Christ Above All: An Introduction to Colossians

[0:00] Welcome to Ontario Community Church, where we're dedicated to encouraging, equipping, and engaging lives for Christ. Located in Ontario, Oregon, Pastor Patrick Daley preaches insightful sermons from the Word of God, offering practical applications for modern living.

[0:16] We're delighted to share this sermon with you. All right. Well, good morning, everyone. Let's go ahead and head back to our seats at this time.

[0:27] Today, we are beginning our new sermon series in the book of Colossians. The title of our sermon series is Christ, Our All in All.

[0:42] What you're seeing here is the name of the message for today, Christ above all. It's going to be an introduction over Colossians.

[0:52] All of you should have a sheet of paper which has the breakdown, the overview of Colossians. So what we're doing today is a reading service.

[1:03] It's good for us to read scripture when we have the opportunity to do so. Amen? It's great to read scripture. Since Colossians is a shorter book of the Bible, we can all read it together as the body of Christ, as the local church, as the congregation.

[1:21] What you're going to see is the breakdown of who's going to read what. So we're going to, we have our readers here today who are going to help. And it's just going to be a really good time together to read scripture and also have the overview of the book of Colossians.

[1:37] And before we start though, let's ask God to be with us as we read scripture together and as we go over the overview. Will you pray with me? Let's pray together.

[1:51] And Father, we ask that you are with us this morning as we read your word together. We ask that the word of Christ may dwell richly within us.

[2:03] We ask that lives are transformed and we have a better understanding of who you are and your Son, Jesus the Christ. We ask that lives are transformed, that minds are changed and that hearts turn to you, that they are softened to live and to love like you.

[2:23] May we believe in you. May we build on that foundation and be moved to live out this faith. It is in Jesus' name that we say, and we all say together, amen.

[2:33] Amen. So at this time I'd like to go ahead and invite Mark and Becky and feel free to follow along. Let's go ahead and get started.

[2:44] This is on. So Patrick had a live conference in this congregation today and we have to save this whole book so Ryan's don't screw it up.

[2:55] This is Colossians Christ, our all in all. Chapter one, the joy and blessing of salvation. We have one, one through twelve.

[3:07] Thanksgiving and prayer. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God and Timothy, our brother. To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossians.

[3:20] Grace to you and peace from God our Father. We always thank God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ when we pray for him. You, since we heard of your faith in the Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.

[3:36] Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you as indeed in the whole world and is bearing fruit and increasing. And it also does among you since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God and truth.

[3:54] Just as you learned it from the psalmist, our beloved fellow servant, he is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the spirit.

[4:05] And so from the day we heard we have not ceased to pray for you asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.

[4:26] Being strengthened and with all power according to his glorious might for all endurance and patience with joy. Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

[4:41] And I guess we need to gift ourselves a chance to get, okay? He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved sons.

[4:54] In whom the out-reception, the forgiveness of sins, he is the image of the invisible God, the first form of all creation, for by him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether the thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things were created through him and for him.

[5:20] And he is before all things and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the first form from the dead, and that of everything he might be preeminent.

[5:37] We have one. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cause, and you who are so alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds.

[5:59] He is now reconciled in his eyelid flesh by his death in order to present you holy and blameless and above her approach before him.

[6:10] If indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which is in the form of all creation and in which I, Paul, became a minister.

[6:37] 24 through 25, joy and suffering. Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you to make the word of God fully known.

[7:05] The mystery hit for ages and generations, but now reveal to his saints. To them, God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

[7:24] Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

[7:36] For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

[7:52] Chapter 2, the warning of false teachers, Colossians 2, 1 through 23. For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Leo d'Essia and for all who have not seen me face to face, but their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom we are all hidden, all treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

[8:25] I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

[8:37] Therefore, as you receive Christ, Jesus the Lord so walketh in him, rooted and built up in him, established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

[8:50] Verse 8, 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.

