Raised Up With Christ

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Praise God. Living, He loved me. Dying, He saved me. Buried, He carried my sins far away.
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Rising, He justified freely forever. One day He's coming, O glorious day.
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Singing that, I cannot help but think, do we really believe this? Do we really believe it with all of our hearts?
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Singing the gospel. That's what we just did. We believed the gospel, we sang the gospel. Now we come to hear the gospel as I preach the gospel.
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And I need your prayers. What a wonderful privilege we have this Lord's Day. So glad to have our visitor with us to worship with us.
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What a wonderful privilege we all have. Amen. As Brother Keith has mentioned, that we not take
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His benefits for granted and be thankful for all that He's given us. And O praise
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God to hear the word of the living God. We have the Bible this morning. Sixty -six books of inspiration from God.
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His revelation, nothing else. No other revelation. This is the revelation, the canon of Scripture is closed.
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But this wonderful Bible has come to us on a sea of blood. Many martyrs paid a great price for us to have this word in our tongue, our language today.
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So O may we never ever take that for granted. Amen. I'd like to speak to you this morning about being raised up with Christ from Colossians chapter 3 verse 1 through 4.
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You could turn there please. And I'd like to begin in prayer. And let's ask the
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Lord through His Holy Spirit to help us to have ears to hear, have a heart to perceive and help me as I speak
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His word to minister to your heart and soul this morning because it's the
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Spirit of God that's the real teacher. It's not the preacher. I'm just a voice. I want to be obedient to the
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Lord, what the Lord has for us this morning. And I'd like to give to you just not the theology of the resurrection but the application of the resurrection, how we can work this, how we can live this in our everyday practical living.
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As I was praying and thinking what to speak to you about on this Lord's day, on this resurrection morning, every day really we should preach the gospel to ourselves as Luther said, but we specifically celebrate
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His resurrection this day. So praise God. Let's pray. Our Father and our great
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God in heaven, there's no one beside You, Creator of the heavens and the earth, the
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God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but most of all, most importantly, the
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God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. First Lord, we praise and thank
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You for Your most holy and glorious word. We have it in our foreign language, our tongue, our tongue.
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Nothing in this world even comes close and compares with it. It is more precious than gold as David said in Psalm 19, more desired than gold, and fine gold and sweeter also than honey in the honeycomb.
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Moreover, Your servant is warned and keeping them is a great reward. So Lord, we have prayed this morning that You would enlarge our hearts and give us more of a desire for Yourself, more of a desire for holy affections, for the heavenly things in heaven where You are.
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We're too earthbound. Help us to be more heavenly minded. So Lord, we ask by Your grace and help, by Your Spirit, to teach us how to live through Your word and help us,
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O Lord, to seek first Your kingdom and Your righteousness. May we be doers of Your word and just not hearers.
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Turn our obedience unto Your love and our love will prove that we love
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You. We thank You, Father, and help us to take heed according to Your word.
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In all this, we pray in the name of Jesus for Your honor and glory. Amen and amen.
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I'd like to begin by giving you a story of an old Scottish preacher, John McNeill, liked to tell about an eagle that had been captured when it was quite young.
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The farmer who snared the bird put a restraint on it so it couldn't fly. And you know eagles, they love to fly high.
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Then he turned it loose to roam in the barnyard in which he tended to.
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And it wasn't long until the eagle began to act like chickens. And you know those dirty birds, they love to stay low and scratch and peck on the ground.
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Eagle loves to soar high. You know, God gives us animals to teach us a lesson, doesn't
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He? This bird, this eagle that once soared high in the heavens above the mountaintop seemed satisfied at the time to live in the barnyard with the chickens, with the lowly hens.
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One day the farmer was visited by a shepherd who came down from the mountains where the eagles live.
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Took a shepherd to teach him. Seeing the eagle, the shepherd said to the farmer, what a crying shame to keep that bird hobbled here in the barnyard.
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Why don't you let it go? The farmer agreed. Said, well yeah, we should do something about it.
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So they cut off the restraint and they let the eagle continue to wander around. But he was still scratching and pecking as he was before like the other chickens.
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Well, the shepherd picked it up and set the eagle on a high stone wall.
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And for the first time that eagle saw the grand expanse of the blue sky and the glowing sun in which it was born to soar.
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Then the eagle spread its wings and with a leap soared off into a tremendous spiral flight off that stone.
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Up, up and up he soared. And at last it was acting like an eagle was supposed to act.
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To soar with eagle wings. And like the eagle, beloved, the moral of the story is only that we as believers rise above this world and soar like the eagle where Christ is seated on the right hand of the
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Father. This old world we live in, we don't need to be like the turkeys, we need to be like the eagles.
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We need to fix our eyes on Jesus and set our mind on the heavenly realities that are in Jesus Christ our
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Lord. And this is actually what Colossians chapter 3 speaks to us about as we focus our attention upon the
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Lord Jesus Christ in this wonderful chapter, Colossians 3, verses 1 -4 we're just going to cover today.
