Open your Bibles to Colossians Chapter 2 sometimes in preparing
the study. I think it's better in my study
than it is from the pulpit and I only wish I could get to you
what I see in the Word of God and what God reveals to me.
Let's hope and pray that the Holy Spirit will make our hearts
soft, rich soil that will receive the Word of God.
Help our minds to understand what God is saying to us.
Acts Sorry Colossians 2 we're going to go back to verse one
because we need to for I want you to know what a great
conflict I have for you. We studied on Sunday the heart
of Paul and those in Laodicea Colossae and Laodicea, both
churches in modern day Turkey. Paul started neither of them.
The Pafras was the the pioneer of Colossae and for as many as
has have not seen my face in the flesh.
So Paul says what he says, I pray he says that their hearts
may be encouraged. How?
By being knit together in love. And what will that achieve?
And then attaining to all riches.
And notice the descriptive words here of the full assurance of
understanding. The full assurance of
understanding to the knowledge of the mystery of God, the
mystery of God. We've been talking about Paul's
been talking about is how Christ is deity, He is God in the flesh
both of the Father and of Christ and in God in them.
Paul refers to our hidden notice this I've underlined it all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
You ever want to be wise, you want to know things I do I I I
like wisdom. I like learning things well, the
greatest way I can learn about life.
You know, people talk about the questions of life well, but the
way that I can learn what the questions of life are they are
our universe. Why I'm here, why you're here,
hidden in the wisdom and knowledge of God.
Now, most of us are aware of Paul's emphasis on the
importance of love, both in US individually, that is the love
of God, the agape love, and in the church that is the body of
Christ. But it's often misinterpreted.
If you ever read letters to the Editor in the West Australian,
which I do each morning, you know, people write well,
Christians, you know, they should have this and that love
and, you know, how can they say this?
And that's not very loving if you're a Christian.
I don't know what they're talking about.
The Bible tells us and gives us the definition of love.
Then it tells us how it works, especially in the church.
In One Corinthians 13, it's usually read out at weddings and
people think that's a lovely poem that's always read out at
wedding. It's not a poem, it's the word
of God. Paul says in One Corinthians 13,
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have
not love, I have become sounding brass or clanging cymbal, in
other words, noise. And though I have the gift of
prophecy, wow and understand all mysteries, Nostradamus, and all
knowledge, and though I have all faith, I believe, I believe, I
believe so that I could remove mountains, but have not love.
I'm nothing though. I bestow all my goods.
I'm the most philanthropic person in the world.
I, I mean, I really give my I make Mother Teresa look like
Donald Trump. Seriously though, I bestow all
my goods to feed the poor and I give my body to be burned.
Man, I sacrifice. I sacrifice everything.
If only you knew but have not love.
It profits me nothing. The church, the body of
believers which started on the day of Pentecost as the Holy
Spirit fell upon the disciples, that great noise that the heard
and the tongues of fire upon each of them.
The Church, the body of believers, you and I share in a
common life. What is that?
It's not that we all live in a kibbutz or commune and we're
socialists. No, we are the family of God now
because you have been saved by my Saviour and I've been by
saved by your Saviour. We are brothers and sisters in
Christ. We have one Father, our Father
who art in heaven. We're the family of God and
we're serving God. The body of Christ is that.
And the second thing it does is it our our aim in life now is
not to achieve what I want to achieve.
My plans all gone now. My plans are his plans.
God, what do you want me to do? Remember Paul on the road to
Damascus or Saul? He as he was then.
Lord, what would you have me to do?
So now we collectively are all serving the Lord.
How are we serving the Lord? That's for us to find out.
We each have the same eternal life, The eternal life that you
have and I have. We'll end up in the same place,
at the feet of Christ, worshipping, praising him in
heaven. We all came to Christ in the
same way because the Bible says for by grace you have been saved
through faith. It's the only way you can come
to Christ, come to to the Father, to salvation through
Jesus Christ. We are all placed into the one
Church, 1 body, the body of Christ the same way by the Holy
Spirit. He has placed us in the church,
the church's unity. And many people say Oh well what
we, we need to have see unity in the church is not and does not
occur by organisation. Well, OK everybody, we've got to
get together. We've got to be united, have a
united front. That's not the unity.
