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You're listening to audio from Faith Church Indy.  This fall we're studying the book of Ephesians,  learning about the new life that we find in Christ.  Now here's the teaching. Good morning.  I just want to clarify when  my wife Amelia said she read the wrong uh text. It wasn't like  in Greek or Spanish or some heretical Bible. It was just the New King James version. So it didn't sound quite the same. But  let me ask you, what are you  an evangelist for?  If any of you don't know, Aldi  is a smaller, low-cost grocery chain. They keep prices down by mostly offering store brands of items.  You bag your own groceries  and they don't have to pay staff to take the carts back to the grocery store because you take the cart back to the grocery store because to get one you have to put a quarter in the little device on the cart to unlock it and then you have to get your quarter back by returning the cart. Someone introduced us to Aldi  when we were students in seminary and it was a godsend. to find a place that had uh decent food at affordable prices.  Back then it was so cheap,  Aldi did not even take cards, it was cash only.  That was one of the ways they kept prices down.  But we also discovered they have some really good, unique products, like they have seasonal salsas that come out at different times of the year,  they have their own versions of Girl Scout cookies, which frankly are amazing.  Tagalongs and Samoas  and... They're peppermint fo'reos, the fake oreos. They are legitimately the best oreos you can possibly purchase anywhere.  In recent years, they've added some really good deli meats. They've expanded their selection of cheeses and items from around the world, hummus. Their thick cut pepper bacon is direct from heaven. It is so amazingly good. For any of you who drink wine, they have a really uh great variety of Prosecco that's like half the price you pay anywhere else. We have grown to love Aldi so much that we wear their merch.  My wife Amelia has Aldi pajamas and a sweatshirt.  I have a winter cap and I'm wearing my Aldi tennis shoes today,  just so you know. uh What are you an evangelist for? We all have things that we love that we discover some special vacation spot, a shortcut,  a better way of doing things.  a comfortable pair of shoes, a great book that you want everyone to read.  And then you get all excited and you want to tell everyone about it, about this secret that you've discovered, that you want others to know about. Well, in the passage that we're looking at this morning, Paul talks about a mystery, a divine secret that has finally been revealed. And if you are a Christian, if you were a follower of Jesus, you're on the inside. You have the secret, you know  the secret. And you are, and you have the insider information to this mystery, the most important life-changing information that has ever been shared. You have a secret that really matters. That's what I think Paul wants us to understand today.  This is something that's actually worthwhile, right? It's not like being cornered into some uh multi-level marketing presentation or some high-pressure sales pitch that nobody really wants to hear. This is actually  good news and life-changing information. Until this morning we want to look at what that secret is, what our part is in it, and the difference it will make in our lives.  What the secret is, what our part isn't, is in it, and what difference it will make in our lives. So if you haven't already, open your Bibles to Ephesians chapter three, we're looking at the first six verses there, at this secret that God has made known to us and has in fact entrusted to us. Because you have the secret that really matters. So what is the secret?  Well, Paul talks about it in this way in verse three.  You  have heard of the stewardship of God's grace. how the mystery or the secret was made known to me by revelation as I have written briefly.  In the end of verse four, Paul calls it  the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has been revealed now through the holy apostles and prophets. So God had a plan, a purpose in mind, which wasn't made clear to other people. until  the peering of Jesus. It wasn't a secret because God didn't want people to know about it or wanted to keep it hidden. It was a secret because it's something that we humans would never have been able to come up with on our own. It's something we never would have invented, never dreamed up,  never been able to  figure out ourselves. But now, Paul says, God has made this most important insight, mystery known through his apostles and prophets as Paul talked about earlier, remember the foundation of the church, the people who are carrying the message of Jesus. And it is the mystery in the end  of verse four, the mystery, the secret of Christ. It is what God is  doing  in the person and the work of His Son. And this amazing secret that He wants us to have the same insight into is this in verse six.  