Christ Is All

Gates there's a Melody you see suspense stronger there's a throne beneath the name of nerves there is so please Jesus the one who was the one who is the one who is to come together thank you Jesus is someone who is the one who is to come please innovative the same God is never there it's working all things out you're working on things oh yes I will I came on one thing the same Garden the same God is never great it's working all things oh yes and I choose bless your name thank you Lord may you bless this message God and to speak to our hearts tonight Lord speak through Caesar and maybe just um hear from you tonight God we pray this in Jesus name amen how are you foreign actually really happy that somebody I will not be the only one sweating in the church it is humid in here uh but that's okay because I've taught the Bible uh on many missions trips to the Philippines and to Belize so don't worry this is the new ground for me also every time I'm up here I'd sweat I profuse quite a bit so regardless I'm okay you guys might be a little uncomfortable but that's all right so no I'm just joking we're gonna preach the word of God today the holy spirit's in this place that's really what it is the AC works perfectly for them but the holy spirit's here right Liz a blazing fire of Glory just right here instead of this place so let's go ahead let's pray let's set that up for us yeah Lord uh we come before you and as we open your word we just pray that we don't allow the enemy to distract us with the heat uh to distract us with uh maybe our neighbor who's failing the fam let us just be patient with one another within that but also we just come here every every time lord AC no AC uh we come here to hear the word of God to hear your voice to be in your presence to worship your name to fellowship with one another ultimately just to be with you Lord so be with us be welcomed here we pray this in your name amen amen cool hey so I want to let you guys have a little picture into Generation Z right uh the new generation also generation of alpha that's the younger guys too um of the teenagers right uh to them I get I I get a lot of questions about the Bible about Christianity but there's two that always I like to answer there's I like to answer all of them but there's two that come to mind that pertain with the message one is Caesar can I still be a Christian and not go to church and read my Bible and pray and I say absolutely uh probably not for long though because Christ is salvation so if you're trying to say can I do I have to read my Bible come to church to be saved and go to heaven no I mean it's by the work of what Christ has done right by the blood of the Cross is how uh we're saved but our faith and our growth and how we experience this more than Abundant Life that Jesus talks about is through Reading and coming to church and following within his uh calling and then the second thing is always a unique one but it's actually very common uh what's the deal with Jesus you know like who's this why do we care so much about this guy um and so I hope that as we've been going through uh the book of Colossians we can realize and we understand exactly who Jesus is and why we care so much about him is because he's the grand eminent in the Bible we say are in Colossians it talks about how Christ as we've been reading is the preeminent one and preeminency is that within ranking of importance and in uh value Christ is first he's before everything pre before eminent as in within ranking of value and so Christ is preeminent I take it a step further for the sake of a cool graphic and I say the grand eminent right because it makes the words flush pre it's too cute so uh I'm going to show you but the grand eminent out of everything in the ranking of value Jesus is greater than everything right and so we've been talking about that through Colossians and that's why Jesus is such a big deal because he is the I am the self-sustainer but yet also he has given us life he's called us into such a beautiful calling and that's uh that's how we experience more life right with what he's called us to do what he's called us to do is have fellowship with him and what he's called us also to do is this word that you guys might have heard it around but it's called spiritual formation it's called spiritual formation and what that word is before we get into the text just to Define that is what that is is within your entire life and everything that you do whether it's work your family your values your hobbies whatever it is your day in and day out routines you are being formed by something right Josh has set it up here or before that there's not worshipers and not worship everybody worships something right everybody's being formed by something maybe for some it's politics maybe for some it's the success of your business maybe it's the the well the wellness of your family right uh something you are being formed by something is dictating who you are as a person and so spiritual formation should be the focus of Christ to be the sole person that forms you that dictates your being where you all of your values are set with Christ in them okay so today I've labeled this passage that we're in Colossians which is Colossians chapter three if you have your Bible with you we'll be in Colossians chapter three and what I've called it is Christ is all and for