Colossians 1:24-29 (Christ In You, The Hope Of Glory)

Thank you for subscribing to the Shepherds Church podcast. This is our Lord's Day Sermon. We pray that as we declare the Word of God that you would be encouraged Strengthened in your faith and that you would catch a greater vision of who Christ is.

May you be blessed in the hearing of God's Word and may the Lord be with you.

So I feel a little bit like Paul just a little because I want you to know how often I've tried to come. Over the months of October and November in December. We really tried to carve out some weekends where we could get here, but life Just wouldn't allow it.

But we are here now and when your pastors emailed me Just before Christmas and asked if I would come I was thrilled to be able to say yes.

And.

As I've been here twice before you will know that I love the stories of the Bible. God is a storyteller. He has told us the revelation of himself by and through stories. So if I were to tell you that the story is not over What would you say?

Right. Now we know the canon of Scripture is closed. No new verses. No new chapters. No new books. But God is still at work. You know how I know that. Because you're here you and your life is being written into God's story and When God writes you in You're in right he is weaving a tapestry that includes you.

And You will forever be in that tapestry if God has filled you by a spirit. You can't get out. You could try but you'll fail. Because you are not as great as God. You may think you are but you're wrong so you are Now a part of God's story.

Which is tremendous. Because we don't think of ourselves that way. Can I tell you that there are books in heaven being written and they are about you.

And.

You're gonna have children and great-grandchildren and great-great-great-grandchildren. And even more than that. And when they get to heaven They're gonna be able to go to that great library and read your life story.

They're gonna read about all your struggles and all your sacrifices. They're gonna read about how the power of God's Spirit dwelt in you. They are gonna read about how you change the world. And you know what they're not gonna read about.

Sin.

That part's been erased. That's not part of the story. They are gonna read some great stuff about you because you're being written into God's story and God forgets nothing. Every good thing is remembered.

Do you know how he can remember it? It's by his the power of his spirit. It's in you. It's working in you and you don't even know it. So, let me ask this question, I know you're all alive. What does it feel like to be alive?

I Thought about this. I Really thought about this. What does it feel like to be alive? You know, I'm tired. Sometimes I'm exhausted. Sometimes I feel very rested. Sometimes I feel sick. Sometimes I feel healthy.

Sometimes I feel sad. Sometimes I feel happy. But what does it feel like you want to push all that thing what does it feel like to be alive. You know what? I come up with.

Normal ordinary.

That's what it feels like to be alive. You wake up in the morning. You're not like oh, this is great. No, they're just normal, right? Sometimes you can't even get to normal until you had that cup of coffee, right?

What does it feel like to be in the spirit? What does it feel like to have the spirit in you working through you? You know what it feels like. Ordinary and normal if you look back before your conversion and you look at yourself now.

You don't really feel any different. There might have been some moments where you felt. Ooh, God is good. I'm filled right but then Life is just normal. And you know what? That's good because God's an ordinary normal God.

The Sun comes up every morning, you know why. Because God likes ordinary. Right if God didn't like ordinary the Sun might not appear sometimes but it always does because God likes ordinary. The world spins around on its axis and it spins around the Sun 365 times a year.

Because God likes ordinary. And so he's taken you Ordinary people and he has filled you with his spirit. So that you ordinary folks could go out and change the world. And I'm gonna tell you how to do it today and it's easy you just don't know how easy it is.

Now I'm gonna start.

Shouldn't do that. I'm gonna start by reading you a portion of scripture from Colossians. It's chapter 1 and Paul is talking about how God has made him a An apostle To the Gentiles and This is what he says now.

I rejoice in my suffering for your sake and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body. That is the church of Which I became a minister. According to the stewardship of God that was given to me to make the Word of God fully known the mystery hidden for ages and generations.

But now revealed in his Saints this mystery that nobody knew about until Jesus came. What's the mystery? To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you the hope of glory.

