WEBVTT 00:00:06.402 --> 00:00:10.352 I'm super excited about the healing hands clinic kicking off. 00:00:10.352 --> 00:00:18.884 I love that tangible expression of being the hands and feet of Jesus to those in need And we're praying. 00:00:18.884 --> 00:00:30.131 Our prayer is that God would use the meeting of a physical, tangible need to open doors for conversations about deep spiritual needs. 00:00:30.131 --> 00:00:40.588 And sometimes God can use the church to meet a tangible need and then, doing so, he opens a door for a spiritual conversation about Jesus. 00:00:40.588 --> 00:00:52.370 That really, when you pair the meeting of a tangible need with the story of Jesus who redeems and restores, there's a recipe there for transformation and power. 00:00:52.370 --> 00:00:56.070 So that's what we're praying and I invite you to join in and pray that with us. 00:00:56.720 --> 00:01:06.329 As you heard, if you're interested in volunteering today at 3.30 or tomorrow night at 7 in the Clark Room downtown, it's a great spot to check out more about that. 00:01:06.329 --> 00:01:17.380 My name is James, if you have a chance to meet, and I get the privilege of serving here as Campus Pastor and want to extend a warm welcome to our first-time guest, our honored guest today. 00:01:17.380 --> 00:01:19.172 We're glad you're in the room. 00:01:19.172 --> 00:01:20.400 If this is your first time being here. 00:01:20.400 --> 00:01:23.380 All we ask of you there's a communication card. 00:01:23.380 --> 00:01:25.127 You may have gotten one on the way in. 00:01:25.127 --> 00:01:25.709 If you didn't. 00:01:25.709 --> 00:01:28.400 They're in the lobby or out front on the way out. 00:01:28.400 --> 00:01:33.352 If you take a moment, fill that out and hand it back to one of our folks in the green shirts. 00:01:33.352 --> 00:01:36.169 We would love to be able to follow up with you. 00:01:36.169 --> 00:01:39.400 We won't blow your email up with tons of spam and all that kind of stuff. 00:01:39.400 --> 00:01:49.359 We just want to know how we can pray for you and encourage you, and we actually have a small gift of our appreciation for you being here today that we'll put in your hands today on your way out. 00:01:49.359 --> 00:01:55.393 So, with that said, i'm going to pray and then we're going to jump into our scripture for the day. 00:01:55.393 --> 00:02:02.013 Father, thank you for the opportunity to gather in the name of Jesus. 00:02:02.013 --> 00:02:11.400 Father, we thank you for the ability to worship you, to pray to you, to know that, god, you're with us, You're for us. 00:02:11.400 --> 00:02:23.379 God, you are at work in every circumstance of our lives to deepen our faith, to strengthen us at a level beyond our own capacity in our humanness. 00:02:23.379 --> 00:02:26.360 Father, we're just grateful for you. 00:02:26.360 --> 00:02:35.340 And so now, god, as we open your word, our prayer is that, by your spirit, you would work in a way that only you can. 00:02:35.340 --> 00:02:39.050 In Jesus' name, and everybody says together amen. 00:02:39.801 --> 00:02:44.972 I don't normally do this at the beginning of a message, but I do have a couple of housekeeping items to take care of today. 00:02:44.972 --> 00:02:49.331 One you may notice there's some renovations happening around the building. 00:02:49.331 --> 00:02:51.379 The lobby got renovated this past week. 00:02:51.379 --> 00:02:55.111 We moved to the kids wing down that hall because of renovations here. 00:02:55.111 --> 00:03:01.424 At some point in time renovations are going to start in here And when we know we'll let you know. 00:03:01.424 --> 00:03:05.932 But when that happens we're actually going to move everything to the other side of campus. 00:03:05.932 --> 00:03:16.251 So it is entirely possible that one Sunday morning you show up and there's nobody in here, will all be over there And there'll be signs, and that's about all I know right now at this point in time. 00:03:16.251 --> 00:03:18.147 But if we're not in here, we're over there. 00:03:18.147 --> 00:03:19.864 So don't go home and think you missed it. 00:03:19.864 --> 00:03:21.007 The rapture didn't happen. 00:03:21.007 --> 00:03:22.111 You're not left behind. 00:03:22.111 --> 00:03:25.569 Just come to the other side of campus and we'll be there. 00:03:25.569 --> 00:03:27.644 And this just between us. 00:03:27.644 --> 00:03:32.379 The air conditioner is much better on that side of campus than this side. 00:03:32.379 --> 00:03:34.908 So I'll try to be brief today and we'll get you out. 00:03:34.908 --> 00:03:37.353 There you go, there you go. 00:03:37.539 --> 00:03:45.400 So, with that said, i also want to give a massive thank you to Brian Burton, who spoke and did a phenomenal job last week. 00:03:45.400 --> 00:03:46.423 I got to listen to that. 00:03:46.423 --> 00:03:47.567 Yeah, we can clap for that. 00:03:47.567 --> 00:03:51.379 Super grateful man for you. 00:03:51.379 --> 00:04:02.873 I told the first service, noah, my six year old, and I were watching that yesterday together And Noah said, dad, i think Mr Brian should be the real pastor and you should just be his assistant. 00:04:02.873 --> 00:04:06.568 And I was like no, me too, man, me too. 00:04:06.568 --> 00:04:08.051 That sounds like a great plan. 00:04:08.051 --> 00:04:10.379 But, man, just grateful for you. 00:04:10.379 --> 00:04:20.327 And you know, i also got to spend the week away with my family this past week and I love being part of a church that I miss And I miss being here with you guys. 00:04:20.327 --> 00:04:27.983 I'm so grateful for men like Brian that can step in and lead the way, and so many of y'all that lead the way in loading in, loading out, serving in kids. 00:04:27.983 --> 00:04:41.399 Men and women just do a phenomenal job And it's just a blessing to be part of what God is doing here, grateful for you, grateful for your families, grateful for the opportunity to do church together and to be the church together. 