Our devotional time this morning,
I'd like to read an article from our pastor, Gene Harmon, my pastor. And he takes his thoughts from
Matthew 24, 24, where we read, there shall arise false Christs
and false prophets and show great signs and wonders in so much
that if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Pastor Gene writes, self-righteous
religionists who oppose the truth have been around since Cain and
Abel. But in the above passage of Holy Scripture, our Lord Jesus
was referring to false Christs and false prophets who would
arise after his public ministry, after his death, burial, and
resurrection. Let me just name a few. The worship
of mother. and sun deities was around for
hundreds of years before our Lord Jesus came into this world.
300 years after the death of Christ, during the reign of the
Roman emperor by the name of Constantine, that false doctrine
was introduced into the so-called Christian church. All Constantine
had to do was change the names of the mother and the son to
Mary and Jesus. Millions and millions of people
have been deceived by that Christ-denying doctrine, by what is now called
Catholic religion. Mormonism was started by a liar
from Missouri. The number of that Christ-denying
religion has also grown into the millions. Seventh-day Adventism
was started by professing Christians who promoted a portion of the
law of Moses for acceptance with God. Our Lord's apostles were
martyred for their stand against that doctrine. Their number of
those seven-day Adventists has also grown into the millions.
So it shouldn't surprise us that millions of self-righteous religionists
have accepted the false doctrine of universal redemption, believing
that they have gained favor with God by their decision for Jesus. It is true that many of God's
elect in their unregenerate state were deceived by those false
prophets, but when God performs the miracle of the new birth
by sending the Spirit of His Son into the hearts of His chosen
blood-bought children, He guides us into all truth. That's in John 16.13. Under the preaching of His glorious
gospel, we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. He is
the believer's one and only hope. By God's grace and His Spirit
working in us, we renounce any and all religions that promote
man's work of any kind in the salvation of God's elect. And
as babes in Christ, we do not grow in grace, As babes in Christ, we do need
to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. That's what
it says in 1 Peter 3.18. But an enlightened child of God
will not have any lasting problems with any of God's truths. Gospel
truths. Man's total depraved condition
The unconditional election of grace of God, the atoning work
of Jesus Christ for particular people, the irresistible drawing
power of God the Holy Spirit, and the final perseverance of
the saints of God will be embraced by all those who have Christ
dwelling in them. Our sovereign Lord Jesus, the
blessed surety of his purchased possession, will make sure of
that very thing. He who is Lord of all will not
allow His promised children to be deceived by false Christs
and false prophets. No, we are kept by His power,
through faith, unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last
time. And that's in 1 Peter 1.5. Turn if you would again to the
letter to the saints at Colossae. The book of Colossians chapter
2. And in our last look at this letter, we consider the Apostle
Paul's continued encouragement. You'll recall over in verse 32,
this Jesus... No, that's not it. I know it's over there somewhere. That's why I'm not finding it.
I'm in the wrong book. You'll recall over in verse 23
when we began looking into this letter, it was all about Paul's
encouragement to these saints. And he talked about this in verse
23, if you continue in the faith, grounded and settled, be not
moved away from the hope. of the gospel which ye have heard,
and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven.
Wherefore, Paul, I am a minister, and made a minister." Now, I
wanted to point that out again because we need to keep that
before us as we go through the rest of this letter. Paul has
encouraged them as I would encourage you, as we would encourage any
one of God's children. Our sister is leaving off to
go to Utah. Her daughter has asked her to
go to services at a Calvary Baptist church, definitely one of those
free will churches. And she was concerned about that.
