Do you feel worthless, or alone, or insecure, or uncertain, or useless or insignificant today? Let me encourage you. You are not worthless. You are not alone. You are not useless. You are not insignificant. Christ is your security. Christ is your certainty. And Christ gives you all the significance you could ever need. God says that in Christ you are treasured, secure and useful. God’s love, written in Christ’s blood, serves as the eviction notice to your anxiety.

Did you hear that? God’s love, written in Christ’s blood, serves as the eviction notice to your anxiety. There are many reasons to be anxious. There are many reasons for the gas tanks of our hearts to be on empty when it comes to peace. Our struggle with sin depletes our peace. Our struggle with relationships depletes our peace. Our struggle with our jobs depletes our peace. Our struggle with our education depletes our peace. Our struggle with finances depletes our peace. Our struggle with family depletes our peace. Our struggle with current situations throughout the world depletes our peace.

There are many reasons for the gas tanks of our hearts to be on empty when it comes to peace. And when we are lacking in peace it’s all too easy to fall into despair and feel worthless, alone, insecure, uncertain, useless and insignificant. And all of these feelings can act like tiny little garden hoses that feed the soil of our hearts where anxiety is growing out of control. But God’s word to us today is that: In Christ you are treasured, secure and useful. God’s love, written in Christ’s blood, serves as the eviction notice to your anxiety. Paul says it this way…

Ephesians 2:19 -22…

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

So then. Paul begins with the words “So then”. He’s just waxed eloquent over the last five verses over the truth that the cross of Christ provides vertical peace between God and us and then creates horizontal peace between believers. And he ends all of his eloquent waxing on the theme of peace with a profound statement in verse 18 where he says that through Christ we all have access in one Spirit to our Father in Heaven.

In other words, Paul says, so then, since we all have access in one Spirit to the Father through Christ, then in Christ you are treasured, secure and useful. God’s love, written in Christ’s blood, serves as the eviction notice to your anxiety.

#1. We Are Treasured… 19

It’s so hard to hold on to this truth in the midst of all the shifting realities around us. How often do you feel worthless and alone? When I see that old friend that won’t speak to me anymore, I feel worthless and alone. When I struggle with that old sin pattern that just won’t die, I feel worthless and alone. When I look back and remember where I came from, I feel worthless and alone. Even in a room full of friends and family there are days when I can feel worthless and alone. But God says no. You are not worthless and alone. You are treasured.

  • We are treasured not strangers and aliens…

Paul says you are no longer strangers and aliens. You are no longer slaves to your sin. You are no longer children of wrath. You are no longer separated from God the Father. You are no longer far off from the presence of God. You are no longer so-called second-rate citizens. You are no longer defined by your sinful actions. You are no longer a stranger standing in a room full of strangers. You are no longer alienated from the life-giving presence of God. You are no longer hidden from God behind the wall of hostility. You are no longer a fatherless child. You are no longer locked in the basement of your foster parents home. Your old foster parents of Satan, sin and the grave have been evicted, no, beaten to a bloody pulp, put to death, eradicated completely from your life by the cross of Christ. You are treasured. You are not a stranger or an alien anymore. What reason do you have to be anxious and depleted of peace? And that’s not all…

  • We are treasured citizens and saints…

Paul says, you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints. The word citizen carries the meaning of belonging and the word saints, carries the meaning of special or set apart like fine china in a china cabinet. You and I are treasured because we belong to God as his special belongings.

But some of you might say, “I don’t feel like I belong and I don’t feel like I’m all that special”. You might want to argue with the Lord on this point. You might be saying, “Did you see what I did last night? How could I belong to God and how could God call me special?” Or “Did you see what they said about me? How could I belong to God and how could God call me special?” Or “Have you heard how he hurt me? How could I belong to God and how could God call me special” Or “were you there when she left me. How could I belong to God and how could God call me special” And God’s answer back to you is that you are not defined or identified by the sin you’ve committed or the sins that have been committed against you any longer.

You are defined by what God says about you. Listen, the God of the universe who breathed the stars into existence and gave your lungs the very breath you are breathing right now says that you are treasured. You are his priceless possession. You belong to the Star Breather. You are God’s special belonging. You are not a stranger or an alien anymore. You are treasured. You are a citizen and a saint. You belong to someone and you are special. What reason do you have to be anxious and depleted of peace? And that’s not all Paul says…

  • We are treasured members of God’s household…

Paul says, you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens and saints and members of the household of God. The word member carries a sense of special privilege in our culture. When I think of being a member I think of benefits before I think of commitments. I think of the word member through the lens of a consumer before I hear it through the open ears of a contributor. And I think this is true of all of us. We cannot come to Christ unless we first come him as needy and helpless consumers of his grace.

