A New Family to SERVE
Series: SERVE
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 26th October 2019
00:00:00 --> 00:00:08 Good morning, y'all. It'd be great if you could grab a copy of the sermon outline today
00:00:08 --> 00:00:14 with the Bible text on it. And also, it's on the St. Paul's app. So if you want to get
00:00:14 --> 00:00:20 it down, the St. Paul's app takes a while. It would be fantastic. So I wonder why are
00:00:20 --> 00:00:29 you here? I wonder why you're not down at the cinemas. I wonder why you're not winding
00:00:29 --> 00:00:37 down in front of the television at home. Iron Chef America is on after all. I wonder why
00:00:37 --> 00:00:42 you're not at the beach. I wonder why you're not even just down shopping at Westfield.
00:00:42 --> 00:00:51 Why are you not at the gym, visiting friends, family? I wonder if maybe you're just here
00:00:51 --> 00:00:58 because, well, there isn't anything else to do. There's no other pressing needs. There's
00:00:58 --> 00:01:09 no parties on. The kids' sports not on right now. I wonder if, for instance, your thinking
00:01:09 --> 00:01:17 is, well, it is only church after all. And so when something more pressing does come up,
00:01:18 --> 00:01:24 then, well, that just takes precedence. I wonder if you're comfortable with the way those words
00:01:24 --> 00:01:33 run together. Only church. I do wonder whether church fits in and around everything else that's
00:01:33 --> 00:01:40 on. Certainly statistics of church attendance would certainly indicate that. And even those
00:01:40 --> 00:01:50 who regard themselves as mature Christians think that two out of four is called regular nowadays.
00:01:50 --> 00:01:59 Maybe it's not an afterthought. But maybe it's just something that you've done. It's not so much,
00:02:00 --> 00:02:05 you know, you're actually here regularly, but it's just something that you have always done. You have
00:02:05 --> 00:02:12 just come to church. You've grown up just coming to church. And so you don't give any thought to it.
00:02:12 --> 00:02:17 You don't give any preference. You just do it like a habit, like you clean your teeth. Same kind of thing.
00:02:17 --> 00:02:27 For various conversations I've had with parents, I've noticed that parents struggle to answer the
00:02:27 --> 00:02:36 question when their kids ask them, why do we go to church? Haven't actually thought about it.
00:02:38 --> 00:02:45 Haven't got a biblical answer to it. So if you're comfortable with the words, it's only church,
00:02:45 --> 00:02:53 or comfortable just making it a daily habit or a weekly habit and not really thinking it's,
00:02:54 --> 00:03:02 or you're just in that phase of life where there's potentially a creeping cynicism, confusion, apathy,
00:03:03 --> 00:03:11 then I want you to see something wonderful today. While your experience of church might have been
00:03:11 --> 00:03:20 disappointment, boring, confusing, or relationships that have been less than what they could be,
00:03:21 --> 00:03:29 today we are catching a glimpse of God's intention for his church. And if you've got the sermon outline,
00:03:29 --> 00:03:38 you'll see that I've got three ideas. We're a new family, we're a united family, and then
00:03:38 --> 00:03:43 some practical application on being a brilliant family.
00:03:44 --> 00:03:50 Last week, we saw the incredible scope of God's plan for the universe through time and eternity of the
00:03:50 --> 00:03:57 Lord Jesus. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, God has redeemed us from sin,
00:03:57 --> 00:04:04 from death and captivity to selfishness and the ego. And no religious duty, no moral effort on our
00:04:04 --> 00:04:13 behalf contributes to it. We are liberated from slavery to sin to be who God has made us to be
00:04:13 --> 00:04:21 in the first place. We're being set free to praise and serve. And you may recall that at the end of
00:04:21 --> 00:04:32 chapter 1, Paul prays that people would see the evidence of God's mighty sovereign grace at work in
00:04:32 --> 00:04:39 the world. He prays that people would see that evidence in the world. And now in these verses,
00:04:40 --> 00:04:49 we see one of the major, if not the major evidence of God's work in his world.
00:04:49 --> 00:05:00 inside the church, there are people living together in peace and harmony and deep relationship
00:05:00 --> 00:05:04 who outside the church could never get along.
00:05:07 --> 00:05:15 God's plan of salvation in Jesus doesn't just bring us back into relationship with God,
00:05:15 --> 00:05:19 God's plan of salvation in Jesus. And it brings us back together.
00:05:21 --> 00:05:24 I see what the saving work of Jesus accomplished. Chapter 2, verse 14,
00:05:25 --> 00:05:33 for he himself, this is Jesus, is our peace who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the
00:05:33 --> 00:05:41 barrier, the dividing wall of hostility. Now the word hostility is used twice in these verses.
00:05:41 --> 00:05:55 And it's a word that means hate. And the test case, if you like, the case study that Paul uses
00:05:55 --> 00:06:03 is the deep historical hatred between Jew and Gentiles, which is basically Jews and everyone else.
00:06:03 --> 00:06:14 not only has the death of Jesus brought down the dividing wall of hostility and hatred between us and God,
00:06:14 --> 00:06:18 but also the dividing wall of hostility and hatred between people.
00:06:18 --> 00:06:22 Even centuries of deep hatred.
00:06:22 --> 00:06:28 But it goes a step further. It's not just the dividing wall has been ripped down.
00:06:29 --> 00:06:31 Halfway through verse 15, we read,
00:06:31 --> 00:06:41 His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two,
00:06:42 --> 00:06:50 thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross,
00:06:50 --> 00:06:53 by which he put to death their hostility.
00:06:55 --> 00:07:00 God's purpose in salvation is to create a new humanity in Jesus.
