Book of Colossians - Ch. 1, Vs. 13-17 (01-03-1999)

Park Meadows Church

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What book are we in? Does anybody remember?

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1st Colossians. We began with verse 14 but this week

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I've discovered something in verse 13 and we must back up if that's possible.

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First of all Jerry I'd like for you to go to John 6 44 and have it ready.

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Carol John 12 32. Brother David Matthew 14 22.

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Have those ready for reading and discussion. We start in verse 13 with the word delivered.

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Of course we're speaking about God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. All of the things of things of thanks to give him.

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He's made us to qualify to be partakers of this inheritance.

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And in verse 13 God the Father has delivered us from the power of darkness.

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And the power of darkness of course we understand is the hold that Satan had upon us.

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Now know this. We are were never the seed of Satan.

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We were servants of Satan. But Greg we never really belonged to him.

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Now there are those and in this book on the study on Genesis either this week or next week we'll begin to study the two seeds that are in the world.

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The word delivered is a past action that is in the realm of an imperative statement.

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He did not almost deliver us. He did not deliver us partially.

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He did not deliver us a little bit at a time. He has delivered.

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Now I would like to have John 6 44 read. Alright the key word in that for this morning is draw.

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No one can come to me unless the Heavenly Father draw him.

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John 12 32 another time of draw.

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Now since there is no word in the Greek for man that should read sons.

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Now in Matthew 14 22. Alright the word there we're looking at is constrained, forced, made to go.

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His disciples were getting caught up in the cry of the multitude and he could see where it was leading and he made the disciples get into the boat and leave.

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The verse 13 he has delivered is in the same category as he has drawn.

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Think about the word draw. What does it mean to draw something?

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I'm not talking about a picture now. A truck draws a trailer to pull.

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What else? Does the trailer have any voice in the fact it's being moved?

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I get a violent shaking of heads. Unfortunately the tape can't read that.

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No. So from the trailers viewpoint could we say that it is being compelled to follow the truck or tractor or horse or whatever?

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Let me give you the definition of draw. Draw is to be compelled by a superior, irresistible force.

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When Jesus said no man can come to me unless, my words, unless the

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Heavenly Father draw him, compel him with an irresistible, superior force.

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Now to come to Christ is not only for salvation, that's for communion with the

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Heavenly Father, that's for prayer, that's for companionship, it's for everything.

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So opens the gateway in your mind of the fact that we are his children because he has drawn us to him.

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We have always been his. For long we'll be studying the book of Ephesians and it plainly says that we were his before the creation.

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Carol, we've always been his children. We didn't know it. Paul said when it pleased the

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Heavenly Father he revealed his son in me.

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Greg that's exactly what happened to you. When it pleased the Heavenly Father, when it was right with him, he revealed his son in you.

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Delivered us, he has delivered us, he has brought us, he has placed us, we had no say so in it.

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Now, don't be confused because it seems as though when we were experiencing this salvation moment,

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Jerry, that I was the one that was doing it. I was, I had decided,

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I had made the decision to receive Christ.

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It seems as though that's the way it was and that's alright. I want us to realize it really wasn't.

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In Philippians 120, somebody turn to that, Philippians 129, Greg read it when you get over there.

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Brother David, you go to 213. Alright, see there was a time that I didn't want to be saved, literally.

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Now I went to church because my father said so, but I'd think of everything else while I was there.

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I didn't want to go. Now there was a time in my younger, younger years that I didn't know the difference and I grew up going to church.

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But that didn't mean I saved. I can well remember that thinking I didn't want to go to church.

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I didn't dare voice it because, well, it just wasn't a wise thing to do.

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But there came a time in each of our lives, even though we were of the carnal nature and didn't want anything to do with God, there came a time that you did want to.

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Something had to change and Philippians 129 is what happened.

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He gave us the belief. He changed our want to. He changed our mind.

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Now don't overlook the last part of that because the package includes suffering. Now in 213, what does it say?

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And all the time until I found that, Greg, I thought I was doing it.

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I really thought that since I was his child then I wanted to do all of these things. No, it's

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God that works in us. Silently, very quiet, very forceful, but it is

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God that is working in each one of his children both to do his will and want to do his will.

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He sees to it. Well, that's why he delivered us from this power of darkness.

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We belong to him. In fact, the scripture says we were created unto good works.

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Man can do no good works. Now you can as far as the local Lions Club is concerned or something, but not in comparison with God.

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In verse 14 now, in whom, talking about the

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Father, in whom we have redemption. Have, right now, present tense, passive and perfect.

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We have it. It's given to us. I didn't work to give it. Have is a passive verb meaning someone else did the action.

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It is perfect in that it was an action a long time ago that continues to go on and on and on.

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It does not have to be redone all of the time. In whom, the

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Son of God, we have this redemption. It belongs to us right now.

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We have it through his blood. Now I want the definition of the word redemption.