This is why Paul says previously that it is by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. We first come to Christ as needy and helpless consumers of God’s grace. But then, as we come to know Christ and the contribution he made on our behalf at the cross, we slowly become contributors who want to give ourselves away on behalf of the Kingdom of the King who gave himself for us. It is a special privilege to be a part of God’s family. And being a part of God’s family teaches us that we are treasured members of God’s household.

God treasured us before the foundations of the world were laid and he will treasure us long after the foundations of the world are destroyed and rebuilt in the new heavens and the new Earth. That’s an eternity spent as God’s treasure. You are treasured eternally. You are no longer a stranger or an alien to God. You belong to God. You are God’s special belonging. And you are a member of God’s family. What reason do you have to be anxious now? God’s love, written in Christ’s blood, serves as the eviction notice to your anxiety. What reason do you have to be anxious now?

#2. We Are Secure… 20 – 21

Before I dive into this second point I think a little comic relief is in order. As I prepared this sermon I sent the big idea out to some other pastors and leaders as a point of encouragement in their daily grind. And one of the guys, my friend Todd, from 2 Pillars Church in Lincoln, sent me this GIF through text and we thought it’d make a pretty great intro video to this sermon. But I restrained myself!

Do you recognize it? What words come to your mind when you see it? Just beat it! Right?! That’s exactly what this text gives me the ability to say to the anxiety that steals my peace. I can say just beat it anxiety because God’s love, written in Christ’s blood, serves as the eviction notice to my anxiety. But it gets a little harder when we start talking about security doesn’t it?

Do you ever question your security or feel insecure and uncertain of your future? Do you ever start to feel super afraid and anxious because you cannot predict the future of that relationship or the future of your educational dreams or the future of your financial stability or the future of your child’s walk with the Lord or your future with your current employer? None of us can predict or control what happens in the next moment.

That reality can cause us to live with hearts that are depleted of peace. Everywhere we go, the world hands us bucket after bucket after bucket of insecurity and uncertainty. And insecurity and uncertainty are vicious enemies of the peace that God gives us and they fill us full of anxiety. But God says that we are secure.

  • We are secured by the Word of God…

Paul says we are securely built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. That’s a pretty certain foundation. That’s a pretty secure foundation. The foundation of the apostles and the prophets is the foundation of the Word of God. The job of the apostles and the prophets was to communicate the written and spoken Word of God to God’s people so that they could be strengthened and encouraged by the gospel of peace.

The Word of God is not shifting sand like that relationship is. The Word of God is not shifting sand like your job is. The Word of God is not shifting sand like your education is. The Word of God is not shifting sand like your bank account is. The Word of God is secure and trustworthy and true and unchanging. We are secured by the Word of God. What reason do we have to be anxious now?

Some of you might answer that question with some pushback. You might be questioning whether or not the Bible is reliable or whether or not it’s true. This can in fact cause a deep sense of anxiety deep within you. You may not feel the desire to read the Word of God and when you do read it, it might feel like a bunch of mumbo jumbo that leaves you more worried and less at peace than you were before.

Can I make a suggestion here? If you are struggling to understand or trust the Word of God, could it be that you are trying to go at it alone and aren’t making any headway? There are many of us in this room who can testify to the difficulty of understanding and trusting God’s Word. But we can also testify to being given the gift of illumination whereby the Spirit of God shines his light on God’s Word and what used to make no sense to us is now plain as day.

It’s kind of like algebra. When you struggled with algebra in school you found teachers and friends to help you in the context of a learning community and it’s the same with God’s Word. Every one of us needs to be regularly gathering in the context of gospel community so that we can learn and understand and come to trust God’s Word as the secure foundation for our lives. But that’s not all. God’s Word isn’t our only place of security though it’s more than enough honestly, by God’s grace, we have more to add to this secure foundation.

  • We are secured by the Rock…

Paul says that we are securely built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, (with) Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone. The image of a cornerstone is the image of a big rock-like stone that held the foundation of a building together and gave that foundation its strength. And Paul says that, the cornerstone that gives the foundation of the Word of God strength and stability is Jesus. Jesus is the one who gives strength and stability to the Word of God. Jesus is the Word of God who became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus is the rock of our salvation and our sure foundation when everything around us is melting away like hot butter.

