and before we turn to God's word,
I want to thank you all for praying.
For those of you who may not know,
last weekend I was in California
preaching at a youth retreat,
60 or 70 students,
and I got to tell you, gang,
it went beyond well.
It was just evident
that God was at work.
We had students who were hungry
for God's word,
students and adult volunteers,
and it was just such a joy
to be a part of,
and I attribute that
to both y'all praying
and the power of God's word.
The theme of the weekend
was all in for Jesus,
and so four sessions,
I got to do this.
I got to declare that Jesus Christ
is the controlling center
of all things.
And then I got to declare
how these students
can live in light of him
as their controlling center.
It was just a privilege.
And so I got to tell them,
this is who your Jesus is.
You got to think right about him,
and that's going to inform
right living for him.
to know the truth about Jesus
determines how we truly live for Jesus.
And that's where we find ourselves
in the book of Colossians.
Colossians 2, 6, and 7.
I'm just preaching on two verses
this morning.
But if there's a purpose statement
in the book of Colossians,
this is it.
So hear God's word.
Colossians 2, 6, and 7.
Therefore, page 1,169 of your pew Bibles.
Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus,
the Lord, so walk in him,
rooted and built up in him
and established in the faith,
just as you were taught
abounding in thanksgiving.
I'll read that again.
Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus,
the Lord, so walk in him,
rooted and built up in him
and established in the faith,
just as you were taught,
abounding in thanksgiving.
This is the purpose statement
of the book of Colossians.
And there's another way you can say it.
Who Christ is determines how you walk.
Who Christ is determines how you live your life.
Believing in the truth of who Christ is
informs the way you truly live for Christ.
Next week, we're going to see this in fuller detail
when I preach 2, 8 through 23.
But back in the day,
when the Apostle Paul wrote the Colossian church,
this is first century,
they were being influenced by false teachers.
And these teachers were trying to convince
these Colossian Christians
to not live according to Christ
as their controlling center,
but they were to live according to
the views of the false teachers
on circumcision
and what you could and couldn't drink
and which religious holidays
you should observe
and what you could touch
and what you couldn't.
There were just purity rules.
And so what these false teachers were saying
is that, hey, central to your living
is the obedience to these rules and regulations.
They seem to have been advocating
some kind of works righteousness,
works salvation.
If you're not familiar with that phrase,
this is what it means.
It's the common belief that,
hey, you do good and you earn salvation.
But that's not the Christian gospel.
The Christian gospel is this.
Christ's finished work on the cross
has earned our salvation.
And we receive it by faith as a gift.
These false teachers were saying,
obey and be saved.
And the Christian gospel says,
be saved and obey out of that.
So these false teachers,
you know what they were doing?
They were proclaiming a Christ-less way of living.
And so Paul says,
none of that.
Who Christ is determines how we live,
how we walk.
So I'm going to make two points this morning.
First point,
Christ is the spring in our step,
verse six.
And verse seven,
Christ is the sound of our step.
Who Christ is determines how we walk.
So let's look at this, verse six,
how Jesus Christ is the spring in our step.
Did anybody notice the first word of verse six?
Therefore.
And that should be like all capital letters
because it's a big therefore.
When I was a boy,
growing up,
I would watch Saturday morning cartoons
with my older brother, Scott.
And we watched this network TV show.
There's a lot of generations
who don't know what network TV,
that's okay.
But this,
on Saturday mornings,
they had these public service announcements
and one of them was called Schoolhouse Rock.
And Schoolhouse Rock had a particular song
when it came to conjunctions.
Conjunction, junction.
All right,
this is just going to show,
this is going to separate generations.
But you know what I'm talking about.
Conjunction, junction.
What's your function?
Right?
Hooking up words, phrases, and clauses.
This, therefore,
is hooking up something bigger than phrases,
words, or clauses.
It's hooking up an argument.
Paul has just made a case
in chapter one of who Christ is.
And so this, therefore,
is kind of summarizing that.
In light of who Christ is,
so walk in Him.
This is a very significant pivot
in the book of Colossians.
And now he's going to turn his attention
to how we live out our lives
in light of who Christ is.
And chapter two,
for the rest of it,
is don't live in the trash
of these false teachers.
And then chapter three,
onwards through four, six,
is this is how you live this out.
In terms of your pursuit of holiness
and life together in the church
and in your marriage
and your parenting
and your workplaces.
