Go with me if you would to Colossians
chapter two. Colossians two, and let's begin
reading in verse one. Paul said, 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 under
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 am I 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. Our text is stopping at verse
eight, but I couldn't help but read verse nine. Paul said, I joy, I just so greatly
joy beholding your order and your steadfastness. in Christ. Our subject tonight is going
to come from verse 6, which says, As you have therefore received
Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him. As you have received Him. The way that you received him,
just stay right there. Just stay right there. The apostle
Paul, he was truly a man to give thanks for. You know, all men
are flesh. I acknowledge that, but the Lord
used him to be a great blessing to the church. And he is a great
blessing because he said, you follow me as I follow Christ.
And that's what he points us to. And he, as we said, Wednesday
night, he loved the people he preached to, and he was encouraged
by God's people. And he said, it does my heart
so much good to see your steadfastness in following Christ. You all
were just here. Why'd you come back? You did
this already. Why are we here again? We're
following Christ. We're following Christ. We're
not here out of duty. We're not here because we have
to be. We are following the Lord Jesus Christ. We're worshiping
Him. And Paul said, it does my heart
so much good. It brings so much joy to me to
see what God has done in his people. The steadfastness. If Christ, if God the Father
puts a heart in us for steadfastness, then we will be steadfast. And
if he doesn't, we won't. He gets the glory for it. But
does it not do your heart so much good? to see the work of
God in his people. Paul said, don't move from this
place. Just stay right where you are.
Just walk in that. He said, walk ye in him. That word walk means live. That's what it means. Live in
him. Just abide right there. You just stay and live right
there. So many people believe that salvation is a progression. It's not, it's just not. We get so upset with ourselves
because we think, you know, I'm still the same old rotten, miserable
self I was last year and the year before that, and 10 years
before that. And why do I not see this progression
in my flesh? Salvation is not a progression
in the flesh. The scriptures exhort us for
our scripture reading, reading. We just read good things. Put
off anger. I want to do that. I want to
stop getting angry. Put off all these things, put on the new
man. I want to do that too. But salvation
itself, I mean, our hope, the foundation of our hope, what
makes us justified before God, it is not a progression. I have not grown one bit in being
my earthly father's son. I belong to him. I did belong
to him as his son. I have not grown in that. I have not grown in being a member
of his family. After 45 years, I am not one
bit more his son Then the day I was, then I was the day I was
born nine months before I was born. Nothing has changed in that regard.
Nothing. I have grown in height. I have grown in knowledge. I want to hope and believe I
have grown in maturity. But I have not grown in being
his son. I have not grown in that. If I did not grow in height,
I would still be his son. If I was just as immature as
I was as a teenager, I'd still be his son. God's people grow in grace. They grow in faith. The disciples
said, Lord, increase our faith. Cause us to look to you more.
Wouldn't you want to look to him more? Allow me to trust you
more. God's people grow in love. They grow in spiritual maturity,
but they don't grow in belonging to him. We don't become more
saved. When salvation comes to God's
people, they're saved. They're saved. And that's what
their hope is built on. It's not built on what I see
myself doing and growing in. My hope is built on nothing less
than the Lord Jesus Christ blood and righteousness. I dare not
trust the sweetest brain, but wholly, that means completely
lean on the Lord Jesus Christ name. On Christ the solid rock
I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. Paul said, stay
right there. Don't move. Live right there. Don't ever leave that. Don't
ever let your hope be drawn away and look for something else beside
or something else in addition to Christ alone. Christ alone. Verse six, he said, 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." With thanksgiving. If God keeps us right there,
we have much to give thanks for. If God keeps us right here, we
have much to give thanks for. Now he said, as you have received
Christ, so walk ye in him. As you received Christ, stay
right there, live right there, abide right there. How have we
received Christ? Before we find the answer to
that, let's notice that the word is received, Not accepted. It does not say, as you have accepted
Christ. Us accepting Christ is not in
the scripture. That's not in the scripture.
People say, well, now you have to accept him. If you want to
be saved, you're going to have to accept him. That's not so.
Us accepting Christ is not in the scripture. We do not have
the option. Grace is irresistible. So thankful. We do not have the option. We
don't have any say in the matter on whether or not we are willing
to accept Christ. I am so thankful because I tell
you what this wicked, sinful, ruined flesh would do. It would say, I will not have
that man reign over me. Thank God. Grace is irresistible. We don't have a say in the matter.
