What I've Been Working On

So we went to immigration yesterday to get stamped now that our work permit applications are filed. And she said she needed some other papers that George has at Namwianga and that we should wait to come back on the 17th when our stamps she gave us on Wednesday expire. In the meantime we can start doing volunteer work, but ONLY at Namwianga. She doesn't want to see us working with other people even though we are a part of the Pilgrim Wesleyan church here. It's so frustrating, but I know that God will continue to work through it. This means though that I cannot share again today. I'm pretty bummed about it, but not like I was last week. I still just felt like God wanted me to work on the same passage this week. So this morning I typed up my talk basically as if I was giving it and I've decided to post it here to share it with all of you. Maybe it's meant to be shared on here and someone will see it and it will be just what they need. Or maybe I'm just suppose to learn more patience. :) Or maybe this passage, which deals with the supremacy of Christ, was really just something God wanted to get into my sometimes stubborn head. Any which way here it is. Enjoy. Oh and I have a PO Box in Kalomo now - it's actually Mike & Linda Jones PO Box, they're missionaries who've been living here for I think 14 years and they're great. They've said we can share it with them. :) My mom sent me a package so I'm waiting to see if it actually gets it here before sharing it with all of you. So pray that works and then I'll let you know how to send me stuff. :) Okay, really now, I'm going. I need to get lunch and go to the church because we are allowed to attend church so I want to at least be there even if I'm not allowed to lead.

Has anyone ever given you something you really wanted – a gift, but that you knew you did not deserve? How did that make you feel? Have you ever given a gift to someone else simply because you wanted to and not because of anything they had done? How did they feel? What was their reaction? How did you feel giving the gift?

God wants to give us a gift. There’s nothing we’ve done to deserve it. He gives us an incredible gift because He loves us.

Today we’re going to take a look at Colossians 1:13-23. The church of Colosse was struggling. They had heard the Gospel and said they believed in Jesus, but they were still worshipping other gods. They were trying to combine The Gospel with other beliefs. They were worshipping things of this world and Jesus. The apostle Paul wrote them to tell them they needed to STOP practicing other religions and to believe that they had everything they needed in Christ alone!

We need to hear these words in our own lives. Is there anything else in our lives that we are worshipping or believing in other than God? God used the apostle Paul to write a letter to the church of Colosse to make them aware of what they were doing wrong, why it was wrong, and what they should do instead.

Today we are going to look at just a small portion of the letter to the church of Colosse, but through it I hope you see the amazing gift God offered to the church of Colosse and to each one of us!

Colossians 1:13 “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,” God has rescued each of us from darkness! He brought us from darkness into light – from slavery into freedom – from guilt into forgiveness – and from Satan to God! It is nothing we do on our own. We needed His sacrifice. What darkness has God rescued you from? (Bad relationships, cheating, lying stealing, going to the witch doctor?) Are you still living in darkness in any area of your life? We cannot be in darkness and in the light at the same time. The Lord declared that where there is light the darkness cannot be. We cannot be in both! You muse choose.

Verse 14 goes onto say, “in whom we have the redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” What an incredible statement. God has redeemed us! He has forgiven us. But some of you may be asking how. How can God forgive my sin and how can He forgive everyone – past, present, and future – of their sins?? Let us continue to look at the words of the apostle Paul.

In verse 15 and 16 he writes, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.” In these two verses is one of the strongest statements about the divine nature of Jesus. I do not claim to fully understand it as I believe we will never fully understand until we get to heaven and are with Jesus. But this is what I do understand and what we can learn from these two verses: Jesus is not only equal to God, He IS God! Jesus not only reflects God, but He REVEALS God to us! Jesus came from heaven to earth to live among us. He was not created from the dust like God created man because Jesus is God. Jesus is completely holy and has authority over all! And yet, He chose to come live among us and to take our place in death as payment for all of our sins. Therefore, Christ is supreme over all – all things in heaven and all things on earth. We must oppose those who say Jesus was only a prophet or a good teacher or those who try to combine Jesus and any other religion together as if they are equal. Jesus Christ is the only true God and the only one worthy of our praise.

