Latest / Providence Baptist Church - Sermons / Colossians 1:15-17

Transcript

Colossians 1:15-17 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

0:00
Is to basically go from Genesis to Revelation in an overview.
0:04
! And my hope is that we can really see the magnificence of God's creation.
0:09
and what His plan of redemption is, and really how we fit into that.
0:14
So, to begin with, I'd like to read out of Colossians 1, starting in verse 15.
0:21
And read that.
0:24
It says, He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
0:30
For everything was created by Him in heaven on earth, the visible and the invisible,
0:34
whether thrones or dominions, or rulers or authorities.
0:37
All things have been created through Him and for Him.
0:40
He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together.
0:46
Lord, I pray that today, as we study Your Word,
0:49
Lord, that we would gain a better understanding of who You are,
0:55
that we may glimpse at how big and how holy You are.
1:00
Thank You for Your Word, and I pray that today, You would speak through Your Word,
1:04
and speak through me.
1:06
Lord, may You open ears and hearts, and open my mouth to speak.
1:10
I pray this in Your name. Amen.
1:13
As we begin in Genesis chapter 1,
1:16
it doesn't take long to get to the first verse.
1:20
It says,
1:20
In the beginning, God.
1:22
And that is the foundation from which we have to start,
1:27
is that before time, before creation,
1:29
that God existed,
1:32
He is infinite,
1:33
He is holy,
1:35
and that He has created us,
1:39
therefore we've started as His creation.
1:41
We have to start from that point,
1:43
that He is the Creator,
1:44
and that we are creation.
1:46
Let's see.
1:51
God created time,
1:52
and space,
1:53
and matter,
1:54
and He created the earth,
1:56
and humans.
1:57
And so when we see God creating man,
2:00
it says that He created man in His own image.
2:03
And there's a lot packed into that,
2:04
because what that means is that man is spiritual.
2:08
Man has a spirit,
2:09
and is able to interact,
2:12
and to have a relationship with God.
2:13
As we look in the beginning in Genesis,
2:15
that Adam was placed into the Garden of Eden,
2:18
that God was physically with Adam,
2:21
walking in the garden with him,
2:23
that God gave him a mandate.
2:24
He gave him the mandate to care for the garden,
2:29
and to take care of it,
2:32
and to work in it.
2:34
He also told Adam to name the animals.
2:38
And so we see that there's this relationship
2:41
between God and Adam.
2:43
It's unhindered.
2:45
There's joy there.
2:47
There's peace on the earth.
2:50
And that's where we started.
2:52
That's what the creation was created as.
2:54
It is holy,
2:56
and full of joy.
2:58
There's no sadness,
2:59
no death.
3:01
And so that was God's vision of creation,
3:06
that it was good.
3:06
It was very good.
3:07
And so then we move into Genesis chapter 3,
3:13
and we see that sin enters the world.
3:17
And sin,
3:20
when Adam sins,
3:21
it is his taking God's authority
3:24
that God gave to him,
3:25
and he rejects that authority,
3:27
and makes himself his own master.
3:31
When we look in Genesis chapter 3,
3:37
it says that the serpent came
3:41
and tempted Eve,
3:42
and then Eve gave to Adam,
3:46
and Adam disobeyed the direct command of God,
3:49
and it separated them.
3:50
When God came,
3:53
Adam fled from God's sight.
3:54
There was a separation there.
3:56
And so then as we move in from there,
3:59
God removes Adam and Eve
4:01
from the Garden of Eden.
4:04
They are now separated from him,
4:05
and we see that God does not leave Adam without hope.
4:13
It says in Genesis 3.15,
4:15
that I will put hostility between you and the woman,
4:18
and between your seed and her seed.
4:20
He's talking to Satan here.
4:22
And he will strike your head,
4:24
and you will strike his heel.
4:25
So from the very beginning,
4:26
there was this promise.
4:28
Man was now separated from God and lost.
4:30
There was death.
4:32
There was this spiritual separation.
4:34
God said,
4:35
one day,
4:36
I'm going to crush Satan's head.
4:39
I'm going to kill this evil,
4:42
and there will be this bringing back
4:45
of the way things were before sin.
4:49
And so then we see that that goes into Noah,
4:53
and we see how vile and how wicked the earth became
4:57
when sin entered the world,
5:01
and this separation that was there,
5:03
that it took a very limited amount of time
5:05
for God to literally wipe out most of creation.
5:08
And yet,
5:11
even in that,
5:12
we find that
5:13
with God starting with Noah and his family,
5:17
it wasn't long before the Tower of Babel,
5:19
and just proof that man was fallen
5:21
and in need of a Savior.
5:25
As we come into the Abrahamic covenant,
5:28
to the law,
5:29
we find that Israel came into being
5:35
or into God's plan,
5:39
and that God had a plan for Israel,
5:43
that they were the beginning
5:44
of restoring man to himself.
5:49
He promised through Abraham
5:50
that the nations would be blessed,
5:52
and yet he pulled Israel out
5:54
to be a light to the nations,
5:57
to be a light to those,
5:59
the rest of the nations,
6:01
to see God.