us to get the main point together is that Christ is all so therefore we should give him all of everything that is our person okay and so as we go through this passage just understand that of spiritual formation of Christ forming your spirit and who you are as a person and knowing that the reason why we allow and trust him in that is because he is all Christ is the grand eminent okay so let's go ahead let's read it in uh chapter 3 verse one it says if then you have been raised with Christ seek the things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God set your mind on the things that are above not on the things that are on Earth for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God when Christ who is your life appears then you will also appear with him in glory put to death therefore what is Earthly in you would it therefore put to what is uh therefore what is Earthly in you sexual morality impurity passion evil desires and covetousness which is idolatry on accounts of these the wrath of God is coming and these two you once walked when you were living in them but now you must put them all away anger wrath medalist slander and obscene talk from your mouth do not lie to one another scene that you have put off the old self with its practices it had put on the new self which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator here there is no Greek and Jew circumcised and uncircumcised Barbarian scythian slave free but Christ is all and in all and so as we look at verse one realize the first couple of words that he says is if you then you have been raised if then you have been raised and why does he say this but he alludes to Colossians 2 verse 12 earlier in this book and it says have having been buried with him in baptism in which you were also raised with him through faith in the power in the powerful working of God who raised him from the dead and so Paul as he's going into the spiritual formation as he's going to talk about how you act and how you should chase after the image of Christ and you should be like Christ he first he lays down a theological Foundation once again and he says if then you have been raised raised for what but raised from the dead realize that you as the Bible tells us in Ephesians chapter 2 you were once dead in your trespasses until God came and he saved you and a lot of times we have this illusion of us in the ocean right and we're kind of just like floating there and then the Lord throws the life raft of Salvation and we grab onto it and our lives are perfect but actually I was talking to uh Eric and he actually goes further with it which is beautiful and he says that you're not floating to the notion you're sunken all the way at the bottom rotting being eaten by crabs just absolutely bloated and dead because that's who you are before Christ and then God in the power that he has he raises you from life or he raises you back to life and so if you have been raised the baptism of Christ is what you have in your own baptism one that is going from dead to life that this applies to you okay and what he says here he says if you have been raised with Christ okay if your baptism is with Christ then seek the things that are above where Christ is you set your mind on the things of Christ who has he is seated at the right hand of God set your mind on the things that are above Romans 8 6 tells us this it says for to set your mind to set the mind on the flesh is death but to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace so if you yourself claim to be a Christian if you yourself have been baptized if you yourself identify with the resurrected Christ you set your mind on the things above and this is the beginning of spiritual formation why because so many things start with the mind and we're going to look into it as we look at these characteristics of what you are to put to death but you can also within yourself if you have ever experienced spiritual warfare you will know that it starts with your mind because Satan himself is a liar and a murderer he's the father of Lies okay and the way in which he entices you into Warfare into trials and into sin is he lies to you right and you'll see that covetousness is one of the things that you are to put to death why because it's something because the root of it is saying that you know better than God and Satan will tell you look at this Christianity lifestyle it's so boring and it's for losers look at your friends who are so successful and that they're having fun if they're having fun within their lifestyle and you are miserable within your own lifestyle then obviously the choice is uh simple forget about Jesus and live within the world but Satan again is a liar he takes these sample truths and he misinterprets reality because really what Satan doesn't say is probably the sin that you've allowed into your own life that's actually wreaking havoc maybe we'll say doesn't realize is that these people are actually very depressed and they're not happy but because all they know is Success amongst their peers is that they have to put a face on them but when they go home they are depressed and anxious and they worry about everything but no Satan will do anything to keep you away from Christ and it starts within the mind he'll put these thoughts into your head but yet if your mind is set on the things above you will be guarded so set