Title: No Longer Strangers Meta: A stranger is someone who is different, alone, out of place, and doesn't fit. The world is filled with strangers because what truly makes someone strange is being a stranger to God. Christians are no longer strangers because they've been brought near to God through Christ. They can see a face and hear a voice that no one else can see or hear. Christians can also know that they're no longer a stranger because their strangeness is gone. Christ is now real to them in a way that He never was before. They're no longer strangers to Christ because Christ is no longer strange to them, but rather He's glorious and lovely to them. Tags: Tim Conway,Gentiles,believers,strangers 1 00:00:02,311 --> 00:00:08,560 You can turn in your Bibles to Ephesians 2 2 00:00:08,560 --> 00:00:13,524 beginning in verse 11. 3 00:00:13,524 --> 00:00:17,505 "Therefore remember that at one time 4 00:00:17,505 --> 00:00:25,154 you Gentiles in the flesh..." 5 00:00:25,154 --> 00:00:27,166 That would be us. 6 00:00:27,166 --> 00:00:29,206 "...called 'the uncircumcision' 7 00:00:29,206 --> 00:00:35,212 by what is called the circumcision." 8 00:00:35,212 --> 00:00:40,145 Some ancient names. 9 00:00:40,145 --> 00:00:43,652 Perhaps it's still common verbiage 10 00:00:43,652 --> 00:00:45,546 among Orthodox Jews. 11 00:00:45,546 --> 00:00:48,827 I don't know that. 12 00:00:48,827 --> 00:00:53,685 But this was definitely Old Testament 13 00:00:53,685 --> 00:00:55,997 descriptive language. 14 00:00:55,997 --> 00:00:58,024 The uncircumcision - we were called, 15 00:00:58,024 --> 00:01:00,134 "...by what is called the circumcision 16 00:01:00,134 --> 00:01:06,693 which is made in the flesh by hands." 17 00:01:06,693 --> 00:01:10,997 We're talking just about physical realities here. 18 00:01:10,997 --> 00:01:12,444 "...remember that you were," 19 00:01:12,444 --> 00:01:17,256 and here's the spiritual reality. 20 00:01:17,256 --> 00:01:20,688 "...Remember that you were at that time 21 00:01:20,688 --> 00:01:25,271 separated from Christ; 22 00:01:25,271 --> 00:01:28,134 alienated from the commonwealth of Israel 23 00:01:28,134 --> 00:01:30,733 and strangers to the covenants of promise, 24 00:01:30,733 --> 00:01:33,867 having no hope and without God 25 00:01:33,867 --> 00:01:36,987 in the world. 26 00:01:36,987 --> 00:01:41,108 But now, in Christ Jesus, you who once 27 00:01:41,108 --> 00:01:44,944 were far off have been brought near 28 00:01:44,944 --> 00:01:48,282 by the blood of Christ. 29 00:01:48,282 --> 00:01:50,554 For He Himself is our peace 30 00:01:50,554 --> 00:01:52,540 who has made us both one and has 31 00:01:52,540 --> 00:01:54,302 broken down in His flesh 32 00:01:54,302 --> 00:01:56,739 the dividing wall of hostility 33 00:01:56,739 --> 00:01:58,821 by abolishing the law of commadments 34 00:01:58,821 --> 00:02:00,979 expressed in ordinances 35 00:02:00,979 --> 00:02:02,595 that He might create in Himself 36 00:02:02,595 --> 00:02:04,240 one new man in place of the two 37 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:05,854 so making peace, 38 00:02:05,854 --> 00:02:07,783 and might reconcile us both to God 39 00:02:07,783 --> 00:02:10,628 in one body through the cross, 40 00:02:10,628 --> 00:02:13,899 thereby killing the hostility. 41 00:02:13,899 --> 00:02:18,018 And He came and preached peace 42 00:02:18,018 --> 00:02:19,721 to you who were far off 43 00:02:19,721 --> 00:02:23,646 and peace to those who were near. 44 00:02:23,646 --> 00:02:26,913 For through Him (through Christ) 45 00:02:26,913 --> 00:02:29,260 we both have access in one Spirit 46 00:02:29,260 --> 00:02:32,820 to the Father. 47 00:02:32,820 --> 00:02:35,744 So then..." 48 00:02:35,744 --> 00:02:37,337 Now you can stop right there. 49 00:02:37,337 --> 00:02:39,943 So then. 50 00:02:39,943 --> 00:02:43,250 Do you feel a shift? 51 00:02:43,250 --> 00:02:45,474 Undoubtedly there was a shift back between 52 00:02:45,474 --> 00:02:47,861 10 and 11. 53 00:02:47,861 --> 00:02:49,713 "Therefore remember..." 54 00:02:49,713 --> 00:02:51,458 There was an obvious shift. 55 00:02:51,458 --> 00:02:53,578 And if you read the whole chapter, 56 00:02:53,578 --> 00:02:54,665 you get that feel. 57 00:02:54,665 --> 00:02:56,111 If you read the whole letter, 58 00:02:56,111 --> 00:02:58,557 you get the sense that at v. 11, 59 00:02:58,557 --> 00:03:04,524 he moved over in a different direction. 60 00:03:04,524 --> 00:03:07,083 He had been talking about 61 00:03:07,083 --> 00:03:10,085 our being dead in trespasses and sins 62 00:03:10,085 --> 00:03:13,940 and being made alive together with Christ. 63 00:03:13,940 --> 00:03:15,027 Life with Christ. 64 00:03:15,027 --> 00:03:16,400 Raised up with Christ. 65 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:17,811 Seated with Christ. 66 00:03:17,811 --> 00:03:22,277 Now this workmanship of God - good works. 67 00:03:22,277 --> 00:03:24,453 But then, there's this shift. 68 00:03:24,453 --> 00:03:26,703 And when he shifts in v. 11, 69 00:03:26,703 --> 00:03:29,424 his interest is, it seems, 70 00:03:29,424 --> 00:03:31,264 this is a miracle 71 00:03:31,264 --> 00:03:34,093 that we actually have Gentiles. 72 00:03:34,093 --> 00:03:35,888 This is a mystery 73 00:03:35,888 --> 00:03:38,297 that we have Gentiles among - 74 00:03:38,297 --> 00:03:41,254 not just Jews, but the true Jews - 75 00:03:41,254 --> 00:03:42,409 the saints of God. 76 00:03:42,409 --> 00:03:44,615 How is this? 77 00:03:44,615 --> 00:03:46,042 And that where he shifts. 78 00:03:46,042 --> 00:03:50,958 See, it's another aspect of our salvation. 79 00:03:50,958 --> 00:03:53,634 And he's been building; he's been building. 80 00:03:53,634 --> 00:03:55,512 But you know when you get to v. 19, 81 00:03:55,512 --> 00:03:56,881 "so then..." 82 00:03:56,881 --> 00:03:58,235 Shift. 83 00:03:58,235 --> 00:04:00,333 He's been painting this picture. 84 00:04:00,333 --> 00:04:01,920 And really if you think about it, 85 00:04:01,920 --> 00:04:03,118 I just read it. 86 00:04:03,118 --> 00:04:04,448 I read it kind of monotone. 87 00:04:04,448 --> 00:04:06,567 But there's glory here. 88 00:04:06,567 --> 00:04:08,612 It's like he's painting this picture. 89 00:04:08,612 --> 00:04:10,102 You can imagine the artist. 90 00:04:10,102 --> 00:04:11,586 And you know what he's done? 91 00:04:11,586 --> 00:04:14,248 He's painted this mountain 92 00:04:14,248 --> 00:04:17,100 right up into the clouds. 93 00:04:17,100 --> 00:04:18,765 That's what he did. 94 00:04:18,765 --> 00:04:21,613 When he gets to v. 18 and he talks about 95 00:04:21,613 --> 00:04:23,291 us having access to God, 96 00:04:23,291 --> 00:04:25,147 he's taken this picture of salvation 97 00:04:25,147 --> 00:04:29,440 right up to the very peak: 98 00:04:29,440 --> 00:04:31,600 access to God. 99 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:34,400 Close. 100 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:36,545 I'll tell you. 101 00:04:36,545 --> 00:04:41,232 Close to God. 102 00:04:41,232 --> 00:04:42,567 That's where it is. 103 00:04:42,567 --> 00:04:44,860 God designed us. 104 00:04:44,860 --> 00:04:48,029 God designed us to be worshipers, 105 00:04:48,029 --> 00:04:50,093 and that's why man is always going after 106 00:04:50,093 --> 00:04:51,240 some idol or another, 107 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:53,167 if he's not going after the true God, 108 00:04:53,167 --> 00:04:55,248 because man is a worshiper. 109 00:04:55,248 --> 00:04:57,350 And the thing is, I'll tell you this, 110 00:04:57,350 --> 00:04:59,725 all you have to do is look at somebody 111 00:04:59,725 --> 00:05:02,624 that actually has the Spirit of God; 112 00:05:02,624 --> 00:05:04,811 somebody that is being worked upon by God 113 00:05:04,811 --> 00:05:06,091 whose eyes are opened, 114 00:05:06,091 --> 00:05:07,990 and they behold the Lord. 115 00:05:07,990 --> 00:05:10,008 You will see, they're blown away it. 116 00:05:10,008 --> 00:05:12,296 You will see that there's nothing better. 