Sermon – “Tearing Down the Walls”

11 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— 12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of sepa-ration, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordi-nances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.

22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven; 23 and he said: “LORD God of Israel, there is no God in heaven above or on earth below like You, who keep Your covenant and mercy with Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts.

41 “Moreover, concerning a foreigner, who is not of Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for Your name’s sake 42 (for they will hear of Your great name and Your strong hand and Your out-stretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this temple, 43 hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this temple which I have built is called by Your name.

This morning a message out titled tearing down the walls. To be reading from the feet and chapter two verses eleven through eighteen hear the word of the Lord. Therefore remember that you once Gentiles in the flesh who are called on circumcision by what is called the circumcision made in the flesh by hands that at that time you were without Christ be an alien’s from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenant so promise having no hope and without God in the world but now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ amen. For he himself is or peace. He who has made both one has broken down the middle wall of separation having abolished in his flesh the entity that is the law of commandments contained an ordinance is so as to create in himself one new man from the two. Thus making peace in that he might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross thereby putting to death the entity and he came and preach peace to you who were far off and to those who were near. For the four through him. We both have access by one Spirit to the father now therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the Saints and members of the household of God having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone in whom the whole building being fitted together grows into a holy temple when the Lord in whom you also being built together for a dwelling place of God in the spirit. May God at His blessings to the hear in the reading of His Holy Word. You know last week us. How Jesus came to bring a sword. He came to divide. He said it I will divide father and son I would divide mother and daughter I would divide daughter in law from mother in law all those of us as your own household could be your worst enemies. He is going to divide of course then I also clarified that he is going to divide the division is between those who will accept Him those who will believe in Him and those who will not there will be division. You know you think you’ve read reports where there’s been Muslims come in to Christ in accepting Christ by the thousands. I mean some are having visions and dreams and becoming the Christ in accepting him. Well don’t think for a second that those that come to Christ are not rejected by their families. They will be rejected by their family. So he will divide he will divide and that those who believe in Him will surrender their life to him and they may have to be rejected by their families. So there is division. So what better way to follow up a sermon on division all morning when unity. I meant one unity one tearing down the walls to separate us tearing down those walls of division all removing those barriers that we place around ourselves you know sometimes we replay we place invisible barriers around ourselves. There’s many different types of barriers that we can place sometimes. You might have a woman that found that Mr Right and thought that’s going to be the man I’m going to spend the rest of my life with. But he breaks her heart. So she puts a barrier around herself not to trust men any more. There may be a young woman that was mistreated by her father growing up so she puts this barrier around herself not to trust men. There’s so many different types of barriers so many different really. Barriers that we can place around ourselves to try to protect ourselves to keep ourselves from getting hurt. Once again. You know I know some people that it’s even been hurt in a church setting. They’ve had their feelings hurt. So they put this barrier around themselves either don’t go to church or else they go to this kind of there but they don’t get involved. They don’t just kind of stay detached because they put this barrier around themselves trying to protect their emotions so many different ways. Sometimes we put a barrier around their selves against those who don’t think just the way we do or believe just the way we do. They’re not just like us. So we’re going to put this barrier around this. So we have ethical barriers that we put around ourselves we have racial barriers sometimes we put around or selves. There are so many barriers that we could put around ourselves. We need to tear down these barriers because Jesus came to see can save those that were lost. He went in with the young Godly the unholy to preach the truth it is very clear and to the Paul was addressing the Gentiles and verse to verse thirteen he said you who once were far all have been brought nearby the blood of Christ you who were once that’s past tense. They used