WEBVTT 00:00:02.699 --> 00:00:05.480 I appreciate very much the Worship Choir's ministry 00:00:05.480 --> 00:00:07.799 this morning and through this year. Today is 00:00:07.799 --> 00:00:09.820 the last day they'll be singing for us for the 00:00:09.820 --> 00:00:13.439 summer as they take a break and we'll be back 00:00:13.439 --> 00:00:16.519 in September. As you see in our bulletin, we 00:00:16.519 --> 00:00:19.859 are in a transition in our music ministry and 00:00:19.859 --> 00:00:23.140 we want to be praying for God's direction. We're 00:00:23.140 --> 00:00:26.100 grateful for His provision for people like Mark 00:00:26.100 --> 00:00:28.140 Rhodes who will be filling in for us over upcoming 00:00:28.140 --> 00:00:33.909 weeks. How many of you Ladies in particular and 00:00:33.909 --> 00:00:38.969 I recognize some men do housework as well Sweeping 00:00:38.969 --> 00:00:41.850 and that sort of thing particularly in the day 00:00:41.850 --> 00:00:45.570 in which we live when Women are often working 00:00:45.570 --> 00:00:48.210 outside the home and there's a shared sense of 00:00:48.210 --> 00:00:50.950 responsibility for the home, but how many of 00:00:50.950 --> 00:00:56.950 you? Homemakers male or female Feel like you 00:00:56.950 --> 00:01:04.599 are a class a Homemaker. Everything's clean at 00:01:04.599 --> 00:01:13.680 home. My goodness, what a humble group today. 00:01:14.879 --> 00:01:18.739 What a humble group. We discovered this last 00:01:18.739 --> 00:01:23.980 week that we were among those apparently numerous 00:01:23.980 --> 00:01:27.459 Minnesotans who have had guests come to live 00:01:27.459 --> 00:01:31.629 with them that we didn't know about. We discovered 00:01:31.629 --> 00:01:33.930 a nest of, I shouldn't say we discovered the 00:01:33.930 --> 00:01:37.329 nest initially, we discovered the evidence of 00:01:37.329 --> 00:01:40.849 carpenter ants in our home. Apparently they've 00:01:40.849 --> 00:01:45.250 been quite bad this year. And so we've been talking 00:01:45.250 --> 00:01:50.030 to some extermination companies. Now my wife 00:01:50.030 --> 00:01:54.769 is a good homemaker. I mean, she keeps a clean 00:01:54.769 --> 00:01:57.329 house. We have four children, and you don't understand 00:01:57.329 --> 00:01:59.030 what that means. Three of them are teenagers. 00:01:59.069 --> 00:02:02.209 You understand what that means, probably. But 00:02:02.209 --> 00:02:03.950 you know when you have somebody come to your 00:02:03.950 --> 00:02:09.409 home with a flashlight, and they go down into 00:02:09.409 --> 00:02:14.030 the netherworld of your home, the basement, and 00:02:14.030 --> 00:02:17.770 they poke around in every corner. They lift up 00:02:17.770 --> 00:02:19.889 insulation that hasn't been touched since the 00:02:19.889 --> 00:02:22.979 house was built. and they shine back in there 00:02:22.979 --> 00:02:25.000 looking. You just wonder what's going through 00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:30.139 their minds. What a filthy place this is. They 00:02:30.139 --> 00:02:33.080 look around and they probe until they find what 00:02:33.080 --> 00:02:39.159 they're looking for. It creates a sense of unease 00:02:39.159 --> 00:02:42.919 on the part of the homemaker. At least this one. 00:02:43.879 --> 00:02:48.050 You feel a little invaded. Maybe even a little 00:02:48.050 --> 00:02:50.909 bit embarrassed because while you pick up most 00:02:50.909 --> 00:02:53.129 of the things and you try to clean up most of 00:02:53.129 --> 00:02:57.930 the dust, there are cobwebs and suddenly those 00:02:57.930 --> 00:03:00.969 things just stand out when there's somebody around 00:03:00.969 --> 00:03:04.710 there with a flashlight looking around. You just 00:03:04.710 --> 00:03:08.289 feel a little incomplete. In our case, our basement 00:03:08.289 --> 00:03:11.770 is not complete after 10 years of living there. 00:03:11.810 --> 00:03:16.069 It will be someday, Lord willing. But we just 00:03:16.069 --> 00:03:20.250 felt a little bit invaded because here we had 00:03:20.250 --> 00:03:28.289 an inspector who came to examine the true condition 00:03:28.289 --> 00:03:35.030 of our home. I believe that our world today is 00:03:35.030 --> 00:03:42.930 a little bit like our home. Our world today dreads 00:03:42.930 --> 00:03:49.919 the presence the reality of the inspector with 00:03:49.919 --> 00:03:56.860 the capital I. And well it should. Because our 00:03:56.860 --> 00:04:02.659 world is incomplete. It was rendered incomplete 00:04:02.659 --> 00:04:08.719 by the fall of Adam into sin. And we who are 00:04:08.719 --> 00:04:13.180 his descendants are therefore a fallen race We 00:04:13.180 --> 00:04:16.399 are incomplete and live in an incomplete world. 