your mind one of the things above okay in verse 3 it says this for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ you do not belong to what you're dead to okay you don't belong to something that you've died too so therefore you do not belong to the Earth you do not belong to its regulations you do not belong to your friends and family that turn you away from Christ you don't even belong to your own flesh because you are dead to these things but you belong to Christ and Christ Alone and he says it right here he says for your life is hidden within Christ in God and when he says hit him a lot of times we're going to be mysterious we want to be very Mystic and it's like ooh hit him it's like I gotta hide my faith it's like no that's stupid don't do that sorry I probably shouldn't have said that I'll get in trouble because of that but that's dumb don't do it okay shouldn't hide your faith your faith is like a city upon a hill right that can't be hidden but when he says your life is hidden within Christ it's this Greek word we're going to put up there because it looks fancy okay it's Greek word it's called crypto okay you guys just learned some Greek it's Greek shrugs G 72 croup toe group toe you guys have ever been on the Blue Letter Bible that's how the guy sounds um I don't know if it's actually Strong's g42 but who knows okay but crypto what does it mean hidden it's more of being in in uh Security in him that you are guarded your life within God is guarded okay it's stowed away it's concealed okay crypto your life is crypto within Christ it's hidden and it's guarded so therefore why Focus of the things of the Earth when the Lord is actually guarding the very life that you've given to him okay and here's our last aspect of the Theology of the theological Foundation it says when Christ who is your life appears then you also will will appear with him in glory now I know we're kind of rattling off these things but don't worry it all comes together okay so it says when Christ who is your life appears then you will also appear with him in glory so if you look at this at how he's setting this up he's setting this up in three ways he sets this up in our position it's going to be popped up right here ready boom our position our exhortation and then our hope our position is that we are raised with Christ if you are raised with Christ this is your position you are no longer dead Okay in Christ you are no longer dead within your trespasses but you are dead to your trespasses you are dead to this earth you are dead to the sins and the desires of the flesh you're dead to that and you have been raised in Christ Jesus you have died the same death that Christ died and you have the same Resurrection as Christ's Resurrection wait can we have that back up there still and then the next is our exhortation what is our exhortation to set your mind on the things above to walk within that Resurrection okay and then what happens and then eventually guess what that very life that you have that is in Christ Jesus will appear before you in glory and guess what you partake and become within that Glory as well and if you look at the way that as Paul talks about it within these first four verses he says these three things look at this look at how he focuses on it with this next slide I want to show you it says one you are raised with Christ okay this is a uh alluding to your life right because if you're raised you're raised to life it says to your life is hidden with Christ and three Christ who is your life so why does he set this up before he starts to talk about spiritual formation because Christ is all and Christ is your life realize this that Christ does not ask for your attendance at church Christ does not ask for your hands to do work for the church yes he does in a way but that's not the focus of why he died on the cross listen Jesus did not die on the cross so that you could buy a 330 dollar burrito so that a kid can go to camp Christ died on the cross so that you can have life that's why Christ died and so when I say Christ is all realize that within your own life Christ should be all within your inner person to the workings of your hands to your donating three hundred and thirty dollars of a burrito every very action thoughts word and thing that you do should be Christ why because Christ is all he shouldn't just be your Wednesday nights and your Sunday mornings he shouldn't just be your Saturday uh movie night with the girls when you guys go with the girl the women's ministry okay he shouldn't just be your Tuesday mornings with your black coffee or not Tuesday where your Saturday mornings with your black coffee and your cheap gas station Donuts with the MIM right but Christ is your all he's not a social agenda he is all he is your life he is the grand Eminence so when he is before and greater than everything in your life realize I'm saying absolutely everything your thoughts your hearts your values your desires within this world if they contradict Christ read verse 5 put them to death because you have died to those things so realize you were raised with Christ your life is hidden in Christ Christ if you don't get it Paul just puts it out there plain and simple Christ is your life so therefore walk in it here's the pragmatics put to death verse five sorry let's go to verse five verse five put to death therefore what is Earthly