Sunday Worship Service

Cornerstone Church

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August 28, 2022

Sermon Notes: notes.cornerstonesj.org August 28, 2022

02:14: Good morning, Cornerstone. I want to direct my comments to the ladies of the group, from the little ladies, the young ladies, the mature ladies, all ladies in between.
02:26: We have an event coming up here. It is September 10th, Saturday, at 6 .30.
02:33: What's going on, you ask? I'm glad to hear your inquiries. Did anyone get a paper like this last week?
02:40: We started handing these out. This is announcing our ice cream, social, and movie.
02:47: Again, it is on Saturday, September 10th, at 6 .30. Weather permitting, technology permitting,
02:53: I think we're going to be outside, so bring a blanket and a chair. Your contribution is to come and bring
03:03: Sunday toppings. That will enhance our Make Your Own Sunday. Whipped cream, you can never have enough.
03:09: Just a shameless plug, there. I have a couple F's for fun.
03:15: Friends, fellowship, hope you come. What are we doing, also?
03:21: We are going to see a movie. That is Magdalena. Magdalena is actually a mission -produced movie.
03:31: I don't want to say too much about it to ruin it, because spoilers, no.
03:36: It is a release from shame. It is based on scripture. It is specifically produced for women in cultures where women are unseen.
03:49: It is a dramatic unfolding of how very much seen we are, based on what
03:56: God says in scripture. Everyone who has seen it wants to see it again. I've seen it four times.
04:02: I can't wait. You want to see it for the first time, and also walk away and say, wow. Sign up in the lobby.
04:10: Second Saturday in September, 6 .30. Please come. We'd love to meet you.
04:21: Nobody has ever accused Kristen Haynes of not being seen. We see
04:27: Kristen. We also want to see our brother, John. John is going to come up and give us an announcement, as well. I just realized that it is neat the way things work out, the way
04:38: God works things out. It was unplanned, but we had an announcement for the ladies, and now you have an announcement for the men.
04:45: We're all about equity here. The second weekend of November, we're having our men's retreat.
04:58: All men, 14 years and older, are invited. This is the third year in a row that we've gone to the
05:07: Builders Summit, it's called. We're going to see a short video right now of testimonies of men who were there last year.
05:14: I'm up at the Builders Summit at the Mount Pocono Bible Camp, and I've got to tell you, it's been a joy to be here.
05:21: Get away from the hustle and bustle of everything else that's going on in our lives sometimes, and just recharge.
05:28: The Builders Summit, for me, was a total wake -up call. Absolutely incredible experience.
05:33: The individuals here all had a hunger to let God's Word transform their lives.
05:39: It is so uncommon for men to get to speak to other men, men to imbibe manlihood from other men who are
05:46: Christians. In this time, we have the teaching of the Word that informs us and guides us, and then we have rich and wonderful fellowship.
05:55: And it was so great to know that there was a like -minded group of guys that are just trying to get things right theologically, so that they can get their lives in order.
06:03: This isn't a pep rally. This is to strengthen, uplift, encourage, build one another up as men.
06:10: This experience, both last year and this year, have honestly been essential to me as a man.
06:16: I'd highly recommend coming to the Builders Summit. I traveled 500 miles to be here, and I loved every minute of it, and I'll do it again next year.
06:25: And it is absolutely edifying, because we're here building each other up in the name of Christ.
06:31: We're learning from great men of God. The fellowship in between the sessions is phenomenal.
06:37: It's very rare. It's very needed. It's very good for your soul. You know, the greatest thing about the Builders Summit is it's men sharpening other men.
06:45: Everybody should come. It's profoundly beneficial, so I'd encourage you to come. Come on down. Come be a part of us.
06:51: Participate in the fellowship. Be encouraged in grace and the hearing of the Word. I cannot recommend it enough.
06:57: I cannot recommend being with fellow men who all believe in Christ, exalting
07:03: His name, and just growing. Please, join us. And share this as much as you can.
07:10: God bless. So you see that there's a website, a web address up there, builderssummit .org.
07:19: You can go on there and find all the information that you need regarding the speakers, the schedule, the location, what to bring, registration costs, and everything.
07:30: Second weekend in November. I know that seems a long way off, especially with temperatures at what they are, 90 degrees.
07:36: Nobody's thinking about November, but it'll be here quick. And I know you make some plans, put some money aside.
07:43: So that's that. The second announcement for the men is we meet monthly. There's a group of men that meet monthly.
07:50: We have a men's monthly breakfast, and we study a book written by Christian authors.
07:57: We've gone over several books over the years, and a book that we're just starting next is called Global Reset. And I'd like to invite you to that as well.
08:06: Our next meeting will be September 12th at 6 a .m. here at the church. And this book,
08:12: I just want to read one sentence from this book just to give you an idea of what it's about. Global Reset opens our eyes to how pandemics, natural disasters, and political unrest point towards the impending universal economy and godless global government of the
08:30: Antichrist. You've been hearing a lot of that type of stuff from the pulpit. So this book was released just this year, so it's very current.
08:41: And we'd love to have you come if you can be here at 6 a .m. on September 12th to sit around.
