1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,680
Most of the Diocese is only surviving relative.

2
00:00:03,680 --> 00:00:12,040
And among the prophecies we have, ladies and gentlemen, in this publication, this tabloid

3
00:00:12,040 --> 00:00:16,440
is the name of the Antichrist who is alive today in Germany.

4
00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:22,200
I'm not going to give you the name.

5
00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:27,800
Come back tonight and I'll give it to you.

6
00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:28,800
How's that?

7
00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:35,080
It's not unusual around the first of the year to find all sorts of prophecies that people

8
00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:36,080
want to make.

9
00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:41,800
But we have to discount them because no one knows the future.

10
00:00:41,800 --> 00:00:45,360
We human beings have a natural limitation in that regard.

11
00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:48,040
Man is ingenious.

12
00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:54,840
We can discover a lot of things, but one thing we cannot discover is what the future holds.

13
00:00:54,840 --> 00:01:02,520
Only God knows the future, only God knows the secret things, and he sometimes chooses

14
00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:05,520
to reveal those to us.

15
00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:11,760
That's the idea behind the word mystery, which we find in this context of Colossians chapter

16
00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:12,760
1.

17
00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:18,960
In verse 26, the word is defined, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and

18
00:01:18,960 --> 00:01:24,600
generations but has now been manifested to his saints.

19
00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:29,640
And so a mystery is something that we could never know on our own.

20
00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:32,640
But God has chosen to reveal it to us.

21
00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:40,040
The word mystery is used in the New Testament with several lines of truth.

22
00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:46,640
The particular one here in Colossians chapter 1 is that God is calling out a people for

23
00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:53,080
his name's sake from the Gentiles as well as the Jews.

24
00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:57,200
And God no longer makes a distinction between the two ethnic groups.

25
00:01:57,200 --> 00:02:02,120
We are now one in the body of Jesus Christ.

26
00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:09,640
God has determined that Jesus Christ will be preeminent in everything.

27
00:02:09,640 --> 00:02:16,400
He is preeminent in creation, in the church, in salvation.

28
00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:20,800
He is preeminent in our ministry or our service for him.

29
00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:23,480
And he is preeminent in the mystery.

30
00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:29,960
And we continue that theme this morning from our last look at Colossians chapter 1.

31
00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:37,520
One day all of us belonging to Jesus Christ will be like him.

32
00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:46,760
He speaks in verse 27, of Christ in you the hope of glory.

33
00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:54,320
The hope of glory speaks of the ultimate experience of our salvation.

34
00:02:54,320 --> 00:03:01,480
Our salvation is completely assured now but we have not completely experienced it yet.

35
00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:07,440
We still have a hope, an anticipation of something to experience.

36
00:03:07,440 --> 00:03:10,440
He calls it glory.

37
00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:19,000
In Romans 8 verse 29 the apostle writes, for whom God foreknew, he also predestined to

38
00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:23,680
be conformed to the image of his son.

39
00:03:23,680 --> 00:03:26,240
That's what glory refers to.

40
00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:33,160
To be conformed completely to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ so that he might be

41
00:03:33,160 --> 00:03:37,800
the firstborn among many brethren.

42
00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:45,760
Lord Paul uses that same term regarding Jesus that he uses in Colossians 1, the firstborn,

43
00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:48,960
which means he is before everyone else.

44
00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:51,600
He is above and beyond everything else.

45
00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:55,200
He is the firstborn, the one of a kind.

46
00:03:55,200 --> 00:04:04,600
The God is so pleased with his son that he wants a whole heaven full of people like him.

47
00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:09,880
And so one day you and I are going to be glorified and be like the Lord Jesus Christ.

48
00:04:09,880 --> 00:04:16,920
It doesn't mean that we'll be God but it means that we'll be without sin and even our

49
00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:23,200
very bodies will be conformed to his body of glory, fitted for eternity.

50
00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:28,960
So that is a marvelous mystery that has been revealed to us.