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But we see that knowing the truth about being raised up with Jesus Christ and living the
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Christian life invites us to live an ordinary life in an extraordinary way.
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And the only way we can do that is by the power of the Holy Spirit. You know people can try and try in their own willpower to live the
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Christian life but that's not going to happen until they are born again of the Spirit of God because it takes the
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Spirit of God to be born from above to have those affections, to love
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God who is above but God's everywhere but where Christ is. But we're talking about the heavenlies, the sore like the eagle sores.
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Paul's exhortations in chapter 3 are practical applications of the doctrine which he presented in chapter 2.
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That's Paul's order. He always brings doctrine and theology first and then he gives the practical application in the latter part.
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And a brief overview in chapter 3 is this. Believers are to seek spiritual values in Christ Jesus.
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That's verse 1 -4. We're going to look at that today. Next he says, put off the sins of the old life in verse 5 -11 and put on the virtues of the new life in verse 12 -17.
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This in turn should affect the relationships with other members of the families and society in verse 18 through chapter 4 verse 1.
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You can read that in your devotional time. I think it would really pay for us to get the whole picture but today we're going to only look at verses 1 -4 and it's really lovely.
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These four verses are seen as a hinge as we've been talking about these hinges between the primarily doctrinal section of chapters 1 and 2 but here it's the primarily practical section of chapters 3 and 4.
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So all the scriptures in this introduction provide for us the backdrop for Paul's message here in Colossians 3, 1 -4.
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And as he moves to the practical side of the epistle he begins by calling his readers to that glorious preoccupation of the heavenly reality that is the very hallmark of true spirituality.
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He has just dealt with in the first half of this chapter of dealing and warning the believers of Colossae to beware of dogs and false teachers and not to be caught up in the legalism but to be caught up in Jesus Christ.
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Now, really what we're looking at today is the heavenly realities but it's also true spirituality and it's the starting point but it begins as the starting point but it becomes our way of life into practical personal holiness.
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Like Robert Machain always said what really matters is my personal holiness before God. So today is the resurrected life, how we can live that out being raised up with Jesus Christ and how we can obtain that and reckon it to be so in our lives.
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So we're really looking at application here this whole message is going to be application but the apostle gives us the five features that will help us unfold the power of the resurrection within us as believers.
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Credits belong to Pastor John MacArthur on this outline I could not resist, I mentioned this to Brother Keith I said
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I had to borrow it, he is so good with outlines I said well I'm just going to borrow his outlines and just preach the word but we're going to be looking at these five features number one, the reminder the reminder in verse 1a two, the responsibility in verse 1b, verse 2 three, the resource in verse 1c four, the reason in verse 3 and fifth, the revelation in verse 4 then
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I got one more R I'm going to give you as a surprise in our application in closing but first we're going to look at the reminder the responsibility, the resource the reason and the revelation let's look at the reminder look it with me in verse 1a 1a in Colossians chapter 3 wonderful, wonderful, he says this if then you have been raised up with Christ if then you have been raised up with Christ now let's keep in mind the if here is the translation of the old king
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James and new king James it's not a bad translation but this verse does not express any doubt in the mind of the apostle
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Paul he's not having doubt when he says if it is what has been called the if of argument and may be better translated since it's a transition it's a transition word he says since then you were raised together with Christ the word since is more to the original so as mentioned in chapter 2 the believer is seen as having died with Jesus Christ having been buried with him and having risen with him among the dead so the if denotes as in chapter 2 verse 20 therefore if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world why as though living in the world do you subject yourselves to regulations to regulations now that's found in chapter 2 verse 20 and what are those regulations this is religion folks do not touch, do not taste, do not handle notice the do, do, do, do which all concern things which perish with the using according to the commandments of the doctrines of men that's religion then he says these things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self -imposed religion false humility and a neglect of the body but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh in other words it doesn't have the resurrection power to deliver because it's all outward it's external it is reform not regeneration it's information but not transformation you see what
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Paul gets to is the transformation and that's what we're going to look at another way to paraphrase what
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Paul is saying here is you have died with Jesus Christ and he has set you free from the evil powers of the world so why do you keep on following the rules of this world why the flesh loves it people love to do what is natural but the spirit of God gives us a different direction verse 1 since you have been raised up with Christ now in the original
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Greek there it means co -resurrected we have been co -resurrected with Jesus Christ and actually what the verb expresses here is that co -resurrection this is an accomplished fact that Jesus Christ has accomplished believers spiritually are entered into Christ's death and resurrection it's glorious and it's something
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Christ has done but the spirit of God comes and applies this as we believe it it's amazing it's a spiritual union at the moment of salvation
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Galatians 2 .20 says this and I love this verse of scripture Paul says I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer
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I who live but it is Christ who lives in me and the life which I now live in the flesh
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I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me isn't that glorious Jesus has did it all now
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I've died with him I'm in spiritual union I'm in oneness with him so this verse shows the union of the believer with the
