I can't sing that hymn without being reminded that all the promises of God, all the promises of God are yea, yes, sure, and amen, certain, in Christ, in Christ. We used to sing that hymn in religion and never really made that that connection, that the promises of God are fulfilled in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, trusting in our King.

I believe our first text this morning in a moment or two will come from Colossians chapter two, if you'd like to turn with me there, but I want to make some Some introductory comments before we get to that. Colossians chapter two. I've titled this message, God's Greatest Blessing. God's Greatest Blessing. And I would encourage you to consider that for yourself. I, in preparation for this message, have thought much about what is God's greatest blessing to me. And of course, you would not expect me to say or to affirm to you that God's greatest blessing has anything to do with those things that are physical.

Is life itself a blessing from God? Yes. Is the breath that we breathe a blessing from God? Yes. Is family a blessing from God? Yes. All these things are great blessings and we're thankful for them. We thank God. We wouldn't have them without him. But are these things God's greatest blessings? The greatest blessings of God are not physical.

They are spiritual. They're spiritual. They're not temporal. They are eternal. You might say, well, being able to understand and believe the Bible, that would be a spiritual blessing. That would be a great blessing. Yes, it is a great blessing. Yes, it is spiritual. But it's not the greatest blessing. is a means to an end. It is a means to the great blessing of God. You might be thinking, well, having a place to worship and having believers to rejoice with and having a man that God has called to preach the gospel and to tell me the truth from God's word, that's a blessing, that's a great blessing.

And oh, it is, it is a great blessing how thankful we are. And how as we look at the religious scene of this world, how few and far between our faithful gospel churches. For that blessing, we are eternally grateful. You might say, well, we have a gift of faith. That is a great blessing.

Without faith, no man can see God. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. If any man comes to God, he must believe that he is, and he must believe that he's the rewarder of those who diligently seek him in faith. Yes, faith is. a great blessing, an indispensable blessing, a blessing that we must have if we're going to be saved.

But are these things the greatest blessing? What is the greatest blessing that God could ever give you and me? The one blessing that would outshine and make in light of the glory of this blessing, everything else insignificant. The one blessing that would outshine all other blessings, if you had this blessing, you wouldn't need anything else. Well, the greatest blessing is not a thing. It is not a thing. It is nothing less than God himself. He is the greatest blessing.

In Genesis chapter 15, after Abram had had that encounter with the pre-incarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus, who is called Melchizedek, the priest of the Most High, and the King of Salem, the King of Peace. In the next verse, the Lord speaks to Abram and says, Abram, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. I am thy shield. I am thy protector. and I am thine exceeding great reward. Abram, I'm your blessing. The Lord Jesus said in John chapter 17, this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

The knowledge of God. Not just knowledge about God. A lot of people know a lot of things that are true about God who have never met him, who don't know him. Just like you might have a lot of information about a historical figure but never having met them, or a contemporary person who perhaps is on the news. You know a lot of things about them, but you never met them.

This is God's greatest blessing himself. I ask you to open your Bibles to Colossians chapter two. Let's read a couple of verses there. Colossians chapter two. beginning in verse two, that their hearts, now this is Paul's prayer, and this is our prayer for ourselves and for one another, that their hearts might be comforted. Their hearts might be comforted. As goes the heart, so goes everything else.

Being knit together in love, unto all the riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God and of the Father and of Christ, in whom, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. You remember what Paul said in 1 Timothy 1, verse 12, that we read in the previous hour. Paul said, I'm not ashamed, for I know whom. He said, I know what I believe, I know whom I have believed, and I'm persuaded that he is able. All the mysteries of knowledge, all the comfort of heart is hid in him, in him.

If we're to know Him, we will know Him in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Philip, in John chapter 14, said, Lord, show us the Father and it sufficeth us. Just reveal to us who God is and we'll be satisfied. Philip, have you known me so long that you don't know that if you've seen me, you've seen the Father, for I and the Father are one. To know God and to see God is to know Christ and to see Christ.

He is the blessing. To be able from the heart to rest in Christ, to rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ, to fellowship in the spirit of Christ, to love Christ, to love Christ. This is the greatest blessing. This is the blessing that is indispensable. And as I read these things and say these things, I hope that God the Holy Spirit is doing in your heart what he did in my heart.

Lord, I want to know thee. Lord, don't let me be satisfied with just having information about you. Lord, I need to know you. And I'm not able. I'm not able to meet you any more than I'm able to go back in history and get to know a historical figure that I might know a lot about. No, it's gonna take a miracle of grace if I'm going to know you.

The Lord Jesus Christ is not an idea. He is not a doctrine. He is a living person. in glorified flesh and blood. The Lord Jesus Christ is a living person in glorified flesh and blood. Thomas, put your hand into my side. Put your finger into my wounds. He ate with the disciples. He ascended bodily back into heaven. He took his rightful place at the right hand of the majesty on high.

He ever lives to make intercession for us. The angels told the disciples on the Mount of Olives, this same Jesus, this same one that you just saw bodily ascend back into heaven will come again in like manner. The Lord Jesus Christ is not a doctrine. He's not a theological idea. He is a living person of glorified flesh and blood. He is the second person of the triune Godhead.