Verse 17 continues this bold statement of who Jesus is. It says, “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” He holds it all together! All things in my life, in your life, in your friends’ lives, in your family, in the whole world, in the whole universe, everything in the past, and everything that is to come! He protects us, cares for us, and sustains us.

At this point you may be asking, “But really how did God forgive my sins? How can He forgive everyone for every sin we’ve ever committed? How can I know what you’re saying about Jesus is true?”

Let’s look at what Paul writs in verse 18. “And he is the head of the body, the church; he is he beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.” Jesus is the beginning and the firstborn among the dead! Jesus’ resurrection PROVES His Lordship over all. He has power over everything. He defeated death – He is the only one that could because He is God - and only through belief in Him will we defeat death and live forever.

Verse 19 says, “For God was pleased to have his fullness dwell in him.” Jesus was fully human and fully God at the same time. He has always been God and always will be God. We are not to diminish His humanity and at the same time we are not to diminish His deity (His Lordship, His divine nature), even if we do not fully understand it. It’s like when we get a great gift, but didn’t do anything to deserve it. Such as when a friend forgives us before we are sorry for wronging them or when we get a reward for no reason or when a teacher gives us extra help or time to do an assignment or when our brothers or sisters help us do our chores without expecting anything in return.

Paul continues his thoughts from verse 19 in verse 20 as he wrote, “and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” Jesus alone cleared a way for us to come to Him. That doesn’t mean everyone’s just automatically saved. It’s a choice we have to make. It’s like a gift. We have to choose to receive it and open it and take it into our possession. God gives it freely. He doesn’t say to this, this, this, and this and then maybe you’ll be good enough to deserve it. No. All we have to do is believe in Him and receive Him into our hearts – to ask Him for His forgiveness for our sins.

Verse 21 through the first part of 23 moves from explaining the supremacy of Christ to explaining how we fit into the picture of Christ.

Verse 21 says, “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.” Our sin corrupts our way of thinking about God. Our sin put a barrier between us and God. It is like we were facing God and then when sin entered our lives we turned around so that our backs were to God. He was still facing out and reaching out to us, but we could no longer connect with Him because we were facing away from Him. We chose to walk in darkness.

The great news though is that our walking away is not the end of the story. The story does not have to end in darkness. Verse 22 says: “But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.” Jesus RECONCILED us! The word “reconcile” means to coexist in harmony. What a beautiful picture! Jesus and only Jesus made it possible for us to live WITH Him in HARMONY! It is only by His grace – not anything of our own doing. Any, yes ANY, sin is enough to separate us from Christ, but His sacrifice makes a way for us to be forgiven.

Jesus suffered death fully as a human so that we can be assured that He died in our place! Jesus faced death as God so we can be assured that His sacrifice was complete and that He truly removed our sin. What an incredible gift. Did you get that? Jesus died as a human so we can know He died in our place and at the same time – at the same time – He died as God so we can be certain – positively and absolutely know – that our punishment for all of our sins was paid for with His death and that Satan was defeated by Jesus’ resurrection.

To be free from sin though we must trust Jesus to take it away. It is a gift He offers to us freely. There is nothing we can do to earn it or to be good enough to deserve it. He paid the price. He took our punishment so that the barrier of sin was removed. All we have to do is turn back around and face our Heavenly Father.

Verse 23a ends this section by giving us a challenge. Paul writes, “If you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel.” The way to remain facing God is to remain in the truth of the Gospel. We must learn all we can from His Word. God has given us the Bible so that we may know His will. We must be established and firm – not to just choose God when it’s easy, but in every decision every day. The gift of salvation He gives to us freely, but then it is up to us to take care of the gift of an eternal relationship with Him.

Will you receive God’s gift of grace? Will you turn around and face Him and worship Him alone?

If you have already received God’s gift of grace how are you treating your gift? When we get an incredible gift how do we take care of it? I know that when I get a gift I do all that I can to take care of it and keep it safe. How are you taking care of God’s gift He’s given you? Are you spending time with Him and learning how to be safe in Him – how to walk continuously in His light – leaving all your sins behind?