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[0:00] Hallelujah! We thank God you've tuned into this message by David Entry at Caris Church. No hand can help you with the fulfillment of your destiny but the Word of God. May God's hand align you further into your destiny through this Word.

[0:15] Colossians chapter 1 from 12 to 20, giving thanks unto the Father which has made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, who has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son, in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature.

[0:43] For by him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in the earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.

[0:57] All things were created by him and for him. And he is before all things and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence.

[1:15] For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell. And having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things to himself.

[1:29] By him, I say, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven. Here ends the reading of God's Word. Amen. Last week I was talking about the importance of doctrine and healthy doctrine.

[1:43] And I spoke about how priests became obedient to the faith. And the fact that the sound doctrine has everything to do with the truth.

[1:55] And things that help us to obey, walk in obedience in the faith. Obedience of faith. So sound doctrine or healthy doctrine is definitely about the truth of God and about faith in Jesus Christ.

[2:15] Now, the fundamental truth of God, in fact, the core aspect of what we do in church is to preach the gospel and to declare the testimony of Jesus.

[2:25] Any time that message diminishes amongst us, we are beginning to lose our relevance so long as the spirit is concerned.

[2:35] The spiritual relevance is concerned. We are beginning to lose our relevance. We can do every other thing. When the revelation or the testimony of Jesus and the truth of God, the testimony of Jesus and the gospel of Christ, the glorious gospel of God, Bible courses, is diminished.

[2:54] It begins to diminish amongst us. We are losing relevance. We are losing relevance. We are losing vim. We are losing impetus. We are losing advantage.

[3:05] We are losing advantage. We are losing grounds. What makes the church secure and safe is the truth of God in the church. Bible calls the church is the pillar and the grounds of the truth.

[3:21] 1 Timothy 3, verse 15. The church is the pillar and the ground of the truth. So if you are looking for the truth, it has to be in the church.

[3:33] So if the church focuses on something else, the core truth of the church, this is very important. So when I talk about 1 Timothy 6, verse 3 and 1 Timothy 1, verse 3, chapter 6, verse 3, if any man teach otherwise, this is important.

[3:49] Teachings. Our teachings must enrich the knowledge of Christ in the life of believers. So if anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to healthy words, words that are healthy, words that are wholesome, words that communicate the truth of God, it accords with godliness.

[4:10] He said, anyone who doesn't do that, they move away from such a person. It's very important. Now, so that means that in 2 Timothy 4, verse 1 and 2, it's so beautiful a text.

[4:25] It's beautiful. He said, I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing in his kingdom.

[4:36] This is too sweet. I'm charging you by that, not by my authority over you. That could have done, but there's something higher. Charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall appear, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing in his appearing.

[4:51] Wow. He says, I charge you to do what? Preach the word. What are we supposed to do to the word? Preach the word. What's the church supposed to do? Preach the word. Be instant is out of reproof, rebrick, exalt with long suffering and teachings.

[5:05] That means teachings. Kering man. Teachings. So you see, preaching has appeared there and teaching has also appeared there. Preaching and teaching, that's the job of the church. That's why pastors need to give themselves to the word of God.

[5:19] Need to give themselves. I heard somebody say this. It blessed me so much that if you desire to preach without the discipline to prepare, you are desiring performance.

[5:33] Preaching. Preaching. To be faithful to the text of God's word. Requires, it's work. There's work that go on before preaching.

[5:46] Yeah. But unfortunately, if you do not work or if you do not dig your wells, you end up, you go around stealing people's water. If you don't dig your own well, you go around stealing people's water.

[6:02] The pastor is supposed to do a lot of work. Preaching is a lot. The work of preaching is not the labor of preaching.

[6:13] The work of preaching is the time-consuming preparation. Pastors who don't spend time preparing, they do not do justice to the text.

[6:27] Because the subject of your preaching should be the subject of the text you are using. You can't see revival if the word of God is not increasing.

[6:39] You remember Acts chapter 6 verse 7. So the word of God increased. So the word of God. Acts chapter 19 verse 20. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.