00:07:01 --> 00:07:05 A new family in Jesus.
00:07:06 --> 00:07:08 We are not a club.
00:07:09 --> 00:07:14 A club is where you share one or two common interests with other people.
00:07:14 --> 00:07:21 So, for instance, if you're a tennis club, you share the interest of tennis.
00:07:22 --> 00:07:24 Or you share the interest of wearing white.
00:07:25 --> 00:07:26 Whatever it is.
00:07:27 --> 00:07:30 But you share one or two connected things.
00:07:31 --> 00:07:32 Points of connection.
00:07:34 --> 00:07:35 As part of an ethnic group,
00:07:36 --> 00:07:42 you have a much more profound connection with people of the same ethnic group
00:07:42 --> 00:07:45 than you do if you're a member of a club.
00:07:46 --> 00:07:50 There are possibly hundreds of points of connection that you would have
00:07:50 --> 00:07:55 and history that you would have with an affinity group as an ethnic group.
00:07:57 --> 00:08:01 And Paul is saying here that when you become a Christian,
00:08:01 --> 00:08:09 the connection points are even deeper and more profound than ethnicity.
00:08:09 --> 00:08:16 This connection is more deeper, more extensive than any other connection point.
00:08:17 --> 00:08:22 So much so that as an Anglo-Australian,
00:08:22 --> 00:08:27 I have a greater connection with other Christians of other cultures
00:08:27 --> 00:08:34 than I do with people who are of my own ethnic group who are not Christian.
00:08:34 --> 00:08:42 What the gospel of Jesus does when he rescues us from selfishness and the ego,
00:08:43 --> 00:08:50 Jesus reshuffles the layers in our ego deck or identity decks.
00:08:51 --> 00:08:58 My and your cultural heritages do not get obliterated in the Lord Jesus.
00:08:58 --> 00:09:00 They are just put in their right place.
00:09:00 --> 00:09:08 I am still an Anglo-Australian male from rural northwest New South Wales.
00:09:09 --> 00:09:13 The only place on the planet where the English language is spoken without an accent.
00:09:19 --> 00:09:22 There is irony in that statement in case you haven't picked it up.
00:09:22 --> 00:09:32 And you are who you are with your cultural identity markers.
00:09:32 --> 00:09:33 That doesn't change.
00:09:35 --> 00:09:40 But our connection and our unity with Jesus trumps it all.
00:09:41 --> 00:09:42 It all.
00:09:43 --> 00:09:47 The church is a new humanity, a new family with a new identity.
00:09:47 --> 00:09:55 In Jesus, God has made it possible for us to get over the horrible, horrible divisions of the human race.
00:09:57 --> 00:10:06 God displays the wisdom and the worth and the saving power of Jesus to the world through his new family.
00:10:06 --> 00:10:17 You may have noticed that the church, the word church is mentioned twice in chapter 3, verses 10 and 21.
00:10:18 --> 00:10:20 I want you to notice the wording.
00:10:20 --> 00:10:21 First of all, in verse 10.
00:10:21 --> 00:10:38 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.
00:10:40 --> 00:10:49 Manifold, the word manifold in verse 10 means literally many colored.
00:10:51 --> 00:10:58 Many, multifaceted wisdom of God.
00:10:58 --> 00:11:06 And it's the same word that's used in the Old Testament for Joseph and his many colored cloak.
00:11:09 --> 00:11:17 The church is God's many colored, diverse church.
00:11:17 --> 00:11:21 The church is his brightly colored neon sign to the universe.
00:11:21 --> 00:11:29 The church is the public advertisement of the glorious wisdom of God.
00:11:31 --> 00:11:36 God's plan is devastatingly simple and disarmingly beautiful.
00:11:36 --> 00:11:47 His eternal plan is to bring a new family together under Christ from all kinds of people who are bound together in love,
00:11:47 --> 00:11:51 who outside the church are opposed to one another.
00:11:54 --> 00:11:55 That's his plan.
00:11:58 --> 00:12:01 Secondly, we're a united family.
00:12:02 --> 00:12:12 The emphasis in chapter 2, verses 19 and 22 is we are not just together in the same sort of area,
00:12:12 --> 00:12:14 but that we're in fact united.
00:12:14 --> 00:12:17 Verse 19 says that we are his household.
00:12:17 --> 00:12:18 We are his children.
00:12:19 --> 00:12:19 We are his family.
00:12:20 --> 00:12:21 We are his eternal family.
00:12:21 --> 00:12:24 It also says that we are his temple.
00:12:26 --> 00:12:29 You see, what happens in the move from household to temple,
00:12:29 --> 00:12:33 the intensity builds to the final image.
00:12:33 --> 00:12:43 In verses 21 to 22, we are his temple being built together for his spirit to dwell in for his glory.
00:12:45 --> 00:12:49 A king lives in a country with his subjects,
00:12:50 --> 00:12:54 but there may be no relationship between the king and the subjects.
00:12:54 --> 00:13:00 A father lives under the same roof with his children.
00:13:01 --> 00:13:05 If you're a citizen of a country, you might live next door to each other.
00:13:06 --> 00:13:07 You may live long way from each other.
00:13:08 --> 00:13:10 You may have no connection with each other at all.
00:13:10 --> 00:13:12 But if you're a child growing up with siblings,
00:13:13 --> 00:13:17 you are living in very close proximity to one another.
00:13:18 --> 00:13:20 That's what happens with family.
00:13:20 --> 00:13:26 Of course, however, as you move the metaphors to temple,
00:13:26 --> 00:13:32 if you are stones in a building, you're cemented to each other.
