Near Now

Ephesians 2:13 | February 23, 2020

What do you do when you are standing in front of a closed door?

Well, you have a few options:

You could just stand there and do nothing.

You could try and open the door.

If there’s a doorbell you could ring it.

You could do what you normally do when you don’t know what to do in life and that is ignore whatever is going on around you and just play candy crush on your phone – especially if you are in a restaurant and then be sure to turn the volume all the way up so that everyone else in the restaurant can hear you playing – yes, I experienced that this past week.

Or you could do what we have trained kids to do for about the last 90 years and that would be to say two words:

Knock, knock.

So, let’s try a few (that you may already know):

Knock knock.

Who's there?

Cow says.

Cow says who?

No, no, a cow says moo.

Knock knock.

Who's there?

A little old lady.

A little old lady who?

Hey, I didn’t know you could yodel!

Knock knock.

Who's there?

Candice.

Candice who?

Candice joke get any worse?

According to Linton Weeks of National Public Radio, it seems the first knock-knock jokes as we know them appeared around the 1920’s, but the precursors started in the late 1800’s with “Do you know?” jokes.

They went like this:

Do you know Arthur?

Arthur who?

Arthurmometer!

Bless their hearts.

Of course, knock, knock jokes don’t magically open closed doors.

So, what can you do?

Someone put it this way:

Unknown

When life closes a door just open it again. It’s a door – that’s how they work.

• But what if you can’t just open it again?
• And what if you can’t break it down?
• And what if you can’t use a secret code?
• And what if you can’t bribe the doorman?

And what if it is not just any old door, but the most important door in your life – the door that brings meaning and purpose to who you are and why you are here – the door that defines how you live on this earth – the door that defines how you die?

That sounds like a different kind of door, right?

What door are we talking about?

Let’s find out.

Listen to Ephesians 2 beginning with verse 12.

The Apostle Paul writes:

12 remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise,

Imagine if you came to church this morning and you were not allowed in this room.

Imagine there were people at the doors with a checklist and if you didn’t have the right clothes on or didn’t have the right color skin or didn’t grow up in this community or didn’t have the right kind of parents or weren’t the right gender or the right age that you would not be allowed in the main room and would have to stay in the back hallway of the church or the foyer at the front of the church.

That is sort of a picture of what the church was like in and around the time of Jesus.

If you were not Jewish, but followed the one, true God, you could go to church, but you had to stay in your own courtyard and couldn’t go beyond that.

If you were a woman, you could go to church, but you had your own area and you couldn’t go beyond that.

If you were a man, you could go to church, but you had your own area and you couldn’t go beyond that.

If you were a priest, it was a little different.

The priest could step in a little deeper into the church, but only on a rotation.

And there weren’t any pews for them to sit on when they stepped in deeper because they were there to stand and serve and worship.

And then one day a year, the High priest could step into the holiest place of all to offer a sacrifice for the sins of the people.  

Now, at first glance it is tempting to think that all of that exclusive separation at church is arrogant and unchristian.

But God established that world.

Why?

Well, as they used to sing on Sesame Street: “One of these things is not like the others!”

It is only by seeing and hearing and discovering separation that you realize you have been separated.

It is only by seeing and hearing and discovering exclusion that you realize you have been excluded.

It is only by seeing and hearing and discovering there is a promise that is strange to you that you realize you are a stranger.

• Are you separated today?
• Are you excluded today?
• Are you a stranger to the promises of Jesus Christ?

We tend to run from the ideas of separation and exclusion today, but they actually help us to understand the very concept of hope.

The Jewish people were saved and separated from the rest of the world to be a light to the world and help people find God.

Sadly though, they often took their salvation and their separation and their exclusion and worshipped those things instead of worshipping God and being a light to others.

Or they did the opposite – they quit living as people who had been separated by God to be a light to the world and just lived like everyone else.

Warren Wiersbe

Religious history is not a record of man starting with many gods and gradually discovering the one true God. Rather, it is the sad story of man knowing the truth about God and deliberately turning away from it!

Warren Wiersbe

Israel was to be a light to the Gentiles that they too might be saved. But sad to say, Israel became like the Gentiles, and the light burned but dimly.