The church's unity is not organisational.
That is man made or manipulated. We're going to have these rules.
You're going to be along with this church.
You cut your hair this way, you wear these clothes, you pray
this way, you have this Bible. You do this, you do this, you do
this. No, that's not unity, but
instead the unity of Christ and the Church is organic.
God did it. He put us all in this one body.
He did it. We are all one in Christ Jesus,
the Bible tells us. Galatians 328 There is neither
Jew nor Greek. There is neither slave nor free.
There is neither male nor female, for you are all one in
Christ Jesus. This is the sign, this love and
unity, organic. This is the sign that Jesus
spoke of. You know, we often hear people
quote by this all know that you are my disciples if you have
love for one another. And so we think, wow, man, I
don't like this blokeman. Yeah, we're together.
Yeah, you know, no, no, that's just man made or rubbish.
The real love that we have for one another is genuine.
It's a genuine love that God gives us.
He places us. And now, now all of a sudden I
actually do care about other people.
I'm no longer Kane who doesn't care about his brother Abel.
Now I'm like the Good Samaritan. Do I see a stranger and I stop,
go out of my way. I fix them up, take them to a
motel. I pay their bill.
When I come back, if there's any more money and it's a complete
stranger, the change, the difference.
So the sign to the world of our love for one another is the
dynamic of church life. In other words, people outside
the world. See those people that sing at
Calvary Chapel. I've been sitting at the pub,
you know, all these weeks and I've watched all these people
come to this church across the road and I hear them singing and
I see they love going to church. I see them, you know, carrying
their Bibles. They're genuine.
Something's happened to this group.
That's the sign that we're followers of Jesus Christ, by
the way, that we now live in that capacity.
And it's not a show and it's not put on and it's not fake.
Loving someone is not defined by having warm feelings.
You know, couples get together, going to get married and they do
the old. Yeah.
Well, why you going to? Why do you want to marry this
person? Oh, I think he's just.
Oh, well. And then the guy who's he's got
a well, now she said that I've got to go.
When I search, I think she's the most beautiful woman I've ever
seen in all my life. That's why we're getting
married. Well, that's nice, but that
actually is not the description of love.
That's physical attraction. Loving someone is not defined by
having warm feelings toward them.
Loving someone is defined by meeting that other person's
needs. And you read on One Corinthians
13 expecting nothing in return. Expecting nothing in return.
How many couples are at war in marriage as well?
I'll do if you, but I'm not doing it until you do.
And the poor old Mexicans get the blame for all of it.
The last time you made a sacrifice for someone was the
last time you loved them. Last time you made a sacrifice
for him was the last time you loved him.
The last time you made a sacrifice for her was the last
time you loved her. Paul has talked and wrote to the
church. Colossae, I want to encourage
you. I want to strengthen your
hearts, and that is a heart. A strengthened heart is a heart
that has learned to love. It goes on in verse 2.
And attaining to all riches. This is what he wants of the
full assurance of understanding. I'm going to put those together
again, the full assurance of understanding in my notes.
I have full assurance understanding and I have an
arrow and it goes to both it, it drops on to both.
They go together like grace and peace.
Full assurance of understanding. Can't have full assurance on its
own, can't have understanding on its own.
Full assurance of understanding to the knowledge of the mystery
of God, both of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hidden
all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
And I'll explain. Paul wanted the believers of
Colossae to experience all the wealth straightaway.
People go money. Oh no, no wealth.
It's funny, the world, the material world, when it speaks
of wealth, it goes to monetary value, doesn't it?
Wealth is in the knowledge of God, knowing Christ, to
experience all the wealth that comes with full assurance.
Again, it's connected, all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge. This means if we don't have that
assurance, we sing that the good old hymn.
I love blessed assurance, Jesus is mine or what a foretaste of
glory divine. If we don't have the assurance
that we are saved, we are unable to enjoy all the blessings as
heirs of Christ. It's a cause and reaction.
It's a domino effect. Full assurance of understanding.
I'll explain it even more. People are often troubled with
doubts about their salvation. It is so sad when people come
and just go. Keith, you know, Helen, can you
pray for us? And I'm just not sure whether, I
mean, I don't know if I'm a Christian or not.