00:13:36 --> 00:13:41 The image here at the end of chapter 2 is of our unity, our connectedness,
00:13:41 --> 00:13:45 our togetherness in Jesus.
00:13:45 --> 00:13:52 And this theme of togetherness and unity flows over into chapter 3,
00:13:53 --> 00:13:59 where Paul prays that the church will be a beacon of unity and love to the world.
00:14:00 --> 00:14:05 Ephesians 3 is one of those chapters that's very messy.
00:14:05 --> 00:14:08 You might have picked that up as you read to us just a moment ago.
00:14:08 --> 00:14:11 So Paul begins chapter 3 with,
00:14:11 --> 00:14:16 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus, for the sake of you Gentiles.
00:14:17 --> 00:14:19 And then he stops.
00:14:19 --> 00:14:24 It's like he breaks his thought halfway through and goes on a detour.
00:14:24 --> 00:14:26 You know how frustrating that is when people do that and you're talking to them
00:14:26 --> 00:14:29 and you're trying to work out how is this connected with what,
00:14:29 --> 00:14:32 you know, you've started the sentence but you haven't kind of finished it?
00:14:32 --> 00:14:38 And this little detour of Paul's lasts until verse 14,
00:14:39 --> 00:14:40 where he says,
00:14:41 --> 00:14:43 For this reason I knew before the Father.
00:14:44 --> 00:14:48 And so what you've got to do is you've got to hold his train of thought
00:14:48 --> 00:14:53 while he travels on this detour from verses 2 to 13.
00:14:53 --> 00:15:00 And the detour, he's like, this is kind of his idea of the detour.
00:15:00 --> 00:15:03 Let me remind you of God's plan.
00:15:03 --> 00:15:05 Let me remind you of why I'm here in prison
00:15:05 --> 00:15:10 and why Gentiles like you find yourself part of God's family.
00:15:11 --> 00:15:12 It's all because of the mystery.
00:15:13 --> 00:15:14 That's no longer a mystery.
00:15:15 --> 00:15:17 It's all because of the plan that finally came together.
00:15:17 --> 00:15:23 And as you run your eye down verses 2 to 13,
00:15:24 --> 00:15:30 you'll see he makes the same point over and over and over again.
00:15:31 --> 00:15:38 The plan that wasn't known before is now clear.
00:15:40 --> 00:15:45 And verse 6 is what has been made known.
00:15:45 --> 00:15:49 The mystery is that through the gospel,
00:15:50 --> 00:15:53 the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel,
00:15:54 --> 00:15:57 members together of one body,
00:15:58 --> 00:16:03 and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.
00:16:04 --> 00:16:08 Together, together, together.
00:16:10 --> 00:16:14 And there's nothing that Paul wants to see more
00:16:14 --> 00:16:18 than the Ephesians living out their togetherness.
00:16:20 --> 00:16:23 As he comes back from the detour in verse 14,
00:16:24 --> 00:16:28 that's the thing that he is moved to pray for.
00:16:30 --> 00:16:36 Verses 14 to 21 is a long and complex thought.
00:16:36 --> 00:16:40 But in the end, it breaks down to a very simple prayer.
00:16:42 --> 00:16:46 A prayer to the Father that the Ephesian church
00:16:46 --> 00:16:50 might really be a diverse and a united family.
00:16:51 --> 00:16:54 A prayer that boils down to this in verse 17.
00:16:55 --> 00:17:00 So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
00:17:00 --> 00:17:05 And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love.
00:17:06 --> 00:17:11 He prays that Jesus may so fill their hearts
00:17:11 --> 00:17:17 that they'll know what real love looks like.
00:17:19 --> 00:17:21 Paul says, middle of verse 17,
00:17:21 --> 00:17:24 I'm praying that you, being rooted and established in love,
00:17:24 --> 00:17:27 may have power, you Gentiles together with the saints,
00:17:27 --> 00:17:32 to comprehend what is the breadth and the length
00:17:32 --> 00:17:36 and the height and the depth of the love of Christ
00:17:36 --> 00:17:38 and to know the love of Christ
00:17:38 --> 00:17:40 that goes way beyond all knowledge.
00:17:40 --> 00:17:46 That's what we looked at last week.
00:17:47 --> 00:17:53 It's what we see in his many blessings
00:17:53 --> 00:17:55 that he's poured out to us.
00:17:56 --> 00:17:58 Every spiritual blessing in Jesus.
00:18:00 --> 00:18:05 And the more we grapple with every spiritual blessing in Jesus,
00:18:05 --> 00:18:11 the more the layers of our identity deck gets reshuffled
00:18:11 --> 00:18:14 till he sits at the top, always.
00:18:18 --> 00:18:20 Paul says here, it doesn't make sense,
00:18:20 --> 00:18:24 but the love of Christ encompasses all kinds of people.
00:18:26 --> 00:18:28 Paul's praying that we will together catch on
00:18:28 --> 00:18:30 how big the love of Jesus is
00:18:30 --> 00:18:33 and be so filled with the fullness of God.
00:18:33 --> 00:18:36 He prays for it because when the church does it,
00:18:37 --> 00:18:43 they become God's great advertising campaign to the world.
00:18:44 --> 00:18:48 Over 20 years ago, there was a war raging in Kosovo
00:18:48 --> 00:18:51 between Serbs and ethnic Albanians.
00:18:52 --> 00:18:57 That war came on the back of a cultural hatred
00:18:57 --> 00:19:01 that had run for over a thousand years
00:19:01 --> 00:19:03 from both sides.
00:19:04 --> 00:19:08 And it resulted in terrible crimes against humanity.
00:19:10 --> 00:19:12 There were Christian churches
00:19:12 --> 00:19:15 on both sides of that divide.
