Keep sharing good news without ads.
Bro. Otis Fisher
All right, I have a question for you to answer next week. Not now just simply write it down. Pass it to those that are not here. The question is this. Eternal life has been seen. Come next week with scripture to prove it eternal life right now come to the book of Colossians the first chapter and 26th verse and This young man in front told me his name, and I've already forgotten it, but somebody spell it Kenneth Cain.
Now he's changed. Be Kenneth Fisher. I Know a Kenneth Fisher. I can't get the last name. S-p-a-n-n. That's same thing you told me earlier. Thank you, that's about as far away as I can see. All right.
We are Walking through this book very slowly. Learning as we go. I hope verse 26 in verse 25. He had just made Mentioned that he was made a minister talking about Paul. Paul says of Whom I am made a minister.
I am made made is a passive imperative verb. What do I mean by that? Don't everybody answer it same. By somebody. Has to happen. It did happen. It's past tense passive. So it happened some time ago and someone else did it to me.
In this case Paul says the Lord himself made me a minister. Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and From generations, but now is made manifest to his Saints. Now the word Saint is used instead of Christians.
We would say his his people his seed his children Saints same thing. The this thing of mystery brother David is the mystery. He's talking about here. Is that like a Sherlock Holmes mystery? Answers no.
All right. Well, then comes the question what is a mystery or the mystery is that he's speaking of here the mystery in Scripture Myron is maybe a little bit different than the mystery that we would read by the fireside.
This mystery in Scripture means God is revealing something that has always been but It was not known. So he reveals enough so that we know the fact, but we don't know all the details. In the Old Testament.
We let's see in the book of first Peter where we are on Friday nights. And by the way, there will be class tonight at 6 o 'clock in the book of James if you desire to come to the house. In the book of first Peter We were just at the point where the writers of prophecy in the Old Testament.
Jerry they were writing things. They didn't understand they were writing about the coming Messiah and a suffering Messiah and They knew from reading what they'd written that it meant something, but they didn't know what it was.
And I can I can imagine Greg Writing and writing and writing and not knowing what you're writing now. I've studied lots of things and I didn't know what I studied. But to come and write it down. They had to question Themselves as to am I writing it, right?
They don't have a copy now to go by and Myron they were writing things that absolutely astounded them and they could not make the connection. Brian needs to turn the thermostat down so That was a mystery.
They knew it existed. They didn't know any more than that about it now God is Revealing that mystery. It's the Gospels what it is the Church Age and the gospel going to the Gentiles. Even when that became known During the time of the disciples.
That the Gentile of all Things God ever made a Gentile can be saved as I can be saved. Brian that just. They they just could not accept that some of them. The old Orthodox Jew considered the Gentile to be less than a dog.
Would have no dealings with them except monetarily and Then they tried not to touch them so this mystery. Even the mystery which has been hid from ages from generations, but now is made manifest to his people to whom God would make known the whom refers back to the Saints.
To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of his mystery among the Gentiles which is Christ in you the hope of glory if One is to commit one's life to live by faith. First of all, let me stop here.
What's the difference between living by faith and living by sight? Jerry that's a good one for you. Living by sight. I've got to see it for I believe it. You remember as Thomas Said if I can see then I can believe well.
Romans 4 18 or Romans 14 Romans 14 18 somebody goes that's if that's what I wrote down Myron. What's that say? That in these things service Christ is acceptable to God and approved of men. All right now go on over to 21 through 23 and let's see what this is.
Yes.
That's now faith happy to thyself before God. Happy is he who condemned it not himself in that thing which he allowed. And he that doubted is damned if he eat because he eateth not in faith. And whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
Boy, when I saw that I said, oh Anything not of faith is sin. God said that I didn't. And joy sin is sin. We like to put them in pigeonholes. This is a big one. This is a little one that one's oh my goodness.
But this one really just a little white one that doesn't amount to sin is sin period so. To operate our life by sight then is a sin. Everything we do Greg everything that we undertake. First of all, we must do it knowing that the Lord is leading me to do this and believe in it.