So what we have here
is a very significant therefore.
And Paul, in verse six,
he makes a cause and effect argument.
Because of this,
then do this.
Because of this Christ,
you live this Christ way.
So let me just help you see
the Christ cause of verse six
and the Christ effect of verse six.
We read,
therefore,
as you received Christ Jesus,
the Lord.
Now upon reading that,
you might think,
okay,
you know,
I'm a fan of the Reformation.
I'm,
I like solo fide.
I,
by faith alone.
Surely,
the apostle Paul is saying,
therefore,
as you received Christ Jesus,
the Lord,
by faith,
so walk in him by faith.
And that's true.
Do I have an amen?
But that's not what Paul
is arguing here.
If you wanted to make that case,
he would have just said it explicitly.
Paul is actually emphasizing
something else.
Not the how we receive,
but the who we receive.
Therefore,
as you received Christ Jesus,
the Lord.
Christ Jesus,
the Lord,
is apostolic shorthand
for Christ is awesome.
Christ is a title.
It means Messiah,
anointed one.
It would,
it would conjure up ideas
of kingship.
David's greater son
who would come
and establish
a forever reign
over a forever kingdom
that brings in people
from every tribe,
tongue,
and nation.
It's a name
that carries authority,
kingship,
role.
And then we have
the word Jesus.
It's a name,
the name of a man.
The humanity of Jesus.
The humanity of Christ.
And that word Lord,
it's actually a reference
to God.
The Lord of the Old Testament.
It's getting at the divinity
of Christ.
I mean,
this is apostolic shorthand
for glorious Christ.
And in this title,
we have what theologians call,
buckle up,
the hypostatic union.
And here's what that means.
Two natures in one person.
Jesus the Christ,
definitively and completely
100% human.
And Jesus the Christ,
definitively,
completely,
100% God.
in one person.
That's the hypostatic union.
And that is right here
in these three words.
Christ,
Jesus,
the Lord.
And he's got all authority
over all things
as the Christ.
Do you know what he's doing?
He's tipping his hat
to where he's already been.
Paul is saying,
just as you received
this one,
Christ,
Jesus,
the Lord.
You know,
I was already talking about him
in 1,
15 through 20.
In verse 13,
this one who,
if you've believed in him,
you've been delivered
from the domain of darkness
and transferred into
the kingdom
of the beloved Son.
He's a king
with a kingdom
in whom is redemption,
salvation,
the forgiveness of sins.
Verse 15,
he's the image
of the invisible God.
He is God.
Verse 19,
in him all the fullness
of God was pleased
to dwell.
He's fully God.
Verse 15,
he's the firstborn
of all creations.
He is the king
of creation.
He created everything.
Verse 17,
in him all things
hold together.
Not only is he the creator
of all,
he's the sustainer
of all.
Right now,
your next breath.
Verse 18,
he's the head
of the body,
the church.
18 again,
he's the firstborn
from the dead.
He is not just the king
of all of creation,
he's the king
of the new creation.
He's the firstborn
raised from the dead
and he is doing a work
of raising people
from the dead.
Amen.
And he does that
through reconciling
all things to himself
by the blood
of his cross.
That's the Christ,
Jesus,
Lord,
that you've received.
Not a little Jesus,
a glorious Christ
reigning over all things.
Jesus.
And he is the spring
in our step.
When Jesus is the controlling center
of your life,
he compels you.
He's the power of your life.
He's the one
for whom you live.
So here's the question.
He's the Christ cause.
The basic question is this.
Is it true?
Is he all that?
If he's not all that,
don't waste your time.
He's not worth it.
What you'll have to endure
as a Christian
is not worth it
if he's not all that.
But if Christ
is all that,
if he is
risen
and reigning,
if he is
the firstborn
of all creation
and the firstborn
from the dead,
if he's fully God,
fully man,
and one man
in all hypostatic glory,
if that is who
he says he is,
if that's true,
he's the spring
in our step.
We
organize our lives
around him
this is the Christ cause.
Now let's look
at the Christ effect.
So walk in him.
In light of who Christ is
in all of his
hypostatic glory,
walk in him.
It's a command
urging us
to press into a life
with Christ
as the controlling center.
Now if you're not familiar
with that language,
walk,
it's just a common
biblical way
to talk about
living your life.