to be far off but they’re no longer far off. They were far off as in they weren’t permitted to come near and worship God they were permitted to come near to come into the temple more should God it’s not because God will not allow them to come. It’s because of those ethical barriers that the Jewish people placed around themselves in the temple of God One of them to come. God has always wanted all nations to come and worship him. No matter our race where we’re from our stature nothing not nothing matters God wants all nations to come to Him and worship him all the nations that surround it Israel he one of them to come. King Solomon I think understood this I’m going back to Solomon again and you Solomon last week in First Kings Chapter eight verses twenty two and twenty three and forty one through forty three. It says that Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of the assembly of Israel and he spread out his hands toward heaven and he said Lord God of Israel. There is no God in heaven above or earth below like you who keep your covenant and mercy with your servants who walk before you. That walk before you with all their hearts. Moreover concerning a foreigner who is not of your people with Israel but has come from a far country for your name sake for they will hear of your great name and of your strong hand and your outstretched arm. When he comes and prays toward this temple here in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which to foreigner calls to you that all peoples of the earth may know your name in fear you as do your people with Israel and that they may know that this temple which I have bill is called by your name. Solomon said that all peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you. He understood it. He understood the God desired all people calm. But his ancestors or those that come after him put the barriers around keep the gentiles out. Solomon says that a foreigner will hear God’s great name and ask God to answer their prayers hear them an answer. That they may know that this is your temple the very presence of God was in that temple and other. That great temple that magnificent temple built with the best materials. Known to man built with the best artisans available that temple that was overlaid with gold and gleamed in the sunshine gave glory to God that that temple that beautiful temple would be available to everybody everybody could have access to it you know Solomon’s prayers or radical request for his day because the Jews detested the Gentiles they considered them unclean dogs. The Word declares that they many times were called unclean dogs. You know one might expect Solomon to say something like Lord you are our God we serve you and we built this wonderful house for you. Now Pay special attention to us your special people who are your special people. God you love us so much favor us over everyone else and don’t pay any attention to the prayers of those other people who aren’t like us. Didn’t Jesus give an illustration was at the fair Caesar The priest says THANK YOU THANK YOU GOD that I’m not like that sinner over there are no old sinner just Beattie’s breast. Says Lord I’m not worthy but instead Solomon said the opposite. You know he does invoke God’s blessing on the people of Israel but he adds here the prayer of these foreigners to answer their prayers. Let them come near you you know what made Israel different from all the nations around them. Was a God called them to reveal himself to the rest of the nations the real and the reveal him to the world. That’s why he called them and God did give them the covenant the covenant promise he gave the covenant promise to Abraham. To make him the father of a great nation. And a great nation. But they were to bless the other nations not to shun them. You know it’s hard to draw an exact timeline when these two distinct people groups became separated so you know against one another. It’s hard to draw a timeline. Most would say it likely began with Abraham because we know that God called Abraham out of his homeland gave him the ordinance of circumcision to set them apart. So you know that would be a probably most people look at that and say that’s when you had the Gentiles and then you had the Jews. You know it’s evident in our scriptures that that was given to Abraham that truly was the beginning of two separate but was that the beginning of two separate groups. Maybe that we learn in Bible study this week maybe maybe maybe not. There are some who view the separation between Jew and Gentile having occurred all the way back with the descendants of Adam and Eve. According to this view the chosen line of Seth was always separate from the rest of humanity. Therefore Seth descendants were considered Jews. While the rest of humanity was considered Gentiles Now that’s a view. I’m not saying that I agree with that view. But is something to think about but there is one thing that is truly clear that the truth of that line be and pure all the way through from Seth. There’s always been a chosen line of ancestry. It is evident from the Book of Genesis that only gives a genealogy of Seth. Cain is briefly mention but the Bible does. Not mention the other children of Adam and me after Cain and Abel. Only Seth in Genesis three and Adam Adam lived one hundred and thirty years and they got a son in his own likeness and after his image and name and named him Seth Of course that’s