When that old sin creeps up on me again, Jesus is the rock of my salvation. When I’m uncertain about what the future may hold for that relationship, Jesus is the rock of my salvation. When I feel insecure about the future of my job or the future of my financial position or the future of my children’s safety, Jesus is the rock of my salvation.

My security doesn’t rest on the shifting sands of my momentary circumstances. I am held securely by the Rock of Ages. My shifting heart is securely rooted, strengthened and stabilized in Jesus who is the rock of my salvation and nothing can change that. What reason do I have to be anxious now? But wait! Paul’s not done with his work of laying this foundation of our security yet. He still has one more thing to say.

  • We are secured in unity and growth…

Paul says that we have been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, (with) Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In other words, we are secured in unity and growth as God’s temple. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are the dwelling place of God (which we’ll look at more here in a few moments in verse 22). But how does this give me security right now in the face of all the shifting sands of my life?

One way this truth gives me security is by reminding me of 1 Peter 2:4 – 5. Peter says “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” You see, even though I face the shifting sands of relational rejection in this life, I can rest secure in Christ as he builds me and grows me up. God says I am chosen and priceless and precious therefore I am secure.

You and I are like little bricks that are being shaped and molded into the character of Christ as we are united and fit together with other bricks into the visible structure of the church family where God lives and breathes by his Spirit into the culture around us. Jesus is the mortar or glue that holds us together in unity and nothing can break the church apart. In fact, everything that Satan and the world tries to throw at the walls of the church to cause her harm in reality causes strength. Because as we suffer for the gospel we cling tighter to Jesus and in so doing we exalt his name in our community. We are secured in unity and growth. God isn’t going to stop building his house and he certainly didn’t draw up the wrong plans, which means that you and I can rest secure as he unites us and grows us into the image or representation of his Son.

There might be a lot of reasons to be afraid or to be filled with anxiety or feel uncertain or insecure but the truth is we are secured by the Word of God, secured by the Rock of our salvation and secured in unity and growth. When anxiety comes knocking on the doorway of your soul you can speak to it and say: God says that in Christ I am treasured, secure and useful. God’s love, written in Christ’s blood, serves as the eviction notice to my anxiety. But Paul doesn’t end his eloquent speech on this note. He’s not quite done yet. He still has one more thing to say in regards to our struggle with anxiety and peace.

#3. We Are Useful… 22

Do you ever feel useless or insignificant? Like everything you do won’t amount to much? I think all of us look at our lives sometimes and feel like what we do isn’t really all that useful or significant and therefore we wonder how useful or significant we really are. Our jobs can be mundane and boring. Our educational efforts can produce very little some days. Our counseling of brothers and sisters and friends can result in the opposite effects then we desired. Our paychecks seem smaller than they should be regardless of the hours we put in. Our relationships run south even after doing everything we can think of to keep them on the right tracks. Our old sin patterns haunt us regardless of how many books we read or how many Bible studies we join. Sometimes it’s just plain easy to feel useless and insignificant. But God wants you to know that you are useful.

Paul says you are useful because “In him (Christ) you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit”. You are glued together by the shed blood and broken body of Jesus and you are like a house for the Spirit of God to live in and move through. You are not useless. And you are not insignificant. You matter more to God than you could every comprehend and on top of that He says that you are useful to him. You have purpose. Your purpose is to be built into the house of God. You are not an empty useless or insignificant being. You are the home of the Spirit of the living God.

What reason do you have to be anxious now? You are not useless and you are not insignificant. You are useful therefore you have no reason to be anxious. God says that in Christ you are treasured, secure and useful. God’s love, written in Christ’s blood, serves as the eviction notice to your anxiety. Do you believe this or do you doubt this?

Watch this video…

Conclusion…

God’s love, written in Christ’s blood, serves as the eviction notice to your anxiety. In Christ you are treasured, secure and useful. Did you walk in here today feeling worthless, alone, insecure, uncertain, useless or insignificant? You are not worthless. You are not alone. You are not useless. You are not insignificant. Christ is your security. Christ is your certainty. Christ gives you all the significance you could ever need. In Christ you are treasured, secure and useful. God’s love, written in Christ’s blood, serves as the eviction notice to your anxiety.