51
00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:37,920
In the Old Testament the hope of the saints was in a coming earthly kingdom and in the

52
00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:42,560
resurrection of God's people to be a part of that kingdom.

53
00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:44,600
That was their hope.

54
00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:49,440
But God has given to us another revelation.

55
00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:57,520
He has given to us a secret that the Old Testament saints did not know and that is that we will

56
00:04:57,520 --> 00:05:07,160
one day be like Christ and we will reign with Christ in his kingdom as co-heirs of all things,

57
00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:09,800
the hope of glory.

58
00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:17,240
As we enter 1996 it is good for us to focus our minds again on the fact that this could

59
00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:22,560
be the year when Jesus will come.

60
00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:29,000
This could be the year when the thing that we hope for is going to be realized.

61
00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:32,360
I've been with Christ to be like him.

62
00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:44,080
But what about between now and then, whatever it is, if it's not this month or June or December

63
00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:55,400
or 1996, what about that period of time between today and then when we'll be like Christ?

64
00:05:55,400 --> 00:06:01,720
That's what our text today, verses 28 and 29 deals with.

65
00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:09,360
It deals with that process of life transformation and maturity that prepares us for the ultimate

66
00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:11,600
experience of glory.

67
00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:20,120
And so I pose this question, how is it that this Christ in you, the hope of glory mystery

68
00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:21,120
is realized?

69
00:06:21,120 --> 00:06:28,640
And if you stop and think about it and try to condense what he says in these verses,

70
00:06:28,640 --> 00:06:35,840
you find that what he says is this, it's realized through the ministry of the church in our

71
00:06:35,840 --> 00:06:37,520
lives.

72
00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:45,160
It's realized through the ministry of the body of Jesus Christ in our lives.

73
00:06:45,160 --> 00:06:52,960
The pace and the effectiveness of God's present design in your life and mine depends upon

74
00:06:52,960 --> 00:06:57,080
our relationship to the local church.

75
00:06:57,080 --> 00:07:00,720
Some of you don't believe that.

76
00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:08,160
Some of you don't see the church as being that crucial, that focal, that central to

77
00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:10,160
what God is doing in the world.

78
00:07:10,160 --> 00:07:16,600
But I'm going to tell you it's true that the pace and the effectiveness of God's present

79
00:07:16,600 --> 00:07:24,720
design in our lives depends upon our relationship to his church.

80
00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:26,200
The apostle writes about that.

81
00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:29,920
He's the apostle of the church, remember.

82
00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:33,920
He's one of those above whom it rests.

83
00:07:33,920 --> 00:07:38,000
He helped build the foundation of it.

84
00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:47,280
And he says, and we proclaim him, this Christ who is in you, the hope of glory, admonishing

85
00:07:47,280 --> 00:07:55,080
every man and teaching every man with our wisdom that we may present every man complete

86
00:07:55,080 --> 00:07:56,080
in Christ.

87
00:07:56,080 --> 00:08:03,760
And for this purpose also our labor, striving according to his power, which mightily works

88
00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:04,840
within me.

89
00:08:04,840 --> 00:08:12,000
I want you to notice that the apostle lays before us here first of all the message of

90
00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:14,880
the church's ministry.

91
00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:24,760
It is Christ, and it says we proclaim him.

92
00:08:24,760 --> 00:08:29,000
We proclaim him in contrast to the false teachers.

93
00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:37,000
Remember the Colossian church was under attack by cultists, by false teachers who were teaching

94
00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:40,720
something other than the gospel.

95
00:08:40,720 --> 00:08:49,720
And so the apostle says we in contrast to they proclaim Christ.

96
00:08:49,720 --> 00:08:52,560
We proclaim him openly and plainly.

97
00:08:52,560 --> 00:08:56,360
Not like them.

98
00:08:56,360 --> 00:09:00,320
Those cultists with their message sneak in the side door.

99
00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:02,720
They use subterfuge.

100
00:09:02,720 --> 00:09:04,280
They plot.

101
00:09:04,280 --> 00:09:13,040
They whisper their message in the hallways.