00:04:41.399 --> 00:04:48.032 So thank you for being a place that's easy to miss and a people that's easy to love. 00:04:48.032 --> 00:04:56.013 With that said, colossians chapter two, we're jumping back today into a series called The Path. 00:04:56.013 --> 00:04:58.126 This is part five. 00:04:58.266 --> 00:05:01.399 I believe we're walking verse by verse to the book of Colossians. 00:05:01.399 --> 00:05:08.399 Today we're going to read verses six through 15 of chapter two and really focus in on the first two verses. 00:05:08.399 --> 00:05:16.399 Paul says this, therefore, and when you see, therefore, in the scriptures, the question you're supposed to ask is what's it there for? 00:05:16.399 --> 00:05:24.373 And really, what we're about to read today is the thesis statement for the entire book of Colossians. 00:05:24.373 --> 00:05:40.354 Like this is Paul's big point, because God, the father, is almighty and ruling and reigning, and because of the work of Jesus, the son, because now Paul is called to be God's servant and we're invited to share in that servant hood. 00:05:40.960 --> 00:05:52.399 Therefore, paul says as you have received Christ, jesus, the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith. 00:05:52.399 --> 00:06:07.111 Just as you were taught a bounding in Thanksgiving, see to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 00:06:07.111 --> 00:06:17.399 For in Christ the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 00:06:17.399 --> 00:06:18.361 In him. 00:06:18.361 --> 00:06:54.379 You also were circumcised, with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you also were raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised Christ from the dead And you who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, god made alive together with him, having forgiven us all of our trespasses by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. 00:06:54.379 --> 00:06:58.049 This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 00:06:58.049 --> 00:07:02.709 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open. 00:07:02.709 --> 00:07:08.379 Shame by triumphing over them in Jesus Christ. 00:07:09.541 --> 00:07:16.133 I think we could almost just like pray right there and be like what a passage, what a word from God this morning. 00:07:16.133 --> 00:07:24.293 To help us kind of get our minds ready to talk about what Paul wants us to learn today, i'll tell you a quick story. 00:07:24.293 --> 00:07:27.949 So I am a, i'm a dog guy. 00:07:27.949 --> 00:07:35.359 Okay, i'm a dog person, not to be divisive in any way, shape or form, but I'm implying everything that you think I'm implying. 00:07:35.359 --> 00:07:36.905 I love dogs. 00:07:36.905 --> 00:07:39.329 Your cat would eat you if it could. 00:07:39.329 --> 00:07:40.495 It just is not big enough. 00:07:41.017 --> 00:07:43.318 I love dogs And I have a golden doodle. 00:07:43.318 --> 00:07:45.126 His name is Yoda. 00:07:45.126 --> 00:07:52.399 And if you, if you're a Star Wars guy, then don't think Yoda on Dagobah laying in the bed when he's old and stealing Luke's food. 00:07:52.399 --> 00:07:57.576 Think Yoda like flipping through the sky with a lightsaber fighting Count Dooku. 00:07:57.576 --> 00:07:58.399 That's my golden doodle. 00:07:58.399 --> 00:08:02.134 He's high energy Yoda, not old laying there. 00:08:02.134 --> 00:08:03.399 Do nothing Yoda. 00:08:03.600 --> 00:08:08.399 He likes to be out and about with play ball all day long, loves to go for walks. 00:08:08.399 --> 00:08:17.245 And so the other morning my three year old Judah and I, we took Yoda the golden doodle for a walk around the neighborhood And I'm like Judah, get your shoes on. 00:08:17.245 --> 00:08:18.370 He's like I got my quacks. 00:08:18.370 --> 00:08:19.985 He loves his quacks. 00:08:19.985 --> 00:08:22.064 They put his quacks on and we're walking. 00:08:22.064 --> 00:08:23.227 I'm like buddy, you need some tennis shoes. 00:08:23.227 --> 00:08:24.009 No, my quacks. 00:08:24.399 --> 00:08:39.331 So we're walking in the neighborhood, probably about a mile or so into the walk, returning and we're going back towards our house And I'm walking the dog and Judah's a little bit behind and he starts to fall behind And I'm like come on, judah, walk with me, keep up, bud, walk with me, keep up Judah. 00:08:39.331 --> 00:08:53.211 And I turn around and Judah's like this like hands on his knees, his heads like laying on his shoulder, like he literally looks like he's like a millimeter away, just like from collapsing on himself And he's like, daddy, my little legs just can't keep up. 00:08:53.211 --> 00:08:55.399 And I was like, oh my God. 00:08:55.399 --> 00:08:57.399 And I'm like Yoda, slow down. 00:08:57.399 --> 00:08:58.805 I'm like blaming the dog. 00:08:58.805 --> 00:09:04.068 But I thought about that phrase My little legs just can't keep up. 00:09:04.760 --> 00:09:10.092 And we say all the time in church following Jesus is it's walking with Jesus. 00:09:10.092 --> 00:09:12.379 It's walking with Jesus. 00:09:12.379 --> 00:09:16.399 I'm like Judah, walk with me And you come to church and it's like walk with Jesus. 