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What does redemption mean? All right.

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What does the prefix re - mean in front of any word?

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To redeem, to rebuild. Means what?

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All right. To bring back to its former state. When you rebuild a building, that means you put it back like it was.

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Now if it's entirely different, you didn't rebuild it, you built a new one. But here he, he has given us redemption.

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That is we are brought back to a former state, which was before sin.

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And it is through the blood of Jesus Christ. Now, I know several people not of, that believe like we do exactly.

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They're good people as far as the world is concerned, but they abhor the term blood.

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In fact, the Methodists have, starting back in early fifties, began to remove all of the songs in their hymnal that had any reference to blood.

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And today in the official Methodist hymnal, you'll find no reference to blood whatsoever.

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Well, blood is a messy thing, especially if it's mine. But we're talking about the blood of Jesus Christ.

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Why is it, Jerry, that the blood was so necessary in the eyes of God?

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All right. Jesse, the blood of a person represents what?

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Life. So you see, it was the life of Jesus Christ.

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Why was blood used then? Anybody?

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All right. What you're saying is absolutely true. But Jesse, think with me.

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He gave his life, but it's referred to as his blood. Why?

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Right. Can you see life, but you can't see life.

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You can see the effects of it. Greg, can you see the wind? How do you know it's blowing?

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And that's not all this morning. Brother David, can you see love?

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How do you know it exists? Right. The life of Christ is the same way.

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So Carol, it was really his life, but the life is in the blood.

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Without blood, there is no life. Without life, there is no blood in this world.

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In the next, there'll be no blood. But right now, so in order for us to understand, for us to comprehend what he has done, it's represented as his blood, and rightly so.

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And there's not a thing wrong with blood. It's a very precious commodity.

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So to redeem us, to make us fit to occupy the inheritance that is reserved, we must talk about him shedding his blood.

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He did it voluntarily. In Genesis, very soon we're going to see the first blood sacrifice, and the

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Lord himself instituted it, so there'd be no mistake. In whom we have redemption through his blood.

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Now, not in his blood, but through his blood. We have to be in Christ to have passed through his blood.

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Even the forgiveness of sins. The word to forgive, or forgiveness, as we think of it from God's viewpoint, if you are forgiven of a sin,

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Carol, what happens to it looking at it from the

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Lord's viewpoint? Right. It is as though it never existed.

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Now, what do you do when Satan comes around and tries to make you feel guilty about some forgiven sin?

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That's right. So just tell him that what he has is a counterfeit, because the real one's gone.

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And you know it is, because you were there when it happened. All right.

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Now, it's important that we remember this redemption through his blood. Fifteen.

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Who? Jesus Christ, the Son, is the image of the invisible

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God. Greg, invisible God.

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Describe invisible to me. Hmm. Then how do we know what

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God looks like? We don't? We don't know what he looks like?

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You sure? Brother David, help him out.

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You can't help him out, are you? Well, for me, it's impossible to see anything that is invisible.

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Now, the last year or so, there's been some visible things that's impossible for me to see.

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But that's not what we're talking about. He is the image.

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Brian, the word image, what's it mean? Let's see.

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The image is the shape, the form, the look, several other adjectives.

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All right. It could be the character. It could be several different aspects.

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It's not all physical. It could be spiritual, emotional, whatever as well.

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All right. Someone over here start saying something. All right.

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Carbon copy. The impression. If God were visible, we would see all of his attributes as they were displayed in Christ.

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Now, if he were visible, he would not look like a man. He's not a man. He's a spirit.

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It's impossible for him in that form for us to be able to see. Christ said, if you have seen me, you have seen the

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Father. Now, he did not mean his physical shape. He meant if you have seen my works, you have seen the

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Father's works. Because we're one. And I do only his will.

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So, whatever you see me do, it's the same as seeing the Father do it. So, Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible

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God. The firstborn of every creature. The firstborn of all creation.

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He is the first. It does not mean that he was born first. What's it mean here,

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Brother David? It does not mean,

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I think, in the actual English.

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In the other sense of first, it just means that he was before anything.

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I dropped your eyes immediately. Now, what do you think?

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We speak of him as the only begotten son. What's the word? He is the first and only, but he's the only begotten.

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We're after the word begotten. Well, he's that.

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Greg, what makes him begotten? It is his resurrection that made him the begotten son.

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The only begotten son. Now, there will be others, because there will be resurrections.

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He is the first. See, the resurrection started, the one toward which we are looking, started with Jesus Christ.

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Jesus. Christ never did die. Jesus. He is the first of the resurrected.

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Doesn't mean he began at that time. He has always been. But he was never resurrected prior to this.

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And remember, it's Jesus, the human part that died, not the office Christ.

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Everything he did while he was here, he did in the image or the physical and under the influence, the total influence of the

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Holy Spirit. Firstborn. Verse 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 all go together.