117 00:05:12,296 --> 00:05:14,915 They love it. They delight in it. 118 00:05:14,915 --> 00:05:16,246 They want it. 119 00:05:16,246 --> 00:05:17,851 You take somebody like Moses. 120 00:05:17,851 --> 00:05:19,110 There's many examples. 121 00:05:19,110 --> 00:05:20,677 Down through history too. 122 00:05:20,677 --> 00:05:22,825 You take somebody like Moses. 123 00:05:22,825 --> 00:05:26,329 They've had glimpses of these things 124 00:05:26,329 --> 00:05:27,612 and what's the desire? 125 00:05:27,612 --> 00:05:29,146 Show me Your glory. 126 00:05:29,146 --> 00:05:31,080 It doesn't get any higher than this. 127 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:33,185 The only reason that this doesn't impress us 128 00:05:33,185 --> 00:05:34,927 as it should is because our hearts 129 00:05:34,927 --> 00:05:37,268 are still too much taken up with idols. 130 00:05:37,268 --> 00:05:38,859 That's the reality, brethren. 131 00:05:38,859 --> 00:05:39,973 I'll tell you what, 132 00:05:39,973 --> 00:05:42,613 if we could have such visions of God 133 00:05:42,613 --> 00:05:47,645 as some in Scripture have seen... 134 00:05:47,645 --> 00:05:54,494 Oh, we would not want anything more than that. 135 00:05:54,494 --> 00:05:57,086 That's what's happening here. 136 00:05:57,086 --> 00:05:59,136 What has happened is, 137 00:05:59,136 --> 00:06:03,168 Paul has brought us in v. 18 138 00:06:03,168 --> 00:06:07,763 to where the mountain doesn't go any higher. 139 00:06:07,763 --> 00:06:14,141 It's having God. It's the Presence. 140 00:06:14,141 --> 00:06:16,312 You put a capital "P" on that. 141 00:06:16,312 --> 00:06:18,693 The Presence. 142 00:06:18,693 --> 00:06:23,438 He's completed his main statement. 143 00:06:23,438 --> 00:06:25,482 And you know the thing about it is, 144 00:06:25,482 --> 00:06:27,301 at least in my Bible, 145 00:06:27,301 --> 00:06:28,563 you know it breaks it up. 146 00:06:28,563 --> 00:06:30,231 Our Bibles oftentimes are not only 147 00:06:30,231 --> 00:06:32,005 broken up into chapters - 148 00:06:32,005 --> 00:06:34,170 which remember the chapter divisions 149 00:06:34,170 --> 00:06:36,744 and even the verse divisions 150 00:06:36,744 --> 00:06:39,494 are man-made. 151 00:06:39,494 --> 00:06:42,146 But v. 18 doesn't fall at the end of a chapter. 152 00:06:42,146 --> 00:06:44,359 It doesn't fall at the beginning of a chapter. 153 00:06:44,359 --> 00:06:46,537 It's just kind of in there in the middle. 154 00:06:46,537 --> 00:06:48,085 I don't know about your Bible, 155 00:06:48,085 --> 00:06:49,549 but I know in mine, 156 00:06:49,549 --> 00:06:51,939 at least the people who put together my Bible, 157 00:06:51,939 --> 00:06:54,388 they didn't highlight it; they didn't underline it; 158 00:06:54,388 --> 00:06:55,610 they didn't italicize it. 159 00:06:55,610 --> 00:06:58,295 There's nothing there that seems to indicate 160 00:06:58,295 --> 00:07:02,542 that it's it. 161 00:07:02,542 --> 00:07:08,850 It's not specifically designated any way. 162 00:07:08,850 --> 00:07:11,251 You can just say, 163 00:07:11,251 --> 00:07:15,811 well yeah, I see it. 164 00:07:15,811 --> 00:07:17,831 We're brought near by the blood of Christ, 165 00:07:17,831 --> 00:07:20,045 and He's removed the obstacles, 166 00:07:20,045 --> 00:07:21,572 and He made us both one, 167 00:07:21,572 --> 00:07:23,572 and He's made peace. 168 00:07:23,572 --> 00:07:25,349 Yeah, we see that. 169 00:07:25,349 --> 00:07:29,714 And we see that He's reconciled us to God 170 00:07:29,714 --> 00:07:31,420 in one body through the cross. 171 00:07:31,420 --> 00:07:33,432 He's killed the hostility. We see that. 172 00:07:33,432 --> 00:07:35,722 And He came and preached peace. Yes, we see that. 173 00:07:35,722 --> 00:07:39,507 We have access to the Father. Yes, we see that. 174 00:07:39,507 --> 00:07:41,233 But you know the question is, 175 00:07:41,233 --> 00:07:44,495 do we really see it? 176 00:07:44,495 --> 00:07:47,995 This is the point of salvation itself. 177 00:07:47,995 --> 00:07:49,904 This is it. 178 00:07:49,904 --> 00:07:51,457 To come before God; 179 00:07:51,457 --> 00:07:54,383 to come into the light; 180 00:07:54,383 --> 00:07:59,949 to be able to draw close; 181 00:07:59,949 --> 00:08:02,003 to have what Moses had; 182 00:08:02,003 --> 00:08:03,899 to see the glory. 183 00:08:03,899 --> 00:08:05,691 And see what happens is 184 00:08:05,691 --> 00:08:07,371 as Paul brings us all the way up 185 00:08:07,371 --> 00:08:09,912 to the climax of this thing... 186 00:08:09,912 --> 00:08:13,202 Bang! He's finished his statement, 187 00:08:13,202 --> 00:08:15,375 and now the shift. 188 00:08:15,375 --> 00:08:17,080 "So then..." 189 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:19,567 Why do you say that? 190 00:08:19,567 --> 00:08:22,972 Well, you say that when you want to say - 191 00:08:22,972 --> 00:08:26,577 after you've said what you want to say, 192 00:08:26,577 --> 00:08:29,389 now you want to sum things up. 193 00:08:29,389 --> 00:08:30,942 "So then..." 194 00:08:30,942 --> 00:08:34,485 if all this is true, what does it all mean? 195 00:08:34,485 --> 00:08:36,422 In light of this - in light of the fact 196 00:08:36,422 --> 00:08:38,724 that all the hostility, all the enmity, 197 00:08:38,724 --> 00:08:41,964 it's gone between the Jewish Christian 198 00:08:41,964 --> 00:08:43,582 and the Gentile Christian. 199 00:08:43,582 --> 00:08:45,400 And even more than that - 200 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:47,467 all the hostility and the emnity 201 00:08:47,467 --> 00:08:49,106 and the obstacles are broken down 202 00:08:49,106 --> 00:08:53,302 between God and both of us. 203 00:08:53,302 --> 00:08:56,220 Reconciled to God. 204 00:08:56,220 --> 00:08:58,114 What does it all mean? 205 00:08:58,114 --> 00:09:01,966 What's the conclusion of the matter? 206 00:09:01,966 --> 00:09:04,445 What then? So then. 207 00:09:04,445 --> 00:09:06,161 That's where we are today - v. 19. 208 00:09:06,161 --> 00:09:10,393 So then... 209 00:09:10,393 --> 00:09:13,998 Here's what it means. 210 00:09:13,998 --> 00:09:23,419 You are no longer strangers and aliens. 211 00:09:23,419 --> 00:09:25,089 And I would just say right there, 212 00:09:25,089 --> 00:09:29,036 if you think about the reality that Jesus Christ said, 213 00:09:29,036 --> 00:09:30,644 speaking of life; 214 00:09:30,644 --> 00:09:33,603 speaking of the narrow way, 215 00:09:33,603 --> 00:09:37,704 the few there be that find it, 216 00:09:37,704 --> 00:09:42,297 you will find that the world is largely 217 00:09:42,297 --> 00:09:46,011 filled with strangers and aliens. 218 00:09:46,011 --> 00:09:49,031 Because you see, what defines somebody truly 219 00:09:49,031 --> 00:09:52,597 as being strange, 220 00:09:52,597 --> 00:09:57,609 is when you're a stranger to God. 221 00:09:57,609 --> 00:10:03,678 You are no longer strangers and aliens. 222 00:10:03,678 --> 00:10:07,154 But, "you are fellow citizens with the saints 223 00:10:07,154 --> 00:10:09,663 and members of the household of God." 224 00:10:09,663 --> 00:10:13,045 Now, you just think with me 225 00:10:13,045 --> 00:10:16,696 about those two words. 226 00:10:16,696 --> 00:10:22,388 "You are...." 227 00:10:22,388 --> 00:10:23,802 You see them there? 228 00:10:23,802 --> 00:10:28,933 So then... that's the shift. 229 00:10:28,933 --> 00:10:34,265 That's the conclusion of the matter. 230 00:10:34,265 --> 00:10:35,454 What is it? 231 00:10:35,454 --> 00:10:38,740 You are... 232 00:10:38,740 --> 00:10:44,661 Again, you might say, so what? 233 00:10:44,661 --> 00:10:47,851 You emphasize these things. 234 00:10:47,851 --> 00:10:49,617 What does that mean? 235 00:10:49,617 --> 00:10:51,408 But before you brush over it as being 236 00:10:51,408 --> 00:10:53,454 somewhat insignificant, just think with me 237 00:10:53,454 --> 00:10:56,139 about what's happening here. 238 00:10:56,139 --> 00:11:02,161 One man is saying - 239 00:11:02,161 --> 00:11:04,159 and I recognize the "you" is plural - 240 00:11:04,159 --> 00:11:06,203 he's speaking to the Ephesians. 