00:04:18.660 --> 00:04:22.279 The evidence that we had difficulties in our 00:04:22.279 --> 00:04:26.879 home could be found in traces of sawdust here 00:04:26.879 --> 00:04:32.560 and there. Or some winged creatures that were 00:04:32.560 --> 00:04:36.819 about an inch long, but which seemed three feet 00:04:36.819 --> 00:04:40.399 long when I first saw them flying around our 00:04:40.399 --> 00:04:46.230 home. There are evidences of problems. Our world 00:04:46.230 --> 00:04:50.129 gives evidences of its problems. It evidences 00:04:50.129 --> 00:04:53.970 its incompleteness, for example, in the philosophies 00:04:53.970 --> 00:05:00.730 of our age. In our text today in Colossians chapter 00:05:00.730 --> 00:05:05.329 2, a text that was read earlier, verses 9 and 00:05:05.329 --> 00:05:09.920 10, The text is preceded by a warning of the 00:05:09.920 --> 00:05:13.040 apostle. He says, see to it that no one takes 00:05:13.040 --> 00:05:16.519 you captive through philosophy and empty deception, 00:05:17.519 --> 00:05:19.899 according to the tradition of men. Paul is not 00:05:19.899 --> 00:05:22.180 knocking all philosophy. There is such a thing 00:05:22.180 --> 00:05:25.680 as a Christian philosophy, after all. But he 00:05:25.680 --> 00:05:29.740 is warning about worldly philosophies, like those 00:05:29.740 --> 00:05:33.019 that are still around today, which he describes 00:05:33.019 --> 00:05:37.389 as both empty or hollow, nothing really to them, 00:05:38.410 --> 00:05:42.750 and they are deceiving. They subtly ensnare the 00:05:42.750 --> 00:05:48.089 pride of man in order to lead him astray. Paul 00:05:48.089 --> 00:05:51.910 says to believers, don't be kidnapped by these. 00:05:53.829 --> 00:05:57.370 Our world today has its philosophies. There is 00:05:57.370 --> 00:06:00.750 the idea, for example, that matter is eternal. 00:06:01.800 --> 00:06:04.560 that the universe that is here has always been 00:06:04.560 --> 00:06:08.339 here, that matter is eternal and therefore it 00:06:08.339 --> 00:06:12.860 is a denial of God's existence as the supernatural 00:06:12.860 --> 00:06:18.519 one. But many of the ideas, the rationalizations 00:06:18.519 --> 00:06:22.100 of man today are built upon this philosophy that 00:06:22.100 --> 00:06:24.759 matter is eternal. The universe has always been 00:06:24.759 --> 00:06:28.620 here. Things are now like they always have been. 00:06:29.579 --> 00:06:32.920 Then there is the philosophy or the idea that 00:06:32.920 --> 00:06:38.779 man is an evolved creature. This, of course, 00:06:38.879 --> 00:06:42.759 has become the dogma of our day. And if people 00:06:42.759 --> 00:06:47.139 do not bow the knee to this dogma, then they 00:06:47.139 --> 00:06:52.819 are ridiculed. It is a denial, however, that 00:06:52.819 --> 00:06:56.819 God, as the supernatural one, especially created 00:06:56.819 --> 00:07:05.610 man. It is a deceitful philosophy and idea. And 00:07:05.610 --> 00:07:07.970 then there's the idea of the autonomy of man, 00:07:08.029 --> 00:07:10.209 that man can do what he wants to do, that there 00:07:10.209 --> 00:07:13.449 is no accountability, which of course is a denial 00:07:13.449 --> 00:07:19.589 of God's right to judge. These are the philosophies 00:07:19.589 --> 00:07:24.430 that in part embrace our day, and they represent 00:07:24.430 --> 00:07:30.240 the incompleteness of humanity. Sartre said, 00:07:30.420 --> 00:07:33.420 life is an empty bubble on the sea of nothingness. 00:07:34.040 --> 00:07:37.560 How well he encapsulates where human philosophy 00:07:37.560 --> 00:07:42.860 leads. A big zero. Nothingness. Just as the apostle 00:07:42.860 --> 00:07:48.939 says by the Spirit, empty deception. The world 00:07:48.939 --> 00:07:52.680 evidences its incompleteness also by its various 00:07:52.680 --> 00:07:58.069 addictions. Ever learning yet never able to come 00:07:58.069 --> 00:08:01.949 to the knowledge of the truth is one thing about 00:08:01.949 --> 00:08:05.889 the world and its incompleteness. But another 00:08:05.889 --> 00:08:08.889 is that the world is constantly trying to find 00:08:08.889 --> 00:08:13.670 something to fill up the void. A variety of addictions 00:08:13.670 --> 00:08:17.509 fill our day. There is, of course, sexual addiction 00:08:17.509 --> 00:08:20.430 that we hear more and more about. Drug addiction. 