08:48: And we just want to dig deeper on these topics and thoughts. Thank you very much. Thank you,
08:59: John. And I was at the Builders Summit last year. It was really wonderful.
09:05: John actually missed it. So we're looking forward to seeing you there this year, brother.
09:11: Yeah, that would be great. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father, thank you for all of these things we've spoken of.
09:19: There's a lot of activity at the church, Father. There's baptisms coming up, Father. Lord, there are meetings about the land that you have purchased for us.
09:30: And, Lord, we just desire to do your will in these things, Father. We have mentioned,
09:36: Lord, that you would please heal some of those in our congregation, Father. And we're thankful for that.
09:41: Please comfort, Lord, those who are grieving. We are so grateful, Father, that you are here with us.
09:48: You are a good and a wonderful God, Father. And we pray that the rest of this service, continuing on, would just be all about exalting the name of the
09:55: Lord Jesus Christ. We're so thankful to be here, and we pray in your name. Amen. Let's sing a few songs together.
10:26: When the enemy surrounds And my heart grows faint within When the darkness overwhelms
10:39: And my fears are pressing in I will trust in you,
10:48: O Lord In the silence I will wait
10:54: I will stand upon your Word You're my solid rock and my salvation
11:06: My steadfast hope that won't be shaken My soul will wait, my soul will wait for you
11:20: My stronghold and my shield In the midst of every threat
11:28: Though the wicked may will vanish
11:36: Though the outcome sure
11:43: Satan's evil plans will fail In your power
11:50: I'll seek You're my solid rock and my salvation
12:00: My steadfast hope that won't be shaken My soul will wait, my soul will wait for you
12:32: I can't explain This is love I can't explain
12:38: This is mercy undeserved
12:43: Through your sacrifice so great I have peace that's undeserved
12:53: For the battle I feared no shame or loss
13:02: Now the sting of death is gone You're my solid rock and my salvation
13:18: My steadfast hope that won't be shaken My soul will wait, my soul will wait for you
13:28: You're my come, feel, forsake My refuge and my sure foundation
13:37: My soul will wait, my soul will wait for you
13:57: Our hearts before you We will trust in you
14:10: Perfect Savior Strong Defender We will trust in you
14:27: Pouring out our hearts Pouring out our hearts
14:45: We will trust in you Perfect Savior Strong Defender We will trust in you
15:12: I'm going to read from Hebrews chapter 1, starting at verse 2. But in these last days
15:20: He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also
15:28: He created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God, and He is the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power.
15:40: Let's sing together. How great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised.
15:57: I'll bless your name, O God, each day that I'm awake
16:04: From dawn to setting sun, your greatness I'll proclaim
16:11: Your glory far exceeds all human thought
16:18: So with each breath I'll bless your name,
16:24: O God Your name will be revered by children yet to come
16:32: As generations sing of wonders you have done
16:39: Your strong and mighty deeds are always near O God most high, your name will be revered
16:55: How great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised
17:03: How great is the Lord our God How great is the
17:13: Lord, and greatly to be praised
17:20: Your gracious hand provides for all who live
17:32: Your mercy runs to find the helpless and the weak
17:39: When we call out to you, you hear our cries
17:46: And all our needs your gracious hand provides
17:54: How great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised
18:02: How great is the Lord our God How great is the
18:12: Lord, and greatly to be praised
18:28: When works of wicked man be destroyed
18:38: Your power will proclaim till Christ descends
18:45: And you will reign forever without end
18:52: How great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised
19:01: How great is the Lord our God How great is the
19:11: Lord, and greatly to be praised All of that because you loved us so much
19:49: And you wanted us to spend our future in heaven with you We thank you for the freedom that you give us
19:57: Only by the power of your name and your saving grace See, on the hill of Calvary My Savior bled for me
20:15: My Jesus set me free Look at the wounds that give me life
20:27: Grace flowing from His side No greater sacrifice
20:35: What He's done, what
20:41: He's done All the glory and the honor to the
20:48: Son My sins are forgiven My future is heaven
20:57: I praise God for what
21:03: He's done Sing for the freedom
21:18: He has won Even death is dead and done
21:23: His life has overcome Speak, say the name above all names
21:34: Over every broken place He has risen from the grave
21:42: What He's done, what He's done
21:49: All the glory and the honor to the Son My sins are forgiven
21:59: My future is heaven I praise
22:04: God for what He's done Majesty, the
22:17: Father's will complete He reigns in victory
22:25: Sing hallelujah to the King He is worthy to receive
22:33: All the worship we can bring What He's done, what
22:42: He's done All the glory and the honor to the
22:50: Son My sins are forgiven My future is heaven
22:59: I praise God for what He's done
23:04: I praise God for what
23:10: He's done As we open up Your Word, please open our eyes
23:20: And fill up, Drew, with Your Holy Spirit In Jesus' name, amen You may be seated
23:59: You know, we studied the Bible in a care group And we're all having a great time We missed some people
24:04: Because they weren't around We didn't see you guys But glad you're here now But I had to ask the pastor a question
24:11: So I called him up late Thursday And I said, Pastor, I had a question about the baptism
24:18: And he said, well, did you get my message? Because I have a question for you, too I said, well, why don't you go first?