241 00:11:06,203 --> 00:11:08,417 But basically, let's narrow this down to 242 00:11:08,417 --> 00:11:09,871 what's happening here. 243 00:11:09,871 --> 00:11:18,365 One man is looking at another man 244 00:11:18,365 --> 00:11:23,535 and saying, "you are real." 245 00:11:23,535 --> 00:11:26,189 You are no longer strangers. 246 00:11:26,189 --> 00:11:28,579 You are fellow citizens. 247 00:11:28,579 --> 00:11:32,199 You're Christian. 248 00:11:32,199 --> 00:11:33,585 That's what's happening here. 249 00:11:33,585 --> 00:11:35,874 That's the significance. 250 00:11:35,874 --> 00:11:39,131 You are Christian. 251 00:11:39,131 --> 00:11:41,366 With respect to these Ephesian believers, 252 00:11:41,366 --> 00:11:42,920 Paul looks at them and he says, 253 00:11:42,920 --> 00:11:45,966 I have no doubt; I have no question about it. 254 00:11:45,966 --> 00:11:49,003 You are no longer on the outside. 255 00:11:49,003 --> 00:11:51,419 You are fellow citizens with the saints. 256 00:11:51,419 --> 00:11:54,994 Paul doesn't say that he has hopes that they are. 257 00:11:54,994 --> 00:11:57,878 He doesn't say, well, perhaps 258 00:11:57,878 --> 00:11:59,491 that will be the outcome. 259 00:11:59,491 --> 00:12:01,663 I desire it, but it's somewhat doubtful 260 00:12:01,663 --> 00:12:02,720 or uncertain. 261 00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:04,059 No. 262 00:12:04,059 --> 00:12:07,586 You are no longer this 263 00:12:07,586 --> 00:12:09,994 and you are now this. 264 00:12:09,994 --> 00:12:13,832 And what you are no longer is lost. 265 00:12:13,832 --> 00:12:15,862 You are no longer unbelievers. 266 00:12:15,862 --> 00:12:17,564 You are no longer outside. 267 00:12:17,564 --> 00:12:19,295 You are no longer strangers. 268 00:12:19,295 --> 00:12:20,645 You are no longer aliens. 269 00:12:20,645 --> 00:12:23,151 You are now fellow citizens. 270 00:12:23,151 --> 00:12:24,656 You're in the same country. 271 00:12:24,656 --> 00:12:26,364 You're in the same family. 272 00:12:26,364 --> 00:12:27,766 You've got the same Father. 273 00:12:27,766 --> 00:12:30,964 You do. You are. 274 00:12:30,964 --> 00:12:36,125 It's not being set forth here in question. 275 00:12:36,125 --> 00:12:38,711 Now look, maybe one of the reasons 276 00:12:38,711 --> 00:12:41,663 that this especially jumps out at me so emphatically 277 00:12:41,663 --> 00:12:43,209 is because just this week, 278 00:12:43,209 --> 00:12:47,670 Ruby and I met with a man and a woman. 279 00:12:47,670 --> 00:12:49,071 Husband and wife. 280 00:12:49,071 --> 00:12:51,880 And the wife asked, 281 00:12:51,880 --> 00:12:55,649 is it possible to affirm 282 00:12:55,649 --> 00:13:01,895 somebody's Christianity in this life? 283 00:13:01,895 --> 00:13:04,351 Now you know why she was asking that? 284 00:13:04,351 --> 00:13:05,761 She was asking that because 285 00:13:05,761 --> 00:13:07,897 her husband had been telling her 286 00:13:07,897 --> 00:13:12,779 that he could not affirm his wife's Christianity 287 00:13:12,779 --> 00:13:18,217 until the end. 288 00:13:18,217 --> 00:13:19,879 What do you think of that? 289 00:13:19,879 --> 00:13:22,818 Now, look, I know there's verses. 290 00:13:22,818 --> 00:13:24,668 Have we heard Jesus say, 291 00:13:24,668 --> 00:13:30,982 the one who endures - 292 00:13:30,982 --> 00:13:32,537 not just for a little while, 293 00:13:32,537 --> 00:13:35,895 to the end, what? 294 00:13:35,895 --> 00:13:38,836 Shall be saved. 295 00:13:38,836 --> 00:13:45,530 Or, we are sharers in Christ, if what? 296 00:13:45,530 --> 00:13:48,159 Kevin what? 297 00:13:48,159 --> 00:13:52,940 We share in Christ if what? 298 00:13:52,940 --> 00:13:54,455 Firm to the end. 299 00:13:54,455 --> 00:13:57,694 Original confidence. 300 00:13:57,694 --> 00:13:59,627 Well, I know there's verses like that. 301 00:13:59,627 --> 00:14:02,314 Unquestionably there are. 302 00:14:02,314 --> 00:14:03,455 But you know what? 303 00:14:03,455 --> 00:14:07,180 Verses and realities like that, 304 00:14:07,180 --> 00:14:08,690 truths like that - 305 00:14:08,690 --> 00:14:10,704 they don't prevent Paul 306 00:14:10,704 --> 00:14:14,687 from talking the way he does, do they? 307 00:14:14,687 --> 00:14:16,766 I'll tell you, you look at Paul's words. 308 00:14:16,766 --> 00:14:20,014 Oftentimes, he looks at people 309 00:14:20,014 --> 00:14:24,544 and he says, "you're sanctified." 310 00:14:24,544 --> 00:14:26,558 "You're the people of God." 311 00:14:26,558 --> 00:14:29,441 "Brother..." Brethren; sister. 312 00:14:29,441 --> 00:14:35,085 That's not specific to men. 313 00:14:35,085 --> 00:14:38,568 That's not gender specific. 314 00:14:38,568 --> 00:14:40,491 Sometimes we'll get preachers that say, 315 00:14:40,491 --> 00:14:44,799 "brothers." 316 00:14:44,799 --> 00:14:47,028 They're doing that because - 317 00:14:47,028 --> 00:14:51,688 that's just bad that the ESV does that. 318 00:14:51,688 --> 00:14:54,234 At least say, "brethren." 319 00:14:54,234 --> 00:14:57,180 You know you hear some of the older saints here 320 00:14:57,180 --> 00:14:58,370 talk that way. 321 00:14:58,370 --> 00:15:07,548 "Brethren." That's more gender non-specific, right? 322 00:15:07,548 --> 00:15:11,484 But brethren, of course, we must endure to the end. 323 00:15:11,484 --> 00:15:12,980 We must. 324 00:15:12,980 --> 00:15:14,649 But though that be altogether true, 325 00:15:14,649 --> 00:15:16,349 Paul can still proclaim 326 00:15:16,349 --> 00:15:19,359 that he has no doubt, no question whatsoever 327 00:15:19,359 --> 00:15:22,258 about whether these folks - these Ephesians 328 00:15:22,258 --> 00:15:23,577 are Christians or not. 329 00:15:23,577 --> 00:15:25,690 Just look at his words - v. 19. 330 00:15:25,690 --> 00:15:28,632 "So then, you are no longer 331 00:15:28,632 --> 00:15:30,147 strangers and aliens. 332 00:15:30,147 --> 00:15:33,468 You are fellow citizens with the saints." 333 00:15:33,468 --> 00:15:37,406 You are no longer what you once were. 334 00:15:37,406 --> 00:15:41,503 You now are what you once were not. 335 00:15:41,503 --> 00:15:43,318 He's affirming the reality 336 00:15:43,318 --> 00:15:45,187 before they've lived their lives fully 337 00:15:45,187 --> 00:15:47,279 and completely to the end. 338 00:15:47,279 --> 00:15:50,122 Right? Doesn't Scripture speak like that a lot? 339 00:15:50,122 --> 00:15:51,462 Certainly it does. 340 00:15:51,462 --> 00:15:52,718 It's clear to Paul. 341 00:15:52,718 --> 00:15:54,420 It's obvious to Paul 342 00:15:54,420 --> 00:15:56,611 what the state of these Ephesians is. 343 00:15:56,611 --> 00:15:57,737 It's real to him. 344 00:15:57,737 --> 00:15:59,941 You are fellow citizens 345 00:15:59,941 --> 00:16:02,470 with the people of God. 346 00:16:02,470 --> 00:16:03,798 And I would ask this: 347 00:16:03,798 --> 00:16:07,677 how can Paul know that? 348 00:16:07,677 --> 00:16:09,169 How does he know that? 349 00:16:09,169 --> 00:16:10,371 Now somebody may say, 350 00:16:10,371 --> 00:16:12,219 wait a second, he was an apostle. 351 00:16:12,219 --> 00:16:14,740 He was inspired. 352 00:16:14,740 --> 00:16:16,152 What are you talking about? 353 00:16:16,152 --> 00:16:18,625 He had supernatural revelation. 354 00:16:18,625 --> 00:16:19,736 Just like Jesus did. 355 00:16:19,736 --> 00:16:23,987 Jesus knew what was in every man's heart. 356 00:16:23,987 --> 00:16:27,130 Jesus knew what people thought. 357 00:16:27,130 --> 00:16:30,340 You don't want to think that about Paul. 358 00:16:30,340 --> 00:16:32,789 That's not the issue. 359 00:16:32,789 --> 00:16:34,361 It's not like the Spirit of God 360 00:16:34,361 --> 00:16:35,968 gave him some secret revelation 361 00:16:35,968 --> 00:16:38,864 that the Ephesians were genuine. 362 00:16:38,864 --> 00:16:41,097 Now, look, it's true he was inspired. 363 00:16:41,097 --> 00:16:43,294 But he doesn't know them to be Christian 364 00:16:43,294 --> 00:16:45,691 because of some secret revelation. 