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Lord so that they have a shared life in common we are one
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I am his and he is mine as the old hymn says this verse shows that union of the believer with the
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Lord Jesus Christ so that they have a shared life now you can turn with me very quickly if you like but I've got a few verses to read in Romans chapter 6 verse 3 and 4 two verses but Paul is speaking here of this wonderful wonderful miracle that has taken place in salvation and he not only talks about salvation he talks about our sanctification it goes hand in glove justification, sanctification but the justification is always first and the sanctification begins where justification ends teach us the same glorious truth but he says this in verse 3 do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into his death question then he gives the answer therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the
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Father so we too might walk in newness of life that's sanctification now it's important to note here a lot of people get mixed up in this and I had a debate years ago with a elder of a church of Christ in a nursing home and I tell you what it got people's attention as we were discussing this back and forth and I was being as friendly as I could and loved giving him the truth but he had a disagreement with here he said this word baptism means water baptism
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I said friend if you believe in that then you believe in works salvation so salvation and grace would no longer be grace and salvation if it's by our works it's the works of Jesus Christ but right here he was saying that baptism is a water baptism
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I said no no no no you need to study the text my friend and I said that lovingly but the word here baptism is not
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H2O water but it means an immersion in the Savior's death and resurrection and the spirit what has happened through the union of Christ and believers has died and have been buried and have been risen with Jesus Christ that's the gospel it's not our works it is the works of Christ that's the gospel doesn't that lift your heart and soul this morning it's not what we have to do or what we have done it's what
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Christ has done it is what God has done that's the miracle of miracles it's saving faith alone that brings us into this union and we take a hold of that by God's power and spirit of what
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Jesus has accomplished what he has done I like what Luther said the gospel tells me not what
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I must do but what Jesus has done for me what has
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Jesus done for me A. W. Tozer said this salvation was bought not by Jesus's fist but by his nail pierced hands not by muscle but by love not by vengeance but by forgiveness not by force but by sacrifice
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Jesus Christ our Lord surrendered and ordered that he might win and he destroyed his enemies by dying for them and conquered death by allowing death to conquer him
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Hallelujah what a Savior who would have ever thought that this is the way
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God would accomplish our salvation through weakness through death by entering into the darkness by allowing the evil to overpower him but that was at the end of the story
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Christ rose again and conquered sin and conquered death he arose a victor from the dark domain he lives forever with his saints to reign we're going to sing that but that's glorious isn't it
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I can't get enough of that myself what did Jesus say in Revelation 117 listen to this
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John the apostle one that knew him very well and here he is on the island of Patmos a garbage heap in the spirit on the
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Lord's day in the midst of all that evil and dump he's in the spirit on the Lord's day then he has a vision of the
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Lord Jesus Christ and Jesus comes to appear and his feet's like burnished brass and his voice like the many of waters and his eyes are like a flame of fire and then he falls on his feet and listen to what he says and then
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I saw him I fell at his feet as dead this is the apostle John but he laid his right hand on me saying to me do not be afraid
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I am the first I am the last and Jesus says I am he who lives and was dead and behold
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I'm alive forever more then he says amen and then he says
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I have the keys of Hades and of death that should give us joy to shout to the heavens he's alive and that's why we have hope that's why the resurrection of Jesus Christ is
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God's greatest miracle of all because without the resurrection of Jesus we all will die in our sins and go to a punishing and perishing hell but the case is he has risen from the dead and there is hope beloved if you are a believer in Jesus Christ you have been raised with Christ you share that with him the spiritual meaning of all that is to be said is that we say goodbye to the former way of life we repent of our sin we come to Christ we embrace him by faith and there is a new life and sanctification of our personal holiness and it's his holiness not ours we have been transformed by the power of the resurrected
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Christ 2 Corinthians 5 17 I love this verse therefore if anyone is in Christ in Christ he is a new creation old things have been passed away behold all things have become new everything is new we have new affections new life new loves
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Christ is our love heaven is our home and we realize now we are just sojourners on this earth and this world is not my home we are just a passing through praise
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God there is a transformation that has been taking place in the life of the believer in Jesus Christ they possess the divine life of God the life the quality of life that only
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Jesus gives the eternal life Jesus said this is the life eternal that they may know thee the only true
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God in Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent and what he is talking about there is just not mere endless existence yeah that's part of it the longevity and the eternity yes but it's now the kingdom of God is within you
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Christ comes now but in a heavenly quality of life brought to us by the indwelling lord of glory he comes to us isn't that the glory of Christianity we don't have to work for it it is
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Christ that comes to us but yes there is good works that follows but that doesn't bring us our salvation it's the obedience that follows after Christ has come and taken up residence within us we are alive in Jesus Christ raised up with Jesus Christ to the realities of the divine realm
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Jesus said it to a religious man called Nicodemus he said you must be born again that's why you don't understand these things
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Nicodemus you're caught up in religion at least Nicodemus came to him and was seeking and by night he was embarrassed about it but Jesus had his answers and it's amazing you read that in John chapter 3 that Nicodemus basically starts about talking about signs and wonders and miracles and Jesus points them to the greatest miracle of all the new birth