The mystery... is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel. What we all getting at here? That God created the world good and created us to know Him and through our first parents and our own  sin, we have become alienated from God. We're now His enemies. But in love, God chose the one family of Abraham to be the people through whom  would be His special possession, would demonstrate what He is like to the world, would show what it looks like to  know and love God and to love neighbor. But even though God's people rebelled against him and  failed in that mission, God's plan did not fail. Because  through the coming of Jesus Christ, through His life and His death, He is now saving all people and calling all people,  not just the children of Abraham, to Himself. God's grace and love and kindness and His justice. demonstrated to undeserving sinners through the death of God's Son on the cross. Former enemies are now the people on whom He pours out, as Paul says, the riches of His grace through His Son for His glory. And His Son, as we heard  last week in chapter 2, has torn down  all the dividing walls of hostility between God and us and between us and one another. And so God is including now not just the children of Abraham but us Gentiles in his salvation that we could become inheritors of  every blessing that God has in his son. Back in Isaiah God speaking through the prophet  says to his son it's too small a thing for you to redeem my people Israel. I will make you a light for the Gentiles My salvation will go  to the ends of the earth." That's amazing that the least likely people are now brought into God's family and made a part of all of His good promises by  grace, not by earning or by deserving. That's what God's plan is, and that's what He aims all of His work towards. is  grace. the good news of what he has done in Jesus would flow out from and to every tribe and tongue and nation and people. Let me ask you, does it still amaze and astound you that God would include you in His  people and make you His child? Or do we just tend to take it for granted? Man, it's so easy, especially if we've known Jesus for a while, to feel like, of course I'm a part of God's people. Of course God loves me. Of course God's promises are for me. Are you  awed? Are you amazed? that we who were without hope and without God in the world, we who were aliens and strangers, are now the people of God. Because listen,  I'm guessing almost every one of us in here, our  ancestors  were not the people of God. Our ancestors were the pagans. We were literally the enemies of the people of God. Are you humbled and amazed that God would reach out and hold out His hands through the love of His Son to draw you into His family,  out of darkness and out of rebellion and  include you in everything good that He intends? We should be awed and full of worship and joy and praise. We're actually part of the plan of God.  It should lead us to wonder and amazement. and worship as Paul is going to burst out into repeatedly through this book. You have the secret that really matters. And if you know that secret, it's something you can't keep to yourself. It's something that should send you out to share that secret because you're part of God's plan to draw all those  people to himself. How does the message go out? How does God's plan get accomplished?  What is our part in the secret? Gospel goes out and God's church is built up and His people are gathered in through the sharing of the good news of Jesus. But not just what happens here on Sunday mornings, God sends His disciples out into the world to share this good news, to tell people about the riches of His grace and the  glory, the beauty of Jesus. Remember,  we heard back in chapter two how at one time we were aliens and strangers, enemies without hope and without God in this world. That's us. That was us.  And that's everyone,  everyone that you are going to meet every day who does not know Jesus. Everyone that you run across, everyone that you live around, everyone that you work with, everyone that you go to school with. You and I are surrounded every day by people who are without  hope and without God in this world. And yet out of that, now we are fellow citizens and partakers of Jesus Christ. We are now fellow heirs and members of the same body and that's  what he is holding out to people through  you. That's what you share as you go out. You who can trace your descent to Europe, you whose ancestors came from Africa, you whose... family came from Asia,  whose origins are in the Americas. We are all members of the household of God. By God's grace, through faith in Christ,  anyone from anywhere can become a child of God. All around us are people who do not know that and for whom it is not true. That is what disciples, followers of Jesus go out to tell people. That is the secret that we have to share. That the God of the universe who made you and loves you and whom you have rebelled against loved you so much that he sent his son to take the place that we deserved on the cross and the penalty that was due us so that we could be forgiven. And that we could be now brought in as sons and daughters. There are people in your life who need to know that. People who are strangers, not members of his family. I want to encourage you this week to think about the people that you're going to meet and encounter this week in that way. that  you are the ones that God is sending to hold out, point to the riches of Christ for those people. Because you have the secret that really matters.  