That's my title. Christ in you the hope of glory. Did you ever think? That you would be the hope of glory. Paul just said it you're the hope of glory. Verse 28. Him we proclaim. Warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

Listen to verse 29. For this I toil struggling with all the energy That powerfully works within me. What is this energy he's talking about? That's powerfully at work in him. Well, that's the Spirit of Christ that's the Spirit of God the Holy Spirit that has come and taken up residence in you and You now get to live like Paul Energized by the Holy Spirit and how having Christ powerfully work through you.

Now I'm gonna read a scripture from 2nd Corinthians. Now the Corinthian Church.

Was a wreck.

Every time Paul had to go there. He had something to fix because these people were just. Their theology was messed up right. Paul's always having to teach them the right way to do things. But listen to what Paul says in 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 verse 17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.

The old has passed away. Behold the new has come. He's saying this to messed up people. They were let me tell you you go read Corinthians and you find out what kind of sin was going on there. It was pretty scary.

And Paul says you're a new creation. What's new? Well, you didn't have the Spirit and now you do you were spirit less. Now you're spirit full. But how do we tap into this how do we get there what does it do why is it useful?

Well, that's what I'm hoping to tell you and I'm gonna do it by doing what I always do. By telling you Bible stories because this is how God has chosen to reveal himself in Bible stories. Now before I get into the stories, I'm gonna say a couple of things.

I'm gonna throw some stuff out there. May not make sense to you now. God help us if it doesn't make sense by the end. Then pastor will have to say yeah, don't come back anymore but I Want you to know?

That when God shows up things change. God doesn't show up and everything stays the same when he shows up everything changes and he does this by speaking. Saying words and once he says a word everything's changed.

So he comes into nothingness and he says.

Let there be light.

What happens the lights go on? Why. Because God said it. Right when he says things when he shows up things change. You know the story of Adam and Eve in the garden. You know how they were placed in the garden and they were told don't eat the fruit from the tree of the wood.

Knowledge of good and evil everything else is yours. That tree is not for you yet.

It'll be for you later.

And what they do. They go right for that tree they hear the tree and then it's day seven. God is showing up on the Sabbath. He wants to meet with these people and their sin is revealed. And what happens.

God speaks to them and they are exiled from the garden. He gave see when God shows up things change and How did he do it? He did it by speaking. Now there are two words in Our scriptures the Hebrew word for breath or Spirit is.

Ruach.

You can hear the the expelling of air when you say it. Ruach. In The New Testament that word is Numa and it means wind. It means spirit, right? It means breath. So we're gonna talk about well if Christ lives in you.

Then you have the Ruach and the Numa in you and when you speak things can change. You can do this because the Spirit of God lives in you. So that's what I want to talk to you about. So we we talked a little bit about Adam and Eve, right?

We've got the story of Noah and the ark right. God says the world's wicked so wicked. I'm gonna wipe it clean and he shows up and he wipes it clean, right? Eight souls saved on the ark. Noah his wife and his three girls and our three sons in there.

Whatever.

Eight souls, right? Everybody else is gone. They are erased when God shows up things change. We have the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. God says these towns are wicked. I'm gonna blow him away. And when he blows him away.

They're gone, right when God shows up and God says something things change. Well We've got some good stories About when God shows up and things change, so I'm going to talk about those. I'm going to read you About the story about when Solomon consecrates the temple.

Now, let me just give you some background. David is sitting in his palace. He's writing Psalms. He's having a grand old time communing with God. And he says to himself. Wait a minute. I live in a palace.

I got to go to a tent to meet with you. This the tabernacle, that's not right. We should give you a palace to live in. And God says to him sorry Dave. Not your job. You can collect everything to build that palace, but I'm let your son do it.

Do you know that story is? Mimicking the father and the son the son came to build a temple out of bricks that are alive. Right, that was his job. And so God says to David let your son do it, but you can get everything ready.

You can get the gold you can get the silver you get the bronze you can get the stones you can get the timber. You get it already and your son is going to build a temple. And so Solomon shows up and he builds the temple.

Now.

If you lived in Jerusalem while this was going on It probably wouldn't have been too pleasant. I grew up in New York City. Whenever they decide they're gonna build a building in New York City, or they're gonna tear one down.

That means you can't go there. So if that's your way to get to work, you gotta find a new way. You got drive around here and he has a stop sign they got it all blocked off and you got to go another way and it's.