00:08:21.170 --> 00:08:25.620 Alcohol addiction. And then there are the great 00:08:25.620 --> 00:08:31.019 addictions that which have invaded even the Church 00:08:31.019 --> 00:08:34.620 of Jesus Christ. The addiction to entertainment 00:08:34.620 --> 00:08:40.980 and pleasure. Always having to have noise around 00:08:40.980 --> 00:08:43.519 or having the radio on or something playing. 00:08:44.100 --> 00:08:47.860 The television on. Going to this event or going 00:08:47.860 --> 00:08:54.080 there or for that reason. The addiction to entertainment, 00:08:54.519 --> 00:08:58.779 to pleasure, evidences the incompleteness in 00:08:58.779 --> 00:09:01.200 man. He's trying to fill up what is missing. 00:09:02.240 --> 00:09:06.139 And then there is the incompleteness that is 00:09:06.139 --> 00:09:12.200 evidenced by humanity's own inhumanity. The devaluing 00:09:12.200 --> 00:09:16.940 of human life. When medical professionals in 00:09:16.940 --> 00:09:20.830 our own city are seeking to end human life over 00:09:20.830 --> 00:09:25.090 the objections of the husband of that wife who 00:09:25.090 --> 00:09:28.370 lies in a comatose state. Now granted, there 00:09:28.370 --> 00:09:33.330 are many gray issues, many unclearly defined 00:09:33.330 --> 00:09:38.269 issues in medical ethics these days. But it seems 00:09:38.269 --> 00:09:42.289 to me we are seeing an increasing devaluing of 00:09:42.289 --> 00:09:44.389 human life. There is the needless suffering. 00:09:44.940 --> 00:09:50.440 that humanity forces upon masses because of political 00:09:50.440 --> 00:09:57.500 and power conflicts. We are told that thousands 00:09:57.500 --> 00:10:00.259 if not hundreds of thousands of people may starve 00:10:00.259 --> 00:10:04.200 to death again in parts of Africa, including 00:10:04.200 --> 00:10:10.039 the Sudan and Ethiopia. Why is that? Well, it 00:10:10.039 --> 00:10:13.080 is not merely because of drought. though that's 00:10:13.080 --> 00:10:18.000 what we usually hear. But a great deal of the 00:10:18.000 --> 00:10:21.000 starvation and the inhumanity there is created 00:10:21.000 --> 00:10:25.399 because of conflicts in power groups in those 00:10:25.399 --> 00:10:28.559 countries. There's political problems. And when 00:10:28.559 --> 00:10:31.440 supplies are sent, they're not delivered to the 00:10:31.440 --> 00:10:33.399 people who are starving because they're on the 00:10:33.399 --> 00:10:38.580 other side of the political question. Man's inhumanity 00:10:38.580 --> 00:10:44.720 to man. The victimization of children. the senseless 00:10:44.720 --> 00:10:48.700 crimes that are committed against other people. 00:10:50.159 --> 00:10:53.360 What I'm trying to illustrate for you is the 00:10:53.360 --> 00:10:57.379 incompleteness of the human race. And what I've 00:10:57.379 --> 00:11:00.600 talked about are but a few, really, of the symptoms 00:11:00.600 --> 00:11:06.840 of humanity's brokenness, emptiness, separation 00:11:06.840 --> 00:11:11.379 from God, which I'm calling its incompleteness. 00:11:13.519 --> 00:11:16.000 It is true that there remains something of the 00:11:16.000 --> 00:11:21.840 image of God in every human being. But the fact 00:11:21.840 --> 00:11:26.740 is that the fall into sin ruined that image and 00:11:26.740 --> 00:11:30.080 we all share the common traits of what it means 00:11:30.080 --> 00:11:37.360 to be sinners. We can thank God that it is just 00:11:37.360 --> 00:11:41.620 that condition of being a sinner. for which God 00:11:41.620 --> 00:11:44.399 sent his Son into the world that he might deliver 00:11:44.399 --> 00:11:47.879 us. Look back a page or two in your Bible and 00:11:47.879 --> 00:11:51.720 Colossians to the first chapter in verse 13 where 00:11:51.720 --> 00:11:56.019 the Apostle says, for he, God, delivered us from 00:11:56.019 --> 00:11:59.559 the domain of darkness and transferred us into 00:11:59.559 --> 00:12:03.139 the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have 00:12:03.139 --> 00:12:08.389 redemption, the forgiveness of sins. God has 00:12:08.389 --> 00:12:11.029 done a wonderful thing in providing for us a 00:12:11.029 --> 00:12:15.169 Savior. In Jesus Christ, God provides for us 00:12:15.169 --> 00:12:20.769 a Savior who makes believing sinners whole and 00:12:20.769 --> 00:12:26.330 complete. He changes us radically from what we 00:12:26.330 --> 00:12:30.769 are by our first birth and our relationship to 00:12:30.769 --> 00:12:36.559 Adam. When we are born anew, and given a relationship 00:12:36.559 --> 00:12:41.139 to the last Adam, Jesus Christ. By our first 00:12:41.139 --> 00:12:44.019 birth, we were left incomplete because of our 00:12:44.019 --> 00:12:47.059 