1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,760 Thank you, James, and Worship Team. 2 00:00:04,760 --> 00:00:10,640 Those songs really minister to me today and hopefully to you as well. 3 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:12,920 Please stand for the reading of God's Word. 4 00:00:12,920 --> 00:00:19,720 We're going to read from one of the most majestic descriptions of Christ in the entire Bible, 5 00:00:19,720 --> 00:00:23,460 Colossians chapter 1, verses 15 to 20. 6 00:00:23,460 --> 00:00:27,840 You can read along with me if you please, but really it's okay just to close your eyes 7 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:28,840 and listen. 8 00:00:28,840 --> 00:00:32,600 It's such a great passage of Scripture. 9 00:00:32,600 --> 00:00:39,320 He Christ is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 10 00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:45,600 For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether 11 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:51,400 thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things were created through Him and for 12 00:00:51,400 --> 00:00:52,560 Him. 13 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:57,640 And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 14 00:00:57,640 --> 00:01:00,120 And He is the head of the body of the church. 15 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:06,520 He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent. 16 00:01:06,520 --> 00:01:13,240 For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell and through Him to reconcile to Himself 17 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:19,920 all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross. 18 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:22,600 And then chapter 2, verses 9 and 10. 19 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:30,840 For in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily and you have been filled in Him who 20 00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:34,080 is the head of all rule and authority. 21 00:01:34,080 --> 00:01:43,480 You may be seated. 22 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:45,320 Go Hawks. 23 00:01:45,320 --> 00:01:47,200 And Cyclones. 24 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:51,200 And Cyclones. 25 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:57,240 More and more our society is becoming dominated by an egalitarian impulse. 26 00:01:57,240 --> 00:02:04,360 Wasn't it interesting that equity is all the rage in government agencies and academia, 27 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:06,720 but not in sports? 28 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:11,760 Because in sports, performance matters, results matter, winning matters. 29 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:13,920 Equity is not the desired outcome. 30 00:02:13,920 --> 00:02:18,380 All teams in the same league finishing at 500 is not the desired outcome. 31 00:02:18,380 --> 00:02:25,400 Can you imagine the Big Ten Women's Championship Game between Iowa and Nebraska being called 32 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:30,600 a tie rather than playing overtime to see who wins and who loses? 33 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:37,960 Or the Super Bowl being called a tie after the fourth quarter to preserve equity? 34 00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:41,000 People are paying big bucks to see the goats. 35 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:45,720 Caitlin Clark, the Michael Jordan of Collegiate Women's Basketball. 36 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:48,080 They're excited to see excellence. 37 00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:49,520 People greatness. 38 00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:53,680 And you don't have to be a Hawkeye fan to acknowledge Caitlin as the goat. 39 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:55,040 There are metrics. 40 00:02:55,040 --> 00:02:59,960 There are objective standards to prove she is the greatest of all time in Collegiate Women's 41 00:02:59,960 --> 00:03:00,960 Basketball. 42 00:03:00,960 --> 00:03:08,360 Yet, when it comes to religion, the claim of someone being the greatest of all time is 43 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:11,600 regarded as an offensive claim. 44 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:16,120 Many today would say, no, I believe that all religions are equally valid. 45 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:19,960 You can't believe that there's just one true religion to God. 46 00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:23,400 You can't believe that there is only one way to heaven. 47 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:28,240 Surely, there are many different paths to heaven for many different kinds of people. 48 00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:29,960 But here's the interesting thing. 49 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:36,000 The statement, all religions are equally valid, is as much a truth claim as Jesus is the only 50 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:37,880 way to God. 51 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:44,120 Extolling the supremacy of Jesus Christ is contrary to the cultural dogma of our day, 52 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:49,600 and it seems rude and arrogant and intolerant to the modern year. 53 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:55,120 Consequently, even many professing Christians have come to believe that Jesus is the Savior 54 00:03:55,120 --> 00:04:00,280 and way to God for Christians, but there are other ways to God for people of other faiths 55 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:01,720 or no faith at all. 56 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:05,240 So just let people believe whatever they want. 57 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:08,960 They'll get to heaven somehow. 58 00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:10,920 But here's the problem. 59 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:17,240 If Jesus is not the only way to God, as he himself claimed, how do we know for sure that 60 00:04:17,240 --> 00:04:20,760 he is a way to God? 61 00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:24,240 Jesus said clearly, I am the way and the truth and the life. 62 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:27,160 No one comes to the Father except through me. 63 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:28,160 It's a bold claim. 64 00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:29,680 It's made by Jesus himself. 65 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:33,480 This is not something made up by Christians hundreds of years later. 