It's terrible. You can't wait for the building to get done. So you can actually get your roads back, right? I want to go my way. I don't want to go your way. Well. We got good old Solomon. He builds the tabernacle the temple.

He gets it all finished and he sends word to all Israel and he says listen, we're gonna consecrate this place. See we can't use it until God moves in. So we're gonna consecrate it and God's gonna move in and you want to be here for this.

This is a celebration and all the people who lived in Jerusalem. They're calling all their friends up. Hey, listen guys. Come on, stay at the house. We'll get up on the roof. We're gonna watch this consecration take place, right?

So let's read the story in Chronicles chapter 7 as Solomon finished his prayer. Fire came down from heaven and it consumed the burnt offering in the sacrifice and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.

The priests could not enter the house of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled the temple even the priests couldn't go in because the glory cloud. The fire remember good old Solomon. He took 70 bowls one bowl for every nation.

He had them Slaughtered and had the carcasses put on the altar and the fire from heaven comes right down and consumes those sacrifices and the glory cloud.

Moves in.

Does this remind you of the story of Exodus? Where the fire and the cloud led them. Oh God is amazing. He writes the same thing over and over again, and it's always great. Right. So the the glory cloud fills the house and listen what happens to all of Israel that are in Jerusalem.

When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the Lord on the temple they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and Worship listen. They're on their hands and knees and their head is down on the ground and they are Worshipping God as one man.

This whole nation. Let me tell you we can't get five people to do the same thing at once. God can get a whole nation to bow down before him and They just begin to worship and listen to what they say. They gave thanks to the Lord saying for he is good and his steadfast love endures forever.

I In your mind from last time I was here, but the steadfast love this is what they all said as one. Let me tell you when God shows up. And he breathes and his spirit shows up and he fills something it is an amazing sight and If you happen to live in Jerusalem back then and you were there.

That story would inform the rest of your life. When you sat around your little fire pit in your backyard and you talk to your little kids you'd be saying man. You should have seen it. And when you talk to your grandkids this same story, you know how old people are we got like five stories.

We tell them over and over and over again. This is one of your stories. You should have been there when the fire fell and the cloud filled the temple. It was amazing when God showed up, right? Well, I'm gonna jump to the New Testament.

Because there are other people in the New Testament that God worked in and through. And I want to talk to you about the story of Zacchaeus. I'm gonna try to read the story and then talk about it. Let's hope I can do it in Luke chapter 19 and He entered Jericho and was passing through that's Jesus and there was a man named Zacchaeus.

He was a chief tax collector and was rich and he was seeking to see who Jesus was. But on account of the crowd he could not because he was small of stature so he ran ahead climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him because he was about to pass that way and Jesus came to the place and he looked up at him and he said Zacchaeus hurry on down.

I want to go and stay at your house today so he hurried down and Received him joyfully and When they saw it, they all grumbled. He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord behold Lord half of my goods I give to the poor and if I've defrauded anyone of anything, I will restore it fourfold and Jesus said to him today Salvation has come to this house since you also are a son of Abraham.

For the Son of Man has come to seek and save the lost now. We got Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus is we found out a tax collector. He's not just a tax collector. He's a chief tax collector. He's a Jewish man who is taking taxes from other Jewish men and giving them to Rome.

Nobody likes Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus is the scum of the earth. And when I say he's the scum, let me tell you he's the scummiest. Right if you're a thief or you're a murderer. You're higher up in respect than Zacchaeus because he's a traitor.

And he's a chief tax collector and he has made himself rich. You know, they made themselves rich. Rome says we want 5 He comes to your house and says you gotta give us six. And you say I Rome said five and he says I see these soldiers over here with their swords.

I Say six and he keeps one and he gives Rome their five. And who gets shortchanged you so you understand why people hate him. Well, Jesus, he's a little short guy, right a little short guy wants to see Jesus.

He can't cuz he's too Much taller than him so he comes up with a plan. I'm gonna run ahead I'm gonna climb a tree and I'll be able to see this guy who I've heard so much about. This guy who heals the sick.