sin, and we all gave evidence of that in one 00:12:47.059 --> 00:12:51.240 way or another. By our new birth, however, there 00:12:51.240 --> 00:12:56.519 is a completeness about us, a wholeness. Now 00:12:56.519 --> 00:13:00.559 our text today in Colossians 2, verses 9 and 00:13:00.559 --> 00:13:03.690 10 says, And I want to read from the Living Bible 00:13:03.690 --> 00:13:06.970 as it's printed on our worship folder. For in 00:13:06.970 --> 00:13:13.070 Christ there is all of God in a human body. So 00:13:13.070 --> 00:13:17.190 you have everything when you have Christ. And 00:13:17.190 --> 00:13:21.590 you are filled with God through your union with 00:13:21.590 --> 00:13:25.250 Christ. He is the highest ruler with authority 00:13:25.250 --> 00:13:31.500 over every other power. The first thing that 00:13:31.500 --> 00:13:35.240 we see here is that Jesus Christ is the fullness 00:13:35.240 --> 00:13:41.799 of God. In Him, all the fullness of deity dwells. 00:13:41.799 --> 00:13:45.440 That is, all of the divine essence, all that 00:13:45.440 --> 00:13:50.000 God is in His nature dwells in Christ. The last 00:13:50.000 --> 00:13:54.039 several months we've been talking about the God 00:13:54.039 --> 00:13:58.120 that we worship. And we looked at a variety of 00:13:58.120 --> 00:14:01.769 the truths about Him. That he lives, that he 00:14:01.769 --> 00:14:04.590 gives, that he judges, that he unites, and so 00:14:04.590 --> 00:14:09.370 on. Now the apostle says that all that is true 00:14:09.370 --> 00:14:13.789 about God, the deity, is found in Christ. The 00:14:13.789 --> 00:14:19.210 fullness is in Christ. He lacks no quality. He 00:14:19.210 --> 00:14:22.870 is missing no attribute which belongs to God. 00:14:24.570 --> 00:14:27.309 For all of the powers, all of the attributes, 00:14:27.990 --> 00:14:35.909 all of the essence of God is found in Him. And 00:14:35.909 --> 00:14:40.649 notice that it says that this fullness, D -W 00:14:40.649 --> 00:14:51.649 -E -L -L -S, dwells in Him. That word means to 00:14:51.649 --> 00:14:57.909 settle down and to be at home. To settle down. 00:14:58.269 --> 00:15:01.909 to be at home. Some of you will be going on vacation 00:15:01.909 --> 00:15:05.610 this summer and some of you may be staying in 00:15:05.610 --> 00:15:08.309 motels along the way or a few of you may even 00:15:08.309 --> 00:15:12.049 be going to resorts where you can spend a few 00:15:12.049 --> 00:15:15.009 days or a week or two weeks relaxing and having 00:15:15.009 --> 00:15:20.649 fun. As wonderful as the accommodations may be 00:15:20.649 --> 00:15:23.409 and even though you may unpack your suitcase 00:15:23.409 --> 00:15:28.029 and put the clothes in the drawers of the dresser 00:15:28.080 --> 00:15:31.639 or the chest there in the room where you'll be 00:15:31.639 --> 00:15:34.399 staying, you're not really going to be at home. 00:15:37.620 --> 00:15:39.740 You're not going to be able to settle down and 00:15:39.740 --> 00:15:43.480 really relax like you do in that home which may 00:15:43.480 --> 00:15:48.740 not be quite as lavishly appointed as that room 00:15:48.740 --> 00:15:51.940 or that suite where you're staying. The bed at 00:15:51.940 --> 00:15:55.659 home may have a few lumps in it. It may even 00:15:55.659 --> 00:16:03.179 have a few low spots. or a big low spot, or it 00:16:03.179 --> 00:16:07.919 may even have its waves after years of lying 00:16:07.919 --> 00:16:14.200 in the same place. And that motel bed feels hard, 00:16:15.500 --> 00:16:20.139 flat, and you sort of get used to it, but it's 00:16:20.139 --> 00:16:25.159 not home. You really settle down when you come 00:16:25.159 --> 00:16:31.580 back home. The Bible says that the fullness of 00:16:31.580 --> 00:16:36.159 God finds its comfortable resting place in Jesus 00:16:36.159 --> 00:16:44.000 Christ. All that God is fits in Him. That's where 00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:47.539 it belongs. That's where it resides. That's where 00:16:47.539 --> 00:16:50.799 it dwells. And notice the S on the end. It's 00:16:50.799 --> 00:16:54.659 continuous. It's present. It's always true that 00:16:54.659 --> 00:16:59.009 the fullness of God continually dwells in Jesus 00:16:59.009 --> 00:17:04.690 Christ in bodily form, even today. He has a glorified 00:17:04.690 --> 00:17:08.029 body, but He is in a body in heaven, and the 00:17:08.029 --> 00:17:13.890 fullness of God dwells in Him. There is no incompleteness 00:17:13.890 --> 00:17:20.650 in Jesus, you see. Now he goes on to say, in 00:17:20.650 --> 00:17:22.769 the 10th verse, something that's most amazing. 