1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:04,720 Oh Father, this is our prayer. So thankful to you for the 2 00:00:04,720 --> 00:00:08,000 promises that you have made. We come even at this moment, 3 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:12,480 pleading your promises, pleading that You truly would bless those 4 00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:14,880 who hunger and thirst for righteousness. 5 00:00:15,640 --> 00:00:18,920 Praying that You would open up this word that you have given 6 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:24,600 us, planting it in good soil, enabling fruit to be born, that 7 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:28,280 a Dark World would notice. Notice in such a way from the 8 00:00:28,280 --> 00:00:31,240 radiance and the fragrance that they would want to know what is 9 00:00:31,240 --> 00:00:35,200 different about you. And we would have the joy of 10 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:40,240 telling them it is Christ the Lord and me. 11 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:45,360 Father, would you fix our eyes upon the wonder of Jesus, 12 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:51,360 transform us even now we pray in Jesus name, Amen. 13 00:00:52,160 --> 00:00:56,000 This morning I'm going to be reading from Colossians 1, 15 14 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:59,640 through 20, and then chapter 2, verses 9:00 and 10:00. 15 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:03,720 I'm going to be using the same exact text along with another 16 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:06,920 one next week. So we're just going to hit a 17 00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:11,640 small portion of this remarkable statement about Jesus. 18 00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:15,080 This is God's word, and all scripture is. 19 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:20,040 God breathed all scripture. It is all useful for teaching, 20 00:01:20,040 --> 00:01:22,400 rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. 21 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:29,040 But when you need a statement about who Jesus is, there is 22 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:32,840 none better than what the Holy Spirit carried the Apostle Paul 23 00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:37,360 along to write to the Church of Colosi in the midst of heresy, 24 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:42,080 of Gnosticism, of thinking that was not right about who Christ 25 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:45,160 is. So listen to what Paul wrote and 26 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:50,960 be encouraged of Jesus. Paul says he is the image of the 27 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:54,680 invisible God, the first born of all creation. 28 00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:59,720 For by Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, 29 00:01:59,960 --> 00:02:04,600 visible and invisible, whether Thrones or dominions or rulers 30 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:08,039 or authorities. All things were created through 31 00:02:08,039 --> 00:02:12,040 him and for him. And He is before all things, and 32 00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:16,680 in Him all things hold together, and He is the head of the body 33 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:19,240 at the Church. He is the beginning, the first 34 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:22,720 born from the dead, that in everything He might be 35 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:26,640 preeminent. For in Him all the fullness of 36 00:02:26,640 --> 00:02:30,800 God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to 37 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:35,120 Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace 38 00:02:35,120 --> 00:02:39,840 by the blood of His cross. For in Him the whole fullness of 39 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:43,560 Deity dwells bodily. And you have been filled in Him 40 00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:47,520 who is the head of all rule and authority. 41 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:51,280 This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. 42 00:02:51,560 --> 00:02:58,920 Please be seated. For those who are wondering, 43 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:03,200 this sermon is going to be about 15 minutes. 44 00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:11,520 I didn't mean that to be funny, but that's why we're going back 45 00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:15,000 to this text next week. You could never do justice. 46 00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:18,240 Frankly, you could do justice to one sentence in this passage. 47 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:23,600 You've heard me say before that I never slept on Christmas Eve. 48 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:26,960 Ever. Never. 49 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:33,960 Every Christmas Eve was the same, 2 1/2 weeks from now my 50 00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:39,360 heart would swell for that day. The 1st 15 1/2 years of my life. 51 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:42,880 I did not celebrate Christmas as a Christian, but I celebrated. 