And I told her, I said, first off, number one, you're in God's
hands. And you can never, never be lost
if you belong to God. The Lord talks about being protected
from the fiery darts, the fiery serpents. I don't recommend that she go,
but I'm not going to tell her not to because it could be that
the Lord might open her heart of her daughter to talk about
something with her and give Cheryl the opportunity to discuss the
truths of the Bible with her. But we want to be careful. And
that's what I've emphasized with Cheryl, is that we want to be
very careful about going into these other places where false
doctrines are preached. Because this flesh we have is
weak. We saw how Laodicea at one time
was looked upon as being true Christians, and then the Lord
said at another time in Revelations, you have left the love that you
first loved. You have become not cold and
not hot. You've become lukewarm, and I
spew you out of my mouth. So we saw how Paul's encouragement
here in the book of Colossae is to encourage the saints. Remember
where your faith came from. Remember who it is that your
faith is in. Folks, we need this remembrance
every time we walk out those doors. I need this remembrance
every time I walk across to that little place next door that I
call my home and sit down in the chair. Paul was encouraging them to
stand fast. in the faith that is spoken of
throughout all of scriptures. Faith in Christ. We can put all
of our trust in Him for His promises. Trusting Jesus. That is all. Oh, what an easy thing to say,
but oh, what a difficult thing to do, huh? I don't know about
you folks, but my pride keeps getting up there in my way. You and I could benefit greatly
by this same stance. Look again with me if you would
at verses 5, 6, and 7 of chapter 2. For though I be absent in the
flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit. Here Paul is telling
the saints there at Colossae, I know I can't be with you. I'm
here in prison in Rome. But my heart is with you where
you are. My heart today is not with us
here only, but with all of God's saints all around. I got a chance
to meet so many people down there in San Diego. What lovely people. If you ever get a chance to go
for a drive, take a drive. It's only a day. It's only 10
minutes. No, it's a little longer than
10 minutes. Go down to San Diego and meet some brothers and sisters
in Christ. Go over to Marysville and meet the brothers and sisters
there. If you ever get a chance to go to the Dowell's Organ,
take a trip. I'll tell you what, those folks will open the doors
for you, just as we would open the doors for them if they came
here. What a bunch of lovely folks they were. For though I
be absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in the Spirit, joying
and beholding your order." Oh, how they love to hear the Gospel! I'm my own worst critic. I'm
pretty sure, I don't believe I made any mistakes
in my message. I believe I pointed them to Christ.
But my ability to do so, I'm pretty sure, left them with a
taste in their mouth as, oh boy, we're glad we got Kevin Thacker
as our preacher. No, they didn't show that at
all. I was nervous, nervous as a cat in a kennel of dogs. They were just so gracious, and
they loved to hear the gospel. For though I be absent in the
flesh, yet I am with you in the spirit, joying and beholding
your order and steadfastness of your faith in Christ. As ye have therefore received
Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him. Rooted and built up
in Him, and established in the faith as ye have been taught,
abounding therein with thanksgiving." We see in verse 7, Paul gives
us three thoughts to consider. Three thoughts that will encourage
us in our walk in Christ. First, he says, rooted and built
up in Him. Think about a tree. You know,
some trees I was in a cave one time, and we went way down. I mean, we went way down there.
It was like 30 minutes down into the ground. And we get all the
way down to the bottom of the ground, and they've got this
pool down there, and it's really pretty. They turn the lights
on, they turn the lights off, so you can see how dark it is
and all that stuff. And then the guy points up just
before we head out, and he goes, you see that root right there?
That root, you see, coming down, and it keeps right on going.
Look at that. He says, that root is from that big oak tree that
was way up there on top. Because they were able to somehow,
I don't know how they figured out how they were able to do that,
but somehow they were able to figure that that tree, its roots,
went all the way down in there. That's what this is talking about,
rooted. Rooted in Christ. He's our foundation. He's what
we hang on to. Better yet, He's what hangs on
to us. He's what hangs on to you and
I. I will never leave you nor forsake you is what He says.
He's got a hold of me no matter how hard I try at times and allow
my pride to jump up in front of me and cover my eyes and blind
me to the truths of things. My Lord has loved me from before
the world began. And He's loved each and every
one of His people. If you belong to Him, it's the
same story for you. Before the world began, everything
that is created was created because He loved us. Next it says that He established
in the faith, as ye have been taught and abounding therein,
Take these words to heart. Cheryl, as you go out into the
world where the gospel isn't preached, take these words to
heart, established in the faith that God has set upon your heart
in the teachings of Christ and Him crucified. I almost got in an argument with
somebody this morning. I don't know why I do this. I
go on Facebook and I look at things, and I've got family members
who are, without a doubt, free will Christians. They believe
it was your decision. It was your acceptance. I accepted Christ in such and
such a day. And in this statement that she
had posted on her Facebook page, it said, only if you accept Christ. You know, I looked it up in my
concordance. I didn't see anywhere in scriptures
where it talks about us accepting Him. It's always about Him accepting
us. Or one of the other ways that
you might use that word, but not once in scriptures did I
see where it was us accepting Him. And I almost came back and
said something about that, and then I thought, no, all that's
going to do is start a fight. She obviously has not been established
in a faith of grace. For by grace are you saved through
faith, not of yourselves. Thirdly, Paul points out in verse
7 that everything was done and is to be done with thanksgiving.