66 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:38,880 This is more like, and this is not a matter of, well, for those who believe it's true, 67 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:42,640 but for those who believe it's false, it's false. 68 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:50,240 No, this is more like if you head south, according to a true compass, you will never reach Canada, 69 00:04:50,240 --> 00:04:54,960 no matter how much your internal sense of direction says you're going north. 70 00:04:54,960 --> 00:05:02,920 Or if you're in Milwaukee and you head east on I-94, you're never going to reach Madison. 71 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:09,320 You'll reach Detroit before you reach Iowa. 72 00:05:09,320 --> 00:05:13,320 I wonder who would have done that. 73 00:05:13,320 --> 00:05:16,680 Just last time we were in Milwaukee, actually. 74 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:21,680 Christians declare the supremacy of Jesus Christ not because we think we're better than 75 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:22,680 others. 76 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:24,000 It's not about us at all. 77 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:28,120 We declare the supremacy of Jesus Christ because of who he is. 78 00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:31,720 There's no one like Jesus in all of the universe. 79 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:36,960 And when we declare his supremacy, we are simply acknowledging and telling the truth. 80 00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:42,440 No other religion has anyone who can compare with Jesus, what he has done for our salvation 81 00:05:42,440 --> 00:05:45,040 through his death and resurrection. 82 00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:51,600 So to put Muhammad, or Buddha, or Moses, or any other prophet or teacher or religious 83 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:58,160 figure in the same league as Jesus is as irrational as putting a high school junior 84 00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:02,080 varsity player in the same league as Caitlyn Clark. 85 00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:03,920 So who is Jesus? 86 00:06:03,920 --> 00:06:09,840 And what are the metrics that prove that he is greater than any man or woman who has ever 87 00:06:09,840 --> 00:06:13,560 lived and is the only savior of the world? 88 00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:18,920 Let's look then at acknowledging the supremacy of Jesus Christ. 89 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:23,920 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 90 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:29,160 For by him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether 91 00:06:29,160 --> 00:06:35,000 thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things were created through him and for 92 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:41,420 him, and is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 93 00:06:41,420 --> 00:06:46,400 So we see first of all that Jesus is Lord over all creation. 94 00:06:46,400 --> 00:06:49,440 He is the image of the invisible God. 95 00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:50,440 What is God like? 96 00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:52,120 Look at Jesus. 97 00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:57,240 Adam and Eve were created in the image of God, but Jesus is the image of God. 98 00:06:57,240 --> 00:07:02,760 He is the visible image of the invisible God, the exact representation of God's being in 99 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:03,760 human form. 100 00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:08,120 He is both true man and true God. 101 00:07:08,120 --> 00:07:11,480 What did God create man to be? 102 00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:12,760 Look at Jesus. 103 00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:14,120 What is God like? 104 00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:15,560 Look at Jesus. 105 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:21,360 The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being. 106 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:24,680 He is the firstborn over all creation. 107 00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:31,000 Now Jehovah's Witnesses say that Jesus is firstborn over all creation in the sense he 108 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:34,760 is the first and greatest being that God created. 109 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:39,880 Even at that he would still surpass all angelic beings and all human beings, but firstborn 110 00:07:39,880 --> 00:07:41,080 doesn't mean that. 111 00:07:41,080 --> 00:07:44,400 It doesn't mean first of all created beings. 112 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:51,240 Firstborn over all creation means that Jesus is both prior to and supreme over all creation 113 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:52,960 as Lord. 114 00:07:52,960 --> 00:07:59,960 Firstborn is a title of rank indicating Christ's primacy, supremacy, and authority over all 115 00:07:59,960 --> 00:08:02,560 of creation. 116 00:08:02,560 --> 00:08:07,800 Jesus is not Mohammed's or Buddha's peer or colleague or rival. 117 00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:11,280 He is their creator and God. 118 00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:13,080 Jesus is king of the universe. 119 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:18,320 He is the creator God in human flesh and as such he walked on water. 120 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:20,320 He calmed the wind and the waves. 121 00:08:20,320 --> 00:08:23,960 He multiplied the loaves and the fishes and fed thousands. 122 00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:25,400 He gave sight to the blind. 123 00:08:25,400 --> 00:08:27,080 He raised the dead. 124 00:08:27,080 --> 00:08:29,280 He cast out demons. 125 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:35,000 In many other ways he demonstrated his authority over creation and over all powers visible 126 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:36,800 and invisible. 127 00:08:36,800 --> 00:08:42,240 For by him all things were created, the Bible says, things in heaven and on earth, visible 128 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:47,840 and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities. 129 00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:54,200 The most beautiful and powerful and glorious of supernatural and jealous beings are not 130 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:55,920 his peers or equals. 131 00:08:55,920 --> 00:08:57,920 They are his creatures. 