Removing Barriers to God.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] And just to kind of get into it this morning, I just want to let you know a few things. [0:06] First off, I am all hopped up on cold meds. [0:10] So if there comes a point in the sermon where it seems like I may be delusional, I probably [0:17] am. [0:19] So just ignore that altogether. [0:21] We’re going to be great, though it’s going to be good.

[0:24] The Holy Spirit has promised me to get me through, hopefully. [0:29] We’re hoping. [0:30] If I do go down, though, please, it’s not part of the sermon. [0:34] There’s no object lesson. [0:36] I need help. [0:38] Someone, help me, please.

[0:40] Just know that’s not an object lesson. [0:42] Because we have been talking about going from death to life a lot the past few weeks, and [0:45] I just don’t want you to get confused. [0:47] But over the past few weeks, we have just taken a look at what God is doing throughout [0:54] history, really throughout all of eternity. [0:57] And we looked at the fact that God has been working His way throughout history to bring

[1:03] everything ultimately to His glory at the end of time. [1:08] And that redemption is not something that God just kind of came up with, and the work [1:13] of Jesus is not something that God just kind of sprung when sin came about. [1:17] But the scripture actually tells us that before the foundations of the earth, or before God [1:22] spoke anything into existence, He had planned redemption. [1:27] And He had planned what would take place, and He had planned how Jesus would come,

[1:32] and He had planned what Jesus would do. [1:34] And we looked throughout scripture at different times in which God just reveals that He is [1:40] working all things to His good. [1:44] And then last week, we started getting into this section where it actually begins to [1:48] spell out specifically what it is that God wants to do in your life. [1:54] And the fact that you are dead in your sins apart from the intervention of God, and that

[2:00] unless God comes into your life and brings you to Himself and transforms you through [2:07] that you’re dead in your sin. [2:09] And scripture actually says that you’re on the same course as the prince of the power [2:13] of the air, or you’re on the same course as Satan who’s rebelled against God and will [2:17] eventually find his way into the lake of fire under the wrath of God. [2:22] And that left to our own, we’re just rebellious against God.

[2:27] And that we will continue on that path to His wrath, to the lake of fire, unless God [2:34] intervenes and He does. [2:36] We saw last week in Ephesians 2, 4 what I truly believe the two most important words [2:41] in all of scripture, but God, rich in mercy with the love with which He loved us, gave [2:48] His Son. [2:49] And Jesus comes and He redeems us.

[2:52] But then something very interesting happens in verse 10, and it says that God not only [2:57] redeems us for future work. [3:01] In other words, God doesn’t just redeem us to take us to heaven, but rather He does [3:06] that and more. [3:08] That our life begins at the moment of redemption. [3:12] And verse 10 says that we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.

[3:19] You know, it’s really helpful when it comes up on the screen because I’m going to try [3:21] to do it from memory, and then it’s right there, so I don’t have to. [3:25] Cold meds. [3:26] For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared [3:31] beforehand that we should walk in them. [3:34] In other words, the lives that we live are not just happenstances, occurrences, accidents

[3:41] that happen along the way. [3:43] There is this idea that what God did beforehand also comes into light when we are following [3:50] and that when we do good, it is because God has graced us with that good. [3:57] And that we are walking into the work of God, fully dependent on Him in every way for our [4:03] lives. [4:05] But what I want to talk about today is the fact that there do seem to be a great number

[4:12] of barriers in our lives to keep us from God and from the life that He has for us. [4:21] And what I want to talk about is what it takes to remove those barriers. [4:26] What it takes to truly trust that God has a life for us and the evidence that Paul is [4:33] going to give us to show us we can trust God, we can follow Him completely unhindered, completely [4:41] without guilt and completely without baggage if we’ll trust Him. [4:46] So without any further ado, go ahead and go to verse 11.

