Good morning. It's a joy and
a blessing to be back with you. It's been a while. I'm glad my
family was able to join me this time, not by myself. I bring greetings from Gabe and
the congregation in Kingsport, of course. I like that introduction, Rex. Come brag on Christ. What a privilege
to gather together to hear and consider someone speak of what
marvelous and great things he has done for us. I'm thankful
to have the opportunity to do so. If you would, open with me
to Colossians Chapter 2. Colossians two and let's read
the first 15 verses together. Colossians two verse one. For I would that you knew what
great conflict I have for you and for them at Laodicea and
for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh. that their
hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto
all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement
of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ, in
whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And
this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words.
For though I be absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in the
spirit, joying and beholding your order and the steadfastness
of your faith in Christ. As you have therefore received
Christ Jesus, the Lord, so walk ye in him, rooted and built up
in him and established in the faith as you have been taught,
abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware, lest any man spoil you
through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after
the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him
dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are
complete in him which is the head of all principality and
power. in whom also ye are circumcised
with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body
of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, buried
with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through
the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from
the dead. And you, being dead in your sins
and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together
with him, having forgiven you all trespasses, blotting out
the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which are
contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his
cross. And having spoiled principalities
and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over
them in it. I'm sure you've done this before. You go about day-to-day activities
and you pass the same place every day, day in and day out, pass
the same place. Then one day as you're passing
it, something new strikes your attention. It grabs you. Nothing has changed about the
place, this object or whatever it is that has caught your attention. It's not new, it's always been
there, it just grabbed you. That's the best way I can explain
what happened when I saw this first, this scripture being read. It just caught my attention.
Colossians 2 verse 13. And you being dead in your sins
and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together
with him, having forgiven you all trespasses, blotting out
the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was
contrary to us and took it out of the way, nailing it to his
cross, and having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a show of
them openly, triumphing over them in it. As this scripture
was read recently in a message I was listening to, the thought
occurred to me, look, look at what great things God has done
for us. As you know, The congregation
in Kingsport has recently moved into the building that we've
been working on for almost three years. It is a time of rejoicing. It's a time that we've all breathed
a little sigh of relief. The building is occupied. There is more to do, but we're
in the building. a huge step, a huge burden off
of everyone that's been working on it. And it isn't unusual,
this far in even, to hear someone express, look what God has done
for us, for this little congregation. In times of joy among God's people
and even to an extent among those who are religious. In times of
joy, it's not uncommon to hear someone make that type of expression. Look what God has done for me.
It comes out easily. But what about those times of
heartache and heartbreak? Those times when the full weight
that the knowledge comes on us so hard that we do indeed walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, when that weight falls
heavy on us and our hearts are just breaking. In those times,
when we're finally able to get by ourselves, when we're able
to get into our closet and close the world out and go to God in
prayer, what comforts our hearts? at that time. Do you find it
as I have? In those times of sorrow, those
times of fear and uncertainty, that when you get into your closet
and the world is closed out, you find calmness and peace and
rest, not in anything I've done, but when I consider what God
has done for me. The goodness of the Lord to me
personally and to his people. That's what calms our hearts
when we're breaking, when we're so burdened. Listen to our text
again. It's just one sentence in these
three verses. And you, being dead in your sins
and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together
with him. having forgiven you all trespasses,
blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against
us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing
it to his cross. And having spoiled principalities
and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over
them in it. Who is it that has quickened,
forgiven, blotted out, and triumphed? Look back at verse 10. and ye are complete in him, in
our Lord Jesus Christ, which is the head of all principality
and power, in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision
made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the
flesh by the circumcision of Christ, buried with him in baptism,
wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the
operation of God. God who hath raised him from
the dead. Who's done all this? God's done
it. God has quickened. He has forgiven. He's blotted out. He has triumphed. And he did so in our Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ, who is God, manifest in the flesh. Now, who did God do this great
work for? Verse 13 starts with, and you. Who is you? Am I included? Are you individually included
in that word you? To prevent confusion, God inspired
Paul to define you specifically. and you being dead in your sins
and the uncircumcision of your flesh." Now we have the defining moment.
Am I included in you? As I wrote this message, it really
struck me. Am I in the you? Am I dead in my sins? Is my flesh uncircumcised? Am I cut off from God's people
in my natural state? As I considered myself, I thought
back to before the Lord revealed Christ to me. I was taught from
a young age that all men are sinners. We all sinned in Adam. We are all guilty before God.
I was taught all of that. And yet I justified myself. I
acknowledged that I bore the sins of Adam. So it was his fault that I did
what I did. It was his fault that I was guilty. Those little sins that I committed,
those little things that I did, the little white lies I told,
disobeying my parents, that wasn't my fault. Adam made me do that. I can't be condemned for what
he did, right? This good news of the gospel
isn't to any person justifying themselves. The good news of
the gospel is for that person who is dead in your sins, dead
in my sins. I am guilty. I'm the person that
did this. I'm at fault. It's no one else's.