I just don't know where I am. I'll go.
How does that happen? People are often troubled with
doubts about their salvation. Their problem is not knowledge.
They've been through the scriptures.
They know John 316 for God's to love the world, that he gave his
only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should
not perish, but have everlasting life.
They know Jesus died on the cross.
They know He rose from the dead on the third day.
So what's the problem? The problem is not knowledge.
They know and have heard the scriptures of salvation.
Their problem is their failure to apply the very truths they
know. That means to believe, to trust
by faith God's Word. God says I'm saved, that's good
enough for me. God says I'm saved, that's good
enough for me. Jesus says he'll never leave me
and nor forsake me. That's good enough for me.
Truth finds a firm footing in a strong heart that works its way
out in love. Love is connected here as its
expression. So the more I know of my
insurance in Christ, you'll never leave me, me or nor
forsake me. And I understand that assurance
with understanding then what happens in my life.
I I can go around loving people. You know why?
Because I'm satisfied. I don't have problems in my
life. Yeah, things, you know, I get a
flat tyre and we got to pay our bills and this happens and that
breaks down and you might get sickness and but but what
happens? I'm content in Christ.
And so I can love other people because God loves me.
You see, love works its way out in our lives because of our
assurance, full assurance and understanding of what God has
done. It's the expression of
salvation. If you don't have the love of
God seen and and and and and coming out of your life, then
there's probably cause to think, well, maybe I'm not saved
because the Bible tells us that the definition, the sign by this
the world shall know that you are my disciples.
Love is seen in action, not words in action, in a believer
who was applying God's word in their lives and living it out
obediently in faith. Faith is the substance of things
hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
The Lord's Prayer. Jesus gave us the model, didn't
he? What's the hard part of the
Lord's Prayer? And forgive us our trespasses.
We don't have a problem with that.
We love that as we as we, as we forgive those who trespass
against us. I have a problem with that.
God says, well, I have a problem with you and you got to change
because my love to you is given so that you can love others.
By this the world shall know that you're my disciple.
If you aren't able to forgive others, then there's a good
chance it ain't happening between us.
It's also seen in prayer. When people apply the truths of
God's Word, there is a deep conviction.
Why do you do this? Why do wives respect and honour
their husbands and submit to their husbands?
Why do husbands love their wives as Christ gave his life for the
church? Why do they do that?
Because they know the Word of God is true.
They have deep convictions. They have an assurance and an
understanding. It's a bit like the matter of
prayer. People don't pray.
And I, I'm kind of interested in this.
All you people don't have a problem.
People don't pray. Why not?
Because they don't know about it in scripture.
I mean the Bible is full of people praying.
Jesus prayed. They don't pray because they
have no assurance or an or understanding what that prayer
works. They don't pray.
Well, why pray? I mean, is it going to make any
difference? So why?
Why bother? People who don't pray, people
who don't come out for prayer night, they don't pray because
they don't believe it works. That's that's the truth of the
matter. Because if they really felt it
worked and that prayer was something important, you've been
horses couldn't keep them away. But when a person believes in
the power of prayer, like you who are gathered here tonight,
and you pray. We become like that man by the
name of Elijah, James says the effect of fervent prayer of a
righteous man avails much. It's it does a lot.
Elijah was a man with a nature just like us.
He's just ordinary. And he prayed earnestly.
He believed in prayer. He had full assurance that
prayer works, that it would not rain and it did not rain on the
land for three years or six months.
And he prayed again. Why did he pray again?
Because he know it works. He knows God listens.
You know God answers prayer. And the heaven gave rain and the
earth produced its fruit. James, 516 to 18.
You see, prayer, we know you are here, works.
So that's why we pray. We have an assurance and an
understanding because of the influence of the Gnostic heresy
which was attacking Colossi, and Paul's letter is right writing
to defeat that. Paul, one of the Colossian
believers. To know that in Jesus Christ is
hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
You need some. God's got it for you.
Whatever you need, he's got it. You need to know he's got it,
need to know how to apply, what to do.
He'll tell you They needed to have a settled conviction in
their hearts that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that he is
God on the flesh, that he is the Son of God, God on the flesh.