102
00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:21,320
He says in contrast to their secretive ways, we publicly, unopened, we plainly proclaim

103
00:09:21,320 --> 00:09:31,880
Jesus Christ, the glories of his person, the sufficiency of his work.

104
00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:37,640
Curtis Vime says at its deepest level the apostle conceived of his message not as a

105
00:09:37,640 --> 00:09:48,160
system or as a collection of rules and regulations, but as a living and glorious person who is

106
00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:58,240
the fulfillment of the deepest hopes of mankind and the source of new life for all his people.

107
00:09:58,240 --> 00:10:07,680
The apostle lays before us here the message that we as a church must proclaim it is Christ.

108
00:10:07,680 --> 00:10:08,680
It is Christ.

109
00:10:08,680 --> 00:10:14,760
Nothing less than that, and there can be nothing more than that.

110
00:10:14,760 --> 00:10:24,800
Our message is Christ and helping people to come to know and to grow in him.

111
00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:31,680
And then the apostle goes on to talk to us about the methods of the church's ministry.

112
00:10:31,680 --> 00:10:38,760
We proclaim him admonishing every man and teaching every man.

113
00:10:38,760 --> 00:10:46,200
The word admonish means to put into the mind.

114
00:10:46,200 --> 00:10:48,040
It's the word newthero.

115
00:10:48,040 --> 00:10:55,120
It can be translated counseling, but it's not talking about psychology.

116
00:10:55,120 --> 00:11:00,600
It's talking about placing truth into the mind.

117
00:11:00,600 --> 00:11:04,280
It means to correct by warning and by instruction.

118
00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:08,880
And it seems to me that there's a better focus here.

119
00:11:08,880 --> 00:11:18,720
There's a focus on nonbelievers in this word and a focus on believers.

120
00:11:18,720 --> 00:11:26,920
And nonbelievers, two nonbelievers, the word admonish means to warn about their eternal

121
00:11:26,920 --> 00:11:27,920
destiny.

122
00:11:27,920 --> 00:11:30,920
They don't want to think about it.

123
00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:34,600
They don't want to have it in their minds.

124
00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:37,240
But we as a church are to warn them.

125
00:11:37,240 --> 00:11:45,000
We are to keep putting into their minds what their destiny is apart from Jesus Christ.

126
00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:48,000
That's our job.

127
00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:55,840
Whatever tool we may use, whether it be a Jesus film or it be a tract or a personal

128
00:11:55,840 --> 00:12:01,560
witness or bringing them to church or a song that is sung to them, whatever the tool, we

129
00:12:01,560 --> 00:12:04,560
are to keep putting it into their minds.

130
00:12:04,560 --> 00:12:07,560
You are in danger.

131
00:12:07,560 --> 00:12:10,560
Your soul is in jeopardy.

132
00:12:10,560 --> 00:12:13,560
You are heading toward hell.

133
00:12:13,560 --> 00:12:22,000
We are to admonish nonbelievers.

134
00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:24,240
Some say, well, that's kind of hard, isn't it?

135
00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:27,880
Jesus, the loving gentle Jesus didn't talk that way.

136
00:12:27,880 --> 00:12:32,080
Oh, my friend, that's what you think.

137
00:12:32,080 --> 00:12:34,680
You haven't read Jesus very much.

138
00:12:34,680 --> 00:12:40,920
There was an incident in Jerusalem, apparently, during Jesus' life.

139
00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:48,400
We don't know anything about it from history except that it's mentioned in Luke.

140
00:12:48,400 --> 00:12:53,800
And apparently some Galileans were at the temple offering their sacrifices and pilots,

141
00:12:53,800 --> 00:13:01,560
soldiers, fell upon them and killed them so that their blood was mingled with the blood

142
00:13:01,560 --> 00:13:06,840
of the animals that they had brought for sacrifice.

143
00:13:06,840 --> 00:13:09,440
And Jesus mentions that to the crowd around him.

144
00:13:09,440 --> 00:13:15,440
He says, do you think that those people were greater sinners than the rest of you?