24:25: And he said, I don't feel that well And I was like, ooh, that's a shame I said, you know,
24:30: I really hope you feel better He said, I won't be able to preach on Sunday I was like, ooh, really?
24:36: Okay Good thing Pastor John's coming back this week
24:42: He's like, no, no, John's not coming back this week I said, well, praise God for Tim I love
24:47: Tim, he's our youth pastor And he goes, Tim's at the youth group
24:52: Or at the youth retreat I was like, wow That's quite a problem you have there,
24:58: Pastor What are you going to do about that? Well, obviously he asked me to preach
25:04: But that was Thursday night So, you know, be ready in season and out of season
25:09: Preach the word You know, when that happens You just have to say,
25:16: Lord, whatever you're going to bring It'll be of you We'll praise your name today
25:21: And I'm just so thankful So I haven't had a lot of time to prepare But it's been a joy The early service was a joy, too
25:27: And I've got to ask everybody Did everyone have an opportunity to listen to the testimony
25:33: Of our brother Russell On the pastorgram that went out this week? I hope you did
25:40: Because, Russell, thank you very much for that And, yeah, praise God for that Our brother just speaks very straightforward
25:50: Very, like, this is how it is I'm going to trust in the Lord It was really great If you're not on the pastorgram
25:57: You know, get your e -mails to me, to Michael To somehow, so we can get them to Jeff And then that'll all go out
26:03: And it'll all be settled I'm sure there's a way to do that on the church app So that's something that's really great
26:11: And pastors, of course, send out a lot of information On those pastorgrams, too So we want to be part of Taking part of that as well
26:17: This morning, what are we going to talk about? Well, we're going to talk about our identity Now, our identity is very interesting
26:26: The definition, the dictionary definition of identity I'm going to have to read it Because it's a little bit wordy -girdy here
26:33: It says, the fact of being Who or what a person is
26:40: The fact of being who or what So it involves truth What we are, who we are
26:48: And it involves fact So it's not something we make up It's not something that's just kind of like Well, we are, you know, we want to be something else
26:56: We can just be whatever we want to be No, it's, our identity is who we are Now, it's interesting how
27:03: Our identity gets tagged in certain ways For instance, if you're the mother of a lot of children
27:10: And all your children are running around And they're having fun They're playing with other kids in the neighborhood And everything
27:16: You're not necessarily known as I'll say Dawn Hoke You're known as Luke's mom
27:26: Or Caleb's mom Or any of the other 25 children she has, mom And that's a correct label, though It is an identification
27:38: And it is based in the truth Sometimes it's a label we don't necessarily expect Well, can't I be just known as Dawn Hoke, you know
27:44: Mrs. Hoke, maybe You know, in our neighborhood We got labeled as Cupcake's father and mother
27:55: Dad and mom That's our dog Because everybody in the neighborhood knows our dog You know, we walk the dog
28:02: And everybody's like, oh, Cupcake, Cupcake, Cupcake And they love Cupcake And they don't remember who we are
28:08: So they just say, oh, yeah, yeah, you're Cupcake's dad I remember you Where's Cupcake? They don't care about us too much
28:14: But that's okay We love those types of identifications Those are sweet and they're great And they are based in the truth
28:21: But I'll tell you We are having an identity crisis In the country we live in And in the world we live in, don't we?
28:28: You know, it used to be That when people grew up We would know our identity is based in truth
28:38: We're created a certain way And that creation That knowledge of being created a certain way
28:44: Has dignity in it Dignity in creating the image of God And that was an inherent knowledge in our society
28:53: And if for some reason you felt less than If you felt like you were different If you felt like there was something wrong with your life
29:01: You were constantly encouraged Don't worry about it You have been made perfect Don't change who you are
29:09: You are perfectly the way the Lord wanted you to be And you need to embrace that And our society was taught that Even in secular schools
29:19: We were taught those things We shouldn't try to change ourselves We should try to embrace who we are
29:25: And even love who we are Now the Bible doesn't necessarily say that The Bible assumes we love ourselves
29:32: Commands us to love others But these days people are looking for their identity
29:39: Outside of who they were created to be They're searching for something They're searching for something to make them fulfilled
29:46: They're searching for something to make them Comfortable I guess And I looked up this week
29:54: Because we know there are many people in this world That say I identify as this or I identify as that And it's not based in the truth
30:02: It's based in some sort of a notion That they are going to receive peace and fulfillment
30:07: If they take upon this moniker This name for themselves And kind of act a certain way
30:13: And I read that How many genders actually Gender is a big part of this
30:19: How many genders are actually defined these days? 72
30:25: How is that even possible? 72 different genders You can supposedly claim yourself to be at this point
30:34: It's sad that folks are trying to trade in Who they have been created to be
30:41: For something that they think is going to bring fulfillment But it's going to bring heartache and pain into their lives
30:46: And eventual discouragement And I'll tell you if you're a person listening to this And you are searching for something