in you okay everybody say in you okay that's key watch out okay sexual morality impurity passion evil desires and covetousness which is idolatry on the accounts of these the wraths of God is coming in these you too once walked when you were living in them to death you are to put these things but not to avoid not to just put to the side not to try not to do them but put to death with lethal intentions you look at these things and you say I am dead to this this brings me nothing but momentary satisfaction but their Everlasting consequences okay as a Christian one who is raised to life you are raised to life if that makes sense and so as we look to this verse three remember he's he's repeating this thing he is saying death because he wants to really drive this point right if you look at verses two and three it says uh not it says set your mind on the things above not on the things that are on Earth for you have died so then he says put to death then he says put to death therefore what is Earthly in you and he then he rattles these things off he says sexy thank you brother I appreciate it he says sexual immorality or if you have the new King James version it says fornication what is that any sexual activity that is outside the marriage as God has ordained any sexual activity that is outside the marriage so we're all adults so we can be mature masturbation is sexual morality lusting after a woman or a guy is sexual morality homosexuality is sexual morality it's fornication anything that is outside the will of the Lord within marriage okay that is sexual morality impurely impurity uncleanliness it's not if you have a dirty room okay because if that was the case the wrath of God would be upon me so um but it is unclean it is impure in thought in word and in action listen I'm gonna say it again in thought in word and in action if any of these things are unclean and they contradict the Lord then you are to put it to death especially if it's in thought passion or again if you have the new King James lust it is being dictated by the strong emotions of pleasure so yes lust we can think of it in a sexual way but also lust of anything else than which this world can offer okay you can lust after materialistic things because you desire or you allow these strong passions within you to dictate your life before you even count the cost or you measure the amount to see if the Lord is is in this or if he has allowed this okay why do I have to ask the Lord for information because he is your life he is the grave to Eminence remember this okay evil desire right Caesar I just naturally get mad and sometimes I just want to punch somebody I get it I understand but when you desire it you allow this bitterness to take roots and you allow it to grow okay and then that just like lust would dictate your actions and you stay away from these things and green covets idolatry why does he say that greed and covetousness is idolatry the reason is because you think that you know better than God you know what you want and need is better than what the Lord has put before you in your life okay if you are greedy if you covet you want more than what you have okay the Lord has orchestrated listen the Lord is absolutely powerful and he is The Great I Am So realize that he has put you in a certain position within history within a town within a certain neighborhood within your house with certain family members because he wants to use you for the kingdom okay not if you have a fancy car not if you have a certain somebody now if you have certain Money in the Bank okay to covet and it's not just expensive materialistic things okay I'll let you in the older Generation Z okay young men covet women okay they come in a girlfriend or a boyfriend it's really it's really uh it's really intense actually sometimes because they will change their entire life just to make a girl laugh which is really I mean very it's funny because it's like pathetic but it's also like you need to stop coveting women brother uh so to covet take you can't why because every one of these things puts God second okay and he is not the Roman rep eminent he is the grand he is the preeminence remember this and so as you notice as he talks about these things right here you have to realize that he is saying to put to death and then he labels these things right he labels sensual things but not just sensual and just sexual right A lot of these things are very are directly talking about sexual things but we're talking sensually the fact that these things involve your inner person so when I say Christ is all and we should give him all okay what I'm saying is even your inner person should be devoted to Christ like I said just with the impurity uncleanness now it's unclean in thought word and action your very thoughts should be devoted to God your very actions should be devoted to God your words should be devoted to God okay that's what it means when Christ is the grand Eminence that's what it means when Christ is your life your inner person is part of your life now here's a great secret that I don't think a lot of people say right but you think sometimes you sit there and you're like I can't stop my thoughts because my thoughts are very rampant they're always they're just so wicked and evil I don't think the Lord wants me he he doesn't want to be in fellowship with me because how dirty my thoughts