[4:52] Therefore, in other words, because of what I just said, because God has taken us from [4:59] death to life and because we are now His workmanship created in Christ Jesus to walk into those [5:06] good works, remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh called the uncircumcision [5:14] by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands. [5:19] Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth [5:25] of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in

[5:32] the world. [5:32] But now. [5:35] So it’s a little bit reminiscent of what we talked about in chapter two, verse four, [5:39] where it says, but God here, he’s talking about the reality of the present tense in [5:46] your life. [5:47] And it says, but now in Christ Jesus, you who were once far off have been brought near

[5:54] by the blood of Christ, for he himself is our peace, who made us both one and is broken [6:01] down in his flesh, the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed [6:08] in ordinances that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two. [6:14] So making peace and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby [6:21] killing the hostility. [6:25] Okay.

[6:26] So what are we talking about here? [6:28] Because there’s a lot of stuff about circumcision and uncircumcision, Gentiles, Israel, hostility, [6:36] walls. [6:37] What are we dealing with here? [6:38] The first thing I want to deal with is the very first phrase where he says, therefore [6:43] remember.

[6:45] Throughout the New Testament, if you look at the words of Paul, excuse me, the letters [6:50] of Paul, he’s constantly saying things like, I write to you by way of reminder. [6:56] Or he’ll sometimes say, not that you don’t already know this, but this is a reminder.

[7:03] There’s a constant theme of you know this, but you must remember this. [7:10] What he’s saying here, and this is kind of point one today, remember the redemption God [7:15] brought and brings into your life. [7:17] That term remember is not just a term of nostalgia. [7:21] It’s not kind of like when you’re seated at a class reunion and you’re just reminiscing [7:25] on the old times.

[7:26] No, the term there actually means keep thinking about. [7:32] It’s an active plural verb that it literally means to keep thinking about and act on it. [7:41] So what he’s saying is, is that the gospel that God has worked into your life, the sin [7:47] that he has redeemed you from, don’t forget that apart from God, you do not have that [7:54] redemption.

[7:56] Because when you come to Jesus, if you have trusted him and you’re following him, then [8:02] there’s going to come a point in your life where you begin to focus on things other than [8:10] the cross. [8:11] Where you begin to focus on things other than the life that you have in Jesus and the mission [8:17] that he wants to work out in yourself. [8:19] You’re going to try to convince yourself that that’s not enough.

[8:25] That there must be something deeper for you to get it. [8:29] I don’t know if it’s because you’re just not feeling it or because you just don’t think [8:33] you’ve got everything that God has given you, but remember in chapter one when he said [8:38] that you’ve been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places through Jesus. [8:42] And when Nate preached a couple weeks ago, if you didn’t catch that, go watch the video [8:47] or listen to the podcast on the website.

[8:48] It’s so detrimental to you understanding this, that you have, once you’ve trusted in him, [8:55] everything you will ever need from Jesus. [8:59] And life is not about you gaining more of him, but rather life is about you realizing [9:06] more and more of what he has already brought into your life. [9:11] That you have all of Jesus. [9:13] That’s what grace is.

[9:16] Grace is not about you getting more. [9:18] Grace is about you realizing all that God has already done that you did not do yourself. [9:26] But there always comes a point where we think that there must be more. [9:31] And this is what I want to tell you this morning, and I want to base the rest of the sermon [9:34] on.

[9:37] There is nothing more than the gospel. [9:42] There is nothing less than the gospel. [9:46] And you do not need anything other than the gospel in your life. [9:52] Why? [9:53] Because the gospel is what God is obsessed about. [9:55] And when I talk about the gospel, I’m talking about the work of Jesus, the person of Jesus,

[10:02] and scripture in its entirety.

[10:05] That when you begin to dwell on more than the work of Christ in your life, and through [10:11] your life, you are not dwelling on that which God wants to do in your life.

[10:18] The only other thing that you can go deeper in other than the gospel is yourself.

[10:26] And the reason Paul writes in here. [10:29] Remember that you were at one time separated from God. [10:34] And he says you were separated from Christ. [10:37] Remember last week when we used that term that means you are alive together with Christ. [10:42] In other words, you are completely dependent on him. [10:44] What he is saying now is when you didn’t have Christ, you didn’t have life.