30:54: And you think there's something out there You have been created with a beautiful identity
30:59: By God's hand Now there's sin in the world And we have fallen due to sin
31:06: But we're going to hear today How we can have a new identity Because we can have a new life in Jesus And that is the identity
31:15: I want to talk to you about today But there is also A problem with spiritual identity
31:25: Because even though I just said Those who have a new life in Christ Are identities in Him There are those who would say
31:34: You need more than that You know what? Jesus isn't enough You need to search for something else
31:42: That's going to fulfill your life Paul had to deal with this in the book of Colossians The church of Colossi Because people were saying
31:53: That Jesus isn't enough You need other things And so he dealt with those things
32:01: In particular They said, well yeah, Jesus is good But you can have superior knowledge
32:10: Higher than Jesus You can have superior rituals Do these things in religious formats
32:17: You can have superior experiences That are up and above The knowledge of the
32:25: Lord And the scriptures And your life in Christ If you seek all of these things
32:31: You are going to be on such a higher spiritual level Than just this little level down here
32:37: That you have in Jesus You need to seek these things And they tried to get people's eyes
32:44: Off of Jesus Christ So let's turn to Colossians chapter 2 Verses 4 and 5
32:51: And we're going to look at Colossians chapter 3 today Eventually But we're going to spend a lot of ground work In chapters 1 and 2
32:57: To see what Paul was dealing with So the church of Colossi Was a church that Paul never visited
33:15: It was 100 miles east of Ephesus So it was kind of like in the middle of Turkey Just to give you a little geographic information
33:25: And he had never been there But he had heard how this church had been born
33:31: And he had heard how they had been founded in the truth of the gospel But now he's hearing about things that are happening in the church
33:40: That false teachers have come in And they're trying to take people's attention away from Jesus So let's see what he says here
33:47: In verses 4 and 5 it says this I say this in order that no one may delude you
33:54: With persuasive argument For even though I am absent in the body
34:01: Nevertheless I am with you in spirit Rejoicing to see your good discipline And the stability of your faith in Christ So Paul says he's absent from the body
34:11: He's not there with them physically But he's there in spirit And he wants them to hold fast
34:18: To their stability of their faith in Christ That is the bottom line He says that is what you should be holding to But he says there are people who have come into the church
34:29: Who want to delude you And they are persuasive with their arguments
34:35: Paul is warning this church There are those who want to take your eyes off of Jesus And put it somewhere else
34:44: Let's look at Colossians chapter 2 verse 8 He says see to it that no one takes you captive Through the philosophy and empty deception
35:00: According to the tradition of men According to the elementary principles of the world
35:06: Rather than according to Christ And again he's saying there are those who are going to come in They want you to trade your faith in Christ For the teachings of men
35:22: They want to deceive you
35:28: Let's see what it says in Colossians chapter 2 verses 18 and 19 It says let no one keep defrauding you of your prize
35:37: By delighting in self -abasement It's kind of like self -denial Harsh treatment of your body
35:42: For some religious exercise By delighting in self -abasement
35:49: And the worship of angels Taking his stand on visions he has seen Inflated without a cause by his fleshly mind
35:58: Not holding fast to the head From whom the entire body Being supplied and held together
36:06: By the joints and ligaments Grows with a growth Which is from God They taught self -denial
36:14: They taught that if you do these certain works If you do these certain rituals If you are engaged with spiritual beings
36:22: Worship of angels If you have these spiritual experiences These revelations
36:28: These continued happenings in your life That are extra -biblical things
36:33: Outside the scriptures Outside the knowledge of Christ If you have all these things
36:39: You are really a superior spiritual person And that's what the point of it all is
36:46: Exaltation of themselves And it's a pushing down Of who
36:51: Jesus Christ is And they base all of these things In experience and work
36:58: Instead of the knowledge of Jesus They're false teachers
37:03: Let's read chapter 20 Or excuse me Chapter 2 verse 20 through 23
37:11: If you have died with Christ To the elementary principles of the world Why as if you were living in the world
37:18: Do you submit to yourselves To decrees such as Do not handle Do not taste, do not touch
37:24: Which all refer to things Destined to perish with the using And Jesus talked about that In accordance with the commandments
37:32: And teachings of men These matters which have to be sure The appearance of wisdom and self -made religion
37:38: And self -abasement And severe treatment of the body What are of no value
37:44: Against fleshly Indulgence They like to make rules
37:52: And people who like to make rules Like to have control over you And they like to feel superior to you
38:01: Paul's warning the church of this Now this was back 2 ,000 years ago And these people were called
38:08: Gnostics Because They like to focus on the superior knowledge they had
38:13: They like to focus on the superior Gifts and abilities they had They like to focus on the
38:19: Superior experiences they had That they could boast about And inflate themselves