[6:51] Wow! So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed. When the word of God is not prevailing, it's not revival. It's not revival. And it starts not with pews.

[7:07] It starts from the pulpit. That's why you have to pray for your pastor. He said, preach the word. Be instant in season. Out of season. Rebuke. Rebuke. Reprove.

[7:18] Rebuke. Exalt. With long. So bear with people as you are doing it. At the same point, correct them. They won't change. Keep hugging them. Keep hugging them. You are not endorsing it. But you agree with human beings.

[7:29] Don't force people to do what you think they should do. Verse 3. For the tongue and when... Do you know why you should preach the word? With long suffering. They will not endure sound doctrine.

[7:40] But after their own lust, they shall heap to themselves. Teachers having each ears. They have each ears. The particular thing they want, that's what they like. So doctrine.

[7:54] The core is actually doctrine, the truth of Christianity. This is very important. In fact, summary of the doctrine of Christianity, which the world cannot embrace. You can't embrace until you are Christian.

[8:05] The summary of Christian core doctrine is... The church is Christ. Christ. And Christ is God.

[8:16] The church is Christ. Christ is God. The church is the body. That's why I say, why do you persecute me so-so? The church is Christ. Let's all say the church is Christ.

[8:27] The church is Christ. The easiest, the simplest definition of the church is what? Christ. Christ. That's the church. The church is Christ.

[8:37] The church is Christ. So anything that deviates from Christ is not church. Okay. Whether people like it or not. Whether they are enjoying it. Oh, this is amazing. If it diverts from Christ, it's not actually church.

[8:50] God doesn't recognize it as church. So it's important to understand that the church has what is fundamental. Apart from that, every other thing that deviates from Christ, heaven doesn't recognize it.

[9:05] It's like fake passports. Fake insurance. Anything that deviates from Christ is not church. Even preaching. Preaching that divides from Christ is not the ministry.

[9:18] It's not ministry that comes from Christ. So it's important for us to know what is the actual summary of Christian doctrine is that the church is Christ.

[9:30] And Christ is God. And that is very profound. That is so deep. Paul's conversion started with Stephen's exposition.

[9:43] Paul spent all his life studying the Old Testament. He was an authority in the Old Testament. And yet it was close to him. Until he listens to Stephen who he didn't believe in.

[9:57] Stephen opened it up and he realized that this whole thing, Jesus, is actually the God we've been trying. But still he didn't want to believe it. So that's how he was kicking against the gods.

[10:08] But something has happened to him through Stephen that he couldn't deny. Something has changed him by he was fighting it. Until Jesus met him on the road to Damascus.

[10:20] And from there, Paul spent all the rest of his life as proving that Jesus is the Messiah of the Old Testament. That he's an authority in. That's what he spent his time in.

[10:32] Jesus is God. The text we just read. Colossians chapter 1. The verse 12 is telling us about how God has qualified us to make us partakers of the inheritance.

[10:44] They say, who has delivered us from the power. This is Christianity. We have been delivered from the power of darkness. And not just that. Translated us into the kingdom of God's dear son.

[10:57] We are in a kingdom. We are citizens of the kingdom. Ephesians chapter 2 talks about we are fellow citizens. And members of God's household. And fellow.

[11:08] Oh, come on. Hallelujah. Verse 19. Now therefore we are no longer strangers and foreigners. But fellow citizens with the saints. And of the household of God. We are citizens.

[11:20] We are in a kingdom. But he has to first deliver us from the power of darkness. The power of darkness is draining in anyone who is not a Christian. Yeah.

[11:33] Anyone who is not a Christian. That is why it shouldn't be something that, a guessway. Somebody, I want to marry the person who is not a Christian. What do you think? You don't understand what Christianity is about. You don't even know who you are as if you are genuinely Christian.

[11:46] If you knew who you are if you are a Christian. If you knew what it means to be a Christian. You'll be asking these questions. You don't even discuss it. It's so obvious.

[11:58] And so, the problem is many Christians don't even know who they are. Yeah. They don't know the identity of Christ. And they don't know what Christianity is about. They actually don't know what Christianity is about.