So we operate by faith. Knowing that it is right and this is what I'm going to do. I don't know how I'm going to do it. I just know I'm going to do it and that's the biggest thing. You must always know in anything you go at.
Don't go at it unless you know, you can do it now. You don't have to know how you're going to do it. Just know that you can do it. And if God's brought it you can do it all right, if a Person is going to commit their life to live by faith.
Then he cannot live by sight. Whatever is done without conviction of its approval by God is what? Sinful. Anything you do and you have a hesitant attitude or you have doubt. And as I've told so many people my father never gave me very much verbal advice.
What few times he did I never forget it. And This is one of those times. He said son if you have any doubt about anything just don't do it. Now I really didn't understand what he was saying Greg and I surely didn't.
Imagine that it was scriptural but it is and it was and The last 30 years I begin to hear what he said so. Which is Christ in you the hope of glory whom we preach. Now the gospel is not what you teach.
How do you suppose it is? What you teach this gospel is Jesus Christ in printed form. Whom we preach warning every man teaching every man in all wisdom. That we may present every man perfect in Christ.
Now I want to make you aware of something. When you were in school. Especially in your high school. Did you ever take a report card home? Did you even have report cards? Did you ever take it home then?
Once in a while on that card was a report about you was it not. In different areas and facets of your life under which the teachers Collectively have come together and each one of them put down their evaluation of you for the this period.
Did you know I'm gonna have to do the same thing? When I stand before the Lord, I must turn in a report card on you. One of the blessings of being a teacher. Paul says we preach Jesus Christ. We warn every man.
We teach every man in all wisdom. It doesn't mean he teaches you wisdom. It means he uses wisdom in teaching you. Wisdom comes from where? From God. Wisdom is a one-time operation. Wisdom is making you capable of Of Performing a function whether it be mental or spiritual or financial or whatever exactly as Christ would was he here doing it.
Wisdom is doing that. The revelation of this wisdom comes to you for each event. Jerry you cannot store up wisdom. Oh, there's people try. But you can. Because Greg once you have used the wisdom for this task.
Then it's no longer classified as wisdom is classified as experience and knowledge. Next time you can draw upon it, but it's not wisdom anymore. It's knowledge that you gain from the first time of the wisdom that God gave you to handle the situation.
So wisdom is always new. So he said here we teach These people everybody in wisdom. We're using wisdom that God is giving us to teach you that or so that We may present Greg what's present me to show to someone that we can show to someone.
Who would this someone be brother David? God the father that we may show to him. Every man. Every person I've ever taught every student body every collection of people that have sat and listened and Learned and participated that I might show to God everyone perfect in Christ.
Jesse what's the word perfect mean to you? Alright David what's perfect mean to you? Let me go back to my childhood again. I hope you all don't get tired of this. That's the only thing I can talk about what I've experienced.
I grew up during the depression. We always had a garden dad had to put out and I probably told you all this before but please act like I haven't. I had some fruit trees cherry trees peach trees and The bloom of course would come first and then The bloom would drop off and a little cherry would start to curl and it's real small.
I mean just a little bitty. Bud and dad would go out and look at it. He said well They all look perfect to me. So about six weeks later he go out and look again, of course, they're bigger and They're getting close to maturing.
They're not mature yet. But he'd say well They're right where they ought to be. So they're perfect. Then they would mature and lo and behold they were still perfect. Now go through a little thing in my head to remember your name, but I do.
But at least I'm remembering at most design. We are told in the scripture to be perfect as God is perfect. Can we be as perfect as God? Say no. All right. We cannot be as perfect as God because God's God and we're not.
So in your Christian life in your Christian progress in your Christian walk. Be right where you're supposed to be for this time in that walk and You're perfect it doesn't mean you're mature yet, but it means you're right where you should be and The next level where you should be the only way you can lose out is to quit.
That's right, that's right. See we have progressed up the ladder above the little child. In all the other churches we've ever been in and we've been in one other good church. And a bunch of others. So I'm going to exclude that other good one.
But all of the others there's been more babies in the auditorium than there was in the nursery. Now at whatever level you graduate this life. And you understand what I mean, but graduate we're in school all of our life the level you're at in your spiritual life.