And all that we will ever know about God, we'll know in him, in him. Paul said in Philippians chapter three, I just want to know him. And I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. Whatever I have to lose, all of my righteousness, all of my strength, His strength is made perfect in our weakness. His ability only comes when we're unable. It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. A camel going through the eye of a needle?

That's kind of an exaggeration. No, God doesn't speak in exaggeration. He doesn't use hyperbole. When our God speaks, that was the Lord Jesus. You can squeeze a camel through the eye of a needle before you're gonna get a rich man into heaven. And the disciples said, Lord, who then could be saved? For we are all rich in the assessment of our own righteousness. And the Lord Jesus said, what's impossible with man? You can't get a camel through the eye of a needle. You can't get yourself into heaven. But what's impossible with man is possible with God. It's possible with God.

The Lord Jesus Christ has sent the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, to cause us to need him, to want him, to believe on him, to love Him, to follow Him. He is the blessing. He's the blessing. And if we have Him, we have everything. We have everything. If we don't have Him, we've got nothing. Nothing. And all the temporal blessings that we enjoy in this life from the hand of God, from the very breath that we breathe to all the good things that we enjoy, they will stand in condemnation of us. Those blessings will be a curse to us without Christ, without Christ. The blessing of God is the presence of a person.

No man shall pluck you out of my hand. We are in his hand. The Lord Jesus, in speaking of the Holy Spirit, said, the spirit of truth shall be with you and shall be in you. I will never leave you nor forsake you. The kingdom of God is not by observation. The kingdom of God is in you. Christ in you is your hope of glory. Lord, don't let me settle for anything short of that blessing. I must have that blessing. Only the spirit of God can put that desire in our hearts.

But oh, what a great thing it is when he does, because if we have the desire to know him, to love him, to follow him, to believe on him, that's the evidence that the Lord has done something for us. He doesn't create that desire and then leave it unfulfilled. When we ask, we shall receive. When we seek, we shall find. Having this blessing is to have fellowship with a person, to have fellowship with a person. When we pray, when we rejoice, when we worship, We're not offering up something to some ethereal idea. We're worshiping a person.

John said it like this, that which we have seen and that which we have heard, we saw him, we heard him, we touched him. Peter said, we did not bring you fables, that we actually handled the Word of God. And John said, that which we have seen and that which we have heard, we declare unto you that you might have fellowship with us and that truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. To have fellowship with Him. We understand what fellowship is amongst ourselves. We're able to share with one another our love and our hearts and our desires and our experiences. We fellowship in the gospel. We pray for one another. It's the same thing.

The difference is that we look upon that which cannot be seen. Not with physical eyes. and we hear that which cannot be heard with the physical ear. I love that old preacher that said, someone asked him, you heard the voice of God audibly? And he responded by saying, no, it's a whole lot louder than that. It's a whole lot louder than that. You've seen God physically? No, I've seen him a lot more clearly than that. My eyes deceive me, my ears deceive me, my ears especially deceive me a lot. I answer questions that people aren't asking, because I thought that's what they said.

But when God speaks, it's so crystal clear. He's a person. That's, he's the blessing. He's the blessing. John went on to say, these things I write unto you that your joy might be full. Your joy might be full. Do you see why having fellowship with and knowing this person is something that can only be done spiritually in the heart? This is a work of grace. We must be given the mind of Christ. We must be given a new heart, a living heart, a heart of faith. We're not looking for experiences to confirm these things. We're looking to the revelation that the Lord has made of himself.

Turn with me to John 17, please. John chapter 17. We'll begin in verse 20. The Lord Jesus is praying for the disciples. He's praying for those that he's about to leave in this world. He's been their comforter. He's been their friend. He's been their Lord. He's been their teacher. He's walked with them. They've depended upon him. And now he's about to leave them and their hearts are gripped with fear. And so the Lord is praying for them. And I love what he says in verse 20. When he prays for them, he says to his heavenly father, neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word.

That's you and me. That's us. The Lord Jesus, 2000 years ago in his high priestly prayer, prayed for all his people. That they may be one. As thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me, and the glory which thou gavest me, I have given them, that they may be one, even as we are one, I in them, and thou in me, that they may be perfect in one that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them as thou hast loved me." The Lord Jesus just said that the love that the heavenly father has for his people that he's praying for is exactly the same that he has for Christ.

How can that be? I got to be found in him. He's got to be in me. I've got to be looking to my sin bearer, my advocate, my savior. Only in the power of the Holy Spirit can I do that. Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am. Is it possible for any that God chose in election and gave to his son as the bride would not be with him? The Lord Jesus just prayed for them. That they may behold my glory, which thou has given me for thou lovest me before the foundation of the world. So how do I know I know him? Because when I look, The revelation is so distorted. I don't see him as clearly as I want to see him.

No, we don't. We don't. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 13. Verse nine, for we know in part, oh, what we know of him is just a, oh, we can't even, it's not on the scale. There's no numbers to put to it that is just such a little bit compared to the glory of his person. But what we know is true. I may not know anything about trigonometry, but I know two plus two equals four. And that can't be changed, that's a given.

