Go with me, if you would, back
to Colossians chapter 4. I have an urgent message for
us. I pray that the Lord will give
us a door of utterance, as the text right here says, because
I do have an urgent message. We just looked at verse 1 in
conjunction with chapter 3. So beginning in verse 2, the
Apostle Paul writes, continue in prayer and watch
in the same with thanksgiving. He said continue in prayer, watch
in prayer, watch in the same, and be thankful in prayer. Pray often. Pray often. We don't do that, and that's
why the Word continually reminds us to. Thankfully, God's Holy
Spirit is praying for us, making intercession for His people with
groanings that we could never utter. I'm so glad for that.
Aren't you so glad that God does everything that needs to be done
before God? But may He remind us to pray
often, as often as you can. And he said, don't just give
careless lip service like we all feel like we're so prone
to doing. We sit down at the dinner table
and we just... He said, be alert in prayer. That's what he means by watch.
Be alert when you pray. When we do it, let's have a sincere
connection and a sincere conversation with the living God. That's what
prayer is. Talking to Him. And let's spend the majority
of that time giving thanks. That's what he said to do. Continue
in prayer, watch and be thankful. Spend the majority of that time
thanking instead of asking. And may he cause us to do that.
May he cause us to be thankful, thankful. But Paul said, this
is a request that I would strongly urge you to pray for. Spend most
of your time thanking instead of asking, but this is a request
I would strongly urge all of God's people to pray for. Verse
three, it says, with all praying also for us that God would open
unto us a door of utterance to speak the mystery of Christ for
which I am also in bonds, that I may make it manifest as I ought
to speak." He said, pray that God would open a door of utterance
to us. That's a good thing to pray for.
That's an important thing to pray for. By the commandment
of God and by my own personal request, pray for me. Pray for me. Pray for whoever
has been called to stand up behind a pulpit and preach. Pray that the door of this mouth
or whoever's mouth is standing, pray that the door of this mouth
may be opened. Verse four says that I may make
it manifest as I ought to speak. Pray for me and pray for the
other men who are standing in truth today. A brother from this
congregation is preaching at another place. Pray for him.
It doesn't take long. Peter prayed a prayer when he
said, Lord, save me, right before he went under that water. Lord,
help him. Pray for us that God would open
the door of utterance. That His Word would be clearly
proclaimed. that His work and His honor and
His glory would be clearly set forth. Pray for that. And then pray for us as a congregation. Pray that the door of these hearts
would be opened. I pray for you. Pray for us. Pray for me as a preacher and
pray for me as a hearer. I want to hear the Word today,
too. I've been begging the Lord to bless me, too. Lord, I'd love
to be fed, too. Pray for yourselves that the
Lord would bless this Word to your heart. A man can get up
here and say words and say words and try to do the best he can,
but if God's Spirit does not bring the door of utterance,
if it does not open the door of utterance, no one will be
blessed. No one will be fed. So pray for me and pray for you
and pray for your children. That God's utterance, not my
utterance, but the utterance of God Almighty would enter the
door of their hearts and reveal the great mystery of Christ to
them. Verse two says, continue in prayer,
and watch in the same with thanksgiving, with all praying also for us,
that God would open unto us a door of utterance to speak the mystery
of Christ, for which I am also in bonds, that I may make it
manifest as I ought to speak." The truth concerning salvation. The truth concerning God and
the truth concerning eternity is a mystery. It's a mystery
in two ways or in two categories of people. When it comes to mankind's
ability to rationalize. Mankind, when it comes to his
ability to learn and think and understand, and I will give credit
where it's due, we have some smart men and women on this earth. But when it comes to man's ability
to rationalize, God's truth is a mystery to man in two ways. All men and women, all into one
of two categories. There are those who know that
they don't know anything about God. And they don't know anything
about salvation. They don't know anything about
eternity. It is a complete mystery to them. And then there are those that
are of their own fleshly thoughts, of their own natural way of thinking,
their own imagination, the scripture says. Their own rationalization. They think they know something
about God. And they think they know something
about salvation and eternity. But they have no idea. I mean
they have no idea. My heart breaks. for men and
women who are in this situation, but they have no idea that they
are just lost in religion. And the truth concerning Christ
and the truth concerning His salvation, it's still a mystery
to them. Many think they have it figured out, but they have
no idea that they have yet to see and understand the mystery
of Christ. They have no idea. They're convinced they have it
figured out. Our Lord said in Isaiah 55, this
is what He said, Your ways are not My ways. Your thoughts are
not My thoughts. He said, As the heavens are higher
than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My
thoughts higher than your thoughts. What that means is, man does
not have the ability to rationalize God. Not at all. He cannot rationalize salvation
and eternity. The truth of it is too far above
Him. It's too far above every person
in this room. Whether man realizes it or not,
it's a mystery. Whether he realizes it or not.
