our Bibles today to Colossians
chapter 2. Colossians chapter 2. I think for most of us, there's
always something special about beginning something new, as we
are beginning a new year today, 2017. Begin a new job, move into
a new house, go to a new school. There's something special or
different about a change, something new. And I thought this morning
as I prayed about the message that I would try to take advantage
of that and speak from a verse of scripture that would especially
speak to us along this line of something new. And I thought
about the text in the book of Deuteronomy, God's words to the
nation of Israel when they were about to cross over the Jordan. and go into the land of Canaan
that God had prepared for them, they were going to experience
something they'd never experienced before. They'd never walked that
way before. And God said this, A land which
the Lord thy God careth for. That was the land that they were
going into. A land which the Lord thy God
careth for. The eyes of the Lord thy God
are always upon it from the beginning of the year even unto the end
of the year. What a comfort as we begin a
new year from the beginning of the year even unto the end of
the year. God the Lord cares for his people
and his eyes are always upon us. from the beginning of the year
even unto the end of the year. And then I thought about the
words of Samuel, this is one of my favorites, when he spoke
to the nation of Israel and he said, hitherto, he raised that
stone and named it Ebenezer, hitherto hath the Lord our God
helped us. What comfort and confidence to
think of the fact that the Lord has helped us hitherto till this
day. And he's not going to fail us
in the future. Spurgeon commenting on this verse
of scripture said the word hitherto is like a hand. A hand that points
in the direction of the past And then it also points in the
direction of the future. We've traveled to this point,
hitherto, but we have not yet come to the end of the road. Hitherto, hath the Lord our God
helped us. And then I thought about this
verse in the letter of Romans, Romans chapter 13 and verse 11,
when the Apostle Paul said this. Now, Today, now, is our salvation
nearer than when we believed. Today, we're one day, we're one
year nearer to our salvation. Our complete and full salvation,
that is being raised from the dead or changed and receiving
a body incorruptible like unto our Lord's glorious body. Now is our salvation nearer than
when we believed. But considering those verses
and some others, I came back to these two verses here in Colossians
chapter 2, verses 6 and 7. As you have therefore received
Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk you in Him. Rooted and built
up in Him, and established in the faith, as you have been taught,
abounding therein with thanksgiving. As you have therefore received
Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him. And this is a way
to be rooted and to be built up in Him. Well, my message is
around these four words in verse 6. Received, walk as and so. First, received. What is it to receive Christ
Jesus the Lord? Now the apostle here is writing
to believers. And he makes the statement, as
you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord. But what is it? What is it to receive Christ
Jesus the Lord? Well, we don't need to doubt
about this because we have a verse of scripture that gives us the
answer. John chapter 1 and verse 12, the apostle said, But as
many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons
of God, even to them that believe on his name. This is what it
means to receive Christ Jesus the Lord. It means to believe
on His name. Now when we read believe on His
name, of course His name represents Christ, His person. To believe
on Him. This is what it is to receive
Christ Jesus the Lord. It is to believe on Him. Believe on His name. Now when you look at His name
here, and every title, every name that the Lord Jesus Christ
has is very important. These three that are mentioned
here, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord. Let's look at
these three names. First, the name Jesus. Where did that come from? And
what does it mean? Well, if you will, let's turn
back in our Bibles to two places. First to Matthew chapter 1 and
then to Luke chapter 1. Matthew chapter 1 and beginning
with verse 18. Now the birth of Jesus Christ
was on this wise, when as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph,
before they came together she was found with child of the Holy
Ghost. Then Joseph, her husband, being
a just man and not willing to make her a public example, was
minded to put her away privately. But while he thought on these
things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in
a dream, saying, Joseph, Now son of David, fear not to take
unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her
is of the Holy Ghost. and she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his
people from their sins. Now all this was done that it
might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet,
saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child and shall bring
forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being
interpreted is God with us. receive Jesus. Where did this name come from?
And what does it mean? Well you notice, and we'll look
again in Luke chapter 1, you notice that this name is written
in capital letters. And the translators did that
to show us that this name is derived from Jehovah. the name of God, Jehoshua. Thou shalt call his name Jehoshua,
which means the Lord saves. But this name, you notice, was
given unto him at his birth, Jehoshua. That's what his name
means. It came from God. God sent His
angel and told Joseph, the child that Mary is carrying, you shall
name him Jesus. Now look in chapter 1 of Luke.
We see almost the same thing, just a little bit different.