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John 3 5 -7 Jesus answered most assuredly and as you know the original says amen amen truly truly verily verily
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I say to you unless one is born of the water and of the spirit he cannot he cannot enter the kingdom of God impossible it must be
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God that does the work that provides the miracle and then what
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Jesus said that which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the spirit is spirit you know what he's saying he said it's obvious we've been born first born flesh is flesh then
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Jesus said it'd be very obvious that was born of the spirit is spirit there'll be no demark there'll be no gray area you will know it then he says to Nicodemus do not marvel that means don't be surprised don't be surprised that I said to you you must be born again
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I emphasize there Jesus said must must it must happen in order to enter to the kingdom of God to see the kingdom of God beloved this is how salvation comes to us amen not of works at least any man should boast but of good but the good works of Jesus he fulfilled the law he said that in Matthew didn't he chapter 5 sermon on the mount
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I did not come to abolish the law I did not come to destroy the law I came to fulfill it and he fulfilled every bit of this law he's the only one that kept the law of God perfectly because the law of God is the standard in which no one can arise to only
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Jesus because it's perfect it's perfect but of good works of Jesus and through his death and through his burial and through his resurrection
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I can't say that enough that's the gospel that's the good news the good news is this
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Christ comes to us he gives us the power the grace Romans 6 8 -11 now if we died with Christ we believe that we shall also live with him if you're out there in Romans knowing that Christ had been raised from the dead dies no more death no longer has dominion over him for the death that he died he died to sin once for all just one time my grandchildren asked me a question last week they're not here today but little
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Felicity said Paul Jesus doesn't have to die anymore does he and I said no he doesn't honey he's died once and for all it has been accomplished it is finished paid in full the life that he lives he lives to God likewise now listen to what
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Paul says here likewise you also so it's important to know that that Jesus is alive right but he says likewise you need to apply this to your life reckon
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I love that reckon that means consider it done account it done yourselves to be dead indeed to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus our
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Lord I like what MacArthur says in his commentary here about this one word reckon quote he says while it simply means to count or number something it also means it's often used metaphorically to refer to having an absolute unreserved confidence in what one's mind knows to be true the kind of heartfelt confidence that affects his actions and decisions and then he says this
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Paul's not referring to mind gains in which we trick ourselves into thinking a certain way rather he is urging us to embrace by faith what
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God has revealed to be true amen and the scripture says
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Paul says let God be true in every man a liar what is true so what is true in this case brother
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Ben read it I'm not going to read the whole chapter he read half of the chapter but 1st
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Corinthians 15 3 and 4 Paul said it for I deliver to you first of all first of all that which also receive that Christ died for our sins listen to this according to the scriptures according to the scriptures and that he was buried and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures notice what he says according to the scriptures not the experiences the scriptures according to the scriptures and Paul says since you have been raised up with Christ notice notice how many times with me in Colossians if you read through that short little epistle how
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Paul emphasizes within chapter 3 here the centrality of Jesus Christ throughout this epistle he uses the phrases with Christ in verse 1 where Christ is verse 1 with Christ verse 3 when
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Christ verse 4 with him verse 4 and he stresses again and again and again the sufficiency of Jesus Christ chapter 2 verse 10 it is centrality
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Christ centered Paul's theology you could basically say summed up in this he was
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Christ centered Christology the theme of this wonderful epistle is the preeminence of Jesus Christ is it not?
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that means Christ is first in all things is he first in your life today? does he have preeminence over your life today?
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is he first in everything in your life? so we have the reminder here in verse 1a since then you have been raised up with Christ leads to the second point number 2 the responsibility so what would that be?
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what would the responsibility be? well it says this and it goes from verse 1b to verse 2 now a lot of translations basically says he says this seek those things which are above where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God and then he says set your mind in verse 2 on things above not on things of the earth one translation
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I like this the LSB says keep seeking keep seeking the things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God so first of all keep seeking that is present tense isn't it?
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it's not past it's keep seeking continual action it indicates a continual action a preoccupation with the eternal realities that are ours in Jesus Christ and to be the pattern of our life as a believer it's very practical isn't it?
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our everyday living whether it be in the home or the job or whatever we do we need to remember and be reminded that we are raised up with Christ but he gives us practical application in how we can do this
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Jesus himself said it didn't he? Matthew 6 .33 but seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added to you he's speaking about this is the antidote this is the remedy for worry you put
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God first seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and don't you worry about all your needs he will take care of you because he cares for you so keep in mind that Paul's not advocating here a form of mysticism but a very practical way of personal holiness our personal holiness again is so important it's a preoccupation with heaven it's being
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God conscious it's being heaven conscious it's actually viewing things people, the events of this world through God's eyes through the lens of the eternal don't you love that?