365 00:16:45,691 --> 00:16:47,849 You say, how do you know that? 366 00:16:47,849 --> 00:16:49,632 Were you there? Did you talk to Paul? 367 00:16:49,632 --> 00:16:54,302 Well, I know that based on the way Paul talks. 368 00:16:54,302 --> 00:16:55,816 You say, what do you mean? 369 00:16:55,816 --> 00:16:57,748 Just turn over to 1 Thessalonians. 370 00:16:57,748 --> 00:17:01,046 I want to show you what I mean. 371 00:17:01,046 --> 00:17:02,648 The reality is Paul didn't have 372 00:17:02,648 --> 00:17:06,678 some secret knowledge that you and I don't have. 373 00:17:06,678 --> 00:17:08,091 When he looked at people 374 00:17:08,091 --> 00:17:10,766 and he affirmed their Christianity, 375 00:17:10,766 --> 00:17:14,902 it's because of his ability to observe 376 00:17:14,902 --> 00:17:18,668 the very same things you and I can observe. 377 00:17:18,668 --> 00:17:20,273 It's evidence. 378 00:17:20,273 --> 00:17:21,733 That's the issue. 379 00:17:21,733 --> 00:17:27,841 1 Thessalonians 1:4 380 00:17:27,841 --> 00:17:30,367 Now, this is the Thessalonian church, 381 00:17:30,367 --> 00:17:32,127 not the Ephesian church, 382 00:17:32,127 --> 00:17:37,391 but the reality is here. 383 00:17:37,391 --> 00:17:40,456 V. 4, "We know brothers..." 384 00:17:40,456 --> 00:17:44,543 There it is - that dreaded "brothers." 385 00:17:44,543 --> 00:17:47,036 (incomplete thought) 386 00:17:47,036 --> 00:17:48,971 "For we know, brothers..." 387 00:17:48,971 --> 00:17:50,738 Do you like that sisters? 388 00:17:50,738 --> 00:17:52,716 All the men at Thessalonica 389 00:17:52,716 --> 00:17:54,618 were certainly in. 390 00:17:54,618 --> 00:17:59,568 The sisters were pretty questionable. 391 00:17:59,568 --> 00:18:03,371 Now, I know the ESV footnotes that, 392 00:18:03,371 --> 00:18:06,213 but that's a wretched footnote. 393 00:18:06,213 --> 00:18:10,037 It really is. It's just bad. 394 00:18:10,037 --> 00:18:11,327 "For we know..." 395 00:18:11,327 --> 00:18:13,625 But aside from that, just ignore that. 396 00:18:13,625 --> 00:18:15,261 But look what he's doing here. 397 00:18:15,261 --> 00:18:17,215 "...we know." 398 00:18:17,215 --> 00:18:19,035 See, he's doing the same kind of thing 399 00:18:19,035 --> 00:18:19,986 to these folks. 400 00:18:19,986 --> 00:18:21,117 "We know." 401 00:18:21,117 --> 00:18:23,126 What do you know, Paul? 402 00:18:23,126 --> 00:18:25,146 "We know, brothers loved by God, 403 00:18:25,146 --> 00:18:28,170 that God has chosen you." 404 00:18:28,170 --> 00:18:29,601 Seriously? 405 00:18:29,601 --> 00:18:32,016 Again, secret revelation? 406 00:18:32,016 --> 00:18:33,659 No. 407 00:18:33,659 --> 00:18:35,951 Evidence. 408 00:18:35,951 --> 00:18:39,002 Notice: "...because." 409 00:18:39,002 --> 00:18:40,789 You see, there's a reason? 410 00:18:40,789 --> 00:18:42,884 What's the reason? 411 00:18:42,884 --> 00:18:44,518 Because something has happened 412 00:18:44,518 --> 00:18:45,883 that is observable. 413 00:18:45,883 --> 00:18:46,940 What's observable? 414 00:18:46,940 --> 00:18:51,389 "Our Gospel came to you not only in word..." 415 00:18:51,389 --> 00:18:55,110 What he means is we didn't just preach to you, 416 00:18:55,110 --> 00:18:57,240 but when we preached to you, 417 00:18:57,240 --> 00:19:00,791 something happened. 418 00:19:00,791 --> 00:19:04,071 It came in the power and in the Holy Spirit... 419 00:19:04,071 --> 00:19:05,924 You guys came under conviction 420 00:19:05,924 --> 00:19:07,749 when we preached that Gospel to you. 421 00:19:07,749 --> 00:19:08,811 Something happened. 422 00:19:08,811 --> 00:19:11,258 The Holy Spirit was active. 423 00:19:11,258 --> 00:19:13,423 Notice this - v. 6. 424 00:19:13,423 --> 00:19:15,827 "You became imitators of us." 425 00:19:15,827 --> 00:19:17,531 Their lives were transformed. 426 00:19:17,531 --> 00:19:19,163 They became like other Christians. 427 00:19:19,163 --> 00:19:21,440 Not only that, "...and of the Lord." 428 00:19:21,440 --> 00:19:23,477 They began to become imitators 429 00:19:23,477 --> 00:19:26,366 of the Lord Jesus Christ. 430 00:19:26,366 --> 00:19:28,411 "You received the Word in much affliction, 431 00:19:28,411 --> 00:19:31,236 with the joy of the Holy Spirit." 432 00:19:31,236 --> 00:19:32,515 There were trials. 433 00:19:32,515 --> 00:19:33,969 You were being persecuted. 434 00:19:33,969 --> 00:19:37,379 And yet, you had joy in the Lord. 435 00:19:37,379 --> 00:19:38,968 "You became an example 436 00:19:38,968 --> 00:19:42,085 to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia." 437 00:19:42,085 --> 00:19:43,796 Jump halfway through v. 8. 438 00:19:43,796 --> 00:19:49,428 "Your faith in God has gone forth everywhere." 439 00:19:49,428 --> 00:19:51,996 Notice about halfway through v. 9 440 00:19:51,996 --> 00:19:53,602 towards the end. 441 00:19:53,602 --> 00:19:55,527 "You turned to God from idols 442 00:19:55,527 --> 00:19:57,870 to serve the living and true God." 443 00:19:57,870 --> 00:19:59,801 Here's the thing. 444 00:19:59,801 --> 00:20:02,655 Can I know someone else's salvation? 445 00:20:02,655 --> 00:20:05,178 Can I know my own? 446 00:20:05,178 --> 00:20:07,097 Look, all you have to do is read 1 John 447 00:20:07,097 --> 00:20:08,755 and you recognize, John is writing 448 00:20:08,755 --> 00:20:12,519 exactly for that purpose, is he not? 449 00:20:12,519 --> 00:20:14,469 So that you might know. 450 00:20:14,469 --> 00:20:16,146 There is a way to know. 451 00:20:16,146 --> 00:20:17,393 How do you know? 452 00:20:17,393 --> 00:20:19,635 You know by the evidence. 453 00:20:19,635 --> 00:20:20,761 Certainly that's it. 454 00:20:20,761 --> 00:20:22,595 How can Paul know that these Ephesians 455 00:20:22,595 --> 00:20:24,106 he's writing to are no longer 456 00:20:24,106 --> 00:20:25,646 strangers and aliens, 457 00:20:25,646 --> 00:20:27,954 but are rather fellow citizens with the saints? 458 00:20:27,954 --> 00:20:29,074 How, brethren? 459 00:20:29,074 --> 00:20:30,336 How can Paul know that? 460 00:20:30,336 --> 00:20:31,768 Well, based on the evidence. 461 00:20:31,768 --> 00:20:33,665 What evidence? 462 00:20:33,665 --> 00:20:35,824 Well, you know there might be many 463 00:20:35,824 --> 00:20:39,701 forms of evidence that we would look at. 464 00:20:39,701 --> 00:20:42,116 But I would call us to the evidence 465 00:20:42,116 --> 00:20:47,878 of the very thing that is right before us 466 00:20:47,878 --> 00:20:51,067 of verse 19 of Ephesians 2. 467 00:20:51,067 --> 00:20:58,632 Go back there. 468 00:20:58,632 --> 00:21:08,518 You are no longer strangers and aliens. 469 00:21:08,518 --> 00:21:11,626 But can I tell you this? 470 00:21:11,626 --> 00:21:16,393 You no longer are strangers and aliens 471 00:21:16,393 --> 00:21:23,656 if indeed you're no longer strange. 472 00:21:23,656 --> 00:21:26,195 There's evidence right in the very thing 473 00:21:26,195 --> 00:21:29,017 that he brings before us. 474 00:21:29,017 --> 00:21:33,637 I can affirm that a man, woman, or child 475 00:21:33,637 --> 00:21:36,507 are no longer a stranger and alien 476 00:21:36,507 --> 00:21:38,162 among God's people, 477 00:21:38,162 --> 00:21:39,823 if it can be affirmed 478 00:21:39,823 --> 00:21:47,119 that their strangeness is actually gone. 479 00:21:47,119 --> 00:21:49,585 Just think with me about these two words. 480 00:21:49,585 --> 00:21:53,775 Stranger. 481 00:21:53,775 --> 00:21:55,152 What do we do with that? 482 00:21:55,152 --> 00:21:57,016 What's a stranger? 483 00:21:57,016 --> 00:21:58,999 Basically a stranger is a person 484 00:21:58,999 --> 00:22:04,287 who looks around and says, 485 00:22:04,287 --> 00:22:07,156 all these people I'm among, 486 00:22:07,156 --> 00:22:10,815 they're not my own people. 487 00:22:10,815 --> 00:22:14,470 I'm out of place here. 488 00:22:14,470 --> 00:22:19,000 The people, they belong to each other. 