00:09:16.399 --> 00:09:18.827 And it's like, has anybody watched Jesus walk? 00:09:18.827 --> 00:09:22.309 Like he does it really really well, you know what I mean. 00:09:22.309 --> 00:09:24.399 Like he's perfect in everything that he does. 00:09:24.399 --> 00:09:30.068 He always knows exactly what to say, he always knows exactly how to treat people. 00:09:30.068 --> 00:09:33.009 He's nice to people who are not nice to him. 00:09:33.009 --> 00:09:35.399 He's like walking around healing people. 00:09:35.399 --> 00:09:38.283 He's not afraid of demons, he's Jesus. 00:09:39.831 --> 00:09:43.000 It's hard to walk with Jesus, is it not? 00:09:43.000 --> 00:09:54.644 Because we say the wrong thing that we shouldn't say, and we know we shouldn't say it, but we say it anyway, and we lose our patience with people that don't like us And we send text messages that we know we shouldn't send and we send it anyway. 00:09:54.644 --> 00:09:58.605 Right, we don't get it perfect, we fail, we fall, we fall short. 00:09:58.605 --> 00:09:59.309 And what do we do? 00:09:59.309 --> 00:10:00.495 We get frustrated. 00:10:00.495 --> 00:10:06.821 It's like we're like Judah, we're like our little wigs just can't keep up walking with Jesus. 00:10:06.821 --> 00:10:08.399 And then what happens? 00:10:08.399 --> 00:10:09.105 when we fall? 00:10:09.105 --> 00:10:12.018 and we fall short and we get frustrated with ourselves. 00:10:12.018 --> 00:10:18.836 And then it's like, well, i'm too far behind now, i don't think I can keep up with Jesus. 00:10:18.836 --> 00:10:30.408 I think Jesus has left me behind and he's up there And I'm back here and look at my failure, look at how messed up I am, look at what I did that I said I'd never do again. 00:10:30.408 --> 00:10:36.862 And then it's like, well, how do I ever catch up to Jesus? 00:10:37.814 --> 00:10:45.516 And I think the phrase walking with Jesus it's a good phrase, like it's what we do, like that's the calling of us as followers of Jesus is to walk with Jesus. 00:10:45.516 --> 00:10:57.380 But I want to show you what Paul says here today, because I think what he's going to show us in Colossians 2 is going to help us on this path of walking with Jesus. 00:10:57.380 --> 00:11:12.468 If you feel like, because of your failure or your past, your shame, because there've been moments that you regret, like your little legs just can't keep up with the perfect person of Jesus, then you're going to be encouraged. 00:11:12.468 --> 00:11:18.595 Today Paul says it like this therefore, as you received Christ, jesus, the Lord, so walk with him. 00:11:18.595 --> 00:11:21.074 Wait, did I read that right? 00:11:21.074 --> 00:11:25.478 As you receive Christ Jesus, the Lord, so walk with him. 00:11:25.478 --> 00:11:28.193 It's not what it says, is it? 00:11:28.193 --> 00:11:38.415 As you received Christ Jesus, the Lord, walk in him, walk in Christ. 00:11:38.415 --> 00:11:44.055 And that's another layer of strange, because what does that mean? 00:11:44.055 --> 00:11:59.220 And here's what I want you to see this morning this path of walking with Jesus, following after Jesus, it's a walk in Christ. 00:11:59.220 --> 00:12:02.372 This is key Paul starts. 00:12:02.372 --> 00:12:06.016 He says as you received Christ Jesus, walk in him. 00:12:06.016 --> 00:12:07.470 As you received Christ Jesus. 00:12:07.691 --> 00:12:10.457 How do we receive Jesus Christ? 00:12:10.457 --> 00:12:28.116 Well, scripture teaches that it's by grace, through faith, the gift of God, so that men and women can't boast about what they did to earn it or deserve it or perform well enough for it. 00:12:28.116 --> 00:12:34.456 We don't get Jesus because we've impressed God to the level where God's like that guy. 00:12:34.456 --> 00:12:35.980 He deserves Jesus. 00:12:35.980 --> 00:12:39.129 She is crushing life. 00:12:39.129 --> 00:12:42.059 She hadn't been mean to anybody in at least seven days. 00:12:42.059 --> 00:12:43.756 I think she deserves Jesus. 00:12:44.151 --> 00:12:52.201 Aren't you grateful this morning that we don't perform enough to deserve the grace and the mercy and the love of Jesus? 00:12:52.201 --> 00:12:54.069 How do we receive Christ? 00:12:54.069 --> 00:12:56.054 It's by grace, through faith. 00:12:56.054 --> 00:12:57.538 It's the gift of God. 00:12:57.538 --> 00:13:01.389 God generously gives because he loves. 00:13:01.389 --> 00:13:05.175 We don't earn it, we can't deserve it. 00:13:05.175 --> 00:13:12.789 This isn't one of those things where it's like you sign on the dotted line and all of a sudden you owe a lot of money that you got to pay back over the next few years with interest added. 00:13:12.789 --> 00:13:15.110 This is not that type of transaction. 00:13:15.110 --> 00:13:17.350 It is a free gift from God. 00:13:17.350 --> 00:13:20.818 We receive Christ by grace, through faith. 00:13:20.818 --> 00:13:24.309 Now, sure, that's a game changer and it changes what we do. 00:13:24.309 --> 00:13:27.709 Our response to the gift of God is repentance and obedience. 00:13:27.709 --> 00:13:30.569 We change how we live because of Jesus. 00:13:30.569 --> 00:13:35.319 But I want you to see this morning walking with Jesus. 00:13:35.480 --> 00:13:40.098 Walking in Jesus, is about position, not performance. 00:13:40.098 --> 00:13:44.340 It starts with position, not performance. 00:13:44.340 --> 00:13:50.701 What I mean by that is this by grace, through faith, your life is hidden with Christ. 00:13:50.701 --> 00:14:00.793 When God looks at you, if you know Jesus as Lord and Savior, he sees the perfect blood of Jesus covering your sin. 00:14:00.793 --> 00:14:03.521 He doesn't see your past. 00:14:03.521 --> 00:14:06.334 He doesn't see your shame and your guilt. 