132 00:08:57,920 --> 00:09:03,400 Satan and all of his demons are not his peers or equals or rivals. 133 00:09:03,400 --> 00:09:06,760 They are his creatures and conquered foes. 134 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:11,720 Jesus Christ is Lord over all creation and is the king of angels. 135 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:17,440 All angels and demons know that to be true even if some humans do not. 136 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:23,560 This text says that all things were created in him and through him and for him. 137 00:09:23,560 --> 00:09:26,000 Let's look at those key words. 138 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:30,840 In him indicates he is the origin of all things. 139 00:09:30,840 --> 00:09:35,880 Scientists agree that our universe is expanding and an expanding universe means that it had 140 00:09:35,880 --> 00:09:37,840 an origin, a beginning. 141 00:09:37,840 --> 00:09:41,760 And contrary to some scientists, the universe did not come from nothing. 142 00:09:41,760 --> 00:09:44,440 The universe came from someone. 143 00:09:44,440 --> 00:09:48,120 All things were created in him. 144 00:09:48,120 --> 00:09:50,600 Contemplate that for a moment. 145 00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:58,240 All the energy of the entire universe originated in Jesus the Son of God. 146 00:09:58,240 --> 00:10:01,320 Energy is not eternal and self-existent. 147 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:09,720 All the energy in the sun and the stars and the galaxies, it all originated in Christ. 148 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:14,080 All things were created in him and in him was life. 149 00:10:14,080 --> 00:10:18,960 Jesus is the origin and source of all created things and all living beings. 150 00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:21,600 He is also the agent of all things. 151 00:10:21,600 --> 00:10:25,720 All things have been created through him. 152 00:10:25,720 --> 00:10:30,080 The Bible says through him all things were made without him nothing was made that has 153 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:31,920 been made. 154 00:10:31,920 --> 00:10:38,200 Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the creative power and wisdom of God by which God designed 155 00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:41,440 and spoke the universe into being. 156 00:10:41,440 --> 00:10:46,040 Jesus is literally the brains behind the DNA code. 157 00:10:46,040 --> 00:10:48,800 He is the brain behind the human brain. 158 00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:54,760 An article in Scientific American a few years ago says the following. 159 00:10:54,760 --> 00:10:59,200 A team of scientists from around the world are attempting to build a digital version 160 00:10:59,200 --> 00:11:00,960 of the human brain. 161 00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:05,760 A supercomputer that they say will replicate the workings of a human brain. 162 00:11:05,760 --> 00:11:08,920 It's called the human brain project. 163 00:11:08,920 --> 00:11:16,240 Then the lead scientist conceives that a human brain is millions of times more powerful than 164 00:11:16,240 --> 00:11:19,920 the most powerful supercomputer that exists. 165 00:11:19,920 --> 00:11:23,640 The human brain is also vastly more efficient. 166 00:11:23,640 --> 00:11:29,040 If completed, the energy required to run an artificial brain would equal the megawatts 167 00:11:29,040 --> 00:11:33,840 needed to run an entire small town in the middle of winter. 168 00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:41,040 More incredibly complex brains hum along on the equivalent of a mere 20 watts of energy 169 00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:45,360 or the energy needed for a small light bulb. 170 00:11:45,360 --> 00:11:49,920 On a scientist's admit they have no rational or scientific explanation of the origin of 171 00:11:49,920 --> 00:11:51,320 life. 172 00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:55,480 Just as they cannot explain how everything came from nothing, they cannot explain how 173 00:11:55,480 --> 00:11:57,840 life came from non-life. 174 00:11:57,840 --> 00:12:00,280 But life did not come from non-life. 175 00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:07,520 Life came from Jesus, in Him was life, and all things were created through Him. 176 00:12:07,520 --> 00:12:10,720 Jesus is also the goal of all things. 177 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:15,360 All things have been created through Him and for Him. 178 00:12:15,360 --> 00:12:17,000 Why did God create the universe? 179 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:19,560 For what primary purpose? 180 00:12:19,560 --> 00:12:20,560 For Christ. 181 00:12:20,560 --> 00:12:21,680 For His glory. 182 00:12:21,680 --> 00:12:22,760 For His pleasure. 183 00:12:22,760 --> 00:12:24,440 For His purposes. 184 00:12:24,440 --> 00:12:30,080 All things have been created through Him and for Him. 185 00:12:30,080 --> 00:12:33,400 All things includes you. 186 00:12:33,400 --> 00:12:39,520 You were made by Him and for Him and will find your purpose in Him. 187 00:12:39,520 --> 00:12:45,040 To live for Christ is simply to bring our life into alignment with the purpose for which 188 00:12:45,040 --> 00:12:47,040 God made us. 189 00:12:47,040 --> 00:12:49,640 What is the meaning and purpose of your life? 190 00:12:49,640 --> 00:12:52,720 And where would you turn to find out the answer? 191 00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:57,680 Rick Warren wrote in a purpose driven life, the search for the purpose of life has puzzled 192 00:12:57,680 --> 00:13:00,200 people for thousands of years. 193 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:04,920 That's because we typically begin at the wrong starting point, ourselves. 194 00:13:04,920 --> 00:13:08,560 We ask self-centered questions, like what do I want to be? 195 00:13:08,560 --> 00:13:09,840 What should I do with my life? 196 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:13,800 What are my goals, my ambitions, my dreams for my future? 197 00:13:13,800 --> 00:13:17,680 But focusing on ourselves will never reveal our life's purpose. 198 00:13:17,680 --> 00:13:22,600 You didn't create yourself, so there's no way you can tell yourself what you were created 199 00:13:22,600 --> 00:13:24,320 for. 200 00:13:24,320 --> 00:13:26,960 You must begin with God, your Creator. 201 00:13:26,960 --> 00:13:30,240 You exist only because God wills that you exist. 202 00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:33,120 You were made by God and for God. 203 00:13:33,120 --> 00:13:36,360 And until you understand that, life will never make sense. 204 00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:42,480 It's only in God that we discover our origin, our identity, our meaning, our purpose, our 205 00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:47,400 significance, and our destiny. 