The Dividing Wall of Hostility

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Sermon by Kenny Foster, Senior Pastor, from Joshua 6:5 & Ephesians 2:11-18.
The nature of a wall is to keep things out while providing protection for things that are within. But what happens if the wall becomes prohibitive to something that is helpful and wholesome? Then the wall needs to come down. The trouble with knowing when a wall needs to come down is that we think the reason the wall was built is unalterable. God shows us that there are times that walls should be removed. Like the case of the walls of Jericho. God was giving the city to his people. The walls were a hinderance to their progress. In the case of the temple, the dividing wall was a literal barrier of the hostility between the Jews and Gentiles. The wall communicated that they were not equals. Jesus broke down the dividing wall of hostility showing that Jew and Gentile are equals before God. Christ in his body and through his blood, has broken down the wall and has brought us near to God. What is the practical meaning of this? It means that Christians above all people ought to pursue peace. Christians, of all people, should be able to identify and remove walls that are hostile to living out the status of being one with God. This sermon is from Monday, February 20’s reading of “On the Shoulders of Giants.” The message’s aim is to equip and encourage us in the pursuit of identifying and applying the gospel to the dividing walls of hostility that seeks to disturb the peace that Christ has given through his body and blood. A peace that we identify with in The Lord’s Supper.