[10:48] So when you look for life outside of the gospel, you are only going to find death. [10:53] You are a sinner. [10:56] And when you trust something other than the work of Jesus, the thing that you are beginning [11:02] to trust in is your wisdom, and your understanding, and the life that you want to build apart [11:09] from him. [11:10] But scripture is very clear that the only thing that you will find in yourself and in

[11:15] a value system that you will make is foolishness and death. [11:21] I just want to show a couple of scriptures that kind of reiterate this. [11:24] Proverbs 3, 5, and 6.

[11:28] Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not, do not lean on your own understanding. [11:38] Trust God’s wisdom in his way, not your own. [11:42] I’m not going to go completely through these scriptures as you can see. [11:45] Luke 9, 23. [11:47] If anyone would come after me, let him do what?

[11:51] Deny himself. [11:52] Take up his cross and follow me.

[11:58] Deny yourself. [11:59] Wisdom is not in you. [12:01] The gospel is not in you. [12:03] It’s in God.

[12:07] Galatians 2, 20. [12:09] I’ve been crucified with Christ. [12:10] It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. [12:14] And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and [12:19] gave himself for me. [12:20] In other words, my direction in life, my position in life, where I’m going in my life,

[12:26] the gospel says, I don’t base it on me. [12:30] If I’m trusting in the gospel, I’m basing it on God because it’s his life that comes alive in me. [12:39] And then finally, Galatians chapter 6, verse 14. [12:42] But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of Jesus Christ by which the [12:50] world was crucified to me and I to the world.

[12:57] Do you see the picture that God is putting? [13:00] You ever meet anybody? [13:02] Maybe you’re like this. [13:02] If you are, I’m sorry, but not really. [13:05] Where it’s just like, I just need to get to know me. [13:08] I just need to go deeper in who I am.

[13:11] I just don’t know me.

[13:14] That’s probably not true. [13:15] I mean, you’ve only been you for a long time. [13:18] Apart from serious mental illness now in that case, I don’t know. [13:21] But you know you. [13:24] But do you want to know how to know the real you? [13:27] God.

[13:29] The problem with the gospel is, is that it begins to paint a very untidy picture of who we are. [13:36] Because what it does is, is it takes us like in Ephesians chapter 2 at the very beginning, [13:40] and then in the text we do, that deep down in our core, there is not any good inside of us. [13:46] That if we hope to find any good, we have to get outside of ourselves. [13:51] We have to get to God because God alone is good. [13:56] One of the big themes of scripture is that God is good and you are not.

[14:00] And so if you drive deep into your value system, which is made apart from God, [14:05] then you are going to find nothing but pain, misery, and ultimately death. [14:11] Because you’re dead in your sin apart from Jesus. [14:15] But that’s not where it stops. [14:18] It continues to this beautiful reality that God has removed all the barriers [14:25] of that death that’s in us.

[14:27] Jesus has removed all barriers to God working in your life and through your life.

[14:36] In other words, those times when you don’t feel like you’ve got all that you need. [14:43] Those times when you don’t feel like you have all of God that you should have. [14:49] What that is, is the fact that you have not been completely transformed and made sinless yet.

[14:58] That sin that killed you from the moment of birth, that separated you from God. [15:03] When you trust in Jesus, there’s still sin in there. [15:06] And God has designed that life is the process of you growing closer and closer to him [15:15] and kind of letting go more and more of that sinfulness. [15:20] But there’s going to come a point in your life and many points in your life [15:24] where that sin will begin to try to invade your life.