00:19:16 --> 00:19:18 And right in the middle of the conflict
00:19:18 --> 00:19:21 where ethnic cleansing is happening,
00:19:21 --> 00:19:27 one pastor of an Albanian Baptist church in Pristina
00:19:27 --> 00:19:30 crossed over the racial divide
00:19:30 --> 00:19:33 and preached in a Serbian church
00:19:33 --> 00:19:36 on the opposite side of the conflict,
00:19:37 --> 00:19:37 filled with Serbians.
00:19:40 --> 00:19:43 Against the background of all the hate,
00:19:44 --> 00:19:46 the pastor of the church in Belgrade
00:19:46 --> 00:19:51 took this man into his home
00:19:51 --> 00:19:53 and put him in his pulpit.
00:19:55 --> 00:19:56 And the pastor said,
00:19:57 --> 00:19:59 we don't have much in common
00:19:59 --> 00:20:02 apart from Christ.
00:20:02 --> 00:20:07 And that's the point.
00:20:11 --> 00:20:13 If you really catch on the breadth
00:20:13 --> 00:20:14 and the depth and the height
00:20:14 --> 00:20:16 and the width of the love of Christ,
00:20:17 --> 00:20:19 then you've started down
00:20:19 --> 00:20:21 the path of loving one another
00:20:21 --> 00:20:24 and a shared discomfort when we meet.
00:20:27 --> 00:20:28 Against the odds,
00:20:28 --> 00:20:29 against the generations,
00:20:29 --> 00:20:31 against the cultural dividing lines
00:20:31 --> 00:20:33 in a way that not only astounds
00:20:34 --> 00:20:35 the world around us
00:20:35 --> 00:20:37 when they see the way we love one another,
00:20:38 --> 00:20:40 but the spiritual powers as well.
00:20:40 --> 00:20:41 Did you see that?
00:20:43 --> 00:20:47 It's enough to make the angels rejoice
00:20:47 --> 00:20:52 and the demons hang their heads in shame.
00:20:54 --> 00:20:56 Paul says God's intent,
00:20:56 --> 00:20:57 God's design,
00:20:57 --> 00:20:58 God's plan,
00:20:58 --> 00:20:59 verse 10,
00:20:59 --> 00:21:02 is that through the church,
00:21:02 --> 00:21:04 the manifold wisdom of God
00:21:04 --> 00:21:06 might be made known to the rulers
00:21:06 --> 00:21:08 and authorities in the heavenly places.
00:21:08 --> 00:21:09 Imagine that.
00:21:09 --> 00:21:11 Imagine the angels
00:21:11 --> 00:21:14 looking down on St. Paul's Chatswood
00:21:14 --> 00:21:15 and marveling
00:21:15 --> 00:21:18 at God's eternal purposes
00:21:18 --> 00:21:19 being worked out in monsters.
00:21:21 --> 00:21:24 Marveling at the glory of the gospel
00:21:24 --> 00:21:27 as the boundaries the world puts up
00:21:27 --> 00:21:29 come down between us.
00:21:32 --> 00:21:34 We're here to be part of God's church.
00:21:35 --> 00:21:39 We're here to actively love one another.
00:21:39 --> 00:21:42 We're here to demonstrate to this world
00:21:42 --> 00:21:44 and the angels in the heavenly realms
00:21:44 --> 00:21:45 the wonders of God's plan
00:21:45 --> 00:21:47 being worked out in the Lord Jesus.
00:21:47 --> 00:21:51 We're here to reveal to the world
00:21:51 --> 00:21:53 that alienation and self-centeredness
00:21:54 --> 00:21:56 and hatred and division
00:21:56 --> 00:21:59 don't have the final word.
00:21:59 --> 00:22:04 We're here to work together
00:22:04 --> 00:22:05 to display Christ's love
00:22:05 --> 00:22:07 in real ways to the world.
00:22:10 --> 00:22:11 So if you're a parent
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12 and your kid asks you,
00:22:12 --> 00:22:14 why are we going to church?
00:22:18 --> 00:22:18 Oh, kiddo,
00:22:18 --> 00:22:20 we're going to demonstrate to the world
00:22:20 --> 00:22:23 and to the angels in the heavenly realms
00:22:23 --> 00:22:27 the wonders of God's plan of salvation.
00:22:27 --> 00:22:27 The world's plan of salvation
00:22:27 --> 00:22:32 worked out in Jesus Christ.
00:22:34 --> 00:22:37 The beach is not inviting.
00:22:39 --> 00:22:40 It can wait.
00:22:41 --> 00:22:43 It'll be better in heaven anyway.
00:22:45 --> 00:22:47 So how do we work it out?
00:22:47 --> 00:22:50 How do we be God's brilliant family?
00:22:52 --> 00:22:53 It's passages like this
00:22:53 --> 00:22:55 and many others in the New Testament
00:22:55 --> 00:22:58 behind our purpose statement
00:22:58 --> 00:23:00 which normally is on the wall behind me.
00:23:00 --> 00:23:02 You can find this in our vision booklet
00:23:02 --> 00:23:03 for this year,
00:23:03 --> 00:23:05 the stuff I'm about to say now.
00:23:05 --> 00:23:06 Behind our purpose statement,
00:23:07 --> 00:23:07 that is,
00:23:07 --> 00:23:09 our purpose statement is the reason
00:23:09 --> 00:23:10 we exist as a church
00:23:10 --> 00:23:11 and our one says
00:23:11 --> 00:23:13 that we treasure Jesus together
00:23:13 --> 00:23:15 for God's glory
00:23:15 --> 00:23:18 and the joy of all people.
