Amelia Church of Christ - Christian Church in Amelia, OH near Cincinnati in Clermont County

How we doing today, church? I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to go. I haven’t preached since Christmas Eve, so I’m ready to roll here in 2011. I appreciate Mike Morrissey and Thayer Wallace pinch hitting for me the last couple of weeks.

I’m kicking off 2011 with what our staff calls a one-shot message. Normally I preach sermon series, but this isn’t part of a larger series. This is just a one-shot, stand alone message called All Access.

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to take a behind-the-scenes tour Great American Ballpark. I’m a huge Reds fan, so this was really cool for me.

We visited the pressbox, the clubhouse, the training rooms, etc. It was awesome because we were given access to areas that are normally off limits to fans.

I’ve been to the ballpark countless times before and since that day, but it’s always been the same thing. Buy a ticket. Sit in my assigned seat. Eat peanuts. Laugh at people on the jumbo scoreboard screen. Watch the game. That’s what every other experience at Great American Ballpark has been for me.

That’s what made this tour so special. I was given privileged access to some very special areas of the ballpark that are normally off-limits.

When you think about it, we really live in an access crazy culture, don’t we? Look at some of the shows that are on TV. Think about the magazines in the checkout line at Kroger. They are all about giving us access into the lives of celebrities. A lot of times, they cross the line and make things public that are better left private. And yet a ton of people eat it up because it gives them what they want…access.

Personally, I don’t care what kind of toothpaste Oprah buys. I don’t care what Tom Brady is doing with his hair. And it makes no difference to me which celebrities have the best or the worst beach bodies. But apparently it matters to a lot of people because these magazines and TV shows are still around.

One of the most famous means of “access” is the coveted backstage pass. How many 12-year old girls would “just die” if they had a backstage pass that allowed them to meet Justin Bieber? They would love to have that kind of access.

During my vacation, I read the book Decision Points by President George W. Bush. I highly recommend it, regardless of your political leanings. It is a fascinating book, primarily because it gives the reader access. Whether you agree or disagree with President Bush’s decisions, the book gives you incredible access to the discussions and debates that led to those decisions. It is a fascinating glimpse into the high-pressure, complex, and history-shaping decisions that a president has to make everyday.

Access is a coveted thing in our culture. When we are given access, it makes us feel privileged and special. We know that we are in a special place. We are meeting special people. We know that it’s an event that we’ll never forget.

But did you ever think about this? You have already been given the most precious, the most important, the most amazing access in the history of the world. It’s better than a ballpark tour. It’s better than a Bieber backstage pass. It’s better than an invitation to the Oval Office.

You have access to the all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving God of the universe. You have been given personal, intimate access to a place that should absolutely be off limits. It’s a place that you and I should never be allowed to go. But through God’s grace, we are given an all access pass.

We’re going to see that in Ephesians 2 right after we pray.

In Ephesians 2, starting in verse 11, the Bible says, “Therefore, remember that formerly 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 the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

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 were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:11-18, NIV)

That’s a lot to work through, but when you break it down and look at it, you find an incredible idea. It’s an idea that is rejected by every other faith system in the world. It’s an idea that is unique to Christianity. It’s the idea that everyone has access to God.

Every other world religion would reject this as heresy. But the gospel of Christ says differently. It is not heresy. It is reality.

Now, how does this work? Let’s unpack our text from Ephesians 2 so this truth can come into focus for all of us.

First of all, you can have access to God when you see yourself as God sees you. In the passage we read, Paul writes about people who “were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.” (Ephesians 2:12b, NIV)

He was talking about a group of people called the Gentiles. A Gentile is someone who is not Jewish. If you’re not a Jew, then you’re a Gentile.

We need to understand the Jew/Gentile relationship when Paul wrote the book of Ephesians. A person who was a Jew was one of God’s people. God set up the nation of Israel in the Old Testament and created a people for Himself. Don’t get this confused with the modern-day nation of Israel. They are two separate things that just happen to share the same name.

For thousands of years, the Jews had been the people of God and they had completely rejected Gentiles. Jews didn’t associate with Gentiles. They didn’t do business with Gentiles. They would never eat with Gentiles. It was a racial divide that we can’t even comprehend. No amount of racism in our culture comes close to the divide between Jews and Gentiles in the first century. It’s something that we really can’t comprehend today.

Enter Jesus. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, God had announced that He desired a saving relationship with all people, Jew and non-Jew. To the Gentiles, this was wonderful news. To the Jews, this message meant that they were not the only show in town anymore. They were no longer the only people of God.

Listen to how The Message paraphrase reads in verses 12 and 13. Paul said to the Gentiles, “It was only yesterday that you outsiders to God’s ways had no idea of any of this, didn’t know the first thing about the way God works, hadn’t the faintest idea of Christ. Now because of Christ—dying that death, shedding that blood—you who were once out of it altogether are in on everything.” (Ephesians 2:12-13, The Message)

Here’s what Paul was telling them and what he’s also telling us: God has granted you access to Himself through Christ no matter who you are.

There are no “super Christians” who have a closer contact to God. It doesn’t matter if someone is really religious or perpetually pious. They don’t have any more access to God than you do.