38:27: That was 2 ,000 years ago What about today Are there people
38:34: Teaching in the church That would want to take Our eyes off of Jesus That would want to put our eyes
38:42: On spiritual experiences That would want to put Our eyes on man -made religion
38:48: And man -made works There's nothing new Under the sun folks
38:53: There are still those around That are teaching such things And the idea of being
39:00: Spiritually superior Is still unfortunately very Very prevalent
39:06: Amongst many of the churches In our country And really even around the world
39:11: My wife did a little look up On some things And she said that What she found was possibly
39:20: About a half a billion people Were tied up in ministries That promoted these types
39:26: Of things Half a billion If I do my math right I think that's 1 in every 12 people
39:33: On the earth If there's 6 billion people on the earth I think that's about right That's incredible Why would we trade in Our relationship
39:44: And knowledge of Jesus For these things Well there's an appeal
39:50: Somehow to it There's an appeal to superiority There's an appeal to us
39:55: Doing something To make us better And we need to be careful of that Because these things are prevalent today
40:02: Just as they were back then Let's see how Paul addresses it The first question
40:08: I think we should ask ourselves Is this Is Jesus enough Do we have everything we need
40:15: In Jesus Christ The answer is yes Paul's going to help us answer that question right now
40:22: Let's turn to Colossians chapter 1 Verses 9 through 12 It says for this reason also
40:39: Since the day we heard of it We have not ceased to pray for you And ask that you may be filled
40:44: With the knowledge of his will And all spiritual wisdom and understanding So that you may walk in a manner
40:51: Worthy of the Lord To please him in all respects Bearing fruit in every good work
40:58: Increasing in the knowledge of God Strengthened with all power According to his glorious might
41:04: For the attaining of all steadfastness And patience Joyously giving thanks to the
41:10: Father Who has qualified us To share in the inheritance Of the saints
41:15: In light And I'm going to read 13 too For he delivered us from the domain of darkness
41:23: And transferred us To the kingdom of his beloved Son That's what
41:31: Paul says About Wisdom and knowledge Now he used the term
41:36: In verses 9 and 10 Which is a term in the Greek called Epigonosis Now gnosis
41:44: Or gnosis is knowledge Epi means A full knowledge
41:51: Or a superior knowledge Now notice he's using that word because He is combating those who say
41:56: They have superior knowledge He says the superior knowledge That I'm talking about Is based in the knowledge
42:04: Of the Lord himself And of his will All spiritual wisdom
42:10: And understanding is given to us By the Lord That is the superior knowledge
42:17: And notice what he says About being empowered He says if we're empowered by the strength
42:22: That the Lord gives He doesn't say we're going to have great visions He doesn't say we're going to do great things
42:28: Like miraculous work What he says is if you are empowered By the Lord You're going to be steadfast
42:36: You're going to be patient You're going to joyously give thanks To God for what he has done
42:43: Those are the things that Display the power of God To be able to be thankful in the midst of hardship
42:49: To be able to be patient In the midst of very trying Circumstances God has great power
42:55: And he works that power out In these things in the believer's life
43:02: But the folks that are trying To deceive the church Want them seeking other things Not God himself
43:08: Let's look at Colossians chapter 2 Verses 1 -3 For I want you to know how great a struggle
43:19: I have on your behalf And for those who are at Laodicea And for all those who have not
43:24: Personally seen my face So they haven't seen Paul That their hearts may be encouraged
43:32: Having been knit together in love Attaining to all the wealth that comes From the full assurance of understanding
43:39: Resulting in a true knowledge Of God's mystery That is Jesus himself
43:44: Jesus Christ himself In whom are hidden All the treasures of wisdom And knowledge
43:53: He uses that term again Epiknosis Use it in verse 2
43:58: Saying the true knowledge Of God's mystery Is Jesus Christ If you want to have superior knowledge
44:07: It is found In Jesus Christ And if you want to seek
44:14: Treasure That is above all things Seek Jesus Christ Because he is full
44:22: Of all the treasures All the wisdom and all the knowledge He is the only one
44:28: We need to go to We do not need to be involved In these other things Let's see what
44:34: Colossians chapter 2 verse 9 and 10 say For in him
44:40: All the fullness of deity Dwells in bodily form And in him you have been made complete
44:46: And he is the head Over all rule And authority Are we lacking anything
44:54: In Jesus The answer is no Paul says we are complete
45:00: In him We have everything we need For godliness And a divine relationship with him
45:07: And not only that He says all the fullness Of the deity dwells
45:13: In Jesus He is God almighty He is God in human flesh
45:19: And that is so important To understand The people who are false teachers
45:25: Quite often will Twist who Jesus is And they will always try to push him down Always try to push him down To something less than he is
45:34: The scriptures The holy spirit The power of God in your life Always should be exalting
45:40: Jesus Christ To the position With a name that is above every name That at the name of Jesus Every knee will bow and tongue confess
45:49: That he is lord He is God almighty That is the beauty of knowing
45:55: Jesus our lord Is Jesus enough Yes he is