Have you heard the expression
like life is a journey?
That's the way
we're talking about walk.
It's living out your life.
And so,
because of who Christ is,
the cause,
we live
a certain way.
Effect.
We've encountered
this walk,
talk before
in chapter 1,
verse 10.
Paul,
Paul, in verse 9,
is praying for this church.
Verse 10,
so as to walk
in a manner
worthy of the Lord,
fully pleasing to him.
Paul is praying
for the Colossian church
that they would be
so moved upon
by God
and his spirit
that they would
walk
all in
for Jesus.
A few sermons ago,
I asked this question,
what is God's will
for your life?
Five words.
To please Christ
in everything.
When you've been delivered
from the domain
of darkness
and transferred
into this kingdom
of this beloved son,
you've been saved
for another.
you've been rescued
from living a life
for yourself
and you've been
rescued
to a life
lived for Christ
and there's
no greater joy.
And that's what it means
to walk in him.
So walk in him.
Live your life
for him
in light of who he is,
in light of what he's done
for you,
in light of being brought
into his kingdom.
You're no longer
outside of his kingdom.
You're no longer
living in darkness.
You're no longer
following the course
of the world,
the prince of the power
of the air.
You've been brought
into his kingdom.
Now you are a son
or daughter
of the living God.
So now you live
for him.
You belong to him.
He belongs to you.
In fact,
if you are a Christian,
you bear his name.
Christ-chen.
You're his.
And we live for him.
Who he is
and what he's done,
what he's doing,
what he will do,
it determines,
it defines,
it delights
who we are
and how we live.
We take our cues
from him
because he's the controlling
center of all things
in our lives.
We live
accordingly
for him.
Christ's cause,
who Christ is,
Christ's effect,
we live
for him.
Now maybe
you're like,
well,
how do I get this Jesus
to be the spring
of my step?
If you're not a Christian,
it begins with
becoming a Christian.
And the way
that you become
a Christian
is simply acknowledging
the fact
to Jesus himself
who is risen
right now,
you say,
Lord Jesus,
I've been trying
to live my life
for myself
and it's grievous
in your sight
and I've been making
a mess of it.
I turn from that
and I turn to you
and Lord Jesus,
would you bring me
into your kingdom
as you promised?
And at that moment,
you've been delivered
from the domain
of darkness
and transferred
into the kingdom
of the beloved son.
You went from thinking
that all things
orbited you
to realizing
by God's grace,
all things orbit
the crucified
and risen Christ.
You put a stake
in the ground
and you say,
Lord Jesus,
I'm yours.
That's how it starts.
But maybe you're
a Christian in the room
and you're like,
well,
you know what?
at any given time
during the day,
I am not sure
if Jesus is the controlling
center of my life.
I'm not sure
if he's the spring
of my step.
How
can
Jesus become
the spring
of my step
being that
I belong to him?
Well,
it's not rocket science.
It means
treasuring him.
it means
seeing him
for who he is
and allowing
his glorious
person
and his glorious
work
to affect
you.
So much so,
he takes first place.
That he's worthy.
So you might be asking,
how do I grow
in treasuring Jesus?
Here's what you do.
You ask
God the Father
to show you
the glory of Christ
and then you open up
your Bible.
And you're like,
show me your glory.
Help me to treasure you.
There's a couple
spots
that I would encourage you.
If you're looking for
a dose of Jesus' glory,
write these down.
Revelation
chapter 1,
12 through 18.
Revelation
chapter 19,
11 through 18.
These are
hot spots
with the big Jesus.
Or you can start
making your way
to the gospel of Mark.
And as you're
walking your way
through the gospel
of Mark,
you're saying,
Lord,
help me to see you
for who you are
and help me to
arrange my life
around you
in your glory.
He's the glorious
spring in our step,
brothers and sisters.
We're united
in our walk
around Him.
Is this true?
Hey,
here's one
testimony.
Wholehearted,
full-throated,
yes and amen,
it's true.
He's all that.
He's worth my life
and He's worth yours.
Jesus.
Which brings me
to the second point.
He is the sound
of our steps.
Pastor Mike,
where's the sound?
Where's the noise
in verse 7?
You know,
when people walk in here
and it's a really quiet
morning
and they walk down
to the front,
do you know
what you hear?
Squeak,
squeak,
squeak.
the floors creak.