are listen everybody has some dirty thoughts right everybody has unclean impure thoughts don't you don't have to single yourself out realize that that again another life from Satan right Satan will say wow you have these disgusting things in your thoughts and you're so evil that you can't even help but think of these things which is probably true okay you're probably a wicked Twisted person in your mind but you're not the only one okay because if you're the only one then Christ died on the cross for all for all Humanity when it really makes sense right if it was just for you and your wicked thoughts so what I'm saying here is that here's okay here's the secret is that you can actually change the way that you think it's actually very possible but it's possible off of memorization and repetition you have to continue to do it and what does Christ always say always be within his presence he's always drawing you back to pray and to be with him and I promise you because we're going to go into the good things right now we're focused on the negative put to Deaths but as when you focus on these things of being kind-hearted being a compassionate person being someone who is loving you will notice that your very being the Lord will transform you and this is part of spiritual formation okay is allowing Christ to form you through repetition through continuous endurance of whatever it is that you're doing okay so realize that even the inner person the inner person of who you are so your thoughts you know how you feel your emotions your spirit these are even to be devoted to Christ because he is your life even these are to be for if anything these are the first things that are to be formed within the spirit these are the foundational things for the Lord to do work on and then out from that the Lord can overflow with uh with his spirit and his empowering and if we look at verses 7 uh six and seven it says this right kind of in this little scary verses it says uh on accounts of these the wrath of God is coming and in these you two once walked when you were living in them so realize this this is let's say that if you have partaken in any of these things the wrath of God is coming upon you no the wrath of God within the Great Tribulation within the end of this world you know because then it begins anew uh at the end of the church age the Lord is going to come down and he's going to purify everything so therefore he will also purify through his wrath sexual morality uncleanness fornication passion lust evil desires all of these things he will purify and if there are people at this time just like what verse 7 says who are living in them if they identify themselves with these suits if they allow these suits to dictate their life whether they too deserve the very wrath of God and realize okay because if you ever know anybody that's caught up in these things don't think yourself better than them because you too once walked in these things you too were at the bottom of the sea rotting away being eaten by crabs until God came and saved until you swam up you couldn't swim up you were dead but not until Christ came and he gave you life okay so uh there's that now we're still in the negative unfortunately but we now these are the more social uh uncharacteristics for those who have been raised these are these behaviors and attitudes as you read in verse 8 it says but now you must put away you must then put away all anger Wrath malice slander and obscene talk from your mouth do not lie to one another seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and if you look at this this we're going to get back to these and we're gonna we're gonna talk about them a little bit more but if you look at these a lot of these have to do with your mouth slander live uh all a lot a couple of these have to do with how you speak and I just want to speak on this because Proverbs 18 4 if you've ever read it it says the words of a man's the words of a man's mouth are deep Waters the Fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook and so what this says within this proverb is basically it's saying as the wise man okay because this is what he's talking about as the wise man the person who comes up and they speak wisdom they speak the truth of God to people or they speak the gospel right in light of the New Testament they speak the gospel it's like a bubbly Brook like somebody who has been just out in the dry desert of this corrupted world and they hear you speak the gospel of love and Reconciliation and redemption or even a Christian who's also just dry with their soul it's refreshing like a bubbly Brook okay it's refreshing like a well that you've been searching for because you're so thirsty and trust me I've definitely been refreshed by friends who have spoken the truth to me and I've also noticed how the Lord has used me to refresh other people as well and so realize that like our words I know they're is uh a great save that says sticks of stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me I promise you people have been very affected by your words especially if you use Christ as a weapon that is the most malice rude thing that you can do is to condemn somebody through the scripture it's like well the Lord's called us to rebuke people yes but if you read if you've ever read Galatians Galatians 6 tells us that we are to restore the brother