00:14:06.334 --> 00:14:10.860 He doesn't see the brokenness that used to define who you used to be. 00:14:10.860 --> 00:14:16.641 He sees the righteousness of his perfect son covering your life. 00:14:16.641 --> 00:14:23.034 You're in Christ, and so when God looks at you, he doesn't see the mistakes and the shame and the regret. 00:14:23.034 --> 00:14:26.074 He sees the perfection of Jesus. 00:14:26.074 --> 00:14:29.514 Your position is now in Jesus Christ. 00:14:29.957 --> 00:14:34.283 Is anybody grateful that, by grace, through faith, your life is hidden in Christ? 00:14:34.283 --> 00:14:47.144 Because what that means for me and you is that when we wake up and our feet hit the floor on Monday, we don't start the day with a checklist of things we need to do to impress our heavenly Father that day. 00:14:47.144 --> 00:14:52.121 He already loves us, he's already for us. 00:14:52.121 --> 00:14:58.634 He's already demonstrated his great love for us through the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ. 00:14:58.634 --> 00:15:00.759 If you wonder, could God ever love you? 00:15:00.759 --> 00:15:07.624 God loves you so much that he sent his one and only son to pay the price for my sin and your sin. 00:15:07.624 --> 00:15:13.225 And by grace, through faith, your life is now in Jesus Christ. 00:15:14.437 --> 00:15:18.794 So we don't perform our way into walking with Jesus. 00:15:18.794 --> 00:15:24.495 It's not a try our best and keep up so that Jesus will grab us by the hand and take us with him. 00:15:24.495 --> 00:15:27.855 No, we walk in Christ, christ. 00:15:27.855 --> 00:15:40.360 There's a foundation of confidence that comes because we know Jesus is our Lord and Savior And it's got nothing to do with what I have done or haven't done, and that is really good news. 00:15:40.360 --> 00:15:49.663 On my best day, jesus is no more impressed with me than he is on my worst day, when I've got it all put together and figured out. 00:15:49.663 --> 00:15:56.837 God does not love me anymore than he does when I am broken and busted and can't get it right to save my life. 00:15:56.837 --> 00:16:01.102 Because I can't save my life, jesus can't in that good news. 00:16:01.694 --> 00:16:04.163 So Paul says let's start there. 00:16:04.163 --> 00:16:15.644 Almighty God has done something for us in the person of Jesus, to bring us on board as his servants, and it's all about our position in Jesus Christ. 00:16:15.644 --> 00:16:22.754 By grace, through faith, your life can be hidden in God, with Christ, today and forever. 00:16:22.754 --> 00:16:27.894 That's the other beautiful thing about this idea that Paul is giving us today. 00:16:27.894 --> 00:16:33.326 If you didn't earn your way into it, you can't earn your way out of it. 00:16:33.326 --> 00:16:39.154 If you have received the gift of God's grace, your sin cannot separate you from God. 00:16:39.154 --> 00:16:42.826 This doesn't mean we go and just do what we want to do because we've received God's grace. 00:16:42.826 --> 00:16:49.954 No, on the contrary, on the flip side, because we've received God's grace, we want to do what God says. 00:16:49.954 --> 00:16:54.954 We've been set free from sin so that we can be obedient to God. 00:16:54.954 --> 00:17:00.894 But we do that with this perspective that says, hey, in life or death, there's not an angel or a demon. 00:17:00.894 --> 00:17:05.875 There is nothing in heaven or on earth that could separate me from the love of God in Christ. 00:17:05.875 --> 00:17:08.131 I didn't earn my way in. 00:17:08.131 --> 00:17:08.654 I can't earn my way out. 00:17:10.040 --> 00:17:24.015 My job, our job, is to walk in Jesus Christ, and Paul gives us today three pictures to help us understand what it looks like to walk in Jesus. 00:17:24.015 --> 00:17:39.434 And you could think of these as like three seasons that every follower of Christ goes through, and it's more like summer, fall, winter, spring than it is like one, two, three. 00:17:39.434 --> 00:17:44.334 And what I mean by that one, two, three implies that you get to three and you don't go back to one. 00:17:44.334 --> 00:17:48.773 Right, you move forward, not backwards, but summer, fall, spring, winter. 00:17:48.773 --> 00:17:49.921 It just kind of that got all out of order there. 00:17:49.921 --> 00:17:50.948 But that's not the point. 00:17:50.948 --> 00:17:53.875 We just roll them right through, right. 00:17:53.875 --> 00:17:58.293 Praise the Lord that fall is coming And I hope it comes quickly. 00:17:58.293 --> 00:18:08.055 You know, like that's the thing, it's a cycle And in some ways, these three seasons that we're gonna talk about today, that we all walk through as followers of Jesus, they come as a cycle. 00:18:08.055 --> 00:18:10.655 So here is season number one. 00:18:11.881 --> 00:18:17.275 Paul says if you want to walk in Christ, you need to be rooted in Christ. 00:18:17.275 --> 00:18:24.038 There's a season in all of our lives where we are putting roots deep in the ground And I want you to. 00:18:24.038 --> 00:18:31.187 If you're a follower of Christ today, i want you to think back to when you first gave your life to Jesus. 00:18:31.187 --> 00:18:47.956 Think about how excited you were about the things of God, how hungry you were to be in the scriptures, how amazed you were that you could pray to Almighty God and out of eight billion people, he heard your prayer Like. 00:18:47.956 --> 00:18:49.499 You remember those days right. 00:18:49.499 --> 00:18:51.675 Like it's like, i'm excited to come to church. 00:18:51.675 --> 00:18:54.548 Small group is vibrant. 