52 00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:47,960 I would lay in bed sharing a room with my older brother and 53 00:03:47,960 --> 00:03:50,600 my eyes would be fixed in two places. 54 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:53,920 I would be looking through the mini blinds out into the sky 55 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:57,520 just wondering might I see something glorious? 56 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:02,160 I never did. But underneath the door there 57 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:07,080 was another light, and when that light actually would go out, I 58 00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:13,800 knew that if I waited 3 to 5 to 10 minutes, I could go out, walk 59 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:17,600 down the hall and look at a tree still lit with things 60 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:20,240 underneath. And that was glorious. 61 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:24,640 I never slept on Christmas Eve. In fact, I still have a hard 62 00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:27,600 time sleeping on Christmas Eve. I love it. 63 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:34,640 Christmas Day usually involved discipline of this child in many 64 00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:37,640 different ways, but it also involved other things. 65 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:41,560 And one of the great traditions was that I, along with my four 66 00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:44,760 siblings, would call our grandparents and particularly my 67 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:48,040 dad's mom and his stepdad, my step grandfather. 68 00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:52,480 They would listen to us detail everything that we had received 69 00:04:52,920 --> 00:04:57,440 and I would speak the longest. I would go through every detail 70 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:00,640 of every gift they seen. And they were so patient. 71 00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:02,800 That call would take longer than an hour. 72 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:05,200 And what was amazing is they would be at the house in about 73 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:09,800 two hours. And that is when I would show 74 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:13,640 them that which I spoke to you as a representation. 75 00:05:13,840 --> 00:05:18,720 This is it. This is the fire truck, this is 76 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:21,520 the GI Joe, this is the Red Ryder BB gun. 77 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:27,200 This is whatever it was. The words on the phone were 78 00:05:27,200 --> 00:05:35,800 verbal representations of what it was. 19/18/93, I think it was 79 00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:42,440 1893 in Chicago, there was the World's Columbian Exposition. 80 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:47,720 During that time, 21 million people would visit Chicago who 81 00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:51,200 20 years earlier had experienced the Great Fire. 82 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:57,240 Part of this Expo was called the World Parliament of Religion. 83 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:01,080 Every religion in the world that wanted to be there could come 84 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:04,080 and send their best representatives and make their 85 00:06:04,080 --> 00:06:08,240 best points deal. Moody, recognizing the 86 00:06:08,240 --> 00:06:13,560 opportunity that was there, commissioned evangelist to go 87 00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:16,600 out into what he called preaching post in different 88 00:06:16,600 --> 00:06:18,560 churches. They rented big tents. 89 00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:27,440 And he was urged by his followers, attack, attack all of 90 00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:32,400 these religions, put the holes in these religions, show people 91 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:37,120 that they're wrong. And he said, no, I refuse to do 92 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:42,600 that, what I'm going to do. And he's quoted saying I'm going 93 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:48,160 to make Jesus so attractive that men will turn to him. 94 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:53,480 And that's what he did and thousands of people during the 95 00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:58,040 world's have come Colombian exposition came to Christ. 96 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:04,960 There's no other place in Scripture than what Paul has 97 00:07:04,960 --> 00:07:08,920 given us that is doing that very thing. 