46:01: There is nothing else to add To our salvation experience That is going to improve our situation
46:08: Jesus Is everything He is the one who gave his life for us
46:13: He is the one who had an eternal plan With the father That eventually he would lay down his life For the sins
46:19: Of those people who committed against him And he would Eventually be raised from the dead
46:26: Giving victory To those who would claim his name And he has made some great
46:31: Promises He indwells the believer He is coming back for his church
46:39: He is over all And above all And it says right here
46:45: He is the head over all Rule and authority Paul exalts
46:51: Jesus In these first two chapters of Colossians And it is very
46:57: Similar to what he has done in some other books of the bible Like Romans Where he teaches doctrine for about Well he teaches for eight chapters
47:04: And then he talks about Israel for three chapters which is beautiful And then in chapter twelve He transitions
47:10: He says I urge you therefore brethren Because of all these things I beseech you to give yourselves
47:17: A living sacrifice to the lord Which is your holy and acceptable service So he gets into the practical application
47:23: Of these wonderful truths Well he is going to do the same thing here in Colossians And that is what we are going to read next
47:29: But before we do that I want to ask a question of ourselves If you were
47:35: The lord Big hypothetical question there If you were the lord
47:44: And you knew from all eternity past That you were going to have your son Sacrificed For the sins of mankind
47:51: Who rebelled against you You wanted to redeem A holy people for yourself
47:57: To bring back that which is lost From the garden of eden In a beautiful relationship That would be one with his son
48:04: And one with the lord god almighty again That that precious relationship
48:09: That we had in the garden of eden That was lost Would be restored by the sacrifice and resurrection
48:14: Of his son Jesus Christ And then You had people teaching
48:23: That Jesus wasn't enough You had people teaching You need to take your eyes off of Jesus And you need to put them on these works
48:33: You need to put them on these experiences You need to trust in what I'm telling you
48:39: Not what the bible tells you And not what Jesus told you How do you think God would feel About those false teachers
48:49: Let's turn to Luke chapter 17 Verses 1 and 2 Because Jesus actually told us
49:10: Because when Jesus walked this earth There were many Who tried
49:18: To get the people's eyes off of himself And onto their teaching
49:26: In this particular Section we're talking about the pharisees The pharisees who would love to make up man -made laws
49:32: To draw people's attention Away from the lord And onto their superiority And their laws
49:40: What does the lord have to say About men who do such things Luke 17
49:45: Verses 1 and 2 He said to his disciples It is inevitable that stumbling blocks should come
49:52: But woe to him Through whom they have come It would be better for him If a millstone were hung around his neck
49:59: And he were thrown into the sea That he should cause One of these little ones to stumble
50:06: And Matthew says One of these little ones who believe in me And he's talking about little children there as well
50:14: Somebody who's earnestly seeking the lord Somebody who is a child of God And men want to put stumbling blocks
50:21: In their way The lord says it would be better For them
50:27: If someone hung around a 90 pound millstone And threw them into the sea We don't know
50:34: What the worst state is We just know it would be better If that happened to them
50:40: So the lord takes very seriously Those who would Mislead those who would believe
50:47: Paul does also We should also We should stand up for the truth And teach and preach
50:53: Jesus Christ and him crucified All of this other stuff We see going on in the name of Jesus It's nothing more than a side show
51:03: We need to make sure we have our eyes On the author and perfecter of our salvation Him alone
51:09: And we need to point out the false teaching When it's there That's what Paul does And after he gets through all this
51:18: We turn to chapter Three in Colossians Because he has better things in mind
51:29: For us He says if then You have been raised up with Christ Keep seeking the things
51:38: Above where Christ is Seated at the right hand of God Set your mind on things above Not on things that are on the earth
51:46: For you have died And your life is hidden with Christ In God When Christ who is our life
51:53: Is revealed Then you also will be revealed With him in glory This is where Paul wants us to be
52:02: With Jesus He said if you have been raised up with Christ If you have experienced
52:09: The new birth Of him coming into your life Yes you have died to your old self
52:15: You have died in Christ And you have been born again Unto a new life He's going to talk about that a little bit later on In verse ten
52:23: The new life that is given Is created in the image of Christ himself You have a new life
52:30: In Jesus And it is not like your old life Folks You have freedom, you have forgiveness
52:38: You have Eternally to be held In God's hand And he is not going to let you go
52:45: You have all of his promises You have his presence And he ministers to your heart
52:51: Through the spirit If you have been raised up with him Keep seeking things above And he actually says
52:59: Your very life Is in him Your identity
53:06: Is in Jesus Christ Everything we have
53:12: Is wrapped up in him And that's a beautiful thing Because he's
53:18: God almighty And he's called us into his family And he's given us the mystery
53:24: Of how to live out this life He says set your mind on the things above What's that mean?