00:18:54.548 --> 00:18:55.092 I'm ready to serve. 00:18:55.092 --> 00:18:57.614 I want to go on mission, like whatever it takes to follow Jesus. 00:18:57.614 --> 00:19:00.875 I'm in because it's new and you're grateful. 00:19:00.875 --> 00:19:06.272 That's the season where our roots are going deep into the ground. 00:19:06.272 --> 00:19:17.675 I think God gives us those seasons in life where it's like our faith is vibrant, so that it drives us to the word of God, so that our roots can go deep. 00:19:18.541 --> 00:19:29.245 Jeremiah 17 talks about being a tree that is planted by the streams of living water, that's got deep roots, so that in season and out of season, it begins to bear fruit. 00:19:29.245 --> 00:19:41.060 Being rooted, it's really important because the winds are going to blow, the storms are going to come, droughts will happen, it will happen. 00:19:41.060 --> 00:19:45.139 We need roots that go deep. 00:19:45.139 --> 00:19:48.350 My family we've got a Leland Cypress in our backyard. 00:19:48.350 --> 00:19:54.410 We planted it when we moved to Somerville about six years ago And for three years it was like a foot and a half tall. 00:19:54.410 --> 00:20:03.865 Then one year the hurricanes came through and the winds blew really hard and tipped the tree sideways And so it was like sticking kind of sideways out of the ground And Tara was like are you going to fix that? 00:20:03.865 --> 00:20:04.928 I'm like it hadn't grown in three years. 00:20:04.928 --> 00:20:07.410 I'm not touching it, and so I just left it. 00:20:07.410 --> 00:20:09.076 It's the highways in the ground. 00:20:09.076 --> 00:20:16.410 And what happened was like the next year it grew like three feet, except for it went from growing like this to growing like that. 00:20:16.410 --> 00:20:21.390 And so what happens now is there's a J shaped Leland Cypress in our backyard. 00:20:21.390 --> 00:20:28.410 What I realized was that in the three years where I thought nothing was happening, that tree was growing some roots. 00:20:28.410 --> 00:20:37.390 So when the winds came it got knocked off, kilter, but it kept growing towards the sun, and now there's this funny shaped Leland Cypress in our backyard. 00:20:37.390 --> 00:20:50.355 That's a reminder to me that roots will hold us tight when the winds of life blow, so that one day the growth will come And see. 00:20:50.397 --> 00:21:03.659 That's the thing about being in this rooted season, like sometimes you're so excited to read the word, you're so excited to pray, You're so excited to show up at church, and then it feels like there's not a lot happening on the outside. 00:21:03.659 --> 00:21:04.261 You ever been there? 00:21:04.261 --> 00:21:08.410 I'm so excited about God, but I don't see a lot of change happening. 00:21:08.410 --> 00:21:13.269 I'm still struggling, or I'm still dealing with what I used to deal with back there. 00:21:13.269 --> 00:21:15.338 Your roots are going deep. 00:21:15.338 --> 00:21:20.410 Your roots are being planted by streams of living water. 00:21:20.410 --> 00:21:21.114 One day the fruit will come. 00:21:21.114 --> 00:21:22.782 One day the fruit will come. 00:21:22.782 --> 00:21:27.390 Let the seasons do their work. 00:21:27.390 --> 00:21:35.822 Because what Paul says next you want to walk in Christ, be rooted in Christ and be built up in Christ. 00:21:36.873 --> 00:21:39.410 Rooted is a farming metaphor. 00:21:39.410 --> 00:21:43.201 Being built up in Christ is a construction metaphor. 00:21:43.201 --> 00:21:45.826 You drive anywhere in Somerville today. 00:21:45.826 --> 00:21:46.390 What do you see? 00:21:46.390 --> 00:21:56.099 Houses being built everywhere And it's fascinating watching that process of clearing the ground and the pipes come in and the foundations poured. 00:21:56.099 --> 00:22:01.037 Then it's like the next thing, you know, it's a structure that's been built up. 00:22:01.037 --> 00:22:14.931 And Paul says this is a season as well, that for us, as followers of Jesus, there's going to come a moment in time where the roots have gone deep and all of a sudden you realize wait a minute. 00:22:14.931 --> 00:22:17.599 I feel like I'm growing in my faith. 00:22:17.599 --> 00:22:21.800 I'm seeing things with a different perspective. 00:22:21.800 --> 00:22:27.370 I'm responding in a different manner than I would have responded in my past. 00:22:27.370 --> 00:22:30.118 My language is changing. 00:22:30.118 --> 00:22:34.739 In the words of Scripture, my speech is being seasoned with salt. 00:22:34.739 --> 00:22:40.410 Maybe I'm treating people differently than I would have in the past. 00:22:40.410 --> 00:22:45.370 I've got more patience and I'm slower to anger than I was. 00:22:45.370 --> 00:23:01.940 That's the built up season, and I love that phrase built up in him, because it's Paul telling us that what God is doing in the church, in the body of Christ, is something that God has always planned and wanted to do. 00:23:02.911 --> 00:23:10.880 One of the themes of Scripture, all the way from Genesis to Revelation, is that God wants to dwell with his people. 00:23:10.880 --> 00:23:14.199 Can we just think about that for a moment this morning? 00:23:14.199 --> 00:23:20.342 Almighty God wants to be close to people like me and you. 00:23:20.342 --> 00:23:27.410 Let's just level the ground this morning and say, hey, there is no us and them in the church of Jesus Christ. 00:23:27.410 --> 00:23:37.423 We are all people in need of a Savior, and the fact that Almighty God wants to be in relationship with us, that's amazing. 00:23:37.423 --> 00:23:38.410 That's incredible. 