[9:06] For in him the whole fullness of D&E 12's bodily, and you have been filled in him who is the head of all rule and authority. In him also you were circumcised with the 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 were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.

[9:35] And you who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by cancelling the record of death that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, naming it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them in him.

[10:06] And as the congregation chapter 2, 16 through 23, the false teachings, therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival, or a new moon, or a Sabbath.

[10:23] These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and lived together through its joints and ligaments, grows with the growth that is from God. If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations? Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch, referring to things that all perish as they are used according to human precepts and teachings.

[11:13] These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

[11:28] Chapter 3, The Guidance for the Christian Life.

[11:38] If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on the things that are on earth.

[11:54] For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

[12:04] Put to death, therefore, what is earthly in you, sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desires, and covenantedness, which is idolatry. On account of these, the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked when you were living in them, but now you must put them all away, anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.

[12:33] Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

[12:46] Here there is no Greek or Jew circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free, but Christ is all and in all.

[13:02] Colossians 3, 12 through 17, put on the new life. Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another, and if one has the complaint against another, forgiving each other, as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these, put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony, and let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful. Let the word of Christ well and originally, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing palms and hands and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

[13:49] And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. And congregation reads, Colossians 3, 18, through 4, 1, the Christian home. Wives, submit to your husbands, and his sitting to the Lord. Husbands, love their wives, and do not be harsh with them. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. Mentors, treat your bound services justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in Heaven.

[14:35] Chapter 4, Guidance and Greetings. Prayer and non-believers. Condrigation, continue, sit fast and bear, find watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us that God may open to us the door for the word, to declare the ministry of Christ on account of which I am imprisoned, that I may make clear with which is how I ought to speak, walk in wisdom, toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.

[15:10] Let your speech always be gracious, season the salt, that the new law have law to answer each person. Colossians 4 verses 8 through 18, conclusion.

[15:30] Titicus will tell you about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and servant in the Lord. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts, and with him, Onosemus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you.

[15:56] They will tell you of everything that has taken place here. Aristicus, my fellow prisoner, greets you and mark the cousin of Barnabas, concerning whom you have received instructions.

[16:10] If he comes to you, welcome him. And Jesus, who is called Justice. These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the Kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. Epiphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.

[16:40] For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you, and for those in Laodicea and Hyarpose. Luke, the beloved physician, greets you, as does Demas. Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nimphah, and the church in her house. And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read to the church of the Laodiceans, and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea.

[17:10] And say to Archipelago, see that you fulfilled the ministry that you have received in the Lord. I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.

[17:25] This is the Word of God, the Word of Life. We all say together, amen. And my friends, we have just completed the reading of the entire book of Colossians. Let's give God the glory with a round of applause.

[17:46] You know, it is great that we, as the church, we can take the opportunity to read Scripture when we can. Obviously, if we were to read Isaiah or Jeremiah, we'd be here for a while, but when we have that opportunity to read Scripture together, we should be encouraged to do so.

[18:03] And so what a wonderful time we've had together. Let's pray together before we go into today's message. And Father, we thank you for giving us the chance to read from your Word. Be with us as we go through an overview of the book of Colossians. Stir in our hearts and help us to see the truth that is found in this book in your Word, and motivate us to act upon these biblical truths. It is in Jesus' name that we pray and we all say together, amen. You know, Colossians is a book of the Bible, right? It is a part of the 66 books of the Bible that we are blessed by God to have. We know that Scripture mentions that all of Scripture is divinely inspired, and it should be rightly divided. According to 2nd Timothy, chapter 3, verse 16, it says that all Scripture is breathed out by God, and it is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. And when it comes to God's Word, there should be reading of the Word.

[19:18] There should be preaching and teaching of God's Word. From the basic things such as, what does it mean to believe in the Lord? To the deeper things of God. We are called to learn and to grow and to become mature believers, so that we can apply the lessons from the Bible to our very lives. That is so important. That is so critical.