6:02
And we see that beginning with Egypt,
6:05
that God said,
6:06
I raised up Pharaoh.
6:06
He says this,
6:07
I believe it's in Hebrews,
6:08
that God raised up Pharaoh
6:09
that he might show,
6:12
show his glory,
6:13
his majesty.
6:14
I guess just realizing
6:21
the depth of the need
6:24
that man had for a Savior,
6:28
and then looking as the law was given,
6:32
it says that the law
6:35
was a tutor to bring us to Christ,
6:40
that basically the law,
6:42
it's in Hebrews.
6:46
Let me go to Hebrews.
6:53
Hebrews chapter 10.
7:05
It says,
7:06
Since the law has only a shadow
7:09
of the good things to come,
7:10
and not the actual form
7:12
of these realities,
7:13
it can never perfect the worshipers
7:16
by the same sacrifices.
7:17
They continually offer
7:18
year after year.
7:20
Otherwise,
7:21
wouldn't they have stopped
7:22
being offered,
7:23
since the worshipers,
7:24
once purified,
7:25
would no longer have
7:25
any confession of sins.
7:27
But in the sacrifices,
7:29
there was a reminder
7:29
of sins every year,
7:32
for it is impossible
7:33
for the blood of bulls and ghosts
7:34
to take away sin.
7:36
And so you see the nation of Israel
7:38
longing for the Savior.
7:40
They knew that they were sinful.
7:41
The law brought about
7:43
a consciousness of sin.
7:44
Paul talks about how
7:45
the sin-taking opportunity
7:48
of the law
7:49
works in him,
7:51
that it just shows
7:52
the corruption that he has.
7:54
And then the sacrificial system
7:56
was a picture
7:57
of things to come.
7:58
It was incomplete,
8:00
but they knew it was coming.
8:02
And so you see God's plan
8:03
being worked out
8:04
as he shows man
8:06
his need for him,
8:07
his holy law,
8:08
and what his standards are.
8:12
He commanded Israel
8:13
over and over and over again
8:14
throughout Leviticus
8:15
to be holy as he is holy.
8:18
The standard was set
8:19
at perfection,
8:20
but only one sin,
8:21
James 2.10,
8:23
he who keeps the whole law
8:24
and yet stumbles
8:25
at one point
8:25
is guilty of all.
8:27
And so man was in this
8:28
great need of a Savior.
8:30
And all throughout
8:31
the Old Testament,
8:32
we see as man failed
8:33
to live up to God's standards.
8:35
We have in the book of Psalms
8:38
a great example
8:41
of God's,
8:43
of a heart of a godly man
8:45
that knew his sin
8:46
and yet had a relationship
8:48
with Christ
8:49
and knew,
8:50
or a relationship with God
8:51
and knew what was coming.
8:54
You see there's just
8:55
the praise that he had
8:56
for God working
8:58
through his law
8:59
and through his spirit.
9:01
And so that brings us
9:02
into the prophets
9:03
who were shouting out,
9:07
basically,
9:07
the need for repentance
9:09
and the Isaiah,
9:11
the prophecy
9:12
of a coming Savior.
9:14
And so Israel
9:14
was looking forward
9:15
to this coming Savior
9:19
that would save them
9:19
from their sins
9:20
and that would bring
9:21
redemption
9:21
and reconciliation
9:23
back to them.
9:24
The temple was set up
9:26
in such a way
9:27
that God dwelt,
9:29
his Shekinah glory
9:29
dwelt in the temple
9:31
in the Holy of Holies,
9:32
but man was separated
9:32
from that.
9:33
There was a veil
9:34
that separated man
9:35
from that.
9:37
And so these people
9:38
had to go through
9:39
a priest
9:39
who entered once
9:42
a year
9:42
into the holy place
9:43
and his offering
9:47
was the atonement
9:48
or the,
9:49
it was the,
9:52
yeah,
9:52
it was basically
9:53
the atonement
9:53
was what was the shadow
9:56
of things to come
9:57
until Christ came.
9:59
and so,
10:01
I just,
10:02
I wanted to make clear
10:04
through this
10:04
that we have examples
10:08
of Daniel,
10:09
of Jonah,
10:11
the Psalms continually
10:13
talks about
10:13
shouting out
10:14
to the nations
10:15
that God raised up Israel
10:18
to be a light
10:20
to the nations.
10:21
They weren't designed
10:22
to be this little
10:24
separate group of people
10:26
that never had any
10:27
interaction with the
10:28
outside world,
10:29
that they were to be a light
10:31
to which other nations
10:32
were drawn to God,
10:33
not to them.
10:36
And yet,
10:36
so often,
10:37
Israel failed
10:38
to live up to that standard.
10:40
They rebelled,
10:41
they worshipped foreign gods,
10:43
they allowed the nations
10:44
to affect them,
10:46
and yet,
10:47
God was faithful to them,
10:48
He was merciful to them
10:50
over and over again.
10:51
He judged them,
10:54
but He always brought them back
10:57
in mercy and love,
10:58
and so,
10:59
it's often stated
11:00
that God is different
11:01
in the Old Testament
11:02
than He is in the New Testament,
11:03
but just looking at
11:04
how God dealt
11:06
with the nation of Israel
11:07
and His love
11:08
and His mercy
11:09
towards them
11:10
is incredible.