We don't have any ability to accept Him. And the reason is
because we're dead in our trespasses and sins. Receiving Christ is
something that happens to us. Without our say in the matter,
without our help in the matter, even without our knowledge of
the matter. I received life before I ever
knew it. The moment I received life, I
had no, I was alive. I had no idea. We are notified of it long after
the fact. We are notified of salvation. We are notified of the fact that
we have received Christ long after the fact. So we don't accept. We receive. And Paul said, as
we have received Christ, we stay right there. And all of God's
people will tell you that's a good place to stay. That is a good
place to stay. God's people want to stay right
there. We want to live right there. We want our walk to be right
there. Now, where is it? Where is our walk? And meaning,
how have we received Christ? He said, as you have received
Christ, walk right there. How have we received Christ?
We're gonna let the word answer that for us tonight, all right?
First, let's notice that he said in verse six, as you have therefore received
Christ Jesus, the Lord. How did we receive him? We received
him sovereignly. We received him sovereignly.
We received a person, Christ, Jesus, the Lord. We didn't just
receive a doctrine. We didn't just come to a knowledge
of election. Election's a wonderful thing all through the scripture,
but we didn't just receive a knowledge of election. We received a person.
And the person that we received was a sovereign person. People talk all the time about
accepting Jesus. They talk all the time about
that. What will you do with Jesus? It's just, I don't even know
what the word for it is, but when you're put in a position
where you have to listen to a man, stand up in a pulpit and tell
these things, it's just tough to listen to. But men will stand
up and ask, you know, what are you going to do with Jesus? And
won't you let Jesus, and won't you make Jesus to be whatever
it is you want him to be? Is that who we received? Is that
who God's people have received? A man who is better than us,
no doubt about it, better than us, but basically on an equal
par with us. Won't you let Jesus, won't you? No way. Who have we received? Here's the answer. We have received
the Lord, Jesus Christ, the Lord, Jesus Christ. That's the name
of the one that we have received. And that's how we received him. Lord means sovereign. That's what the name means. It
means ruler, controller, owner, God. Lord means God. Jesus, sweetest name I know,
fills my every longing, keeps me singing as I go. Jesus means
man. Thank God, God became a man. Like in the likeness of us, he
didn't take on him the nature of the fallen angels, but he
took on the nature of us. That is his name of humiliation. That's why we use that name carefully.
That is his name of humiliation. That's what God made himself
to be in order to be the savior of his people. God had to become
a man. to deal with our sin. The Holy
God cannot have anything to do with sin, but punish it. God
had to become a man. Call his name, Jesus, for he
shall save his people from his sin. Savior. Call his name, Jesus,
because they are gonna take him. They're gonna take him. Can you imagine man trying, in
his mind anyway, to take the holy God, the holy God? God made himself to be something
where he could allow sinful, wicked man to take him and to
beat him and to mock him and to, in their own eyes, do what
they will with him to the point of death. Call His name Jesus because He's
going to allow them to do what He already predetermined for
them to do. Call His name the Christ because
He's the Messiah. Call His name Emmanuel because
God is with us. He is the only mediator between
God and men. Call Him Lord because He's God.
Call him Jesus because he's a man. Call him Christ because he's
both. He is both. How did we receive him? We received
him sovereignly. as the God-man mediator that
he is. Paul said, stay right there. Don't ever lose that fear, that
holy reverent fear of who he is. Don't ever become casual
with him. Don't ever become flippant with
him. Just stay right there. Live right
there. Walk in that. Turn with me now
to Matthew chapter 10. Matthew chapter 10, verse 8 says, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers,
raise the dead, cast out devils, freely you have received. Freely give. How did we receive
the Lord Jesus Christ? We received Him freely. Aren't
you so thankful there was no price to pay? Not on our behalf. Not on our behalf. We received
Him freely. We received Him sovereignly and
freely. It did not cost us anything. It cost Him everything. You know the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for our sakes,
he became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich.
It cost him everything. It cost us nothing. We didn't
have to produce one work for it. Mercy was great. Grace was free. Paul said, stay right there. Just stay right there. He told
the Galatians, stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ
has made you free. He's saying, why would you want
to go back to the works of the law? He kept telling the Galatians
that. Why would you want to go back to the works of the law?
For some reason, men and women claim grace, Many will claim
grace, but then they want to see proof of that grace by going
back to the works of the law. Well, let me prove that by going
back to work. Paul said, why would you want
to do that? That'd be just like somebody I thought of this little
illustration, and I believe this is pretty accurate. That'd be
just like somebody giving you a free car. All right. The Toyota dealership,
they're going to give you a free car and you find out about it
and you say, that is amazing. Amazing, amazing grace that they
would do that. That's just wonderful. How wonderful.
All right. And then you say, you go out
and tell everybody they gave me a free car. And just to prove
to myself and to everybody else that the Toyota dealership gave
me a free car, I'm going to go get a job at the Toyota dealership. And I'm going to tell them, don't
give me a check, because I'm only going to work here long
enough to equal the same amount, to earn the same amount of that
car. And as soon as that's done, I'll leave. Why would you want
to do that? Why would you want to do that?