after Cain and Abel. After he got Seth the days of Adam were eight hundred years and he had sons and daughters doesn’t name them had other sons and daughters but only name said so all the days of Adam lived all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years and he died. The line of Seth is traced all the way to Noah Genesis five. Then it’s traced to Abraham in Genesis eleven and then to the twelve sons of Jacob in Exodus one and then through the reign of the kings of Judah First and Second Kings. Then he arrived at the time of Jesus the chosen line a set reaches its ultimate goal. The birth of the Messiah in Matthew one. So yes there was always a chosen line and it was through Seth. So was that the beginning of the gentile in the jew something to think about something to search out. Maybe maybe maybe not. So even though we can’t draw an exact timeline of when the Jewish people again to look so one favorably towards the Gentiles in their defense. I will say there were many times in their history that they suffered much persecution much hostility at the hands of the Gentiles. So one could see why they could be so protective and build those barriers. Sometimes those barriers were actual walls that they built to protect themselves but more often though they had that invisible barrier they put around themselves to keep them from. Be unclean by the Gentiles or hidden hostile reaction from the Gentiles. So the hostilities help feed their distain for the gentiles Paul makes five statements that applied to Gentiles. Prior to Christ in verse twelve all making the point that before Christ the Gentiles were outside of God’s kingdom. First he said that they were separate from Christ. You know Christ is not a name but rather it is the title to which the Old Testament throughout the Old Testament the Jews were waiting for the Messiah Christ is simply the New Testament translation for the Messiah. So this phrase simply means that the Gentiles did not share in the Jewish hope of the Messiah who would come to save them they were excluded from citizenship in Israel and decided DIA citizenship is important because when Paul is talking about the church. We are adopted we become citizens. We are citizens of the household of God We are citizens of his family. Citizenship means a want to it has great importance or citizenship as a United States citizen has great importance. It gives us the right the freedom to live here to be here. So those that are of God’s kingdom. We have the right to be there through Christ we gain our citizenship. To what he did we can earn it. But he gives it to us they were foreigners of the covenant of promise he said they were without hope they were without God what a hopeless picture that is. For then back then they thought that everyone that wasn’t a Jew had no hope. But that’s why the next verse was so important. It starts with but. But now. Now it is different because of Jesus but now you have hope they are no longer separate they are no longer excluded they are no longer foreigners. It is a comforting picture the Paul used to describe that you who were far off have now been brought near its language barred from Isaiah and I was a fifty seven nineteen. It says I have seen his way but I will heal him. I will guide him and restore comfort to him creating praise on the lips of the mourners in Israel peace peace to those thoughts are and those near says the Lord I will heal them. We are the gentiles who were formerly excluded. But now because of Jesus shed blood because of the work of the cross we too can come near to God we can say hallelujah. Thank you Father. Thank you that you allowed that blood to be efficient even for the Gentile nations. I hope you can find comfort in that God is not far off. He’s not far off in space somewhere and reflecting on Handel’s Messiah Joseph McCabe wrote Never again are we to look at the stars as we did when we were children and wonder how far it is to God. A being outside of our world would be a spectator look you know on but taking no part in this life. We were to brave these desperate or D’s things in this life without God. What a horrible thing that would be to think that God would be a god who would create and withdraw all from humanity. That would not be true loving god would it. It wouldn’t be a God who could love people. A remote God our God is closer than our problems for they are out there to be faced. But he is here beside us as we face them. He is the man you well God with us in verse fourteen through eighteen it said for he himself is our peace that is Jesus Jesus is our pace who has made both one has broken down the middle wall of separation having abolished in his flesh the end that see that is the law of commandments contained in ordinances. So as to create in him self one new man from the two thus making pace and that he might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross there far. Therefore putting to death the entity and he came and preach peace to you who were far off and to those who were near for through him. We both have access by one Spirit to the father you know he did more than just bring the two together to make the to get along. He did more than that he created in himself one new man from the two. That tells me there is no longer two there is not a Jew and Gentile there is one new man one new woman and that is in Christ. They are made one not two not just getting along