11:13
And so,
11:14
getting forward,
11:15
let's just go straight
11:16
into Christ.
11:20
That's really what
11:21
we're here for today
11:22
is Christ.
11:23
He is the answer
11:26
to the Old Testament.
11:28
He's just,
11:29
it's amazing.
11:30
As I was studying for this,
11:31
it's just,
11:32
it really is amazing.
11:33
So,
11:35
let's,
11:36
let's see here.
11:39
Let's look at
11:40
John chapter 1.
11:56
We find that
11:57
in the beginning
11:58
was the Word,
11:59
and the Word was
11:59
with God,
12:01
and the Word was God.
12:02
He was with God
12:04
in the beginning,
12:04
and all things
12:05
were created through Him.
12:06
Once again,
12:06
we have that Christ
12:08
was the Creator
12:09
of all things,
12:10
and through Him
12:11
all things hold together.
12:14
All things were created
12:15
through Him,
12:16
and apart from Him
12:16
nothing was made
12:17
that was made.
12:22
He,
12:24
when Christ came,
12:26
we've got to remember
12:27
that He was fully God.
12:28
He was fully man,
12:31
but He was also
12:32
fully God,
12:32
and so as God
12:34
came to earth,
12:36
man who for 4,000 years
12:37
had been separated
12:38
from God,
12:40
finally was able
12:41
to see God
12:41
in human flesh.
12:43
That should blow
12:44
our minds right there,
12:45
that God who was
12:46
unable to be seen
12:47
has come
12:48
in human flesh,
12:49
veiled His glory
12:50
so that we could see Him
12:51
in human flesh.
12:54
And it says
12:55
He came into His own,
12:56
and His own
12:57
did not receive Him.
12:58
we have a tendency,
13:02
I think,
13:03
or at least I have
13:03
a tendency
13:04
to say
13:05
shame on people.
13:07
Shame on those people
13:08
because
13:08
if I would have been there
13:10
and that was God,
13:12
I mean,
13:12
how amazing
13:13
would that have been?
13:14
But yet,
13:15
we,
13:16
Ephesians 2, 1
13:17
says we were dead
13:18
in our trespasses
13:19
and sins.
13:19
We love darkness
13:21
rather than light.
13:23
He came into His own,
13:25
and His own
13:25
did not receive Him.
13:26
And so we see
13:27
Christ's life
13:27
lived out in perfection.
13:30
He was tempted
13:31
as we are
13:32
in all ways.
13:33
He was fully human
13:33
yet without sin.
13:36
And so what He did
13:37
for us
13:38
is amazing.
13:40
What we could never do,
13:42
James 2, 10,
13:43
if we keep the whole
13:44
long yet stumble
13:44
at one point,
13:45
we're guilty of all.
13:47
We all have sinned
13:49
and fallen short
13:49
of the glory of God,
13:50
and yet He came
13:51
and He lived
13:52
a life without sin
13:53
in the midst
13:54
of a world
13:54
that hated Him.
13:58
He was persecuted.
14:00
He was tempted.
14:06
Just,
14:07
yeah.
14:08
Isaiah 53, 11
14:10
talks of,
14:12
let's go there
14:14
for a second.
14:14
Isaiah 53.
14:15
Alright,
14:28
this is,
14:29
Isaiah.
14:30
He will see it out
14:32
of His anguish,
14:33
and He will be satisfied
14:34
with His knowledge.
14:36
My righteous servant
14:37
will justify many,
14:39
and He will carry
14:40
their iniquities.
14:41
Therefore,
14:42
I will give Him
14:43
the many
14:43
as a portion.
14:44
He will receive
14:45
the mighty as spoiled
14:46
because He has submitted
14:47
Himself to death
14:48
and was counted
14:49
among the rebels.
14:51
Christ came
14:52
out of love for us,
14:54
but He came out
14:55
of a love for the Father,
14:56
to do the Father's will.
14:57
He said,
14:57
I didn't come to do
14:58
my will,
14:59
but the will of the Father.
15:01
It is God's,
15:02
been God's plan
15:03
since the beginning
15:04
that He would redeem
15:06
a people to Himself.
15:07
We have been
15:08
separated from God,
15:11
and yet God
15:11
sent Himself.
15:13
He sent God Himself,
15:15
Christ,
15:16
to reconcile us.
15:19
The cross
15:19
is the focal point
15:23
at which God
15:25
absorbed the wrath
15:26
that God had for us
15:28
upon Himself.
15:30
The crucifixion
15:30
was horrible.
15:31
It was the worst death
15:32
imaginable,
15:33
that it was nothing
15:34
in comparison
15:35
to the wrath
15:36
of God being
15:37
poured out upon His Son.
15:38
God,
15:39
that's amazing.
15:46
I heard it said once
15:47
that only an infinite God
15:49
could pay an infinite price
15:52
for our sins
15:53
in a finite amount of time.
