United By Our God - Brendan Hurley - 16th Aug 2026

Well let's pray, let's ask God for help as we

look at his word now. Gracious Heavenly Father,

please help us to see how wonderful it is to

be united in Christ. Help us to see the riches

and the depths of that and we pray that you would

help us to maintain the unity created in the

bond of peace by your Holy Spirit. We ask this

in Jesus' name. Amen. Well we lived in Broken

Hill for two and a half years and I can tell

you it's a unique and fascinating place. But

one thing I'll never forget about Broken Hill

is that in one sense it had its own caste system.

In Broken Hill they had this thing called A graders,

B graders and C graders. So if you're an A -grader,

you were born and bred in town. If you were a

B -grader, you married an A -grader and you'd

lived in town for a while. And if you were a

C -grader, you were what was coined from away,

basically anywhere else. And this is a real thing,

like from the mining boom in the late 1800s and

for many decades, like even... into the 50s and

60s, this was a real thing in Broken Hill. A

-graders would get preferential hiring, preferential

treatment and huge social acceptance that other

people wouldn't get. And this way of thinking,

whilst it's mostly gone today, there still exists

a little bit of it. I had friends at the hospital

who were saying, there's still a bit of like,

oh, you're an A -grader, cool. And you get a

little bit of preference and things like that

amongst the nurses and doctors. I don't know

if it's true. I'm just going off what my friend

said. But no matter what you did in Broken Hill,

no matter how long you were there, for someone

like me, the best I could ever hope for was to

be affectionately called a B -grader. I was never

going to be an A -grader because I'm not born

and bred. Ironically, it's not just the ground

in Broken Hill that's broken. There's a lot of

fracturing, I think, in the place. And this is

just one small example. But it's not just Broken

Hill. India has the Varna car system. That fractures

society, discriminates against people and creates

toxic tribalism. And even though it was outlawed

in the 1950s, Google tells me it's still influential

to some degree to this day. And that's just within

India. Think about, broadly, India and Pakistan.

I mean, there's complex and hostile relations

there, aren't there? As with many countries,

Russia and Ukraine, North and South Korea, Israel

and Palestine. And if that wasn't enough today,

we have all sorts of fun things we're dealing

with in politics, don't we? There's left -wing

and right -wing. We've got today other things

as well, like the battles of the sexes, and we've

got management and workers often competing for

different things. When you look at it all, you

go, our world is broken and fractured, isn't

it? In so many ways. I know, Brendan. you're

going to do your usual thing. The answer is God,

right? Well, what about religions? Don't they

cause many of the wars today? And churches, well,

they're all splintered into different denominations.

Can God really help? I mean, it seems like at

every aspect of society, whether it's religion,

politics, countries, all of this, There's another

crack, there's another division. This fragmentation

exists in the world and it creates friction,

selfishness and hostility. I just sit back and

I think, why can't we have peace? Why can't we

all just get along? What needs to happen to unite

people together? Well, our passage today shows

us the way forward. Last week we saw how Jesus

unites us to God vertically. But this passage

today is all about how that vertical reconciliation

with God, that peace with God, has a knock on

effect where we have peace with each other. Here's

the big thing we see from today. Jesus reconciling

us to God, Jesus giving us peace with God, creates

peace with each other. This is what I hope you

take away from today. Jesus reconciling us to

God creates peace with each other. And we see

three things in the passage that tell us this.

You used to be excluded, Jesus tore down the

wall, and you are now included. So let's have

a look at the first one. You used to be excluded.