489 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:21,694 They're connected. They have ties. 490 00:22:21,694 --> 00:22:23,760 I'm an outsider here. 491 00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:26,629 That's what it is to be a stranger. 492 00:22:26,629 --> 00:22:28,893 All the other people are somehow the same. 493 00:22:28,893 --> 00:22:29,943 Somehow connected. 494 00:22:29,943 --> 00:22:31,626 The stranger's different. 495 00:22:31,626 --> 00:22:33,723 The stranger is an outsider. 496 00:22:33,723 --> 00:22:36,863 Or how about the idea of alien. 497 00:22:36,863 --> 00:22:38,871 You know, I know the KJV, the New KJV 498 00:22:38,871 --> 00:22:40,199 uses the term foreigner, 499 00:22:40,199 --> 00:22:43,445 but don't you like the word alien? 500 00:22:43,445 --> 00:22:45,339 I mean, you think of martians. 501 00:22:45,339 --> 00:22:46,530 You think of monsters. 502 00:22:46,530 --> 00:22:50,394 You think of something so different. 503 00:22:50,394 --> 00:22:51,965 But what's the idea of an alien? 504 00:22:51,965 --> 00:22:55,325 What's the idea of even a foreigner? 505 00:22:55,325 --> 00:23:01,056 Well, again, it's a non-citizen. 506 00:23:01,056 --> 00:23:02,964 Someone who comes into a country, 507 00:23:02,964 --> 00:23:05,218 but they don't belong to that country. 508 00:23:05,218 --> 00:23:10,305 Whether you came from another galaxy, 509 00:23:10,305 --> 00:23:14,536 or whether you came from Canada. 510 00:23:14,536 --> 00:23:17,636 Their citizenship is somewhere else. 511 00:23:17,636 --> 00:23:19,796 Just as a stranger is an outsider, 512 00:23:19,796 --> 00:23:21,477 so it is with an alien. 513 00:23:21,477 --> 00:23:24,296 The alien is an outsider. 514 00:23:24,296 --> 00:23:26,112 There's a certain sense in which 515 00:23:26,112 --> 00:23:28,200 they don't belong. 516 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:32,108 See, this is what I'm saying. 517 00:23:32,108 --> 00:23:35,764 If you're no longer a stranger and an alien, 518 00:23:35,764 --> 00:23:39,155 then the alien-ness, 519 00:23:39,155 --> 00:23:45,468 the strangeness is gone. 520 00:23:45,468 --> 00:23:49,596 If you're still a stranger, 521 00:23:49,596 --> 00:23:54,109 then you can't say you're no longer a stranger. 522 00:23:54,109 --> 00:23:59,056 That's the issue. 523 00:23:59,056 --> 00:24:00,804 That's what he's saying. 524 00:24:00,804 --> 00:24:03,020 You're no longer strangers and aliens. 525 00:24:03,020 --> 00:24:07,467 They were, but something changed. 526 00:24:07,467 --> 00:24:11,770 I was thinking about our sister Ms. Marta. 527 00:24:11,770 --> 00:24:14,729 You know, the reality is 528 00:24:14,729 --> 00:24:18,859 that there used to be something 529 00:24:18,859 --> 00:24:22,838 strange and alien about Marta. 530 00:24:22,838 --> 00:24:24,376 If you looked at her passport, 531 00:24:24,376 --> 00:24:26,753 it has strange color. 532 00:24:26,753 --> 00:24:28,924 Strange flag. 533 00:24:28,924 --> 00:24:30,730 But you know what? 534 00:24:30,730 --> 00:24:34,430 She's no longer a stranger and alien, 535 00:24:34,430 --> 00:24:37,174 because if you actually 536 00:24:37,174 --> 00:24:40,260 look at her passport, 537 00:24:40,260 --> 00:24:42,699 all the strangeness is gone. 538 00:24:42,699 --> 00:24:44,100 The passport's now blue. 539 00:24:44,100 --> 00:24:46,018 You open it up - American flag. 540 00:24:46,018 --> 00:24:48,783 Bald eagle. 541 00:24:48,783 --> 00:24:50,296 She used to be a stranger. 542 00:24:50,296 --> 00:24:51,783 She used to be a foreigner. 543 00:24:51,783 --> 00:24:55,434 No longer. No longer. 544 00:24:55,434 --> 00:24:57,050 But how do we know that? 545 00:24:57,050 --> 00:24:59,143 How do we know it? Because there's proof. 546 00:24:59,143 --> 00:25:01,489 She can produce that passport. It's blue. It's American. 547 00:25:01,489 --> 00:25:03,828 It's U.S. of A. on there. 548 00:25:03,828 --> 00:25:05,606 There's evidence. 549 00:25:05,606 --> 00:25:08,546 And that's the reality. 550 00:25:08,546 --> 00:25:11,580 Evidence. Evidence. 551 00:25:11,580 --> 00:25:13,123 The very same thing is true 552 00:25:13,123 --> 00:25:14,789 in the spiritual realm. 553 00:25:14,789 --> 00:25:17,451 It does no good to affirm 554 00:25:17,451 --> 00:25:19,311 that someone is no longer 555 00:25:19,311 --> 00:25:22,608 a stranger and alien if indeed they are 556 00:25:22,608 --> 00:25:25,043 still cloaked with strangeness 557 00:25:25,043 --> 00:25:27,977 and have all manner of alien qualities. 558 00:25:27,977 --> 00:25:30,317 And you know what the question of the hour is? 559 00:25:30,317 --> 00:25:31,850 The issue is not whether or not 560 00:25:31,850 --> 00:25:33,474 you call yourself a Christian, 561 00:25:33,474 --> 00:25:35,232 carry a Bible. 562 00:25:35,232 --> 00:25:36,741 The issue is this: 563 00:25:36,741 --> 00:25:38,661 Is there a reality 564 00:25:38,661 --> 00:25:41,925 that you belong to the heavenly kingdom; 565 00:25:41,925 --> 00:25:43,169 the heavenly country? 566 00:25:43,169 --> 00:25:45,465 And belong to the household of God? 567 00:25:45,465 --> 00:25:47,563 The question we need to answer is this: 568 00:25:47,563 --> 00:25:51,225 Is this as clear, definite, distinct, 569 00:25:51,225 --> 00:25:53,792 and unmistakable in us 570 00:25:53,792 --> 00:25:57,774 as it was in the Ephesians? 571 00:25:57,774 --> 00:26:00,935 That is a life and death question. 572 00:26:00,935 --> 00:26:02,930 That's an important one. 573 00:26:02,930 --> 00:26:07,353 So, what I want you to do is remember 574 00:26:07,353 --> 00:26:10,335 where v. 19 comes from. 575 00:26:10,335 --> 00:26:17,253 There is a very clear tie with v. 12. 576 00:26:17,253 --> 00:26:19,966 Let your eyes go back there to v. 12. 577 00:26:19,966 --> 00:26:22,955 You see, this is where this comes from. 578 00:26:22,955 --> 00:26:25,492 "Remember that you were at that time 579 00:26:25,492 --> 00:26:27,187 separated from Christ." 580 00:26:27,187 --> 00:26:29,962 Here's our word "alien." 581 00:26:29,962 --> 00:26:31,879 Or foreigner. 582 00:26:31,879 --> 00:26:34,341 "...alienated from the commonwealth of Israel." 583 00:26:34,341 --> 00:26:36,810 Here's our word "stranger." 584 00:26:36,810 --> 00:26:39,401 "...strangers to the covenants of promise, 585 00:26:39,401 --> 00:26:42,242 having no hope and without God in the world." 586 00:26:42,242 --> 00:26:43,962 But you know what? 587 00:26:43,962 --> 00:26:49,224 Paul's freely using synonymous language here. 588 00:26:49,224 --> 00:26:52,719 What I mean by that is when you say 589 00:26:52,719 --> 00:26:55,734 you're without God, 590 00:26:55,734 --> 00:26:59,190 you could also say you're an alien to God. 591 00:26:59,190 --> 00:27:02,636 You're a stranger to God. 592 00:27:02,636 --> 00:27:06,608 When you say "separated from Christ," 593 00:27:06,608 --> 00:27:07,931 you could also say, 594 00:27:07,931 --> 00:27:10,539 "separated from the commonwealth of Israel." 595 00:27:10,539 --> 00:27:14,037 Separated from the promises. 596 00:27:14,037 --> 00:27:16,982 You could also say 597 00:27:16,982 --> 00:27:21,552 you're an alien to Christ. 598 00:27:21,552 --> 00:27:23,782 These are all interchangeable. 599 00:27:23,782 --> 00:27:27,388 The reality is there's a strangeness 600 00:27:27,388 --> 00:27:32,240 and an alien relationship to Christ, 601 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:36,723 to Israel, to the covenants, 602 00:27:36,723 --> 00:27:45,128 to hope, to God the Father. 603 00:27:45,128 --> 00:27:47,932 You see those words: "alienated," "strangers." 604 00:27:47,932 --> 00:27:54,204 That's where Paul is drawing from. 605 00:27:54,204 --> 00:27:56,229 This is what they were. 606 00:27:56,229 --> 00:27:58,662 What they no longer are - it's what they were. 607 00:27:58,662 --> 00:28:01,356 Can you see just how alien, 608 00:28:01,356 --> 00:28:04,289 how strange, how far removed from God? 609 00:28:04,289 --> 00:28:09,229 Do you see what this is saying? 610 00:28:09,229 --> 00:28:14,698 To be a stranger in the greatest sense 611 00:28:14,698 --> 00:28:19,571 is when Christ is a stranger to you. 612 00:28:19,571 --> 00:28:23,515 Savior of the world. 