206 00:13:47,400 --> 00:13:53,840 We are not only brilliantly engineered by our Creator, we are personally loved by our Creator 207 00:13:53,840 --> 00:13:57,480 and designed to fulfill His purpose for us. 208 00:13:57,480 --> 00:14:01,200 And then Jesus is before all things. 209 00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:04,600 You know that God never began to exist. 210 00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:07,760 The Son of God never began to exist. 211 00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:09,360 He's eternal. 212 00:14:09,360 --> 00:14:13,560 This is one of the most mind-blowing realities of God, I think. 213 00:14:13,560 --> 00:14:18,280 Not only does His existence have no end, it has no beginning. 214 00:14:18,280 --> 00:14:22,200 Jesus did not come into existence 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem. 215 00:14:22,200 --> 00:14:24,800 He's the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last. 216 00:14:24,800 --> 00:14:31,840 He's before all things, meaning before both in time and above in rank and supremacy. 217 00:14:31,840 --> 00:14:37,040 Before the beginning of time, before the beginning of the universe, there was Father, Son, and 218 00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:40,160 Holy Spirit, one God and three persons. 219 00:14:40,160 --> 00:14:44,960 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 220 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:49,640 He is the center and sustainer of all things. 221 00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:54,080 God didn't just set the universe in motion and then sit back and see what happens. 222 00:14:54,080 --> 00:14:56,640 In Christ, all things hold together. 223 00:14:56,640 --> 00:14:59,040 All things continue to exist. 224 00:14:59,040 --> 00:15:05,040 Jesus Christ is literally the personal force, the glue, so to speak, that holds all things 225 00:15:05,040 --> 00:15:06,640 together. 226 00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:13,200 When it comes to what and how and why atoms and molecules hold together, there's an element 227 00:15:13,200 --> 00:15:16,040 of mystery that transcends scientific knowledge. 228 00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:21,880 It is as if there is a spiritual force at work beyond the force particles and matter 229 00:15:21,880 --> 00:15:24,440 and antimatter studied by science. 230 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:26,360 The Bible puts it this way. 231 00:15:26,360 --> 00:15:32,760 All things were created by Jesus Christ and for Him, He is before all things, and in Him 232 00:15:32,760 --> 00:15:35,920 all things hold together. 233 00:15:35,920 --> 00:15:43,920 So Jesus is the origin, agent, goal, sustainer, and center of the universe. 234 00:15:43,920 --> 00:15:49,040 Are you beginning to see why the statement that all religions are basically the same 235 00:15:49,040 --> 00:15:54,400 and no religion is superior to any other is an insult to Jesus? 236 00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:58,040 Christianity is unique because Jesus is unique. 237 00:15:58,040 --> 00:16:00,720 There's no one like Him in any other religion. 238 00:16:00,720 --> 00:16:05,840 So to speak of the supremacy of Christ is not arrogance or narrow-mindedness. 239 00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:15,840 To speak of the supremacy of Christ is simply to tell it like it is. 240 00:16:15,840 --> 00:16:26,440 Secondly, Jesus is Lord over the new creation, and He is the head of the body, the church. 241 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:31,760 He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminence. 242 00:16:31,760 --> 00:16:37,200 For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell and through Him to reconcile to Himself 243 00:16:37,200 --> 00:16:42,800 all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross. 244 00:16:42,800 --> 00:16:46,680 He is the head of the body, the church. 245 00:16:46,680 --> 00:16:52,000 None less than the Lord of all creation is the Lord of the church, His new creation. 246 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:58,280 The source of all created life is also the source of spiritual life of the new creation, 247 00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:04,040 the one who directs and governs the created universe also directs and governs His body, 248 00:17:04,040 --> 00:17:05,440 the church. 249 00:17:05,440 --> 00:17:10,760 The one who gives order to atoms and galaxies gives order to the life and ministry of the 250 00:17:10,760 --> 00:17:12,260 church. 251 00:17:12,260 --> 00:17:17,520 Just as the universe was created by Him and for Him, so also the church exists by His 252 00:17:17,520 --> 00:17:20,840 life and for His purposes. 253 00:17:20,840 --> 00:17:25,800 The church exists to fulfill the redemptive purposes of Jesus Christ. 254 00:17:25,800 --> 00:17:30,960 The church receives His direction, not from the opinions of its members, not even from 255 00:17:30,960 --> 00:17:35,640 the convictions of its leaders, rather the church receives His direction from the head, 256 00:17:35,640 --> 00:17:37,360 Jesus Christ. 257 00:17:37,360 --> 00:17:42,080 The church fulfills this divine unity and harmony not when each member does what seems 258 00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:47,280 right in their own eyes, but when the body listens to and obeys the head. 259 00:17:47,280 --> 00:17:50,760 And every member lives under the Lordship of Christ. 260 00:17:50,760 --> 00:17:55,780 He is the beginning of the new creation and firstborn from the dead. 261 00:17:55,780 --> 00:18:01,720 Firstborn overall creation is the theme of 15 to 17 and firstborn from the dead introduces 262 00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:04,320 the theme of 18 to 20. 263 00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:10,680 Jesus is not only the first to rise from the dead never to die again, He's also the beginning 264 00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:15,800 and head of a whole new humanity consisting of believers who are made spiritually alive 265 00:18:15,800 --> 00:18:20,720 now and whose bodies will also one day be resurrected by Christ's resurrection, life 266 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:22,960 and power. 267 00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:28,960 Everything that was ruined by sin and death in the original creation will be restored 268 00:18:28,960 --> 00:18:33,960 by Christ's life giving power in the new creation. 269 00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:40,080 The day of Christ's resurrection was the first day of a new beginning for humanity, the 270 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:42,720 beginning of a new creation. 