[19:40] This not only helps us to come to know the Lord, but it helps us to grow in Him. Because here's the thing, God will work in and through your life when you read His Word, when you live out His Word, and most importantly, when you believe in Him, when you place your faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

[20:01] And I pray that God works in and through every single one of you here today, and those of us who are watching online, I pray that God will work in and through your life as well. I pray that God will have an inner transformation of the mind and of the heart, just like it says in Romans chapter 12 verse 2. Do not be conformed to this world, but be what? Be transformed by the renewal of your mind.

[20:29] That by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. You see, our foundation is in Jesus Christ. Let us be like the wise man who built his house on the sand. No, the stone, the rock, right?

[20:48] For Jesus is the rock of our salvation. We build our lives on him. Christ is the rock. And it is through continued growth that we build our home, so to speak, right? We build our home on the foundation in Christ.

[21:03] In Ephesians chapter 4 verse 21 through 24, it says, the truth is in Buddha. The truth is in man.

[21:14] No, it says the truth is in Jesus. To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds.

[21:27] And to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God and in true righteousness and holiness. Colossians is a book of the Bible that not only points to Christ, but is a book that is about Christ.

[21:43] It is known as the Christological Book of the Bible. And there exists such depths in Scripture, knowing about the attributes and the qualities and the significance of Jesus Christ.

[21:54] And this leads us to the question that we'll put on this on the slide here. What was Paul's reason for writing this letter to the Colossians? The apostle Paul responds to the false teachings by speaking on the truth about Jesus Christ.

[22:11] That is the theme of this book. That is the title of our sermon series, Christ Who Is Our All In All. That is the purpose of this letter.

[22:22] It is Paul that is saying that Christ is all that we need, amen? Jesus Christ is all that we need. And you've probably heard, some of you have seen that T-shirt or you've maybe heard the saying, that it's Jesus plus nothing. It's all about having faith in Jesus Christ by placing your faith and trust in Him. And there is truth in that.

[22:43] Jesus Christ is all that we need. And that gets me excited about going over this book of Colossians with you. It is the foundation of our faith that you believe in the Lord. You will be saved, amen?

[22:56] There is nothing more that you need to do. It's not about how many prayers you pray or in what direction you pray the prayer. It's all about having faith. It's all about believing in the Lord.

[23:09] There is not this ongoing basis or this continuations of things that you need to do. It's not like how it works in the world. If I want to do a good job at my job, I need to follow the checklist, right?

[23:21] Otherwise you're out of there. Same thing with school. There's a checklist of things you have to do. You've got to turn in this assignment. You've got to take the quiz. You've got to do well on the exam. Otherwise, you're not going to do well in that class.

[23:33] But that's not how it works in regards to the salvation that comes through Christ. In other words, Paul is focusing on what Jesus Christ has done instead of what we need to do. We do not need that continued checklist. Again, we are saved by faith in him so that we can do good in the name of Christ.

[23:57] Jesus Christ is all that we need and Colossians not only is about how Jesus Christ is all that we need, but it is also about how he is in all things.

[24:09] And in the coming weeks, we will go deeper into looking over these verses. We'll be doing a verse by verse exploration of God's word. What does it mean? And in your notes here, you will see that there is an outline, a basic overview that is found in the book. Just as I mentioned before, it is important that we as the church are familiarized with the book that we're going to read, right? That's why we take this opportunity to read scripture.

[24:37] It's also important to rightly divide the word so that we as the church, we can have an understanding of what in the world Paul is saying here. So Paul writes to Colossae about how Jesus rules over all creation and is the head of the church.

[24:56] This goes to show the preeminence of Christ, meaning that Christ is first in all. And this goes even beyond. Do you guys remember some of you were here when we did that sermon series as Christ, the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Sustainer?

[25:12] Well, it goes beyond that. Those are just a few verses that are found in Colossians. But there's so much more to that. Paul writes to the church at Colossae that they need to focus on Christ and not on the things of this world. This is not just an encouragement for the church back then.