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with the eternal perspective only a person that's born again of the spirit of God can understand this actually it's putting on the
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Lord Jesus Christ and it's also putting on the lens of eternity I like what Jonathan Edwards the great
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Puritan said he prayed, Lord stamp eternity on my eyeballs may
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God stamp eternity on our eyeballs so we constantly have eternity in view believers in Jesus Christ begin to live everyday in their lives in the light of eternity, the heavenlies and they will live out this heavenly values in this world to the glory of God Colossians 3 -2
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Paul gives instruction never does Paul ever ever leave a church when he writes an epistle in dark guessing blindly a word or kind of direction they need to go he always gives the light of the truth and the revelation now how?
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how do we keep seeking those things above? that's the question, the word how? how? how do we do this?
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how do we keep seeking those things above where Christ is seated on the right hand of God the scriptures gives the answer number one set your mind on things above, we are to set our mind on things above I love that word set because it's like it's locked in fixing your eyes on Jesus locked in we need to be locked in on Christ we need to be locked in on the gospel we need to be locked in on the truth we need to be locked in, we need to set our mind on things above it's a battle of the mind isn't it?
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and it's serious gird up the loins of your mind Peter said gird it up number one, set your mind on things above what does that mean?
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well here the original Greek simply means to be translated to think he's talking about think or to the original
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Greek in the language here to have the inner disposition you know when you're pondering something in your mind, it's the inner disposition you can rehash it over and over and over and as a man thinks so is he proverb says and once again the present tense indicates a continuous action commentator
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Lightfoot paraphrases Paul's thought here he said quote you must not only seek heaven but you must think heaven the believers whole inner disposition should be like a compass don't you love compasses?
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I remember when I was in the military we had to have a compass when I was in the infantry and it was very dark and we didn't know which way to go but that compass would direct us in the right path in the direction we should go and that's the bible the bible is like a compass it directs us in the right path we should go it points the needle towards heaven amen the bible points us to Jesus the bible points us to God it's
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God bringing his revelation to us we can't do this we're too weak we're too frail man there's a way that seems right unto men but the end thereof is death but I tell you what beloved you read this book right here it'll tell you the truth like Luther says it comes after me it's living it's alive it comes after me it walks it's alive well that needle is pointing heavenward to heavenly where Christ is seated at the right hand of God 2
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Corinthians 4 chapter 4 verse 18 listen to this Paul the apostle again says this look not at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen how do we do this by faith it's by believing for the things which are seen he says are temporal it's going to perish it's going to pass away but he says this but the things which are not seen are eternal there it is and I like to put it right here
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I wrote this in my notes eternal versus temporal which one wins the eternal the eternal well there's a similarity of the two commands here given in this verse 1 and 2 it reinforces the impact set your mind on things above and remember the set is an ongoing continuous action and also there is a word also that suggests a striving
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Jesus mentions this strive to enter in you agonize it you strive and the second there is a concentrating a meditation a pondering to set a renewing of the mind that's the key he said it in Romans 12 too do not be conformed to this world the old paraphrase of Philip's translation says do not allow this world to press you into its mold do not be conformed to this world but there is the hinge be transformed don't you love that word hallelujah by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable perfect will of God that's spiritual worship see
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God has made us worshipers our whole life should be a worship we come to worship today and meet together as God's people but Monday through Saturday every day of our life should be a worship to God you see in it we learn the truth we learn how to think we learn to have the mind of Christ we learn to think on things like Paul says in Philippians 4 .8
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what is honorable right and pure and lovely and good report excellent praise worthy and things he says think on these things that our minds may be transformed to dwell and meditate on you know it kind of reminds me like a computer a computer must be reprogrammed our mind is far more complex than a computer so it must be reprogrammed it's like our spirits are born of the spirit we're born of the spirit of God but our mind the things that we think at times we should not think we should be controlled by the spirit of God and the only way to be preoccupied with heavenly things is to saturate to discipline ourselves to saturate our minds with this word of God amen the scriptures the
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Bible is the only reliable source of knowledge about who God is and the values of heaven and by the way it first points us to who
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God is it gives us a knowledge of who God is and then it gives us and once we are saved and born again of the spirit we begin to know
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God personally and communion those glories should dominate our thoughts and our hearts and our mind you got chapter and verse it's all over the
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Bible folks Psalm 1 -2 comes to mind but his delight talking about the believer his delight he delights in it in the law of the
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Lord and in his law he meditates he ponders day and night are you meditating on God's word day and night what about Joshua 1 -8 that's a familiar one isn't it this book of the law
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Joshua says should not depart from your mouth but you shall meditate on it day and night that you may observe to do according all that is written in it for then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have good success and by the way
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I've heard many charismatics take this verse and say oh there's prosperity there's blessing well there is the blessing of God but we're rich in faith but it's not the physical necessarily we're rich in Christ we get caught up in Christ yes there's blessings that come to us from God himself but he's the blesser and we never forget him amen we follow we obey his word he's the great reward then he blesses us in turn that's why