271 00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:48,760 As firstborn from among the dead, Jesus became Lord over the new creation, giving newness 272 00:18:48,760 --> 00:18:54,440 of spiritual life as well as eternal life to all who become new creations by believing 273 00:18:54,440 --> 00:18:57,520 in Him. 274 00:18:57,520 --> 00:19:01,000 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. 275 00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:04,800 The old is gone, the new has come. 276 00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:06,680 Did you know that a new creation is coming? 277 00:19:06,680 --> 00:19:09,760 In fact, it's already underway. 278 00:19:09,760 --> 00:19:15,400 That is the truth that gives hope that the best is yet to come. 279 00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:21,280 Even in youth today, a whole generation is being inundated with bad news. 280 00:19:21,280 --> 00:19:26,080 Bad news in a context of doom and hopelessness about the future. 281 00:19:26,080 --> 00:19:30,000 But take heart, God has already revealed to us how history ends. 282 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:35,520 It's not with nuclear annihilation, it's not with global warming or any other act of 283 00:19:35,520 --> 00:19:36,920 man. 284 00:19:36,920 --> 00:19:42,280 History ends with the return of Jesus Christ to the earth at which time all evil and all 285 00:19:42,280 --> 00:19:47,320 death will be destroyed and God will create a new heaven and new earth. 286 00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:52,240 Our hope is in a sovereign God who still sits on a throne in heaven. 287 00:19:52,240 --> 00:19:57,200 Our hope is in the Lord Jesus Christ who has already won the victory over sin, death, 288 00:19:57,200 --> 00:19:59,760 and evil by His death and resurrection. 289 00:19:59,760 --> 00:20:04,480 Our hope is in the promise of the Word of God of a new creation, a new heaven, and a 290 00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:05,480 new earth. 291 00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:10,040 A hope that is not mere wishful thinking, but rather is a certain hope grounded in the 292 00:20:10,040 --> 00:20:13,000 resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 293 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:15,800 Jesus Christ is Lord over all. 294 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:18,680 He is Lord over life and death and the grave. 295 00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:24,440 He is Lord over all angelic and demonic powers and our hope is in Him. 296 00:20:24,440 --> 00:20:27,080 He is preeminent in all things. 297 00:20:27,080 --> 00:20:32,440 It is God's purpose in raising Jesus Christ from the dead that in everything Jesus will 298 00:20:32,440 --> 00:20:37,960 have the supremacy and preeminence as head over every power and authority. 299 00:20:37,960 --> 00:20:44,600 The resurrection is God's proof, God's metric, God's objective standard of the supremacy 300 00:20:44,600 --> 00:20:46,160 of Jesus. 301 00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:51,320 Why do Christians proclaim the supremacy of Jesus Christ in an age of relativism that 302 00:20:51,320 --> 00:20:53,360 believes there are many paths to heaven? 303 00:20:53,360 --> 00:20:55,480 It has nothing to do with who we are. 304 00:20:55,480 --> 00:21:00,320 It has nothing to do with some kind of a religious superiority complex. 305 00:21:00,320 --> 00:21:05,520 It has everything to do with the truth of who Jesus is. 306 00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:09,120 Who is like our Lord Jesus Christ? 307 00:21:09,120 --> 00:21:11,320 There's none in all the earth. 308 00:21:11,320 --> 00:21:13,640 There's none in all of human history. 309 00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:16,440 There's none in any other religion. 310 00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:20,120 All the fullness of God dwells in Jesus. 311 00:21:20,120 --> 00:21:23,440 Jesus was and is God in the human body. 312 00:21:23,440 --> 00:21:26,000 And this is not some spark of divinity. 313 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:32,280 This is saying that in Christ all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form. 314 00:21:32,280 --> 00:21:36,040 Jesus is literally God in human flesh. 315 00:21:36,040 --> 00:21:38,240 And there's no one else like him. 316 00:21:38,240 --> 00:21:43,200 To say that Jesus is just a prophet or a good man or a moral teacher is to rob him of the 317 00:21:43,200 --> 00:21:47,560 glory that is rightfully his. 318 00:21:47,560 --> 00:21:53,960 The answer to the question of the origin of life is not a chemical equation or a subatomic 319 00:21:53,960 --> 00:21:55,760 particle or an impersonal force. 320 00:21:55,760 --> 00:21:58,040 It's a person, Jesus. 321 00:21:58,040 --> 00:22:01,720 The answer to the question, how can man live forever after death? 322 00:22:01,720 --> 00:22:05,600 It's not a theory of reincarnation or the immortality of the soul. 323 00:22:05,600 --> 00:22:08,040 It's a person, Jesus. 324 00:22:08,040 --> 00:22:12,000 The answer to the question, how can sinners be reconciled to a holy God? 325 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:18,000 It's not a path of self-denial or acts of penance or obedience to a list of laws or 326 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:21,880 adherence to religious dogma or practice of religious devotion. 327 00:22:21,880 --> 00:22:25,680 It's a person, Jesus Christ. 328 00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:30,360 And God reconciled all things to himself through the cross of Christ. 329 00:22:30,360 --> 00:22:34,040 In the beginning, God created all things through Christ. 330 00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:39,040 In the end, God will reconcile all things through Christ. 331 00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:43,760 The world has been corrupted, disordered, and ravaged by sin. 332 00:22:43,760 --> 00:22:45,440 But God still loves the world. 333 00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:50,320 And so he sent his only son to become a man and dine across and rise from the grave so 334 00:22:50,320 --> 00:22:53,920 that we might not perish but have everlasting life. 335 00:22:53,920 --> 00:22:58,680 And because of the cross and resurrection of Jesus, anyone who accepts Jesus as their 336 00:22:58,680 --> 00:23:05,680 Savior can be totally accepted, fully pleasing, deeply loved, completely forgiven, and empowered 337 00:23:05,680 --> 00:23:08,360 to live a new life in Christ. 338 00:23:08,360 --> 00:23:12,160 But there's even more to God's purpose in the mission of Christ. 339 00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:18,560 The final outcome of Christ's work of reconciliation will be nothing less than a new heaven and 340 00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:25,440 a new earth characterized by love, righteousness, and peace. 