they are one we are made one in Christ. That is what this is telling us that is abolish and that wall completely destroying it tearing it down and making us one creating a new person. Wow a new creation in Christ. Amen. Second half of verses fifty sixteen describe why I jes destroyed that barrier. What his purpose was to create that new man. Create that new person in him. Christ tore down the wall he united people. How do we apply that today. What does God’s Word say for us to do. Or their walls that still need to come down. Do we have walls around us that we have walls that are church. Do we have walls in our community or their walls that need to come down that people can be united. Believe that there are the most complete parallel today is a wall between Christians and non Christians there is oftentimes a wall put up between Christians and non christians were so afraid that we might get soiled or you know look bad if we hang out with this non-Christian we don’t want to hang out with them they might influence us now. Yes The in mature Christian could be influenced. But that’s not the case with the mature Christian. The Gentiles were far off and could not experience God we don’t want to keep the non christians far off so they cannot experience God. Trying to get this wrapped around or we want them to come close. We want them to be able to experience God and how else are they going to experience but through the church through the Christians. So we have to tear down that barrier so they can command so they can experience him. No one of the Gentiles could experience God because they wouldn’t be allowed to come in we know what they did with the Gentile area of the temple. That’s what they turned into the marketplace. That’s why. Jesus ever turn the tables and run them out. This is where the Gentiles were supposed to come but you’ve kept them out. We can’t keep the non Christians we can’t keep the world out we have to let them in we have to let them get close with us. So they can see Christ. So they can experience his love experience his forgiveness tear down those walls. Just before his death. Jesus prayed for his disciples in John seventeen he says My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. Jesus himself modeled this he got in there. He got his hands dirty. He touched the lepers he ate at the tax collectors house. And so much of that he was accused of being a glutton he was accused of being a drunkard. He was accused of being a friend of tax collectors. But so what that what. That’s what he came to do. He came to seek and say the laws. How was he going to save them. If he didn’t go to them. How are we going to save them. If we don’t go to them. Jesus tore down that wall between the spiritual and the haven and by his instruction. He commanded us also to tear down the walls between a Christian and a non-Christian there is a classic book on evangelism which picks up on the metaphor Jesus used to make this point the point of us as salt in the world. The book is entitled out of the salt shaker which in Capulets. The idea that as Christians we are called to live in the midst of a sinful world so that sinful world might see the alternative and come to faith in Christ. This is a tough wall to break down it means going outside of our comfort zone and entering into genuine a thing. To relationships with non Christians. It means not having a list of memorized Scripture verses to spout out a well rehearsed testimony or a facet of perfection that makes it appear that as though we have it all together. Because we don’t always have it all together. Do we. We don’t always have to have fourteen vs memorize in our minds to spout out to somebody we don’t always have to share all this great testimony all we have to do is say I was a sinner. I was lost. But Jesus found may. And I said yes the now and say That’s basically all we need to know but we need to go to them. We need to allow them to come in. Whichever way it is but we need to get close to them tell them what Jesus has done for us. We have a savior that’s what sets us apart but we need to share that savior tear down that wall. So they can see. We have a Christ who heals our hurts who works through our weaknesses who will bring us to holiness and we have to share that. As we examine our lives we should look to see if there is any area in our life. That we need to tear down that wall that we have any thing that we’ve put around us that we need to tear down so that reconciliation can take place I can answer that for you. I can only answer that for me in each of you can only answer that for yourself. Do you have anything in your life. That’s God saying you need to tear that down. Think about it from it’s a hard thing to face or shortcoming just a hard thing to face those things that we have you know such a firm. Grap grass born. It’s hard to face the hostilities that we might have towards certain people or certain groups of people. Because God saying you need to let it go. You need to let it go. If he’s talking to your heart. So you need to let this or that go. You need to let it go. It come and give it to him give it to him ask him to help you care that wall down. It might be painful. You might have to take it down one piece one brick at a time but he’ll help you tear down. It will help you overcome any prejudiced or hostilities that you might harbor in here tear down that wall. He’ll help you tear down a man.