98 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:18,080 He is making much of Jesus. I did not know Christ for the 99 00:07:18,080 --> 00:07:24,720 first 15 years of my life, but for the past 44 years I have 100 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:27,600 celebrated Christmas as a child of the living God. 101 00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:32,360 And I want to tell you that when we enter into this season, the 102 00:07:32,360 --> 00:07:37,400 excitement of knowing there's so much here that I don't 103 00:07:37,560 --> 00:07:41,640 understand. There's so much here that I have 104 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:45,680 not seen. There is so much awe and wonder 105 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:51,880 to who He is that my heart continues to swell in the joy of 106 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:58,600 hearing His word say this is who He is this morning. 107 00:07:58,600 --> 00:08:01,680 For just a few minutes, let's look at the text. 108 00:08:02,080 --> 00:08:06,040 What does Paul say? Go with me first, the verse 15. 109 00:08:06,480 --> 00:08:12,400 He, this is Jesus is the image of the invisible God. 110 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:18,320 Now I want to invite you to do something Martin Louie Jones 111 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:21,320 would say. If you've known Christ for over 112 00:08:21,320 --> 00:08:26,240 50 years, what we read in this passage should continue to 113 00:08:26,240 --> 00:08:30,080 overwhelm your soul, soul with the wonder of who He is. 114 00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:34,000 If you're just hearing this for the first time, what's being 115 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:35,919 said of Him can be said of no other. 116 00:08:36,159 --> 00:08:41,600 It should overwhelm your soul. Who is this baby? 117 00:08:42,520 --> 00:08:45,360 Who is this baby that's born in this Manger? 118 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:52,360 And a moment ago you heard the choir as they were singing the 119 00:08:52,360 --> 00:08:56,600 second to last stanza, said Lo. Within a Manger lies he who 120 00:08:56,600 --> 00:09:00,840 built the lofty skies. Who is this baby? 121 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:09,960 This baby, Paul tells us, is the image of the invisible God, the 122 00:09:09,960 --> 00:09:14,360 first born of all creation. For a lot of people, what they 123 00:09:14,360 --> 00:09:18,120 immediately think, and often they think wrongly about what's 124 00:09:18,120 --> 00:09:23,160 said here, is that, oh, Christ resembled God. 125 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:27,640 He did resemble God, but it's not a mere resemblance. 126 00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:32,640 Yesterday at boxes of blessings and oh, out of ministry. 127 00:09:32,640 --> 00:09:34,720 What an incredible thing to witness. 128 00:09:35,120 --> 00:09:36,640 My youngest son was there with me. 129 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:38,520 We were walking around. Some of you hadn't seen him in 130 00:09:38,520 --> 00:09:40,800 years. He's as tall as me now and he 131 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:45,520 looks just like me. Many of you said so, except for 132 00:09:45,520 --> 00:09:49,040 the hair color that's coming. But here's the truth. 133 00:09:50,040 --> 00:09:55,880 He actually the way of similarities is not the exact 134 00:09:56,600 --> 00:10:01,480 representation of me. Jesus, the baby in the Manger is 135 00:10:01,480 --> 00:10:06,960 the exact imprint, the exact image of God. 136 00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:10,200 He is not just a mere representation. 137 00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:17,240 He is not just a picture. If you want to see what God is 138 00:10:17,240 --> 00:10:22,720 like in His character and His nature, look to the baby and the 139 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:25,840 Manger. You don't start to when he was 140 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:27,840 30 and began his public ministry. 141 00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:31,360 You look to the baby in the Manger because the baby in the 142 00:10:31,360 --> 00:10:33,920 Manger is not going to become God. 143 00:10:34,640 --> 00:10:37,800 The baby in the Manger is the one who made the very womb from 144 00:10:37,800 --> 00:10:41,960 which he came from, the one that whose breast he nurses. 145 00:10:41,960 --> 00:10:46,680 He made that breast, the one in where the angels filled the 146 00:10:46,680 --> 00:10:49,600 skies. He made those lofty skies. 147 00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:56,480 The little fingers that were his as they grab on to his mother's 148 00:10:56,720 --> 00:11:05,480 are the fingers that made everything that we can see or 149 00:11:05,480 --> 00:11:12,640 have seen or will see. If you were to look in books 150 00:11:12,640 --> 00:11:17,000 that describe nature, the thousands upon thousands of 151 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:23,720 types of animals and insects, Jesus, the one who's in the 152 00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:29,960 Manger, made them all. He's the exact image of his 153 00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:34,760 Father because he himself is God. 154 00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:41,080 I want to invite you this week to soak in these passages, this 155 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:47,480 verse, these verses, verse 16. Paul says, for by him all things 156 00:11:47,480 --> 00:11:51,640 were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, 157 00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:58,320 whether Thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all 158 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:02,080 things were created through him and for him. 159 00:12:03,320 --> 00:12:05,360 I think that has to blow our minds. 