145
00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:21,440
He says, I tell you this, except you repent, you will all likewise perish.

146
00:13:21,440 --> 00:13:28,160
And twice he warns, except you repent, you will perish.

147
00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:34,960
You see, Jesus kept putting into the minds of his hearers, you will perish in your sin,

148
00:13:34,960 --> 00:13:37,720
except you repent, except you believe.

149
00:13:37,720 --> 00:13:40,440
And that's our job.

150
00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:43,400
But the word also has application to believers.

151
00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:49,280
So we also have a tendency to lose things in our minds, don't we?

152
00:13:49,280 --> 00:13:50,280
Our minds are like great computers.

153
00:13:50,280 --> 00:13:55,640
I don't know about you, but I easily lose things in computers.

154
00:13:55,640 --> 00:13:56,640
I can't find them.

155
00:13:56,640 --> 00:14:01,960
Fortunately, I have in my computer, find, and I can type in what I'm looking for and

156
00:14:01,960 --> 00:14:04,160
it will go in there and find it for me.

157
00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:08,560
But worse than that, I lose things in my mind.

158
00:14:08,560 --> 00:14:09,560
I forget them.

159
00:14:09,560 --> 00:14:16,600
It's in there somewhere rattling around, but there's so much room.

160
00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:19,360
There's so much room it gets lost.

161
00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:23,240
And so I need somebody to keep coming to me and putting it back in there.

162
00:14:23,240 --> 00:14:30,280
For example, we forget that sin has consequences.

163
00:14:30,280 --> 00:14:38,760
And so we need to be warned that sin is destructive to believers.

164
00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:40,440
Sin destroys our lives.

165
00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:41,440
It destroys relationships.

166
00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:45,240
It destroys our walk with God.

167
00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:47,920
We need to keep hearing that.

168
00:14:47,920 --> 00:14:50,440
We need to be admonished.

169
00:14:50,440 --> 00:14:55,680
We need to be warned about false teachers, never more than today.

170
00:14:55,680 --> 00:15:06,480
But there are so many, there are so many vehicles that they can use for their message.

171
00:15:06,480 --> 00:15:09,120
And some of them are very effective.

172
00:15:09,120 --> 00:15:12,520
And so we have to be warned again and again about false teachers.

173
00:15:12,520 --> 00:15:14,320
Keep coming back to the Word.

174
00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:20,400
If they do not give heed to these words because there's no light in them, this is the measurement

175
00:15:20,400 --> 00:15:23,800
of truth and of teaching.

176
00:15:23,800 --> 00:15:27,400
So there's admonishing that needs to be done in the church.

177
00:15:27,400 --> 00:15:34,200
Between now and the time that we see Jesus, we need to keep admonishing, warning, and

178
00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:39,360
putting things in the minds of people so that God's work in our lives can continue.

179
00:15:39,360 --> 00:15:44,480
So not only that, we need to teach.

180
00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:49,600
He says we proclaim him admonishing and teaching.

181
00:15:49,600 --> 00:16:00,960
To teach involves planning, it involves calculated instruction, it means to arrange truth so as

182
00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:03,640
to influence the understanding of people.

183
00:16:03,640 --> 00:16:10,040
There are those who have the idea that teaching is just dumping facts on others.

184
00:16:10,040 --> 00:16:18,920
It's just like putting it into a truck and you back the truck up to somebody in the classroom,

185
00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:22,400
you pull the lever and the truck goes vzzt and everything is dumped on them.

186
00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:23,400
And you've taught them.

187
00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:26,400
That isn't teaching.

188
00:16:26,400 --> 00:16:32,400
Neither is teaching giving people all the actions and saying, well now here's option

189
00:16:32,400 --> 00:16:37,840
A and option B and option C and option D. Now you pick whichever one you want.

190
00:16:37,840 --> 00:16:41,320
It doesn't make any difference.

191
00:16:41,320 --> 00:16:45,360
Not many teachers who believe that's the way to teach.

192
00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:50,800
That's good to have people understand what other people think and believe, but ultimately

193
00:16:50,800 --> 00:16:54,640
teaching is telling people that's right.