00:23:38.410 --> 00:23:40.363 He wants to dwell with us. 00:23:40.363 --> 00:23:44.099 We see it in Genesis God walks in the garden with Adam and Eve. 00:23:44.099 --> 00:23:56.410 We see it in Revelation, at the end of the story, john says that there's coming a day where we won't need the Son anymore, because the dwelling place of God is with man And we see him face to face. 00:23:56.410 --> 00:24:02.338 And how amazing is that day going to be, when our faith becomes sight and we see Almighty God. 00:24:02.338 --> 00:24:05.390 That's God's goal to dwell with his people. 00:24:05.390 --> 00:24:09.560 The problem is that his people haven't always wanted to dwell with him. 00:24:10.971 --> 00:24:15.390 And so in the Old Testament, where does God's presence dwell with his people? 00:24:15.390 --> 00:24:22.916 Well, god tells them to build an ark and build the tabernacle, and that's the place of God's dwelling. 00:24:22.916 --> 00:24:26.956 As the Israelites journey through the wilderness into the promised land. 00:24:26.956 --> 00:24:29.410 And then God's presence dwells in the temple. 00:24:29.410 --> 00:24:40.445 And one time a year one guy gets to walk into the presence of God And they got to tie a rope around his ankle in case he's not holy, because if he goes in he might die in the presence of Almighty God. 00:24:40.445 --> 00:24:41.390 They might have to drag him out. 00:24:41.390 --> 00:24:43.958 Like that's pretty wild, is it not? 00:24:45.053 --> 00:25:02.123 And then fast forward 400 years between the end of the Old Testament and the start of the New Testament And John, at the beginning of his gospel, says there's a new thing that is happening here The word has become flesh and dwelt or tabernacled among us. 00:25:02.123 --> 00:25:18.083 So the God who used to dwell in the temple in the ark, where only one guy once a year could enter into his presence, the same God has become flesh and now dwells with his people. 00:25:18.083 --> 00:25:35.410 But there's a difference here, because in the Old Testament when people would approach Almighty God, they had to be really careful Because if they weren't careful, their sin, combined with the holiness of God, would take them off the planet real fast. 00:25:35.410 --> 00:25:37.398 And we see that a few times. 00:25:37.398 --> 00:25:41.698 You know, there's a guy where the ark starts to tip over and the guy, like, holds his hand out to stop it and he dies. 00:25:41.698 --> 00:25:44.237 It's like God's serious about his holiness. 00:25:44.730 --> 00:25:47.059 Then Jesus shows up and what's he do? 00:25:47.059 --> 00:25:57.410 He walks among normal broken people And there's a moment where a lady who's been sick for years grabs Jesus. 00:25:57.410 --> 00:26:00.394 He's not expecting it, he's not ready for it. 00:26:00.394 --> 00:26:08.280 She grabs him on the way by, she touches the presence of God and what happens? 00:26:08.280 --> 00:26:12.538 She's not killed, she's healed. 00:26:12.538 --> 00:26:20.255 Something has happened in the person and work of Jesus And Paul says it's this. 00:26:20.335 --> 00:26:27.062 Verse nine in Jesus the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily. 00:26:27.062 --> 00:26:36.682 And verse 10, you have been filled in him who is the head of all rule and authority. 00:26:36.682 --> 00:26:58.403 So whereas God's presence used to dwell in the temple used to be hidden in the arc so that people didn't accidentally encounter the presence of God, then the fullness of God dwelt in Jesus Christ, the only son of God, And he saved people and he encountered people, and people were healed and set free and their lives were changed. 00:26:58.403 --> 00:27:03.201 Paul says now that same spirit, where does it dwell? 00:27:03.201 --> 00:27:06.376 In me and in you? 00:27:06.376 --> 00:27:18.243 And as our lives are built up in Christ, what happens is that we become the dwelling place of God in the earth. 00:27:18.243 --> 00:27:21.035 How does the world know there is a God? 00:27:21.035 --> 00:27:25.763 because there is a church inhabited by the spirit of God. 00:27:25.763 --> 00:27:28.133 Y'all we are. 00:27:28.133 --> 00:27:33.363 I heard it said one time we are the evidence of God to a world that doesn't know God. 00:27:33.363 --> 00:27:41.798 We're the dwelling place of God in the earth, and that's true when we scatter throughout the week. 00:27:42.831 --> 00:27:47.521 You take the presence of God everywhere you go. 00:27:47.521 --> 00:27:52.801 Some of y'all are like, oh, i should have thought about that before I went some places in my life. 00:27:52.801 --> 00:27:58.382 You take the presence of God everywhere your foot treads. 00:27:58.382 --> 00:28:08.673 God is in you, not just with you, in you In the midst of your pain. 00:28:08.673 --> 00:28:12.119 God is in you In the midst of your uncertainty. 00:28:12.119 --> 00:28:14.410 God is in you and you don't know what the future holds. 00:28:14.410 --> 00:28:20.283 The spirit of God lives within you and you feel like you are weak and tired and cannot take another step. 00:28:20.283 --> 00:28:29.468 The spirit of God is in you and he is building you up to be the representation of his love to the world. 00:28:31.814 --> 00:28:39.296 If we be honest about the building up season, a lot of times this is where we experience some difficulty and some trials. 00:28:39.296 --> 00:28:41.417 I feel like I'm growing. 00:28:41.417 --> 00:28:42.836 I feel like God's working in my life. 00:28:42.836 --> 00:28:44.536 Bam never saw that coming. 00:28:44.536 --> 00:28:49.259 You felt that I didn't see that pain, i didn't see that heartache. 