The sin that I commit is a direct result of what I am. I am sin. In myself, that's all I am, that's
all I know, that's all I can do. I am dead, spiritually separated
from God, without the ability to come, without the ability
to decide, without the ability to make myself alive. My sins,
my sins, no one else's, have separated me from my God. I did that. The Lord Jesus Christ,
God the Son, came into the world to save men and women just like
this one. A man dead in my sins. In short, the Lord Jesus Christ
came into the world to save sinners. Now, in saving a sinner, what
did our Lord do? What's included when we say the
Lord Jesus Christ had mercy and saved this sinner? I'm going
to give us the answer, and then we'll look more closely at each
statement. What's included when God saves a sinner? That sinner
is quickened together with him. That sinner is forgiven all trespasses,
not just some, all. And the handwriting of the ordinances
that stand against me are blotted out. What has Christ done for
that sinner he has saved? Verse 13. And you, being dead
in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened. He has made alive. In this shell of flesh, mine
and yours dwells an eternal soul." While I was studying this, I
thought back to the body of Lazarus lying in the tomb, sealed away. That body had no life in it. It was just decay and death was
all that was in there. That's the way I can picture
my own natural soul. This shell is the tomb. It hides that dead soul to an
extent. That soul secured away, rotting
and decaying, because that's all it is, is death. No one wants
to be near it. It must be locked away. If it's
not, it will come out and it will destroy, it will consume
everything and everyone that comes into contact with it. Then one day, outside of this
tomb of Lazarus, housing that dead body, The Lord Jesus Christ
came. And he didn't stand outside that
tomb and knock gently on the door, asking to be let in. Begging Lazarus to accept him
into his heart. Lazarus, if you'll take the first
step, I'll help you the rest of the way. He came to that tomb. And he stood and gave command. Lazarus, come forth. Immediately, life came into that
dead body, and it was made known that there was life there. He
that was dead came forth. We who are by nature dead in
our sins, when Christ our salvation comes and he gives command to
us to live like that dead body of Lazarus, our dead soul is
quickened. Now it wasn't enough that we
go from death unto life, but listen to the rest of it. And
you, being dead in your sins and in circumcision of your flesh,
hath he quickened together with him. Generally speaking, my family
and I, we usually take about two weeks during the year to
go on vacation, a week at spring and fall. And after vacation,
when we come home, people want to know, what did you do on vacation? So we tell the story. And sometimes
there's a part in the story that causes somebody to go, well,
where were the kids while y'all were doing whatever? And generally,
we can answer, oh, they were with us. They were with us. They took
part with us. They were under our protection.
They were guided by us. They were with us. They weren't left behind. And
they weren't left out. They were included. We, these
sinners that God has chosen to visit in mercy, we are quickened
together with our Lord Jesus Christ. How was he quickened? Verse 12. buried with Him, with
Christ in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him through
the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from
the dead." Our Lord Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. He
was quickened by God. And it is God that performs that
operation in us, not ourselves. We are raised by God. with our
Lord. How effective was Christ's return
from the dead? How effective was His quickening?
Lazarus being raised, one day was returned to that tomb. He
had to lay that body down again. Are we in danger of our Lord
returning to the tomb? In Hebrews 7.25 we read, He ever
liveth. And in Revelation 118, our Lord
says, I am He that liveth and was dead. And behold, I am alive
forevermore. One day this shell of flesh will
be laid down. Mine. In that day, the soul that
is in here will leave this body. But my soul, being quickened
together with Christ Jesus, shall never die again." Isn't the statement, with Him,
of great comfort? Parents, when our children get
older and they come to us and they say, may I go wherever? One of the first things we ask
them, who will be with you when you go? The answer to whether you can
go or not is going to depend on who's with you. Do I trust them? Are they going
to take care of you? Are they going to get you in
trouble? It's going to depend. It's going to matter who it is. When you're facing a situation
that is scary to you, and you don't want to do it, but you've
been told you've got to go do, don't you feel better when you
go to your mom or dad and you say, will you come with me? And they say, yes, I'll be with
you. And then you go. That scary place isn't nearly
so scary anymore. Child of God, our Heavenly Father
has quickened us together with our Lord Jesus Christ. We are
with Him. Oh, what comfort. What assurance
to know He is with us. The sinner God has saved is quickened
together with Christ. and all trespasses have been
forgiven. Who have we trespassed against?