194
00:16:54,640 --> 00:17:03,160
And it's doing that in such a way that it persuades them.

195
00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:06,080
They're adopted.

196
00:17:06,080 --> 00:17:10,960
That's why we believe that teaching ought to transform the lives of people.

197
00:17:10,960 --> 00:17:13,960
It's not enough for it just to be given to them.

198
00:17:13,960 --> 00:17:18,280
The teaching whether it be in the little ones in our church or in our youth ministry or

199
00:17:18,280 --> 00:17:25,800
in our small churches must involve life transformation, communicating truth in such a way that it

200
00:17:25,800 --> 00:17:29,880
influences the way people think and the choices they make.

201
00:17:29,880 --> 00:17:39,400
It means to shape their will by the knowledge you give to them.

202
00:17:39,400 --> 00:17:47,040
Now this Christ filled message that is used for ammunition and for teaching is universal

203
00:17:47,040 --> 00:17:49,120
in scope, it's for every man.

204
00:17:49,120 --> 00:17:54,200
Notice he says that, that three times, every man, every man, every man.

205
00:17:54,200 --> 00:17:55,200
It's universal.

206
00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:57,760
There's no one who doesn't need it.

207
00:17:57,760 --> 00:18:00,840
It's not for a clique, it's not for a peculiar group.

208
00:18:00,840 --> 00:18:08,080
You see these cultists had their little cliques and they would teach their secrets to their

209
00:18:08,080 --> 00:18:10,680
little cliques and nobody else could hear it.

210
00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:13,240
Paul says, hey no.

211
00:18:13,240 --> 00:18:18,480
We openly proclaim Christ to every man, every man, teaching every man, admonishing every

212
00:18:18,480 --> 00:18:19,480
man.

213
00:18:19,480 --> 00:18:20,480
It's universal.

214
00:18:20,480 --> 00:18:27,080
But the word also means that there's an individual responsibility.

215
00:18:27,080 --> 00:18:34,160
Just as every person needs to hear, every person then is responsible to respond.

216
00:18:34,160 --> 00:18:37,280
Everyone is responsible for what he or she does with the message.

217
00:18:37,280 --> 00:18:43,520
He says as we teach and as we admonish people we're to do this with our wisdom.

218
00:18:43,520 --> 00:18:50,640
In other words we're to do it with a realization of where people are.

219
00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:59,080
You don't go down and teach children the same way that you preach in church.

220
00:18:59,080 --> 00:19:04,880
You don't approach young people in the youth ministry like you approach an adult small

221
00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:05,880
church.

222
00:19:05,880 --> 00:19:09,360
It's not teaching with wisdom.

223
00:19:09,360 --> 00:19:13,360
Teaching with wisdom means you understand who your hearers are.

224
00:19:13,360 --> 00:19:20,640
You understand their aptitude, you understand their capacity and you teach, you admonish

225
00:19:20,640 --> 00:19:21,640
right there.

226
00:19:21,640 --> 00:19:26,080
Teaching and admonishing is not one size fits all.

227
00:19:26,080 --> 00:19:28,880
Did you get a Christmas gift like that this year?

228
00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:30,760
One size fits all.

229
00:19:30,760 --> 00:19:33,280
Hardy har har.

230
00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:40,040
All size but one, mine.

231
00:19:40,040 --> 00:19:42,960
And you see teaching and admonishing is the same way.

232
00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:45,000
It doesn't fit everybody.

233
00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:51,800
So we need to understand who we're trying to talk with and be a dear mother and deal

234
00:19:51,800 --> 00:19:52,800
with wisdom.

235
00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:58,640
The third thing I want to point out very quickly is the mark of the church's ministry.

236
00:19:58,640 --> 00:20:00,680
Talk about the message and the methods but the mark.

237
00:20:00,680 --> 00:20:01,680
What is the goal?

238
00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:02,680
What are we aiming for?

239
00:20:02,680 --> 00:20:12,480
Paul says that we may present every man complete in Christ.