If you got your Bible open at Ephesians 2, come

with me to verses 11 and 12. It says, therefore

remember that formerly you who are Gentiles,

that's people of all the nations, anyone who's

non -Jewish, you who are Gentiles by birth and

called uncircumcised by those who call themselves

the circumcision, which is done in the body by

human hands, remember that at that time you were

separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship

in Israel, and foreigners, to the covenants of

promise, without hope and without God in the

world. Do you remember as a kid those times where

you might not have been picked? You know, I don't

know if it was for the drama performance at school

or for the footy team or whatever it might have

been or even just at playtime. I mean, maybe

you're there and you're one of those kids who

got picked for everything. Great. But try and

imagine what it'd be like if you were one of

those kids who just didn't get picked. Well,

that's what it was like for all of us because

we were Gentiles. Paul's saying you've got to

remember that. Remember, that's where you came

from. You were all non -Jews. And it used to

be that the Old Testament laws excluded us from

God's people and from all the perks and privileges

that go along with being God's people. I mean,

we're such beneficiaries of all the work that

Jesus did and Paul did in taking the gospel to

the nations. We often don't stop and think about

this, but this was a huge issue in the ancient

world. How do you work out how to get Jew and

Gentile together and working together in a church

where traditionally they'd been separated and

excluded from one another? And so Paul's saying,

hey, you Gentiles, remember what it was like.

Remember how things were. I'm going to show you

where you've come, but you've got to start with

the starting point. Remember where you were.

And he's got this great summary. Did you see

that? Where were you? You were without hope.

and without God in the world. One commentator

I read this week said, the only thing we were

in was in the world. We were without hope and

without God in the world. I mean, we may not

have realised it prior to a conversion, but we

didn't think we were missing out, but we lacked

true hope. We might have hoped for little things,

you know? I hope to get a better car or I hope

to get that house down the road or whatever it

might be. But we didn't have everlasting hope,

real hope. And we didn't have God in our lives,

a God who loves us and cares about us, who's

in control of everything, who wants what's best

for us. And because we didn't have hope and God,

it made our world a harsh and hostile place.

You might not believe this, but sometimes my

two daughters fight. Occasionally they fight

over a toy. Usually some silly toy. I remember

back in Broken Hill, we used to have this little

wooden laptop that they all loved playing with.

I mean, I looked at it and just, it's the most

boring toy. But anyway, they love this little

wooden laptop and they would shout, they would

snatch, they'd sometimes shove. And I think to

myself, why is it they exhibit these behaviours?

What's driving it? Well, it's their beliefs,

isn't it? They believe nothing better is coming.

All there is is the wooden laptop. That's all

I can see. You know, there might have been a

whole room full of other toys. Doesn't matter.

All I can see is that wooden laptop and there's

nothing better. And they forget sometimes that

daddy loves both of them, that daddy wants what's

best for them. In one sense, I think it'd be

fair to say they forget what it means to be in

our family. And people in our world act like

that today. They act like my two daughters. They

can be very childish. I mean, it's funny, we

pretend to be so sophisticated and proper and

then things go wrong. Do you remember COVID and

all the toilet paper shortages? Amazing how you

can see the worst of humanity when toilet paper

runs out. And why? What drives that? Why do people

suddenly do that? It's because they're without

God and without hope in the world. They're not

included in God's people. They don't have those

things of God in their life and hope. And so

they act at their worst. See, our world is a

hostile and fractured place because people feel

desperate and alone. Desperate times call for

desperate measures. And if you are constantly

desperate, you're going to act desperately all

the time with desperate measures. And that's

what happens in our world. It makes people tribal

and hostile. People go, okay, there's no hope.

There's no God in the world. I've got to look

out for number one. It's a dog -eat -dog world.

It's survival of the fittest. You know, I'll

make some allies so that, you know, things work

a little better. But far out, you know, I've

got to look after me. And that's why people are

at their worst. See people change I think I've

seen people change when they're included in God's

people when they have hope and God in their life

and Paul doesn't want these Gentile these non

-jewish Christians and us To forget life prior

to our conversion He's saying remember. Did you

see he says it twice remember? He wants us to

see how bad life was apart from God and the hope

that he gives when we're excluded from God's

people. Because seeing that will make us more

thankful and appreciative now that we have it.

So if you're here today and you're a Christian,

can you remember life prior to your conversion?

What was it like to be apart from God's people?

Even if you grew up Christian, I'm sure you've

seen that in the world. Just flick on the TV,

watch the news, see the violence, drive up to

the local shops, see the signs that say, no abuse

tolerated here. See, people in our world are

tribal, they're fractured, they're hostile, because

there's no hope and no God in the world for them.

But when you come to know Jesus, things are so

different. Why are they different now? Well,

we used to be excluded, but here's what happened.

Jesus tore down the wall. Have a look with me

at verse 13. But now, God's done something amazing.