Here the angel spoke to Mary in Luke chapter 1 in verses 30
and 31. Luke chapter 1 verse 30, And
the angel said unto her, that is Mary, Fear not, Mary, for
thou hast found favor, grace with God. And behold, thou shalt
conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and thou shalt call
his name Jesus. Jehoshua, thou shalt call his
name Jesus. Paul says, As you have received
Christ Jesus the Lord. First of all, His name, Jesus,
Jehoshua. It means Savior. Savior. And Joseph was told His name
will be called Jesus for He shall save His people from their sins. He came into this world on purpose. God sent Him here on purpose
to save His people. He didn't come here, my friends,
to make salvation possible to all the world. He came here to
save His people. He shall save His people from
their sins. To receive Him is to believe
on Him, on His name, that He is Jesus. He is Jehovah, manifest
in the flesh, and that He has a people in this world. And how
does He save those people? How does He save His people?
Well, He saves us by becoming a surety for us. And that covenant
that God made before the foundation of the world when His people
were given unto Him, in that everlasting covenant, He was
designated to be the surety for His people, which means He was
responsible. He was liable. to do everything,
everything that God and God's holy justice demands in order
to a sinner be saved. He fulfilled God's law by His
obedience, establishing, bringing in that everlasting righteousness. That righteousness which is imputed,
charged, counted to everyone who trusts in Him. His righteousness
becomes our righteousness. Trusting in Him and God declares
that we are just before Him. He shall save His people from
His sins. This Jesus, call His name Jesus. He has to be God-man. He has to be. to believe, to
receive Jesus, that He is God-man. He is man that He might die. He is God-man that He might satisfy. Not only did He obey God's holy
law, satisfy God's justice, but He suffered at the hands of that
justice, and He paid the sin debt of His people. Have you received Jesus? Have
you? "...to as many as received Him.
To them gave He power to become the sons of God." Do you believe
on His name? His name, Jesus, God, manifest
in the flesh. But that's not His only name,
is it? Paul said, you have received Christ Jesus. Christ! That's His name. That's His title.
That designates Him. as the one Mediator between God
and men. They're not two. Don't fall for
that lie of Satan that there are two Mediators. One's a Mediatrix,
female deity, Mary, the mother of Jesus. That's a lie, my friends.
The Bible clearly teaches and declares there's one Mediator
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. He's Christ. He's anointed. That's what the
word actually means, literally means anointed one. Just as all
of those men in the Old Testament were anointed to certain offices,
three offices, prophet, priest, and king. So Christ, He is anointed,
not with oil, as those Old Testament men were, but with God the Holy
Spirit. He was anointed of God. At his
baptism, you remember, when he entered into his public ministry
at the age of 30 years, the Holy Spirit descended upon him in
the form of a dove. And God said, this is my beloved
son in whom I am well pleased. And John tells us he was given
the Spirit without measure. God's Holy Spirit anoints men
to preach the gospel, to witness, to testify, to pray. Yes, we're
thankful for God the Holy Spirit, but we receive only a portion. But He received the Spirit of
God without measure and the Spirit of God remained upon Him, John
tells us. That's not His only name, is
it? Have you received Christ? Have you? Have you received Jesus
Christ? But that's not His only name.
He's also the Lord. He's the Lord. Now this name
declares His supremacy, doesn't it? His sovereignty. He's not
some wannabe Lord. You see these signs around, especially
in churches. Make Him your Lord. But let me
tell you something. God did that a long time ago.
God made Him your Lord. He made Him my Lord. He made
Him every man's Lord. And He is not in our hands to
do with Him as we will, but we are in His hands to do with us
what He will. to receive, to as many as received
Him, received Him as Jesus, the God-man Savior, the Christ, the
anointed of God, and as the Lord. He said this, we are to deny
ourselves. If we would be His disciples,
we must deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Him. When a person denies himself,
he denies that he has that right to reign and rule over himself
anymore. We've got a new lord, a new king,
and he reigns and he rules. And we die to self daily. Look with me in Romans chapter
8 just a moment. Romans chapter 8, chapter 10, I'm sorry, Romans
chapter 10, verse 8. A man attended here years ago,
told me one day after the service, he said, you put the candy, the
sweets, he said, you put the sweets down on the lower shelf
today. And I wasn't familiar with that
saying, but he reminded me that years ago, people would lock
the suites up high in the cupboard so the children couldn't get
to them. He said, you put the suites down
on the lower shelf. That's what I want to do every
time. But I trust I'm doing it by God's
help this morning, that no one, when you leave this place today,
do not realize what it is to receive Jesus Christ. For what good is it if we just
come here and sing hymns and read the scripture unless we
know Him, know Him, receive Him, believe in Him as our Lord and
Savior? Here in Romans chapter 10 and
verse 8, the apostle said, but what saith it? That is the scripture. The word is nigh thee. Now it's
nigh you here today. If you're here this morning without
Christ, the word is nigh thee. It's nigh thee. You've got it
in your hands. You're listening to me read it.