00:17:24.289 --> 00:17:31.140 He says, and in Him, You have been made complete. 00:17:34.019 --> 00:17:36.019 Now you need to park there for a moment and let 00:17:36.019 --> 00:17:40.299 that try to soak into your mind just a little 00:17:40.299 --> 00:17:47.900 bit. You have been made complete in Christ. The 00:17:47.900 --> 00:17:52.119 word is actually the same root word as the word 00:17:52.119 --> 00:17:57.500 fulness in verse 10. It can be read this way, 00:17:57.640 --> 00:18:00.480 and this is the way Dr. Kenneth Wiest translated 00:18:00.480 --> 00:18:05.900 it, and you are in him having been completely 00:18:05.900 --> 00:18:10.700 filled full with the present result that you 00:18:10.700 --> 00:18:14.200 are in a state of fullness. The previous verse 00:18:14.200 --> 00:18:17.500 said that the fullness of all that God is dwells 00:18:17.500 --> 00:18:21.279 in Christ and now he tells us and you are filled 00:18:21.279 --> 00:18:27.299 full in him. The same idea of fullness. Now this 00:18:27.299 --> 00:18:29.680 does not mean, of course, that you and I become 00:18:29.680 --> 00:18:36.640 God when we become Christians. But it does mean 00:18:36.640 --> 00:18:41.579 that God gives to us a complete salvation with 00:18:41.579 --> 00:18:45.640 everything that we will ever need given to us 00:18:45.640 --> 00:18:48.839 at that moment. Tonight we'll be looking at this 00:18:48.839 --> 00:18:52.700 text a little more, but in 2 Peter 1 .3 Peter 00:18:52.700 --> 00:18:55.960 writes, seeing that his divine power has granted 00:18:55.960 --> 00:19:02.700 to us everything pertaining to life and godliness. 00:19:03.119 --> 00:19:08.400 Everything. And in John chapter 1 and verse 16 00:19:08.400 --> 00:19:14.500 it says, for of his fullness we have all received. 00:19:16.680 --> 00:19:20.359 Christ's fullness and all that that means about 00:19:20.359 --> 00:19:26.819 Him, we have all received grace upon grace. We 00:19:26.819 --> 00:19:29.619 share in the goodness of the nature which God 00:19:29.619 --> 00:19:37.000 is. Having been made full, he says, with the 00:19:37.000 --> 00:19:40.700 continuous result that we are always complete 00:19:40.700 --> 00:19:49.759 because of our union with Jesus Christ. Do we 00:19:49.759 --> 00:19:54.660 need a right standing with God? Sinners do. Because 00:19:54.660 --> 00:19:58.819 sinners have a wrong standing with God. Sinners 00:19:58.819 --> 00:20:03.539 are on the judgment side. They need to be transferred 00:20:03.539 --> 00:20:06.880 from that kingdom to the kingdom of God's Son. 00:20:07.839 --> 00:20:14.000 We get a new position in Jesus. The Bible calls 00:20:14.000 --> 00:20:18.079 it justification. We are declared righteous in 00:20:18.079 --> 00:20:24.440 God's sight. No longer are we sinners as God 00:20:24.440 --> 00:20:30.039 sees us. But we are declared His people who are 00:20:30.039 --> 00:20:34.259 saints and righteous. We are justified. Do we 00:20:34.259 --> 00:20:37.380 need a right standing with God? We get that in 00:20:37.380 --> 00:20:45.920 Jesus. It's provided. Do we, as people in this 00:20:45.920 --> 00:20:49.740 world, desire to have some kind of purpose in 00:20:49.740 --> 00:20:53.880 life? Do we desire to have some reason for being 00:20:53.880 --> 00:20:56.960 here in this world and going through its experiences? 00:20:57.700 --> 00:21:01.079 Of course, we want some kind of sense to it. 00:21:02.940 --> 00:21:05.200 That's why the world struggles with all these 00:21:05.200 --> 00:21:09.400 philosophies. What is the meaning of life? Well, 00:21:09.400 --> 00:21:11.720 in Jesus Christ we have that, for we've been 00:21:11.720 --> 00:21:16.579 sanctified. What that simply means is that God 00:21:16.579 --> 00:21:21.559 has set us apart for His purpose. And so now 00:21:21.559 --> 00:21:24.259 we have purpose. It's God's purpose for us being 00:21:24.259 --> 00:21:28.079 here. We may not understand all that that means 00:21:28.079 --> 00:21:30.519 at this point, but we know there's a reason for 00:21:30.519 --> 00:21:39.180 what we experience. We're sanctified. What about 00:21:39.180 --> 00:21:43.039 our sins? What about those things that we do 00:21:43.039 --> 00:21:47.819 that are wrong, that are displeasing to God even 00:21:47.819 --> 00:21:52.500 after we become His children? The Bible says 00:21:52.500 --> 00:21:58.079 we have parted. Do we need that? We're deceiving 00:21:58.079 --> 00:22:02.720 ourselves if we say we don't. Every day we need 00:22:02.720 --> 00:22:06.980 to come to Him in open acknowledgement of our 00:22:06.980 --> 00:22:11.299 lives. But in Christ we always have pardon. There 00:22:11.299 --> 00:22:15.099 is no limit to God's forgiveness. God is always 00:22:15.099 --> 00:22:19.039 willing to extend mercy to us and to restore 00:22:19.039 --> 00:22:25.319 us. We have that. But what about beyond this 00:22:25.319 --> 00:22:31.099 life? If we have purpose, what about beyond death? 