war and peace. These two seemingly diametrically opposed ideas are more than just the title of told stories. Book that happens to be 1000, 225 pages, one of the longest books ever written, one of which I have not read uh nor plan to just being real. Um but this idea here is that war and peace are two things that are scattered throughout all of world history. Now, I didn't fact check it. So I can't Claim this to be 100% true. But several different resources online noted that when looking through all of the world in all of world history, That there is less than 300 years in our history that are considered times of peace or times without war around the world. And so conflict and war are just a part of life and a part of our history. But what if peace was not just the antithesis to war, but what's also the means through which you can win your war. You see peace at its core means complete, whole restored. It's this idea of coming together but hostility. It's this idea of opposition, opposition or resistance and anxiety is this at its core. It's definition means to be divided or pulled apart from within and over these last two years, I believe we've experienced more division in our community and our nation and our world Than what I've seen in the previous 15, 20 years combined. You take any topic literally any topic and you're going to have people on both sides and many in this room here have experienced many difficulties. whether that's physical challenges. Some are watching online right now because they're walking through some physical challenges. It's difficult. Maybe it's mental. And how do we keep our mental resilience? Maybe it's emotional in relationships or you just feel weary and tired. Maybe it's spiritual, they just feel overwhelmed and exhausted. I wonder how many in this room are watching online right now have experienced hostility towards you because of a stance you took on a particular issue, or maybe you've experienced chaos around you because your life is filled with so many unknown factors. Or maybe you've battled anxiety and you feel pulled apart or pulled in different directions within. Well, I believe God's word gives us a plan for peace and that actually the peace of christ can help you win the war within that, what we need right now is not another program. Another policy. It's not it's not a position or more money or this or that, what we need is the peace of jesus. And so we're gonna take a deep dive in to see what is it about the peace of jesus? And how does it apply to our lives? Because peace is not just the antithesis of our battles, but it's actually the key to winning our battles because it's how you get jesus to fight your battles for you were just saying the battle belongs to our God, what does that look like? What does that mean? We're gonna dive into Ephesians Chapter two Together, we're gonna start off here in Ephesians Chapter two verse 11. But before we do that, you know, it might seem weird to think that piece actually helps you win the war, but you actually need something outside of itself to defeat what is back. For example, martin Luther King Jr put it this way, Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only Light can do that, Hate cannot drive out Hate Only Love can do that. And while war begets war begets war, the reality is what we need is peace to achieve victory in our wars. Now, paul gives us this incredible argument, but also passionate plea to the church in Ephesus. But the value of peace. And so we're gonna read quite a few verses together. And so, to help with that, I want you to succeed the breakdown of this passage. And so I want to show you the structure of of how it's laid out. And if you like to take notes, don't stress that's a lot. On one screen. We're gonna go back through and break this down 1x1. And if you don't take notes, you're like, okay, I'm gonna check out until it goes back to storytelling, but just here's how it lays out. So, you understand the thought process of Paul, Paul had just got done sharing the good news of salvation the gospel that we were dead in our sins and we're made alive in jesus, and you have been saved by grace through faith, and ultimately you are God's workmanship created for good works. And so he shared this great story, but he knows the pushback is coming, and so he addresses it. So, first you're gonna see the problem of peace, then you're gonna see the person of peace in jesus, and then you're gonna see together, we're gonna read together the process of peace. How is it that jesus actually makes peace? And then we're going to see the value of preaching peace, that it is the message of the church, and we're gonna spend most of our time on that last point here, the product of piece of what does it do for christians? How do we get access to it? How should it play into our everyday lives? So let's jump into it here. First, in the past is the problem of peace. He's writing to the church in Ephesus, and he's writing to a mixed audience of jews and gentiles, and really in a religious context, everyone fits with in one of those two categories. So in the old testament, you see God working through the jewish people and the nation of Israel. And when jesus comes in, he doesn't negate the old testament, but instead actually fulfills the old testament. So the old promise, the old covenant then shares with us a new covenant or new promise. So we have old testament, new testament. We have old covenant, new covenant. And so Jesus actually fulfills that and so we have versus like John 316 which says for God, so loved not just the jews but for God, so loved the world. Well paul starts preaching