You're following along. The word of God is nigh thee. Even in thy mouth, and in thy
heart." That is the word of faith which we preach. That if thou
shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe
in thine heart. Now what does it mean to receive
him, to believe in him in the heart, with the heart? But what
is the heart? People say, well that's that
organ in our bodies that keeps us moving, keeps pumping blood.
Yes, that's our physical heart, but the scriptures speak about
a new heart. A new heart that God gives us
and it includes the mind, The Apostle Paul said, I know, I
know whom I have believed and it includes the affections and
it includes the will. I know whom I have believed and
I am persuaded that He, Christ, Jesus, the Lord, He's able to
keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day. with
the heart, the apostle says. Thou shalt believe in thine heart
that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Do you believe that? Do you believe
that Christ, yes He died on the cross, yes He died as a sinner's
substitute, yes He carried the sins of God's people in His body
on the tree, and He died, but He didn't stay dead. On the third
day, he walked out of that tomb. Now notice, for with the heart.
A lot of people know these facts in their head. There's no question
about it. Let me tell you something. When a person believes with the
heart, makes a difference in the life. Makes a difference
in the life. For with the heart man believeth
unto righteousness. That's what we need. A righteousness
that God has provided, a righteousness which God accepts. For with the
heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession
is made unto salvation. We confess the Lord Jesus Christ. With our mouths we confess the
Lord Jesus Christ in baptism. We identify with Christ. Yes, we want to be known in this
congregation and in the world that we are His. We're His. We identify with Him. And the
way we do that is by baptism, following Him in baptism. Now,
that's the first part of the text. That's the first word. as you have therefore received
Christ Jesus. But notice the next word is the
word walk. What is meant by the walk of
those who receive Him? Well, the believer's walk is
his manner of life, his conduct. When a person receives Christ
Jesus, the Lord, He is a new creation. 2 Corinthians 5 and
verse 17 says, Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a
new creation. Old things are passed away. Behold,
all things are become new. Martin Luther one time said,
When a man is born of the Spirit of God, he receives a new heart,
he's a new man, and he's living in a new world. The world is
new. It's the same old world, but
it looks different. It looks different. when a person
has a new heart. Before, we were dead in sins
and the scripture says we walked according to the course of this
world. But now being delivered from
the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of God's dear
Son, we are to walk as children of light. Children of light. out pilgrims and strangers in
this world. And our walk is to manifest the
fact that our citizenship is in heaven. Our walk is to manifest
this fact that our citizenship is in heaven. We're just passing
through this world. We're here for a short time.
We're singing that hymn earlier for marching to Zion, the beautiful
city of God. Our walk, our conduct. Now, notice
the passage again, Colossians 2 and verse 6. As you have therefore
received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk you in Him. As so. As so. As you have received Him, so
walk in Him. Now let me mention a few things
as to how we have received Him. As. We received Him, first of
all, by faith. By faith. We've already gone
through that, haven't we? As we have received Him by faith,
so we must walk in Him by faith. As long as we are in this world,
we must walk by faith. Now I want to tell you something,
folks. If you go by feelings, you're going to be disappointed.
You're going to be up and you're going to be down and all around. We walk by faith. People say,
well, faith is a leap into the dark. Oh, no, it's not. No, it's
not. Faith is believing God what He
has told us in His Word. It's just as sure a foundation,
more sure than the world upon which we walk. The Word of God. We've received Him by faith,
so we are to walk By faith. As we received Him by faith,
so walk in Him by faith. Believe His Word. Receive His
Word. You say, well, I don't feel.