00:23:18 --> 00:23:20 See the connection with what I just said
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 from Ephesians 2 and 3?
00:23:21 --> 00:23:23 That's why we exist.
00:23:24 --> 00:23:26 This passage also lies behind
00:23:26 --> 00:23:28 what we're seeking to do together.
00:23:28 --> 00:23:31 Our vision as a church here in Chatswood
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 is to be a church
00:23:32 --> 00:23:35 that unites our diverse community
00:23:35 --> 00:23:37 in the good news of Jesus Christ
00:23:37 --> 00:23:40 so that more and more and more people
00:23:40 --> 00:23:41 through the gospel
00:23:41 --> 00:23:44 have the layers of their identity
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 and we're going to be
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 shuffled by Jesus.
00:23:50 --> 00:23:52 And passages like this
00:23:52 --> 00:23:54 lie behind our strategy
00:23:54 --> 00:23:56 how we're going to achieve our vision
00:23:56 --> 00:23:59 to unite our diverse community in Jesus.
00:24:00 --> 00:24:02 We will achieve our vision
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 by being a transcultural church,
00:24:04 --> 00:24:05 not a multicultural church,
00:24:05 --> 00:24:06 a transcultural church,
00:24:06 --> 00:24:09 displaying the manifold wisdom of God
00:24:09 --> 00:24:09 to our livelihood.
00:24:09 --> 00:24:11 That means that we reflect,
00:24:12 --> 00:24:13 we embrace,
00:24:13 --> 00:24:14 and we enjoy
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 all the diversity
00:24:15 --> 00:24:17 of the context of our neighborhood,
00:24:17 --> 00:24:19 all the ways that God has made us
00:24:19 --> 00:24:22 while in the power of the gospel
00:24:22 --> 00:24:25 having our identity decks reshuffled,
00:24:26 --> 00:24:28 rising above all the cultural differences
00:24:28 --> 00:24:29 that are amongst us
00:24:29 --> 00:24:31 and being united together
00:24:31 --> 00:24:32 as a community,
00:24:32 --> 00:24:33 as a family under Jesus.
00:24:34 --> 00:24:36 He becomes supreme.
00:24:37 --> 00:24:38 He's the one who connects us.
00:24:38 --> 00:24:40 We do not try and find cultural connection.
00:24:41 --> 00:24:42 We rise above it
00:24:42 --> 00:24:44 and find connection and unity in Jesus.
00:24:46 --> 00:24:46 Therefore,
00:24:47 --> 00:24:49 what that means in practice,
00:24:49 --> 00:24:52 we develop united congregations
00:24:52 --> 00:24:54 like this one
00:24:54 --> 00:24:56 that reflect the ethnic,
00:24:57 --> 00:24:58 generational, social,
00:24:58 --> 00:25:00 economic diversity of our neighborhood
00:25:00 --> 00:25:02 and we deliberately,
00:25:03 --> 00:25:05 deliberately work against
00:25:05 --> 00:25:07 the homogenous unit principle
00:25:07 --> 00:25:09 that wants to segregate people
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 into affinity groups.
00:25:12 --> 00:25:14 We will use the unifying language
00:25:14 --> 00:25:15 of our neighborhood
00:25:15 --> 00:25:16 in all our corporate gatherings
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 and communications.
00:25:18 --> 00:25:20 We develop mature disciples
00:25:20 --> 00:25:21 of the Lord Jesus
00:25:21 --> 00:25:24 who are equipped with skills
00:25:24 --> 00:25:25 and cultural intelligence
00:25:25 --> 00:25:28 to serve across cultures.
00:25:28 --> 00:25:30 So there is deeper appreciation
00:25:30 --> 00:25:32 of our differences
00:25:32 --> 00:25:35 and we develop culturally diverse
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 leadership teams
00:25:36 --> 00:25:38 across all layers of decision making.
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 Now there's work to do
00:25:40 --> 00:25:43 to make that reality measure up
00:25:43 --> 00:25:44 here at St. Paul's
00:25:44 --> 00:25:46 and sin will always
00:25:46 --> 00:25:47 get in the way.
00:25:48 --> 00:25:50 But we must fight for it.
00:25:50 --> 00:25:53 I'm glad that Nick and John
00:25:53 --> 00:25:56 are at this morning
00:25:56 --> 00:25:59 at a church called Parkside Church
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 down near Fairfield,
00:26:01 --> 00:26:03 a church of about 700, 800 people
00:26:03 --> 00:26:06 where 50 different nationalities
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 are gathered together
00:26:07 --> 00:26:10 in these kinds of congregations.
00:26:10 --> 00:26:13 just learning about
00:26:13 --> 00:26:14 how to do it better.
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 Now no church
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 can be totally inclusive
00:26:18 --> 00:26:21 but how do we stretch
00:26:21 --> 00:26:23 to be more ethnically
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 and culturally
00:26:24 --> 00:26:27 and socially inclusive?
00:26:27 --> 00:26:29 How do we work hard
00:26:29 --> 00:26:31 to have a shared discomfort
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 when we meet?
00:26:34 --> 00:26:35 That's to keep the gospel
00:26:35 --> 00:26:35 in front of us
00:26:35 --> 00:26:37 Sunday by Sunday by Sunday
00:26:37 --> 00:26:39 before we come,
00:26:39 --> 00:26:39 after we've been,
00:26:39 --> 00:26:40 while we're here.
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 How do we work,
00:26:43 --> 00:26:44 sacrifice and serve
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 to be who we are?
00:26:47 --> 00:26:48 See if you're a Christian
00:26:48 --> 00:26:50 you've been called
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 into God's new family
00:26:51 --> 00:26:53 and you have been called
00:26:53 --> 00:26:55 into deep relationships
00:26:55 --> 00:26:57 and deep involvement
00:26:57 --> 00:26:59 in the Christian family.