The only hope that any man or woman has of ever coming to know
the mystery is if God will reveal it to him. God is going to have
to reveal it to him. Now let me show you that in the
Word. Go with me over to 1 Corinthians
chapter 2. 1 Corinthians 2 verse 7, it says, But we speak the wisdom
of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained
before the world unto our glory. We are speaking hidden wisdom
that God ordained before the world unto our glory. Here we
are declaring. Verse 8, Which none of the princes
of this world knew, for had they known it, they would not have
crucified the Lord of glory. Do we know, earthly speaking,
humanly speaking, who hung Christ on the cross? Spiritually speaking, actually
speaking, He hung Himself on the cross. He set His face like a flint
to the cross. He said, no man takes my life
from me, I willingly lay it down. He said, for this cause came
I into the world. But by way of human means, the
means that God allowed for it to happen. Do we know who hung
Christ on the cross? Religion did. We think about
this mob of people, this mob of angry people. The preachers
and the congregations came together And they said, we're going to
do away with Him. We're going to do away with Him
altogether. Now, why of all people would
they do that? Of all people, why would they
be the ones to do that? Two reasons. Number one, it's
because that's what God predetermined for to be done. The second reason
is because they did not know the mystery of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Verse 8 right here says, Which
none of the princes of this world knew, for had they known it,
they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it
is written, I have not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered
into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them
that love Him. But God hath revealed them unto
us by His Spirit. For the Spirit searcheth all
things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth
the things of a man, save the spirit of a man which is in him?
Even so the things of God knoweth no man but the Spirit of God."
Here's what that means. I am thinking of something right
now. Something's in my brain. It's
a thing on this earth, okay? What is it? How could you possibly know that
if I didn't tell it to you? How could you possibly know what
was in my mind if I did not reveal it to you? How much more is that
so concerning God? Verse 11 says, For what man knoweth
the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him?
Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Only God knows what's in the
mind and heart and will and purpose of God. Verse 12, Now we have received,
not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God,
that we might know the things that are freely given to us of
God. Which things also we speak, not
in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy
Ghost teacheth, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. That which
is flesh is flesh, it will always be flesh. And that which is spirit
is spirit, it will always be spirit. Verse 14 says, But the
natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God,
for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them,
because they are spiritually discerned. That means he will
not and he cannot. Mankind will never be able to
know and understand the things of God if God does not tell him. He must reveal it. A prime example
of that is when Paul told the Galatians. In Galatians chapter
1 he said, I prospered in religion. I was so good at religion. Church? You've never seen a church goer
like me. Never. I had all the traditions
down. I knew everything that all the
elders passed down. I knew the law, buddy. I knew
this law. I was a top leader in the church. He said, but I did not know the
mystery of Christ until God revealed His Son in me. I had all this stuff down, but
I did not know the mystery of Christ until God revealed His
Son in me. That's when the revelation comes.
When God reveals it. And God reveals it to whoever
He is pleased to reveal it to. Look with me if you would at
Matthew chapter 13. Matthew 13, our Lord here gave the parable
of the sower. He told a physical story, and
that's what this book is full of, physical stories, physical
applications. And after He was finished telling
this physical story, He said in verse 9, Matthew 13, verse
9, Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. Whoever has been given
ears to hear what I just said, not the ears on the side of the
head, the ears of the heart. Who hath ears to hear, let him
hear. And the disciples came and said
unto him, why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered
and said unto them, because it is given unto you to know the
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. But to them it is not given until
God reveals His hidden truth concerning Himself, concerning
His people, concerning His salvation, until God reveals His spiritual
matters. Physical matters is all men and
women will see. The physical matters of the Word,
that's all they'll see. He'll see laws. He'll see do's
and don'ts. And he will think, I understand
God. I understand what God demands.
I understand what God will accept. I understand what will make me
righteous before Him. I see the law and I see how I
need to apply them to myself. I just need to go to work. The man or woman who sees that
has never seen the mystery of Christ. Most people think if you do good
you go to heaven and if you do bad you go to hell. The man or
woman who believes that has never believed the mystery of Christ.