Well, forget about your feelings just a moment. What does the
Word of God say? By faith. Our faith is based
upon the Word of God. If you would, in Hebrews chapter
6, just a moment. Hebrews chapter 6. And verse 17, Hebrews chapter 6 and verse 17. Wherein God, willing more abundantly
to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability, the unchangeableness
of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable
things, His oath and His counsel, two immutable things in which
it was impossible for God to lie. We, those of us who have
received Christ, that we might have a strong consolation. Notice,
who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before
us. What is that hope that we fled
to lay hold upon? Christ, He's our hope. My hope
is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest
frame. All other ground is sinking sand. We fled, the scripture here says,
by faith. We fled for refuge to lay hold
upon the hope set before us. Now notice which hope, Christ,
we have as an anchor. an anchor of the soul, both sure
and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil. Whither
the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus." Where is He today? He's entered into the holy place,
my friends. He's the forerunner. He's our
hope. We lay hold upon Him, and just
as sure as He's there today, So those of us who receive Him,
we too one day shall be there. We've got a strong assurance.
We've got God's counsel, His revealed will, and we've got
an oath. We began this walk by looking
unto Jesus and Apostle Paul tells us looking unto Jesus, let us
run with patience the race that is set before us. So as we received
him by faith, so walk in him. Number two, we received him with
repentance. Now faith and repentance, they
always go together. You never have faith without
repentance, you never have true repentance without faith. And
we received Him with repentance, so we must and we should continue
to walk in Him with repentance. So many times, especially in
false religion, there's so much in false religion anyway that
ought to be swept out the door, but in false religion people
imply that a person repents one time and that's it, that's past
One time. No, repentance, my friends, it
begins in our initial conversion to Christ, yes, but it continues
throughout our life. As we have received Him, how
did we receive Him? By faith, turning from our sins,
turning to God, changing our mind about God and about ourselves
and about sin and about this world. So we are to walk to continue
to repent. And as long as we are in this
world, we're going to have cause for repentance. If we say we
have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But
thank God, the Apostle John tells us, If we confess our sins, He
is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness. I thought about a new year. God
is the God of new beginnings, isn't He? New beginnings. We can't change yesterday. We
can't do anything about yesterday, my friends. It's gone. Forget about it the best you
can. Be like the Apostle Paul. forgetting about those things
which are behind me, I press on to the mark for the prize
of the high calling of Christ Jesus. Number three, we received
him in spiritual poverty. The scripture said, blessed are
the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. When
we received him, did we have anything to offer? Did we have
anything in our hands? As the tough lady said, in my
hands, nothing I bring. We were poor, bankrupt, spiritually
bankrupt. We didn't have two cents to rub
together in order to satisfy, to please God. We came to Him
empty. Well, as you received Him, empty? So walk in Him. Every day, realize
that without Him, we can do nothing. That's what our Lord said. In
ourselves, we are weaker than water. We are weakness personified. But I can do all things through
Christ, which strengtheneth me. Mary, in her song, she said,
He hath filled the hungry with good things. We come to Him hungry,
empty. He hath filled the hungry with
good things. But she also said this, And the
rich He sent away empty. People think they're going to
come to Christ and they have so much to offer. The only thing
you have to offer, the only thing I have to offer, is our Sin. That's it. We come to Him spiritually bankrupt
as we received Him. And He doesn't turn any away,
does He? He doesn't turn any away who
come to Him in such a condition. He hath filled the hungry with
good things. Are you hungry? I need to be careful about asking
questions like that. Sometimes children will answer
out. Here's a fourth thing. We received
him with thanksgiving and gratitude. Oh, we were so thankful. We were so thankful that He would
take us in. We didn't have anything. We were
loaded down with guilt and sin. We were like that woman in the
Gospels when the Lord Jesus Christ told her, it's not made to take
the children's bread and cast it to dogs. Truth, Lord. Truth, Lord. Yet the dogs eat
of the crumbs which fall from the master's table. great is
our faith. We came to Him empty and we received
Him with thanksgiving and gratitude that He would take us in. Look at verse 7, the Apostle
says, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith
as you have been taught. Now notice, abounding therein
with thanksgiving. Thanksgiving, to think that God
would send his son into this world to save me. You talk about amazing grace,
amazing grace, that his son would bleed and die to save me. Amazing grace. That God the Holy
Spirit would come to someone like me and live, dwell in me,
in you. Amazing grace. Abounding with
thanksgiving. And the last thing, and there
are many other things that could be mentioned, but we received
Him with anticipation. Anticipation that He would soon
come for us. This is what he said to his disciples,
if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive
you unto myself. Now we should walk as we received
him with anticipation that he is going to soon come and receive
us unto himself. We look forward to that day.
As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk
you in Him. Well, I pray that the Lord would
bless His Word and if the Lord reveals Himself to you,
that you would confess that and follow Christ in baptism.