He raises the dead. He takes a fish and a loaf and he feeds thousands. This is a guy who went into the temple with a whip and overturned tables. I gotta see this guy. I Want to know about this, right?

So he climbs his little tree. Jesus is coming through Jericho and he stops and he looks up and He says Zacchaeus come on down. How does he know Zacchaeus his name? Does he have a Rolodex of all the chief tax collectors.

Was it put up on the billboards in Israel? Oh hate these people or maybe the Spirit of God just happened to live inside him and he knows those who are his and He calls them by name. And he says to Zacchaeus come on down.

I'm gonna stay at your house.

Right.

And then it says they all grumbled. Who's the they? Well, they're the chief priests. They're the Pharisees. They're the Sadducees. There's they got this little cohort that follows Jesus everywhere so they can find something to condemn him about.

Because they hate him. You know why because the limelight the little spotlight that used to be on them. For their goodness and their righteousness has now been shifted and they're in the gray. They're in the shadow.

They want their spot back. So they're looking for something to condemn this man and they say one of the most stupidest things I have ever heard come out of people's mouths. Listen to this. They saw it and they grumbled.

He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner. As if they're not sinners and if Jesus went to their house, he'd be going to the house of a sinner. Let me tell you these these guys are dumb. Right.

How can you be so stupid that you don't know you're a sinner? You know how your prideful religiosity gets in the way and you think that you're good that God has. Come down here and you've come up here and now you're good.

You're nice and even with him. Let me tell you they weren't even and they grumbled and then what happens. What is Jesus done so far? He said Zacchaeus. Come on down. I'm gonna go to your house. He's breathed out a couple of words not much.

They get to the house and Zacchaeus says half what I have. I'm gonna get to the poor the guy who never gave a penny to the poor before.

And.

If I've defrauded anyone, I'm gonna give him back four times. That's the law. That's what was required. Now all of a sudden this man who was a chief tax collector Something's happened to him. God has shown up and said, you know what.

Zacchaeus you're mine and. As soon as God breathes out his name That man's heart is just filled with faith and everything for him changed. You know what when you and I get to heaven. You know, I love my coffee.

Let's sit down with Zacchaeus and we're gonna ask him. What was the rest of your life like? How did thing change for you, right? And then Jesus Says this after it's all taken place. He says today Salvation has come to your house.

Because you are a son of Abraham, you know, he was a son of Abraham ethnically before but now He's a true son. Just like you.

Right.

Father Abraham had many sons. Many sons had but right that's who you are now. You're a son of Abraham. Why? Because the Holy Spirit has come inside you and made you a son just as God told Abraham when he breathed out those words More than the sand in the sea more than the stars in the sky are gonna be your children.

And then he says verse 10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and save the lost. Now if Jesus had a chariot that he traveled around Jerusalem in His bumper sticker would have been I have come to seek and save the lost.

That was the thing that Informed his life right when he healed the sick and when he raised the dead and when he fed Thousands or when he just sat down on a hill and taught He was fulfilling this mandate.

I have come to seek and save the lost and you Are a part of that because you were the lost. You were Zacchaeus. Right, you were the scum of the earth you were the scummiest and he said I'm going to your house Because he's come to save this the lost.

Well, let me come to another story because I got to move quickly because there's a meeting at one that Derek has to be at. The story of Nicodemus is really interesting and good old Nick. I think gets a bad rap Because everybody says, you know, well, he went at night.

He was skulking around and sneaking. I don't think that's the case.

I.

Worked for years and years and years 38 of them for one company and I usually worked Monday through Friday from 9 to 5. And if you wanted to come to my house and talk to me about something really serious.

If you showed up at 10 o 'clock in the morning, I was not there. You had to come in the evening when I was home. And I think this is what Nicodemus is doing. He knows that Jesus is a worker. He knows he's got stuff to do and he's been doing it.

And so he's gonna come in the evening when he can sit with Jesus and talk about some serious things. So, let me read the story and we'll talk about it. Now there was a man there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus a ruler of the Jews.

He's no slouch this guy. He has studied the scriptures. He has learned them and he has been made a ruler of the Jews. When people need help they go to him because he knows stuff. He's put in the work.