[15:28] And Satan, that prince of the power of the air, [15:30] will try to convince you that your sin is smarter than God. [15:35] And that your sin is still a barrier to God, even if you’ve trusted in Jesus. [15:42] And what he does here in this text is he gives every reason that God has removed all those [15:48] barriers. He talks about the Commonwealth of Israel. He talks about the fact that there was [15:52] one time when we were separated from God, if you’re a Gentile, which most of us are,

[15:57] we were not born in the Commonwealth of Israel. We were not born as the people of God. [16:03] And what happens here is, I lost my place, cold medicine, cold medicine, that’s all you need to [16:12] know. All right. That those of us that are Gentiles, we were not privy to the life and [16:18] work and promises of God, but rather we were completely ignorant of God and all we had was [16:24] our sin. So what did we do? We just did our own thing. And what was our own thing? It was sin. [16:30] Even the good that we tried to do. Ultimately, it was sinful because who’s the beneficiary of my

[16:36] good? Me. Why do I do it? Me. I don’t do it for God. But God, to Israel, he revealed himself. [16:45] And he did not reveal himself so that Israel would simply be this special nation that was only [16:54] God’s and nobody else could have God. But instead, what he did was, is with Israel, [16:59] he instituted a sacrificial system and a law system, not to reveal their righteousness, [17:06] but to reveal his own. All right. And here’s what the New Testament tells us about that. [17:11] There were 639 laws given by God in the Old Testament for Israel to follow. It wasn’t just

[17:20] there were so many more. There were ceremonial laws. There were civic laws. There were sacrificial [17:26] laws. And there was what was called the tabernacle and then ultimately the temple, which is the place [17:31] where because they could not follow the law, they had to go and they had to repent and offer blood [17:38] sacrifices and incense sacrifices. And they had to do it in beautiful ceremonies. And they had to [17:43] have a high priest that was adorned with all these crazy, beautiful robes of the most expensive of [17:48] fabrics. And there was gold everywhere. And it was just the most beautiful setting. And then in the

[17:53] center of that tabernacle, there was a place called the Holy of Holies. And there was called this [17:59] because that is where the very presence of God would dwell. And in the Holy of Holies, nobody [18:06] could go in there except for once a year. The high priest, after going through a ridiculous [18:11] purification ritual for his own sin, he would put on a ridiculous amount. I love the word [18:17] a ridiculous amount of adornment and crowns and hats. And he would tie a rope around his ankle [18:24] because if he went in there and while he’s offering the atonement sacrifice for all of the

[18:28] sins of Israel for the whole year, if he messed up a single time, God would strike him dead. [18:35] And so he would enter in and every once in a while the guys on the outside would be like, [18:39] it seems like it’s taking them a while tug on the rope. And if he didn’t tug back, [18:43] they couldn’t go in and get him because if they did that, they’d be struck dead. [18:46] They had to drag him out. You say, why did God do all that? Because what it revealed was number [18:59] one, the beautiful ceremony in the beautiful place. It revealed the beauty of God, that God

[19:05] is more beautiful than they can ever imagine. And it was really a compromise for God to use that [19:10] nothing on this earth really represents his beauty. And it had to represent how different [19:16] God was from us. None of the ceremonies were natural.

[19:23] It represented how holy and separate from sin God was because God’s completely perfect. God’s [19:30] completely righteous. So are there barriers between us and God? You bet. You’re a sinner. [19:39] And there’s nothing you can do. But what God did in Jesus,

[19:47] let’s get rid of those barriers. He just said, they’re gone. But we had to see that there were [19:57] barriers so that we would see our need for Jesus. We say, how do we know those barriers are gone? [20:03] Matthew chapter 27 has the greatest picture of this.

[20:07] And that picture is that when Jesus was on the cross, when the scripture says that all of the [20:12] sins of humanity were laid on him, when God chose to find justice for sin in the perfect [20:18] substitute for us, Jesus Christ, so that he could love us. And this ridiculous sacrifice [20:25] wouldn’t have to continue on and on and on, but so that once and for all our sin could be dealt with.

[20:34] There was a veil that was, I mean, really thick. That was the entryway to the holy of holies. [20:44] The scripture says that at the moment of Jesus’s death, that veil, which was really high, [20:51] from top to bottom, it says God did this. He tore it in half. He opened the holy of holies up. [20:59] And what that represented was the fact that the presence of God is no longer off limits for sinners. [21:10] But that God has found justice in his sin through his Son. And you may now barrier-free, [21:19] ceremony-free, no more sacrifices, no more stops along the path. You can head right into the

[21:27] presence of God anywhere, because God has purified the world through trusting in his Son. You’re barrier-free.