There is none good, no not one. No, not one. There never has
been, there never will be. Not in the flesh. Now, if the
Lord will open a door of utterance, I pray that He will, by His Spirit,
right now, declare the mystery to our hearts as it ought to
be declared. I just want to tell the mystery. God has revealed it through His
Word. And I just want to declare this
mystery that God has given to us. And I pray God will apply
it to our hearts. Cause us to see it. Cause us
to believe it. Don't turn to these, but Mark
4 calls it the mystery of the kingdom of God. Ephesians 1 calls it the mystery
of His will. Ephesians 6 calls it the mystery
of the gospel. Colossians 2 calls it the mystery
of God. Our text, Colossians 4, calls
it the mystery of Christ. 1 Timothy 3 calls it the mystery
of the faith. All of God's people believe this
same mystery. And right there in 1 Timothy
3, the Apostle Paul spells out what it is. Turn with me if you
would to 1 Timothy 3. 1 Timothy 3. He summarizes all of those things
by calling it the mystery of godliness. This is what took
place in the kingdom of God. This right here was His will.
This is the revelation of who Christ is. This is the good news
of the gospel. This is what God did. And this
is what all of God's people believe concerning Him, themselves, their
salvation. 1 Timothy 3 verse 16, it says,
and without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness.
God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen
of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, Believed on in the
world, received up into glory. What a mystery. What a great
mystery. I really do pray the Lord would
open this up to us and cause us to see this. God gave demands
to mankind. He made man. And then He gave
demands to mankind, and mankind could not fulfill one of those
demands. Not even that first simple demand. Of His own decision, man would
not fulfill those demands. That was man's free will decision. If man has a free will, this
is what it is. I'm going to sin against God.
That's what he did. That's what he wanted to do.
That was his own decision. And in the process, man fell
into absolute ruin. He didn't just mix some bad in
with the good and taint things. He lost all good. Everything that was good about
him. And he gained evil. He replaced all of the good with
evil. Wickedness. Badness. He lost his life and he gained
death. In his fallen state, because
of his utter ruin, because of his sin before God, God had to
judge him. God is holy. In that judgment, all of mankind
was condemned before God. condemned to eternal destruction,
all of mankind. But God, in His goodness, man
lost all of his goodness. After that, it was found to be
so that there was none good but God. So God, in His goodness,
chose to save what He called a remnant of those fallen people. He purposed before the foundation
of the world Knowing that they would fall. Before He ever created
man, He knew they would fall. How do we know that? He provided
a lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Knowing that they would fall,
He purposed to save a particular group of those people from that
eternal ruin. So God came down to sinful man
because He purposed that and determined that. God came down
to sinful man. Verse 16 says, and without controversy,
great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. God did not send his son down. I'll say that again. That's a
what? God did not send his son down. The Son of God came down. God is three equal persons. The Father of God, the Son of
God, and the Spirit of God. These three are one. To see one
of them is to see them all. Our Lord said, if you have seen
Me, you have seen the Father. Talk about a mystery. If you
want to look at God the Father, you ever wonder, I wonder, you
know, if you want to see God the Father, look at Jesus Christ.
Isaiah wrote, unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. What's his name? The everlasting
Father. That's his name. So that child
that was born 2,000 years ago in a manger in Bethlehem, that
child had no beginning. That child never came into existence,
never. John said, in the beginning was
the word. The word was with God and the
word was God and the word was made flesh. All things were made
by him and without him was not anything made that was made.
Now, do you want to talk about a mystery? Jesus Christ never
began. He dwelled with the Father of
God and the Spirit of God for all eternity. How far can your
brain go back into never beginning eternity? How do you do that? It's easier to think of never
ending eternity. But how do you go back? You talk
about a mystery. So God the Father, Son, and Spirit,
they dwelled together for all eternity. At His appointed time,
He is the one who spoke this world into existence. He spoke
everything in the world into existence. Jesus Christ, by Him
all things were made, and without Him was not anything made that
was made. He is the one who formed Adam from the dust of the ground.
Jesus Christ did that. He is the one who walked with
Adam and Eve in the garden. He is the one, after they sinned,
who showed them the picture of redemption by slaying a lamb, shedding blood, and providing
a sinless covering, those coats of skins for them. He is the one, years later, who
was grieved in his heart and said, I'm going to destroy man.
Noah built an ark. That was him. He's the one who
gave Noah the dimensions. A few years later, he is the
one who spoke to Moses in the burning bush. He's the one who said, you go
tell him I am, had sent you. They came to him so many times
and he asked them when they were going to take him to the cross.