that's cotton sin that's the Polish but to restore and there is a time of rebuke but even within that there is love that's tied right next to it right better is better is an open rebuked and hidden love it's not hated love it's it's out there it's it's it's it's in the form yes it's it's a hard love but it's still out there you know and so realize that just just just watch your words James tells us that the tongue can is very it's it's like a fire you know it can burn down a forest or it's like a a tree that you can produce good fruit or bad fruit so just careful just a little side note for this but it's also again within your words these are the things even your own speech should be should be devoted unto Christ okay this is the thing of spiritual formation you have to be careful with it because it sounds very legalistic it sounds like a lot of works it sounds like a lot of uh it sounds like a lot of like do's and don'ts which which it is spiritual formation absolutely is but if we read verses 10 and 11 you'll understand why and what the focus is and the the goal of why we do it so it says it right here it says uh verse 10 it says and having put on the new self which is being renewed in the knowledge after the image of its creator here there is not Greek and Jews circumcised and uncircumcised barbarians scythian slave free but Christ is all in it all so realize that as he says this way he's trying to elude is like it's not just about not doing sin not being an evil person realize that it's all about Christ okay your spiritual formation why do you do it in the first place it says it right here it's so that you can be renewed in the knowledge after the image of its creator who is Christ Jesus your spiritual formation is forming your spirit so that you can be like Christ for others why because you want to be like Christ because Christ is so beautiful and amazing and he has done so much within your life it's just logical that you should chase after him and his image okay and so as we read this part of the passage it says you are putting on the new self and if you guys know this again if you are being raised you have put the old man to death and you are raised to life and you're putting the new cell phone and you are born again this is the idea of being born again and say you are no longer one who is devoted themselves after this Earth but you have devoted yourself after Christ and as we look through every aspect of that realize that as Corinthians says that the old man has been put away and the new has come the absolute new like nothing of the old completely new and that's who we are within Christ and as he says renewed right because it's not a wanted the deal because if it wasn't if it was a wanted done deal then we wouldn't need the Holy Spirit but yet it's being renewed continuously coming back to Jesus and we're going to look at this how uh that looks practically within our character within our actions and what spiritual things are we to do so that we can come back to Christ again and again so realize that it's not your spiritual formation which again is not your salvation it's the spiritual formation as you walk in out your righteousness okay your spiritual formation is you getting closer to the image of Christ for the purpose of serving others okay that's what spiritual formation is but you have to allow the spirit you have to allow Christ to form you into his image and so it's not about duties it's not about religious works it's about following a person and that person is Christ okay and so what does that look like it looks like this in verse 12 then put arm as God's chosen holy and beloved put on compassionate Hearts kindness humility meekness and patience and bearing with one another and if one has a complaint against another forgiving each other as the Lord has forgiven you so you also must forgive and above all these put on love which binds everything together in Perfect Harmony Let the Peace of Christ rule in your hearts in which indeed you were called it wait sorry uh to which indeed you were called in one body and be thankful let the word of Christ dwell in you richly teach in and admonishing one another in all wisdom singing Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God and whatever you do in Word or indeed do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the father through him okay and so realize as we look at this we're going to look at this chart right here I think that's the next thing we're gonna look at this little chart okay look it the the sorry look at the collection of verses five through nine and look at the collection of the verses 12-16 and realize that you are not just evading bad things but yet you are being holy and beloved you are called holy and beloved realize you are already holy and beloved realize God has given us this hope as we saw in verse sorry as we saw in verse 4 it says when Christ who is your life appears then you also will appear with him in glory this is a promise on your life and God is faithful he's the same today yesterday and tomorrow so if he puts a promise on your life realize that it's going to be true so basically you are already in glory you already have your perfect body you already have a spot within Heaven you are already Sanctified to Perfection but you're in the already not yet okay it's foolproof it's put upon your life the Lord has