[21:41] When you don’t think you have all of the life of God that you need,

[21:47] it’s because you need to trust him. It’s not because you need to get something else. [21:51] It’s not because the gospel’s not enough. It’s not because Jesus didn’t do enough. [21:57] He has. Your sin is deceiving you that there’s more than the gospel found in you.

[22:08] Now, God’s removed all barriers. We must remember that. We must stay on that. We must [22:15] remember the mission that Jesus came for and remember that in my life it is accomplished. [22:23] But there comes a problem in each and every one of our lives.

[22:31] And that problem is that while God has removed all barriers,

[22:37] we have a strange way of trying to build them back up.

[22:43] We must remove all barriers to God working in us and through us. [22:52] You’ve got to tear down the walls.

[22:56] And here’s what I’m talking about. There’s two places that I see this work the most. [23:02] And those two places are first, sin, and second, religion. Okay? [23:10] First one I want to deal with today is the barrier of sin.

[23:16] Excuse me. We must trust the gospel with our sin and follow Jesus out of our sin. [23:26] There is a temptation inside of you to trust in your wisdom above the wisdom of God in the cross. [23:32] And here’s what I mean. There will come a certain besetting, habitual, [23:41] ongoing struggle with sin in your life. It will either be one specific sin or it will be a [23:47] multitude of sins or it will be something that you don’t even want to say is a sin. But you know [23:54] that if it’s keeping you from trusting the gospel and living out the mission of Jesus in your life,

[23:59] it is a sin. But what will happen in this is you will begin to trust in that thing more than you [24:10] can trust in it. You’ll believe that you can’t be redeemed from it. You’ll believe that it is [24:15] something that’s going to shower down on your life forever. And God just hasn’t done everything in [24:20] your life that he needs to do for you to be redeemed from it. And so what will happen is, [24:25] you’ll just continue to rehearse that sin over and over and over and over.

[24:33] You’ll do it. You’ll live it. You’ll be it. Just sin. And you’ll say, I can’t stop.

[24:46] I can’t keep myself from doing it. So I guess I can’t have the gospel. [24:52] I guess I can’t have all that God has done for me.

[24:56] What you don’t understand there is what you are practically and literally saying is, [25:03] is that your salvation is found in that sin rather than in Jesus. That’s where this [25:10] mindset comes. Where we convince ourselves that we are saved for heaven. But between now and there, [25:20] eh, nothing really matters. We kind of take the cross very lightly in our personal lives.

[25:30] Yeah, I sin. Whoops. But I just, I can’t let go of it.

[25:39] Jesus came for you to have victory over that sin. Jesus did not come so that you could be [25:48] beaten down by sin for the rest of your life. Romans chapter eight says that we are more than [25:55] conquerors in Jesus. And that is not some name it claim it philosophy about your baseball game.

[26:03] It’s because sin is a brutal force that is going to beat on your door for the rest of your life. [26:12] Is it a fight? Yes. But it is a fight that we will win through Jesus. [26:23] That he has equipped us to be able to obey him. Do you know what a privilege and what an honor [26:33] and glory it is to be able to say through God, through the Spirit’s work in my life, [26:40] I have the ability to obey God. You do. And you say, but you don’t know me. I’m weaker than most. [26:53] You don’t know me. All of us are dead in our sin. It’s just, we’re going to struggle with

[27:03] it once. There is hope for you no matter what it is that you’re struggling with. [27:15] If I didn’t believe that, losing it, if I didn’t believe that, [27:23] I wouldn’t be here folks. I wouldn’t have planted a church.

[27:31] If you don’t believe that, I beg you to drive your life into the life of Jesus. [27:40] To talk to someone in the church. To get into a community group. [27:48] Jesus went to the cross so that you could be liberated from your sin and follow him. [27:54] Now are you going to disobey him? Yes. Yes. But that is no reason to quit.