to gentiles. He's writing to gentiles basically means not jewish and there's division amongst these people and he said no, there is need for unity because we are one in christ now we don't experience that same disconnect so much today. But while it was written in the context of we were written in the context of division there when it was written inside of that between jews and gentiles, just think about all the divisions that we face today politically racially and your stance and and you take any issue there's division and what we're going to find is that sin separates but christ connects sin at its core separates people. So it separates people from God, it separates people from each other and it even separates you from the person that you should be. If you want to simplify a definition of sin, just take a look at that middle letter I Sinning is not just missing the mark, but it's when you choose a desire for what you want over what you need and when you do that and you become selfish and you become prideful, you separate from other relationships, you separate even from yourself and you separate from God, but we're gonna see in this passage that jesus connects jesus unites, Jesus conquers the battles of hostility And eliminates anxiety and we're gonna see how he does this. So let's jump into it now, the problem of peace Ephesians chapter two, verse 11 it says therefore, remember I want to pause here for a moment because earlier in these first two chapters in Ephesus paul primarily writes with what are called indicative. These are descriptive statements that describe reality. So when he's saying things like you are a saint, you are blessed, God is great. We are made alive here. He is making descriptive statements. But we get to verse 11 in chapter two and he's flips it and he now gives instead of an indicative statement, he gives an imperative which means, hey, remember do this. It actually gives a command. He says. Therefore, remember that at one time you gentiles were in the flesh called the uncircumcised version by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by the hands. Now circumcision without getting too detailed on that, it's not just a medical thing for infants, but was seen as the sign of the old covenant. And so when he's saying that he's distinguishing between Jews and gentiles. So it continues on verse 12, remember that you were at that time separated from Christ alienated from the Commonwealth of Israel and Strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. So what he's saying here. Hey, before you get too prideful about your new standing with jesus and your new religious righteousness that you think you have that without christ. You are separated alienated strangers in this world with no hope and no God, don't forget that. Don't forget where you came from. Okay. And so then besides this, sharing the problem of peace, why we need peace. He then moves into the person of peace into the person of peace. Here's what it says in Verse 13 and 14, but now paul loves doing this. He loves setting you up and then switching it. You were dead, You were alone, You were lost, you were strangers. You were struggling. You were without hope. But God, he did earlier in the chapter two and he says it here, he says, but now in christ, jesus, you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of christ And I love this. If you have a physical bible underline this phrase, if you have a digital bible with you highlight it, but verse 14, for he himself is our peace. This is so important because jesus is not just a giver of peace, but he is peace. So can you know, peace? Yes, because peace is a person. Peace is the person of jesus in the old testament. And as they prophesy the coming of the messiah in Isaiah 96, jesus is called the Prince of war. No the Prince of peace. So you can have peace. Why? Because you can have and no jesus. It says that who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh, the dividing wall of hostility. So because we have jesus, we no longer have that wall, we no longer have that separation. In fact, when jesus died on the cross, the veil that the curtain to the holy of holies was literally torn, But a 40-foot curtain was torn into giving us direct access to God through Jesus. And so while sin separates Christ connects and so we are connected to each other and it says both as one. So when you're connected to Jesus, you're also connected to one another together. And so we have the problem of peace that the world is divided. We have the person of peace and that is Jesus Christ himself. So then how then does he make peace? We have the process the process of pieces found here verse 15 By abolishing the law of the commandments expressed in the ordinances that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two. So making peace, notice, it says he is peace and in the next verse, he's making peace and then verse 16 here it says and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross. Therefore killing hostility. So peace is not just like he wasn't just a lovable hippie with tie dye shirts going, hey peas, jesus piece. Okay, he actually accomplished the process of making peace was that he killed hostility through self sacrifice. He did not use his power to hold it over someone, but rather to lift lift us up, Jesus came in weakness and died in weakness so that we may be being strong through his piece. How else do you explain the fact that Jesus came in a cradle, died on a cross, but now sits with a crown. He who knew no sin became sin so that we might become righteous. And so it was actually the self sacrifice of his own perfect life