Total Access

Transcript

Alright thank you very much. It’s always nice to be put on the air with a friendly voice. And I can remember sometime back in the 1930s when the announcer was not quite that friendly. But thank God for the miracle of radio to get the Word of God out to listening hearts. And I’ve just been praying that, that the Holy Spirit of God might choose my words so that they will fit with your need. That’s a good prayer isn’t it? And I know the Lord is going to answer it by His grace.

Well, how in the world are you? Are you doin’ Alright? Yes, it’s your good friend, Bob Cook, you and I back together again looking at the word of God this time in the book of Ephesians Chapter 2.

Now, what I’m doing is following the theme that Paul introduced in Verse 7, Chapter 2:7, “The purpose of God is that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace, in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” And the last time we got together we were sort of walking around in verses 7 to 14. Let me just retrace our steps there and then go on a little more, may I? “Riches of His grace,” what, Verse 8, saved by grace. By grace so you’re saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves; it’s the gift of God. It’s, it’s Gods sovereign gift that you have any chance at all to trust the Lord Jesus Christ to save you; riches of His grace.

Verse 10, “We are His workmanship”, Greek word “poiema” which either means “poem” or can be paraphrased to mean “masterpiece”. You’re God’s masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus unto good works. The riches of His grace is that He gives you the kind of a new life that results in good works instead of evil works.

Then He says, “You who were sometimes are far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ”. He’s talking now to Gentiles, and He says, “You’re — Christ is our peace, the person of the Lord Jesus Christ is the one who has made us both one, both Jew and Gentile, and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us.” Remember what Paul says in the Colossians, “There is neither Greek nor Jew, bond or free, Barbarian, Scythian,” and whatever, “but Christ is all, and in all.” Remember that passage?

So, I found it now, Colossians 3 verse 11, I had it, just about it, “Neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free, Christ is all, and in all.” See, He takes in every distinction. In Ephesians it’s the Jew and Gentile distinction. The Jews had the law from the time of Moses and on and the Gentiles were strangers, it says, “…from the commonwealth of promise”. They didn’t have a right to the promises that were made unto God’s chosen people. But now He says, “In Christ Jesus, you who sometimes were far off have been made nigh by the blood of Christ.” He Himself is our peace. He broke down that middle wall of partition between us.

So over into Colossians 3 then, you have all these other distinctions, “Jew or Gentile,” that’s the first one, “There’s neither Greek nor Jew,” see? Now that’s, that’s, that’s national. “Circumcision or uncircumcision,” that’s religious. “Barbarian or Scythian,” that’s cultural. “Bond or free,” that societal. All the different distinctions that people raise and they’re still with us, aren’t they? Oh, yes. You’ll find people all over the world who exclude you because you do not belong to their particular group or way of thinking.

But strangely enough when Christians meet–people who are born again, then — then the middle wall is broken down. One of the finest things that happened in one of the recent great congresses sponsored by the Billy Graham Association, this would have been a few years back but over in Europe, different ones came together and they said, “One of the most touching moments was a moment when a Jewish believer and an Arab believer stood side by side of the platform and gave their testimony of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and then spontaneously embraced each other with a — with a bear hug of a Christian fellowship, “broken down the middle wall of partition between us”.

Oh you say Brother Cook you can’t, you can’t do that, and you can’t remove those ancient hatreds. And some Arab friend is saying to me, “Cook just doesn’t understand, he doesn’t understand.” And some Jewish person is saying, “Cook doesn’t understand.” Well, you know something? You’re probably right because I don’t live inside of your skin and I don’t–I’m not heir to those ancient feelings which have come to you down through generations of tradition and — and all of that. I know that and so do you. But I want to tell you something, when the Lord Jesus Christ takes control of your life the walls come down, halleluiah. Oh yes they do. And Christ is all, and in all. So that’s part of the riches of His grace.

See, we’re going to verse 7, “He wants to show off the riches of His grace, saved you by His grace and gave you a life that resulted in good works and make you God’s masterpiece.” Then He made you to belong to His family; he’s adopted the sin to His family. And so he, “We have an inheritance in Christ,” we read about that in Ephesians 1:11. So He says, “He is our peace, he broke down the middle wall of partition between us.” And it says, “He abolished in His flesh the enemy,” now how did He do that? Why, on the cross, on the cross. He — when He died on the cross he fulfilled all of the Levitical Law; all of the types and symbols that were in the Levitical Law, the Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled all of them.