[12:11] The thing is that I'm just going to church. I know the songs. Hallelujah. I've stopped stealing. I've stopped drinking. I've stopped smoking. Come on. A lot of people don't do what you say you've stopped doing. They have not even done it before.

[12:22] Then that means they have an upper hand. They have never done what you say you have stopped doing. So, Christianity is not a formation of character. There's something more.

[12:35] So, it's about knowing Jesus. When you know Jesus, you begin to put premium on the church. You spend all your time. Now, watch this. To the unbeliever, you have to come and know Christ savingly.

[12:49] If you want to be born again, you have to know Christ savingly. That he is the savior of the world. He is the savior of my soul. He died for my soul. That is what secures you redemption.

[13:00] That's what secures you justification. And that's what secures you inheritance among the saints. But, to the believer, do we stop preaching the gospel?

[13:11] No. We don't stop preaching the truth about Christ and the church. Why? Because, to the believer, unbeliever have to know Jesus savingly. The believer has to know Jesus increasingly. Every day.

[13:26] Paul, Paul, Paul said, that I might know him. Yes. That I might know him. After all he spent and teaching and teaching and teaching, Philippians chapter 3 verse 10, he said, that I might know him.

[13:38] Paul, you mean you don't know him. I don't know him the way I should. Because I have to know him increasingly. So, Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians chapter 4 verse 13. Till we all come to the unity of faith.

[13:49] Till we all come to the unity of the knowledge. We have to come to the knowledge. Say, grow in grace through the knowledge of God.

[14:04] You grow in grace. You increase in grace through the knowledge. First, second Peter. But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus and Savior. Say, see me glory. Grow in grace and knowledge. So, all your life is now spent in knowing Jesus.

[14:20] That's why you can't come to church. We can't waste our time in church with preaching that is not helping us to know Jesus. Preaching that is not unfolding the truths.

[14:33] The truths of God. The truths of God. The revelation of the testimony of Jesus. That's what preaching is. Every good preacher must also have in itself the proclamation of the gospel.

[14:46] Saving gospel. Because don't assume everybody in church is still saved. You might be a choir or a department and you are not saved. Nowadays, there are more people in the church who are not saved than are saved.

[15:04] I explain it. I explain it. If United Kingdom does censors and they said how many people are Christian.

[15:16] Out of the 17 million people who said they are Christian. It's very likely that only 1 million are Christians. So, they might be going to church.

[15:29] They might subscribe to church or whatever. More people are not saved in the church than are saved in the church. This is very important.

[15:40] That I might know him. That I might know him. And there's no better way to know. There's no other way you know Jesus. But there's a page of scripture. They're called Asa, 13 Colossians. People were now bringing in Eastern religion and Judaism because they realized.

[15:53] That's what happens in church. When you become born again, people realize you're on fire. You see, that's your uncle. That's your uncle. That's your auntie. That's your neighbor. Who claims to be going to church. And every party time is the one who gets drunk most.

[16:08] It's the one. That's your auntie who never has peace with her husband and her family. Every time fighting. But every time behave like she's always in church. As soon as you are born again, she never spoke to you about Jesus.

[16:20] They never drew you to church. But now that you are born again, she's bringing church elders to come and advise you. They're now going to, he is the one or she is the one who wants to explain what Christianity is about to you.

[16:35] To help you because they knew you were such a bad boy. You were such a bad girl. And you were never doing church. Now that you've met Jesus, you haven't met the Jesus they have not met. Because if it's the same Jesus you are talking about, she would have been telling you about that Jesus long time ago.

[16:53] Because this Jesus is so sweet. He's so sweet. He's so sweet. You just cannot be cool about him. He's so sweet. You always want to talk about him. But when you become born again, when you become suddenly, or when you begin to be spiritual, suddenly people who claim to be spiritual take interest in you.

[17:14] When people join a church and they are very much zealers and very much on fire, you see there are certain people who also target them. They will target them. So you join a department and there are some people who are not spiritual in the department.