for your sake and mind that accomplished the piece. So then this becomes our message. So the next section here, it says then the preaching of peace. So we have the problem, we live in a divided world. Sin separates, but then we have the person of peace. Jesus christ himself, christ connects the process of peace. He accomplished that by sacrificing his body, his life on the cross so that when he rose again, he defeated death. So not even death itself can separate us anymore. And so he accomplishes that. And then that becomes our message, verse 17 it says, and he came and preached peace. So paul directly says he is our peace. He makes peace. And then he, we preach peace. This is the message of the church. How often is the church described as a message of division and hate and judgment. They know our message is connection to christ and it's not based notice here though, it's not based on our preferences. It's not based on perfection. It's not if you if your piece is based on perfection, you will not have peace. If your piece is based on your preferences, What happens when somebody else has opposing preferences? If your pieces based on your position? What happens when you lose that job or your position changes? But our piece is not based on that. It's based on jesus, it says he came and preached peace to you who are far off and peace to those who are near. It's for everybody. And now we get to the heart of our message here, the product of peace. How is it that the peace of christ can help us win the war within? Let's dive into it together here, verse 18 it says for through him we both have access to one spirit to the father. There's our first hint that we have the Holy Spirit and direct access together. This is a Spirit that unifies. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the Saints. There's your identity again and the members of the household of God. We are no longer divided because we have access to God through the spirit and we are one family, one body. It is built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. So it's not throwing out the old testament, but rather it's building upon that, it says that in christ, jesus himself being the cornerstone. I love that picture of Jesus being the cornerstone because cornerstones are are the weight bearing stone and a building. It's the first stone set from which everything else gets alignment and purpose. It is the rock, it is the foundation that bears the weight of the building. So our piece is not based on our preferences. Our piece is not based on the pursuit of perfection, but our peace is built on the foundation of jesus. And if jesus defeated death, then what can separate us from his love? Nothing. You see the disciples experienced peace. Why? Because they had Jesus with them, that's why they could be in storms and the storms are completely surrounding them, like in Mark Chapter four. But they had peace because Jesus was with them. And Jesus has the power to calm storms instantly. That's why Jesus could stand up in a boat after taking a nap and go storm, stop it. He can be what's called rebuking the wind. I mean even the winds and the waves obey him. Death itself obeys him. He created the world by speaking it into existence. That means nothingness obeys the word of God. And so if everything has to fall under his authority and it's not just authority we follow, but it's the cornerstone from which our life is built, then nothing can take your piece from you. This is why it's so valuable. The he is our cornerstone verse 21 in whom the whole structure being joined together grows in the holy temple of the Lord We shared last week that we're excited to launch a new church in 2022. And next week you're gonna hear from craig clock, our church planner and pastor on staff with us, he's gonna be preaching next week and he's going to share his story with you. And so we're going to launch a church called Grafted Church. And the idea of grafted is joined to the promise. And here's the truth is that if you're joined to christ you become joined together. Remember sin separates christ connects anytime you sin, there is a level of separation anytime you sin, you are separating from who you should be, what you should do, what you should have thought something did right or a broken relationship or a broken relationship with God. But in the peace and the power and the promise of jesus, we are connected together. So that means we can have peace even when we struggle because our pieces not based on our struggles, our piece is based on his strength and then we grow together. So now that that temple where the veil was torn. Now we are the temple that means we need each other and that means that we are called to be unified together. So that even when we disagree, we understand that, wow, we disagree on a topic or why we disagree or we have our issues, the fact is is that jesus died for you and if jesus died for you, I'm willing to live for you and we can live for each other and together we will be the body of the building, the temple of God. So then it says verse 22 in him, you are also being built together into a dwelling place for God by the spirit. And so we have this picture of just what God has done and who God is and you know it when you think about the strength of peace and the value of peace, you can see where we are being built together and united with the spirit of God, there's some resiliency there, peace outside of that is not resilient, it's broken pretty easily, it's like the toys you get from happy meals, you know what I'm talking about, like what's the, what's the general timeline from the point? You get the toy