God's taken the initiative. But now, in Christ

Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought

near by the blood of Christ, by his death on

the cross. For he himself is our peace, who has

made the two groups one. and has destroyed the

barrier, the dividing wall of hostility by setting

aside in his flesh the law with its commands

and regulations. His purpose was to create in

himself one new humanity out of the two, thus

making peace. And in one body to reconcile both

of them to God through the cross by which he

put to death their hostility. He came and preached

peace to you who are far away and peace to those

who are near. For through him we both have access

to the Father by one spirit. So the Old Testament

rules and regulations that existed were like

a Berlin wall. They divided Jew and non -Jew.

You might remember when Peter Hughes was at family

camp, he showed us this cool picture. Do you

remember that one? This was at the temple, the

Jewish temple, and there was this part of the

temple that said this, let no foreigner enter

within the parapet and the partition which surrounds

the temple precincts. Anyone caught violating

will be held accountable for his ensuing death.

This is serious stuff. It was No, you stay over

there. You're quarantined from the temple. You're

kicked out. You're over there. You can only come

so far in. But if you were Jewish, you could

go further in. And this was just an expression

of the Old Testament law. And it was there to

show that, yes, being part of God's people matters.

And some divisions do matter. Some divisions

can be helpful. But now it's opened up to everybody.

At the cross, Jesus tore down the wall. I mean

he put hostility to death. How? He fulfilled

the law. He was sacrificed for our sins. He brought

us peace with God. And this peace we have with

God has created peace with each other. You can

think of it like a triangle. So here you've got

this triangle and as we get closer to God what

happens with us? We get closer to each other,

don't we? Jesus makes a new humanity of Jews

and non -Jews in himself. As he's brought them

closer to God, they are closer to each other.

The hostility is gone. You can think of it like

this, and please bear with me. I've never done

a rugby league illustration before. I'm an AFL

guy, but I'm doing my best here. But picture

the state of origin players. So they're geared

up for state of origin, the Maroons and the Blues.

And when they play, they put on that jersey and

they go to war, don't they? It's a bit like the

Jew and the Gentile. Like all the divisions and

tribalism in our world. So they're at war. They're

ready to attack and hurt each other. And I picked

a photo of the Maroon guy tackling the Blues

guy because I know where I live now. But you

know what? If those same players were to put

on the green and gold Guernsey, if they were

picked for the Australian team, what happens

to that division and hostility? It goes away.

They're united by something bigger and greater.

And that's what Jesus does with his people. Yes,

there are people who are Jewish and non -Jewish.

There are people who are North Korean and South

Korean. There are people who are Indian and Pakistani.

There are A -graders and B -graders. There are

Aussies and Kiwis. And there's people who are

left and right wing. And there's management and

workers and all of that. But if you're a Christian,

do you know what? You're wearing the same jersey.

The Jesus jersey. If you're on Team Jesus, all

those other things don't really matter anymore,

do they? Now this has got massive implications

for God's people today. I mean firstly it means

that all are welcome if they trust in the cross.

I mean everyone's welcome at church, of course,

but all are part of the church if they trust

in the Lord Jesus. And then it means we can enjoy

diversity without it becoming a division. We

can become curious about one another, interested

to learn from each other. It also means that

denominational tithes don't define us. Like,

I'm glad I'm an Anglican. I love being Anglican.

And that's cool. But I also love the Preses down

the road and the Baptists as well. If they love

Jesus, I've got more in common with them than

an Anglican church where people there don't.

We can always remember that there is more that

unites us in Christ than divides us in anything

else. We share a hope. We share the same God.

We have got hope and God in our lives and we

share that together. What's our hope? Our hope

is that one day we will be gathered around the

throne of Jesus, a great multitude of people

from all nations, tribes and tongues. And we

serve that one God now, don't we? The bond Christians

have runs so deep. And it's this bond that actually

drives much of the ethical section in chapters

four to six of Ephesians. We'll get there, but

God willing. But the idea of Ephesians four to

six is it comes back to Ephesians one to three

and it goes, okay, here's how you live your life.

How am I meant to live my life? Look back on

what Jesus has done and that's gonna change how

you live now. But here we're seeing that reality.