[25:32] It is an encouragement for the church today that we are to focus on Jesus Christ. That is so important. How easy is it, especially for us with this technology that we have, right? And all of the this constant scrolling through social media, through Facebook and TikTok and Instagram and your YouTube feed. You're just bombarded with all of this news and this media and this content. It's overwhelming.

[25:57] But what really matters is focusing on Christ. Not about the continual scroll. It's about focusing your mind on Christ. It can be easy for us to lose our focus and to deviate on something else, isn't it? Sometimes we lose track. And I pray that this will never be the case for us. Or if you are focusing on something other than Christ, you will focus on Jesus.

[26:23] May we never lose our focus on Him. And just as we face changes in culture, we face changes in technology, we face changes in politics. Changes in the way that people live their lives, right? There were changes that were happening in the church at Colossae. Not all changes that happen in in culture are good, amen. Right? Not all changes are. There's some great things that some technological advances that have happened. There's some great things that have come out. But there's also some not so good things that have come out, right? So Paul is writing to this church warning about false teachings that were infiltrating, that were happening in the early church. Some of these things were being taught in the church that were just against the teachings of Christ, against early Christianity. Some of these teachings were about food and festivals, angel worship, and the extreme treatment of the body. That's some extreme things going on.

[27:28] And of course we will expand further on what these things look like, but we should know that we stay true to God's word. It's not about angel worship. It's not about how extreme you can, the extreme discipline you can put in your body or on your body or whatever.

[27:43] It's focused on Christ. We should stay true to God's word and we look at how Paul responds to the infiltration of these teachings that are happening in the early church. This should be something that we pray for. We should pray for the protection of our church. We should pray for the protection of our churches. That truth is spoken here in this church and that the grace of God will overflow into this city to other people that they too may believe in the Lord, that they too will be saved, and that they will see the clarity that comes from Christ, the consistency that comes from Christ, the simplicity that comes from Christ, the renewal, the restoration, the transformation that comes from Christ. I'm telling you, following the ways of this world, do you really see those things happen?

[28:33] I can tell you that by having faith in Christ, my life has changed drastically and I know for you and for many of us who have believed in the Lord. Are you the same person that you once were when you first believe in the Lord?

[28:46] Or has God worked in your life? Have you followed in the footsteps of Christ? God will transform your life and we need to pray again for protection, that there won't be any false theology or any sort of thing that infiltrates the church. It needs to be our prayer. Colossians is not, it's not all about the bad that's happening in that church.

[29:11] In fact, there's some early verses in the chapter, in chapter one that mentioned the good that was going on in the church. Do you realize what Paul was commending the church at Colossae for? It begins, right, Paul was giving thanks and later he later he goes on about the false teachings, but he talks about how Colossae was a church that was faithful to God and exhibited love to fellow believers. I pray that our church is known for that to the point where the apostle Paul, if he were still alive, were to write a letter saying, I commend you for your faithfulness to the Lord and the love that you have for others. Amen?

[29:50] Let's be known for that. He thanks God and he goes on and talking about the false teachings and the false teachers. To help respond to these false teachings, Paul gives guidance in how to live as a Christian. When we believe in the Lord, we are a new creation, right? We begin on a journey, a life in Christ and the apostle Paul is giving this guidance here, right?

[30:18] It's to focus on the things of God and to recognize that you are a new creation. If you're having a new life, you should go to the old way of doing things.

[30:30] If you have a new life in Christ, you should be focusing on the new life in Christ. Something to keep in mind. It is, again, it is in believing in the Lord that you're saved, you're born again.

[30:43] Follow in the footsteps of Christ. Be moved to grow, to become a mature believer and to do good in Christ's name.

[30:54] Upon this new birth, there's encouragement for baptism, living a life of sanctification, continued growth and again, maturity. Paul gives this guidance to the church to reject the old life and to focus on the things that are higher, to focus on this new life in Christ.