You hear their steps.
Can't miss them.
There's a sound
our steps make.
In verse 7,
we move from
Paul,
in verse 6,
urging us to live
a certain way
to where he spells it out.
Here's the manner
in which you walk.
And there are
four words here
that kind of
unpack
the manner
of our walk.
They're very helpful
and I think
as we walk through them,
I think there's a chance
you're going to be surprised
and encouraged.
The first word
in verse 7
is rooted.
This word is the name
of our youth ministry
and it's the name
of our youth ministry
for a reason.
Rooted.
We walk rooted.
Now,
I'm going to get
technical on you.
This is a verb
but it's in a mood
that's called
the passive mood
which means this.
It's not us
rooting ourselves
in him.
It's God
having rooted us
in him.
We walk
in him
having been rooted
by God
in him.
We walk
rooted.
That rooted word
is a word
from
horticulture.
Psalm 1
the man
who delights
in the law
of God
he is like
a tree
planted
rooted
by streams
of water.
Jeremiah 17
7 and 8
the one
who trusts
in the Lord
he sends
out his roots
to the stream.
Another
horticultural
picture is
John 15
5
Jesus is the vine
we're the branches
we need to
be vitally
connected to him
to bear fruit.
Jesus
and what
we're learning
here is that
we walk
vitally
connected
to Jesus
because God
connected us
to Jesus.
You're walking
as the result
of God
rooting you
in Christ.
Our living
for Christ
is the result
of being
rooted
by God
in Christ.
does anybody
find that
encouraging
a little
bit?
He's got you.
He wants
you
to live
for Christ.
The second
word is
built up
in him
and Paul
shifts
metaphors
from horticulture
to architecture
but what's
interesting
is just like
rooted
this word
built up
it's
in the
passive
this is
a God
building
up
of those
who walk
in Christ.
This is not
a we doing
this is a
God doing
he's actively
presently
ongoingly
building
up
his church
so together
we follow
Christ.
Christ
in 1
Corinthians
3
this
build up
language
shows up
a lot
and
Paul
is using
it
in a
very
interesting
way
he's
making
a case
in 1
Corinthians
3
that
God
is
building
up
his
people
as
the
new
temple
of
God
dwells
in
his
people
his
new
temple
we don't
need
a
temple
in
Jerusalem
anymore
gang
because
we're
the
temple
the
church
and
God
is
actively
building
up
this
structure
of
living
stones
in
which
God
himself
dwells
if you
look at
chapter 1
verse 27
you'll
see something
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
dwelling
place
of
God
we
are a
mystery
revealed
gang
Christ
dwelling
in
us
and you
know
what that
means
it
means
that
we
are
holy
to
the
Lord
a
holy
dwelling
place
we
live
lives
that
are
to
be
holy
that's
how
we
walk
this
out
as
God's
holy
dwelling
place
we are
a
holy
habitation
for
him
so
when we
gather
together
like
on a
Sunday
morning
here
we are
a
holy
gathering
a
holy
structure
in which
God
is
dwelling
so
it
shouldn't
be
unusual
if
someone
comes
in
here
they're
not
a
believer
maybe
they're
a
new
believer
and
they're
like
wait
something
is
different
about
this
group
of
people
I
hope
our
difference
is
that
they
detect
the
presence
of
God
in
our
midst
we're
being
built
up
which
means
our
gathering
on a
Sunday
morning
is
more
than
just
a
happy
time
to
see
one
another
God's
getting
something
done
established
in
the
faith
just
as
you
were
taught
it's
another
passive
this
is
God
establishing
us
in
the
faith
the
objective
realities
of
who
Christ
is
it's
established
in
the
faith
about
Christ
it's
God
doing
the
establishing
so
what
does
it
mean
to
be
established
if
you
look
in
verse
23
if
indeed
you
continue
in
the
faith
chapter
123
if
indeed
you
continue
in
the
faith
stable
and
steadfast
not
shifting
from
the
hope
of
the
gospel
that
you
heard
that's
what
it
means
to
be
established
to
be
unwavering
undistracted
enduring
focused
not
shifting
not
moving
to
the
left
or
to
the
right
but
staying
course
established
persevering
in
your
walk
in
the