00:28:49.259 --> 00:28:51.570 I don't understand why I'm walking Like. 00:28:51.570 --> 00:29:14.382 The building up season is where the tension really begins to come in to our lives And it is in that place of pain and faith where God wants to develop a strength on the inside, by the power of his grace, that will allow you to weather whatever life throws your way. 00:29:14.382 --> 00:29:37.537 You're rooted, your roots are deep And now you're walking through the fire as God is building up your faith so that when he shows up in your life, the world will see his love And you'll have the integrity and the character and the strength to display the love of God to a desperate world. 00:29:39.530 --> 00:29:41.919 Third season, third metaphor that Paul gives us. 00:29:41.919 --> 00:29:48.439 Paul says sometimes we get to the place and we feel like we are established in the faith. 00:29:48.439 --> 00:29:54.456 We're like the tree in Jeremiah 17, bearing fruit in season and out of season. 00:29:54.456 --> 00:30:01.656 Days of drought come, still faithful, still fruitful, and I love that picture of the tree. 00:30:01.656 --> 00:30:05.612 You know you think about a big tree, big oak tree, big live oak. 00:30:05.612 --> 00:30:06.656 Think about the angel oak. 00:30:06.656 --> 00:30:12.811 You can fit a lot of people in the shade of that tree And y'all. 00:30:12.811 --> 00:30:32.042 That's the goal for my life and for your life That, as our roots go deep and God builds us up in strength to be his dwelling place in the earth, that we would build a life that would provide shade for people to follow after Jesus in the shadow of our life. 00:30:32.042 --> 00:30:35.576 Shade for the next generation, if you will. 00:30:36.630 --> 00:30:41.602 Paul said it like this follow me as I follow Jesus. 00:30:41.602 --> 00:30:57.922 It's what it looks like to be established in the faith, trusting Jesus in season and out of season, showing the generation that follows, what it looks like to live a life of faithfulness and fruitfulness. 00:30:57.922 --> 00:31:00.276 Isn't that the goal? 00:31:00.276 --> 00:31:02.108 Isn't that what you want? 00:31:02.108 --> 00:31:15.738 It's what I want, you know, and I want to just be clear on that this morning, that the season of established in the faith is not a season of complacency. 00:31:15.738 --> 00:31:22.758 That's not the time where we sit back and relax because we've made it. 00:31:22.758 --> 00:31:25.550 How do you know that you're established in the faith? 00:31:25.550 --> 00:31:33.509 It's when you realize that I have deep convictions about who Jesus is and what Jesus has done. 00:31:33.509 --> 00:31:41.750 And because of my deep convictions about who Jesus is and what he's done, now I've got a really clear sense of mission and calling. 00:31:41.750 --> 00:31:52.037 I know why I'm on this planet and it's so that I can be a shade tree for people to experience the love and the grace and the mercy of Jesus Christ. 00:31:52.037 --> 00:31:59.621 So then the question becomes well, how do we develop these deep convictions? 00:31:59.621 --> 00:32:09.530 How do we allow God to mold us into the people that are rooted and built up in him and established in our faith? 00:32:09.530 --> 00:32:16.350 Fortunately for us, paul gives us two components to ground us in Christ and mature us in our faith. 00:32:16.350 --> 00:32:19.330 The first, he says, is good teaching. 00:32:19.330 --> 00:32:24.221 Paul says continue walking in him, just as you were taught. 00:32:25.134 --> 00:32:27.269 The big threat to the Colossian church was bad teaching. 00:32:27.269 --> 00:32:37.830 There were people that were diminishing the person and the work of Jesus Christ, and so people were living with some combination of grace, through faith and works. 00:32:37.830 --> 00:32:41.210 They felt like they had to earn their way into salvation. 00:32:41.210 --> 00:32:50.970 There were other people in this day and age, like early Gnostics, that were teaching there's more special revelation that you really need in order to be right with God. 00:32:50.970 --> 00:32:54.610 Aren't you glad nobody's teaching weird things about Jesus in today's world? 00:32:54.610 --> 00:32:56.230 We've come so far, you know. 00:32:56.230 --> 00:32:59.417 It's like that's the same thing that's happening all around us today. 00:32:59.417 --> 00:33:09.118 We diminish the person and the work of Jesus and we look for something else that we think will fill the gap that we've created in our own lives. 00:33:10.253 --> 00:33:27.819 What we need, paul says, is to continue in the good teaching of the clear gospel That Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who came to seek and save the lost, who resurrected to new life and who one day will return for his church. 00:33:27.819 --> 00:33:40.195 We need the good news of the gospel that bad people like me have a chance, by the grace of God, to be given a new life and then can walk it out every single day. 00:33:40.195 --> 00:33:41.018 That's what we need. 00:33:41.018 --> 00:33:42.705 So what is good teaching? 00:33:42.705 --> 00:33:43.150 What is good teaching? 00:33:43.150 --> 00:33:47.681 Well, good teaching is anchored in the truth of God's word. 00:33:47.681 --> 00:33:49.290 How do we know if it's good teaching? 00:33:49.290 --> 00:33:50.750 Well, is it from the word of God. 00:33:50.750 --> 00:33:52.377 Is it what God says? 00:33:52.377 --> 00:33:59.750 Good teaching, second, will always elevate the person and the work of Jesus Christ. 