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David said delight yourself in God delight yourself in the Lord and he'll give you the desires of your heart it's not necessarily become his desires become our desires because we delight in him and it's all in Jesus amen so there's the reminder that's the responsibility look third there's the resource the resource that what is the resource verse 1 see
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Colossians where Christ is that's the resource where Christ is he's seated where is he he's seated at the right hand of God and the believer's resource is none other than the righteous one who is
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Jesus Christ in him and hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge
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Paul said and being risen and glorified in Christ who's seated at the right hand of God how glorious is that resource he is the glory of the church and that's been lost today beloved because now it's no longer
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Christ centered it's man centered and it's no longer Christ being exalted it's somehow preachers being exalted they're in reverse and no wonder
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Echabod's written on the churches today the glory of God's departed but the glory can return if we seek him and call out and repent to God desperately and be broken before him the word of God speaks often of Christ's exalted position let me give you a few scriptures here he's exalted at the right hand of God the father is he not at the right hand is a place of power listen to Psalm 110 1 the
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Lord says to my Lord sit at my right hand until I make thy enemies a footstool for thy feet
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Jesus told the accusers at his trial before he went to the cross in Luke 22 69 he said this from now on the son of man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God and in the sermon that day on the day of Pentecost the 50th which it means
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Peter got up and told the crowd that day as he preached that great sermon in Acts 2 33 that verse says
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Jesus has been exalted to the right hand of God and in Acts 5 31
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Peter again and the other apostles described Jesus to the religious Sanhedrin and said he's the one whom
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God has exalted to his right hand as the prince and savior and you know about Stephen as he was being martyred as they were taking stones and snuffing out his life and trying to cause they didn't want to hear the truth because they plugged their ears and they were pierced to the heart these religious people killed him and ushered him right into glory and as Stephen cried out in Acts 756 he said behold
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I see the heavens opened and the son of man standing at the right hand of God only time you see
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Jesus standing given in an ovation come in Stephen you're the first martyr of the church in the
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New Testament Paul the apostle describes Jesus as Romans 8 34 as he who is at the right hand of God also intercedes for us because God according to Ephesians 120 has raised him from the dead seated him at the right hand of the heavenly places and the writer of Hebrews says of Jesus Christ in Hebrews 1 3 when he had made purifications for our sins he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high because of that according to Hebrews 8 1 we have such a high priest who has been seated taking his seat at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heavens folks he's at the right hand of God now he is the one according to 1
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Peter 3 22 who is at the right hand of God and having gone into heaven gone through the heavens after angels and authorities and powers has subjected to him he is exalted in heaven at the right hand of God the father folks he is king of kings lord of lords he's the lord of glory and he's worthy of praise so we have the reminder 2 we have the responsibility 3 we have the resource now 4 we have the reason there's a reason what's the reason?
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look at verse 3 for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God Paul stresses here that this reason or should be for the
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Christian it should be a norm why? because believers believers in Jesus Christ have died into the world system through faith in Jesus Christ his death his burial his resurrection
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Paul says in Galatians 6 14 God forbid or may it never be that I should boast except in the cross of our lord
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Jesus Christ through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world have you been crucified to the world are you dead to the world
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Paul was but notice in the text in Colossians 3 3 you have died past tense now stay with me here this indicates a death to self that took place at salvation now in what sense has the believer died very important that we get this because a lot of people get confused here it's a very good question though in the sense that the penalty for sin has been paid for we must remember that it's the penalty of sin when
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Jesus said on the cross it is finished he said paid in full he paid the wages of our sin he paid it in full so Jesus our lord paid that in full and it cost him his very blood the precious blood of God's own son to pay for our sins in which we are deserving to die because the soul that sins shall die right
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Jesus died the death he paid the penalty but he was the perfect son of God we're the ones that deserve the death to go to hell
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Jesus took our hell he took the wrath of God he paid the penalty oh beloved how
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God must hate sin to pay such a penalty of an awful price a high cost an awful death that sent the son of God and a sin that can never claim us again beloved there is the good news so we died to sin in a sense that when we put our trust and faith in the lord
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Jesus Christ but only the penalty has been dealt with that's a big thing to understand because the presence the power of sin still affects us until we go home to be with the lord forever there's some people out there that believe that the sin can be eradicated in this way it cannot happen folks don't you wish it could but it can't that's right we would be glorified but not until we glorify the presence of power of sin is still here in our hearts but it can be dealt with through the cross and as we put it to death and live a victorious life listen to me very closely the sin cannot condemn us how?
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because not only have believers died to sin but also to their lives are hidden with Christ and God that's the positive so what does this mean?