00:27:00 --> 00:27:02 You cannot love and serve
00:27:02 --> 00:27:04 in shallow relationships.
00:27:05 --> 00:27:06 How deep?
00:27:08 --> 00:27:08 How deep?
00:27:09 --> 00:27:10 I hear you ask.
00:27:10 --> 00:27:11 That's a silly question
00:27:11 --> 00:27:13 to ask at this time of the day
00:27:13 --> 00:27:14 but I'm going to go
00:27:14 --> 00:27:15 into it anyway.
00:27:16 --> 00:27:16 Deep enough
00:27:16 --> 00:27:19 for personal accountability.
00:27:19 --> 00:27:19 I've got three things
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 to say in this.
00:27:20 --> 00:27:20 Deep enough
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 for personal accountability.
00:27:22 --> 00:27:24 We are the same family.
00:27:24 --> 00:27:25 One thing you'll know
00:27:25 --> 00:27:26 about growing up
00:27:26 --> 00:27:27 in a family
00:27:27 --> 00:27:30 is transparency.
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 That is,
00:27:32 --> 00:27:34 your family knows
00:27:34 --> 00:27:35 who you are
00:27:35 --> 00:27:37 and you know
00:27:37 --> 00:27:38 who they are.
00:27:38 --> 00:27:39 There's,
00:27:40 --> 00:27:42 they wipe your nose,
00:27:42 --> 00:27:43 they change your nappies.
00:27:44 --> 00:27:45 Your facades
00:27:45 --> 00:27:46 don't work
00:27:46 --> 00:27:46 in a family
00:27:46 --> 00:27:47 when you grow up
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 and you're going to fit.
00:27:48 --> 00:27:48 They know
00:27:48 --> 00:27:49 who you are.
00:27:51 --> 00:27:52 On occasion
00:27:52 --> 00:27:52 while growing up
00:27:52 --> 00:27:53 when I got ahead
00:27:53 --> 00:27:54 of myself
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 in self-importance,
00:27:55 --> 00:27:56 my dad would say
00:27:56 --> 00:27:56 to me,
00:27:56 --> 00:27:57 don't forget
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 I wiped your bottom.
00:27:58 --> 00:28:00 that's just a,
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 you know,
00:28:01 --> 00:28:05 put me back down there.
00:28:06 --> 00:28:07 No facades
00:28:07 --> 00:28:08 in a family.
00:28:08 --> 00:28:09 Transparency
00:28:09 --> 00:28:10 is essential.
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 So I want to ask you
00:28:11 --> 00:28:12 in this church family,
00:28:12 --> 00:28:12 transparency
00:28:12 --> 00:28:13 is essential.
00:28:14 --> 00:28:14 Are there people
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 who know
00:28:15 --> 00:28:17 your habitual sins
00:28:17 --> 00:28:20 because you've told them
00:28:20 --> 00:28:22 and then given them
00:28:22 --> 00:28:23 a hunting license
00:28:23 --> 00:28:24 to come after you
00:28:24 --> 00:28:26 if they see
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27 that you're indulging
00:28:27 --> 00:28:27 in them?
00:28:34 --> 00:28:34 Our family relationships
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 also need to be
00:28:35 --> 00:28:36 as deep
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 as whole life hospitality.
00:28:38 --> 00:28:39 A family lives together.
00:28:40 --> 00:28:40 In a family
00:28:40 --> 00:28:42 you share each other's
00:28:42 --> 00:28:43 space and things.
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 You eat,
00:28:44 --> 00:28:44 you play,
00:28:44 --> 00:28:45 you work together.
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 Hospitality is letting people
00:28:47 --> 00:28:49 into your whole life.
00:28:49 --> 00:28:50 It's not just putting on
00:28:50 --> 00:28:50 a meal for people.
00:28:51 --> 00:28:51 It's letting them
00:28:51 --> 00:28:52 into your whole life.
00:28:53 --> 00:28:53 It's not just about
00:28:53 --> 00:28:55 showing up to church events.
00:28:56 --> 00:28:58 Like we are colleagues.
00:28:59 --> 00:29:00 It's not about turning up
00:29:00 --> 00:29:01 as students
00:29:01 --> 00:29:03 to study
00:29:03 --> 00:29:03 or
00:29:03 --> 00:29:05 club to play tennis.
00:29:06 --> 00:29:07 We are brothers
00:29:07 --> 00:29:08 and sisters.
00:29:09 --> 00:29:10 We also need
00:29:10 --> 00:29:11 to deepen our relationships
00:29:11 --> 00:29:11 to the point
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12 of corporate spirituality.
00:29:13 --> 00:29:13 God
00:29:13 --> 00:29:15 comes to us
00:29:15 --> 00:29:16 as a gathered
00:29:16 --> 00:29:17 people.
00:29:18 --> 00:29:19 He inhabits us
00:29:19 --> 00:29:20 as a gathered
00:29:20 --> 00:29:21 people.
00:29:21 --> 00:29:25 We need to talk
00:29:25 --> 00:29:26 about our prayer life,
00:29:27 --> 00:29:27 what it's like.
00:29:28 --> 00:29:30 We need to talk
00:29:30 --> 00:29:31 about how real God
00:29:31 --> 00:29:32 is in our heart,
00:29:33 --> 00:29:35 what God is teaching
00:29:35 --> 00:29:36 us through the Bible.
