CHRIST ABOVE ALL
2005 promises to be a full year. Every month already promises its share of adventures and activities that could consume all the time and energy we are willing to give.
Into that kind of
busy life, we can count on the occasional crisis—whether one of the magnitude
of the tsunamis to hit Asia taking the lives of countless thousands or personal
health or family crises. There will be
no end of the kinds of things that will demand our attention.
Therefore, we
must make sure that we have made our choice of what is most important before
other matters crowd in and force the highest priorities into the background.
Paul said it
best when he spoke of the overwhelming, surpassing, magnificent greatness of
knowing Christ Jesus.
Phil. 3:8 More than that, I
count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ
Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them
but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ,
By that he did
not mean that we should become more religious in adding duty to duty, but that
we should recognize that there is nothing to compare with the infinite value of
knowing Him personally and intimately.
The rest of life makes sense only in the light and through the eyes of
the Lord Jesus Himself.
THESIS: Anything, which holds a higher place in our hearts
and minds than Jesus Christ will prevent us from exalting Him in the way that
He deserves and in the manner in which our hearts delight.
If we are not
careful, we can allow the good to become the enemy of the best.
Knowing Christ
and living moment by moment with Him far exceeds anything else we can do. As the new year begins, we have opportunity
to take a good look at our priorities and passions. If anything occupies a higher place than Jesus Christ we must
once again exalt Him to His rightful place in our hearts and minds.
Many good things
can masquerade as the best, but we have to be prepared to demote them and exalt
Him if we find that we are not giving Him the highest place.
1. Doing good things
(acts of charity, deeds of generosity)
2. Active
involvement in Christian ministry (important as the expression of love for
Christ but not the same)
3. Moral purity and
personal holiness (simply making good choices and wise decisions does not in
itself give Him pre-eminence)
4. Ethical business
practices
5. Strong marriage
and family commitments
6. Principled
educational choices (giving a biblical framework for learning does not insure
love for Christ)
7. Cultural and
political activism
As good as all
these things can be, if they replace Christ in our affections and priorities,
we have failed to give Him the highest place and settled for an inferior
substitute when He alone is worthy to be above all things.
The book of
Colossians provides a concise outline of what our hearts should embrace as the
greatest pursuit and highest treasure.
I. THE
SUPREMACY OF CHRIST
--Nothing greater can occupy our thoughts or excite
our affections more than Jesus Christ Himself.
Colossians 1:15-20
15 And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born
of all creation. 16 For by
Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things
have been created by Him and for Him. 17
And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 He is also head of the body,
the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He
Himself might come to have first place in everything. 19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the
fullness to dwell in Him, 20
and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through
the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things
in heaven.
--He is Lord of all and in acknowledging His
glorious place in the universe by surrendering to Him in every facet of our
lives we open the door to live life in all its fullness by finding complete
satisfaction in Him.
II. THE
PERFECTION OF CHRIST
--By misunderstanding the order of things, we tend to
seek to become perfect in our behavior before we have been made complete in
Christ.
Col. 1:28-29
And we proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all
wisdom, that we may present every man complete in Christ. 29 And for this purpose also I
labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.
A. COMPLETE
IN UNDERSTANDING
Col. 2:2 that their hearts
may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the
wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true
knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself,
B. RICH IN
TREASURES
Col. 2:3 in whom are hidden
all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
C. SOUND IN
BELIEF
--When we are made complete in Him, Christ stabilizes our
faith and steadies our discipline so that we are not subjected to the
frustrating inconsistencies of life’s ups and downs.
Col. 2:5 For even though I am
absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your
good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ.
III. THE
FULLNESS OF CHRIST
Col. 2:9-10
For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, 10 and in Him you have been made
complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;
A. ALIVE IN
HIM
--Only when we are made alive in Christ can we truly be said
to live.
Col. 2:13 And when you were
dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you
alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,
Col. 3:3-4 For you have died and your life is hidden with
Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you
also will be revealed with Him in glory.
--Therefore, He is not just the leader of a
religious sect called Christians but is our very life…apart from Him we do not
have the capacity to be anything but spiritually dead.
B. WALKING
WITH HIM
Col. 2:6-7
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 having been firmly rooted and
now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were
instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.
--When we walk with Christ by faith and seek to know Him as
the compelling purpose of our lives, Paul says that we can expect to be…
§ Rooted
§ Built Up
§ Strengthened
§ Established
§ Overflowing
--Therefore, we find that walking with Him becomes more
important to us than simply doing things for Him and being associated with Him.
C. CLOTHED
IN HIM
Col. 3:9-10 Do
not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil
practices, 10 and have put
on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image
of the One who created him
--Elsewhere Paul instructs us to “clothe yourselves with
Christ” as we “put on the new self” and allow His life to dominate, to reign
supreme, and to control us…in short, “to live is Christ.”
Col. 3:15 And let the peace of
Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be
thankful
Col. 3:16 Let the word of
Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one
another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in
your hearts to God.
Col. 3:17 And whatever you do
in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through
Him to God the Father
IV. THE
MYSTERY OF CHRIST
--When Christ holds first place in our passions and
priorities, we will be captivated by the mystery that He Himself dwelling in us
is the hope of glory.
--In fact, once that reality grips us, we cannot contain
that good news but will be compelled to proclaim it however and wherever we
can.
Col. 1:25-27 Of
this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God
bestowed on me for your benefit, that I might fully carry out the preaching of
the word of God, 26 that is,
the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations; but has
now been manifested to His saints, 27
to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this
mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
A. PRAYER
Col. 4:2 Devote yourselves to
prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; 3 praying
at the same time for us as well, that God may open up to us a door for the
word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also
been imprisoned
--When Christ is everything to us, prayer flows out of that
loving relationship as we look for ways to spend more time with Him and
opportunities to tell others about Him.
B.
PROCLAMATION
--Any prayer that does not generate a desire to make Him
known probably lacks an appreciation for the wonders of the great mystery of
grace that allows sinful people like us to know our Maker.
--And any proclamation that has not been preceded by prayer
will not be accompanied by the power of God through the Holy Spirit who gives
understanding and awakens hearts and minds to the Truth!
Col 4:4 in order that I may
make it clear in the way I ought to speak.
Col 4:5 Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward
outsiders, making the most of the opportunity.
Col 4:6 Let your speech always
be with grace, seasoned, as it were, with salt, so that you may know how you
should respond to each person.
--If we love Christ, we will speak of Him faithfully and
passionately and winsomely so that His glory may be seen and His salvation made
known.
What place is there in your heart and
mind for Jesus Christ? Does He have the
place of pre-eminence that He alone deserves?
As the new year
begins, we face the challenges of a growing church, the confrontations of
competing worldviews and the call of consuming competitors who would draw our
hearts away from Christ. We need to
hear Paul’s words again and again ringing in our ears as the call to order each
new day:
Col. 3:1-2
If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above,
where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things
that are on earth.
Here is
our calling. Here is our life. Herein lies our hope…the hope of
glory—Christ in you! Fix your eyes on
Jesus Christ—seek Him first and then everything else will fall into place. He is our hope, our joy, our heart’s
greatest desire!
January 3, 2005
Providence Baptist Church
©
David Horner 2005
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