But when that which is perfect is come, now there are those who want to make that which is perfect the scriptures, the Bible. The Bible is a perfect revelation of Christ, but in the context of everything that Paul's saying here about love, that's not what he's talking about. He's talking about the Lord Jesus Christ.

We look at him through the scriptures and we see glimpses of him and we rejoice in what he has revealed but we long in our hearts to see him as he is and be made like him. That's how I know I know him. The passion of my heart, the desire of my life, the end of all things is to know him as he is and be made like him. And the glimpses of his glory that he reveals now, the tasting of his grace that he gives me now, makes me want more. Makes me want more.

When that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part shall be done away. He's talking about the prophecies of the Bible. We look at little bits and pieces here and there, line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little, we see glimpses of him. revealed in scripture. But when that which is perfect is come and we're with him, that which is in part will no longer be necessary, will be done away, we'll be with him.

We'll be with him. Verse 11, when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child. But when I became a man, I put away childish things. What Paul's saying is, right now I'm just a child. I'm just a child discovering new things about God, discovering new graces of his blessing and presence.

For now we see through a glass. That word darkly is the word riddle, riddle. just parables and riddles, just pictures, pieces here and there. And the glass is a mirror. And mirrors back then were polished brass and that brass would tarnish and it had to be constantly polished in order to give an accurate reflection. And even then the reflection was nothing like the reflection that we would get today in a modern day mirror. And so we're constantly polishing the mirror trying to get a better reflection. of ourselves, well, yeah, in Christ.

As he is, so are we. I need to see that I am in him. For now we see through glass darkly. but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know even as also I am known. Now abideth faith, hope, and charity. Right now I've got to have faith. I'm looking through the eye of faith, but in that day I won't need faith. My faith will be my sight. I won't need hope. Hope that is seen is not hope.

Right now I'm hoping. I'm hoping. with an expectation. This word hope doesn't mean, well, I hope it's gonna rain, or I hope my team's gonna win. It's a confident expectation. It's a God-given hope. It's a hope that God gives in the heart, the hope of seeing him as he is and being made like him. That's going to be my experience. No longer of my faith, faith will be my sight. No longer do I need hope. Hope will be my experience. But love, that's gonna last forever. That's gonna last forever. Turn with me to John chapter 14. Verse 23. Here's the love of God.

Jesus answered and said unto him, if a man loved me, he will keep my words. He will hide my word in his heart. He will rejoice and believe in every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. He will seek and desire to honor God's word. and my father will love him and we will come unto him and make our abode with him. He is the blessing. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings, and the word which you hear is not mine, but it's the Father's which sent me. The Lord Jesus said to those self-righteous, unbelieving Pharisees, you cannot hear my word because you're not of my sheep.

We hang on every word that God says. We rest the hope of our immortal soul. We open this service with standing on the promises. We believe that the Lord Jesus is the promise of God and that all of God's promises are fulfilled in him. We're not looking to the promises as words in a book. We're looking to the promises as the word that's been made flesh and that has dwelt among us, the one of whom we have beheld his glory as the glory of the only begotten of the father, the one who is himself full of grace and full of truth. He is the blessing. Abram, don't be afraid. I'm your shield and I am you're exceeding great reward. That's why the Lord Jesus told us, brethren, don't be like the Gentiles.

They spend their whole life worrying about what they're gonna eat and what they're gonna wear. And consider the lilies of the field. They don't spin, they don't toil. And yet Solomon in all of his glory was not arrayed as they are. Consider the birds of the air. They don't fret.

Your heavenly father knows their needs. Are you not worth more than they? The Lord is telling us, don't get the blessings of this world confused with the greatest blessing of God. Now how do you conclude that in Matthew chapter six? He says, but you seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

And all these other things will be added unto you. Your heavenly father knows what you need. He'll provide those things. You need to know what your greatest need is. You need to know what God's greatest blessing is. And I am your need. And I am your blessing. Be still. Be still. And know that I am God.

We live in a, I mean, a world in which we live not like it used to be. Everything's fast-paced, everything's moving, everything, we're bombarded with so many things. Lots of good things, lots of it not. It's harder today to be still than ever before.

God says, be still. And that word still that David used in the Psalms, it also is translated weakness or feeble. It means to just stop, acknowledge your inability and know that I am God. And the word God in that verse is in the plural. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

All three we need. All three reveal to us in his word You know, everybody, when in need, seeks the hand of God. They want a blessing from God. They want something to provide, God to provide for them to get them through it or over it or whatever. Brethren, seek His face. with his face will come his hand. The unbeliever enjoys the hand of God, they do. The breath, the air they're breathing, that comes from the hand of God. The food they eat, that comes from the hand of God. The jobs they have, that came from the hand of God.

God gave them, a man can receive nothing except to be given to him from heaven. Everything that every man has came from God. but they're not interested in his face. They're just interested in what he has to give in his hand. You seek his face and his hand will come. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Don't be like those Gentiles. And all these other things will be added unto you. I am You're exceeding great reward. Doesn't get any better. No higher blessing, no greater need than God himself. Amen? All right. Tom? 168. 168. Let's stand together.