SERIES RECAP
· Broken Place: Separation from God
· The credibility gap
[Bible Class for Bible Skeptics - gracechurch.us/skeptics]
[Weekend of Service]
· Our role: as ambassadors/priests to our “one” (mention flower walls)
Represent God to your "one"
Represent your "one" to God
· The grand story of redemption
· The heart of our Father
This week, we’re bringing it all back around to us. To our role in all of this. In healing separation from God in our broken world.
Because although we’ve focused a lot on our actions - how we live out the values of our king in this world by what we do - there will come a time to speak. The way the Apostle Peter put it was this:
1 Peter 3:15-16
You must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.
So are you ready? Can you articulate the hope that you have?
Let’s say you dedicate yourself to loving your “one.” You practice grace and generosity and mercy in their lives… you don’t bash them over the head with spiritual stuff, you don’t argue theology with them, you just live like Jesus in their lives…
And now imagine one day they turn to you and say, “Alright, what gives? Why do you love me so much? Why are you so patient with me all the time? Why do you keep showing up when I’m in trouble? I mean, I definitely haven’t earned it… What gives?”
What would you say? Are you ready for that?
ASSESSMENT
Well, that’s not actually just a hypothetical question because many of you have already told us.
Back in August we sent out a spiritual health survey asking you about many different aspects of your faith.
And when it came to the question of “sharing your faith with others,” you told us this one is a bit shaky for you.
Spiritual Health Assessment Results
Do you feel equipped to share your faith with people who do not attend church?
30% do not feel equipped
47% feel only somewhat equipped
[Invite to continue taking survey (esp. 35 and younger – Text “Survey” to 317-316-3271]
So today, I want to begin the process of helping you feel more equipped to share your faith.
And don’t worry. This has nothing to do with learning a bunch of theological facts or ways to win spiritual arguments.
It has everything to do with understanding your own story. Understanding how you went from someone separated from God to someone who is now His living representative on the earth. His ambassador. His royal priest.
What happened? What changed? What’s the story? Because I believe,
Understanding your own story of redemption will prepare you to share that story with others.
So here is what we’re going to do. It’s a little different. I’m going to walk us through a passage from the book of Ephesians in our Bibles.
Ephesians 2
Because in Ephesians 2, the Apostle Paul tells our story of transformation in Jesus. How we came back to God.
And as we go through it, I’m going to give you some space to reflect on how these words have been true of you. [paper, phone notes, etc.]
ONCE YOU WERE DEAD
Before we begin this exercise, I want to pray for us and invite the Holy Spirit to speak.
[PRAY]
Alright, let’s dive in. Here, according to the Apostle Paul, is how our stories began…
Ephesians 2:1-3
Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.
“Once you were dead because of… your many sins.”
This is how Paul starts the story. Now, I want to remind us of what we talked about a couple weeks ago. Remember the flannel graph story?
From the very beginning God intended humans to live in Eden - in his presence. To experience life and abundance and peace and joy and justice… To eat from the tree of life.
But he also gave us the freedom to choose otherwise. To eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and bad. To decide for ourselves what’s best for us.
And that’s exactly what we did. We chose greed and violence and impurity and injustice. We broke the world in our selfishness. What I’m describing is sin and its consequences. I want to remind you:
Sin: our rejection of what God desires for us.
When we reject God’s desires, when we reject Gods offer of life, the consequence is exile. Exile from the garden, exile from His presence, and ultimately, exile from life itself: death.
“Once you were dead because of your sins… (v.3) All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature.”
How has that been true in your life?
Whether there was time you lived completely out of control or whether, like me, you left your life of organized crime and drug dealing and became a Christian at age 3, the patterns of sin and rejecting God’s intentions have woven through all of our lives in some way and separated us from God.
So let’s take some time - listening to the voice of God’s Spirit, look back on verses 1-3 and reflect on these questions:
· How did you used to live as the master of your own universe?
· What lies from the Evil One did you believe about yourself?
· In what ways were you enslaved to your own passions and desires?
· How were you living exiled from the presence of God?
[3 minutes reflection time - underscore]
RAISED FROM THE DEAD
The good news - the very good news - is that the story does not end in verse 3. Let’s keep reading.
“Once you were dead because of your sins…” Separated from God.
Ephesians 2:4-7
But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.
A couple of weeks ago I showed you how God was not content to let humanity stay separated from him forever. He moved into the story, became one of us - Jesus Christ - and opened a way back up to Eden.
A way through death. A way through sin. A way back into the presence of God.
We can return to Eden. Return to God’s blessing and all the things he always intended us to experience. Life, justice, abundance, peace, all of it…
We can now sit with Jesus in the presence of God.
“God is so rich in mercy… He gave us life.”
So now I want you to reflect on these questions:
· How have you come alive because of Christ?
· How has your vantage point on the world changed now that you’re seated with Jesus?
· How is your transformed life an example of the grace and kindness of God?
[3 minutes reflection time - underscore]
GOOD THINGS
“Once you were dead.” Now you are alive.
But here’s the cool part. That’s still not the end of the story. Listen to this:
Ephesians 2:8-10
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
We are God’s masterpiece. He created us with a purpose.
And what is that purpose? It says it right there in verse 10. “To do the good things he planned for us long ago.”
What are those good things? Well, let’s remember… Why did God create humans in the first place? What was our job in Eden?
To be living representatives of God on this earth. To represent his goodness and life and creativity to Creation. And to represent his Creation back to God.
We were created to be royal priests - the mediators between God and his Creation. His masterpiece!
And now we can be that again.
Especially in this broken world. We can live out the values of our king. We can establish justice on the earth. We can provide abundance for those in need. We can demonstrate grace and love and mercy to those who have wronged us. Eden springs up around us!
This is why we are here. The hands and feet of Jesus. The salt of the earth. The light of the world. That’s us!
That’s you. In Jesus this is your purpose. This is your calling. This is your destiny.
Take a moment, and just reflect on all of this. Remember: this isn’t something you’ve done. It’s nothing you’ve earned. This is a gift from our loving God.
· What has changed in your identity now that you understand how God sees you (as his masterpiece)?
· What are some of the “good things” he has given you to do?
· What are you discovering about your purpose/calling/destiny?
Take a few moments and reflect on that.
[3 minutes reflection time - underscore]
CONCLUSION
As I said before, it is important to understand your story of redemption. To understand what has changed in your life now that you can enter into the presence of God. Now that your own separation from God has been healed.
Understand this, so that when “someone asks about your hope as a believer, [you will] always be ready to explain it.”
I encourage you to carve out some time this week to go back and reflect on what you’ve written here. Maybe flesh it out and fill in some details.
And then I want you to practice sharing that story. Tell someone you trust: a family member, a classmate, someone in your Rooted group…
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Understand your story and be ready to share it - that is how we join our Creator in healing separation from God.
In this time of the credibility gap, when people want nothing to do with the Church, you are not going to win people over with clever arguments or judgmental condemnation.
You are going to win them over with the love and mercy of God that is embodied in your life - in your actions - and in your story of transformation.