[28:05] That’s no reason to stop. What that is, is a revelation in your life that you’ve not [28:12] grown past the gospel. Your sin is a revelation that you are dependent on Jesus and you will [28:20] continue to be dependent on Jesus. Praise God for eternity I’ll depend on him. [28:25] But there’s coming a day when I’ll see him face to face. I won’t have to struggle with [28:31] faith and hope anymore because I won’t have to have faith and I won’t have to have hope. [28:35] Because I’ll just be with him. I’ll just talk to him.

[28:41] But faith is that thing in your life that says there is hope. [28:47] And when you begin to lose that, you’re denying the gospel. You’re denying your very trust.

[28:57] Friend there is no sin so great that you cannot experience redemption. There is no past so [29:04] ugly that you cannot have all of Jesus. If anyone has told you that, it is a great lie. [29:10] The grace of God goes far deeper than any of us will ever know. [29:16] The grace of God will forgive any sin. The grace of God can liberate you from any struggle. [29:23] But you must be willing to trust and you must be willing to follow him.

[29:30] Following is not easy because following is saying my control isn’t working out too well. [29:38] Following Jesus is saying you are and I am not. Following Jesus is admitting that you are helpless.

[29:49] Second thing sin will do to us is it will cover us in guilt. It’ll cover us in guilt. [29:58] And we’ll say some, well yeah I’m not doing that sin anymore or I’m not struggling with it like I [30:04] used to. I’m seeing more obedience but because of the baggage, because of the guilt,

[30:13] I’m not good enough. I’m not strong enough.

[30:20] Just say one thing about that and we’ll move on. Hopefully. You hope I’ll say one thing about that. [30:25] It usually ends up being eight or nine things. Cold medicine.

[30:32] How many sins did Jesus die for on the cross? All of them. If you’ll trust him. All of them.

[30:47] Divorce. Abuse. Abortion.

[30:55] Immorality. Sexual perversion. I’m just trying to name the ugly ones. But they’re all the same.

[31:06] Jesus died for each and every one of them. [31:09] If you’re struggling with any of that right now, Jesus died for that situation, that circumstance, [31:18] that disobedience, that baggage that you cannot get off of your shoulders. Trust him with it. [31:25] He wants to bring redemption into your life and then he wants to draw you closer and closer to [31:30] him through that. Whatever it is, I don’t care. If you’re just apathetic

[31:38] and you’re saying, I’ve tried to care. I’ve tried to live for the gospel and I feel nothing.

[31:48] That hinders me with guilt sometimes because people will be like singing and crying hands up. [31:55] I mean they’ll be on their face singing and they’re like in the carpet drooling while they sing [31:59] and they’ll be like that was the most amazing worship experience and I’ll be like music was good.

[32:15] Jesus wants all of you, all the different kinds of you. If your hands are up, if your eyes are [32:20] closed, if you’re belting it to the heavens, if you’re standing there with your arms closed, [32:24] whatever it is, don’t let your seeming apathy, your seeming different response, don’t let that [32:31] keep you from the mission of Jesus just because you don’t think you have the ability or the [32:37] personality or the charisma. Whatever it is, it’s not about you. That’s my point. It’s about Jesus. [32:48] Stop making it about you. Stop making it about your likes. Stop making it about your dislikes.

[32:56] Stop making it about your preferences. Stop making it about your feelings.

[33:03] Has it ever occurred to you that your feelings are corrupt like the rest of you? [33:10] Have you ever thought about that? Follow your heart. That’s terrible advice.

[33:18] Seriously, if I ever hear you giving someone that advice, I will correct you on the spot.

[33:26] Yeah, follow your heart. It’s only, you know, called in the book of Jeremiah, [33:30] deceitful above all things. Your heart is as wicked as the rest of you. If you follow it, [33:36] might turn out pretty poorly. Follow Jesus’s heart. His is the only undefiled one. [33:45] His is the only one that can be trusted. When you follow your feelings, you need to measure them [33:53] with his because there’s a lot of times where I don’t feel forgiven. What do I do on that day?