Folks, we have so much. We have great, great, great reasons
to be thankful. Let me ask you something. Are you thankful for the unspeakable
gift of Christ? Do you understand the unspeakable
gift that Christ didn't have to save any of us? It wasn't anything in you and
I that He saw that was worthy of His salvation. Only His Son, the Lord Jesus. Because of Him. Because of His
works. Because of His faithfulness.
Because of His perfection. Because of His righteousness.
Oh, how much we have to be thankful for the unspeakable gift of Christ.
I ask you, are you thankful for faith itself? which is the gift
of God. Have you ever heard Mike Lovelace
give his testimony about Seventh-day Adventism? Oh, how thankful he
is that he's been given the gift of God to believe the truth,
for he knew he was stooped in something else at one time, just
like the blind man knew that he was blind before, and now
he sees. Once I was blind, but now I see. Are you thankful for the gospel
and spiritual light that has come and been given to you by
our Lord and Savior? Are you thankful for true ministers? How about this, are you thankful
for all things in Christ? 1 Thessalonians 5.18, we read
this, and everything give thanks For this is the will of God in
Christ Jesus concerning you." If you put that together with
Romans 8.28, all things, if we believe what is taught in those
verses, then should we not be thankful in everything that is
brought our way? Did not Paul say, I glory in
my infirmities, in the trials that come my way? He gloried
in the fact that he was in prison for Christ's sake? Next, Paul gives us a warning.
In verse 8, beware. We see in this verse the error
of false religions, and it's dealt with under three heads.
Notice the first thing in verse 8. It says, beware lest any man
spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit. Now, it doesn't mean that there's
something wrong with all philosophy. But the Word of God is never,
it's never to be subjected to human reasoning. And that's what
philosophy is. It's man's way of thinking they
figure something out. God's word is never, and I repeat,
to be subjected to human reasoning and human philosophy is never
to be introduced into the worship service of God. In Romans 3,
4, we read this, let God be true and every man a liar. Secondly, Paul says in that after
the tradition of men, These are the practices and the rites in
the church without the authority of the written word of God. Having no warrant but custom
and human tradition. For instance, infant baptism. There's nowhere in scripture
where it talks about that. Yet man has instituted it in their
worship. I went to a baptismal one time. Boy, did they make a really big
deal of it. And I'm not saying we shouldn't come together when
one's being baptized and praise our Savior and our Lord for the
Lord revealing something to a man's heart or a woman's heart. But
this was a party. They didn't have, I don't know
why they didn't have their own baptismal at the church. It was
a huge place, Presbyterian Church over at Roseville. Hundreds of
people attending that church. And they said, OK, my niece and
nephew were going to be baptized. So we all went over there. My
brother Lee went with me at that time. We went over to this guy's
house out in Granite Bay, which is a very, very rich area. Lots of money out there. Big,
huge house. Big, huge pool. And they had
30 children. 30 children. Look at how blessed we are of
God. All these children being baptized
into the faith. Oh yeah, this is so wonderful.
I don't know. And it was a party thing. They
all just jumped in. I don't even remember what the young man said
who was doing the, he just did them all at one time. Both my nephew and niece, have
nothing to do with God anymore, now that they've become adults. Now that's not infant baptism,
but that's encouraging kids to get baptized and they haven't
even come to know who the Lord is. Just so you can put it under
your collar and call it, look what I have done. Look how many
souls I have brought to Jesus today. Traditions of men. Mass. Prayers for the dead. That's
what purgatory is. Praying for the dead. Maybe God
will save me if they spend enough time there. There's no such place
in scripture that talks about that. Traditions of men. Then Paul
writes this. The rudiments of the world. Mosaic
rites and ceremonies. In other words, I'm going to
circumcise my child because that's what God did in scriptures. And
that will bring him closer to God. No, it won't. Circumcision is of the heart.