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what does it mean that our lives are hidden with Christ and God? the answer is given in 1 Corinthians 6 .17
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the one who joins himself to the lord is one spirit with him each believer are partakers of God's holiness the divine nature
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Paul says in Romans 8 .1 therefore there's no condemnation to those in Jesus Christ you see next let me move next here on this because this is very important not only we share a common life with the father and son we also have a new life that is concealed from the world you know
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Paul says one day we're going to judge the world that's incredible but it's not the way
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Jesus is going to judge the world don't get confused here in other words you are with Christ he has exalted you with him this is hard for us to grasp but that's exactly what it means to be in the heavenlies we are victorious in him so why are we living defeated lives?
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good question 1 Corinthians 2 .14 the natural man does not accept the things of the spirit of God for they are foolishness to him because he cannot understand them because they are spiritually appraised spiritually discerned
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Paul pointed out that the true manifestation of the sons of God is yet to come to the next world this best life now is a lie from hell because we have a cross we have losses we deny ourselves we have the hardships our best life begins as MacArthur says when we enter heaven people cannot see what believers really are like but God sees us right?
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Romans 8 .19 for the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly awaits the root listen to this for the revealing of the sons of God even creation waits for the sons of God to come in Apostle John implied this to our true identity in Jesus Christ in 1
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John 3 .2 beloved now we are the children of God the sons of God and it shall not yet appear what we shall be we shall be like him one day
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Paul said this in 1 Corinthians 13 .12 for now we see in a mirror it's dimly there's a fog there but but there's the hinge get ready there's a revelation coming then face to face one day we will see
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Jesus face to face and he says now I know in part only in part now but then
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I shall know just as I'm known the fullness will come so everybody wants the millennium blessings now and the fullness now but that's not going to happen until we are glorified and next is believers are eternally secure in Jesus Christ and I love this because we are hidden in Christ what does that mean we are protected from the wrath of God we are hidden in Christ we are protected from all the foes of Christ all the foes and the enemies of God but we are protected most of all by God himself
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God protects us from himself how does he do that in Jesus in Christ verse
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Peter 1 4 the blessings of salvation here speaks of the inheritance which is imperishable undefiled and will not fade away then he says this reserved don't you love that there's a reservation in heaven for you what a comfort this is our great high priest is able to save forever to those who draw near to him through him since he always lives because he lives to make intercession for them
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Hebrews 7 25 I love what Robert says here if I can just hear
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Christ praying for me in the next room I would not fear a million enemies and he's praying he's interceding can you imagine hearing him pray for you that your faith will not fail that those to whom the son gives eternal life shall never perish but no one shall pluck them or snatch them out of my hand
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Jesus said that John 10 28 no one's going to snatch you out of the father's hand they are hidden away deep in the shelter of God listen rock of ages like the old hymn says cleft for me let me what hide myself in thee we need to be hiding in Christ I love the stanza most hymn books leaves this stanza out nothing in my hand
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I bring simply to that cross I claim why don't they leave that out naked come to thee for dress helpless look to thee for grace foul
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I to the fountain fly wash me saviour or I die wow well so far we've seen the reminder the responsibility the resource the reason fifth the revelation look at verse 4 verse 4 when
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Christ who is our life get that when
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Christ when that's the revelation when he comes back who is our life our life
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Jesus says I am the way the truth and life but is Jesus your life is revealed listen twice he says revealed he is revealed then you also would be revealed with him in glory speaks of his second coming doesn't it although the world may not know how to recognize those who lives are hidden with Jesus Christ they will also one day they will not always be that will not always be the case
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I'm sorry get my words right because there is a coming a great day of reassurance there's coming a great day for every true believer and this is going to happen at the second coming the second coming of Jesus Christ when he comes that's our blessed hope folks he's risen again he's at the right hand of God but one day he's going to step up off the throne he's going to come back in great power and glory and he's going to set the trumpet to his mouth and he's going to blow the trumpet himself the king and all the saints of glory it's going to be a resurrection day of all the righteous and the unrighteous and all those in the grave will hear the voice of the son of God why because Jesus says
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I am the resurrection and life all he has to do is speak the word right revelation 19 he comes back as king of kings lord of lords listen to second
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Thessalonians chapter one you could go there if you like to second
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Thessalonians chapter one six through ten since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you
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God takes care of enemies doesn't he because vengeance is the lords and to give you who are troubled rest with us you know you can rest in God in the midst of trouble because your life is hidden with Christ rest with us what's he talking about rest with us apostles rest with us believers rest with us when the lord
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Jesus is revealed there's the word again revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know
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God and listen to this and on those who do not obey the gospel of our lord
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Jesus Christ they shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the lord and from glory of his power from the glory of his power when he comes in that day to be glorified in his saints and to be admired among all those who believe because our testimony among you was believed on that great day 2nd
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Timothy 2 .19 says this the lord knows those who are his and as Lightfoot says he comments the veil which now shrouds your higher life from others and even partly from yourselves will then be drawn the world which persecutes despises ignores now will then be blinded with the dazzling glory of the revelation wow when