Warren Wiersbe

This fact is a warning to the church today. When the church is least like the world, it does the most for the world.

Christians, we have not been separated through salvation to be arrogantly exclusive and sin against those who do not know God.

Nor have we been separated through salvation to be arrogantly excessive in sin and engaged in the ways of those who do not know God.

We have been separated through salvation to be always exalting the One who has made us no longer separated and no longer excluded and fashioned us to be a light to those who do not know God.

And why should we be that way?

Because we never forget what it means to be separated.

Listen to how Paul describes it:

12 having no hope and without God in the world.

 

• No help
• No happiness
• No blessing
• No light
• No rest
• No peace
• No joy
• No safety
• No salvation
• No hope

Having no hope means there is nothing to look forward to and there is no reason to think that anything in life is ever going to improve or get better.

That is what it means to be without God – to have no hope.

• Are you without hope today?
• Are you without God today?

Friedrich Nietzsche described hope like this:

Friedrich Nietzsche (Freed-rick Knee-chuh, German philosopher)

…the worst of all evils, because it prolongs the torments of man.

His math was off – the worst of all evils is sin.

Why?

Because sin separates us from God.

Sin separates us ultimately and eternally and, in a sense, even temporarily from that which is perfect and good and holy and satisfying – namely God and his truth.

Being separated from God means that ultimately there is nothing to look forward to – there is no hope.

But contrary to Nietzsche’s math, we do not have to live in the torment of a life with no hope.

Listen to what Paul says next:

13 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near

That is the only, ultimate, final, beautiful, satisfying, heart-releasing, mind-healing contrast to evil and torment and horror and terror – being near.

The ultimate answer to evil is being brought near.

• Near to help
• Near to happiness
• Near to blessing
• Near to light
• Near to rest
• Near to peace
• Near to joy
• Near to safety
• Near to salvation
• Near to hope

And the only way to be near to all of those beautiful, glorious realities is by being in Christ.

To be in Christ means:

• You are no longer out in a courtyard
• You are no longer separated
• You are no longer excluded
• You are no longer a stranger
• You are no longer without hope

To be in Christ means:

• You are now rescued
• You are now redeemed
• You are now surrendered
• You are now yielded
• You are now forgiven
• You are now included
• You are now near

Are those things true of your life?

Are you in Christ?

Have you been brought near?

And how is any of that even possible?

Listen to the last part of what Paul says:

13 you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Someone might ask:

• “Why blood?”
• “I don’t want some bloody, gory, religion!”
• “I want something happy and fun and uplifting!”
• “I want a religion that’s relevant for my life.”
• “I want a religion that matches my conservative views.”
• “I want a religion that matches my social concerns.”
• “I want a religion that matches my political ideologies.”
• “I want a religion with traditional hymns.”
• “I want a religion with contemporary music.”
• “I want a religion with programs for my kids.”
• “I want a religion that makes me feel good about myself.”

In a sense you can have whatever kind of religion you want.

Or you can have no religion at all.

But at the end of the day, none of us can ignore blood.

Blood is the central source of life.

If too much blood is shed, life will be lost.

We host a blood drive 3 times a year.

Why?

Because donating blood saves lives.

When Billy Graham was a young preacher a professor from Cornell University reportedly said this to him:

Professor

Son, you’re a good speaker. You speak with authority and clarity. You can go places in the ministry. But I want to suggest you leave out that blood stuff. Don’t speak about the blood. It’s uncultured, uncouth, and you’ll go far, if you’ll leave out the message of the blood.

Billy Graham

I purposed in my heart then to preach on the blood of Jesus more than ever.

Why?

Hebrews 9:22

…without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

Why?

Because money and fame and good vibes and political parties and social causes and sports and religions and vacations and hobbies cannot save lives.

And your family and your friends and kind strangers cannot save your soul with their blood.

Why?

Because only blood that is pure, spotless, sinless, and perfect can forgive the sins of your soul.

The only way to be brought near to God is through the blood of Jesus because only Jesus is pure spotless, sinless and perfect.

The only way to enter through the door of perfect, everlasting hope is through Jesus.

The story is told of an elderly man was in an art gallery and came upon a painting that portrayed Christ on the cross.