The Lord Jesus Christ must circumcise the heart. Cut away that old
stone and give us a new heart of flesh. abstaining from certain meats.
We can't eat. We used to go down to my grandma's
house down in Riverside. I know I'm getting a lot of stories
going today, but I keep getting triggers of things. We used to
go down to my grandmother's house in Riverside. Riverside is a
huge, is it Seventh Day Adventists that won't eat meats on Sunday? Yeah. You go down to the store
and the meat department was empty or covered up. You couldn't even
buy a package of hot dogs to cook on Sunday afternoon. Why? Because that makes me more holy.
See what I'm talking about, the rudiments of the world? Things
that men invent so that they can say, look what I have done.
Look at how religious I am today. Or what about observing Sabbath
days? If you don't worship on Saturday, you aren't saved. That's
what some will say. Christ is the Sabbath of His
chosen people. And since Christ has fulfilled
all of those things that we just mentioned, the practice of them
is actually sinful. Because that's where your trust
is going. It's not going in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
it's going in something which you have done. It's sinful. Christ will not
mix with man's philosophy. He will not mix with man's traditions,
nor legal obedience. Verse 9, we read this, For in Him, in this One who is
Christ, Christ the Lord, for in Him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, There is absolutely nothing that
will make a believer look to Christ alone, cling to Christ
alone, or more than to realize that everything God is and that
everything God requires and that everything the sinner needs is
in Christ. Everything I need is in Him. In 1 Corinthians 1, verses 29
and 31, we read this, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus,
who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification,
and redemption, that according as it is written, he that glorieth
let him glory in the Lord. This is the third time that Paul
has told these Colossians that all the fullness is in Christ.
Look back with me to chapter 1, verse 19. Chapter 1, verse
19, For it pleased the Father that in Him, in Christ, should
all fullness dwell. And then over in chapter 2, verse
3, we read it this way, In whom are hid all the treasures of
wisdom and knowledge. This is why Paul could say these
very things to the Romans when he wrote to the Romans in 8 verses
31 through 35. What shall we then say to these
things if God be for us? Who can be against us? He that spared not His own Son,
but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also
freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who
is He that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea,
that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who
also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from
the love of Christ? I ask you this morning this question,
can fullness, can fullness be added to? Can you take a full
glass of water that's right to the brim, not another drop in
there, can you add anything to that? What happens to it? It
runs over the side, it's gone. Can perfection, can perfection
be added to? Can it be made more perfect? Perfect is perfect and full is
full. Can completeness, if we are complete
in Christ, can completeness be added to? Is there anything that
can be added to it if you're already complete? In the eyes
of men maybe so, but not God. Some Bibles may have a small
footnote at the end of the verse referring to the true meaning
of a word. For instance, here in verse 10, the word principality. And ye are complete in Him, which
is the head of all principality and power. This is referring
to His rule, His authority. Christ is Lord of all. He rules
all things. He has authority over all that
is. So if you are in Him, what more
could we add to? What more would we want to add
to? Have you ever heard anybody say,
I can't wait to get to heaven. I've got a bunch of rewards coming
there. There are those out there who do believe that there are
more rewards for you in heaven if you do certain things on this
earth. And I'm here to tell you right now that if Jesus Christ
is your reward, you don't need anything else. I've told somebody
who believes that, you go ahead and have all those rewards you
want. I'm happy just the fact that I get to go to heaven and
be with my Lord. Because I know I don't deserve that at all.
I know I deserve hell. I know that what I've done in
my life and what I will do is against my Lord. And because
of His love for me, I will be with Him forever. Not because
of anything I have done. Not because of anything I can
do, but because of Him. Grace, grace, and grace. That was my message Wednesday
night. I didn't title it that, but it
was all about grace. Oh, how I love to hear about my Lord's
grace for me. Folks, nothing, nothing can add
to the fullness of the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, if we try to
add to His fullness, we will pollute it, defile it. We are the circumcision made
without hands. Look at verse 11, if you would.