and the happy meal to the point, it's either lost or broken at home. It's pretty fast, right? Like a lot of times didn't even make it home right? You get the toy and the kids are like I need, I need, I want I want the toy and you get the toys like this is the greatest thing in the world and two seconds later, where is it? I don't know and we lose it or we have it and it breaks or it works perfectly and you're like, that's it. That's the thing, right? If you have seen that, if you have kids, you know exactly what I'm talking about, right? Like no one has ever said, oh, let me go play with my Mcdonald's toy from last year. No one has ever made that comment, right? They all end up bunched together. And somehow the one place where they have resilience is in like the, the thrift shops because there's always a bag or a basket or something with a whole group of the previous year's Mcdonald's toys together, right? At Savers Goodwill, and you name it, there's always a box like, oh, I don't want this, but somebody will and we donate the Mcdonald's toys, thinking this will make an impact. But okay, anyway, do you know what I'm saying though? Like that's that's the that's the peace the world has to offer. You need this, you need this and we base it off of perfection or we base it off of our preferences are we base it off of fill in the blank and we think we need this thing and he's like no piece that actually changes your life piece that actually sustains you piece that gives you a calm mind, It's based on jesus. So then he's going to transition into chapter three and now he's gonna start talking about himself a little bit and now in Western society we use celebrities to promote products because we believe in what's called aspirational identity. You get an athlete or an actor or an actress. And and they they they show this thing this drink this food, this watch and we think well if that person has it, I need that, right? The worst commercials, if we can just be real here, the worst commercials hands down are like the cologne or perfume commercials. You know what I mean? Like they always have these really attractive people. They're always in like off a cliff or in the ocean or some building with like flowing drapes of curtains, like flowing through, right? It's flowing through. And then like they all stare. No one says a word, they're like, I love it. And then at the end they just say the name of the cologne or perfume and they're like growths Muffat okay, now that's friends for chunky skunk but it's true. So, but it sounds cool right? Like they have this word, it's like, oh I wanna we wanna that I could be that blue steel anyway. If you didn't get that reference, you're more spiritual than me. So if you did were friends and right, like we think. And so paul here now would be the time for him to step in and be like, okay, here's why you should believe this. But he actually does the opposite. He actually is like a reverse spokesperson, he says, I'm the last person that should be telling you about this. And for times sake, we're not going to read verse one, but he says prison who who writes about peace and power when I had everything taken away from me and I'm in prison and I was the most against this idea. And I persecuted people. I was the furthest person from a person of peace that you could possibly be. Which is exactly why I'm sharing this with you because of peace as possible. For me, Peace is possible for you. He's the reverse spokesperson. And like instead of setting the bar high, it's like I'm gonna set the bar as low as possible. And tell you, look, you've got no excuse at this point. Here's what he says. Let's check this out in verse six of Chapter three. And he's talking about how it's a mystery. It's crazy. It's weird. This is even possible. It says this mystery is that gentiles are fellow heirs. So now it's available to everybody, members of the same body and part takers. The promise in christ, jesus through the gospel and of this gospel. I was made a minister according to the gift of God's Grace is the only explanation for this which was given me by the working of his power To me though, I am the very least of all saints. He's like, look, I have every reason not to have peace, but I do because it's not based on my preference on my resume, on my past, it's based on his. And so then he says that this grace was given to preach to the gentiles, the unser chewable riches of christ and to bring to light for everyone. What is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages and God who created all things so that through the church, the manifold wisdom of God might be made known to the rulers and authorities places. Now I want to pause here for a second on this verse because there's this word manifold, that's super cool because in the original language, it's literally translated from a combination of words that says many colors. So it's almost like God is painting a canvas of many colors and that is the church. Do you think of bob bob ross, the artist? You know, we just picture the farro and like today we're gonna do a landscape and like here's the reality that jesus is painting his masterpiece with the church. And if you're not an artist think back to kindergarten days, the crayon box, right? They started out, you start real basic, it's like red, yellow, blue. And as the colors increase, they start getting more creative with the names, right, Crayola got real creative with names. It's like, it's it's fuzzy, wuzzy brown or laser lemon, neon carrot or razzmatazz. These are actual colors and and continue on why because you know, there are so many colors visible to the human