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And we're not going to be able to cover them all, but I want to get into it. And these verses,

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I wish you'd outline them, underline them, type them and put them someplace where you can read them or whatever.

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Because within this is going to help us understand a very, very misunderstood popular scripture in the

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Bible. In verse 16, for by him, now him refers to who?

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Jesus. For by him were all things created.

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Carol, what does all things mean? Does it leave anything out?

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All things would mean everything outside of God.

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Whether it's spiritual, whether it's mineral, whether it's animal, vegetable or mineral, visible or invisible.

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So by him were all things created. You know, in the

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Bible, as we begin in Genesis, Brian, and we read God created, it was really

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Jesus, the Christ, that's doing the creation. And Heavenly Father tells us that later on.

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And he tells us again here, for by him were all things created.

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Now underline all things. All things that are in heaven,

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Greg, where's heaven? Alright.

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And that are in earth, where's the earth? That are visible and invisible, and we've talked about that, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.

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Brother David, give us quickly and easily understood thrones, dominions, principalities, or powers.

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Hierarchy of safety and spiritual wickedness in high places that Ephesians talks about.

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All right. So there must be a purpose to all things. He makes nothing just to fill up space.

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You know, in the newspaper world, I can remember we were always looking for fillers.

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You know what that means? You have an article, but it doesn't quite finish out the column.

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So you were looking for a filler to put in here and here and here to fill up the empty space.

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God doesn't do that. All right.

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Again, we have all things. Underline it. All things were created by him and for somebody else.

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Is that right? Who was they created for? For him.

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Man doesn't like that. Everything, Brian.

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And that excludes what? All right.

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And they were all made by him, not Sears and Roebuck.

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And they were made for him. What's it mean for him? Belong to him, to be used by him for his glory, for his praise, for his purpose.

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Everything. Now, if you start making a list, you would never finish.

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But everything is in existence for him. 17.

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And he is before all things. Joy, what's it mean to be before something?

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All right. To be the head, to be in existence before other things.

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He is before all things. Underline it. And by him, all things.

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Underline it. Consist. Now, Jesse, there's a good word. I've used it all my life.

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What does it really mean? Consist. Right.

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Absolutely. Cohabit. Co -what?

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Co -adhesive. What? I said he's the glue. We get our word glue from the same root word that gives us the

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English translation of their Greek word consist. It sticks together.

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He is the agent, Jesse, that holds everything in the shape it is in.

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Now, Greg, help us out. What is it that is in everything that causes it to remain in the shape that it is?

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Energy holds everything. Well, you can call it gravity.

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Molecules. Well, everything has atoms, atoms.

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Peter called them stachions. That's the building block of everything.

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Everything has atoms. Now, they all stick together because Jesus Christ is the force or the energy that causes them to remain in the sphere in which they are.

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We can change that. You cannot destroy it. You can take a piece of wood.

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It has atoms in it. They're all put together of the right type and shape and it looks like a piece of wood.

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You can change the structure by burning that piece of wood. You extract heat.

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You gather ashes and heat and ashes and the shape of it has changed, but it's still all there.

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The heat may escape, but you haven't destroyed anything. So you cannot, man cannot destroy what

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God has made. Some scientists think they can now, but they really can't because God made it.

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Man didn't make it. So we have atoms now. I'm not going off on a long discussion of atoms.

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I'm not in that field. I do know they're in everything. I do know that without the atom, it would not exist.

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So He is the energy force. He is that little glue that holds everything together as it should be.

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That's God. If we want to say God is energy, that's certainly part of God.

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So by Him, all things consist. By His power, everything is still in existence.

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All of the water that was here prior to the flood is still here. All of the water that was such a flood back at that time is still here.

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Now it's changed. It's moved around, but it's still in His creation.

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I'm going to have to quit because my voice is about gone, unless we can get

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Greg to lead the singing. Or is there someone else going to lead the singing? Well, I believe we'll stop with 17, but underline the term all things.

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It's going to be very important to us, especially I hope by next week, of what we can look at as the derivative of understanding all things.

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God has made all things. And they were made for who? What? For Him.

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It's just that simple. Everything He has ever done has been for Him. Now don't think

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He's left us out because we're part of what He made, so we're made for Him. Boy, I kind of hate to quit, but I'm going to have to.

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Brother David, would you lead us in a dismissal prayer, please? Jesus is God and has created all things, saving us and allowing us to be part of your family.

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Lord, we thank you for the fact that you've given us teachers in our church and that you enable us to learn and see new things every time we go into the

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Word of God. Things that are new to us that we haven't seen before. We thank you that we can do that until the end of our days on this earth.

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Thank you for that wonderful thing. We ask you to meet with us in a few moments.

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The main service is today. You might meet with us in our fellowship, in our Bible study, in the singing, in all that we do.

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May we receive praise to your glory. We ask you in Jesus' name. Amen.