We're seeing what Jesus has done. So, what's

that look like? Well, when we walk into church

on a Sunday, what are we meant to see? We're

meant to see that the people around us are people

that Jesus died for. We're meant to go, the differences

don't matter. They're someone that Jesus died

for. They're precious. They're valuable. I mean,

you could be a Blues fan and you could still

be welcome here. And if not, listen to the sermon,

okay? No, you can come. You can come and go,

yeah, I'm loved here. We're meant to see the

closeness. We're meant to see that that Jesus

jersey matters more than everything else. The

divisions aren't there anymore. They're differences,

but they're not divisions. But there's more to

this bond that we still need to see. It's not

just that Jesus tore down the wall. It's also

you are now included. You are now included. Look

with me at verses 19 to 23. By the way, you might

want to ask this at question time, but I think

there it's talking about New Testament prophets,

not Old Testament prophets, but I won't go into

that now. It's built on the foundation of the

apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus himself

as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building

is joined together and rises to become a holy

temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being

built together to become a dwelling in which

God lives forever. by His Spirit. Who are Gentile

Christians? They're not outsiders anymore. They're

not second -class Christians. They're full members

and citizens. They're not this second tier of

Christians either. They're not sort of like,

oh, well, the Jewish Christians, they're business

class and the Gentile Christians, you fly economy.

Hey, be glad you're on the same plane. No. They're

full members, they're equal citizens together

built into a temple where God lives. Why? Because

the Jerusalem temple has gone. What happened

at the cross? Jesus dies on the cross and the

curtain of the temple was torn in two. It was

foreshadowing what would happen in 70 AD when

the temple would be destroyed. It was not only

showing that we all now have access to God through

Jesus' death, it was also showing it was judgment

on that temple, saying it's no longer needed

because Jesus is now here. And so Jesus is the

temple and anyone connected to Jesus is the temple.

The true place where God dwells is every Christian.

and Christians together in community. And within

that community, every Christian has equal value.

I remember as a kid, we used to be members of

the Sydney Swans. And see, I'm going back to

an AFL illustration. I'm just going back to what's

comfortable. But we would pay for different tiers

of memberships. So at one point we had the grand

final tickets membership and it meant we had

better seats during the year, we got more merchandise

in the mail and it meant that we could actually

get grand final seats if the Swans made it to

the grand final. It was really sweet. I think

back in the Geraldton Toy Library... If you did

more at the toy library, if you volunteered longer

hours, you had a better tier of membership, you'd

actually get a discount on your subscription.

I think that's just how we do memberships today,

isn't it? It's, you know, even Netflix now. You

don't just buy Netflix. It's like you get the

good one without the ads or the one with the

ads or whatever. But membership in God's people

is different. It's flat. It's equal. There was

one costly price to get you in. But once you're

in, there's no higher tiers. There's no sort

of second class, first class, any of that. It's

all equal. And again, this has huge implications

for God's people. See, what's foundational to

this new temple and what makes it grow? It's

the Lord Jesus. It's been connected to him. And

so I want to say, yes, some divisions are necessary.

If a church is not connected to Jesus, if a Christian

is, or someone who says they're a Christian,

is not connected to Jesus, they're not a church.

They're not a Christian. So any church that doesn't

preach Christ, make no mistake, they're not that

temple. We need to be connected to Jesus. And

another implication of that is it breaks my heart

when people leave our church and don't find a

new church. If you're going to leave, please

come. Have a conversation. Tell me, you know,

all the reasons why you want to leave. I don't

want you to leave, but if you want to leave,

come tell me why. But then make sure you find

a new church. Because how are you going to survive

if you're not connected to Jesus and his people?

But you know what else makes it grow? In chapter

four we see quite clearly it's that they're connected

to each other. They're connected to Jesus but

they're connected to each other. And within the

church they guard against anything that creates

a two -tiered Christianity or any form of division.