in whom also you are circumcised with the circumcision made without
hands, and putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the
circumcision of Christ." Christ himself must circumcise the heart. The stone must be cut off and
discarded. A new heart of flesh must be
put in its place, one that comes willingly to Christ, loving Him
because He first loved us. Henry Mahan wrote this. Circumcision
was instituted by God in Genesis 17. It was a token of the covenant,
the promises of God's blessings to a people. It was a sign by
which Israel was distinguished from other nations. It is a picture
of spiritual regeneration, circumcision of the heart, which is putting
off the body and the power of sin. Circumcision was necessary
to eating the Passover. If you read in Exodus 12, chapter
12, verse 48, even those who came in from outside of the camp
of Israel, if they were to sit and eat with Israel, all the
men in that group had to be circumcised. Also, you read in Luke 1 and
Luke 2 where male children were named at the time of their circumcision. And then the end of his quote
here goes with this, circumcision of the heart brings us to the
table of the Lord and gives us a new name. We are now called
sons of God. All this we have in our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ. To be quite frankly, other than
medical reasons, circumcision is not necessary anymore." End
of quote. Verse 12, we read, 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." We are not only circumcised in Christ in
a spiritual sense, having the token evidence and power of the
covenant of grace, but all our sins are buried with Christ,
of which our baptism in water is a representation of. This
saves nobody. Don't ever encourage somebody
to come up here and get in a bathtub and say you'll be saved if you
do that. Because that's wrong. Christ
saves us. Circumcises the heart. Gives
us a new heart. And at that time when we have
seen the truth of what we are before God, and what His grace
is to us now, that's when we get baptized. declaring ourselves
to be buried with Him, and then raising with Him. This is what
baptism is. It's a representation. Christ
died for our sins and was buried, and when He arose, all our sins
were left behind. It is through faith that we see
ourselves crucified, buried, and risen with Christ. It is
not just any faith, but that which is of God's operation. That's what we read there in
verse 12. With Him through faith of the operation of God. Then in verse 13 we read, And
you, you being dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of
your flesh, hath He quickened. This is my title for this morning.
You know, that was a long introduction. Now we're going to get to the
message. And you hath He quickened. It's an old word. It means made
alive. And you being dead in your sins
and the uncircumcised in your flesh, has He quickened together
with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses." God raised Christ
from the dead and God must raise us from the dead. We were dead
in trespasses and sin. Read with me if you would. Turn
over to Ephesians chapter 2. It's just a little bit to the
left there. Ephesians chapter 2. Most of you could quote these
verses by heart. Here's that word quickened, and
you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sin. Now
notice this though, wherein time past ye walked according to the
course of this world, according to the prince of the power of
air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience,
among whom also we all had our conversation, we all had our
walk, we all had our life. In times past, in the lust of
our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind,
and we're by nature children of wrath, even as others. An
unregenerate person is one who still walks in death. One who
still walks in that old stony heart, saying, I will not have
the God of all creation rule over me. I have my own authority. That's exactly what the devil
did. And we've all walked that path at one time or another.
Verse 4. Here we go. Here's the good stuff.
But God. And it don't get no better than
that. But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith
He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, and hath quickened
us together with Christ by grace ye are saved, and hath raised
us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in
Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding
riches of his grace in his kindness towards us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God." Folks, forgiveness of sin does
not come in piecemeals. You aren't forgiven a little
bit here, and then I'll forgive you a little more later on, and
I'll forgive you more later on. Our sins are forgiven in total. Every sin I've ever committed,
and I've committed more than I'll admit to you, every sin
that I will commit, and I know I'll commit more than I will
ever admit to you, has been laid upon my Savior in total. Forgiveness of sin is not done
in piecemeal, but is done at once and includes all of our
sins, past, present, and future. This is what we read in 1 John
1 verse 7. But if we walk in the light,
as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another,
and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all
sin. Is that good news to you? That's
great news to me. When we are brought by saving
grace to believe in Christ, we that are at that moment united
to Christ, all that Christ did, all that He suffered, all that
He procured as our head, whether in this life, death, burial,
resurrection, or exaltation, is imputed to you and I. Our sins were imputed to Him. His righteousness is imputed
to us. Now there's some men who think
they can explain that really, really well. And I'm not one
of those men. But I know that my God has said
it so. And because He said it so, I
believe it. It's as if this... It's as if... We were right there
with Him, right next to Him, hanging on that cross at the
same time He was. In Ephesians 1-3 we read this,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who
has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places
in Christ. And as we just read in Ephesians
2 verse 6, and He hath and hath raised us up together and made
us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Folks, this
is what it means to be in Christ. We have it all. I know it doesn't seem like it.