[31:15] And Paul, he breaks down what such a transformation looks like, such as kindness, compassionate hearts, patience, forgiving one another. How many of you have prayed that God will give you patience, but then you want God to hurry up, right?

[31:32] How many of you pray for kindness and yet you just seem to be getting so angry, right? But God is going to work in you and that's what it looks like, the manifestation of Christ dwelling within you, right? That transformation, forgiving one another and letting the word of Christ dwell within you. That is such powerful language. Do you take the word of God to heart? I sure hope that you do.

[31:56] Take it to heart because out of the word comes this manifestation in how you live your life. Paul goes further into the guidance for the Christian household, instructions for husbands and wives and other roles in the home. That's so important, especially in today's culture, where there seems to be this redefinition.

[32:16] I don't want to go too much further into it, but I know a lot of you know what I'm talking about. So there's guidance for the Christian household and towards the final chapter of the letter, Paul writes about reaching out to outsiders, reaching out to those who do not know the Lord to non-believers, making the best use of your time and being able to respond to others. What do you do when someone who doesn't believe in the Lord comes to you? How do you speak to them?

[32:44] How do you act? Do you walk away? I don't want to deal with this person. Or do you speak to them? Do you tell them about that faith when the opportunity presents itself? That's something that Paul addresses, making the best use of your time.

[33:02] And towards the conclusion of the letter, we see that Paul is mentioning many of the saints. And you know the one that really sticks out to me for those of you who were going through Philemon was Onosemus is in there. Right? For many of you that remember Philemon, right? We did a series where we learned about Paul is appealing to Philemon to take Onosemus back as a brother in Christ. Well there he is in Colossians.

[33:27] So there's a connection in there and I love when you see certain people that are in multiple books, right? Even if they're maybe a minor character, they're still important in the eyes of God and God wanted that person to be in Scripture.

[33:40] So it is important. And it's so cool seeing that and it's just, again, it's amazing when you see people across other books. And with all of this in mind, we need to think of this question then. Okay.

[33:55] All right, Pastor, this sounds all good but how can we apply Colossians to our lives and to the church today? You know, it's a good question. We come to know who Jesus Christ is in his word. This helps us to change our minds, right? When we think of repentance, change our minds about who Christ is so that we believe in him. And this book is about Christ, right?

[34:23] It's not just again, it's not just pointing to Christ. It is about Christ. And it should help you to know more about who Jesus Christ is, knowing so that you believe but also growing more in the faith.

[34:39] It is in believing in the Lord that we are saved. We are saved by grace through faith. We go from this old life to the new life. And we are called not to be stagnant in our faith, right?

[34:50] If someone just gave you a $10,000 check to pay off your car, are you just going to sit there and be like, I'm not going to tell anyone about this. I'm just going to deposit it and pay off my car. Some of us do. Some of us may think that way and you ought to be ashamed if you are. But really, if someone were to pay off a large debt, a large sum of money, you'd want to share that with others.

[35:11] And so in scripture, we find so often that we are to live out our faith in action, right? We keep learning, we keep growing, we keep maturing. And because of this, we are called to go out into the community, to serve in the church, to bring people to the faith, share in your testimony, share in the word of God with others, and be out, be the light of Christ when you deal with others.

[35:35] Some of us are very active in the community. Some of us have this opportunity in leadership positions or just every day interactions to be a beacon of hope for others. We are called not to be stagnant, but to be active in this new life in Christ. It is embracing this new life. It is embracing the new identity. And like I said, someone gave you that $10,000 check. I'd sure hope that you would want to tell people about it.