When you graduate is the level that you will enter in the heaven now. You're not going to zap know everything when you get there. When he says we'll be known. We will know as we are known that does not mean that when we get there.
We will know everything the Lord knows. For years, I thought it was but that's not right. We will know as we are known. Right now as present tense. How does he know you right now at whatever level? Are you right now?
That's what we will know when we get there. You see the importance of study. Study alone is not enough. What else do you have to do? Share it live it experience it give it out. You learn nothing to keep to yourself.
Whatever you learn is to be given to others. That's why a teacher can't keep quiet all right. Just remember or I must remember. That I've got to turn in a report on every one of you so If I'm a little hard on you, I don't want to turn in a bad report 29 where unto I also labor striving.
According to his working which worketh in me. Mildly go to Philippians 1 2 13. I know that's right. I think Greg is shaking his head up and down Philippians 2 13. Now, let me read this again. Where unto I meaning Paul.
I also labor. I work striving according to his working. Which works in me mightily? Jerry you have it open. Would you read it so I can hear you? You mean it's not mama. It's God now. I Didn't make that up.
It's in the Bible. It is God that works in you. First of all, let's classify you who's he talking to what? Christians his people just remember the Bible is written to his people not to the world. It's written to you.
It'll specify. Or mark out if it's not written to us. So It is God. We know who God is. It is God that works. We know what work is In you and we know where that is. It's not in your foot. It's not in your right hand, where is it?
Where is you in the soul? What's your soul all right. It's your life now. He works in each one of his people to do. Whose will. Oh, what if I don't want his will done. Who said I had to do it anyway. You sure.
Are you sure? What. Brian I've got to get those earphones. Any time anybody's gonna speak come up here. Now tell me again and they'll relay it. I heard that then let me ask you this. And don't go off and leave me.
Can you at any time in your life do something? That is not God's will? Greg answers real quick. Think about it. I'm not going to make you answer tonight today. The answer is no, but you think about it.
All right verse 29 most powerful verse. I labor. I am striving. I agonize over what I am doing and saying and working and going and It is according to his working in me that I do all of this. Carol you do the same thing.
We don't have to know the fact in order to do it. It's better if we know it. Then we can do it with a more willing heart. And he works in me mightily. All right that closes chapter 1. Are there any? Questions or thoughts or anything before we go into the next one and I take it you all know everything that is in the first Colossians chapter 2.
Now when the Bible was written the original Tectus receptus did not have punctuation. Did not have verses. It was just one long sentence without a period. Chapter 2 verse 1 for I would that you knew what great conflict I have for you and for them at Laodicea.
And for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh. Conflict brother David. What's that mean? Greg's what striving and yearning me struggle. All right, Brian. What struggle me? Brian he's. Well, I told you I had to work to remember.
Fight. All right, we would call a fight what a Conflict conflict is is. Comes back to verse 1. Agony. I Have agony in my heart for you. Why in the world David did he have agony for these people at Laodicea?
And for others that have not seen him, what's he talking about? Okay, let me ask you and What's his name? Have you ever had the feeling of Anger of agony and conflict and within you for those people that you have not yet taught.
That you. Somehow you have not been able to Get to them to teach them or get them to you. That's what he's talking about. He says and For as many as have not seen my face and face in the flesh. He would we would say for all of those that haven't I haven't met yet for all of those that I have not taught yet I agonize for them.
I Am very jealous teacher. I am very agonized, I guess jealous, I Don't want you listening to every teacher that comes down the pike. I'm very very concerned about that. We had one young lady in class one time years ago that wrote down every word I said.
Now, I don't know how she did it. But I finally told her one time I said I wish you wouldn't do that because you don't hear a thing I say. You just write it down. Well that happened that she was listening to every television radio program of any preacher that she could find.
She was writing to every one of them to get their books and their tapes. Now all of that would lead to what. Confusion. You know what you need? First you need the Holy Spirit. Mandatory. You have to belong to God.
You need the Holy Spirit. You need a pastor teacher. That you believe and you need a good dictionary Concordance and one more good teacher. And that's it. If you have access to a good library Dictionary concordance, you could be a good Bible student.