Everyone is equal in God’s sight. All of us are sinners in need of a Savior. And through that Savior, everyone can have access to God. If you are in Christ, you have access to God no matter who you are.

But to truly understand this, you need to see yourself as God sees you. A lot of us have a distorted view of ourselves.

Have you ever looked at yourself in funhouse mirrors? Those mirrors that distort your reflection and make you look incredibly tall, incredibly fat, incredibly skinny, or incredibly whatever. A lot of people have that kind of distorted view of themselves. They look at their life through the lens of a funhouse mirror that completely distorts the truth.

In 1 Corinthians 13, the Apostle Paul writes, “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12, NIV)

In this life, it’s so difficult to see yourself as you really are. It feels like all you can see is a mirror reflection…and that reflection is distorted and untrue.

The true you is found in how God sees you. And one day, as Paul says, when we see Jesus face to face, we’ll be able to see ourselves as we really are.

For now, we live in a world of funhouse mirrors. The only way to get a true glimpse of who you really are is in the Word of God. You know how you see yourself, but how does God see you?

Because of Jesus’ sacrifice for your sin, he sees you as perfect. Spotless. Holy.

The mirror you are looking in tells you that you are sinful. Screwed up. Can’t ever get it right. A total mess. Beyond hope.

But that is not who you really are because it is not how God sees you.

In 2 Corinthians 5, the Bible says that, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21, NIV)

God made Jesus, sinless, perfect Jesus, to become sin for us. And in return, He changes us into the righteousness of God. That is not the reflection you see in the mirror. That’s not how you see yourself, but if you are in Christ, it is who you really are.

This is why so many of us struggle with the idea of access. You don’t feel worthy. You don’t feel worthy to talk to God. You don’t feel like you can pray because, “Why would God listen to someone like me? I’m nothing. I’m just a sinful, screwed up nobody.”

God has never said that about you! He has granted you access to Himself because you are his child, bought with the blood of His own Son. If you were a nobody, Jesus wouldn’t have died for you. If you were nothing, God would never allow you to come into His presence.

If you feel like you can’t talk to God because of your past, or even because of your present, then you’re not looking at yourself the way God looks at you. It doesn’t matter who you are. God wants a love relationship with you. It starts by seeing yourself as God sees you.

And here’s how God sees you. Someone that He loves, but someone who desperately needs Jesus. You need Jesus. That’s who you are. You are someone that needs Jesus. It’s that simple.

Paul wrote, “[Jesus] came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:17-18, NIV)

The word “access” in verse 18 is key. Kenneth Boles wrote that this term “was used in Greek society for the ‘right to approach,’ as when a person received an introduction to the King.”

Why is this concept so incredible? We have been given the right to approach not a king, but the King of Kings.

I mentioned earlier that I read President Bush’s book during my vacation. I would love to have access to the president. Any president. It would be awesome just to go and hang out in the Oval Office. Anytime I had something on my mind, I could just stroll in and talk to him. It would be amazing for me, and it would also make America a better place because I could tell the president how to really do his job. Don’t we all feel that way?

George Burns once said, “Too bad the only people who know how to run the country are busy driving cabs and cutting hair.”

I think Mike Morrissey had a George Burns quote in his message last week. Two straight weeks with George Burns quotes? Next thing you know, we’ll all be wearing Coke bottle glasses and smoking cigars. Anyway…

Having access to the president would be amazing. It would be incredible to have that kind of access.

Here’s what we forget. That pales in comparison to the access that Jesus gives us. We have access to the very throne room of God where we can worship Him, thank Him, and ask for help for our struggles. We do not worship a God who is far off. We worship One who is near, who welcomes us into His very presence. But we cannot come into His presence by our own strength. We need Jesus.

Why is Jesus necessary? Because the Bible teaches that God cannot be in the presence of sin. God is holy, which means he is set apart from sin. If we are covered with our sin, then it stands to reason that we cannot enter the presence of God. However, the cross of Jesus changes all that. If we accept Jesus’ death for us and are baptized into Him, we are covered with His holiness and He is covered with our sin. It’s not a fair trade, but that’s how much He loves us. Because we are covered with Jesus’ perfection, we are given access to God.

Paul wrote in Ephesians 3, “In him [Jesus] and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” (Ephesians 3:12, NIV)

You can have access to God when you admit that you need Jesus. This also means admitting that you can’t do it on your own.

Last month, President Obama decided to call a last minute press conference. (I don’t know why I’ve got all these president illustrations this week. Guess I watched too much news during my vacation.) There was only one problem. The briefing room at the White House was locked. And he didn’t have a key.

It didn’t matter that he is the President of the United States. His title didn’t change the fact that he didn’t have a key, therefore he didn’t have access to this room. At that moment, the custodian at the White House was more powerful than the president because he had a key.

I don’t care who you are. How religious you think you are. How good that you believe you are. You don’t have the key. Jesus is the keeper of the keys. Your access to God is not based on your good works. It’s not based on your church attendance. It’s not based on anything except your relationship with Jesus. The blood of Jesus is the key that opens the door. He is the one that gives you access to God.