You see? And so you go over to Colossians 2 again and He said, “You are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands; buried with Him in baptism and risen with him through the faith of the operation of God; he has quickened together with Christ, having forgiven you all trespasses.” Now here’s the point, “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us,” as the Levitical Law, “This do and thou shall live and don’t do it and you’ll be lost.” The handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, He took it out of the way. How? Now here it is: “Nailing it to His cross.” And having spoiled the principalities and powers–that’s the demon world; “He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.” What’s the it? His cross; the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ was not a tragedy, it was a victory.

So back to Ephesians 2, “He abolished”, it says, “in His flesh”. What does that mean? When He died on the cross, you my friend, and all of your shortcomings, and all of your failure to keep the Holy Law of God were nailed to the cross with Him. He was God’s Passover lamb, slain from the foundation of the world but now offered up to God there on the cross as God’s Passover lamb–the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now what’s the purpose? “To make in himself of twain,” and he’s still talking about Jew and Gentile, one new man so making peace, and he reconciled us unto God in one body, that’s the church by the cross. And came and preached peace to you which were far off as a Gentile, as to them they were nigh, that’s the Jews. “For through Him we both have access by one spirit unto the father”.

Now the riches of His grace, what are they? Verse 8, “Saved by grace”; verse 10, “A new life that results in good works by grace”. A new acceptance into the family of God, a new peace between people who are separated before because of the Mosaic Law. “Reconcile to God”, Verse 16 and verse 18, “Access by one spirit unto the father.” We both have access by one spirit unto the Father.

You can’t quarrel with a person when you pray with him. If you will sincerely pray with anybody, you’ll find that it’s impossible to quarrel with them or to hate them or to resent them. The Holy Spirit of God fills your heart with love instead and Christ Himself then as you experience his presence, becomes the essence of peace between two human beings who otherwise might be warring against each other. We both have access by one spirit unto the father.

Let me stop a little here and talk about this matter of access. The letter to the Hebrews says, “Let us come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Paul says in Romans 5, “We have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand.” Access, that — that word access now is a popular word with the computer people, isn’t it? You have a certain code that gives you access to a bank of information, whether it be the data files that are stored up somewhere and for which you pay a monthly fee to get into them or whether it be a corporate file, there’s a password, there’s a password — a code that is used to give you access so that you can punch in on your little PC, your computer, you can punch in to a larger data file. Access, you can access it, so the noun has now become a verb. And so we talk about accessing this or that. Is that familiar to many of you computer people? I’m sure it is.

Well, He says, “By the Holy Spirit,” now, “By the Holy Spirit we both,” that is both Jew and Gentile, “have access by one spirit unto the Father”. What is the code if you want to put it that way that gets you into the heavenly computers so that you’re in direct contact with the Almighty God? That’s the indwelling Holy Spirit of God; He’s the one that talks the heavenly language. And Paul says in the Romans 8, “We know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts,” that’s God the Father. God the Father knows the mind and the spirit because “He the spirit maketh intercessions for the saints according to the will of God.”

What is the key to getting direct access into the presence of Almighty God? The indwelling Holy Spirit, praying through you, brings you right straight into the very presence of God, and there your petitions are heard and answered. He said, “Let your request be made known unto God, be careful for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God, and the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

So He says, “By one spirit, through Him”, we both have access, through Christ we both have access by one spirit unto the Father. You can’t hate a person if you’ll pray with him–that’s the point that I made there. And the key that, that the code, if you want to put it that way, that you use , that brings you right into the heavenly computer and puts you in direct contact with the Holy Father Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ is that key, “By Him” He says. And what is the dynamic of it? What opens the gates? The indwelling Holy Spirit; through Christ we have access by one Spirit. He makes it all real. Now how do you make that real to yourself? Down on your knees, praying in faith, open your heart and say, “Lord bring me now into Thy presence, let me have access to God.” The Spirit of God will do it and you’ll be rejoicing.

Dear Father today, may we have access to Thee through Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Till I meet you once again by way of radio, walk with the King today, and be a blessing!