00:22:32.160 --> 00:22:35.500 Do we have anything there in Christ? Well, that's 00:22:35.500 --> 00:22:41.369 the best. The best is yet to come. We are glorified 00:22:41.369 --> 00:22:43.990 in Christ. What that means is that we are going 00:22:43.990 --> 00:22:48.049 to inherit His glory. And we will live in glory 00:22:48.049 --> 00:22:53.569 forever. Yes, in Christ we have everything. All 00:22:53.569 --> 00:22:57.230 our needs in this world and the next are met 00:22:57.230 --> 00:23:03.089 in Jesus Christ. We lack nothing. That is our 00:23:03.089 --> 00:23:10.579 position. It's permanent. How nice it would be 00:23:10.579 --> 00:23:15.660 if we could all practice that. Because all of 00:23:15.660 --> 00:23:21.380 us experience still incompleteness because we 00:23:21.380 --> 00:23:25.480 haven't learned yet how to appropriate fully 00:23:25.480 --> 00:23:31.440 our fullness. That's what growing is about. That's 00:23:31.440 --> 00:23:34.740 what we hope to talk about as we get into 2 Peter. 00:23:35.180 --> 00:23:40.619 How do we learn more to get our hands on that 00:23:40.619 --> 00:23:43.000 which belongs to us in Christ? How do we get 00:23:43.000 --> 00:23:47.920 that applied into our lives? How do we grow? 00:23:49.279 --> 00:23:51.359 Well tonight we talk about the foundation of 00:23:51.359 --> 00:23:55.000 it all. Now there's none of us that has fully 00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:57.599 yet appropriated the fullness that we have in 00:23:57.599 --> 00:24:00.779 Christ. But folks, the first thing we need to 00:24:00.779 --> 00:24:04.230 do before we actually begin appropriating is 00:24:04.230 --> 00:24:08.470 to recognize it. And to go to Colossians chapter 00:24:08.470 --> 00:24:12.710 2 and verse 10 and to write that across our minds 00:24:12.710 --> 00:24:15.769 and across our hearts when it says, and in Christ 00:24:15.769 --> 00:24:29.789 you have been made full. Complete. As David said 00:24:29.789 --> 00:24:34.059 in Psalm 23, 1, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall 00:24:34.059 --> 00:24:40.880 not want." He said, I have everything. And through 00:24:40.880 --> 00:24:44.039 the rest of the psalm, he enumerates the fullness 00:24:44.039 --> 00:24:49.700 of the sheep of the Lord. Well, I tell you, there 00:24:49.700 --> 00:24:52.279 are some wonderful implications to this completeness. 00:24:53.700 --> 00:24:56.859 In the first place, it means that you can do 00:24:56.859 --> 00:25:01.119 all things through Christ. When Paul wrote this 00:25:01.119 --> 00:25:02.819 letter to the Colossians, he wrote some other 00:25:02.819 --> 00:25:08.359 letters, too. He was in prison. He was under 00:25:08.359 --> 00:25:12.500 arrest in Rome, chained to guards. It was his 00:25:12.500 --> 00:25:16.880 first imprisonment. And he wrote to the Ephesians. 00:25:16.980 --> 00:25:20.680 He wrote to a brother named Philemon. And he 00:25:20.680 --> 00:25:23.980 wrote to the Philippians, as well as the book 00:25:23.980 --> 00:25:27.480 of Colossians. Four books written during that 00:25:27.480 --> 00:25:31.599 period of time. And to the Philippians, the apostle 00:25:31.599 --> 00:25:34.299 made a wonderful claim in that fourth chapter. 00:25:35.359 --> 00:25:40.039 He said, I can do all things through Christ who, 00:25:40.039 --> 00:25:47.660 what? Strengthens me. Who strengthens me. Do 00:25:47.660 --> 00:25:51.339 you have an opportunity for witness out there 00:25:51.339 --> 00:25:53.339 in front of you? And you're saying to yourself, 00:25:54.000 --> 00:25:56.900 how in the world will I ever be able to do that? 00:25:58.700 --> 00:26:01.640 How am I going to go back home this summer and 00:26:01.640 --> 00:26:07.960 see my grandmother or see my parents? How am 00:26:07.960 --> 00:26:11.519 I going to go and stay with my brother and sister 00:26:11.519 --> 00:26:14.380 -in -law and be a witness to them? What am I 00:26:14.380 --> 00:26:18.640 going to say? Where will I get the courage? I 00:26:18.640 --> 00:26:22.599 can do all things through Christ who strengthens 00:26:22.599 --> 00:26:28.940 me. You're complete in Christ. He will give you 00:26:28.940 --> 00:26:33.819 what you need in that moment Are you facing a 