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Christ comes when Christ who is our life Christ who is our life Philippians 1 .21
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brother Keith preached on this several months ago he says for to me to what to live is
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Christ to die is gain Paul says if I have
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Christ I have everything if I have Christ he's my life he's my he's my love he's my beloved he's my first love he is my all in all if I have
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Christ nothing can defeat me they can take my body and persecute me they can put pain on me here but it's going to usher me into glory so the key to living the risen life is a life centered on Jesus Christ right
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Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone in Christ died with Christ raised with Christ Christ and Christ alone the reminder the responsibility the resource the reason the revelation and let me add one more
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I'm adding this one the remedy how about that the remedy what's the remedy turn with me to Ephesians 2 here's the remedy and this is the application
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I have for you I pray I can get through this application but God who is rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us even when we were dead and trespasses made us alive together listen together with Christ by grace you have been saved raised us up together and made us to sit together there's the word together he raised us up together to sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus that in the ages to come he might show the seemingly riches of his grace and the kindness toward us in Christ Jesus beloved that's the gospel but God but God he's made us alive with Christ God raised us up together we are raised up with Christ because Jesus said he is the resurrection and the life and he has the power raised us up in that moment when we were united with Jesus Christ by the
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Holy Spirit in the new birth now let me ask you a question what does it mean to be raised up with Christ this is application beloved it means to be raised up with Christ is to be transferred from death to life from darkness to light from the power of Satan to God Paul said that and it's by his mercy his compassion and it's by his power those two go together in salvation
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Romans 6 5 through 7 for if we've been united with him in death like his we shall be certainly united with him in a resurrection like his we know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin we no longer serve sin for one who has died has been set free from sin a little girl that was saved
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I read this story here she applied for membership to a local church before the pastor and she was interviewed we do that here the pastor asked were you a sinner and she said yes
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I was a sinner are you still a sinner that's a good question are you still a sinner the pastor asked and she said yes
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I'm still a sinner and then he asked a very important question what change has taken place in your life the pastor asked and the little girl replied in such a wonderful way she said the best way
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I can explain that pastor is that I used to be a sinner running after sin but now
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I'm a sinner saved by grace running away from sin amen that's wise out of the mouths of babes and suckers
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God's perfected praise that's what we should be doing it's not our perfection that saves us it's the direction that determines the evidence of salvation do you hate sin are you running away from it do you shun evil do you love the
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Lord and do you run toward him you see let me give one more question conclusion here when will
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God show the riches of His amazing grace in Christ Jesus well Paul says in the ages to come
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God's going to show the immeasurable riches of His grace to all creation and eternity imagine if God had appointed you and sent you to India to preach the gospel and you meet a leper and you know lepers lepers lepers have an incurable disease it's actually a disease that affects the nervous system they lose their feelings that's why you see they lose their hands their fingers their noses their ears they can't feel no more and that's what sin does it cauterizes our conscience and God sends you and God basically speaks to you and says now you embrace that leper you take that leper and kiss him on the cheek and you look at that leper and you see a deformed face you see a person that is eaten away and what that disease has done and running sores and you think to yourself
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Lord how you got to be kidding I cannot ever embrace a leper most of us would find that very difficult wouldn't it let's be honest but you know what can
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I say this that's exactly what God has done in saving us in his mercy and love he has embraced lepers just like the father in Luke 15 he ran and he embraced that prodigal wasteful dirty son that smelled like pig stench he embraced him the father ran after him he kissed him he came to himself that man repented and he ran home to the father and the father embraced him and kissed him and kissed him that's what
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God does like a leper we were deformed by sin, sin was eating away at our soul we had running sores in our lives but God rich in mercy embraced you he kissed you he brought you in oh
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God so loved you that he gave his one and only son and sent him to a cruel cross to die for you so that you can have salvation today that's the good news beloved that I present to you today no condemnation in Jesus Christ he saves to the uttermost so why did
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God save you well basically he saved you from sin to make worshippers out of you and me he saves us from sin from death and from hell that's the great benefits but most of all he saves us from the wrath to come to make us worshippers to make us worshippers
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Christ died for you it's all because of his amazing grace in Jesus Christ God's riches at Christ expense raise us up with Christ all for the praise of the glory of his grace hallelujah we have the reminder we have the responsibility we have the resource we have the reason we have the revelation and praise
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God we have the remedy amen in him we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins listen to this brother
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Keith talked about this morning the forgiveness of sins beloved washed in the blood of the lamb according to the riches of his grace so that reason alone we should be eternally grateful now now we kiss the son now we kiss the son we worship him we serve him and should we not love and obey him for all that he's done for us and we come to love him more and more because of what he did he paid the price he paid the ultimate price and the answer to these lost souls today repent and believe the gospel amen turn from your wicked ways and God will have mercy upon you believe the gospel embrace
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Christ let's bow and pray our father and our great