[17:27] They are looking for importance and relevance and power. Once they see that you have zeal, they won't zeal us one more. It always happens. When people got born again in Colossae, suddenly the Judaizers were coming in.

[17:42] The philosophers were coming in. They are bringing syncretism. They are bringing mysticism. They are bringing their own version of spirituality to the extent that there are some who said Christ is good but you need more.

[17:55] You need more. Some of you, when you say, I want to do missions, some family members begin to vandalize you.

[18:06] They are upset. What do you mean by mission? They are Christians who are even Christians before you. But now they will tell you, listen, I've done it before. Verse 14 says, in Jesus we have redemption through his blood.

[18:18] That's so sweet. We have redemption. I'm redeemed. Thank you, Jesus. I'm redeemed. How can an unbeliever understand what it means to be redeemed? You can understand that.

[18:29] I bet you, you ask some of your, some of the people you know who are in other churches. Some of them, they don't even know what redeemed means. When you say redeemed, all they know is redeemed Christian church.

[18:41] RCCG. RCCG. In whom we have redemption.

[18:52] Listen, redemption must not be a strange word to you if you're a serious Christian. If you're a serious Christian, you must, when we say redemption, you must know what it is. The way when we say WhatsApp, you know what it is.

[19:04] You have a smartphone, you don't know, in this body, you don't know what WhatsApp is. You don't know what Instagram is. So, it's important to understand that some things are just so basic Christianity.

[19:20] It's so, the ABCs of Christianity. Because that's what we build on. Redemption. He said it as though you should know what it is. In whom we have redemption. Through his blood.

[19:31] This is profound. The forgiveness of sins. Redemption comes with forgiveness of sins. But that's not the focus. In Christ, we have redemption of sin. Who is the imago Dei?

[19:46] Who is the image of the invisible God? Right there! It tells you God cannot be seen. Tells you characteristics of God. One!

[19:56] God cannot be seen. He said, no one has seen the Father. John chapter 1 verse 18. No one has seen the Father at any time. No one has seen the Father at any time.

[20:09] God cannot be seen. First John chapter 4, I think verse 12. First John chapter 4. No man has seen God at any time. No man has seen God.

[20:22] God cannot be seen. These are Jesus' words. John 4, 24. God is a spirit. Shall we all say that together? God is a spirit. Say it again please.

[20:33] God is a spirit. Please say it louder. God is a spirit. You can't see spirits. You can't take selfies with your spirit. You can't take photographs of a spirit.

[20:46] You can't see spirit. And he said, God is a spirit. This invisible God. The God who cannot be seen. Jesus Christ is the visible expression of the invisible God.

[21:03] So when Thomas asked him, show us the Father and it's enough for us. Philip, sorry. John chapter 14 verse 9. John chapter 14. Philip said unto him, Lord, show us the Father and it's enough for us.

[21:18] Jesus said, you are asking an elementary question on a graduation day. I've been with you all this time.

[21:28] I'm just, we are just graduation ceremony. You are now asking, show us the Father. I've been with you. You don't know me? You don't know me? Whoever has seen me, that's one of the biggest problems of people who are trying to preach Christians.

[21:44] Islam, Muslims who are trying to preach Christians in the universities. This is their test. Jesus said, you are saying, Jesus never said it's good. They don't even know what we are dealing with. Do you understand? Most of the people try to argue against the Christian position with the Bible.

[22:00] Those of you even try to use the Bible. What do you understand about the Bible? Saul, Saul was a scholar. He was a scholar and yet even him he didn't know.

[22:13] Even him, he didn't know. Bible says, the scribes, the scribes, they rewrite it. They copy it. They are trained. They're spits in scripture.

[22:23] They didn't even know. Let alone somebody who has gone to hear somebody tell me about. He says that, I've been with you. You don't know me? Jesus Christ is there. The God who cannot be seen has chosen to reveal himself in Jesus.

[22:38] There were what, theologians called Christophanies or theophanies in the Old Testament. Something that is like a physical image appeared to somebody and it's like God. For instance, the burning bush.