[36:03] Well, salvation is not a $10,000 check. In fact, you can't put a price on salvation. Amen. You cannot put a price on salvation. What's wonderful is that salvation is a free gift. All you need to do is believe. It's one and done when Christ said, it is finished. Right? My favorite verse, John chapter 6 verse 47, when Christ says, truly I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. So let's think about that. We are encouraged to continue to read, to study and to live out our faith. In knowing the Lord, in knowing that you're eternally secure, that should motivate you. That should move you to want to share in your faith. Let the word of Christ dwell within us just as Paul encouraged the Colossians to do. This is focusing on the things of God, not the things of this earth. Focusing on things that are higher and not on the lower things. It's just like how Christ tells us not to worry.

[37:09] I know when we hear about wars going on in the Middle East and there's Russia and Ukraine and all these other things that are going on, that can cause anxiety. It can cause worry.

[37:21] Yet Christ tells us not to worry, to focus on him, despite what's happening on. And let me tell you, there's a lot of crazy things that are going on. Absolutely. But our focus, our hope, is in Jesus Christ.

[37:38] Focusing on the things that are higher and not the lower things, just like in your bulletin cover. The cover on there, Colossians 3-2. Set your minds on things that are above. Focus on the things that are higher and not on the things that are lower. By continuing to know the word of God, we will be able to mature and to know, to be able to discern good from evil, right? Right from wrong and to discern truth from lies.

[38:07] How many of you can tell when someone is lying to you? You don't have to raise your hand, right? But certainly you have to know the person, right? And when God equips you with his word, you're able to tell, something that doesn't sound right. That's right on. That is truth.

[38:23] That's part of the Christian walk is to mature and be able to discern truth from lies. Through the teachings that we find in Colossians, right? We can learn about how to be better Christians, discerning good from evil. I'm reminded how Ephesians chapter 4 verses 11 through 16, it mentions how the saints are to be equipped for the work of ministry, right? Building up the body of Christ so that we can be babies in Christ or mature in Christ, right?

[38:55] We all physically grow. I mean, I know some of us look great for our age, but we all continue to grow, don't we? We all continue to grow. So why would that be any different for the things of God?

[39:06] Don't remain as an infant in knowing the word of God, grow and have your understanding, grow in your understanding, be mature in Christ, right? And in doing this, you won't be swayed away by false teachers or false teachings.

[39:26] That is why Paul is writing to Colossians in the first place, is to continue doing the good that you're doing and be mindful of the false teachings that are, that potentially could infiltrate this church. So when we teach and preach the word of God, it's to equip us so we can know good from evil.

[39:45] So we won't get swayed by philosophy or empty deceit as it was said. And also in Colossians, it's, there's also this idea of having better relationships with our friends and our families and with the church body. How many of us would like to have better relationships with people in our lives? I know I do.

[40:06] And that's part of studying Colossians. Transformation of your own life. God, let God continue to work in your life. When God asks you to do something, will you listen or will you say, I'm good? Of course you want to listen.

[40:22] Why I hope you do be moved to follow what God's calling for your life is. And here's the thing. When you believe in the Lord, when you're on a path of growing as a Christian, people will notice that.

[40:37] People will say there's something different about you. You're not the same as you once were. I knew you to be this way, but yet somehow there's just something. I can't put my finger on it.

[40:49] There's something different about you. People will notice it. There's something that's really to that. It is through transformation from God and his word that we engage culture for Christ. And we do this by walking in the wisdom of God. The book of Colossians encourages us to speak truth to others while dealing in love. My friends, you have people that focus so much on the love aspect, but they don't focus on the truth aspect, right? Then they get pushed over a little too much, right? You have the other side that focuses on truth so much, but they don't deal in love. It's this balance that happens between truth and love, right? Grace and truth, so to speak.

[41:34] There's that balance that exists when we are dealing with others. This is one of those things that we must keep in mind. We must be mindful of what we say and how we say it when we deal with other people, especially those who don't agree with us, especially those who are living their lives full of sin. Stand on truth, but deal in love.

[41:54] This is one of those things we must always keep in mind. Love God, love people, stand on the truth of the word of God. The balance of grace and truth. Let us be a church.