00:26:33.819 --> 00:26:37.640 difficult decision? Maybe it's whether to retire 00:26:37.640 --> 00:26:41.900 early Maybe it's whether to pull the plug on 00:26:41.900 --> 00:26:49.000 a business Maybe it's whether you ought to be 00:26:49.000 --> 00:26:54.619 married How do you know if it's the right decision 00:26:55.210 --> 00:26:58.329 You can do all things through Christ who strengthens 00:26:58.329 --> 00:27:02.349 you. You're complete in Christ. In Him you will 00:27:02.349 --> 00:27:06.130 find direction and wisdom and insight to guide 00:27:06.130 --> 00:27:13.329 you. Paul says in that very same context in Philippians 00:27:13.329 --> 00:27:17.170 4, I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances 00:27:17.170 --> 00:27:22.609 I am. Because you are complete in Jesus Christ, 00:27:22.750 --> 00:27:27.420 my friend, You also can be content in every circumstance. 00:27:29.480 --> 00:27:32.619 Are you passing through a time of material prosperity? 00:27:35.220 --> 00:27:39.779 Or is it the other end of the spectrum? My wife 00:27:39.779 --> 00:27:42.000 sat down in the bed last night just as I was 00:27:42.000 --> 00:27:46.920 falling asleep to talk for a while. Not the first 00:27:46.920 --> 00:27:51.240 time. I don't know what there is about communication 00:27:51.240 --> 00:27:54.829 in a marriage. It's hard to find that time when 00:27:54.829 --> 00:27:57.089 both of you really feel like communicating, doesn't 00:27:57.089 --> 00:28:03.269 it? And so I got my toothpicks out, propped them 00:28:03.269 --> 00:28:08.910 in my eyes. She didn't talk long. She said, I 00:28:08.910 --> 00:28:12.250 have discovered a principle. And she said, it's 00:28:12.250 --> 00:28:14.730 profound and I know it's going to surprise you. 00:28:15.869 --> 00:28:20.109 And I got my pen out. And I said, what is it? 00:28:20.559 --> 00:28:25.059 She said, it seems to me that the rich get richer 00:28:25.059 --> 00:28:31.259 and the poor get poorer. Now she wasn't claiming 00:28:31.259 --> 00:28:35.859 originality mind you, just profundity. We talked 00:28:35.859 --> 00:28:38.140 about that for a while and you know literally 00:28:38.140 --> 00:28:42.759 that is true and especially in the socioeconomic 00:28:42.759 --> 00:28:44.519 situation we're in in our country today. The 00:28:44.519 --> 00:28:46.839 middle class is being squeezed and it's going 00:28:46.839 --> 00:28:52.420 both directions, most of it down. I don't know 00:28:52.420 --> 00:28:57.920 where this message finds you economically, but 00:28:57.920 --> 00:29:00.299 can you learn to be content with what God brings 00:29:00.299 --> 00:29:04.380 to you? Paul says, whether I abound or I have 00:29:04.380 --> 00:29:07.660 little, I'm content. I've learned, he says, to 00:29:07.660 --> 00:29:13.500 be content in whatever state I am. I used to 00:29:13.500 --> 00:29:15.579 laugh when I heard Vernon McGee say that that 00:29:15.579 --> 00:29:19.039 proves that the Apostle Paul could not be from 00:29:19.039 --> 00:29:22.279 Texas. because he said, I've learned to be content 00:29:22.279 --> 00:29:24.660 in whatever state I am and no Texan could ever 00:29:24.660 --> 00:29:30.740 say that. Well, he wasn't talking about a geographical 00:29:30.740 --> 00:29:33.640 setting. He was talking about the quality of 00:29:33.640 --> 00:29:37.460 life. And here he is chained to a guard on each 00:29:37.460 --> 00:29:41.059 side and he says, I've learned to be content. 00:29:42.819 --> 00:29:45.019 I'd have to go to school a while longer for that 00:29:45.019 --> 00:29:51.660 one myself. What's God teaching you about contentment 00:29:51.660 --> 00:29:55.000 in monetary things? What about your singleness? 00:29:56.900 --> 00:30:00.920 Some of you struggle with that. Because you really 00:30:00.920 --> 00:30:06.140 desire to be married. And marriage is a wonderful 00:30:06.140 --> 00:30:13.559 gift. But you know so a singleness? Paul says, 00:30:13.799 --> 00:30:17.549 I have learned to be content. Personally, I think 00:30:17.549 --> 00:30:20.710 Paul had been married earlier in his life, and 00:30:20.710 --> 00:30:22.990 for reasons we don't know, because we're not 00:30:22.990 --> 00:30:26.670 told, he certainly was not married in the time 00:30:26.670 --> 00:30:29.990 of his apostleship, his writing of scripture. 00:30:30.750 --> 00:30:36.450 He was single. He says, I've learned to be content. 00:30:37.970 --> 00:30:42.809 Can you? Some of you are struggling with infertility. 