Right.

And he's coming to Jesus and listen to what he says. The man came to Jesus by night and said to him rabbi Now we know that you're a teacher from good come from God for no one can do these signs unless God is with him.

He's calling him master teacher. And he's saying we know you've come from God well at least Nicodemus did. Because nobody could do these signs that you're doing unless God was with him. Really interesting.

Now, what are the words that that Jesus is gonna breathe out to Nicodemus? Jesus answered him. Wait a minute. Has Nicodemus asked any questions yet?

No.

No question. But it says Jesus answered him it doesn't say Jesus said it says Jesus answered him. Do you know? That there are questions in your heart that you can't even articulate. Because you don't know them enough.

There's just something that you know is messed up and maybe wrong and you can't even put the question into words. But God knows God knows the thing that's burning in your heart. He knows the message you need to hear.

And so he answers Nicodemus and he says truly truly. I say to you unless you are born again you cannot see the kingdom of God and Nicodemus responds. How can a man be born when he's old? Can he get back into his mother's womb and be born again?

You see this was the question that Nicodemus knew. Nicodemus knew he wasn't right. He knew he was broken. He knew something was wrong. He kept the laws perfectly as he could. But when he stood at home in front of his mirror, he knew what was in his heart.

And he said how can a holy God? How can how can I did I don't understand and God says you must be born again. You see you are born of Adam that old broken failure from the garden. You need to be born anew.

And how do you get born again? This is what sickness team is. How how do I get back in my mother's womb and what does Jesus say? Truly truly I say to you unless one is born of the water and the spirit.

He cannot enter the kingdom of God. So there's something else that needs to take place. Now. I want you to see something here. Things are changing. God has shown up. He's having a conversation with Nicodemus and as God is breathing out these words through his son.

Everything is changing for Nicodemus lights are going off. Understanding is coming into his mind at his heart. He's beginning to figure out what's going on. Jesus says to him in verse in verse 6 that which is born of flesh is flesh.

But that which is born of spirit is spirit. There's those words again. Ruach Duma. Do you know those the word Ruach appears almost 400 times in the Old Testament? The word Numa. In the New Testament, which is much much much smaller than the Old Testament appears almost 400 times as well.

Let me tell you the Spirit does some amazing things and we need to know about it. And Jesus tells him that which is born of spirit. Don't marvel that I said to you you must be born again. And then Jesus says this.

The wind.

Blows where it wishes. There's that word. Numa again wind. The Spirit blows where it wishes. You hear the sound of it, but you don't know where it comes from or where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit?

This is amazing. Do you know? that guy that you work with. That just grates on your soul.

Right.

When you show up, oh, here's Mike holier-than-thou, right. Or every filthy joke. He's ever been told he wants to make sure that when he tells them you're there. That guy right. It just vexes your soul every time you see him.

You're like, oh god. The Holy Spirit blows where it wishes. You don't know where it comes from. You don't know where it goes. Just maybe He's a son of God. Sometimes someday too you don't know. We don't know.

We think we do but we don't. We are so willing to condemn so willing not to say anything so willing to watch the lost go to hell. Because they grate on us. Well. You don't know the sound. You don't know where it goes.

You don't know where it comes from. So is everyone who was born of the Spirit when God shows up and when God breathes out. Things change and that guy can become one of your best friends later in life when finally the Spirit of God Makes his heart full of faith.

That guy may come to you someday and say you remember when I did all those things. Forgive me. I didn't know. I Didn't know but now I do. Because the Spirit of God has filled him. Well, I got two more stories and then I'm done.

Because I got that one o 'clock time. What have we got when God shows up in the garden of Eden after the fall of Adam and Eve. Words get spoken and things change. I'm gonna read from Genesis 3. Starting in verse 8.

This is Adam and Eve when they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. So they hear the sound of God walking in the garden. They were not listening. That's not what they heard.

They heard their names being breathed out by God. Adam Eve. Where are you? I'm here. Right, and it says it happened in the cool of the day. You know that word cool is not a temperature word it does not mean the opposite of hot.