00:29:36 --> 00:29:36 The reason why
00:29:36 --> 00:29:37 we don't do that
00:29:37 --> 00:29:39 is either because
00:29:39 --> 00:29:41 we are chronically,
00:29:41 --> 00:29:42 chronically
00:29:42 --> 00:29:44 shy,
00:29:44 --> 00:29:45 which the Spirit
00:29:45 --> 00:29:46 of God can get over,
00:29:46 --> 00:29:47 or because
00:29:47 --> 00:29:48 those things
00:29:48 --> 00:29:48 are actually
00:29:48 --> 00:29:49 not happening.
00:29:51 --> 00:29:51 They're actually
00:29:51 --> 00:29:52 not happening.
00:29:54 --> 00:29:55 In his book,
00:29:55 --> 00:29:56 The Four Loves,
00:29:57 --> 00:29:57 C.S. Lewis
00:29:57 --> 00:29:59 has a chapter
00:29:59 --> 00:30:00 on friendship.
00:30:00 --> 00:30:01 It's a great book.
00:30:01 --> 00:30:01 I'd encourage
00:30:01 --> 00:30:01 you everyone
00:30:01 --> 00:30:02 to read it.
00:30:03 --> 00:30:03 Lewis,
00:30:04 --> 00:30:05 as he was
00:30:05 --> 00:30:06 over a long period
00:30:06 --> 00:30:06 of time,
00:30:07 --> 00:30:07 was one of three
00:30:07 --> 00:30:08 friends.
00:30:08 --> 00:30:10 They were,
00:30:10 --> 00:30:10 if you like,
00:30:10 --> 00:30:12 co-BFFs.
00:30:13 --> 00:30:14 There was Lewis,
00:30:15 --> 00:30:16 there was
00:30:16 --> 00:30:17 Ronald,
00:30:17 --> 00:30:18 and Charles,
00:30:18 --> 00:30:19 three of them,
00:30:19 --> 00:30:20 three of them
00:30:20 --> 00:30:21 co-best friends.
00:30:22 --> 00:30:23 Tragically,
00:30:23 --> 00:30:24 Charles died.
00:30:26 --> 00:30:27 As great
00:30:27 --> 00:30:28 as Lewis
00:30:28 --> 00:30:28 was
00:30:28 --> 00:30:29 about the death
00:30:29 --> 00:30:30 of Charles,
00:30:30 --> 00:30:31 he thought
00:30:31 --> 00:30:32 to himself,
00:30:32 --> 00:30:33 at least
00:30:33 --> 00:30:33 I've got
00:30:33 --> 00:30:34 Ronald.
00:30:35 --> 00:30:37 He assumed
00:30:37 --> 00:30:38 he would
00:30:38 --> 00:30:38 now be
00:30:38 --> 00:30:39 closer to
00:30:39 --> 00:30:40 Ronald
00:30:40 --> 00:30:40 because
00:30:40 --> 00:30:40 there's
00:30:40 --> 00:30:41 just the
00:30:41 --> 00:30:41 two of
00:30:41 --> 00:30:41 them
00:30:41 --> 00:30:41 now.
00:30:42 --> 00:30:43 And
00:30:43 --> 00:30:43 therefore,
00:30:43 --> 00:30:43 he would
00:30:43 --> 00:30:45 get more
00:30:45 --> 00:30:45 of Ronald.
00:30:45 --> 00:30:45 He doesn't
00:30:45 --> 00:30:45 have to
00:30:45 --> 00:30:46 share
00:30:46 --> 00:30:46 Ronald
00:30:46 --> 00:30:47 anymore.
00:30:48 --> 00:30:49 As the
00:30:49 --> 00:30:49 weeks and
00:30:49 --> 00:30:49 the months
00:30:49 --> 00:30:50 went by
00:30:50 --> 00:30:51 after Charles
00:30:51 --> 00:30:51 died,
00:30:52 --> 00:30:53 Lewis
00:30:53 --> 00:30:53 discovered
00:30:53 --> 00:30:55 that this
00:30:55 --> 00:30:56 in fact
00:30:56 --> 00:30:56 wasn't the
00:30:56 --> 00:30:56 case.
00:30:58 --> 00:30:58 He
00:30:58 --> 00:30:59 discovered
00:30:59 --> 00:31:00 he actually
00:31:00 --> 00:31:01 got
00:31:01 --> 00:31:02 less
00:31:02 --> 00:31:03 of
00:31:03 --> 00:31:03 Ronald.
00:31:06 --> 00:31:06 And
00:31:06 --> 00:31:07 he finally
00:31:07 --> 00:31:08 realized
00:31:08 --> 00:31:09 that there
00:31:09 --> 00:31:10 was a
00:31:10 --> 00:31:10 side,
00:31:10 --> 00:31:11 a part
00:31:11 --> 00:31:11 of
00:31:11 --> 00:31:11 Ronald,
00:31:11 --> 00:31:12 a personality
00:31:12 --> 00:31:12 bit of
00:31:12 --> 00:31:13 Ronald,
00:31:13 --> 00:31:14 that he
00:31:14 --> 00:31:15 could not
00:31:15 --> 00:31:16 bring out
00:31:16 --> 00:31:17 of Ronald.
00:31:18 --> 00:31:19 And that
00:31:19 --> 00:31:19 that bit
00:31:19 --> 00:31:19 was now
00:31:19 --> 00:31:20 lost to
00:31:20 --> 00:31:20 him.
00:31:23 --> 00:31:24 He goes
00:31:24 --> 00:31:24 on to
00:31:24 --> 00:31:25 say,
00:31:26 --> 00:31:26 it takes
00:31:26 --> 00:31:28 a community
00:31:28 --> 00:31:29 to really
00:31:29 --> 00:31:30 know a
00:31:30 --> 00:31:31 person.