[22:50] What is this? So, God is not a fire. Yes. But, something that represented God. Abraham, in Genesis chapter 18, or in particular Genesis chapter 19, three men came to visit him and the man, he said, the Lord, the angel of the Lord said, God was communicating with Abraham physically.

[23:08] And so, that was like a pre, some kind of appearance, physical appearance of God but it wasn't the full manifestation of God in the flesh.

[23:21] So, Jesus Christ, Bible says, there's one God, one mediator between God and man, the man Jesus Christ. He, he being in very form of God, did not count himself equal with God, robbery to equal God, but kenosis, he emptied himself, he emptied himself of his glory.

[23:42] Not his deity, but the privileges of deity. So, to be a human being, that means you can be one place at one time. But God is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, everywhere.

[23:53] So, for you to step out of eternity into time and become man, you have restricted us. So, he denied him, deprived himself of the privileges of God, yet he was still God.

[24:04] So, he didn't empty himself of deity. He was deity. But with restrict, human restrictions. And he went so low to the stand of, die!

[24:15] Why would a God die? Why would the, the song was just amazing love. How can it be? Should, that my king should die for me. Why would a God die? God die for me. Bible says that, he is the image of the invisible God.

[24:31] The firstborn of every, Jehovah's Witnesses, since he's the firstborn, that means he's a creature. The firstborn. No, not, not first, first, not first in order, but, first in importance, first in status.

[24:50] In Exodus chapter 4, verse 22, he says that, Israel is my firstborn. Israel is my firstborn. Who is the secondborn? It's like, when I'm dealing with nations, Israel is first, in that time when he's talking.

[25:02] Israel, my first son, my first son Israel. He's my firstborn. Israel is my firstborn. So when Jesus is the firstborn of creation, it doesn't mean he's a created being. Because then, the next verse will then be a problem.

[25:15] Look at the next verse. Verse, they said, for by him were, if he's the firstborn of creation, why were all things created by him? By him were all things created in heaven that are in earth, visible and visible, whether they be thrones, or dominion, or principalities, or powers.

[25:31] All things were created by him, and not just by him, for him. Everything, physical, anything you see on earth, has a label. Made by Jesus.

[25:41] Not made in China. The label is on it. The thumbprint is on it. It's made, made, made. Praise the Lord. He, this is the Jesus of the church.

[25:55] The Jesus of the church is the, the image of the invisible God. By him, all things were created. All things were created by him, and for him.

[26:05] verse 17, and he is before all things. He said to the Jews, before Abraham. Oh my God. John chapter 8, verse 56 to 58.

[26:17] He said, he said, before, and Colossians chapter 1, verse 17 says that, he was before all things. Before all things. He is before all things, and by him, all things are held together.

[26:32] All things are held together. Because matter has air. So what keeps the thing from spilling apart? By him, all things are held together. Let me add the 18. And he's the head.

[26:44] Now listen, there are different portraits, okay, of the church given in scripture. example, the church is a house. The Bible uses different portraits to depict the church.

[26:57] The church is a flock. The church is a house. The church is a flock. The church is a field. It's a family. It's like God's field. Right? The church is, I've said a flock.

[27:11] It's a field. It's a family. The church is a family. There are quite a few imageries. And as I taught some time ago, almost all these imageries or portraits are also used for Israel in the Old Testament.

[27:26] Almost all of them. But there is one portrait that was never used for Israel that is used for the church. We said the church is a body. Romans chapter 12, verse 5. 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 12. The church is a body.

[27:37] The church is a body. When we talk about a body, a body exists because all the parts are interlinked. If they inject something in your little finger, it will affect your little tooth.

[27:50] Why? Because it's one. So when you talk about body, you are talking about interdependence. Every part depends on some part. Can you imagine sometimes you may be feeling pain somewhere and the doctors will be telling you it's coming from somewhere.

[28:04] else? I can't see. You say lift your finger, do this. Then you do this. Ah, okay. We know. There's a kidney situation. This is my finger. Yes. Because interconnectivity and interdependence of the body.

