up on this website where you can type in your name. It tells you what you would have been called barbarian, which would've been called. I called in England 2000 years ago. My name means beastly drinker of blood. Veronica's name means the Dragon whisper, did you not read that was a we were barbarians we were outsiders and that has enormous implications for how we relate to each other with someone to get to your minute before I get to that what you just reflect on this because one of the things that I most desire for you, especially you students is for you to embrace the global focus of the gospel is a scholar named Philip Jenkins who was coined the term the new global South to refer to those new regions of the world were Christianity is most flourishing today. Specifically, South America, Africa and parts of China and India. The new global South had just finished the book by Mark Knoll called the new shape of world Christianity Knoll says and listen very closely. This is it. In 1900 over 80% of the world Christian population was Caucasian, and over 70% of the world Christian population resided in Europe, 2009 when he wrote the book. There are more practicing Christians in Africa than in all European countries combined. On any given Sunday.

There are more Christians in church in Kenya than in Canada. There are more believers worshiping together in Nagaland than in Norway. Uganda has more Anglicans then threatened Canada and the United States combined. The same is true for Kenya, Tanzania and Nigeria this past Sunday there were more Presbyterians at church in Ghana than in Scotland. Brazil now sends more overseas missionaries than does Britain or Canada in 1970 there were no legally functioning churches in all of China. But it is estimated that today this Sunday, the number of practicing Christians in China is equal to the number in the United States, the largest church in Korea has more people present for a single worship service that are at Canada's largest mega churches combined in the looming explosion of Christians is in the Muslim world were two thirds of all unreached peoples now live. People like to say Christianity is a Western thing that Americans should try to oppose on everybody get real Christianity is not a Western thing. It is never been a Western thing, if anything it's a Middle Eastern thing that has come to the West is now headed around the world is not to stop until it's finished LOL Bob Robert says this is as Christianity began as a Jewish movement to God. It will conclude as a Muslim movement to Jesus. The gospel is a global thing is for all peoples of all times and all places in the world to bring verse 13 but now in Christ Jesus you who really wants far off have been brought nearby the blood of Christ, for he himself is our peace was made us both one is broken down in the flesh in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility. These verses acknowledge something that we all know is true and that is that old world is very divided. There is real hostility between various peoples were probably more aware of that now than ever. Samuel Huntington wrote a classic book a few years ago called the clash of civilization in which he talks about this coming world crisis as civilizations are being thrust together and hostilities are being pushed to the surface. Paul acknowledges that there dividing walls of hostility between peoples. The Jews had a literal wall on the outside of the temple with a little side audit said no Gentiles a little warning that said if they pass beyond the sign that nobody but themselves to blame for their death that will separated in the Jewish mind the good from the bad to clean from the unclean boy don't think is a Jewish issue. All cultures have walls.

Every culture has a way of defining itself with walls and those inside the walls are basically good. Those outside the walls are basically bad. I have traveled around the world. The last 20 or so years of a good number like 44 different countries in the last 20 years, including living in one country in Southeast Asia for two years and I've never been in a culture as it is without hesitation I have never been in a culture, including our own, they did not see themselves as implicitly better in some ways than everybody else. Why is that why is that true of just about every culture the world. Every culture the world. Psychologists tell us that there is a is there something fundamental to human nature were always trying to lift ourselves up above others goes back to an insecurity that we feel before God. We think that if were better than others, then that makes us valuable as people so we find things about ourselves or our group that set us apart from others. Our race is just better or smarter or better athletes show more courage in battle more generous. We build a better country we been more successful. We just better people. Our families are stronger, we treat our women better place around or culture. This imaginary wall that distinguishes us and makes us feel like were better than those on the outside but I don't just limit that to issues of race, we find things about ourselves individually. That set us apart from everybody else. You make a certain amount of money using your mind put a wall around you and makes you better than people who don't like as much money than you are part of an elite society who makes a certain kind of income you made a certain score on the SAT and got into a certain school that means you're part of an insider group people on the outside of the group who couldn't get in that store did make that on the SAT there inferior in high school you rank yourself by how athletic or how good-looking you are going to high school lunchroom is like all the various groups were sitting together with little wall imaginary wall around and you get your your jocks in your reports and your hot girls writing you got your dorky jockeys, girls, and then your you got all these places and in every group you can see little wall around them that says were better writing works for the Dorset were smarter and better jocks of war better looking were better athletes which would more girls, not just better.

Every group was got something that sets them apart from any of you most defining wall to you is your political persuasion if the people who agree with you that are the good and educated people you hostility on everybody else outside of all you don't believe that is what Keith Olbermann or Sean Hannity or the view and watch how they talk about people who disagree with them politically. You getting this walls of hostility Christ.