341 00:23:25,440 --> 00:23:27,880 So application question. 342 00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:34,880 If Jesus is who we claim to be, if Jesus is everything this text teaches, then can we 343 00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:46,920 trust Him to be everything that we need? 344 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:51,080 Let's look then at trusting the sufficiency of Christ. 345 00:23:51,080 --> 00:23:57,640 For in Him, the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in Him who 346 00:23:57,640 --> 00:24:02,280 is the head of all rule and authority. 347 00:24:02,280 --> 00:24:09,320 All fullness of deity dwells in Christ, and Christ lives in you, and Christ in you is 348 00:24:09,320 --> 00:24:13,560 the hope of glory. 349 00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:18,680 The Christ who was with God in the beginning when He created the heavens and the earth, 350 00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:24,560 indeed the Christ in whom and through Him and for whom all things were made. 351 00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:30,240 The Christ who is the eternal Son of God who became flesh to reveal what God is like. 352 00:24:30,240 --> 00:24:34,920 The Christ who calmed the wind and the waves and multiplied the loaves and the fishes to 353 00:24:34,920 --> 00:24:40,080 feed thousands and opened the eyes of the blind and raised the dead. 354 00:24:40,080 --> 00:24:44,800 The Christ who loved you and gave his life for you to forgive your sins. 355 00:24:44,800 --> 00:24:49,360 The Christ who conquered death and who holds the keys of death and hate ease and lives 356 00:24:49,360 --> 00:24:51,040 forevermore. 357 00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:55,760 The Christ who sits at the right hand of God with all spiritual rulers and authorities 358 00:24:55,760 --> 00:24:58,160 and powers under His feet. 359 00:24:58,160 --> 00:25:02,760 The Christ who is coming again to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords over a new 360 00:25:02,760 --> 00:25:04,760 heaven and a new earth. 361 00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:08,680 The Christ who is the great I am. 362 00:25:08,680 --> 00:25:12,560 That Christ lives in you. 363 00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:15,840 That Christ lives in you. 364 00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:20,080 And that Christ living in you is the hope of glory. 365 00:25:20,080 --> 00:25:25,640 The presence of Christ within us, changing us from the inside out now is the guarantee 366 00:25:25,640 --> 00:25:30,160 that one day we will be like Jesus, sharing in His glory. 367 00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:34,800 Every time Jesus makes a change in our lives, every time He makes us a little more loving 368 00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:36,880 and a little less selfish. 369 00:25:36,880 --> 00:25:39,720 A little more pure, a little less impure. 370 00:25:39,720 --> 00:25:42,720 A little more honest, a little less dishonest. 371 00:25:42,720 --> 00:25:46,080 A little more compassionate and a little less uncaring. 372 00:25:46,080 --> 00:25:54,640 A little more patient and kind and a little less impatient and unkind and angry and unforgiving. 373 00:25:54,640 --> 00:26:00,360 That evidence of the presence and power of Christ in us now is what gives us the hope 374 00:26:00,360 --> 00:26:04,840 of glory of being like Jesus in heaven. 375 00:26:04,840 --> 00:26:10,320 The whole fullness of deity dwells in Christ, fully man and fully God. 376 00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:12,360 Jesus is all you need. 377 00:26:12,360 --> 00:26:14,240 All you need for salvation. 378 00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:18,000 All you need for becoming a mature disciple and disciple maker. 379 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:20,000 All you need for eternal life. 380 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:22,800 All you need for fullness of life here and now. 381 00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:25,560 All you need for becoming a godly man or woman. 382 00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:30,200 All you need for becoming a godly husband or wife or father or mother. 383 00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:34,680 All you need for exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit, Christ-owned character qualities in 384 00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:36,760 all of your relationships. 385 00:26:36,760 --> 00:26:39,120 Christ is enough. 386 00:26:39,120 --> 00:26:44,200 Do you trust Him to be enough to fulfill you with His fullness? 387 00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:50,280 Let the fullness of Christ within you determine your identity and fill your inner emptiness 388 00:26:50,280 --> 00:26:53,520 and empower a new life. 389 00:26:53,520 --> 00:26:59,360 The fullness of Christ within us is the antidote to our inner emptiness. 390 00:26:59,360 --> 00:27:07,680 You see emptiness breeds and attracts sin, for sin attaches itself to inner emptiness. 391 00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:11,320 It's not enough just to confess sins and try to get rid of them. 392 00:27:11,320 --> 00:27:17,400 The emptiness behind these sins must be filled or else that emptiness will simply continue 393 00:27:17,400 --> 00:27:20,120 to attract other sins. 394 00:27:20,120 --> 00:27:26,520 The fullness of Christ's life within us expels that inner emptiness and fills our soul with 395 00:27:26,520 --> 00:27:32,600 love and joy and peace so that we can grow in the Christ-like qualities of compassion, 396 00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:37,160 kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and forgiveness. 397 00:27:37,160 --> 00:27:39,440 This is the message of Colossians. 398 00:27:39,440 --> 00:27:44,200 All the fullness of deity lives in Christ, and Christ lives in you, and so you have been 399 00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:46,440 given fullness in Christ. 400 00:27:46,440 --> 00:27:51,920 You have a new identity, a new disposition, and a new power in order to live a new life 401 00:27:51,920 --> 00:27:57,880 and become a mature disciple growing to become like Jesus. 402 00:27:57,880 --> 00:28:03,160 Since Jesus Christ is the fullness of God, and Christ lives in us by His Spirit, and 403 00:28:03,160 --> 00:28:07,760 since we've been freed from the penalty and controlling power of sin and delivered from 404 00:28:07,760 --> 00:28:13,160 all evil powers, and since we have fullness of life in Christ, therefore we have everything 405 00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:19,160 we need for living a victorious and godly and satisfied and fruitful Christian life. 406 00:28:19,160 --> 00:28:25,880 So the next time the devil tries to fill your mind with lies about your inadequacy or inferiority 407 00:28:25,880 --> 00:28:32,960 or powerlessness to overcome sin and persevere through life trials and bear much fruit, claim 408 00:28:32,960 --> 00:28:41,840 these truths instead and tell the devil to get lost. 409 00:28:41,840 --> 00:28:46,680 I don't have what it takes to be a godly man and spiritual leader in my family. 