240
00:20:12,480 --> 00:20:18,320
He's not talking in the word complete about sinless perfection.

241
00:20:18,320 --> 00:20:21,120
That's what we'll experience someday.

242
00:20:21,120 --> 00:20:29,320
But between now and then we're in the process toward completion and the word complete means

243
00:20:29,320 --> 00:20:30,320
to be full grown.

244
00:20:30,320 --> 00:20:34,360
So he's talking about spiritual maturity.

245
00:20:34,360 --> 00:20:36,840
He's talking about reaching adulthood.

246
00:20:36,840 --> 00:20:41,080
It can be compared to an ear of corn.

247
00:20:41,080 --> 00:20:50,400
Isn't it marvelous when you go to the store and you find there's this special on corn

248
00:20:50,400 --> 00:20:56,760
in the summertime and you can get a dozen ears for a dollar or maybe even less.

249
00:20:56,760 --> 00:21:01,200
And you get them home and you strip them back and what do you find?

250
00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:03,880
You find half corn and half cob.

251
00:21:03,880 --> 00:21:08,360
Or you find worms in the corn.

252
00:21:08,360 --> 00:21:11,680
Not always but sometimes that happens.

253
00:21:11,680 --> 00:21:16,720
The word here describes an ear of corn in which all the kernels are filled out right

254
00:21:16,720 --> 00:21:19,520
to the very end of the ear.

255
00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:21,120
It's mature.

256
00:21:21,120 --> 00:21:27,680
He says that you and I are to be corning, I mean we're to be filled out to the end

257
00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:28,680
of the ear.

258
00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:29,680
We're to be mature.

259
00:21:29,680 --> 00:21:40,600
Paul says when I introduce you to Jesus Christ I want you not to be juvenile or immature.

260
00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:46,040
I want you to be mature on that day when we're glorified.

261
00:21:46,040 --> 00:21:53,400
Now this maturity has to do with faith and character.

262
00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:56,680
And somebody who's just saved is not going to be mature.

263
00:21:56,680 --> 00:22:04,840
But it's also true that somebody can be 25 years old in Christ and not be mature.

264
00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:10,680
Now the one you anticipate, you expect that a new convert is not going to be mature but

265
00:22:10,680 --> 00:22:18,080
when somebody's 25 years old in Christ they should have been mature a long time ago.

266
00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:19,080
How do you measure maturity?

267
00:22:19,080 --> 00:22:20,080
What is maturity?

268
00:22:20,080 --> 00:22:25,640
I only have time to give you the scriptural reference and to make six statements.

269
00:22:25,640 --> 00:22:31,800
But I want to give you six measurements that I believe the New Testament teaches for maturity.

270
00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:35,560
And I invite you to look up the references and judge it for yourself.

271
00:22:35,560 --> 00:22:42,000
Number one, mature believers comprehend truth.

272
00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:49,320
First Corinthians 2, 15 through chapter 3 verse 3.

273
00:22:49,320 --> 00:22:51,680
Immature believers do not understand.

274
00:22:51,680 --> 00:22:53,480
They do not grasp it.

275
00:22:53,480 --> 00:22:57,960
They cannot feed on the meat of the word of God.

276
00:22:57,960 --> 00:23:05,440
They can only take the milk, the simple things, but mature believers comprehend the truth.

277
00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:08,200
Finally mature believers endure trials.

278
00:23:08,200 --> 00:23:13,320
James 1, 2 to 4.

279
00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:19,520
Trials come into the life of the mature believer and as a result of his maturity he endures

280
00:23:19,520 --> 00:23:20,520
them.

281
00:23:20,520 --> 00:23:28,040
And when mature believers will likely fall and stumble until it grows, the mature believer

282
00:23:28,040 --> 00:23:29,520
endures trials.

283
00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:35,800
Number three, the mature believer experiences intimacy with God.

284
00:23:35,800 --> 00:23:40,240
Ephesians 4 verse 13.

285
00:23:40,240 --> 00:23:47,440
The full knowledge of the Son of God is what the mature believer experiences.