613 00:28:23,515 --> 00:28:27,504 And you know Him not. 614 00:28:27,504 --> 00:28:31,133 Do you know what Scripture says? 615 00:28:31,133 --> 00:28:37,494 He says, "My sheep hear My voice." 616 00:28:37,494 --> 00:28:41,158 Can you imagine what it's like to be deaf 617 00:28:41,158 --> 00:28:43,630 and you're standing in the midst 618 00:28:43,630 --> 00:28:48,653 of a bunch of people who can hear? 619 00:28:48,653 --> 00:28:51,476 You're a stranger. 620 00:28:51,476 --> 00:28:55,225 You come among God's people. 621 00:28:55,225 --> 00:29:01,046 And they can hear a voice you can't hear. 622 00:29:01,046 --> 00:29:03,444 Now listen to me. 623 00:29:03,444 --> 00:29:04,346 Listen to me. 624 00:29:04,346 --> 00:29:06,399 No matter the fact that you're in here 625 00:29:06,399 --> 00:29:09,345 and you're seated among God's people. 626 00:29:09,345 --> 00:29:11,141 I can tell you this. 627 00:29:11,141 --> 00:29:15,181 You're a stranger and an outsider 628 00:29:15,181 --> 00:29:17,323 if you've not heard that voice. 629 00:29:17,323 --> 00:29:20,629 Because Jesus says, "My sheep know My voice." 630 00:29:20,629 --> 00:29:23,871 "My sheep hear My voice." 631 00:29:23,871 --> 00:29:25,872 And you know what Paul talks about? 632 00:29:25,872 --> 00:29:29,375 He talks also about the aroma, 633 00:29:29,375 --> 00:29:31,863 the fragrance of Christ. 634 00:29:31,863 --> 00:29:33,954 Life unto life for some; 635 00:29:33,954 --> 00:29:35,725 death unto death for others. 636 00:29:35,725 --> 00:29:42,296 But the reality is there is a fragrance of Christ. 637 00:29:42,296 --> 00:29:45,363 And the idea is that the redeemed 638 00:29:45,363 --> 00:29:50,611 have smelled life. 639 00:29:50,611 --> 00:29:56,705 Or, Scripture talks about seeing. 640 00:29:56,705 --> 00:29:58,834 Have you ever read in Scripture 641 00:29:58,834 --> 00:30:03,582 about the God who shines in our hearts 642 00:30:03,582 --> 00:30:06,894 to give us a light of the knowledge 643 00:30:06,894 --> 00:30:08,306 of the glory of God 644 00:30:08,306 --> 00:30:10,153 in the face of Jesus Christ? 645 00:30:10,153 --> 00:30:12,661 You see, seeing the glory - 646 00:30:12,661 --> 00:30:14,117 having that revealed to you, 647 00:30:14,117 --> 00:30:16,125 and right there in the same context, 648 00:30:16,125 --> 00:30:19,422 Paul talks about beholding the glory 649 00:30:19,422 --> 00:30:21,050 of the Lord. 650 00:30:21,050 --> 00:30:25,834 And he's talking about what every Christian sees. 651 00:30:25,834 --> 00:30:28,411 Listen. Listen. 652 00:30:28,411 --> 00:30:34,267 Whatever may be true in your life, 653 00:30:34,267 --> 00:30:39,939 it's great to be able to say to people, 654 00:30:39,939 --> 00:30:44,041 you are no longer strangers and aliens. 655 00:30:44,041 --> 00:30:47,472 But I can tell you this, 656 00:30:47,472 --> 00:30:50,984 if you have not heard the sweetness; 657 00:30:50,984 --> 00:30:55,957 the saving sweetness of His voice; 658 00:30:55,957 --> 00:30:58,754 if you have not smelled the sweetness 659 00:30:58,754 --> 00:31:02,495 of the aroma of life in Christ; 660 00:31:02,495 --> 00:31:06,970 if you have not beheld the glory of the Lord 661 00:31:06,970 --> 00:31:13,627 and seen the glory of God in His face, 662 00:31:13,627 --> 00:31:16,712 you are yet a stranger. 663 00:31:16,712 --> 00:31:24,432 You yet have very strange qualities about you. 664 00:31:24,432 --> 00:31:32,499 And that's if Christ is strange to you. 665 00:31:32,499 --> 00:31:35,208 What a terrifying thing 666 00:31:35,208 --> 00:31:40,150 is when you are strange to Him. 667 00:31:40,150 --> 00:31:43,017 Do you remember how He speaks? 668 00:31:43,017 --> 00:31:49,164 "I never knew you." 669 00:31:49,164 --> 00:31:54,082 "Depart from Me you workers of iniquity." 670 00:31:54,082 --> 00:31:58,337 "...You workers of lawlessness." 671 00:31:58,337 --> 00:32:00,362 "I never knew you." 672 00:32:00,362 --> 00:32:03,170 You're a stranger to Him. 673 00:32:03,170 --> 00:32:05,838 Listen. 674 00:32:05,838 --> 00:32:11,971 It doesn't make you no longer stranger and alien, 675 00:32:11,971 --> 00:32:13,532 because you came to church 676 00:32:13,532 --> 00:32:18,870 and you sat among God's people. 677 00:32:18,870 --> 00:32:23,214 If you are yet a worker of lawnessness - 678 00:32:23,214 --> 00:32:26,368 you say, what do you mean? 679 00:32:26,368 --> 00:32:32,571 I mean, you don't have power to overcome sin. 680 00:32:32,571 --> 00:32:34,331 You may have had resolutions. 681 00:32:34,331 --> 00:32:35,895 You may have had determinations, 682 00:32:35,895 --> 00:32:37,655 but the truth is, it's been one year, 683 00:32:37,655 --> 00:32:39,674 two years, three years, five years, 684 00:32:39,674 --> 00:32:43,922 eight years - you still go back to pornography, 685 00:32:43,922 --> 00:32:46,771 like a dog back to vomit. 686 00:32:46,771 --> 00:32:48,595 You've shed some tears over it. 687 00:32:48,595 --> 00:32:49,782 You don't like it. 688 00:32:49,782 --> 00:32:51,687 But you don't have power to overcome. 689 00:32:51,687 --> 00:32:53,683 You are a worker of lawlessness. 690 00:32:53,683 --> 00:32:57,587 And you are a stranger still. 691 00:32:57,587 --> 00:33:00,362 Why? 692 00:33:00,362 --> 00:33:03,085 He Himself bore our own sins 693 00:33:03,085 --> 00:33:07,225 in His body for a reason. 694 00:33:07,225 --> 00:33:09,716 That we might die to sin 695 00:33:09,716 --> 00:33:12,241 and live to righteousness. 696 00:33:12,241 --> 00:33:14,740 That's just a reality. 697 00:33:14,740 --> 00:33:15,962 One new man. 698 00:33:15,962 --> 00:33:17,791 You know what we're going to get to? 699 00:33:17,791 --> 00:33:19,067 That one new man. 700 00:33:19,067 --> 00:33:22,619 That new man is created in the very image; 701 00:33:22,619 --> 00:33:24,802 in the very likeness of God 702 00:33:24,802 --> 00:33:27,241 with true righteousness and holiness. 703 00:33:27,241 --> 00:33:29,338 And here you sit among God's people 704 00:33:29,338 --> 00:33:32,331 and the truth is your life is a deception. 705 00:33:32,331 --> 00:33:33,875 It's a mask and you know it, 706 00:33:33,875 --> 00:33:35,422 because when you're by yourself 707 00:33:35,422 --> 00:33:37,292 or when you're with the guys from work, 708 00:33:37,292 --> 00:33:40,873 or with the guys who don't go to church, 709 00:33:40,873 --> 00:33:42,086 you're at home. 710 00:33:42,086 --> 00:33:44,386 You're not a stranger there. 711 00:33:44,386 --> 00:33:45,741 You're altogether different. 712 00:33:45,741 --> 00:33:47,652 Your life is a deception. 713 00:33:47,652 --> 00:33:49,252 There's covetousness. 714 00:33:49,252 --> 00:33:52,145 There's idolatry. 715 00:33:52,145 --> 00:33:55,677 See, you're still a stranger. 716 00:33:55,677 --> 00:34:00,452 There's still something strange about you. 717 00:34:00,452 --> 00:34:01,956 That's the reality. 718 00:34:01,956 --> 00:34:03,054 "I never knew you." 719 00:34:03,054 --> 00:34:07,017 What terrifying words! 720 00:34:07,017 --> 00:34:10,883 Though you may be actually moral on the outside, 721 00:34:10,883 --> 00:34:16,974 there's this pride. 722 00:34:16,974 --> 00:34:21,563 The secret be known - 723 00:34:21,563 --> 00:34:24,627 you love sin. 724 00:34:24,627 --> 00:34:26,047 Sometimes you hate it. 725 00:34:26,047 --> 00:34:28,208 Sometimes you've been exposed to enough truth 726 00:34:28,208 --> 00:34:30,814 that you know, you don't want it to be true. 727 00:34:30,814 --> 00:34:34,695 You know there's hell coming. 728 00:34:34,695 --> 00:34:36,532 But the truth is, you're uncomfortable 729 00:34:36,532 --> 00:34:39,243 among God's people. 730 00:34:39,243 --> 00:34:43,494 And oftentimes when you hear them talk - 731 00:34:43,494 --> 00:34:44,824 you know how it can be 732 00:34:44,824 --> 00:34:46,336 if you're an outsider, 733 00:34:46,336 --> 00:34:49,401 and you come in like to a family. 