You need to see yourself as God sees you, recognizing your need for Jesus. And that permits you the most special access in the world.

You can have access to God because you are part of God’s family.

In Ephesians 3, Paul wrote, “You Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens with everyone else who belongs to the family of God.” (Ephesians 3:19, CEV)

Think about a friend that you have in your life. If it’s a good friend, then you have probably visited their home before. And you probably felt very welcome at this friend’s house. You’ve probably shared a meal with your friend and their family.

But what do you think your friend would say if you showed up unannounced one day with your arms filled with luggage? You walk in the door and announce that you’re moving in. It probably wouldn’t go over very well because, while you’re welcome to visit, you can’t stay forever because you’re not a member of their family. That’s the difference between friends and family.

Jesus, on the other hand, has not just invited us to visit God’s house. We don’t just drop by for tea and crumpets, or maybe to catch the game on his big screen. We are not visitors. We are family members. And a family member is always welcome. In fact, a family member is expected to stay…permanently.

That’s the awesome thing about our access to God. It’s permanent. You are his child today, tomorrow, next Tuesday, and 50 years from now. You are, and you will always be, welcome in the presence of God. You can have access to God because you are part of God’s family.

I have a wife and two sons. They have unparalleled access to me. No one gets as close to me as my family. They don’t beg for my time. They don’t have to schedule a meeting with me. If they call, I drop whatever I’m doing to talk with them. No one else gets this kind of access to me.

We are sons and daughters of God. We have intimate access to our Father. He doesn’t have to pencil us in on His calendar. He always has time for us. It is the kind of access that only a child is given.

Think about the impact this should have on us. This kind of access to God should affect the way we pray. Your prayers don’t just bounce off the ceiling. You have access to talk with God.

Hebrews 4 tells us that we can “approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16, NIV)

When you pray, you can know that, through Jesus, your prayers always reach their destination. God always hears, always listens, and always understands.

I think God gets sick of the weak, wimpy, pansy prayers that most of us pray. We tiptoe into His presence. We really flower up our language with religious jargon to impress Him. We don’t ask for big, audacious things to be done.

That’s not what this verse in Hebrews tells us to do. It says that we should approach God’s throne confidently. Not arrogantly, but confidently. You don’t have to tiptoe in. Go to God in confidence. Confidence in His love. Confidence in His power. And confidence in the access that He has given you through Jesus.

A lot of us could use some more swagger in our prayer life. Instead of the meek, mild, cautious prayers that we usually pray, we need to start praying big, audacious, dangerous prayers. That’s the confident access to God that we need to embrace.

This access should affect the way we live everyday. If you knew that you were constantly in the presence of God, wouldn’t that persuade you to do some things differently? Wouldn’t you live a more godly life? Wouldn’t you live with more hope? Wouldn’t that provide a peace like none other? Wouldn’t you stop thinking about Sunday as the “God-day” and start considering every day a “God-day?” Wouldn’t it affect your attitude? Wouldn’t it make you measure your words more carefully? Wouldn’t it make you more generous? Wouldn’t it make you serve more?

You have been granted the most amazing access, the most sought after backstage pass in the universe. Actually it’s even better than that. You haven’t been given access as a fan. You’ve been given access as family. You have been given the access that only a child in the family receives.

What are you doing with it? For a lot of us, the sad part is that we’re wasting it. We are limping along in our lives, not realizing that we’ve have access to the One who can forever change our lives.

Others of us use our access to God, but only in a crisis. Our access to God is the same as our access to a 911 operator. We only take advantage of it when the dam breaks and our lives are flooded with trouble.

I saw a church sign one time that said, “When all else fails, try prayer.” I almost drove right into the sign. It would have damaged my car, but it also would have take out this stupid sign.

When all else fails, try prayer? Are you kidding me? Why in the world would we wait until all else fails? Prayer isn’t the last resort. It’s the first place we go.

And remember, we have a child’s access to our Heavenly Father. Dads, how would you feel if the only time your kids came to was in a crisis? You wouldn’t feel much like a father, would you?

Our access to God is an incredible comfort and source of power in a crisis. And it is an incredible comfort and source of power when things are going great. If you only connect with God when all else fails, I can’t even begin to tell you how much you’ve missed the point.

God is there when life falls apart. And He is there in every other season of your life, too.

God loved you enough to give up His own Son for you. Jesus knocked down the wall for you. He is the conduit that connects us to God.

You have access to God. Do you understand that? Can you comprehend that? You have unlimited, intimate access to God! That is so simple, and yet it is absolutely life-changing! And it’s only possible because of Jesus.

If you haven’t surrendered to Jesus as the Savior and Lord of your life, the wall is still up. The access isn’t granted. Yes, God loves you. He desperately wants to be with you. But the connecting point is Jesus.

In John 14, Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6, NIV)

You have unparalleled access to God through Jesus. And if you haven’t yet made a decision for Christ, we invite you to come today. He has made the way for you through His death and resurrection. Come and be forever changed by Him today.

Mike Edmisten

Tags: All Access, Ephesians 2, God's presence, prayer