Our part in the secret is that  we are the tools that God uses. We are the ambassadors. We are the  messengers in the everyday ministry and service and work and outreach of God's people.  Look at what Paul says back in verse two.  You have heard of the stewardship or the dispensation or the administration of God's grace that was given to me  for  you. You see, Paul has been entrusted  with understanding, with insight into this divine secret, not just for Paul's sake, but because God's love is for  the whole world. And we're here because we've been brought in on the secret by someone else  who faithfully  shared the administration or stewardship of that message with us. That means  this is true of Paul, but it's about us as well. We are the tools in God's hands. We are the way the message goes out. We are the ones that God uses to tell the nations about His grace and glory and goodness and that means your life has a purpose and  he has a plan for you he's put you where you are in order to reach the people around  you. God uses the messy, ordinary, everyday people like you and me to display His grace because He's entrusted this message for other people  to you. Some of you may know  Linda and Dan, an  older uh lady and gentleman who attend first hour. They met in Griefshire several months ago when they were both mourning the loss of  spouses and a friendship turned into romance and now... Dan and Linda are going to be married in November, which is kind of cool and exciting.  Linda shared that she called up an old friend of hers to tell her about what was going on in her life, and  now they're getting married. And Linda's  friend asked, well, I mean, at the age you guys are at, why not just live together? I mean, what difference does it make? And Linda said,  oh, because  God wants us to honor Him in our relationships, and God has a plan for our lives. And that became a door for her to open up to talk about... You know how God created us to know Him and to follow His will for our lives.  She ended up  sharing the gospel. This woman who had been in church her whole life had never heard that she was a sinner who needed to be saved.  Linda shared the gospel and this woman prayed to receive Christ on the phone in the context of talking about her wedding plans.  That's amazing. That's the  ordinary kind of stuff that God uses in our lives. to share the secret that he's entrusted to us with other people. Your ordinary life, your prayers, your giving, your serving,  your conversations, your relationships are the things that God uses to reach people who need to know Him. Because you have the secret that really matters. What difference does all this make? What difference does it make in my life if I actually  believe and follow and live out this secret? What is it going to do?  Let's look at Paul's life here.  One,  believing the secret is going to change my perspective. It's going to change my perspective. We're going to see  life differently. We're going to see ourselves differently. We're going to see other people differently. We see life through what God has done for me and who I am in Christ. And we're going to see other people as ones that God loves and wants to save. It makes me see myself differently.  Look at how Paul describes himself in verse 1. A prisoner of Christ Jesus. Paul's in prison. I literally in this case. But even if he weren't literally in chains,  he sees his life as belonging to  Jesus. Remember that imagery of being redeemed. means going into the slave market and paying the price  to  bring someone out of slavery  and make them belong to you. And Paul's saying, that's what  God has done for me. I've been brought out of slavery to an old life of sin, a slavery to myself, to be set free to live for God and for His purposes.  He talks about the stewardship in verse two,  again, dispensation, administration of God's grace. Paul sees himself not as an independent, self-directed owner of his own life, but a manager of a life that has been entrusted to him by God his Father. and has had something incredibly valuable entrusted to him for the sake of other people. And he wants to be faithful to live for that purpose. mean, remember how Paul used to be so full of pride. He had all this record of accomplishments that he could boast about and  thought he was pleasing God, but he meets Jesus and the gospel humbles him. And in fact, writing to his protege, Timothy, near the end of his life, he calls himself the chief or the greatest of all the sinners.  And in verse 8 he says,  I am the very least of all the saints. Has knowing the secret changed your perspective on yourself? on how you look at other people. Has it broken down walls, like Paul wrote about, to care not what people look like on the outside, but what matters is do they know Jesus? Because that's what I want for them. That's what I care about in my relationship with them.  Do they know and love Jesus? If there's  if there's anything our culture needs right now, it's people  who will see others  not as tools to be used  or rungs on the ladder to climb over or enemies to be hated,  but as people whom God loves,  as neighbors to pray for,  as people to invite into Jesus' gracious kingdom. believing the secret will change my perspective. And then  living the secret will  shift your priorities. Living this secret will shift your priorities.  