promised this thing for you and there is no going back from it but it just hasn't happened yet and so you are in the already not yet you probably have heard it multiple times but realize that these things are true for you and these are the things that you 12 through 16 are the things that you should walk in because of how true it is within your life that you are already these things that the Lord has put upon in your life okay and if you look at it there's sexual morality impurity and passion the very lustful things instead be holy and beloved follow within Christ don't follow after these deep desires of the Flesh and instead of having evil desire have compassionate hearts for each other instead of being angry be forgiving of each other instead of Wrath have kindness instead of a malice be humble realize malice within its roots okay malice is evil right that's what it is if you don't know what malice is talks about a lot in the Bible but malice acts you within me it's it's it's a form of Vengeance because you've been wronged right it's not really Vengeance but it's a form of it it was basically the root of you being malice is because you have been wronged instead of trying to get Vengeance instead of you trying to be on top be humble and meek even if you are right even if the person who wronged You Is Wrong meekness and stay humble instead of slandering people because of their afflictions or because of who they are spreading gossip bear with one another realize this pastor this this this characteristic of being like Christ is so beautiful because realize uh Second Corinthians 8 9 tells us that though Jesus was rich though he was God though he was the creator though he was the I am he became poor like us he became he wrapped himself in flesh realized God compared to us is like us comparing dirt okay which isn't even which US comparing to dirt is even closer because we were made out of dirt right but realize that's what Christ has done it was so why so what's through so that through his poverty his sacrifice on the cross we might become rich okay and so and so realize that Christ's bore with us for 30 some years right he was human rightfully so he should have been God and he was God but yet he bore with us as a human dealing with the same things that we dealed with and realize when you are buried with one another all you are doing is enduring their Affliction with them you're not solving it you're not being their savior you are just being there for them and most of the time that speaks more volume than you trying to fix their life bear with one another and instead of unseen talk from our mouths in line let us teach and admonish one another coming from the quiet places of Our Lives with Christ Jesus and then instead of covetousness which is idolatry trying to be wanting of everything let us be thankful for the Lord right in all of these things okay you can practice within your life you don't have to have the spirit do some weird like mystical thing you know lightning from the sky in your bedroom at the at midnight for you to be a kind person that doesn't need to happen the Lord has given you the strength to practice within these things to put to death and put away this attitude and these sins and then put on the new self and walk Within 12-16 that is your spiritual formation because as you walk within these things you will see the Lord work within your life you will see the Lord bring such great fruit to where naturally you are kind naturally you are humble naturally you become gentle okay and how do we do this but if you look right here in verse 16 it says let the word of Christ dwell in you richly there's a reason why uh Paul put this here is because of how important the word is realize Paul his word was Scrolls at the synagogue okay maybe a couple verses here and there written on paper but he didn't have the whole Council of God excuse me but yet to allow the to let the word of God dwell and abide within you okay it's not just a read and then walk away but it's a read and meditate and share and teach admonish other people with it the word of God to dwell within you richly to live your life already or automate your life around what God is speaking to you through this word realize it's living and it's active it does stuff this Bible is so many times we neglect it but don't and then the verse before it allow let to the Peace of Christ's rule in your hearts which indeed you were called in one body and be thankful Let the Peace of Christ what is this peace now we listen the peace is the gospel he says only that your sins are forgiven the very great hindrance of your life that is death and Hell okay it has been taken away even sin itself Romans 8 14 I think it tells us that you are no longer slaves to sue but yet you are slaves to righteousness which is beautiful so therefore no longer are you dead within this world but yet you have a newness of life within you that is being renewed okay that has been giving you guidelines to follow in it so that you can continuously walk within this life because if not then your faith will be weak and when Satan comes and your mind is not on the things above you're not first seeking the kingdom of God and Satan comes in with this little tiny lie you will fall you will grumble remember the saying of Jesus how he says that there are two houses right the one that's built on the