286
00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:48,800
It's an intimacy with God.

287
00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:52,320
And Pastor Rick is going to talk about this more tonight.

288
00:23:52,320 --> 00:24:02,120
And before mature believers withstand false doctrines, Ephesians 4, 14, the wind and the

289
00:24:02,120 --> 00:24:09,080
waves of false doctrine come against him, but the mature believer withstands them.

290
00:24:09,080 --> 00:24:15,120
The wind and the waves do not uproot him and carry him away.

291
00:24:15,120 --> 00:24:18,520
Number five, mature believers evidence humility.

292
00:24:18,520 --> 00:24:26,200
Philippians 3, 15, they have this mindset that Christ had of maturity.

293
00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:27,200
They haven't arrived yet.

294
00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:28,200
They know that.

295
00:24:28,200 --> 00:24:31,200
There's a humility about them.

296
00:24:31,200 --> 00:24:39,000
They're not boasting that they're better than their other people, but because they're mature

297
00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:42,000
they're humble.

298
00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:50,560
Number six, mature believers discern moral values, Hebrews 5, 14.

299
00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:59,920
Because their faculties, their senses have been exercised through the process of life,

300
00:24:59,920 --> 00:25:05,880
through their walk with God, they can judge between good and evil.

301
00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:08,880
They don't stand here and say, well, what's right and what's wrong?

302
00:25:08,880 --> 00:25:09,880
What do I do?

303
00:25:09,880 --> 00:25:10,880
What do I not do?

304
00:25:10,880 --> 00:25:17,160
They're able to discern good and evil.

305
00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:18,160
They discern moral values.

306
00:25:18,160 --> 00:25:23,800
Now I'm not saying that's the complete picture of a mature person, but I think those are

307
00:25:23,800 --> 00:25:25,760
six important measurements.

308
00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:31,240
And notice the apostle Paul was willing to give himself to this work and you and I must

309
00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:32,720
do the same thing.

310
00:25:32,720 --> 00:25:38,160
In 1996, I want us to set our goals as a church, threefold.

311
00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:43,080
Number one, to grow in our faith.

312
00:25:43,080 --> 00:25:47,000
Let's get this process going in our lives if it's not already ongoing.

313
00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:54,960
Between now and the time that we see Christ and experience this hope of glory, let's grow

314
00:25:54,960 --> 00:26:02,120
in our faith and become full-blown like an ear of corn.

315
00:26:02,120 --> 00:26:06,000
Secondly, let's grow into all the world.

316
00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:11,440
The apostle says, we proclaim Christ, admonishing and warning every man.

317
00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:16,920
Let's make this a year when we will go into the world and pray and witness to people.

318
00:26:16,920 --> 00:26:23,200
And let's target people that we want to see run to Christ and pray for them and witness

319
00:26:23,200 --> 00:26:24,200
to them.

320
00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:28,960
And as I prayed earlier, we have the great grand crusade coming up in six months.

321
00:26:28,960 --> 00:26:35,840
What a great opportunity that can be if we will use it to take people that they might

322
00:26:35,840 --> 00:26:36,840
be able to hear the gospel.

323
00:26:36,840 --> 00:26:43,160
And in that kind of a setting, I don't know, God just uses that, doesn't he, with some

324
00:26:43,160 --> 00:26:44,160
people.

325
00:26:44,160 --> 00:26:47,640
So let's make this a year when we are going into the world.

326
00:26:47,640 --> 00:26:52,280
And number three, get involved in your church.

327
00:26:52,280 --> 00:26:55,240
Make this a year when you get involved in your church.

328
00:26:55,240 --> 00:27:01,520
Now tell you why, because your spiritual maturity depends upon it.

329
00:27:01,520 --> 00:27:07,840
One cannot become complete in Christ apart from the process laid out here by the apostle,

330
00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:12,640
which takes place within the context of a local church.

331
00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:19,040
Well, I have crammed a lot into these few minutes, but I invite you to bow with me as

332
00:27:19,040 --> 00:27:22,920
we pray and prepare our hearts for the Lord's table.