It is the word Ruach. He came in the spirit of the day. He wanted to meet with Adam and Eve, right? This is the Sabbath the day of rest and their God has come to the garden to meet with them and Sin gets revealed.

And they God said, where are you? And they said we heard the sound of you in the garden and we were afraid. Because we were naked and we hid ourselves and now the sin is revealed, right? They've done what they shouldn't have done.

And so there are three judgments that God is gonna breathe out against them. It's gonna come out. The first one is in in verse 14 of chapter 3 the Lord said to the serpent because you have done this cursed are you above all livestock and above all the beasts of the field on your belly you shall go and You shall eat The dust all of your days, right?

That's curse. Judgment number one then unfortunately. It comes to you ladies. And he says, you know childbearing supposed to be pleasant. Wasn't supposed to be so difficult. Now it's gonna be hard. It's gonna be hard for you.

Judgment number two. And then he comes to Adam and he says. Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you you shall not eat. It cursed is the ground because of you.

In pain, you shall eat of it all of the days of your life. Listen, it was supposed to be easy. You were supposed to go out and plant seeds and they were just supposed to sprout no thorns. No thistles.

No weeds. But your sin has changed everything. Three judgments. And they are exiled from the garden forever and you and I both know what it's like to live in a world. Where we got to work by a sweat of our brow.

Now, nothing comes easy anymore, right? Well, I Want to compare that story? To another story and This is the story when Jesus Has come he's done his work. He's been crucified. He's been buried. Oh, by the way, do you know who helped bury him?

Nicodemus right, so he's been buried and Then he has been resurrected and the disciples haven't seen him and they are locked in a room. Because they're afraid that Jews are gonna come and kill them just like they killed their master.

Does it sound like the story of Adam and Eve who were hiding in the garden and were afraid? Wow, really similar. Well, let's read it. John 20 verse 19 on the evening of that day. The first day of the week.

When did God come to meet with Adam and Eve the last day of the week? Things have changed. You wonder why we worship on Sunday. This is one of the reasons because God came to them on the first day of the week.

The doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them and he's gonna speak now. How did Jesus get there? It's as if he came in on a breeze. Right, the doors are locked.

Right. Somebody had to get down on their hands and knees go under the door so he could just slide up in there, right? Amazing. He just shows up. And what is the first thing he says to them? Peace be with you.

That is exactly opposite of judgment. That's really interesting to me. Listen if an angel should call you on the phone and say Jesus wants to meet with you on Thursday night and you say the angel was he want to talk about.

He'll tell you when he gets there. Listen, Jesus shows up at your house Thursday night and he says peace be with you. Oh.

You're good.

He's not coming to say oh you sinful thing. No, he's coming to give you peace. Exactly opposite of what happens in the garden you see some things changed. Something new has happened. The King of Kings is now Arisen from the grave.

He's alive again, and he's not speaking judgment anymore. Do you know why. Because he's taken all the judgments? It's all fallen on him and now you're good. So he says peace be with you. And then it says they he showed them his hands in his side.

Listen, not fake news here. This is real. I got the holes in my hands and the hole in my side to prove it's me.

Right and.

They were glad when they saw the Lord and Jesus said again to them Peace be with you as the father has sent me even now. I'm sending you. You remember the story of Nicodemus. I Have come to seek and save the lost.

I Got news for you. That's your job now. That's your job and don't worry you're not supposed to do it on your own. You have the Holy Spirit lives inside you and you. And he are going to do the work that he was always called to do and that now he wants you to do with him not alone but with him.

And then he says in verse 22 and. When he said this He breathed on them and said Receive the Holy Spirit. Can you hear that? The ruach of God going out into them. Listen to verse 23. Bert 23 is astonishing.

If you forgive the sins of anyone they are forgiven them. If you withhold forgiveness from them it is withheld. Whose job is that? That's God's job. But he's in you now. And when he goes and he tries to speak to someone and they want to hear it.

Wow, their sins are forgiven especially if it's out of your mouth that he's doing it. But if they don't want to hear it. Their sins are withheld, right? But you're doing the work. It's your breath and it's his breath together because you are not alone anymore.