He is God's mystery. Therefore, Paul was saying Jesus
alone is sufficient. Well, we don't see that in
churches today. Why?
Because they're always chasing something to tack on.
Well, we got to have this, we got to have this.
We got to do it this way. We don't do, we got to have, we
got to put on this. We got to, we got to, we got to
be involved in that. You see, Paul was saying there's
no need for the new knowledge. Chuck Smith used to say, if it's
new, it's not true. If it's true, it's not new.
No need for the new knowledge. The writings of any cult.
Oh, we have a book. This will help you Book a
Mormon. I don't need it.
I have Jesus Christ nor any philosophy to supplement the
Bible. Well, what we need, Bible is
very good, but we're a changing world.
We're an educated world, man, Internet at our fingertips,
fingertips. We have a world that's suffering
with mental health. We know about that.
So what we need is we know the Bible needs it does so much, but
it needs this as well. Now it doesn't.
You don't need any philosophy to supplement the Bible.
Jesus is the source of all true spiritual knowledge.
Colossians 2, verse 4. Now this I say, lest anyone
should deceive you. That word means in the Greek
beguile. It's the reason it means speak
faulty logic, erroneous interpretations.
Oh, well, Jehovah Witnesses will say, well, that's not what
actually it says. So you need to read our book to
understand what this book says. That's beguiling, that's
deceiving. And how do they deceive you with
persuasive words in the Greek? That's enticing.
That's the con man who says, man, you know your flaws.
Let me just run this $300,000 vacuum cleaner over it and show
you just what? Look at that, man.
It's this. You need this.
I know you have no money, but this $300,000 vacuum cleaner, it
will do wonders. I need to get it.
Yeah, you need to get it. Otherwise you're not cleaning
your house. Persuasive.
Paul gives a warning. Today, the cults are still
preaching the doctrines of demons.
That's what it says. One Timothy 41.
Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times, some will
depart from the fight. People will leave the church.
You know, people will leave the church.
People come and they'll go. You know why I'm just after that
little bit extra? Because Jesus, the Jesus I have,
he just doesn't do it for me. Giving heed to deceiving
spirits. Come, come.
Oh yeah, we've got it for you and doctrines of demons.
Tonight I want to ask you, are you settled on the deity of
Jesus Christ? Verse 5.
For though I am absent in the flesh, Paul said, yet I am with
you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the
steadfastness of your faith in Christ.
Paul rejoices at the church in Colosse was a church in order.
That word order is a military term meaning good discipline.
Calvary Chapel, Secret Harbour. We have a church in good order.
You can't do anything cranky here because we'll throw you
out. Can't do anything stupid here
because we'll throw you out. You go, well, that's not very
Christian. No, it actually is very
Christian. It's a military term.
It's a good order. We're not going to allow freak
freaks and freak shows to occur here.
This is the House of God where we teach the Word of God in
reverence and awe of them, Almighty God.
So Paul rejoiced that the church was in order and the
steadfastness of your faith in Christ.
Stereo MA is the word steadfastness, which means
stability. It's another military term.
You're solid, you know. Oh, what are we doing in church
this. Well, this day we're all going
to March around and sing a song. And then next week we're all
going to run around the lawn do cartwheels.
Wow, man, God's really moving here.
Yeah, he's moving out stability. When you come to church, what
should you hear? You should sing songs of
worship. The God, that script got
Scripture in them and then you should hear, let's open our
Bibles and you should be able to sit there and follow along in
your Bible and go, yeah, that's right, that's right.
That's what it says. That's what it says.
Verse 6 as you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord
now so walk in him. Because of this, Paul now says,
so walk in him. That's what we have to do now
walk. That is your daily conduct,
meaning to continue believing in the truth about Jesus.
Don't waiver. Oh I'm not sure is he do I need?
I'm not sure. The former head of the Anglican
Church in WA just can't recollect his name off the top
of my head now, which I don't want to anyway.
He said Jesus Christ is good, but we can learn from other
religions. They can help us and I went
that's blasphemy. It is and he wrote that in the
in the Anakin Anglican messenger or whatever it was called.