15:55
But for us,
15:57
as finite individuals,
15:58
it would take an infinite amount
15:59
of time to pay
16:00
for an infinite debt,
16:01
amount of wrath.
16:02
God absorbed an infinite amount
16:05
of wrath
16:06
upon that cross.
16:08
Praise the Lord.
16:13
That should drive us
16:16
to a love
16:17
for Christ
16:18
that should totally
16:20
transform our lives.
16:21
That's what we've been called to
16:23
as believers,
16:26
is to love the Lord our God.
16:28
And I think when we get
16:29
an image of the cross,
16:30
of what Christ did for us,
16:33
it will transform our lives.
16:38
When Christ died,
16:40
we know from the New Testament
16:42
that the veil was torn.
16:44
And just to view the...
16:48
For 6,000 years,
16:50
men had been separated from God
16:51
from what they were created to do.
16:53
Remember that when we were created,
16:55
we were created
16:56
with the relationship with Christ.
16:58
Man was designed
16:59
to know and to glorify God
17:01
through a relationship with Him
17:03
and through obeying His law.
17:04
For this 4,000 year period,
17:08
man had been separated from God
17:10
and had been proving
17:11
over and over and over again
17:12
how corrupt and how vile
17:14
he was apart from Christ.
17:15
And now,
17:16
the veil had been torn.
17:18
And no longer did man
17:19
need to go through a high priest,
17:21
but he could go
17:22
through Christ
17:23
directly in
17:24
to God.
17:25
And so often,
17:29
we,
17:29
I,
17:31
become
17:31
so focused on
17:34
what I'm doing.
17:36
How am I
17:37
living my Christian life?
17:39
The ins and outs,
17:40
the details and all of that.
17:42
And Jesus rebuked the Pharisees.
17:44
He said,
17:44
you look in the Scriptures
17:46
because you think that in them
17:47
you have eternal life.
17:48
And He rebuked them
17:49
because they forgot Him.
17:50
And I think so often,
17:54
we get caught up,
17:55
and it's really legalism,
17:56
but we get caught up
17:57
in pleasing God
17:59
by our actions
18:00
when in reality,
18:02
Christ is saying,
18:03
I didn't,
18:03
I came and I fulfilled the law.
18:05
He said,
18:06
I didn't come to abolish the law,
18:07
I came to fulfill the law.
18:09
And in that,
18:11
we can know Him,
18:12
we can have a relationship
18:13
with Him.
18:14
He said in John,
18:16
He said,
18:16
this is eternal life
18:17
that you may know Him
18:20
and Jesus Christ
18:22
to His Son,
18:22
that you may know God
18:23
and Jesus Christ.
18:26
We've been created
18:27
to have a relationship
18:28
with Christ.
18:30
To know Him
18:31
and to know His voice,
18:32
He said that,
18:33
my sheep hear my voice
18:34
and they know me.
18:37
I would,
18:38
I would just encourage you
18:40
and encourage myself,
18:43
learn to know
18:44
the voice of the Lord.
18:45
to hear from His Word,
18:48
to hear the Spirit within you.
18:52
As you live life,
18:54
Paul said,
18:54
whatever you do,
18:55
whether you're eating
18:56
or whether you're drinking,
18:57
do all of the glory of God.
18:59
Realize that everything
19:00
that we do
19:01
is some form of worship.
19:03
We're either worshiping ourselves
19:05
or we're worshiping someone else
19:07
or we're worshiping God.
19:09
That we,
19:09
everything we do
19:10
is an act of worship
19:12
of some kind
19:13
to someone.
19:15
And so,
19:16
call us,
19:16
the exhortation is
19:18
to do all to the glory of God.
19:21
Your daily living,
19:22
it's not religion and life,
19:24
it's life,
19:26
is spiritual.
19:29
We are spiritual.
19:30
We are created
19:31
in the image of God.
19:33
And so,
19:33
as we live life,
19:35
let us live
19:36
in a relationship
19:37
with Christ.
19:38
with the death of Christ
19:43
and came the,
19:45
or with the beginning
19:46
of the church
19:46
came the,
19:47
the coming of the Holy Spirit.
19:49
We now have God
19:50
dwelling within us.
19:52
Once again,
19:53
it's that picture
19:54
of reconciliation
19:55
where no longer
19:56
is man separated from God,
19:57
but now God dwells within us.
19:59
And so,
20:00
as we live life,
20:01
we're not left
20:01
without a helper.
20:02
That if you are a believer,
20:04
you have God
20:06
living within you.
20:09
That we're no longer
20:10
alive to ourselves,
20:12
but we're dead to ourselves
20:13
and alive to Christ
20:14
as His Spirit comes in
20:16
and changes us.
20:18
Sanctification is this
20:19
process of
20:20
leaving behind,
20:22
of putting to death
20:23
the deeds of our flesh
20:24
and living according
20:26
to the Spirit.
20:26
That's a process.
20:28
We've been saved,
20:29
we're being saved,
20:29
and we will be saved,
20:31
we'll be glorified.
20:32
But that the Holy Spirit
20:33
is working within us.
20:35
And as believers,
20:38
it says that we're
20:39
not to be drunk with wine,
20:40
but be filled with the Spirit.