What are the things that could create division

or a two -tiered Christianity? It'd be easy to

have sort of divisions that, I mean, you know,

it's hard because some things you need to have

a little bit of differences, but they can turn

into visions. So you could have, you know, clergy

versus laity, that could become a division rather

than a difference. You could have people who've

got mystical spiritual gifts, you know, we see

that in Corinthians, you know, I speak in tongues

and I can prophesy and I can do all of this,

but you guys can't, you know, there's like a

two -tiered Christianity there. But you can have

things in churches where people have some casual

racism, some casual sexism, some casual ageism.

All sorts of things can create division or tiered

Christianity rather than just united differences.

And so what's the best protection within a church?

It's appreciating who you are in Christ. It's

growing in assurance of who you are in Christ.

That God has fully included you. Such secure

joy leads us to be patient, gentle and curious.

To even celebrate our differences. I think that's

something really special when the church gets

that right. All right, well, let's draw some

threads together. We started by asking, why can't

we have peace? Why is the world so fractured?

And I hope you saw it's because we live in a

world without hope and without God. I mean, hope

and God exist, but so many in the world reject

that. And that's what creates conflict. When

people are excluded from God's people, self -excluded

because they won't come in and trust in Jesus,

it leads to a world that is tribal and hostile.

But no one has to be excluded. Jesus tore down

the wall. There is now peace. You used to be

excluded. Jesus tore down the wall. you are now

included. Here's the big thing, Jesus reconciling

us to God creates peace with each other. Jesus

reconciling us to God creates peace with each

other. If people could see that Jesus is Lord

and Saviour, that He's the only way to God, well

religion wouldn't divide us anymore, would it?

If people could submit to the Lordship of Jesus

and go, what does Jesus say on this? You wouldn't

really have left -wing or right -wing anymore,

would you? You'd have people going, what does

Jesus say? If people could go, hey, I'm in Christ,

I'm wearing the Jesus jersey, your tribal differences,

where you're from, your background, it wouldn't

be a thing anymore, would it? It'd be like, wow,

that's so cool. You eat what? I want to try that.

It wouldn't be people angry at each other, hating.

You'd be like, hey, let's share what we have.

Welcome, come to our country. But it doesn't

exist like that today because people are without

God and without hope in the world. Now I'm not

saying we be stupid. I'm not saying we open our

borders to everyone. I'm not saying, but I'm

saying this is the thing that unites humanity.

It's the Lord Jesus. There's nothing better than

Him. Nothing else can unite people like Jesus.

And if you haven't been included into God's people,

Can I say to you, anyone can join. That's why

Jesus died. So that no matter who you are, no

matter what background you have, no matter what

you've done in your life, you can enter into

God's people today. You can have hope and God

in your life. And it doesn't matter what you've

done, grace and mercy is available to you. So

if you want to be included today, if you haven't

been, please come up the front and pray up the

front with me or with anyone else. Come and pray

and enter into God's people today. But for those

who are already included, for those who are Christians

who trust in Jesus, there are four important

implications I want to share with you today.

Aw, the arrow didn't match up with the words.

That makes me sad. I like things that are aesthetically

pleasing. Anyway. So the first one. Where to

reach out with the message of peace. Seeing the

vertical and the horizontal peace Christ brings

should move me to share this message with the

world. What a world where a new humanity of peace

is coming. And the church is the foreshadowing,

the prototype of that. And people don't have

to be excluded. So let's be people that are on

about mission. Let's pray for that. Come to Revive

prayer meeting Friday morning, seven o 'clock,

wipe the sleep from your eyes, get up, get over

to 119 Camarunga Road and pray with us. Pray

that people would be united to Christ and each

other. and share and invite people to church.

Share Jesus with people, invite them to church.

You might want to think of some one -liners about

church and about Jesus. Something like, Jesus

is far more inclusive than people realise. Or,

I love my church, it's so varied yet united and

caring. Just think of some creative ways to explain

Jesus and church to people. Let's reach out with

this message of peace. If we had a cure for cancer,

we'd want to tell that to everyone, wouldn't

we? Let's do the same with the message of peace

that we have in Jesus. Secondly, this is going

to be a fun one. Israel's priority is order,

not value. Now, some Christians have a dispensational

Christian Zionist way of reading the Bible. If

you don't know what that means, that's okay,

Google. But, and then there's other Christians

who have a thing called replacement theology.

Now, they're kind of two ends of the spectrum.