sand and the one that's built on the rock that is the word of God and as the winds beat on both both houses doesn't mean that you don't get waves and winds beaten on your house you will but it won't fall because you'll be built upon the rock and you will be continuously fortifying your foundation fortifying your life upon the things that the Lord has called you to do Christians are not stagnant the lord loves you too much to leave you at the cross but he walks with you okay what did Jesus say to the apostles hey when I leave you don't worry because I'm sending you a helper so that you can continue to be those who bring Heaven down to earth to be the Salt and Light of the Earth through the Holy Spirit but you have to allow him to form you you have to walk within these things and remember it's not a religious thing okay but it's about Christ read verse 17 it says whatever you do in word or deed do everything in the name of our Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the Father through him it's all about Christ Christ is all look at verse 13 who do we forgive as who do we follow in and forgive you in my mom's way of forgiving though because she holds grudges she's probably if she ever read if she ever watches this uh sermon she's probably going to hold the grudge for the next 20 years my grandchildren are going to hear about how I called my moment from the pulpit but no as Christ okay verse 13 who should we forgive as as Christ verse 15 whose peace do we allow to rule over us Christ's peace whose word do we allow to dwell richly within us Christ who is our life but Christ in Christ only so realize as you guys leave this place don't leave this place with a with a wonderful word from this young Christian Pastor who just got engaged yeah so uh but walk away reorientate reordinating your life refocusing re-centering your life upon Christ walk in in him walking in his calling being part of the body renewing yourself in the knowledge of his image okay and I pray I pray that you receive this great life that I've received as I've walked with Christ okay let's go ahead let's pray and then you guys can go early night it's hot so let's go all right Lord we come before you and we thank you so much for your word and Lord we thank you for the AC when it does work and we thank you for tonight that we're still able to come to church and worship your name I thank you for everyone here who has showed up just to hear your word of God the Holy Spirit I pray that you use that word to transform them to form them deeper into your spirit so that they can be renewed that they can have a great hope within Christ knowing that the work that he began when they first came to you that you are continuously working today it's the Holy Spirit still stay in this place be with us as we worship you we pray this unit amen thank you to free something that's a word that'll bless you I'll give you more than a song for song in itself I'm coming back to the Heart of Worship and it's all about you told the you Jesus I'm sure it's all about you song about you Jesus no one could express no we can't go all I have is I'll hear you more than a song in itself I'm coming back you Jesus I'm coming back It's All About You Jesus but it's all about you song about you Jesus I'm coming back to the heart worship and it's all about you It's All About You Jesus I'm sorry Lord for the things it's all about you Jesus thank you I'm caught up in your presence I just wanna sit here at your feet me I never will leave foreign and I'm sorry your love just going through the motions inside another song take me back to every story and so sorry I'm sorry take me back to every story I never was oh I'm not here for blessings Jesus I just want you and nothing else nothing else nothing else will do I just want you nothing else and nothing else nothing else to do I just want you and nothing else nothing else I just wanna sit here I'm caught up in this holy night oh I'm not here for blessings more than anything that you can do I just want you and I just want you nothing else nothing else to do I just want you and nothing else nothing else nothing else to do oh God I'm feeling your presence I just wanna see here at your fear I'm caught up in this holy moment I never wanna oh I'm not here for blessings Jesus you don't want me anything more than anything that you can do I just want you How Deep The Father's Love For Us beyond all measure that he should give his only son to make riches treasure how great the pain is faced away as wounds which mother Chosen One me home across listen upon his shoulders ashamed to hear my mocking voice first he was my sin that held Timber hunts his dying breath has finished I will not posting anything no kiss no power no it's still some Resurrection but this I know with all my heart his words but this is apart echoices be magnified arise my life's Melody and every human heart attack Jesus Christ singing foreign because take resistance sing it out of my life let his praise be magnified from the altar of my life in me Lord I just pray that you would be just the center of our life God that when they focus on the symbol truth of Christ and just shape our lives around that God may we just walk in that truth and walk in that Simplicity of Christ for the rest of this week God for the rest of our lives I mean just pray this in Jesus name amen good evening