20:41
The idea there
20:42
as of a ship
20:44
in Paul's day
20:47
would have a sail.
20:48
And basically,
20:50
that the sail,
20:51
as it was turned
20:52
to the right way,
20:54
would be filled with the wind
20:56
and driven along.
20:57
And so this idea of
20:58
as we live the Christian life,
21:01
to metaphorically,
21:02
to turn ourselves
21:03
into God
21:04
and to be driven
21:06
by the Holy Spirit.
21:07
And so it's,
21:08
it's our,
21:10
it should be our joy
21:11
and our,
21:12
our privilege as Christians
21:14
to,
21:15
to die daily to ourselves,
21:17
to take up our cross daily
21:18
and follow Christ
21:19
and to turn
21:20
into the Spirit
21:22
and the Word of God.
21:23
Let Him fill us
21:24
with His Word
21:26
and with His Spirit
21:27
as we're moved along.
21:31
Moving from that point,
21:33
this is our Christian life now
21:35
that we should be,
21:36
our place now
21:37
is to bring glory
21:39
and honor to God
21:39
that He's left us here
21:41
for a purpose
21:43
and that's to
21:44
make His name known.
21:47
Matthew 28,
21:48
18 through 20
21:49
is the Great Commission.
21:51
Go into all the world
21:52
and preach the Gospel
21:53
to every living creature,
21:56
baptizing in the name
21:57
of the Father
21:58
and the Son
21:58
and the Holy Spirit,
21:59
teaching them
22:00
all that I've commanded you.
22:01
For lo,
22:02
I'm with you always,
22:03
even to the end of the age.
22:05
And He's saying,
22:05
My Spirit will be with you.
22:07
I've given,
22:07
given you what you need
22:09
to do this.
22:10
I will be with you.
22:11
And He's saying,
22:14
as you're going,
22:15
is literally how that's stated.
22:17
It's not that we,
22:19
once again,
22:20
segmented,
22:20
that we segment,
22:21
we go,
22:22
I'm going to be headed overseas
22:23
in a week and a half,
22:25
that,
22:25
oh,
22:25
I go and then I come back
22:27
and life is normal.
22:28
It's as you're going,
22:29
living a life
22:30
that is
22:31
filled with the Spirit
22:34
and as you're going,
22:35
telling others about
22:36
what Christ has done
22:37
in your life.
22:40
And then,
22:44
moving forward
22:46
to the end of the age,
22:48
to Revelation,
22:50
there's some amazing things
22:52
in Revelation.
22:53
Let's turn to Revelation 21.
23:01
Let's go to Revelation 22.
23:04
Then we'll go back to 21.
23:10
It says,
23:18
in verse 3,
23:19
and there will no longer
23:21
be any curse.
23:23
The throne of God
23:24
and of the Lamb
23:25
will be in the city
23:26
and His slaves
23:27
will serve Him.
23:29
They will see His face
23:30
and His name
23:31
will be on their foreheads.
23:32
When we look at heaven,
23:41
the overwhelming thought
23:44
that should consume us
23:46
is that we will dwell
23:47
with God physically.
23:48
that's,
23:54
if you know Christ
23:55
and you love Him,
23:58
what an amazing thought
24:00
that this,
24:02
that the God
24:03
who dwells in you now
24:04
will one day dwell
24:05
with us physically
24:06
in a new heaven,
24:07
a new earth
24:08
for eternity.
24:08
that should drive
24:13
our lives
24:13
as we have
24:14
this eternal focus
24:16
of where we're going.
24:17
But what a glorious thought
24:19
that one day
24:19
we will dwell
24:20
with God
24:21
in perfection
24:23
without a curse.
24:24
It says the curse is gone.
24:26
And so we will return
24:28
in a way
24:29
to the Garden of Eden.
24:31
Life will be perfect.
24:32
The curse will be gone.
24:33
The fellowship
24:34
will be there.
24:35
We will live life.
24:39
It's not,
24:39
it's eternal life.
24:40
It's not
24:41
that time stops
24:42
and we don't,
24:43
it's kind of this
24:45
floating out
24:45
in the clouds mentality.
24:47
But that we'll live
24:48
with God
24:50
in human,
24:53
in our human form.
24:54
We'll have a resurrected body
24:56
but it will be
24:56
without the curse.
24:58
And sin will be gone.
24:59
What a glorious thought.
25:02
The greatest enemy
25:03
that we have within it,
25:04
or is the greatest enemy
25:05
that we have
25:06
is within us
25:06
and it's our flesh.
25:08
Paul said,
25:08
I know that in me
25:09
dwells no good thing.
25:12
He knew that his flesh
25:13
had been corrupted,
25:14
completely corrupted
25:15
by sin,
25:16
but that God
25:17
was redeeming him.
25:18
And he said,
25:18
I've died to myself
25:19
and I'm living to Christ.
25:21
And he looked forward
25:21
to that day.
25:22
He said at the end
25:23
of Romans 7,
25:24
O wretched man
25:24
that I am,
25:25
who will deliver me
25:26
from this body of death?
25:28
Thank God
25:29
for Christ Jesus.