We all know David's words so very well. Against thee, thee
only have I sinned. In Adam, we rebelled against
God, and in our flesh, we chase after all those things that are
opposed to God. We don't want anything to do
with him in this natural flesh. False religion, our natural religion,
the religion we're born with. You don't have to go to a false
church. I was under the gospel from a young age. I had this
religion. It tells us that God owes us. On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked
Pearl Harbor. If we were to liken the actions
of that attack to that of man in the fall, and take the approach
of false religion to gain acceptance before God, we would have a scenario
that after the bombing, Japan would have sent to the United
States and said, we've bombed you, we've killed your people,
and we will accept you into our hearts and we will love you and
we will forgive you if you give us health, wealth, and security. Even in our lost natural states, No one would ever agree. That's
the way things work. The offender dictating to the
offended how he's going to be accepted. You and I have sinned against
God. But for the saved sinner, we,
being quickened with him, have been forgiven of all trespasses."
Not one remains. In Christ, God has quickened
us together with him, forgiven us of all trespasses, and verse
14, blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against
us, which was contrary to us and took it out of the way, nailing
it to his cross. The handwriting of ordinances
that was against us has been blotted out. Reading the word
handwriting brought several scriptures to my mind. Moses, on the tablets written by the
finger of God. Our Lord in the temple stooped
down and wrote in the dust. But Daniel 5, the king Belshazzar
threw a great party. There was eating, drinking, general
merriment. In that party, Belshazzar said,
go get me the gold cups and gold objects that we took from the
temple in Jerusalem. Revealing how little Belshazzar
thought of God. And he gave those cups and those
vessels to him and his guests to eat and drink out of. And
Daniel 5.5 says, in the same hour came forth fingers of a
man's hand and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster
of the wall of the king's palace. And the king saw the part of
the hand that wrote. And the writing wasn't understood.
So eventually Daniel was called to interpret the writing that
was on the wall. And part of the writing said,
Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. That's what's written against
me. That's the handwriting that's
against us. The handwriting that was contrary
to us. The handwriting we can't blot
out. Nothing we do can cover it up. White worship, it'll show through. That is the handwriting that
only the Lord Jesus Christ can blot out. God is holy and just. While men may sin or offend against
another man and ask forgiveness and receive forgiveness as a
matter of course, God is not man. God is God. He is holy. He cannot just sweep
it under the rug. The question must be addressed.
How can God be just and justify a simple man? Verse 14, blotting out the handwriting
of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us
and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross. How can God be just and justify
sinful men? He, God, the son, the Lord Jesus
Christ, came in our likeness. He bore the likeness of sinful
flesh. He took the law, and he kept
it in absolute perfection. As a man, he obtained a right
standing before God. Then his hour came, and he went
to his cross. Earlier, we looked at the term
your sins. I am dead in my sins, not in
others. It is my sin, my guilt. The handwriting of ordinances
was against me, not against him. That cross is the cross I deserve. My name should have been on that
cross. Examine our Lord Jesus Christ.
Examine Jesus of Nazareth. Measure him against the law.
Against all of scripture. I was put in the balances. And
found wanting. Lord Jesus Christ was put in
the balances. And he lacks nothing. But as the lamb, without spot
and without blemish, as that lamb endured the death that went
through Egypt on the first Passover so that none in the houses of
Israel perished, our Lord Jesus Christ, he bore our burdens to
his cross. He honed them. He owned my sin
as his own. He owned my penalty as his own. He took my cross and my death
as his own. We are quickened together with
him. We walked with him as he went
about doing good. We suffered with him as he endured
the scourging and the beatings before he was crucified. We were
crucified with him. We were buried with him. He loves us and he gave himself
for us. And because he bore our sins,
because he made them his own, because he went to his cross
and to suffer, shed his blood, and to die, he has by himself,
with his own precious blood, blotted out the handwriting of
ordinances that was against us. Finally, look at verse 15. And having spoiled principalities
and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over
them in it. Or if your center margin is like
mine, triumphing over them in himself. There at Calvary's cross,
man stood and we declared, we will not have this man reign
over us. We took down his body and we
sealed it in a tomb saying, that's done. We'll have no more of God's
son. On the third day, because he
finished the work that was given him, because the law and justice
of God were satisfied completely. God raised him up, having loosed
the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should
be holden of it. The Lord Jesus Christ came into
the world to save sinners, and he shall not fail. He has triumphed. He's victorious. I hope that the Lord will make
this a blessing and encouragement to us and that we never grow
tired of hearing it or cease from wondering at what the Lord,
our God, has done for us through Jesus Christ, his Son. Let's
read our text one more time. being dead in your sins and the
uncircumcision of your flesh. Hath he quickened together with
him, having forgiven you all trespasses? blotting out the
handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary
to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross. And having spoiled principalities
and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over
them in himself. Pray the Lord to bless us. Brexit.