53:32: Well It certainly means to think on Jesus It also means to think
53:39: On where Jesus is right now Seated at the right hand of the father Having gained victory for us
53:47: And entered in The holy of holies In the heavens Offering the sacrifice for sin
53:53: Knowing that he's paid that payment once for all Knowing that we have an eternal
54:01: Inheritance Undefiled, unblemished, will not fade away Reserved in heaven for us
54:06: By the power of God Yeah, we need to think about all those things Let's turn to Hebrews chapter 1
54:11: Verse 3 Michael actually read this verse Earlier And I'm just going to read one last
54:21: Little snippet From it So Hebrews 1 verse 3 it says
54:30: And he is the radiance of his glory The exact representation of his nature
54:36: And he upholds all things By the word of his power When he had made purifications for sins
54:44: He sat down At the right hand of the majesty on high Sat down His work was finished
54:53: And he sat down At the right hand of the father That brings us back to what Paul said a second ago
54:58: He said set your mind on things above Where Christ is Seated at the right hand of God Think about what
55:07: Jesus has accomplished And the fact that his work is completed
55:13: None of the priests ever sat down But as Jesus' high priest He offered his own blood once for all
55:21: An eternal sacrifice That would bring salvation to all who would believe in him And the work was completed
55:28: In the old testament the priest would offer Sacrifice after sacrifice And there would never be a time where the priest would sit down But our high priest in heaven
55:36: Has defeated sin and death For all time And he is seated in the heavenlies
55:42: It also says That we're seated in the heavenlies with him In the book of Ephesians We need to think on these things
55:50: He says set your mind on these things There is nothing left to do For your salvation
55:56: And your life in Christ We need to work out our salvation We'll talk about that in a second But Jesus has accomplished all things
56:04: And you are not lacking anything In the life that he has given you Because he's done it all
56:10: He's accomplished what we never could have done He paid the price Of the eternal sinless son of God Offering himself up for our sake
56:22: There's nothing we could have ever done And there's certainly nothing we could ever do To improve upon it So seeking after other things
56:31: Doesn't make any sense We have Jesus And that's who we need to hold on to Now When he says
56:40: Set our minds on things above I think it means more than just thinking about Salvation verses
56:46: I think it means more than just thinking about The fact that our sins are forgiven I think it's also talking about The entirety of the scripture really
56:53: Because the heavenly counsel has been given to us By God's grace Through his word
56:59: And he's given to us his very thoughts And his very mind through the word of God That's been penned down for us
57:05: So When we're walking through our life What are we thinking about?
57:13: Psalm 23 We know it well, right? The Lord is my shepherd
57:19: I shall not want He maketh me lie down in green pastures He leadeth me beside the quiet waters
57:25: He restoreth my soul We need To remember
57:31: Each and every day God's protection, God's provision And eventually at the end of that psalm
57:36: Where it says And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever Surely goodness and mercy Will follow me all the days of my life
57:45: Think about his presence That we're going to be with him For all eternity What does having
57:52: Psalm 23 written on our hearts Do for our lives? Well, I'll tell you
57:59: Because when you're studying the word of God As I've had for the last day and a half And you only have a day and a half to prepare
58:07: Because Pastor called you on Thursday night And I had to work on Friday So I had
58:13: Friday night and Saturday You need to focus on the word of God For sure But then, you know, you really
58:20: You're really encouraged, you really get into it And you remember what the Lord has done You remember all these beautiful things you have in Jesus And you think,
58:27: Lord, this is just so beautiful I can't believe it And you get in the car and you're ready to go to church And you know something bad's going to happen
58:36: You know it Today It was the bikers Those dreaded bikers
58:44: You know who I'm talking about So my road Coming out of my house
58:49: We don't have a shoulder on our road So I'm Surrounded by this buzzing bee of bikers
58:57: You know, they're going in and out They're behind the car and they're in front of the car They're four across, they're five across They're not only in our lane
59:05: But they're in the other lane And it's like Lord, I'm going to run one of these guys over I Like, who are these guys to get my way
59:15: On my way to church today But Because Psalm 23 was really on my heart
59:21: I really didn't have those type of thoughts this morning Back of my mind, maybe A little bit
59:28: Like, how rude But Honestly, the Lord's word
59:33: Changed my thinking this morning He even gave me
59:39: He gives you a love For these people who are Maybe even just annoying you at work
59:46: Or whatever it is And it's just incredible When His power and His spirit Moves within you to do something
59:53: You know you couldn't do yourself And so I had that experience driving in today And honestly, if my mind was not on Psalm 23
01:00:01: I probably would have had a problem I would have sat up here and preached Probably still But Psalm 23 was on my mind
01:00:07: It made a difference It made a difference in our heart The word of God makes a difference in our lives
01:00:14: When we think on Jesus We think on His promises We think on the things we have in Him Now, the pastor said last week
01:00:22: He was talking about the marriage And what a precious gift marriage is And what a holy institution it is
01:00:29: Given by the Lord And he reminded us In John 14 He said
01:00:35: Well, the Lord said Do not let your heart be troubled Believe in God, believe also in me
01:00:42: In my Father's house Are many dwelling places If it were not so I would have told you
01:00:49: But I go to prepare a place for you And if I go to prepare a place for you I will come again
01:00:55: And receive you to myself That where I am You may be also We know those verses
01:01:03: How often do we think about them During the day, during the week How often do we think
01:01:10: Jesus is coming again Jesus is coming to get me Jesus is coming to take me home I want to go home