[34:03] If I follow my heart, then I’m condemned. If I follow his, I’m victorious.

[34:13] That’s the grace of God. And secondly, religion.

[34:20] Excuse me. We must trust the gospel to extinguish our addiction to religion. Here’s what I mean [34:26] by that. I may mean something different, but this is what I want to talk about and then we’ll be [34:30] done. There seems to be the greatest wall that we build in our lives. And it ultimately is because [34:37] of sin as well, but it’s going to be called something different. And it’ll be a wall to the [34:42] life that God has for us. I wanted to actually build a wall on stage and like knock it down with [34:46] a sledgehammer, but then somebody was going to have to clean it up. So we didn’t do that.

[34:51] Being portable makes it difficult to do things. And the fact that I refuse to clean anything up, [34:55] you know, somebody else has burden with that kind of stuff. So sinner, cold medicine.

[35:06] There seems to be a great wall and that wall is something that we build in the wall is something [35:10] that many of us experience in churches. And it’s this wall that divides that which is sacred in my [35:15] life or spiritual in my life and that which is secular or the real world.

[35:26] God has torn that wall down. When we convince ourselves of that, what we are doing is we are [35:33] saying God’s still in the holy of holies and I can’t go in there because I’m secular.

[35:41] How much of you is sinful? All of you. That which is sacred in you, that which is secular in you, [35:48] it’s all simple. How much needs to be redeemed? All of you, that which is sacred, that which is [35:55] secular, everything. So when God killed the wall of hostility, when he tore down the wall of [36:03] hostility, he tore down the wall of sacred and secular. And he said, guess what? I created it [36:11] all. I spoke it all into existence. Guess what? It’s all spiritual. Everything is spiritual. [36:22] There is no part in your life that is off limits. So what happens is, is our worship is greatly

[36:30] affected by our desire for certain things to be off limit in our lives. So what we do is, is we [36:38] say things. All right, I want to deal with this because this is something that I think is fresh [36:41] in our culture and even fresh in our congregation. I hate that word, but you know, that’s what you [36:51] know. So we come together and we have these elements and these environments that we create [36:58] in the church and we’re just like, you know, it doesn’t seem religious enough. Or here’s what I [37:03] like. It doesn’t seem traditional enough. I need something a little more traditional. All right,

[37:11] I’m not going to call you a sinner. Maybe. Maybe I will. But what I’m going to say is, is that comes [37:18] from an addiction. And what that addiction is in your life, it’s this addiction to differentiate [37:26] Sunday morning or anything that has to do with church from everything else in your life.

[37:33] Let me ask you, where do you think that comes from?

[37:37] I believe it comes from believing the gospel for my spiritual life, but wanting to hold on [37:42] to my physical life. You say, well, those are two different words in Greek. You talked about it [37:47] absolutely. But God was around long before the Greeks were.

[37:54] God doesn’t just want to save the spiritual. He wants to save the physical. So when you begin [38:02] to have these yearnings for more of a religious ceremonial type of worship to take place in your [38:11] life. Now I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with being a part of that, but when it begins to [38:16] engulf you and your life outside of church looks nothing like your life inside of the church, [38:23] it is hypocrisy. But it is hypocrisy because you are not applying the gospel to every facet of your [38:33] life. What if worship is not about an hour on Sunday morning, but rather worship is about an

[38:44] entire holistic life given over to the 24 seven red hot redemption of God in my life and redeeming [38:55] different areas of my life that I never thought were even possible. What if God wants to redeem [39:03] your family? Does the gospel have anything to do with that? Fathers, you’re the pastor of your house.

[39:15] What about your career? Friend, you are a missionary to wherever you work.

[39:23] What about your social life? Friend, you need to be a picture of redemption to all those around you. [39:32] You see, that is where the gospel comes into my life, but then goes out of my life. Your worship [39:45] doesn’t exist to make you feel better. It exists to give yourself your whole self to God.