160 00:12:06,680 --> 00:12:09,920 I love it when somebody says to me, I'm struggling to believe 161 00:12:09,920 --> 00:12:13,120 certain things in the Bible. I mean, did Jesus really walk on 162 00:12:13,120 --> 00:12:16,760 water? Well, he did. 163 00:12:17,320 --> 00:12:18,680 I have a hard time believing that. 164 00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:22,480 Well, don't start there. Start with the reality that he 165 00:12:22,480 --> 00:12:27,200 made the water. Start with the reality that he 166 00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:31,200 made all water. Start with the reality that he 167 00:12:31,200 --> 00:12:37,640 made every foot and every finger and every finger nail. 168 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:41,760 Everyone, not just stop. This is who he is. 169 00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:45,920 Every time I see a nativity scene, and now they're 170 00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:50,920 everywhere, in our house, in the church, in your homes. 171 00:12:51,480 --> 00:12:56,080 I'm reminded of a trip that we took to a large country in Asia 172 00:12:56,480 --> 00:12:58,760 with students from this church where it was illegal to talk 173 00:12:58,760 --> 00:13:01,000 about Jesus. But we were teaching 174 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:04,320 conversational English. And one of the themes of our 175 00:13:04,320 --> 00:13:06,880 classes was to speak about American holidays. 176 00:13:07,320 --> 00:13:10,080 And I remember listening to one of our students, I think she was 177 00:13:10,080 --> 00:13:13,840 a junior at the time. She had brought with her a 178 00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:17,040 nativity set. And there before about 30 179 00:13:17,040 --> 00:13:21,680 students in this very dark country, she explained the real 180 00:13:21,680 --> 00:13:24,960 meaning of Christmas. Yes, we talked about other parts 181 00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:26,360 of the Christmas holiday in America. 182 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:29,480 We talked about Saint Nick. We talked about Christmas trees. 183 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:32,520 We talked about Christmas carols, those that are fun to 184 00:13:32,520 --> 00:13:35,680 sing and those that are more fun to sing that speak of the real 185 00:13:35,880 --> 00:13:40,320 meaning of Christmas. And it's this sweet junior in 186 00:13:40,320 --> 00:13:44,720 high school took the figurines of Joseph and Mary and the baby 187 00:13:44,720 --> 00:13:47,080 Jesus. This young man who was very 188 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:51,800 bright, 1516 years old, looked directly at her when she'd 189 00:13:51,800 --> 00:13:55,160 finished, he said, and you believe this is true. 190 00:13:57,120 --> 00:14:01,960 I was videotaping this. I have it behind him to his left 191 00:14:01,960 --> 00:14:04,360 was a young girl named Tina, about the same age. 192 00:14:04,800 --> 00:14:09,400 And when he said, and you believe this is true, she was 193 00:14:09,400 --> 00:14:12,560 doing this. I believe I captured this best 194 00:14:12,560 --> 00:14:18,800 we can on video regeneration. That young woman who was dead 195 00:14:19,320 --> 00:14:22,880 apart from Christ that day, came to saving faith in Christ. 196 00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:26,960 Two weeks later, Jason traveled to the United States to be part 197 00:14:26,960 --> 00:14:31,360 of our cultural exchange, he himself peppering one of our 198 00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:35,400 youth residents with questions. Russ Whitfield was the one give 199 00:14:35,400 --> 00:14:39,240 his life to Christ. Both of them, about 15. 200 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:43,080 Up to the time they were 15, they had never really heard of 201 00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:45,000 Jesus, certainly didn't celebrate him because they 202 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:46,520 didn't really celebrate Christmas at all. 203 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:53,720 But now, forever, they will. And you believe this is true if 204 00:14:53,720 --> 00:14:59,320 you're in Christ, you believe everything that Paul is saying 205 00:14:59,800 --> 00:15:04,960 about who this baby is. This season, like every 206 00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:08,960 Christmas season, is an onslaught of things to distract 207 00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:13,080 you and me from what really matters most. 208 00:15:14,760 --> 00:15:19,920 When Paul uses the word preeminent in verse 18, he says 209 00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:24,240 of Jesus, he's the beginning, the first born from the dead, 210 00:15:24,560 --> 00:15:28,960 that in everything he might be preeminent. 