00:31:31 --> 00:31:33 because
00:31:33 --> 00:31:33 any
00:31:33 --> 00:31:34 individual
00:31:34 --> 00:31:35 is not
00:31:35 --> 00:31:36 enough
00:31:36 --> 00:31:37 to draw
00:31:37 --> 00:31:38 the whole
00:31:38 --> 00:31:39 person
00:31:39 --> 00:31:40 out.
00:31:41 --> 00:31:42 People
00:31:42 --> 00:31:42 are complex,
00:31:43 --> 00:31:43 people are
00:31:43 --> 00:31:43 deep,
00:31:44 --> 00:31:44 and we
00:31:44 --> 00:31:45 cannot know
00:31:45 --> 00:31:46 someone by
00:31:46 --> 00:31:47 ourselves.
00:31:48 --> 00:31:49 We need
00:31:49 --> 00:31:50 a community
00:31:50 --> 00:31:51 to know
00:31:51 --> 00:31:51 them.
00:31:53 --> 00:31:54 And
00:31:54 --> 00:31:54 friends,
00:31:54 --> 00:31:56 it's
00:31:56 --> 00:31:56 the same
00:31:56 --> 00:31:56 with
00:31:56 --> 00:31:57 Jesus.
00:32:01 --> 00:32:02 We
00:32:02 --> 00:32:03 get to
00:32:03 --> 00:32:03 know
00:32:03 --> 00:32:03 Jesus
00:32:03 --> 00:32:04 better
00:32:04 --> 00:32:05 together.
00:32:07 --> 00:32:08 The
00:32:08 --> 00:32:08 deeper you
00:32:08 --> 00:32:09 get into
00:32:09 --> 00:32:09 the spiritual
00:32:09 --> 00:32:10 life of
00:32:10 --> 00:32:10 friends,
00:32:10 --> 00:32:11 the deeper
00:32:11 --> 00:32:11 you get
00:32:11 --> 00:32:11 into
00:32:11 --> 00:32:12 Jesus.
00:32:13 --> 00:32:13 And if
00:32:13 --> 00:32:14 you're not
00:32:14 --> 00:32:14 getting deep
00:32:14 --> 00:32:15 in Jesus,
00:32:16 --> 00:32:16 there's
00:32:16 --> 00:32:18 a connection
00:32:18 --> 00:32:18 there between
00:32:18 --> 00:32:19 how deep
00:32:19 --> 00:32:19 you are
00:32:19 --> 00:32:20 getting into
00:32:20 --> 00:32:20 the spiritual
00:32:20 --> 00:32:21 life of
00:32:21 --> 00:32:21 others.
00:32:21 --> 00:32:21 Jesus.
00:32:23 --> 00:32:24 And the
00:32:24 --> 00:32:25 deeper you
00:32:25 --> 00:32:25 get into
00:32:25 --> 00:32:25 Jesus,
00:32:25 --> 00:32:26 the deeper
00:32:26 --> 00:32:26 your unity
00:32:26 --> 00:32:27 and your
00:32:27 --> 00:32:27 love as a
00:32:27 --> 00:32:28 family.
00:32:28 --> 00:32:29 If you
00:32:29 --> 00:32:29 want to
00:32:29 --> 00:32:30 experience the
00:32:30 --> 00:32:31 surpassing
00:32:31 --> 00:32:31 power of
00:32:31 --> 00:32:32 God in
00:32:32 --> 00:32:32 your life
00:32:32 --> 00:32:33 as Paul
00:32:33 --> 00:32:34 prays for,
00:32:35 --> 00:32:36 you need
00:32:36 --> 00:32:36 to plunge
00:32:36 --> 00:32:37 yourself into
00:32:37 --> 00:32:38 his new
00:32:38 --> 00:32:38 family.
00:32:39 --> 00:32:40 To the
00:32:40 --> 00:32:41 degree that
00:32:41 --> 00:32:41 you serve
00:32:41 --> 00:32:42 your new
00:32:42 --> 00:32:42 family is
00:32:42 --> 00:32:43 the degree
00:32:43 --> 00:32:43 of depth
00:32:43 --> 00:32:44 you will
00:32:44 --> 00:32:44 get into
00:32:44 --> 00:32:46 Jesus and
00:32:46 --> 00:32:46 embrace your
00:32:46 --> 00:32:47 eternal
00:32:47 --> 00:32:48 identity as
00:32:48 --> 00:32:49 members of
00:32:49 --> 00:32:49 his family.
00:32:50 --> 00:32:51 And so as
00:32:51 --> 00:32:51 we look to
00:32:51 --> 00:32:52 the year
00:32:52 --> 00:32:53 ahead and
00:32:53 --> 00:32:54 throw ourselves
00:32:54 --> 00:32:55 into God's
00:32:55 --> 00:32:56 family in
00:32:56 --> 00:32:56 service of
00:32:56 --> 00:32:57 one another,
00:32:57 --> 00:32:59 may Paul's
00:32:59 --> 00:33:00 prayer in
00:33:00 --> 00:33:01 verse 20 be
00:33:01 --> 00:33:01 our prayer.
00:33:03 --> 00:33:03 Now to
00:33:03 --> 00:33:04 him who
00:33:04 --> 00:33:05 is able to
00:33:05 --> 00:33:06 do immeasurably
00:33:06 --> 00:33:08 more than
00:33:08 --> 00:33:09 all we ask
00:33:09 --> 00:33:10 or imagine
00:33:10 --> 00:33:11 according to
00:33:11 --> 00:33:12 his power
00:33:12 --> 00:33:13 that is work
00:33:13 --> 00:33:14 in us.
00:33:15 --> 00:33:15 Amen.