00:34:01.416 --> 00:34:15.280 If you're traveling or you move 20 years from now because none of y'all can move anytime soon if you move 20 years from now and you gotta find a new church and you go to a church that's more about you than it is about Jesus, find a church that's more about Jesus than it is about you. 00:34:15.280 --> 00:34:16.068 Right, that's what we need. 00:34:16.068 --> 00:34:19.250 We need more Jesus and less us. 00:34:19.250 --> 00:34:25.970 We need to make much of the person and the work of Jesus Christ. 00:34:25.970 --> 00:34:34.822 And the third element of good teaching is that good teaching will call us to repentance and to obedience. 00:34:37.657 --> 00:34:54.050 There's a tendency in our day and time to fashion Jesus into someone who is like our best friend, Who always wants to ride along with us wherever our car is going, who always wants to affirm us and make us feel better about ourselves. 00:34:54.050 --> 00:34:55.322 And it's like Jesus. 00:34:55.322 --> 00:34:57.780 You know, the whole Jesus is like my co-pilot kind of deal. 00:34:57.780 --> 00:35:05.430 He's just along for the ride to rubber stamp my life as I do what I want to do. 00:35:05.430 --> 00:35:19.150 The Jesus of the scriptures, the resurrected Son of God, is the Lord of all, and so there's gonna be moments in good teaching where I am confronted and convicted, and I need that. 00:35:19.150 --> 00:35:23.570 My response to that is not to say no, thank you Jesus, i'll do it my way. 00:35:23.570 --> 00:35:27.862 It's to say hey, i'm sorry, jesus, help me, do it your way. 00:35:27.862 --> 00:35:52.349 That's what we need, because we all, like sheep, have a tendency to go astray, and we need Jesus, the King, jesus, the Lord, jesus, the shepherd, to guide us and direct us, and our lives as followers of Jesus have to be characterized by repentance and obedience. 00:35:52.349 --> 00:35:53.990 God, i'm sorry I was going this way. 00:35:53.990 --> 00:36:00.139 I was doing it my way, but now I know I'm gonna turn around and I'm gonna go your way and I wanna do it your way. 00:36:00.139 --> 00:36:02.699 Give me the strength to obey. 00:36:03.715 --> 00:36:19.177 Paul said it's good teaching that will allow you to continue to grow roots and build up your life and be established in your faith, and he says it's abounding in Thanksgiving. 00:36:19.177 --> 00:36:24.456 It's gratitude, it's gratitude, and I love this. 00:36:24.456 --> 00:36:25.701 I love this. 00:36:26.914 --> 00:36:29.965 How do we continue to walk in Jesus? 00:36:29.965 --> 00:36:42.084 We stay grateful, we do a heart check every now and then and make sure that deep on the inside, we're still grateful for the person and work of Jesus. 00:36:42.084 --> 00:36:46.305 We're still in awe of who he is and what he's done. 00:36:46.305 --> 00:36:54.706 We're still amazed at the fact that Almighty God would send his son to save broken people. 00:36:54.706 --> 00:36:58.282 We're still floored by the gospel. 00:36:58.282 --> 00:37:02.706 We're still amazed at the beauty of the resurrection. 00:37:02.706 --> 00:37:06.326 We're still waiting with expectancy for Jesus to return. 00:37:06.326 --> 00:37:09.222 He's still the prize, he's still the treasure. 00:37:09.222 --> 00:37:10.717 We're grateful. 00:37:10.717 --> 00:37:12.163 We're grateful. 00:37:13.535 --> 00:37:19.045 Paul says see to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit according to human tradition. 00:37:19.045 --> 00:37:23.684 There's other options available, they're just empty. 00:37:23.684 --> 00:37:30.784 How do we make sure that we don't chase after the emptiness and instead we embrace the fullness of Christ? 00:37:30.784 --> 00:37:31.719 We stay grateful. 00:37:31.719 --> 00:37:46.483 We stay grateful that in Christ we have been filled, that in Christ we've been circumcised, with a circumcision made with out hands, which is always a great line to read in church. 00:37:46.483 --> 00:37:51.280 I was in a small group one time and somebody read something about circumcision and I was like, can you illustrate it? 00:37:51.280 --> 00:37:56.403 I couldn't help it and it was inappropriate, i know, but it's like what's he saying? 00:37:56.403 --> 00:38:01.900 Paul's saying hey, there is something on the inside of us that needs to be cut away. 00:38:02.735 --> 00:38:06.525 In Romans he talks about the circumcision of the heart. 00:38:06.525 --> 00:38:13.543 In Ezekiel 36 it's the removal of a heart of stone and the giving of a heart of flesh. 00:38:13.543 --> 00:38:16.284 We need to be changed on the inside. 00:38:16.284 --> 00:38:22.218 In Christ, we've been filled and our heart has been transformed, but not only that. 00:38:22.218 --> 00:38:26.228 We've been buried with Jesus in baptism. 00:38:26.228 --> 00:38:31.007 The old has gone, the dead has gone and the new has come. 00:38:31.007 --> 00:38:35.161 We've been raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God. 00:38:35.161 --> 00:38:48.943 And then verse 13 says and you who were dead in your sin and the uncircumcision of your flesh, god made a life together with Jesus, having forgiven us all of our trespasses. 00:38:48.943 --> 00:38:58.421 So we've been filled, we've been circumcised in our hearts, we've been buried in baptism. 00:38:58.421 --> 00:39:04.266 We've been raised in new life and our sins have been forgiven. 00:39:04.266 --> 00:39:12.514 A shame has been forgotten, our guilt has been wiped, our record has been cleared. 00:39:12.514 --> 00:39:19.715 We've had the record of death that stood against us, with its legal demands, set aside. 00:39:19.715 --> 00:39:27.855 How Well Paul says it like this it's been nailed to the cross. 00:39:27.855 --> 00:39:30.715