01:01:18: We look around at the world And sometimes we feel despair Anxiety Things that want to monopolize our mind
01:01:26: But Jesus says Think on these things These things are going to be the things That show power in your life
01:01:33: Power to change, power to change your heart Power to give you freedom From any of these things
01:01:39: That would want to stumble you in this world How about Philippians chapter 1
01:01:46: Verse 9 and 10 These are just ones that are some of my favorites It says Paul says to the
01:01:53: Philippian church He says And may your love still abound More and more In real knowledge and all discernment
01:02:01: So that you may Approve those things which are excellent In order to be Holy and blameless
01:02:07: Until the day of Christ And you know Philippians also has many other promises about You know the
01:02:14: Lord is not going to Stop his work with you Put you on the shelf He says he's going to complete the work in you
01:02:22: Until the day of Christ When we think about these things
01:02:28: Yeah we're not what we should be But God is working in us And he is going to present us
01:02:34: Holy and blameless before him If that is not Exciting to you I would do
01:02:42: An inventory And check where your heart is See whether you're in Christ or not
01:02:49: Because the fact that We have been redeemed by his blood Given new life in him And even though we struggle
01:02:56: And we walk in the flesh right now In this flesh full carcass When he promises that we're going to be
01:03:01: Holy and blameless before him That is More than a joy
01:03:08: That we would be able to latch on to And hold on to And we need to hold on to these things When we face the world that we see every day
01:03:15: We need to have our minds set on Things above not on the things of the earth Where Jesus lifts us up above this world
01:03:25: Now Before I have a problem I had the same problem in the early service too
01:03:34: I was supposed to Supposed to go on From verse 5 to verse 14 I don't think
01:03:41: We're going to make it But that's okay Because we are going to read a few of the key verses
01:03:47: In Colossians After setting our minds on the things above Let's see what the Lord does
01:03:53: In our lives So let's turn back to Colossians 3 again And I'm going to read
01:04:05: I'm going to read 10 through 14 We won't go into it in depth
01:04:11: We'll just talk about some very high level things That are just beautiful So verse 10
01:04:18: And having put on the new self Who is being renewed to a true knowledge
01:04:25: According to the image of the one who created him A renewal in which there is no distinction
01:04:31: Between Greek and Jew Circumcision and uncircumcision Barbarian Scythian Slave and free man
01:04:40: But Christ is all And in all And so as those who have been chosen of God Holy and beloved
01:04:50: Put on a heart of compassion Kindness Humility Gentleness, patience
01:04:58: Bearing with one another And forgiving each other Whoever has a complaint Against anyone
01:05:03: Just as the Lord forgave you So also should you And beyond all these things
01:05:11: Put on love Which is the perfect bond of unity You want to see power
01:05:19: In your life It's not going to be from Hysterical Rantings That's more like a rock concert
01:05:32: Power in your life Is putting on a heart of compassion Kindness, humility
01:05:37: These are the things that God Works in our hearts For those who are
01:05:43: Yielded to him For those who have been born again And have a new life in him Created in the image of the one
01:05:51: Who created him The very image of Christ Indwelling within us The new birth
01:05:57: So many people search for power
01:06:02: And experience And they want to hang their hat On some sort of Revelation Listen to what this says
01:06:14: This is from Wikipedia Let's see if I can find this Once in a while I read
01:06:22: Wikipedia I think I lost it
01:06:32: Now I got it This is what Wikipedia says about Those who were the
01:06:39: Gnostics It says this Gnostic texts
01:06:44: Deal not in concepts of Sin and repentance Forgiveness and a new birth
01:06:50: But with illusion And enlightenment There is a craving for Spiritual experience
01:06:58: And those experiences are Exalted over the truth The teachings of scripture
01:07:04: And faith So what are we going to seek?
01:07:11: Who is our identity going to be in? Is it going to be in these spiritual Experiences That are false
01:07:20: That lead us away from the Lord Or is it going to be in The Lord Jesus himself Setting our minds on the things above And as a result
01:07:28: Being those who are chosen, holy, beloved With a heart of compassion, kindness
01:07:33: Humility, gentleness And patience Putting on love
01:07:40: That's the power of God Don't seek for a spiritual experience Seek for Jesus Christ He is our identity
01:07:48: And I hope in him today You understand very very much That you are complete
01:07:54: So let's close the scriptures And we'll have the worship team come up And let's pray
01:08:03: Father thank you so much Lord For your holy word Thank you so much for your protection Because Lord Just as you tried to protect
01:08:11: And you did protect the church at Colossae From false teachers Lord you want to protect us as well
01:08:16: You want to have our hearts Just very very much trusting
01:08:22: In the simplicity of believing Jesus Christ And all that he has done And who he is
01:08:28: Father our life is hidden with him In God And when his life is revealed
01:08:35: In glory We also will be revealed with him We thank you for your promises
01:08:40: We thank you that you're coming again Lord To take your church home We thank you in Jesus name Amen Let's sing together
01:09:09: God's word alone Where his perfect will is known
01:09:17: Our traditions shift like sand While his truth forever stands
01:09:27: By faith alone
01:09:32: Clothed in black All we claim is
01:09:41: Jesus Christ And his finished sacrifice
01:09:51: Glory be Glory be To God alone
01:10:01: Through the church He redeemed And made his own
01:10:11: He has freed us He will keep us
01:10:16: Till we're safely home Glory be
01:10:24: Glory be To God alone We are saved
01:10:34: By grace alone Undeserved Yet freely shown
01:10:42: No accomplishment on earth
01:10:49: In the second birth We will stand
01:10:54: On Christ alone The unyielding cornerstone
01:11:02: Nations rage And devils rule
01:11:07: Still we sing forever Glory be
01:11:15: Glory be To God alone
01:11:24: The church He redeemed And made his own
01:11:33: He has freed us He will keep us Till we're safely home