I remember reading it. Your daily conduct conduct means
to continue believing in the truth about Jesus.
Don't waver as a as a fish swims and lives in water.
What are you and I to do as Christians now believers, we
must learn to walk in Christ. If you read the book of
Ephesians, it's in him, through him, by him, of him.
So your life now is in Christ. That's where you live.
You're a fish out of water if you're out of Christ.
In a broader sense, Paul says live in union with Christ.
This is a true relationship with him.
Walk in Step 1, John 26. He who says he abides in him or
himself also to walk just as he walked.
So when you face a problem or you're hit by a storm, a Rogue
Wave suddenly sweeps over you or your family or your marriage,
what is the guideline of what should I do at that moment when
this happens? The question you should ask and
pray is this, what would Jesus do in this situation?
What would Jesus do in this situation?
And then do what Jesus would do in this situation.
Jesus, what should I do? He'll tell you.
That's your answer, that's your direction.
The seven rooted and built up in Him, one established in the
faith, 2 as you have been taught, 3 abounding in it with
Thanksgiving. 44 great points in that 7 verse 7.
That's a sermon there, rooted and built up means like a tree
with deep roots and rich soil. Believers have been firmly
rooted in who Christ Jesus. That's where I'm founded, that's
my foundation. He's the rock which I sit.
This eternal planning. When did that happen?
It happened the moment you
receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour.
Jesus Christ because he is the source of our spiritual
nourishment. John 15 five.
Jesus says I'm the vine, you're the branches.
We've got to be connected. He who abides in me walks, walks
with him, has a relationship with him, seeks him, prays with
him, speaks to him, speaks back, He abides.
A man, I and Him bears much fruit.
You know why? Because God is working through
you. You're not doing your own thing,
but without me you can do nothing.
We are constantly being built up in Him.
Each day when you read the Word of God, you are strengthened.
Each time you kneel in prayer, you were changed more into the
image of Him. Verse 6, as you have been
taught, abounding in it with Thanksgiving.
Paul had taught Epaphras all this.
Epaphras had taught those at Colossae.
All that we've just studied as you've been taught.
It wasn't just So what are we to do?
They were taught they were in church and they went through the
word of God and they were taught this by Paul and Epaphras
abounding in it with Thanksgiving.
Summarising Paul's teaching in these few verses, we see Paul
teaches that there should be evident in the Christian walk
pictures of spiritual progress. We should, you should be able to
see in me and I should be able to see in you that you're
growing in Christ because if you're not growing, you know
what you're doing the opposite, the growing backsliding.
There's no levelling off. You're either growing in Christ
is what we've got to do, should do each day, or we are
backsliding. We're dying on the vine.
And how should we see this spiritual progress?
We should be abounding with Thanksgiving.
The healthy, growing Christian can easily defeat the enemy and
not be LED astray. Why?
If our spiritual roots are deep in Christ Jesus, we'll desire no
other soil. I'm not interested in Hindu or
Islam, or I don't have curiosities about Buddha or some
other thing. How can they compare with the
creator of heaven and earth, the one true God?
Paul would later write of those who are not rooted in Christ to
Timothy 35. We're going to see more of it in
these last days, having a form of godliness.
What are they doing? They deny it's power.
Yeah, but can he really? Always learning, never able to
come to the knowledge of the truth.
No assurance, no understanding, no love, no growth, no Christ.
But if Jesus Christ is your sure foundation, you have no need to
move. If you're studying and growing
in the Word, you'll not be easily enticed by false
teaching. Man.
You hear a false teacher, you go, man, what?
That's a joke, that people can sit in front of that guy and
hear him say that stuff. Joel Osteen, how thousands of
people can sit in front of that guy and listen to him vomit on
his stuff. Philosophy, my goodness.
And instead your heart, as Paul tells us, will be overflowing
with Thanksgiving. That's why you, when you come to
your mouth, although it's just so good He is, you will never
consider turning away from the fullness.
You haven't. I have everything in Christ.
He's given me everything that I need.
As a grounded, growing, grateful believer, you will not be LED
astray. Paul will tell us in 2 verses a
little late. Later on in verse 10, Paul will
say this. And you are complete in him.
That's marvellous, that's marvellous.