333
00:27:22,920 --> 00:27:28,960
The Lord's table is an ordinance given to the church.

334
00:27:28,960 --> 00:27:32,160
It's for the Lord's people.

335
00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:38,720
It's a time for us to acknowledge that we are a body, we are a church, and Jesus Christ

336
00:27:38,720 --> 00:27:45,640
is the focal point of it in his completed work.

337
00:27:45,640 --> 00:27:51,520
As we come to his table, may our hearts be prepared.

338
00:27:51,520 --> 00:27:57,120
And if there is some sin in our lives that has not been thoroughly dealt with and repented

339
00:27:57,120 --> 00:28:02,120
of, this is the time to do it.

340
00:28:02,120 --> 00:28:06,040
These are holy things.

341
00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:10,880
This is a holy action that we're about to undertake.

342
00:28:10,880 --> 00:28:14,360
So let's be a holy people.

343
00:28:14,360 --> 00:28:26,920
Father, I pray that we will make 1996 a year when this process of maturity will take place

344
00:28:26,920 --> 00:28:27,920
in our lives.

345
00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:34,920
May we grow in our faith and grow into the world and get involved in the church.

346
00:28:34,920 --> 00:28:41,440
May this be a year when we'll be more like Jesus.

347
00:28:41,440 --> 00:28:50,800
As we come to this table this morning, we acknowledge to you first of all that there

348
00:28:50,800 --> 00:29:01,440
are areas of our lives where we're not much like Jesus, where sin has dominated.

349
00:29:01,440 --> 00:29:05,160
We confess our sins.

350
00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:07,560
We acknowledge our failures to you.

351
00:29:07,560 --> 00:29:18,880
But we thank you that in Christ we are nonetheless, by your grace, accepted and welcomed and graced.

352
00:29:18,880 --> 00:29:25,680
And as we partake of this bread, it is with that thought in mind.

353
00:29:25,680 --> 00:29:33,880
Gratitude that we are embraced because of the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf.

354
00:29:33,880 --> 00:29:35,480
Amen.

355
00:29:35,480 --> 00:29:50,040
That new covenant involves the mystery of Christ in you, in you, and in you, the hope

356
00:29:50,040 --> 00:29:53,040
of glory.

357
00:29:53,040 --> 00:30:01,840
And so indeed may we be happy all the day as we have sung because we understand, we

358
00:30:01,840 --> 00:30:07,320
know we have the mystery revealed to us that Christ is in us.

359
00:30:07,320 --> 00:30:14,280
The apostle Paul said, I strive according to his power that works mightily within me.

360
00:30:14,280 --> 00:30:21,200
And this week as we serve the Lord, let us remember it is in his power that we work and

361
00:30:21,200 --> 00:30:22,200
labor.

362
00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:24,840
It's hard work serving Christ.

363
00:30:24,840 --> 00:30:33,760
There are many challenges, but we have his energy, his spirit within us to strengthen

364
00:30:33,760 --> 00:30:35,280
us.

365
00:30:35,280 --> 00:30:41,200
And when one day our job is done, we'll enter glory.

366
00:30:41,200 --> 00:30:44,440
And what a day that will be.

367
00:30:44,440 --> 00:30:48,600
Let's stand together, please.

368
00:30:48,600 --> 00:30:53,000
As you go, if you wish to give something toward the elders fund to help those in need, you

369
00:30:53,000 --> 00:31:00,280
may use the box at the rear of the auditorium and it will be applied to that purpose.

370
00:31:00,280 --> 00:31:08,080
And now Father, may the joy of Jesus Christ whom we proclaim be upon our hearts as we

371
00:31:08,080 --> 00:31:13,360
fellowship with one another, go to our homes and enter into this new week and this new

372
00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:14,360
year.

373
00:31:14,360 --> 00:31:23,320
And may the hope of glory encourage us as we work for Christ in this world.

374
00:31:23,320 --> 00:31:45,480
In his name we pray, amen.