[42:06] Let us be an assembly, right? The people of God who balances grace and truth. Let us be faithful to God, but deal with love. And in that next slide, Christ calls us to engage the culture and the community.

[42:20] This is a call for us to speak truth and to serve others in the name of Christ. It is part of being an ambassador for Christ. Jesus Christ is our Savior, right? He's our Savior first and foremost, but He is also our example in serving others, right? Think about how Christ served others.

[42:43] What a wonderful example for us as believers. In doing this, we should stay rooted in the truth, the foundation that exists in Jesus Christ. It is in knowing the truth, knowing Jesus Christ, that we are set free by faith in Him. Free from sin, and once again, not free to sin, right? We focus and remain on Christ.

[43:09] This is what the apostle Paul mentions in Colossians, to remain in Christ. Let us remain focused on Christ and let the truth of Christ extend to every aspect of our lives. For those of us who are going to that, Wednesday study, right? Having God at the center, right?

[43:28] Having Christ at the center and it radiates to our interactions with our friends and our families, we can find that this is in Scripture. And you know one of my favorite verses in pretty much all of the Bible, well I can't say it's my favorite, it's one of my favorites though, is in Colossians 317. What does it say? Whatever you do in what?

[43:48] In word or deed, right? Or in action, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. It's doing everything in excellence for the glory of God. When considering taking the truth from Scripture, we integrate Christ into our lives and we balance truth and love. And what a wonderful encouragement this is for us to do everything in excellence in the name of Jesus Christ. That's why we as Christians, we believe in the Lord, we grow in the Lord and we go out and do good in the name of Christ.

[44:29] We give thanks to Him, we thank Him every day for this life that He gives us and we boldly go out into the world and do good.

[44:40] And the church at Colossae, they were doing just that. They were faithful and loving. Paul was thankful to the Colossians for their faithfulness and their love shown to others.

[44:51] Again, I pray that our church is known for that. This church has been known for that. Let us continue to focus on Christ and to deal, be faithful to Christ and to share in the love of Christ with believers and non-believers. Let us be known as Ontario Community Church, which means the church where the grace of God is overflowing to the community.

[45:18] For Jesus Christ is all that we need and He is in all things. He saves us through faith, He molds us in our walk with Him and He transforms us into mature believers. And because of this, we become more like Christ and we can make a difference in others' lives and in the community, the people that we interact with in this church and in this community. May God bless us. May God lead us and guide us as we begin. This is just the overview, my friends, as we begin our sermon series through the Book of Colossians. Let's pray together.

[46:02] And Lord, as we close this time of the reading and the overview of the Book of Colossians, we ask that your grace and truth will remain in us. May the word of Christ dwell within us richly and transform our lives.

[46:16] Teach us to seek Christ, to set our hearts on the things of you rather than the things of this world. And may we live out this radical transformation that you've begun in us. May your word continue to dwell in us richly, teaching us, admonishing us and shaping us to be more like you. And as we go in this last song, may we be reminded that Christ is all that we need and is in everything.

[46:47] Help us to bear with each other. Teach us to forgive one another and above all else, put on love, which brings us together. May our lives be a testimony to the grace and truth found in Jesus Christ. May we walk in this wisdom towards those in the community and those outside of this church.

[47:10] May we be ready to respond to culture and be ready to give a gracious answer to others. Help us to stand firm in faith and to balance love and truth. May we learn to discern the difference between right and wrong, good and evil, and truth from lies. May we be rooted in Christ. May Christ be our foundation. May you bless our sermon series.

[47:34] May we come to understand who you are and your word. May our sermon series. May we learn more about you, but we also ask that you transform us and that you mold us. Help us to live and love like you.

[47:50] For your Son Jesus Christ is all that we need. Thank you for tuning in to the Ontario Community Church Sermon Podcast. For more about our church and how you can get involved or support our mission, please visit ontariocommunitychurch.org.

[48:07] May God's blessings be with you.