[39:59] And sometimes that is very painful. Sometimes that hurts. [40:06] We must trust the gospel as it guides us to live the mission of Jesus.

[40:15] Obedience, trust and worship exist to reveal our reconciliation with God. Look at that back in [40:25] Ephesians. Verse 15, it says that he has abolished the law of commandments expressed in ordinances. [40:35] That he might create in himself one new man, transform you, death to life, change. No one’s [40:45] comfortable with that, but that’s what the gospel is going to do. In place of two, so making peace. [40:52] We look at verse 16, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby [41:01] killing the hostility. Vanquish, kill, be done with, exterminate.

[41:13] Are there areas in your life that are hostile to the work of God, to the mission of Jesus?

[41:21] Are there? But here’s what happens. God kills it and he brings peace. [41:27] He gives us reconciliation. And that reconciliation exists so that you can go from redeemed to redeeming.

[41:38] Where you’re beginning to look for places proactively in your life where you are not [41:43] believing the gospel and you can apply the gospel. Because the greatest testament that will spread the [41:51] gospel throughout all of this community, all of this culture is not just eloquence, is not just [41:59] knowledge, is not just the ability to talk. It is the life change that God brings. And people look [42:07] and say, there’s change. And you say, well, I haven’t experienced much change in a long time. [42:16] You need to take inventory.

[42:20] You need to look and say, why am I not changing? Why am I not growing?

[42:28] From age 10 to age 80, I don’t think there’s anybody in here older than that. If there is, [42:34] I’m surprised. You look good. You look good for your age. You’re aging well. From age 10 to age 80, [42:42] you’re aging well. There are always going to be places you need to trust the gospel. You need to [42:46] grow in the gospel because we are a people dependent on God. And if we hope for the gospel [42:54] to go out of our lives, it must consume our lives. Tear down the walls you are building to the gospel, [43:06] whatever they are. Tear them down in the name of Jesus. Tear them down. Get up. Get up. Walk.

[43:16] Ephesians chapter 2 verse 10. You’re his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good [43:31] and believe. Trust. Be redeemed and live the mission of Jesus because we’ve been reconciled [43:44] to him by the gospel. And he says, when you’ve been reconciled by the gospel, you’ll be obsessed [43:49] with what I’m obsessed with. And that is the gospel going to all people in the world. It is [43:56] God’s obsession and it needs to be yours. Right now, as we come to a close,

[44:05] every week we reflect on communion, on the broken body and the shed blood of Jesus [44:13] through bread and the cup. And it’s what Jesus told us to use to reflect on what he did for us.

[44:25] Because in the Old Testament, there was this thing called table fellowship. [44:30] And what table fellowship was, it was a holy religious thing where you could only eat with [44:38] people that were pure, people that were righteous, people that were holy, people that trusted God. [44:44] In the cross, the reason communion is so important to this church and the reason it should be so [44:50] important in your life is because it represents the end of only having table fellowship [44:59] with people that were pure. Because what God is saying is, if you trust me, you are so pure,

[45:09] you can come to his table, barrier free. If you trust him this morning, come to his table. [45:21] Share a meal with Jesus because it’s the life of Jesus into your life. If you don’t trust him, [45:28] trust him today. God wants to change your life. He does. I promise it. He’s torn down the barriers. [45:39] Why don’t you tear down the barrier of distrust? Trust him today and have table fellowship with [45:45] God. If you have, if that’s you today, I just ask that you come talk to me for a minute, [45:50] go to the back, talk to Nate, talk to one of the other pastors. Follow Jesus, barrier free. Tear

[45:59] down the walls. Father, we come before you this morning. We love you because you first loved us.

[46:10] Lord, you care about us so much that you’ve given your life to us.

[46:18] May we be a people that follow you barrier free. May we be a people that trust you so much [46:25] that we tear down the walls that we are building. Because if there are walls, you didn’t put them [46:31] there, God. You tore them down. We’re putting them there. Lord, may we trust you today.

[46:42] When you’re ready, come have a meal with Jesus.