734 00:34:49,401 --> 00:34:50,466 And it can be great 735 00:34:50,466 --> 00:34:52,212 and you can have good conversation, 736 00:34:52,212 --> 00:34:53,608 but you know maybe perhaps, 737 00:34:53,608 --> 00:34:55,765 you get around a certain group of people, 738 00:34:55,765 --> 00:34:57,583 and all of a sudden they start talking 739 00:34:57,583 --> 00:35:01,656 in a way that you hear the same words they all hear, 740 00:35:01,656 --> 00:35:04,620 but you know there's kind of a code there. 741 00:35:04,620 --> 00:35:06,430 There's secrets. 742 00:35:06,430 --> 00:35:08,760 They're talking in a way that you hear them, 743 00:35:08,760 --> 00:35:14,878 but it's like they know something you don't know. 744 00:35:14,878 --> 00:35:16,848 You hear God's people. 745 00:35:16,848 --> 00:35:18,260 You watch. You look over. 746 00:35:18,260 --> 00:35:20,068 They're singing some of these songs, 747 00:35:20,068 --> 00:35:22,159 and you see the smile on their face. 748 00:35:22,159 --> 00:35:26,028 It's like what makes these people so happy? 749 00:35:26,028 --> 00:35:28,906 I feel miserable. 750 00:35:28,906 --> 00:35:30,205 You've tried to blend in. 751 00:35:30,205 --> 00:35:31,682 You've tried to be one. 752 00:35:31,682 --> 00:35:33,077 But the truth is, 753 00:35:33,077 --> 00:35:37,108 sin still has a grip in your life. 754 00:35:37,108 --> 00:35:41,239 The truth is talking about hearing His voice 755 00:35:41,239 --> 00:35:45,197 is like what? What is that? 756 00:35:45,197 --> 00:35:46,850 What do they mean? 757 00:35:46,850 --> 00:35:48,909 You've tried to force yourself to believe 758 00:35:48,909 --> 00:35:53,683 it's a reality, but at the end of the day, 759 00:35:53,683 --> 00:35:58,464 you know there's this frustration 760 00:35:58,464 --> 00:36:05,959 because you know you haven't heard it. 761 00:36:05,959 --> 00:36:10,500 You feel like you're on the outside. 762 00:36:10,500 --> 00:36:17,611 There's still something alien and strange about you. 763 00:36:17,611 --> 00:36:19,418 You know what Peter said? 764 00:36:19,418 --> 00:36:24,001 Peter said, "by His wounds you've been healed." 765 00:36:24,001 --> 00:36:26,626 But you know there's still this 766 00:36:26,626 --> 00:36:31,537 oozing sore of the soul; 767 00:36:31,537 --> 00:36:34,893 something unhealed. 768 00:36:34,893 --> 00:36:40,996 And it proves that you're the stranger still. 769 00:36:40,996 --> 00:36:44,363 But you know in all of this, 770 00:36:44,363 --> 00:36:48,440 he actually comes to the end there in v. 12, 771 00:36:48,440 --> 00:36:53,107 and he says, "...without God." 772 00:36:53,107 --> 00:36:56,253 And we know because He spoke about Christ 773 00:36:56,253 --> 00:36:58,334 at the beginning of this list, 774 00:36:58,334 --> 00:37:03,104 that when he speaks about God at the end, 775 00:37:03,104 --> 00:37:07,528 we know He has the Father in mind. 776 00:37:07,528 --> 00:37:11,494 See, when you go to v. 18, 777 00:37:11,494 --> 00:37:13,867 we see the reality. 778 00:37:13,867 --> 00:37:16,374 No more a stranger. 779 00:37:16,374 --> 00:37:17,603 Right? 780 00:37:17,603 --> 00:37:20,997 We have access to God. 781 00:37:20,997 --> 00:37:24,159 No longer a stranger. 782 00:37:24,159 --> 00:37:26,699 No longer on the outside. 783 00:37:26,699 --> 00:37:28,934 No longer homeless and countryless 784 00:37:28,934 --> 00:37:33,170 and promiseless and hopeless. 785 00:37:33,170 --> 00:37:35,864 We have access in one Spirit 786 00:37:35,864 --> 00:37:38,715 to the Father through Christ. 787 00:37:38,715 --> 00:37:42,142 Access to the Father. 788 00:37:42,142 --> 00:37:44,617 It means you're no longer a stranger 789 00:37:44,617 --> 00:37:46,057 to the Father. 790 00:37:46,057 --> 00:37:52,767 Now listen. Listen. 791 00:37:52,767 --> 00:37:57,460 I can remember driving to church one Sunday morning. 792 00:37:57,460 --> 00:38:03,279 I lived about 20 minutes west 793 00:38:03,279 --> 00:38:06,444 of Kalamazoo, Michigan. 794 00:38:06,444 --> 00:38:08,367 The little church building I attended 795 00:38:08,367 --> 00:38:12,071 was just north of Kalamazoo. 796 00:38:12,071 --> 00:38:14,634 And I remember driving. 797 00:38:14,634 --> 00:38:20,054 It was clear and it was cold. 798 00:38:20,054 --> 00:38:22,013 It was crisp. 799 00:38:22,013 --> 00:38:23,332 It was the kind of day, 800 00:38:23,332 --> 00:38:25,017 you just stepped in that snow, 801 00:38:25,017 --> 00:38:28,893 and it just crunched. 802 00:38:28,893 --> 00:38:30,712 And during the night - 803 00:38:30,712 --> 00:38:32,152 it was clear now, 804 00:38:32,152 --> 00:38:33,288 but during the night, 805 00:38:33,288 --> 00:38:35,050 there had been a snow storm, 806 00:38:35,050 --> 00:38:38,125 and I mean everything was covered. 807 00:38:38,125 --> 00:38:40,955 Every limb on the trees. 808 00:38:40,955 --> 00:38:43,957 And it was still. 809 00:38:43,957 --> 00:38:46,092 So there was no wind blowing that snow 810 00:38:46,092 --> 00:38:48,065 off the trees, off the power lines. 811 00:38:48,065 --> 00:38:52,498 Everything was covered. 812 00:38:52,498 --> 00:38:54,681 Now you know what? 813 00:38:54,681 --> 00:38:57,944 There's two kinds of people in this room. 814 00:38:57,944 --> 00:39:00,935 There are those of you that are strangers to that, 815 00:39:00,935 --> 00:39:02,921 and you try to imagine it. 816 00:39:02,921 --> 00:39:05,027 And then there are others. 817 00:39:05,027 --> 00:39:11,132 You know exactly what I'm talking about. 818 00:39:11,132 --> 00:39:16,042 Just like this. 819 00:39:16,042 --> 00:39:17,869 Brethren, before I was converted, 820 00:39:17,869 --> 00:39:20,640 I had no idea what access to God meant. 821 00:39:20,640 --> 00:39:22,331 If you would have told me about it, 822 00:39:22,331 --> 00:39:24,486 just like talking about the snow storm 823 00:39:24,486 --> 00:39:29,950 and everything covered and blazing white. 824 00:39:29,950 --> 00:39:31,853 See if I grew up in Texas all my life 825 00:39:31,853 --> 00:39:34,037 and I'd never been up there and seen it, 826 00:39:34,037 --> 00:39:35,433 I could try to imagine it. 827 00:39:35,433 --> 00:39:37,808 I could try to think about the picture I saw. 828 00:39:37,808 --> 00:39:40,698 But you know, there's no picture in a calendar 829 00:39:40,698 --> 00:39:42,842 that captures it. 830 00:39:42,842 --> 00:39:46,147 Kind of like standing at the mountain range. 831 00:39:46,147 --> 00:39:49,818 A picture doesn't do it. 832 00:39:49,818 --> 00:39:51,310 Twenty-five years of my life, 833 00:39:51,310 --> 00:39:52,999 somebody could have talked about 834 00:39:52,999 --> 00:39:54,564 access to God; 835 00:39:54,564 --> 00:39:55,861 I was a stranger. 836 00:39:55,861 --> 00:39:57,790 I was a foreigner. 837 00:39:57,790 --> 00:40:01,686 I could hear the words, 838 00:40:01,686 --> 00:40:07,137 but I'll get religious one day. 839 00:40:07,137 --> 00:40:09,868 Listen to me. 840 00:40:09,868 --> 00:40:11,865 If your life is simply one of hoping to be 841 00:40:11,865 --> 00:40:15,656 a Christian or trying to be a Christian, 842 00:40:15,656 --> 00:40:20,536 you're still a stranger. 843 00:40:20,536 --> 00:40:22,992 Access to God. 844 00:40:22,992 --> 00:40:25,576 I mean, having the Spirit of God 845 00:40:25,576 --> 00:40:27,705 so speak to your soul: 846 00:40:27,705 --> 00:40:30,018 your sins though they be many, 847 00:40:30,018 --> 00:40:31,477 they're forgiven. 848 00:40:31,477 --> 00:40:32,903 They're washed away. 849 00:40:32,903 --> 00:40:35,485 And there is a sense of God 850 00:40:35,485 --> 00:40:37,648 and a sense of Him in the Word, 851 00:40:37,648 --> 00:40:39,051 and it is breathtaking. 852 00:40:39,051 --> 00:40:40,763 It is awe-inspiring. 853 00:40:40,763 --> 00:40:43,054 You're being confronted by a God 854 00:40:43,054 --> 00:40:44,093 who is holy; 855 00:40:44,093 --> 00:40:45,688 a God who is not small. 856 00:40:45,688 --> 00:40:46,826 He is great. 857 00:40:46,826 --> 00:40:50,030 And it just explodes on you. 858 00:40:50,030 --> 00:40:52,974 And you recognize His Son bears His image. 859 00:40:52,974 --> 00:40:54,679 He's the radiance of His glory. 