He was overwhelmed with how realistic the suffering of Christ appeared in the painting.

He began to weep and staring intensely at the painting he began to whisper out loud, “Bless Him! I love Him! I love Him!"

There were other people in the gallery, and they could hear his passionate whispers and they could see his tears.

One man walked over and began to look at the painting and he too became overwhelmed and turned to the old man and gave him a firm handshake and said, “So do I! I love Him too!”

Another man did the same and for a few moments three men from different churches and different backgrounds were looking at an image of their Savior and with tears in their eyes and love in their words they were sharing their joy together.

Through the blood of Christ, they had been made right with God and they were no longer strangers – they had truly and eternally been brought near.

Message by Dow Welsh |

February 23, 2020 © Holland Avenue Baptist Church 

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Above are pre-sermon manuscript notes, not sermon transcript

Sermon scriptures NASB unless otherwise noted

Lots of help from many pastors and theologians

Weekly help from Bruce Hurt at www.preceptaustin.org

So what do you do when you're standing in front of a closed door? There's a few things you could do. You could do nothing, just kind of stand there and look at it. That's something you could do. You could You could try to open the door and walk through. Do that. If there's a doorbell, you could ring the doorbell and maybe somebody will come. You could do it. What many people do when they're faced with a situation that they're not really sure what to do. They just pull out their smartphones and start playing candy crush. You know, you could do that. And especially if you're in a restaurant, be sure to turn the volume up all the way on your phone so that everybody in the restaurant can hear you playing candy Crush. Yes, I experienced that this week. That's one of the reasons I added it. Or you could do what we have trained kids to do for about the last 90 years. And that's just used to words. Knock, knock. Yeah, we're going to do this. All right? Just we're going to do it. So you may already knows is that's all right. We're just we're going to it. So not not houses. Oh, no houses Move! Not not a little old lady. Hey, I didn't know your could yodel Good job. Fantastic. It's good. I want more. Not not Candis. Can this joke get any worse? Feel free to use those among your friends this week. Fantastic corner, Linton. Weeks of National Public Radio. It seems the first not not jokes as we know them started around the 19 twenties. But the precursor was before the 19 hundreds in the late 18 hundreds, and they were in the form of do you? No jokes, right? Do you know jokes would go like this? Do you know Arthur Arthur, who are thermometer Bless their ancient human, right? I mean, but I mean, it was funny then. So, I mean, I guess that's good about it, You know? Not not. Jokes will not magically open the closed door. We can't just tell a knock, knock joke, and all of a sudden we have entrance to where we are. Someone said when it comes to a closed door, we can always do this when life closes The door just opened it again. It's a door. That's how they work. There's some truth to that. But what if you can't just open the door again? What if you can't break the door down? What if you can't punch in a secret code and get in the door? What if you can't bribe the doorman to get inside? What if it's a completely different scenario? And what if it's not just any door? But it is the most important door in your life? It's the door that helps you discover why you exist, why you're here and your purpose on this earth, the door that helps you discover what it means to be alive and the door that defines what it means to die. That sounds like a pretty important door. So what kind of door are we talking about? Well, let's find out the seasons Chapter two, beginning with verse 12. Apostle Paul writes this. Remember that you were at that time separate from Christ excluded from the Commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the Covenant's of promise. Imagine if you came to church this morning. You were not allowed to come into this main room here. Imagine when you came in whatever door you came in there were people there and they had a checklist. And if you weren't wearing the right clothes or your skin color wasn't the right color or you didn't have the right parents or you didn't have the right background or you didn't grow up in this community, you would not be allowed to come into the main room. You have to stay out in the hallway or stay in the four year in the front of the church in kind of a sort of a way. That's kind of what church looked like in the time of Jesus. In the time of Paul, there's a little different from what we're used to. If you were not Jewish, you were allowed to come to church if you were a follower of God. But you had your own courtyard and you could not go beyond that. If you're a woman, you could come to church, but you had your own place and and you could not go beyond that. If you were a man, you could come to church, but you had your place and you could not go beyond that. The priest were a little different than the priest could go a little deeper into the church, but But they could not go and sit down on a pew and drink some coffee and hang out. Now. There was nowhere for them to sit. If