410 00:28:46,680 --> 00:28:48,080 No. 411 00:28:48,080 --> 00:28:53,440 The whole fullness of deity dwells in Christ, and Christ dwells in me, and I am filled and 412 00:28:53,440 --> 00:28:58,480 complete in Him, and I trust the sufficiency of Christ to empower me to live a new life 413 00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:00,920 in Him. 414 00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:06,480 I don't have what it takes to be a patient and kind and compassionate and grace-filled 415 00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:08,480 wife and mother. 416 00:29:08,480 --> 00:29:09,720 No. 417 00:29:09,720 --> 00:29:15,000 The whole fullness of deity dwells in Christ, and Christ dwells in me, and I am filled and 418 00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:21,120 complete in Him, and I trust the sufficiency of Christ to empower me to live a new life 419 00:29:21,120 --> 00:29:22,960 in Him. 420 00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:26,640 I don't have what it takes to overcome this addiction. 421 00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:28,480 No. 422 00:29:28,480 --> 00:29:33,520 The whole fullness of deity dwells in Christ, and Christ dwells in me, and I am filled and 423 00:29:33,520 --> 00:29:38,440 complete in Him, and I trust the sufficiency of Christ to empower me to live a new life 424 00:29:38,440 --> 00:29:40,680 in Him. 425 00:29:40,680 --> 00:29:46,320 I don't have what it takes to be a bold witness for Christ, or to lead a ministry, or to become 426 00:29:46,320 --> 00:29:48,320 an effective disciple-maker. 427 00:29:48,320 --> 00:29:49,600 No. 428 00:29:49,600 --> 00:29:54,760 The whole fullness of deity dwells in Christ, and Christ dwells in me, and I am filled and 429 00:29:54,760 --> 00:29:59,960 complete in Him, and I trust the sufficiency of Christ to empower me to live a new life 430 00:29:59,960 --> 00:30:02,240 in Him. 431 00:30:02,240 --> 00:30:07,840 I just don't have what it takes to endure all these trials and persevere in faith through 432 00:30:07,840 --> 00:30:10,600 all this suffering that I'm going through. 433 00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:11,720 No. 434 00:30:11,720 --> 00:30:16,760 The whole fullness of deity dwells in Christ, and Christ dwells in me, and I am filled and 435 00:30:16,760 --> 00:30:22,120 complete in Him, and I trust the sufficiency of Christ to empower me to live a new life 436 00:30:22,120 --> 00:30:31,600 in Him. 437 00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:37,640 I'd like to share a few examples of this truth that work in my life. 438 00:30:37,640 --> 00:30:45,240 I was one of the last ones from my seminary graduating class to get a job as a pastor, 439 00:30:45,240 --> 00:30:50,400 graduating in May, but not being called to a church, a small church in northern Minnesota, 440 00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:53,200 nearly until that September. 441 00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:55,480 So I was working in the machine shop that summer. 442 00:30:55,480 --> 00:30:57,080 Good, honest work. 443 00:30:57,080 --> 00:31:02,440 I was grateful for God's provision, but is that why we sacrificed four hard years to 444 00:31:02,440 --> 00:31:05,320 earn the Master's in Divinity? 445 00:31:05,320 --> 00:31:12,800 When I finally began my pastoral ministry in 1978, I was 26 and looked 16. 446 00:31:12,800 --> 00:31:18,480 After a few weeks there, a woman who didn't attend our church from a community organization 447 00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:20,920 came to the church and I met her at the door. 448 00:31:20,920 --> 00:31:25,000 Hello, I'm so-and-so from such-and-such organization. 449 00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:27,440 I'd like to meet the new Baptist pastor. 450 00:31:27,440 --> 00:31:33,360 Is your dad around? 451 00:31:33,360 --> 00:31:37,920 Half the people in the church were two or even three times my age. 452 00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:42,480 How was I supposed to be their spiritual leader in shepherd? 453 00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:44,080 Christ lives in me. 454 00:31:44,080 --> 00:31:46,360 I'm filled and complete in Him. 455 00:31:46,360 --> 00:31:52,840 I trust the sufficiency of Christ to make me adequate to fulfill His calling on my life. 456 00:31:52,840 --> 00:31:58,840 That and God graciously placed me in a congregation that was patient and kind and long-suffering 457 00:31:58,840 --> 00:32:02,800 of my many youthful mistakes. 458 00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:09,840 Then in 1994, God led me to another grace-filled church here at a low point in my life. 459 00:32:09,840 --> 00:32:14,280 Most of you know the story, so I won't retell it, but I will share something you may not 460 00:32:14,280 --> 00:32:16,320 know. 461 00:32:16,320 --> 00:32:22,880 For several months after coming here, I would have a recurrent nightmare. 462 00:32:22,880 --> 00:32:27,440 In my dream, this happened many times, same dream. 463 00:32:27,440 --> 00:32:33,440 In my dream, I would be overcome with panic that I was back in the stock market. 464 00:32:33,440 --> 00:32:38,880 In my dream, I would be at a computer desperately looking for these stocks. 465 00:32:38,880 --> 00:32:43,040 Sometimes I could even see the three-letter symbol of the stocks and I was trying to track 466 00:32:43,040 --> 00:32:49,160 them and see if they were losing money and how I could sell them if I needed to. 467 00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:51,760 And I was excoriating myself. 468 00:32:51,760 --> 00:32:57,280 How could I be so stupid as to get back into the stock market after that's what just led 469 00:32:57,280 --> 00:32:59,480 to my bankruptcy? 470 00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:04,800 And the dream was so real that sometimes when I would wake up in the morning, I would actually 471 00:33:04,800 --> 00:33:10,320 go to my real computer to see if I really did own some stocks. 472 00:33:10,320 --> 00:33:14,560 I didn't, but the fear was real. 473 00:33:14,560 --> 00:33:16,920 The fear of failing again. 474 00:33:16,920 --> 00:33:20,680 The fear of letting everyone else down again. 475 00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:23,320 The fear of repeating past failures. 476 00:33:23,320 --> 00:33:29,200 The fear of getting sucked back into something addictive and destructive. 477 00:33:29,200 --> 00:33:33,120 Some of you perhaps know similar kinds of fears. 