eye. You know there's 1000 variations of light dark that we can perceive. There's 100 versions of red, green and 100 versions of yellow, blue And when you multiply those together, that's 10 million color options visible to our eye, but it doesn't stop there because then you throw in the type and the saturation and the mixture of surrounding colors and the variables within each scene and the amount of light let in at the exposure of the eye with the mixture of the colors. So you actually end up with an infinite number of visible colors. So greater than any sunrise or sunset jesus is painting his masterpiece picture with who the church, there is a place for you in God's crayon box. Now you might be broken as with all crayons, but even broken crayons have a place in God's crayon box. Some of you might be thinking, I'm just read, others are like, I'm razzmatazz, OK, whatever color you are in the box, whatever personality gifting strengths, weaknesses, experiences, there is a place for you and together, mixed together, we form the masterpiece the many colors, the manifold wisdom of God, not just to this earth, but notice made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places, that he's painting this for all of the spiritual realm as well. It says verse 11. This was according to the eternal purpose that has realized in christ jesus, Our Lord in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him, he says so I asked you not to lose heart over what I'm suffering for you, which is for your glory. He's saying I'm in prison, I don't have power, but you know what I have, I have peace because my piece is not based on my past, my piece is not based on my present surroundings. My piece is based on the cornerstone of jesus in that piece is able to win the war within. So what do we do with that? I'm gonna give you three options right now. First, the first step to experiencing pieces that you have to receive the peace of jesus into your life. You have to not just know about jesus, but you actually have to pray and trust him as Lord and savior. Do you know Jesus? Not just as a teacher, as a as a person in a book or a lyric in a song, but do you know him as Lord and savior? Because if you don't you're not gonna have that piece 2nd, once you receive the peace of jesus in your life, you have to recognize that I need more peace in my fill in the blank. I can't fill in your blank. I don't know fully what you're walking through. I don't know if it's a physical ailment. If it's a about what depression or anxiety or financial stress or relationship stress or concerns about an unknown future. I'm not sure where you are, but what I do know for sure is that we all have battles and so it helps to recognize to fill in that blank of jesus, I need to give this to you, I need you my cornerstone to fight my battle for me. Because if you give jesus your worries, he gives you his peace. You see that we get to give jesus our problems and then he gets to give us his peace. And he's saying now it doesn't eliminate it right away, but it gives you the strength and courage to walk through it. And then the last is that we have to remember our peace comes from God's power and presence. This is the imperative, this is the command. Remember that our pieces, not from this world. We forget everything, don't we? We do we forget everything. Have you ever gone to the store for one thing? Go to the store and get a whole cart full and forget the one thing you went to the store for, Have you ever just got up to go into the room next to you to get something and you walk into that room and you think yourself, why did I come in here or open the fridge door? Like, oh I was gonna get what did I need? That's how quickly we forget how much more. So when it comes to the anxiety and the chaos around you, do we have to remember that our peace comes from God's power and God's presence. I'm gonna close with this. You know if you've ever done puzzles, you know we'll do not a ton, but you know he should do puzzles with kids. But as with kids and with having a dog we tend to lose stuff for the dog eats a piece or something. Have you ever done a puzzle where you get down to the end and you have a few pieces missing Or maybe one piece missing and it drives you crazy, right? Ah so close. But I have this missing piece, some of you right now watching or in this room our missing piece and that missing piece in your heart and your soul and your mind is literally the peace of christ. I'm going to challenge and encourage you today to receive that, to recognize it. To remember that if crisis for you who can be against you, let's pray dear Heavenly father, we just thank you. We thank you. That even in a world filled with the vision, in a world where we are separated from you where we are separated from each other and sometimes even separated from the person we want to be. It's my prayer that we can come to you because sin separates but christ connects and that God, your piece can help us win the war within And so God we trust you as Lord and savior. We know that our peace doesn't come from our preferences of perfection or positions. But our peace comes from Ur cornerstone because our cornerstone is eternal, so is our peace and it's real and it's living. May you give us comfort and strength and courage to fight our battles Because really you are the one who fights for us that you tore the veil. You gave us access to. You, gave us your spirit. It says, We sing to you our cornerstone, our peace. I pray that we can be changed by that and walk out of here today with the endurance and the passion and the perseverance to live each day, knowing.