Again, back in verse one,  Paul goes from being a hater of Gentiles. Remember, he's a devout Jew. Gentiles are dogs. They are filth. You don't even talk with them. You don't eat with them. You avoid them at all costs. He goes from becoming a persecutor of Christians and a hater of Gentiles to someone who now sees himself as a prisoner of Christ Jesus  on behalf of you Gentiles. And what he means there is he's not blaming them. He's not like saying, yeah, you know, I preach the gospel for you guys and look at where it got me. No, I mean, he's saying,  I'm willingly paying the price of offending the religious authorities and the political powers In preaching the secret of God's grace to Jew and Gentile alike,  across boundaries, making no distinctions, that he would echo, remember back in the book of Acts, what Peter and John said, that they consider themselves blessed to be count worthy of suffering for the name of Jesus. It's a pretty radical change, isn't it?  A huge shifting of priority. Remember as we saw in Acts in chapter 16 when he's in Philippi, praise God that I'm thrown in prison and beaten up for preaching the gospel to the extent that I can sing hymns of praise to God at midnight in a jail cell. That's news that changes you. That's news that makes a difference in your life. God's grace shakes us up. It takes us out of our comfort zones. And now Paul sees that the purpose of his life is to be a faithful minister of Jesus Christ,  a faithful ambassador, whether he's earning living, making tents, or whether he's preaching the gospel in synagogues. Has believing that secret changed your priorities?  Not in the sense of like, oh, well, you know, if I'm really serious about following Jesus, that means I'm going to become an overseas missionary or vocational pastor or something. I mean, that could be it. Maybe God is calling some of you to  that kind of an  outworking of His grace in your life. But wherever you are, whatever you're doing, you are a disciple, you're a student, you're a follower, you're an ambassador of Jesus Christ. Your priority is displaying His glory and telling others about Him. You care more about the riches of the gospel than about piling up literal silver and gold. Money is not something evil, it's something you can appreciate, but it's something you're not pursuing, you're not chasing after it. It now becomes a tool that you can use to invest in God's kingdom purposes. Some of you know that  Pastor Nathan, our associate, comes from a large family, I think of eight brothers.  And  not too long ago, I think his parents, as the sons were all moving out of the house and getting married, now they're starting to have grandkids, they bought  a larger piece of property with a home that they could expand. I think they even built a bunk house on it so that they can house  all the  kids and grandkids. And now they host cousins camp where the grandkids, I think you have to be age five, taller than. know, somebody's outstretched arm or something, come to cousin's camp for a week where they have the grandkids all come together and they're building  relationships and talking to them about the gospel and sharing Jesus with them. But beyond that, they spend a weekend every year inviting a dozen and a half or more of junior high students from Faith Church to come down and have a junior high retreat at their property. I mean,  can you imagine, right? Like, let's... open up our home and feed 18 or 20 starving, smelly preteens because we love them, because we love hanging out with them and we want them to hear the good news of Jesus and experience His welcome.  Like, believing and living out this secret will shift your priorities to say the stuff that God has put in my hands is not just about me.  And it's not even just about my family, it's about an opportunity to make an impact for the kingdom in people's lives, maybe some of whom I'm not even related to. And then three, sharing this secret is gonna complicate my life. It's gonna complicate my life.  It's gonna get me in trouble. It may cause difficulty for me.  mean, back in verse one, again, Paul is literally a prisoner for Christ Jesus. He's probably writing under house arrest in Rome. He may be in a Roman dungeon at this point, but Paul is willing to suffer for the story, for the secret. It's gonna make you unpopular to tell people, I I love you and  I wanna just tell you not what God has done in my life, but the heart of that story is that I'm not good enough and you're not good enough and nobody is good enough. And religion ain't it. It's not following the rules. It's about what Jesus has done.  You'll never get to God on your own, but God has provided a way. Because the gospel attacks our pride. And none of us like that. When's the last time you got in trouble? Not for being an arrogant jerk, but for preaching the gospel, for sharing that message lovingly, graciously, humbly, and being willing to let the gospel of God's grace offend people's pride and self-righteousness. If we're really serious about following Jesus, it may cost us friendships. Again, not because we're going out of a way to alienate people or cut them out of their lives. Certainly not because we're proud or mean-spirited or rude, but... because we love people enough to tell them a hard truth that they may not want to hear. Has sharing the gospel gotten you in trouble  in any way?  