Is it free or not? Why would you want to go back
and work? As you have freely received Christ, stay right there. Do we believe in good works?
We love them. One of these days we're going
to live them. But we don't work for salvation.
That's free. Our good works are motivated
by love. Our Lord said, ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the
waters, and he that hath no money, come. It's all free. Whosoever
will, let him take of the water of life freely. I thought God had a chosen people.
He does. They're the only ones who are
willing to take it freely. Everybody else wants to work
for it. What do we have that we have
not freely received? Stay right there. Live right
there. In our hand, no price we bring. No price we bring. Keep walking
in that. Go with me to John 1. John chapter 1 verse 15 says, John bear witness
of him and cried saying, this was he of whom I spake, he that
cometh after me is preferred before me for he was before me. Now watch this. And of His fullness
have all we received. And grace for grace. How did
we receive Him? In all of His fullness. We didn't receive a little bit
of Him. We didn't equally divide Him.
Every one of God's people have received Him in all of His fullness. When we received Him, we were
empty. Totally empty. In ourselves and
our flesh, we are still empty. This is what Paul is saying,
stay right there. In our flesh, we are still empty. Our fullness is His fullness. I don't progress to my own fullness. The way Christ found us, we were
empty, lost, helpless sinners. We're still empty, lost, helpless
sinners. If we have any fullness, it's
His fullness in us. Stay right there. That goes right
along with this. Look with me at Mark 10, Mark
chapter 10. Mark 10 verse 15. Verily I say unto you, whosoever
shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he
shall not enter therein. How did we receive him? As the
little children that we are. the little children that we are,
as the empty, helpless, little children that we are. The Father
has hid these things from those who see themselves as being wise
and prudent, and he has revealed these things to babes. Paul said,
stay right there. Do we realize how educated the
apostle Paul was? He was the only apostle who went
to seminary. And before the Lord ever used
him, he said, I take every bit of that and I count it all dung
and I throw it away. Christ is my wisdom. Christ is
my knowledge. Christ is my message. Christ
is my all. He said, stay right there. Just
walk in that. I'm just a babe. I'm just a babe. I love the fact that Solomon
was the wisest man who ever lived on this earth. And the Lord asked
him, you tell me what you want and I'll give it to you. And
this was Solomon's response. He said, I am but a little child. I'm but a little child, this
great king. And he said, I'm asking that
you would just give me wisdom to know how to lead your people. The Lord said, I'm gonna give
you that and I'm gonna give you everything else too. But that's how he started. I'm just a little child. That's how all of God's people
received Christ saying, I need you to lead me. I need you to
lead me. If the Lord allows me to become
old and gray, I'm going to be at the mercy of the Lord, leading
me, feeding me, clothing me, teaching me, everything me. Just a little child saying, please
don't leave me alone. Stay right there. Stay right
there. Let me show you two more and
I want to put these two together. Go with me to Luke 19. Luke 19
verse five. And when Jesus came to the place,
he looked up and saw him and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make
haste and come down for today I must abide at thy house. And he made haste and came down
and received him joyfully. That's how all of God's people
receive Him, joyfully. Why? It's because when they receive
Him, they receive the knowledge of this right here. Go with me
to Isaiah 40. All of them receive Him joyfully
because when they receive Him, they receive the knowledge of
this right here. Isaiah 40. Verse 1, it says, Comfort ye,
comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to
Jerusalem and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished,
that her iniquity is pardoned. Four, she hath received of the
Lord's hand double for all her sins. How have we received him? Abundantly. Abundantly. We have received a double portion. We've received a double portion
to the point that our cup is running over. Our cup really
is running over. with His goodness, the grace,
where our sin has abounded, His grace has much more abounded,
just abundantly. Paul said, for the comfort of
your heart, for the assurance of your mind, for the thanksgiving
of your soul. Don't ever forget that. Don't
ever get away from that. He said, don't let anything veer
you away from the rest and the peace that you have from receiving
Christ. having faith in Christ, standing
firm in Christ. He said in our text, he said,
don't fall for philosophy. That's the study of knowledge.
Don't fall for philosophy. He said, don't fall for vain
deceit. Whenever, you know, vain is I,
deceit is lies. Well, I know it says this, but
I think, he said, don't fall for that. If it's not God's word,
it's a lie. Let God be true, let every man
be a liar, including this one, starting with this one. Paul
said, don't fall for the tradition of men. Tradition has ruined,
ruined religion and worship, and don't fall for the tradition
of men. He said, don't fall for the rudiments of the world, the ordinances and elements and rituals. Stay on Christ. Stay on Christ
and your heart will be fully blessed, finding as He promised,
perfect peace and rest. As you therefore have received
Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him. Stay right there.
All right, Brother Dwight, you come.