they got deeper in, it's because they were going to serve. They were going to work. They were going to worship. And once a year the high priest he could go into the holiest place of the church and make sacrifices for the sins of the people. Now that sounds a bit strange to us. In fact, we might even say, Man, that sure sounds kind of un Christian. But the reality is that system was established by God. Why? Well, in Sesame Street they used to sing. One of these things is not like the others, and that's the picture that we have here. The picture is is one of separation. See, the reality is it is only by scene and hearing and discovering separation that you will realize that you are separated. It's only by seeing and hearing them discovering exclusion that you will realize that you are excluded. It's only by seeing and hearing and discovering that there are promises that are strange to you that lets you know and realize that you are stranger. So the question is, when it comes to the things of God, are you separated today? Are you excluded? Are you a stranger to the promises of Jesus Christ, the Jewish people? They were saved and rescued for a purpose. We tend to kind of shy away from the words separated and exclusion. They're not exactly politically correct today, but the reality is through. Those words are the only way that we can actually find the ultimate definition of hope. Through the Jews, they were saved and set apart, separated so that they might be a light to the world so that people might be able to find God through them. They were not like the others on purpose, but sadly, they took their separation, their exclusion, their salvation. And they begin to worship those things Maur than they worshipped God. And when they quit worshipping God, they quit becoming a light to the world or they did the opposite. They just blew off that they had been separated, that they ignored that they had been separated and saved and they just started functioning like everybody else in the world around them. Pastor and author warn. Weir's Be Once said, this religious history is not a record of man, starting with many gods and gradually discovering the one true God. Rather don't miss. This is a huge point. History is the sad story of man knowing the truth about God and deliberately turning away from it. He goes home. Israel was to be a light to the gentiles that they too, might be saved. But sad to say, Israel became like the Gentiles and the light burned but dimly. And then he gives this challenge. This fact is a warning to the church today when the church is least like the world, it does the most four the world Christians. We have not been separated in salvation to be arrogantly exclusive in sin toward those who do not know God. Likewise, we have not been separated through salvation to be arrogantly excessive in arson and engaged in the ways of the world. No, we have been separated in salvation so that we would be always exalting the one who made it possible that we're no longer separated. We're no longer excluded, were no longer a stranger to worship the one who is fashioned us to be a light to those who do not know God. Wow, Should we be that way? Why should we be always exalting that way? Here's why. Because we never forget what it means to be separated. This is what Paul said, Verse 12 having no hope and without God in the world, no hope, no help, no happiness, no blessing. The light. No arrests, no peace, no safety, no salvation, Absolutely no hope. I have no hope means that there's nothing to look forward to that have no hope, means there's nothing that's going to improve, its not going to get better. And that's what it means to be without God. It means to have no hope. And so I would ask, Are you without hope today? Are you separated from God? Are you excluded from God? Are you without God today? German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said This about hope. Hope is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man. Hope, he said, is the worst of all evils because it it just promotes and prolongs the torments of man. His math is way off. It's not hope that's the worst evil. It's sin that's the worst. Evil. Why? Because sin separates us from God. Sin by its very nature, ultimately and eternally and in a sense temporarily separates us from all that is good and holy and just and perfect and beautiful. Namely, it separates us from God and his truth. Sin, by its very nature, creates an impossible situation where we are separated from God, where we have nothing to look forward to. And therefore we have no hope, no hope without God. But here's the beauty teaches. Math is wrong. It's It's off. There's a second part to this story. Listen to verse 13 but now, in Christ Jesus you, who formerly were far off have been brought near. This is the Onley ultimate final, beautiful, satisfying heart releasing mind healing contrast to evil hem and terror in this world. To be near God, to be near God is the ultimate answer for all evil to be near, to be near help, to be near happiness, to be near a blessing, to be near light and peace and joy and rest, to be near safety, to be near salvation, to be near hope. All of that happens from being in Christ. All of those beautiful, glorious realities. They all happened from being in Christ. It wasn't me to be in Christ. We'll be in Christ means you're no longer in the courtyard. It means you're no longer separated. You're no longer excluded. You're no longer a stranger. You are