We think we have desires. I was thinking about this the
other day. For my wife's sake and for my sake, my own comfort,
I really would like to have that construction over there done. I've joked around a little bit
about it. We'll be done doing the construction over there and
the residence just in time for Kathy and I to be retired from
the ministry. I know the day will come. just
as it has for many of God's preachers, where I won't be able to stand
in the pulpit anymore, where a new pastor will need to stand
before the people. And it's about the time I think
we'll be done with that over there. And I was thinking about
this as I was considering that thing. Oh, how comfortable it would
be to have it all done. Then I wouldn't be looking to
my Lord for what I need. It doesn't just apply to that. I share that
with you because that applies to everything. Isn't it wonderful
to have needs? Isn't it wonderful that we need
something? We come to the Lord because we need something, and
He fulfills our needs, and then we need more. And I pray the
Lord will continue to give me more needs, so that I will continue
to come to Him. Where was I? We are complete, as it says in
Colossians 2.10. In Christ we have the seal of
the covenant in our hearts, as it says in Colossians 2.11. In
Christ we are risen from the dead, as it says in Colossians
2.12. In Christ we are forgiven of all of our sins, as it says
in Colossians 2.13. Right now. God looks upon you,
and He sees the blood of His Son, and that is enough. Look
at verse 14 with me, if you would. 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. When we think
of the handwriting, you can think about this. Remember the handwriting
on the wall with Belshazzar? And then we read, Thou art weighted
in the balance and found wanting. This handwriting against us is
the whole ceremonial law of Moses, with its ordinances and its commandments
and its laws, plus the moral law. We are weighted and found
wanting when it comes to the law of God, the law of Moses. Yet in Romans 3 verse 19 we read
this, Now we know that what thing soever the law saith, it saith
to them who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped,
and all the world may become guilty before God. And then we
read in verse 23, For all have sinned and come short of the
glory of God. That's what the law points us to. We have come
short, and we will continue to come short as long as we look
at what's in this flesh, but our Lord has fulfilled it all
perfectly. None but Christ could put away
this handwriting, because none but Christ was able to satisfy
what it required. In Hebrews 10.9 we read this,
and I'll bring this to a close. Then said he, Lo, I come to do
thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that's
the law, the law of Moses, the covenant of the law, that he
may establish the second, the covenant of grace, the covenant
of love, the covenant that the Lord Jesus Christ made with God
the Father and God the Spirit before a star ever twinkled in
the sky. Going on by the witch will, he says, we are sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. It took His perfect life and
His perfect sacrificial death to do this very thing. Look at the first three verses
of Colossians chapter 3 with me if you would. If ye then be risen with Christ,
seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right
hand of God. Set your affection on things
above, not on the things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your
life is hid with Christ in God." Folks, you recall my demonstration
of the sovereignty of God, the sovereignty in His grace, in
man's responsibility. Remember when I showed that last
week, I think it was, or the week before? No man can draw
that line, but both are sure and true. Look again at verses
6 and 7 of chapter 2. As ye have therefore received
Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him. How? How do we walk in Him? Rooted. and built up in Him." Notice
it doesn't say anything about the flesh here. It's rooted and
built up in Him, established in the faith, the very faith
that is a gift of His, as ye have been taught, abounding therein
with thanksgiving. Can it be any more plainer than
that? Remember, we have an Advocate
in Heaven. Remember this. We have an Advocate in Heaven,
the One that we are rooted in, the One that we are built up
in, sitting on His throne, which is what our faith is established
in, that He is on His throne working all things out for our
good, including our failures, including our missteps, including
what goes on in the flesh. ruling all that is for His glory,
making intercession for those that He has loved from before
the world was. And when you know that, can you
go on without any thanksgiving for His grace for you? I get the pleasure and the honor to stand before
you and tell you how thankful I am of my Lord. Are you as thankful? Amen.