[28:17] Now, watch this. So the body depends on each other to exist. However, there's only, there's one part that the body, the body highly depends on.

[28:28] Some other part, it doesn't matter. The body cannot exist without the head. Yes. Yes. Yes. And the Bible says that. He, without him, what's his church?

[28:39] Without Jesus, what's church? Without Jesus, what's church? He's the head of the body. He is the head of the body. It says that, and he is the head of the body.

[28:51] The church is the body. Who is the beginning, the first born from the dead, that in all things he might have. they say, Jesus is prominent. No, he's not prominent.

[29:01] He's preeminent. There's a difference. He's not a prominent, one of the prominent people in the world. No, he's not. Don't add, don't bring at the level of Buddha. Don't compare him to our other religions.

[29:14] Don't compare him to Moses. Don't compare. He's the preeminent one. All of the others are just different. He is the preeminent one that in the church he might have the preeminence.

[29:27] And then let me, let me add that. That 90. But look at the 90. The Bible said, God is so happy. This, listen to this. This is too good. In 1 Kings 8, verse 27, what does it say?

[29:39] It said, but God, but will God indeed dwell on earth? It's a rhetorical question. Behold, even heaven cannot contain him. The heavens cannot contain God.

[29:50] How much less be small. That's what, that's what, Stephen, his preaching went to finish on the temple. because nothing can contain God on it. David was building, people are big about the temple.

[30:02] There's nothing that can go. He says that, how much more? He says that, behold, the heavens cannot contain. How much less this house, this temple are built. Solomon built it, but when he finished, he said that, you know, this one, it can't contain him.

[30:16] Because Stephen says that, the most high God does not dwell in temples. Acts chapter 17, verse 24, Acts chapter 7, verse 38, God cannot be contained in the building, but look at the text we just read.

[30:28] He pleased God in Jesus, that in Jesus, that in Jesus, all the fullness should dwell in one person. Wow. So when you saw Jesus, the temple Solomon built could not contain him, but Jesus was the only one who could contain God.

[30:45] and he pleased the Father. The Father was so pleased that in him, this is why we talk about the Jesus of the church. If you don't know this Jesus, you have a problem.

[30:58] You have a problem. Unbelievers have to know him savingly. Believers must know him increasingly. Thank you, Jesus. This is, this is what makes the church the church, our knowledge of Jesus.

[31:16] You know him that he is God, and you know him that he is the head of the church. Yes. And then, then all the rest of our time, we explore how he is working amongst us in the church, how he is the church.

[31:28] We are all individuals, but all of us cooperate. There's one body. Ephesians chapter 4, he said, there's one body. One body. Even though we are many, Romans chapter 12, verse 5, even though we are many, one body.

[31:40] 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 12, he said, even though we are many, we are one body. Even though we are many, we are one body. For us, the body is one, and has many members, and all the members of that body are one.

[31:52] That one body, being many, are one body. So, also, is Christ. The church is Christ, I told you. So, also is Christ.

[32:04] So, also is Christ. Somebody shout, hallelujah. Hallelujah. Whom having no sin, ye love. The essence, the starting point of Christianity is knowing Christ savingly and falling in love with him.

[32:23] If you are not in love with Jesus, you will be struggling in the church. Because you, you can't stand a lot of people. But if you are in love with Jesus, when you love Jesus, a lot of what people see as problem in the church, you don't see it.

[32:38] Thank you for listening to this message by David Entry. We pray you have been strengthened and enlightened. You can connect with David Entry on all relevant social media platforms, including Instagram and LinkedIn.

[32:51]  You can also hear more messages from David Entry on all relevant streaming platforms and the Karis Church app. Don't forget to like and share the message. Be blessed. You can also hear more questions and whoever you are and whoever you are and whoever you are and whoever you are and whoever you are and whoever you are and whoever you are and whoever you are and whoever you are and whoever you are and whoever you are and whoever you are and whoever you are and whoever you are and whoever you are and whoever you are and whoever you are and whoever you are and whoever you are and whoever you are and whoever you are