no longer without hope to be in. Christ means that you are now rescued. You are now redeemed. You are now surrendered. You are now yielded. You are now forgiven. You are now included. You are now near, you know, near to guy. So are those things true in your life? Are you near to God? Have you been rescued and redeemed His as Christ brought you near? Are you in? Christ? How could something like that even happened? Listen, what Paul says is next? You who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. That's what I'll ask Blood my blood. I don't want some bloody gory religion. I want something happy, uplifting and fun. I want a religion that's relevant for my life. I want a religion that matches up with my conservative ideas. I want a religion that matches up with my moderate ideas. I want a religion that matches up with my liberal ideas. I want a A religion that wraps up and matches up with my social concern in my political ideologies. I want a religion that has traditional music. I want a religion that has contemporary music. I want a religion with suits and ties. I want a religion with skinny jeans. I want a religion with good programs for my kids. I want a religion that helps me feel good about myself. Let me tell you this. You can have whatever religion you won't. There's 100 million churches in South Carolina. My math's a little off there. But do you find somewhere? Go find the religion. You won't. You confined the religion. You won't matter of fact, you can go with no religion. You can find no religion. You confined whatever living religion you won't. But here's the thing you will not be able to do. None of us can escape dealing with the blood. There's no way around it. You see, when there is a a loss of blood, life is lost. Too much blood loss means a life is lost. Blood is central to life. We have three blood drops every year here at Han Avenue. You know why? Because donating blood saves lives. I believe the statistics on our last blood drive a few weeks ago was that our blood drive potentially save the lives of like, 100 and three people, I think was was their statistics. It's a blood. It saves lives. So so put together whatever religion you want to. But you will not be able to run away from the blood. Billy Graham And he was a young preacher was speaking somewhere, and a professor from Cornell University came and said this to him. Son, you're a good speaker. You speak with authority and clarity. You can go places in the ministry. But I want to suggest you leave out that blood stuff. Don't speak about the blood. It's uncultured, uncouth, and you'll go far if you'll leave out the message of the blood. Billy Graham said his mental response to that was this. I purposed in my heart then to preach on the blood of Jesus more than ever. Why? Well, this is how the Bible says it. Papers 9 22 without shedding of blood. There is no forgiveness without shedding of blood. There is no forgiveness. Why? Because money and fame and political parties and hobbies and vacations and anything else you want to put in that list cannot save your soul and your family and your best friends and even kind strangers. Their blood cannot save your soul. Why? Because it's the wrong type. See the Onley type of blood that can make things right with God, the only type of blood that can make everything the way it has to be. The only type of blood that can conquer sin is a blood that is pure and spotless and perfect. And the only person it has blood like that. This juice is no one else. So Jesus becomes the on leeway through his blood. For you to be right with God, Jesus becomes the Onley way to get through the door that matters the most. There is a hope that comes through the blood of Christ. That is not temporary. Although it is for today in our worst moment on this planet, it is the blood of Christ that gives us the hope of our salvation. But it's also not just for today. It is everlasting. An elderly man was standing in a museum gallery. One day he was in the arts section and he was looking at all of these beautiful paintings. And he came to one painting that depicted the crucifixion of Jesus, and he sat staring at this painting in it. It just overwhelmed him. It was so realistic. It captivated him and in a very short amount of time, he just started weeping and he looked up at the painting. He, he whispered, allowed Oh, bless him. I love him. I love him And there were other people there in the gallery, and they could hear him making kind of some loud whispering noises, and they could see that he was weeping and one man, he walked over and he stood next to the man. He looked up and he saw the painting, and he, too, became overwhelmed. And he shook the old man's hand and he said, I I love him, too, and another man came over and he stopped and he looked up at the painting and the exact same thing happened. He became overwhelmed and he to with these men they looked at the painting and they spoke of their love for Jesus, three men from different backgrounds from different churches from from different ways of life. Standing in front of a painting, an image of Christ, an image of his sacrifice and all they could experience was joy together over the love of Jesus in that moment, because of the blood that had rescued, redeemed saved them the blood that had made things right between them and God. In that moment, the three of them sat in a gallery, weeping and praising Jesus because they have been brought near, they had been brought in here.