Takes work takes time but I'm not doing anything that you cannot do. If a little old redheaded freckle-faced farm kid from the sand hills of Oklahoma. Can teach. I know you can all right? For all of those that have never seen me we're gonna have to stop here because I have something else I want to do this morning.
And I'm gonna save Kenneth. Next week, I'll probably say who is it? Alright, let me repeat your assignment for next week. It is this Eternal life has been seen. Come with Scripture next week to prove it.
Now the remainder of this morning. I have something here. And let me say this at the beginning if you have seen this and if you participated in before. Then do not take one of these sheets and do not say anything to anybody.
So Brother David, would you come up here, please? All of those that Need one of those give it to them now on this sheet it has explanation. But as soon as you get them, I Want to explain to you what I said in the upper right hand corner.
You must pick one of these objects and Only one now. This is a Situation In which and it's hypothetical we know that. But you can have only one thing for the rest of your life and one of these objects.
Don't pay attention to it. I don't think you have this little one in the corner. That's just simply where I dated it. But one of these objects on this page. And you'll see them all on sprouts or sticks or something on the end of those sticks is a word such as love.
God's joy happiness peace employment. Money different things. You can only have one. Pick one you have 10 seconds. Just pick it in your mind. Don't keep changing as we go on now. All right. God's joy.
Wouldn't that be great? If you had joy, what else would you need? How many pick joy? All right, that's good but then love I Believe ranks higher than joy. How many pick love? Boy what you you're learning pretty fast.
What about peace. No peace of people here. Happiness. Employment that may not be on here. Some of these had more than others. Well. Let me ask you a question then. Why didn't you pick the pot at the bottom?
I said any object on this page. It's on there. You see the world cannot see Jesus and we can't unless we're in the light. You hold that to the light. You can see his name now. I know that was sneaky. But I did it to teach you something.
Be very careful of the obvious in everything. Try not to think as man thinks. Try to think as God would think because that's what he's training us to do. Is to think like him. Well, I appreciate your participation in my little Sideline.
There'll be others. I Don't see anything wrong with teaching God's Word. Having fun to do you. All right, anything from anybody on anything before we quietly pass out. But let me make a distinction here.
You can do anything you want to inside your head. You can thank schedule plan. You can even draw up plans. But when it comes to the implementing of them go to Proverbs 16 33. This is only one scripture.
There are others. Ones coming to mind. I can't locate it, but he guides the steps our steps. He guides our steps. Proverbs 16 33. What's his name. Read that to me would you? You all see that the lot is cast.
Lot means destiny. Your destiny everybody's destiny is cast that means it's fixed and put in motion and Here it uses a strange term is cast into the lap. You remember grandma on her apron how she would pick things up and put any clothespins or eggs or whatever?
In her apron is that foreign to anybody everybody? You know what I'm talking about all right, but great-grandma might have been. I Forget I'm a hundred years old. All right. Your destiny when I say you I'm talking about everybody in the world individually has been Put in motion.
It is sealed and closed up as though great-grandma put the Pulled the apron up over whatever she had it's closed. Nobody can get to it. And then what's the last part of that? Right when it comes to the implementing of Of anything.
It's of the Lord. Everything even that which seems to be to us an accident. It isn't. There are no accidents. Everything now I Cannot explain that to you other than I know it's the truth and some things we can see and understand.
There are other things. That if you're not careful, you'll say well, that's not a God. Well it is. I Know it is and the only way I can defend it is by scripture. Everything that has ever occurred has been according to his will.
Now you can think out of his will. You can rebel. You can do whatever you want to and I've told you before about The garden. I used to have to hold dad to go off in the morning. And he says I'm gonna get home at noon.
I want all these rows hold over to here free of weeds. No weeds. When he got home at noon, Jesse, they were hold clear over to there. It would have been a whole lot better had I wanted to do it instead of doing it out of rebellion.
He would have been happier. I'd have been a whole lot happier and It just been Such more joy so much more joy, but see I did it. Anyhow, that's the way we are. Okay Anything else? Thank you for that question.
Jerry dismisses. Would you please?