Has it made it harder for you in some way? Because  sharing the secret will complicate your life. Because you have the secret that really matters. You know, over 26 years in ministry, I've had a lot of opportunities to visit with people in their homes.  And I love it. It's a great experience  to get to go into people's homes, have some nice conversations. People share some of their lives with me. I get to know some of their stories.  And people want to  talk about what's important to them. Oh, let me show you my collection of whatever it is. I got this one in Europe, and this one's in antique, and this thing is worth that much. And  let me show you pictures of my grandkids.  Oh, I'm so proud of them. This one's an honors. student in high school and this one's already got a great job lined up and  here are photos of our trip to the Grand Canyon or  our trip to Alaska. Let me show you my library. Oh, here's this great book you've got to read. And  I really do enjoy and appreciate these opportunities to get to know people better, to get to know what's a part of their lives, what they value, what matters to them. And sharing those things is great. I mean, especially if it leads to praising God for his grace and blessing and goodness in our lives. talking about those things is not gonna change anyone's priorities. It's not gonna get any of us in trouble. Probably not gonna  redirect someone's life.  Sharing stories about my vacation may bore people, but it's not gonna threaten them.  And it's not gonna shake them up in any significant way. We've pictured a different home. Maybe homes like the ones here at Faith Church. You go in and visit this person's house and you see pictures on the fridge and they say, Oh, that's the child that we support through compassion.  We write to them and we pray for them and here's what God's doing in their lives and we're just so thankful to be able to make a difference in this one kid's life and to offer them hope and help and good news.  Or  that's the clinic that we helped build or  this is the  church that we helped plant in India through our giving. Or maybe there's a... a calendar and it's got student ministries events or faith kids events on it  or men's or women's ministries and you say, oh, those are the people that we invest in on Wednesdays or Sundays. These are the guys that I get together who helping me grow spiritually and helping me  become a better mom or a better dad or whatever it is. Let me tell you about what God's doing in other people's lives or God's doing in my life through these connections. Man, what stories we have to tell of God's grace, of God's work. God's riches in our lives. What if we were as excited to tell people about the secret of the gospel as we were about our favorite restaurant or our favorite movie or the sports teams that we enjoy or the hobbies that we're invested in? Because  none of those things are bad. None of them are wrong at all. Don't mishear me.  What if we believe that we really have the most important secret, the thing that absolutely everyone  needs to hear of life-changing importance? What would we do differently if we really believe that everyone that I'm running across  their eternal destiny? hinges on this message and what they do with it. Would it be worth having my life rearranged, having my priority challenged, would it shape how we spend our  time and our money? And I'm thankful for all the ways that it does already in so many ways for so many people here at faith. You have the greatest secret that anyone has ever been entrusted with. But if we don't share it, it stays a secret. So this week, let's try to go out  to work, to school in our neighborhoods, go out shopping with the goal of seeing people differently.  That we would see those people as ones who need to know the riches of God's grace to them in Christ Jesus, God's love for them, God's forgiveness, and that God is inviting them to know Him and to be saved. And that God has put you,  in connection with them for the purpose of helping them see and hear and respond to that message. You're being sent out with the secret, the mystery of God's wisdom and grace and justice and goodness in Christ Jesus. You have the secret that really matters. Don't keep it a secret. Let me pray for us. Father, thank you for this amazing mystery. for the riches of your wisdom poured out to us in your Son, the  grace and favor and love that we have experienced. Help us not to take it for granted. Help us not to become numb to it.  That we've just gotten used to the fact that of course you love us and of course you want to save everyone. Father, would you help us be awed again? Move to deeper worship, greater praise for the mystery of our inclusion in your Son and beyond that would you use us because we are your plan to draw more people into your kingdom. May that be our priority. May it rearrange our lives, our time, our money, our conversations, how we do things  for the sake of sharing this awesome secret that you have entrusted to us. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for engaging with our community by checking out this podcast.  If you would like more information about our Church and ministry, you can find us at faithchurchindeed.com.