211 00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:30,560 It's a great word. What does it mean? 212 00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:39,440 It means supreme. It means ahead of all others. 213 00:15:39,800 --> 00:15:42,280 When it says first born, it doesn't mean he was the first 214 00:15:42,400 --> 00:15:44,400 creature created. That's not true. 215 00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:49,440 It means in rank and power and right. 216 00:15:49,800 --> 00:15:57,800 He and He alone is preeminent. He and He alone is supreme. 217 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:06,160 When Paul talks about the fullness of Christ, verse 19 For 218 00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:09,440 in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. 219 00:16:09,640 --> 00:16:12,520 And then again in verse 9. For in Him the whole fullness of 220 00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:16,800 Deity dwells bodily. What does he mean? 221 00:16:17,680 --> 00:16:19,240 And this is where I'm going to leave us. 222 00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:28,760 The baby in the Manger was a real baby who was a real man, A 223 00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:34,200 real baby who is right now a real man. 224 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:43,720 He was fully God, and He is fully God, and He was fully man, 225 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:53,360 and He is fully man When we rush through the season and allow all 226 00:16:53,360 --> 00:16:58,200 the trappings to distract us because we just checked boxes. 227 00:16:58,760 --> 00:17:03,640 We can't do this with His word. This is who He's revealed 228 00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:07,160 Himself to be. That word fullness is where 229 00:17:07,160 --> 00:17:08,880 we're going to pick up next week. 230 00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:16,280 But let me leave you with this Spurgeon, Speaking of this 231 00:17:16,280 --> 00:17:19,640 passage. This idea of fullness is this. 232 00:17:20,480 --> 00:17:28,160 There is in Christ Jesus a fullness of blessing, 233 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:35,640 unspeakable, unknown, a fullness of grace to pardon, of grace to 234 00:17:35,640 --> 00:17:40,280 regenerate, of grace to sanctify, of grace to preserve, 235 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:45,080 and of grace to perfect. There is in Him a fullness at 236 00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:50,840 all times, a fullness by day and a fullness by night, A fullness 237 00:17:50,840 --> 00:17:54,360 of comfort and affliction, A fullness of guidance and 238 00:17:54,360 --> 00:17:58,320 prosperity. A fullness of every divine 239 00:17:58,440 --> 00:18:03,200 attribute, not some of them. A fullness of every divine 240 00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:08,360 attribute, of wisdom, of power, of love. 241 00:18:08,840 --> 00:18:14,680 A fullness which it is impossible to survey or to 242 00:18:14,680 --> 00:18:22,600 explore when we speak of God and one of his attributes being his 243 00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:27,880 incomprehensibility. That's what CS Lewis is saying. 244 00:18:29,040 --> 00:18:34,040 If you've walked with Jesus for 50 or more years, if you just 245 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:39,160 now are beginning to show interest in Jesus, go to His 246 00:18:39,160 --> 00:18:42,600 Word. What does His Word say? 247 00:18:43,640 --> 00:18:51,120 These 5 or 6 verses say so much. So go there today, see what it 248 00:18:51,120 --> 00:19:00,600 says about Him, and ask the Holy Spirit to tell you through His 249 00:19:00,600 --> 00:19:04,480 Word. What does it mean that He's 250 00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:09,200 preeminent? What does that mean for my life 251 00:19:09,240 --> 00:19:12,640 today? What does it mean during this 252 00:19:12,680 --> 00:19:16,800 Advent season? Well, it means everything. 253 00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:20,400 And that's where we're going to start next Sunday. 254 00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:28,400 Father in Heaven, it's so wonderful to stand in and behind 255 00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:33,800 and on your word. None of these words that Paul 256 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:37,640 wrote could be spoken of anyone else. 257 00:19:38,120 --> 00:19:42,240 And these words are trustworthy and true. 258 00:19:43,880 --> 00:19:48,680 Father, whenever we see a Nativity scene, whenever we hear 259 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:54,120 a line from a Christian Christmas hymn that speaks of 260 00:19:54,120 --> 00:20:01,120 your preeminence, wake us up. Wake us up again to the glory 261 00:20:01,560 --> 00:20:05,480 that is yours alone, and to the grace, the fullness of your 262 00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:09,480 grace, that has been bestowed to all who are in Christ. 263 00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:17,720 And make us for your glory, Jesus, a faithful people eager 264 00:20:17,720 --> 00:20:21,640 to live in the reality of your preeminence. 265 00:20:22,040 --> 00:20:24,960 We pray in Jesus name, Amen. Please stand.