00:30:44.880 --> 00:30:47.460 Up to this point in your lives, God has not blessed 00:30:47.460 --> 00:30:53.640 you with children. Can you learn to be content 00:30:53.640 --> 00:30:58.059 in what God has given you at this point in your 00:30:58.059 --> 00:31:03.900 life together? You're complete in Jesus Christ. 00:31:03.920 --> 00:31:07.359 You know you don't have to have children to be 00:31:07.359 --> 00:31:12.539 complete. You don't have to be married to be 00:31:12.539 --> 00:31:19.589 complete. You don't have to be rich to be complete. 00:31:21.349 --> 00:31:24.849 Because my Bible says in Jesus Christ you have 00:31:24.849 --> 00:31:29.190 already been made complete with abiding results. 00:31:31.210 --> 00:31:35.410 He says another implication of this is that you 00:31:35.410 --> 00:31:39.750 can stand alone for righteousness. We fear to 00:31:39.750 --> 00:31:43.369 stand alone. We think, oh, I can't do it by myself. 00:31:44.069 --> 00:31:47.660 Yes, you can. You can go to that family reunion 00:31:47.660 --> 00:31:51.599 and you can stand for Jesus Christ even if you're 00:31:51.599 --> 00:31:57.640 the only Christian in the whole family. You can 00:31:57.640 --> 00:32:01.140 be the lone Christian in that professional association 00:32:01.140 --> 00:32:05.740 that you belong to. You can stand alone in your 00:32:05.740 --> 00:32:10.140 peer group. Why? Because you're complete in Jesus 00:32:10.140 --> 00:32:13.609 Christ. Those who don't know Christ around you, 00:32:13.609 --> 00:32:18.690 frankly, are not complete. But you are in Christ. 00:32:21.990 --> 00:32:24.470 Finally, you can find your identity in Jesus 00:32:24.470 --> 00:32:28.490 Christ alone. Some people find their identity 00:32:28.490 --> 00:32:30.450 in other things. They find it, for example, in 00:32:30.450 --> 00:32:33.450 their ability. Yesterday, some of the men of 00:32:33.450 --> 00:32:35.670 our church gathered for a pancake breakfast here, 00:32:35.710 --> 00:32:41.329 which by the way was wonderful. Lots of pancakes 00:32:41.329 --> 00:32:48.150 and fatty sausage. Tastes so good. And then we 00:32:48.150 --> 00:32:51.210 heard Jeff Seaman speak, who played for the Vikings. 00:32:52.569 --> 00:32:54.589 You know something I so appreciate about this 00:32:54.589 --> 00:32:58.349 man? Oh, he can tell stories about football that 00:32:58.349 --> 00:33:02.450 keep you on the edge of your chair. But his identity 00:33:02.450 --> 00:33:05.029 is not found in having played football for the 00:33:05.029 --> 00:33:09.710 Vikings. Some people find their identity in what 00:33:09.710 --> 00:33:14.769 they do Some people find their identity and being 00:33:14.769 --> 00:33:17.589 busy even busy in ministry Oh, they're running 00:33:17.589 --> 00:33:19.329 here, and they're running there and people are 00:33:19.329 --> 00:33:23.430 looking to them and my They feel like they're 00:33:23.430 --> 00:33:25.730 worth something because all these people are 00:33:25.730 --> 00:33:30.029 coming to them My Bible says in Jesus Christ 00:33:30.029 --> 00:33:32.210 were complete not because we have people coming 00:33:32.210 --> 00:33:36.650 to us Not because we have abilities of this sort 00:33:36.650 --> 00:33:39.609 or that but because we're in Christ. That's our 00:33:39.609 --> 00:33:44.650 identity. That's our completeness. In Jesus Christ, 00:33:44.730 --> 00:33:48.549 I need nothing. In Jesus Christ, I can want nothing. 00:33:48.990 --> 00:33:52.150 In Jesus Christ, I can lose nothing. In Jesus 00:33:52.150 --> 00:33:56.029 Christ, I can gain nothing because Jesus Christ 00:33:56.029 --> 00:34:03.089 is my all in all. You're ready for the inspection 00:34:03.089 --> 00:34:07.299 if you're in Jesus Christ. God can take His flashlight 00:34:07.299 --> 00:34:10.320 out and come into your life and what He's going 00:34:10.320 --> 00:34:15.760 to find there is all clean, forgiven and justified 00:34:15.760 --> 00:34:19.440 and sanctified and pardoned and glorified and 00:34:19.440 --> 00:34:24.880 complete if you're in Jesus Christ. How wonderful 00:34:24.880 --> 00:34:28.940 is this gift of God that we call completeness. 00:34:29.159 --> 00:34:35.440 Let's pray together. Father, may our hearts today 00:34:35.440 --> 00:34:38.760 just soak in this truth. We need it. We need 00:34:38.760 --> 00:34:44.860 it. And may we shun every other false attempt 00:34:44.860 --> 00:34:50.760 to find fulfillment and completion and determine 00:34:50.760 --> 00:34:54.199 that your Word is true, that if we have trusted 00:34:54.199 --> 00:34:59.820 in Jesus Christ, we have been filled full in 00:34:59.820 --> 00:35:03.579 Him. and we are complete. In His name we pray, 00:35:04.099 --> 00:35:04.360 Amen.