The first one, the dispensational one says Israel

and the church are distinct and carry on as distinct

after Jesus coming. The replacement one says

Jesus and his people, really the Church, has

replaced Israel. Israel's not a thing now and

it's only the Church that's a thing now. And

I want to say I don't agree with either of them.

I think God's promises to Israel aren't going

to be literally fulfilled. Some would say they

are. Some would say, hey, we've got to constantly

pray for Israel, the country. We've got to send

money to them. We've got to lobby for them. Now,

if that's your view, that's great. I'm so glad

you're here at church. If that's you, I want

to say to you today, this shouldn't divide us.

Your theological difference here, whilst it's

something that we should talk about and think

through, it shouldn't be something that divides

us. There's more that unites us in Christ than

divides us. But I also want to humbly suggest

that I think the New Testament should guide how

we read the Old Testament. I think this is saying

the promises we have in the Old Testament are

fulfilled in Christ and the new humanity he brings.

So I don't think it's as simple as the church

replaces Israel, but I don't think they carry

on parallel together. I think it's that Gentile

Christians are incorporated into the people of

Israel. Who are the real people of Israel? It's

the Jewish Christians, isn't it? It's the ones

who trust in Jesus. And it's not replacement.

It's not they're just two separate things. I

think it's they're united together in Christ.

And some of the implications for that is I'd

go, I want to say, yeah, pray for Israel. But

just as much pray for Palestine. Pray for peace

in the Middle East. And more importantly, pray

for conversions. Because if there's fighting,

if there's conflict and people die, they are

facing God's judgment for eternity. What could

be more important than people in Israel and Palestine

and anywhere else in the world coming to know

and love the Lord Jesus? Now, if you want to

know more about this, you can come ask me personally

or ask in Q &A and we can talk more about it.

I'm happy to do that. Number three, we are no

longer under the law. We're not saved by the

law. In fact, the law set aside, as the NIV says,

or is abolished in the ESV, it's not there anymore.

So what do we do with it? Should we throw out

the Old Testament and all of that? No. Hands

up if you've watched West Wing. Anyone watch

West Wing? Okay, cool. Well, us three will enjoy

this. If you haven't watched West Wing, please

do. It's like top TV. There's a famous scene

in West Wing with President Bartlett and these

conservatives come into the Oval Office and he

berates them because they're saying, you know,

we should all be anti -gay, but he says, well,

you guys don't keep the Sabbath and you guys,

you know, have two crops in your farms and all

of that. You're not keeping the Old Testament

laws. And he's trying to show how inconsistent

they are with their reading of the Bible. And

it's great rhetoric, but it's a poor interpretation

of the Bible. Because in Christ the law is fulfilled.

So we still read the Old Testament, it expands

our moral imagination. It teaches us about Christ.

But we need to see we're no longer under the

law. If we love as Christ loves, we fulfil the

law. and do what it really says. So that's an

important thing just to help you with your Bible

reading. And then finally we must maintain the

bond of peace. We don't create our unity, Jesus

already did that, but in Ephesians 4 it tells

us we need to maintain it. How? Humility, gentleness,

patience, bearing with one another in love, being

eager, to maintain the unity we have. I remember

years ago being in a church where we were in

a growth group and someone walked out of our

growth group that night because there was an

argument about the Olympics and something left

wing and right wing and they got all upset and

they walked out. And it was so sad. I want to

ask you, where do you need to work things through

with other brothers and sisters? Where do you

need to work things through where differences

have become divisions? I hate seeing things like

that. So let's make sure we work those things

through. Calmly talk about it, raise it. Be gentle

with each other and show love to one another.

Because our world, whether it's Broken Hill,

whether it's India, whether it's Cairns, is a

hostile and fragmented place. And it's the Lord

Jesus that unites people. And it's such a joy

when Christians get that right. So let's display

to the world how deep and wonderful peace in

Christ truly is. Let's pray. Father, help us

to put our trust in Jesus, to see the peace that

we have not just with you, Father, but with one

another. Please keep us from division. Help us

to celebrate our differences and help us to love

one another, maintaining the unity we have in

the bond of peace. We ask this in Jesus name.

Amen.