25:32
When we
25:33
come into heaven,
25:34
we will have
25:34
that resurrected body
25:35
that will be freed
25:37
from this body of death,
25:38
this body of sin.
25:40
And so we will
25:41
be able to
25:43
once again
25:43
fully worship God
25:45
to our maximum capability
25:46
without the hindrance
25:48
of sin
25:48
and our flesh
25:49
in this world.
25:51
What a glorious thought.
25:54
Going back to
25:56
Revelation 21.
25:59
Did I read the,
26:00
I read the wrong passage,
26:01
didn't I?
26:01
Revelation 22.3.
26:04
No, okay.
26:05
Let's go back
26:06
to Revelation 21.
26:07
It will be
26:08
1-7.
26:10
This is a,
26:11
this is an image
26:12
of what the new heaven
26:13
and the new earth
26:14
will be like.
26:14
Just let this,
26:16
let this come into your heart
26:17
and realize
26:18
this is where we're headed.
26:21
Then I saw
26:22
the new heaven
26:22
and the new earth
26:23
for the first heaven
26:24
and the first earth
26:25
had passed away
26:25
and the sea
26:26
no longer existed.
26:28
I also saw
26:29
the holy city,
26:29
the new Jerusalem
26:30
coming down
26:31
out of heaven
26:31
from God
26:34
prepared like a bride
26:35
adorned for a husband.
26:37
Then I heard
26:38
a loud voice
26:39
from the throne
26:40
saying,
26:41
Look!
26:42
God's dwelling
26:43
is with humanity
26:44
and He will live
26:46
with them.
26:47
They will be
26:47
His people
26:48
and God Himself
26:49
will be with them
26:51
and be their God.
26:52
He will wipe away
26:53
every tear
26:54
from their eyes.
26:55
Death will no longer exist.
26:56
grief,
26:59
crying,
27:00
and pain
27:00
will exist
27:01
no longer
27:02
because the previous
27:03
things have passed away.
27:05
Brothers and sisters,
27:06
that's where we're headed.
27:08
That,
27:09
that is
27:11
what God
27:12
has redeemed us to.
27:15
That is eternal life.
27:16
It says that,
27:17
well,
27:18
before,
27:18
that eternal life
27:19
is this,
27:20
that you may know Him
27:21
and Jesus Christ.
27:23
This,
27:23
this is where we're going.
27:25
that this time now
27:29
is limited.
27:30
Maybe 60,
27:31
70,
27:31
80 years
27:32
for most of us.
27:32
Maybe less for some.
27:34
But that we're,
27:35
we're headed towards this.
27:37
And so,
27:37
what are we to do now
27:38
as we're moving
27:40
towards this time
27:41
of dwelling with God
27:43
for eternity?
27:46
I just,
27:47
I want to
27:47
exhort you
27:48
to live with
27:50
a heavenly focus.
27:53
Live with a mindset
27:54
of knowing
27:55
that we,
27:57
apart from Christ,
27:58
are dead
27:58
in our trespasses
27:59
and sins.
28:01
That our wrath,
28:02
the wrath against us
28:03
is infinite
28:03
because we have sinned
28:04
against an infinite God.
28:06
But that Christ
28:08
has come
28:08
and that He has paid
28:10
an infinite price
28:12
for our sins
28:13
so that we can now
28:14
be reconciled
28:16
to Him.
28:17
That's the story
28:18
of creation.
28:19
That's the story
28:20
of redemption.
28:21
Beginning in Genesis,
28:22
just in summation,
28:23
that we began
28:24
with God
28:26
in a relationship
28:27
with Him.
28:28
That man felt
28:29
that there was now
28:30
this barrier
28:30
between God and man.
28:32
That man has sinned
28:34
awfully
28:34
through the Old Testament
28:37
and was in need
28:38
of a Savior.
28:39
But that there was
28:39
this promise
28:40
that a Savior would come.
28:41
That Christ has come
28:43
and He has absorbed,
28:46
taken the wrath
28:46
of God upon Himself.
28:48
And by His wounds,
28:49
by His wounds
28:51
we are healed.
28:53
And that now
28:53
we've been given
28:54
the ministry
28:55
of reconciliation.
28:57
That we now
28:58
are to go
28:58
and tell others.
29:00
If God has changed
29:01
your life
29:02
and His Spirit
29:03
dwells in you
29:04
and it says
29:05
that my sheep
29:06
know me
29:06
and they hear my voice
29:08
and by this
29:09
you'll know
29:11
that you love me
29:12
if you keep
29:12
my commandments.
29:13
are we striving
29:16
to keep God's commandments
29:18
out of a love for Him
29:19
or are we striving
29:20
to keep God's commandments
29:21
to get a love from Him?
29:23
God's love
29:24
is unconditional
29:25
upon us.
29:27
He came
29:28
while we were yet sinners
29:29
Christ died for us.
29:32
It's a love
29:33
that we're called to
29:36
but it's not a human love.
29:37
If your goal
29:38
is to love people
29:39
with a human love
29:40
people aren't very easy
29:42
to deal with.