Paul says pour down those walls by giving us all a whole new way of understanding inside and outside verse 14 for he himself. Paul sets is our peace was made us both one and is broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility, how by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, thus making peace and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross thereby killing the hostility, the walls of hostility got torn down between Christians because the work of Jesus shows us that humanity has a common problem. Sin and there's nothing any of us can do about it. Member Ephesians 2 we are dead we were dead in our sin and there's no degrees of dead yes I have seen the Princess bride right but there's no such thing as merely dead. There's one problem of man and it supersedes race, religion, gender, education, and even political persuasion, and that problem is sin, and the solution to that problem is the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ for all of its what none of us could do for ourselves. None of us were on the inside.

Paul sets all on the outside since curse on us means that there are no good people and bad people. There's no winners and losers. There's no people who have it together dysfunctional people. There's only bad dead dysfunctional losers who desperately need the salvation of Jesus and Jesus blood cleanses us all alike. And furthermore, when Jesus rose from the dead. See, this was 15 he created in his resurrection get this a whole new race of humanity till it's over 50, he created in himself one new man out of the two.

In other words, Jesus was born as a Jew but he was not raised as a Jew or Gentile, or some combo to look at you Tyler whatever he was raised as a completely new man. He started 1/3 race was in. This is radical.

What about Italian. That means if you are in Christ, your identity is not primarily as a white man or a black man or a Hispanic nor a new race of man in Christ, your identity is not primarily as an American or an Asian or Hispanic. I know those things are important but they are all secondary distinctions.

You're a whole new third race pulses.

If you understood that the hostilities with the highway.

Why is a it shatters pride.

There's nothing in your past that should make you feel better than others are nothing that should make you feel inferior to others. It gives you something in common with other believers that are so fundamental to who you are, but it supersedes everything else in your life. But a few years ago I took a mission trip over to Malaysia. I'm speaking a college student conference there I'm college students rollover Malaysian parts of China and I spoke four nights in a row after the first talk couple girls approached me from there they were originally from China and I and we we had this conversation, I noticed this girl one girl. She was asking the most incredibly insightful questions. She was not a believer, said she this is one of her first exposure to Christianity which was so curious about probably an hour after each session.

I sat with him and just walking through some things on the third night she put her faith in Christ. Just it was awesome.

Cheap to come to Christ and she just wafted.

It was as beautiful right on the fourth day. I'm sitting somewhere when his girlfriend's approximation as you probably don't know this though to realize this, but that girl one that became a crisis night she's considered royalty in our country is of licensor because she's 1/65 generation direct descendent of Confucius better family lineage. She is like a she's like a princess that explained all the really hard questions he was asked. So I thought this girl later said they call her. Christine is a Christian, you realize that you there's something true about you is not true, but many people, that is you are a blood descendent of two very important people.

One was Confucius and the other is Jesus Christ. You have the blood of both of them in your body. She said she got a thought I should never thought about that just pretty interesting. She said but you know now that I know that Jesus blood is what defines me now that I know that I have his blood. The fact that I'm a blood center. Confucius doesn't really matter to me that much anymore.

What happens when you realize what's this when you realize that your primary identity is something that Christ gave you something. His blood provided for you.

All the other distinctions are still there, but they just aren't that important anymore. The gospel does not mean that I cease to be white, you cease to be black, but somehow I have to start acting like I'm from some other culture that would be a disaster right think Eminem means that more important to me than being American or being wines is not that I am walking by raised hands larger incoming interracial identity and cultural preferences. We have Jesus.

He gives us our true identity. You're listening to Senate life. The Bible teaching ministry of pastor and author Jeannie Greer. As always you can listen again or download the unedited transcript for further study by visiting Jeannie Greer.com to Jeannie guess that Ephesians is one of your favorite books in the Bible based on how frequently it comes up in your teaching so you so drawn to this book of the Bible.

Yeah right I do return to it every few years. In fact, I was hoping people would notice her letting Kevin back by one of the study that that was because Ephesians is so carefully structured to the bit differently than some of his other letters of Romans might be the most impressive of Paul's letters but Ephesians is eloquent. It's almost poetic the clear division of the letter into two halves ready into chapter 344 verse one starts a whole new section of each section is almost equal in length. It shows you get your picture of the of the Christian life.

Chapters 1 through three. Your doctrine that your gospel identity. Chapters 4 through six or practical is what difference it makes in what you do as a result of the war. We usually determine who we are by what we do what Ephesians shows you is what you do grows out of war who God is made you that very pattern alone.

Molly makes this a great book to walk through. In a study so not just listening to the message, but actually pressing deeper into the verse you want this Bible study resource created for you to help you take the book of Ephesians little more slowly and make sure that you are getting out of its versus the promises of God. What you have read your copy right now.

Today. Each session actually a new component for arteries, Scripture memory so you want to take advantage of that pressure will find great commentary question. Personal application, you can request your copy today at this new Bible study working for the real thing you happy when you don't need to support this ministry level at $25 for more, 33 520-833-5224 given online.com Molly benefits to my clear like a we can only accomplish our mission. We were working together Thursday on my Jeannie 19