478 00:33:33,120 --> 00:33:39,120 And I had to remind myself, the whole fullness of deity dwells in Christ, and Christ dwells 479 00:33:39,120 --> 00:33:43,840 in me. 480 00:33:43,840 --> 00:33:46,640 And I am filled and complete in Him. 481 00:33:46,640 --> 00:33:53,440 And I trust the sufficiency of Christ to empower me to live a new life in Christ free of past 482 00:33:53,440 --> 00:33:58,800 bondage. 483 00:33:58,800 --> 00:34:03,400 Nearly 10 years ago, Beth and I were getting ready for a 40th anniversary trip when I was 484 00:34:03,400 --> 00:34:06,040 hospitalized with sepsis. 485 00:34:06,040 --> 00:34:12,720 My temp was spiking to 105, my BP was dropping, I was feeling faint, I couldn't stand or walk, 486 00:34:12,720 --> 00:34:15,080 I could hardly sit. 487 00:34:15,080 --> 00:34:21,640 The ER contacted my urologist who prescribed two antibiotics and they put me on an IV and 488 00:34:21,640 --> 00:34:23,280 admitted me. 489 00:34:23,280 --> 00:34:25,680 My condition stabilized. 490 00:34:25,680 --> 00:34:30,600 But later that day, the hospitalist dropped one of the antibiotics without consulting 491 00:34:30,600 --> 00:34:32,840 my urologist. 492 00:34:32,840 --> 00:34:38,480 And that evening, the understaffed nursing staff neglected to take my vitals. 493 00:34:38,480 --> 00:34:42,600 So I fell asleep with a rising temp and falling BP. 494 00:34:42,600 --> 00:34:48,600 A nurse woke me up in the middle of the night to take my vitals and saw that I was crashing. 495 00:34:48,600 --> 00:34:55,000 High temp and dangerously low BP, I think it was something like 70 over 45. 496 00:34:55,000 --> 00:35:00,160 They called my urologist, put me back on a more powerful antibiotic, and then gave me 497 00:35:00,160 --> 00:35:10,080 two boluses of IV fluids, not at a drip, drip, drip rate, but more like a machine gun. 498 00:35:10,080 --> 00:35:14,920 Then the nurse left, said she'd come back in a little while with someone to assess if 499 00:35:14,920 --> 00:35:19,160 I needed to be taken to the ICU. 500 00:35:19,160 --> 00:35:27,600 I'm alone in the middle of the night and I know I'm in trouble. 501 00:35:27,600 --> 00:35:30,760 Or Jesus, I'm not alone. 502 00:35:30,760 --> 00:35:33,720 Or Jesus, my life is in your hands. 503 00:35:33,720 --> 00:35:36,120 You are the resurrection and the life. 504 00:35:36,120 --> 00:35:37,920 You are my good shepherd. 505 00:35:37,920 --> 00:35:39,920 You are everything I need. 506 00:35:39,920 --> 00:35:41,400 And I fell asleep. 507 00:35:41,400 --> 00:35:50,000 And when they woke me up, my condition had improved significantly and I was out of crisis. 508 00:35:50,000 --> 00:35:54,920 In a much less dramatic way, I've been battling an illness the past two weeks. 509 00:35:54,920 --> 00:35:58,840 You might have sensed that in my talk this morning. 510 00:35:58,840 --> 00:36:02,320 Chest congestion and cough in low grade temp. 511 00:36:02,320 --> 00:36:03,320 Not COVID. 512 00:36:03,320 --> 00:36:09,480 I'm feeling better today with meds, but this made my sermon prep a bit of a challenge and 513 00:36:09,480 --> 00:36:12,520 my talking today a bit of a challenge. 514 00:36:12,520 --> 00:36:15,240 If you knew what I've been through this last week, you would know that getting through 515 00:36:15,240 --> 00:36:19,200 this talk without coughing is a minor miracle. 516 00:36:19,200 --> 00:36:24,200 But it's been an opportunity for me to practice what I preach before I preach. 517 00:36:24,200 --> 00:36:29,480 An opportunity to trust Christ to be sufficient for everything I need. 518 00:36:29,480 --> 00:36:32,360 How about you? 519 00:36:32,360 --> 00:36:35,320 Where are you feeling inadequate? 520 00:36:35,320 --> 00:36:39,280 Where have you resigned yourself to living in defeat? 521 00:36:39,280 --> 00:36:43,760 Always falling short, never measuring up. 522 00:36:43,760 --> 00:36:51,000 Will you decide today to affirm that Jesus Christ is who we claim to be? 523 00:36:51,000 --> 00:36:54,640 He is who we claim to be. 524 00:36:54,640 --> 00:37:00,040 Will you decide today to confess Jesus Christ as Lord, believing in your heart that God 525 00:37:00,040 --> 00:37:05,480 raised him from the dead, that he died on the cross for your sins, but he lives today 526 00:37:05,480 --> 00:37:06,480 and forevermore? 527 00:37:06,480 --> 00:37:12,240 And will you receive him into your heart if you've not done that yet? 528 00:37:12,240 --> 00:37:18,160 And then will you choose to trust him to be enough, to be sufficient, to be everything 529 00:37:18,160 --> 00:37:23,520 you need in order to live out the reality of being a new creation in Christ? 530 00:37:23,520 --> 00:37:32,920 Is there something in your life causing fear or anxiety or insecurity or shame or discontentment 531 00:37:32,920 --> 00:37:35,880 or worry or frustration? 532 00:37:35,880 --> 00:37:41,280 And you're struggling to trust the sufficiency of Christ to be all you need. 533 00:37:41,280 --> 00:37:48,680 Today will you choose to trust the sufficiency of Christ? 534 00:37:48,680 --> 00:37:51,680 Let's pray. 535 00:37:51,680 --> 00:38:00,280 Father, we do acknowledge the truth of the supremacy of Jesus Christ. 536 00:38:00,280 --> 00:38:03,360 He is the great I am in human flesh. 537 00:38:03,360 --> 00:38:09,760 He is Lord over all of creation, and he is the beginning and head of the new creation. 538 00:38:09,760 --> 00:38:13,520 And we bow our knees before him and confess him as Lord. 539 00:38:13,520 --> 00:38:20,320 And if there's anyone here who has not done that yet, even now, would you bow your knee 540 00:38:20,320 --> 00:38:23,320 before Jesus Christ in your heart? 541 00:38:23,320 --> 00:38:28,880 Would you receive him into your heart as your Lord and Savior and be made new? 542 00:38:28,880 --> 00:38:36,720 And for those who have done that, Holy Spirit, I pray that you would speak to them if there 543 00:38:36,720 --> 00:38:43,040 would be anything in their life where they're struggling to trust the sufficiency of Jesus, 544 00:38:43,040 --> 00:38:49,320 anything causing fear or anxiety or insecurity or shame or anything else that needs to be 545 00:38:49,320 --> 00:38:56,800 turned over to the Lord Jesus Christ, believing that he is sufficient. 546 00:38:56,800 --> 00:39:05,920 Holy Spirit, we ask that you would speak now to each heart. 547 00:39:05,920 --> 00:39:11,360 You're going to close with a closing song, and I'm going to invite you to come forward 548 00:39:11,360 --> 00:39:16,280 to the altar if there is something in your life that you need to turn over to the Lord 549 00:39:16,280 --> 00:39:21,600 that you need to trust his sufficiency to take care of that issue in your life. 550 00:39:21,600 --> 00:39:25,040 I'm going to ask that many of you will come forward to the altar. 551 00:39:25,040 --> 00:39:29,680 I'll also ask the prayer team to come and stand alongside. 552 00:39:29,680 --> 00:39:36,680 When you come forward, you can come directly to the altar and pray by yourself. 553 00:39:36,680 --> 00:40:02,680 Amen. 554 00:40:36,680 --> 00:41:06,160 Thank you.