29:43
But that if you love
29:44
people with God's love
29:46
you begin to see them
29:47
not as a physical
29:49
human being
29:50
but each person
29:51
is a soul
29:52
that has worth
29:54
and that each person
29:57
is lost
30:00
in the need of a Savior
30:01
and that should
30:03
that should drive us
30:04
to tell the nations
30:05
to declare
30:07
to declare His glory
30:09
among the nations
30:10
that He is worthy
30:11
of praise
30:13
and of adoration
30:14
for what He's done.
30:15
And so as we see
30:16
a lost humanity
30:17
we see a world
30:18
that is
30:18
basically
30:22
insulting Christ.
30:24
What we do
30:25
is a direct
30:26
insult
30:28
against Him
30:29
and yet
30:30
Christ has forgiven us
30:32
in that.
30:33
And so my
30:33
plea
30:36
is for us
30:37
to have a
30:37
greater love
30:38
for Christ
30:39
realizing what
30:41
He's done for us
30:42
with the greatness
30:43
of our sin
30:44
sinning against
30:46
the infinite God
30:47
and yet the greatness
30:48
of His love
30:48
towards us
30:50
and that should
30:51
drive us to worship
30:52
and praise
30:52
and love.
30:53
I want to
30:56
close with
30:58
kind of
30:58
an illustration.
31:01
I was in
31:01
Mexico
31:02
about a year
31:02
ago
31:03
talking to a
31:05
missionary
31:05
and he said
31:06
Daniel
31:06
it was really funny
31:08
I'd asked him
31:08
I said
31:09
are we on schedule
31:10
and we were
31:11
doing some things
31:12
and some
31:12
distractions
31:13
had come up
31:14
and he said
31:15
Daniel
31:16
we're always
31:16
on schedule
31:17
and I said
31:17
what does that mean
31:18
and he said
31:20
let me explain it
31:21
to you
31:21
he said
31:22
Daniel
31:22
when you get up
31:23
every day
31:24
you have a choice
31:27
he said
31:27
let me liken it
31:28
to this
31:28
there were
31:29
three servants
31:30
in a king
31:31
and the one servant
31:34
would get up
31:35
every day
31:35
and he would
31:36
go out
31:37
into the kingdom
31:38
and do whatever
31:39
he wanted
31:40
he just
31:41
you know
31:42
if he wanted
31:43
to do whatever
31:44
he would do that
31:45
and do something else
31:46
he would do that
31:47
and if he did nothing
31:47
that was fine too
31:48
he said
31:50
and that was one servant
31:51
and then there was
31:51
another servant
31:52
there was a servant
31:53
that went out
31:55
every day
31:55
and he ran around
31:56
as fast as he could
31:58
as hard as he could
31:59
and he did
31:59
everything he could
32:00
that he thought
32:01
the king wanted him
32:02
to do
32:02
and he worked
32:04
and he worked
32:04
and he worked
32:05
and he worked
32:05
and the king
32:07
sat in his kingdom
32:09
and shook his head
32:10
and went
32:10
why
32:11
why
32:12
why
32:12
why
32:12
but there was
32:13
a third servant
32:14
and the third servant
32:15
would go before
32:16
his king daily
32:17
and he would
32:18
come and kneel
32:19
before his king
32:20
and say
32:20
sir
32:20
say king
32:22
here I am
32:23
I love you
32:24
and I know
32:24
that you love me
32:25
what would you have
32:27
for me to do today
32:28
and
32:29
he said
32:31
Daniel
32:31
that's the servant
32:32
that truly loves
32:33
his king
32:34
the other two servants
32:35
the one servant
32:36
didn't have a relationship
32:37
with the king
32:38
he was
32:38
he was all caught up
32:39
in what he thought
32:40
he needed to do
32:41
he said
32:41
and the third one
32:42
didn't care about
32:43
the king
32:43
at all
32:43
he said
32:45
Daniel be that servant
32:47
and he said
32:47
as long as you're
32:48
that servant
32:48
and you're daily
32:50
coming before the Lord
32:51
realizing that you
32:52
are not your own
32:53
that you've been
32:54
bought with a price
32:55
therefore glorify
32:56
God in your body
32:57
that each day
32:59
Romans 12
32:59
1
33:00
off your body
33:00
is a living sacrifice
33:02
holy and acceptable
33:03
to God
33:03
that's your reasonable
33:05
act of worship
33:06
that
33:06
as
33:08
you are God's servant
33:10
his bond slave
33:12
as Paul would say
33:13
that your
33:14
that your duty
33:16
as a
33:16
Christian
33:17
is to
33:19
to come before
33:20
the Lord daily
33:21
and say
33:22
I'm not my own
33:23
I am yours
33:24
what do you have for me
33:25
and he said
33:26
Daniel as long as
33:27
we're doing that
33:28
then we're right on schedule
33:29
because we're doing
33:30
what God has called us to do
33:32
and realizing that
33:33
our
33:34
schedules
33:35