Whom seek ye? They said, Jesus of Nazareth. He said, I am. And
they all fell back like trees. Now, who are you looking for? He is the one who wrote with
his finger and gave Moses the law. That was the finger of Jesus
Christ. He is the one that the adversary
had to appear before concerning Job his servant. They all had
to appear before God. That was Him. He is the one who
gave the permission to afflict Job. He is the one who David
sang about. The shepherd. His beloved. He is the very one
that gave Solomon his wisdom. He is the one that Isaiah wrote
about and God the Father spoke of. Behold my servant, we saw
that a moment ago. Isaiah 53. He is the one who stood in the
fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Nebuchadnezzar
said, I see four men in there and the fourth one looks like
the Son of God. He is the one who told Jonah
to go to Nineveh and put Jonah in that whale's belly. He is the one that the entire
Old Testament spoke of. In the beginning, God created
the heaven and the earth. And God was manifest in the flesh. Made flesh and dwelt among us.
What a mystery. What a mystery. Verse 16 says,
without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God
was manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit. God came and God
earned for his people what they could not earn themselves. A perfect obedience before him. That's what they couldn't earn.
A perfect obedience. All right, now think about this. He is the one who demanded it. He is the one who came and did
it. He's the one who accomplished it. He said, if you don't do
this, you're going to die in your sins. He came and did what
He demanded of them to do. What the law could not do for
His people, because their flesh was so weak, what could the law
not do for them? It could not justify them. It could not say, well done thou
good and faithful servant. Because all God's people had
done was broken the law. The law had to condemn. So God came and satisfied His
own law for His own people. And that's a mystery. God gave
the law, God had to come down and obey it for His people. The very law He gave. So God,
Christ, satisfied the law, and that's wonderful. The law said,
I'm happy. Yep, it looks good. But even though the law was now
satisfied, God's people had already committed sin against it. They owed a sin debt to God. Christ that they couldn't pay. So while God was here on this
earth, He paid a debt for His people that they could not pay
for themselves. The wages of their sin, that
payment owed, was death. And He made the payment for them.
The payment was owed to Himself. And He Himself made the payment
to Himself. You talk about a mystery. Payment
was owed to Him. And He didn't say, well, never
mind. He came and made the payment to Himself. Because of His own judgment on
His people for their sin, because of His own judgment, He Himself
came, God, and earned the perfection that He demanded and satisfied,
he paid the payment that he himself was owed. Verse 16 says, without
controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest
in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels. They
watched him walk out of his own tomb. They saw everything about
him. down to the moment that they
saw Him come out of His own tomb. It's not that there were no witnesses.
God provided witnesses. Proof, yeah, we saw it. He was
in there. He walked right out. He made
the payment. As poor wretched sinners, no God and no hope,
it seemed there was no one to help. But God, in His mercy,
salvation supplied, emptied heaven, and came down Himself, and a
ransom was found. Verse 16 says, without controversy,
great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh,
justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the
Gentiles. I'm speaking of mystery right
here. I don't understand this. God
has caused me to bow to it. I don't understand this. But
He's caused me to bow to it. It has pleased the Lord to use
a foolish man standing up at a pulpit in all
of his foolishness. It has pleased the Lord by the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. If he had not said that over
and over and over again, I would look at myself and say, this
can't be his means. Verse 16 it says, God was manifest
in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached
unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world. What is happening
right here is a mystery. A man is called to stand up and
preach. He can only preach by the power
of God and the Spirit of God. He preaches the Word of God.
And you never know when it's going to happen. I stand up Sunday
morning after Sunday night, after Wednesday night, and you never
know when it's going to happen. But at some point, God through
this will quicken one of his chosen centers to life. We don't take part in it. It's
God's business, God's work. God through that quickening justifies
His people. He is the justifier of them. He is the one doing the justifying. And He does it by Him sending
His own faith. It's His faith. It's not even
our faith in Him. He sends His own faith. placing
it in and performing it in. He's the one who performs it.
He's the one who had it. He's the one who gave it. He's
the one who performs it. He's the one who causes it to
look back to Him. And with that look, the look
that He gave and the look He performed, with that look, He
justifies His people. He accepts them. with Himself. He comes back to His own throne. He brought His own blood. He
accepts them with Himself, by Himself, to Himself. This is what Ephesians 1 says.
We are adopted by Jesus Christ to Himself. Verse 16 says, without controversy,
great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh,
justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the
Gentiles, believed on in the world, and received up into glory. And all of his people were, are,
and will be received up with him because of him. What a mystery. What a great and glorious mystery. If God ever opens that door of
utterance to us, we will throw away our self-righteous man-made
works. We will throw away all rationale
that our mind has ever come up with. And we'll cry, thank God for
the mystery. Thank God for revealing the mystery. I honestly do pray
God will open this door of utterance to us. May we speak, may we hear,
may we believe this wonderful mystery of Christ. May our Lord
help us. All right, Brother Eddie, you
come in.