860 00:40:54,679 --> 00:40:56,862 And Christ is not small anymore either. 861 00:40:56,862 --> 00:40:58,923 And there is this sense of God 862 00:40:58,923 --> 00:41:00,478 that comes in upon you, 863 00:41:00,478 --> 00:41:02,499 and you're bid to come, 864 00:41:02,499 --> 00:41:04,388 and you begin to talk to Him. 865 00:41:04,388 --> 00:41:07,016 Because you know what I read in Scripture? 866 00:41:07,016 --> 00:41:08,708 He gives us His Spirit 867 00:41:08,708 --> 00:41:10,587 and by that Spirit we cry, 868 00:41:10,587 --> 00:41:11,783 "Abba, Father." 869 00:41:11,783 --> 00:41:14,591 See, that is a Spirit-inspired, 870 00:41:14,591 --> 00:41:16,255 a Spirit-compelled - 871 00:41:16,255 --> 00:41:20,208 it's not just I hear intellectually 872 00:41:20,208 --> 00:41:24,774 that Christians should call God 873 00:41:24,774 --> 00:41:26,922 "Abba, Father." 874 00:41:26,922 --> 00:41:29,561 There's something that wells up in me. 875 00:41:29,561 --> 00:41:31,350 He's no longer a fearful terror 876 00:41:31,350 --> 00:41:33,834 that God is going to rip me apart 877 00:41:33,834 --> 00:41:37,202 and throw me into hell for my sins. 878 00:41:37,202 --> 00:41:39,324 He's a Father who's forgiven me 879 00:41:39,324 --> 00:41:41,072 and He bids me to come to Him now. 880 00:41:41,072 --> 00:41:42,621 And He's kind towards me. 881 00:41:42,621 --> 00:41:45,106 He's not dealt with me according to my sins. 882 00:41:45,106 --> 00:41:46,145 And I know it. 883 00:41:46,145 --> 00:41:48,319 And I've experienced it. 884 00:41:48,319 --> 00:41:51,962 And it's real. 885 00:41:51,962 --> 00:41:54,182 We have been given access 886 00:41:54,182 --> 00:41:58,572 though Christ in one Spirit to the Father. 887 00:41:58,572 --> 00:42:01,772 And if that sounds like I'm speaking 888 00:42:01,772 --> 00:42:07,587 Greek or Portuguese, 889 00:42:07,587 --> 00:42:09,590 it's because you're a stranger 890 00:42:09,590 --> 00:42:13,116 and you're from another country. 891 00:42:13,116 --> 00:42:15,393 That's it. 892 00:42:15,393 --> 00:42:20,648 Brethren, you walk into a family. 893 00:42:20,648 --> 00:42:22,351 A husband and wife are talking 894 00:42:22,351 --> 00:42:23,961 and they kind of give each other 895 00:42:23,961 --> 00:42:25,097 a glance of their eyes, 896 00:42:25,097 --> 00:42:27,868 and it's like there's communication going on 897 00:42:27,868 --> 00:42:28,735 in this family. 898 00:42:28,735 --> 00:42:32,945 You just feel like what's happening here? 899 00:42:32,945 --> 00:42:34,690 I feel like I'm an outsider. 900 00:42:34,690 --> 00:42:37,023 Well, it's true. You are. 901 00:42:37,023 --> 00:42:39,424 They know things you don't know. 902 00:42:39,424 --> 00:42:46,733 There's history here. 903 00:42:46,733 --> 00:42:48,983 Have you ever read: 904 00:42:48,983 --> 00:42:53,702 "the secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him." 905 00:42:53,702 --> 00:42:54,750 The secret. 906 00:42:54,750 --> 00:42:57,131 The ESV says, "friendship." 907 00:42:57,131 --> 00:42:59,381 All the other translations, "the secret." 908 00:42:59,381 --> 00:43:01,727 It's for those who fear Him. 909 00:43:01,727 --> 00:43:06,011 There's an intimacy. 910 00:43:06,011 --> 00:43:09,641 Brethren, I remember one time 911 00:43:09,641 --> 00:43:16,207 when I was in an airport in Amsterdam. 912 00:43:16,207 --> 00:43:18,329 And I was in this little coffee cafe 913 00:43:18,329 --> 00:43:20,114 right in the middle of the airport. 914 00:43:20,114 --> 00:43:24,905 And I looked over and I saw a woman. 915 00:43:24,905 --> 00:43:26,955 Her skin was dark. 916 00:43:26,955 --> 00:43:29,401 She had a Bible on her table. 917 00:43:29,401 --> 00:43:32,318 And I went over and I sat down. 918 00:43:32,318 --> 00:43:37,951 And she was from some country in Africa, 919 00:43:37,951 --> 00:43:43,149 and she just lit up with this smile 920 00:43:43,149 --> 00:43:45,139 and we talked about the Lord. 921 00:43:45,139 --> 00:43:47,388 And then I went and flew to Romania 922 00:43:47,388 --> 00:43:50,677 and she went wherever she was going. 923 00:43:50,677 --> 00:43:53,046 It's like there's a connection. 924 00:43:53,046 --> 00:43:56,480 Why? Because we both heard the voice of Christ. 925 00:43:56,480 --> 00:43:58,854 We've both seen His glory. 926 00:43:58,854 --> 00:44:01,562 We've both been let into His secrets. 927 00:44:01,562 --> 00:44:03,923 We're no longer foreigners and strangers. 928 00:44:03,923 --> 00:44:05,392 We're no longer outsiders. 929 00:44:05,392 --> 00:44:07,129 We're among the people of God, 930 00:44:07,129 --> 00:44:08,630 and we have identity there. 931 00:44:08,630 --> 00:44:10,960 And it's been confirmed by the Spirit. 932 00:44:10,960 --> 00:44:13,081 And "Abba, Father" is a reality. 933 00:44:13,081 --> 00:44:14,807 That's the reality. 934 00:44:14,807 --> 00:44:19,024 Do you know what Paul said earlier in this letter? 935 00:44:19,024 --> 00:44:23,154 He said for this reason, I pray for you 936 00:44:23,154 --> 00:44:25,808 that you would know about the hope of your calling 937 00:44:25,808 --> 00:44:28,456 and about the riches of this inheritance 938 00:44:28,456 --> 00:44:30,890 and about the power of God at work in believers. 939 00:44:30,890 --> 00:44:32,938 For this reason. 940 00:44:32,938 --> 00:44:37,104 What? 941 00:44:37,104 --> 00:44:40,996 Because I have seen your faith in the Lord Jesus. 942 00:44:40,996 --> 00:44:42,418 I've heard it. 943 00:44:42,418 --> 00:44:43,798 He didn't say he'd seen it. 944 00:44:43,798 --> 00:44:44,904 He said I've heard it. 945 00:44:44,904 --> 00:44:47,120 I've heard of it. 946 00:44:47,120 --> 00:44:48,745 You trust Christ. 947 00:44:48,745 --> 00:44:50,594 You don't trust other things anymore. 948 00:44:50,594 --> 00:44:53,023 You don't trust your goodness. 949 00:44:53,023 --> 00:44:57,312 I see you're not foreigners anymore. 950 00:44:57,312 --> 00:45:01,791 And your faith works through love. 951 00:45:01,791 --> 00:45:03,960 You have a love toward all the brethren. 952 00:45:03,960 --> 00:45:07,483 It's not just a stale, dead faith. 953 00:45:07,483 --> 00:45:08,668 It works. 954 00:45:08,668 --> 00:45:10,117 And it works through love. 955 00:45:10,117 --> 00:45:11,792 And I've heard of it. 956 00:45:11,792 --> 00:45:16,710 And I know you're the real deal. 957 00:45:16,710 --> 00:45:20,996 Brethren, this is it. 958 00:45:20,996 --> 00:45:23,925 This is it. 959 00:45:23,925 --> 00:45:26,540 If you've heard His voice, 960 00:45:26,540 --> 00:45:28,008 you know what that means. 961 00:45:28,008 --> 00:45:29,492 You have access to Him. 962 00:45:29,492 --> 00:45:30,805 You cry, "Abba, Father." 963 00:45:30,805 --> 00:45:32,332 You know what that means. 964 00:45:32,332 --> 00:45:34,045 You know it. 965 00:45:34,045 --> 00:45:36,004 It's the compulsion of your heart. 966 00:45:36,004 --> 00:45:42,120 You get in trouble: "Father, please help. Help." 967 00:45:42,120 --> 00:45:46,940 I mean, it's there. 968 00:45:46,940 --> 00:45:49,675 You know. 969 00:45:49,675 --> 00:45:52,494 You once were something not like this. 970 00:45:52,494 --> 00:45:54,792 You once did not have a love for the brethren. 971 00:45:54,792 --> 00:45:56,214 You had a love for yourself. 972 00:45:56,214 --> 00:45:58,028 You had a love for your own pleasure, 973 00:45:58,028 --> 00:45:59,196 your own gratification. 974 00:45:59,196 --> 00:46:01,107 That was it. Period. 975 00:46:01,107 --> 00:46:03,916 But now you do have a love towards the brethren. 976 00:46:03,916 --> 00:46:06,043 And your only hope is the Christ 977 00:46:06,043 --> 00:46:07,324 who went to that cross 978 00:46:07,324 --> 00:46:08,867 and you have no other hope. 979 00:46:08,867 --> 00:46:12,437 And if He doesn't save you, you won't be saved. 980 00:46:12,437 --> 00:46:14,519 You know what? 981 00:46:14,519 --> 00:46:19,189 You are no longer stranger and aliens. 982 00:46:19,189 --> 00:46:21,182 Period. 983 00:46:21,182 --> 00:46:22,862 Amen. 984 00:46:22,862 --> 00:46:25,535 You're dismissed.