and our
33:36
routines
33:38
or what we think
33:39
God wants us to do
33:40
is often not at all
33:42
what God wants us to do
33:43
he wants us to have
33:44
ears to hear
33:45
and hearts that are
33:46
humble and listening
33:47
to the Lord
33:48
saying here I am
33:49
I've been created
33:50
to do
33:52
whatever it is
33:53
that you want me to do
33:55
and just
33:57
as a believer
33:58
when your heart
34:00
is that way
34:01
your joy
34:02
will be
34:03
immense
34:03
peace will be
34:06
immense
34:06
because
34:06
you will know
34:08
that it
34:09
it is not
34:10
you
34:10
but that
34:10
it is
34:10
God
34:11
that lives
34:11
in you
34:11
that's
34:12
working
34:12
and willing
34:12
to do
34:13
his good
34:13
pleasure
34:14
there's
34:15
great joy
34:16
in that
34:16
if you
34:17
struggle
34:18
with
34:19
always
34:19
wondering
34:20
am I doing
34:20
what the Lord
34:21
wants me to do
34:22
or am I in
34:23
the Lord's
34:24
will
34:24
and that
34:24
if your heart
34:27
is humble
34:27
before the Lord
34:28
and you are
34:28
broken before him
34:29
saying Lord
34:30
here I am
34:30
use me
34:32
that's what
34:33
God's asked of us
34:34
and he will
34:35
use you
34:35
he says
34:36
that those
34:36
who call on him
34:37
he will no wise
34:38
cast out
34:39
his spirit
34:40
dwells within us
34:41
live life
34:42
in a way
34:44
of listening
34:45
to the spirit
34:46
within you
34:47
and of
34:48
listening to the
34:49
word of God
34:49
and then realize
34:50
that we have
34:51
the immense
34:52
blessing
34:53
of being able
34:54
to come boldly
34:55
before the throne
34:56
of grace
34:56
and to speak
34:57
to him
34:57
at any time
34:58
that he is
34:59
he is
35:00
there
35:01
that when we
35:03
are humble
35:04
and pure
35:05
before him
35:06
repenting of our
35:07
sin
35:07
when we
35:07
turn back
35:09
to ourselves
35:10
that God
35:11
is
35:11
the path
35:13
is clear
35:13
there is no
35:14
separation
35:15
there anymore
35:15
that God
35:16
has taken
35:17
that away
35:18
and we
35:19
truly
35:19
can be
35:20
in a relationship
35:21
with him
35:21
so I would
35:22
encourage you
35:22
to
35:23
first of all
35:24
to
35:25
come before him
35:27
daily
35:27
and say
35:28
Lord here I am
35:29
what would you
35:29
have me to do
35:30
today
35:30
that that's the
35:33
heart that God
35:34
calls us to
35:35
and then second
35:35
of all
35:36
to put the
35:37
gospel on your
35:39
lips
35:39
and in your
35:40
life
35:40
to be
35:41
a
35:42
living testimony
35:44
of who God
35:45
is to those
35:46
who have never
35:47
heard
35:47
about a
35:50
I guess about a
35:51
month ago
35:51
three or four
35:51
weeks ago
35:52
I had the
35:53
opportunity to
35:54
go down to
35:55
Buford
35:55
and do some
35:57
door to door
35:58
witnessing
35:59
so I began
36:01
to tell this
36:02
lady
36:02
about how
36:04
she was
36:05
really caught
36:07
up in this
36:07
idea that
36:08
she wasn't
36:09
worthy of
36:09
God
36:09
and I said
36:11
well ma'am
36:11
here's the
36:12
gospel that
36:13
you aren't
36:13
worthy of
36:14
God
36:14
but that
36:15
God has
36:16
come
36:16
and that
36:17
he has
36:18
paid your
36:19
sin and
36:19
that you
36:19
can now
36:20
have a
36:20
relationship
36:21
with him
36:21
and know
36:23
him
36:23
and she
36:24
said I've
36:24
never heard
36:25
it that way
36:26
before
36:26
I've never
36:27
heard that
36:27
before
36:28
so I
36:28
just want
36:28
to encourage
36:29
you
36:29
there are
36:29
people here
36:30
we tend
36:31
to think
36:31
that oh
36:32
they've
36:32
heard the
36:33
gospel
36:33
many people
36:35
have heard a
36:35
version of
36:36
the gospel
36:36
but it's
36:37
not the
36:37
gospel
36:38
the gospel
36:39
is not
36:40
that Jesus
36:40
is just a
36:41
savior
36:41
and that he
36:42
came and
36:43
died for our
36:45
sins so we
36:45
have a free
36:45
ticket into
36:46
heaven
36:46
he came for
36:47
so much more
36:48
than that
36:48
so that we
36:49
can know
36:49
him
36:50
and in
36:51
that there's
36:51
joy and
36:52
fulfillment in
36:53
life
36:53
so just
36:56
those two
36:57
things
36:57
to live
36:58
a humble
36:59
life
36:59
before
37:00
Christ
37:00
and to
37:01
live a
37:02
life
37:02
of
37:03
worship
37:04
and of
37:05
proclamation
37:06
of who
37:07
he is
37:07
and what
37:08
he's done
37:08
I had a
37:11
whole lot
37:11
more notes
37:12
than that
37:12
but that's
37:13
what came
37:14
out so
37:14
let's pray
37:15
a