faith
in
the
objective
realities
of
who
Christ
is
established
there is
a
beautiful
picture
of this
of what
it means
to be
established
in the
faith
and that's
in
Matthew
chapter
7
this is
at the
end of
the
sermon
on the
mount
and
Jesus
says
this
everyone
then
who
hears
these
words
of
mine
sermon
on
the
mount
and
does
them
will
be
like
a
wise
man
who
built
his
house
on
the
rock
established
and the
rain fell
and the
floods
came
and the
winds
blew
and
beat
on
that
house
but
it
did
not
fall
because
it
had
been
founded
on
the
rock
on
Christ
on
his
words
in
the
faith
if
you
flip
to
Colossians
chapter
3
16
let
the
word
of
Christ
dwell
in
you
richly
teaching
and
admonishing
one
another
in
all
wisdom
singing
psalms
and
hymns
and
spiritual
songs
with
thankfulness
in
your
hearts
to
God
that's
how
he's
establishing
us
when
we
gather
together
and
we're
hearing
God's
word
preached
we're
singing
these
wonderful
songs
there
is
this
word
of
Christ
these
doctrines
of
the
faith
that
are
establishing
us
it's
all
true
it's
all
true
despite
what
the
world
says
throughout
the
week
this
is
true
Christ
is
who
he
is
he's
getting
something
done
around
the
world
and
he
is
glorious
rooted
in
Christ
being
built
up
in
Christ
being
established
in
Christ
this
is
how
we
are
walking
for
him
in
him
where's
the
sounding
here's
the
sounding
abounding
in
thanksgiving
so far
those
three
descriptions
were
all
God's
doing
this
last
one
is
a
we
doing
our
response
to
what
God
has
done
and
is
doing
is
a
response
of
thanksgiving
to
him
thanksgiving
is a
significant
theme
woven
throughout
the book
of
Colossians
we've
already
encountered
in
verse
12
giving
thanks
to
the
father
chapter
1
verse
12
who
has
qualified
you
to
share
the
inheritance
of
the
saints
and
light
he's
delivered
us
from
the
domain
of
darkness
and
transferred
us
to
the
kingdom
of
the
beloved
son
we
thank
God
for
his
work
of
salvation
in
us
for
delivering
us
from
darkness
and
bringing
us
into
the
light
to
seven
right
here
abounding
in
thanksgiving
but
flip over
to
chapter
three
verse
14
and
above
all
these
put
on
love
which
binds
everything
together
in
perfect
harmony
and
when
you
think
of
harmony
you
might
think
of
like
singing
look at
verse
15
and
let
the
peace
of
Christ
rule
in
your
hearts
to
which
indeed
you
were
called
in
one
body
and
be
thankful
verse
16
let
the
word
of
Christ
dwell
in
you
richly
with
thankfulness
in
your
hearts
to
God
at
the
end
of
the
name
of
the
Lord
Jesus
giving
thanks
to
God
the
Father
through
Him
we
walk
thankfully
in
Christ
together
we
harmonize
our
thanksgiving
to
God
together
thanksgiving
is simply
this
it's
gratitude
given
voice
to
God
that's
what
it
is
you
find
yourself
thinking
about
who
Christ
is
and
what
he
does
what
he's
doing
and
you're
like
there's
no one
like
you
there's
thanksgiving
it's
gratitude
given
voice
and so
here's
what
Paul
is
showing
us
when
we
walk
we're
like
rooted
established
built
up
thankful
rooted
built
up
established
thankful
together
we're
rooted
we're
built
up
we're
established
we're
thankful
to God
together
one of the
things I love
about singing
and singing
loud
though I don't
sing well
is that
I get to
sing loud
of
gratitude
given
voice
with my
brothers and
sisters in
Christ
every Sunday
after Sunday
we get to
do that
together
we get to
sing
you are so
worthy
of our
walk
Lord Jesus
that's the
sound of our
step
thanksgiving
gratitude
praise
and honor
that's how
we walk
in light of
who he is
and what
he's done
that we've
been
rooted in
him
and built
up in
him
and
established
in
him
he is the
sound
of our
stepping
who Christ
is determines
how we walk
believing in
the truth
of who
Jesus
is
informs
how we
truly
step
for him
he's the
spring in
our step
he's the
sound of
our step
and did you
notice that
little phrase
just as you
were taught
established
in the
faith
just as you
were taught
this Christ
that is
Christ
central
of how
we live
our lives
he's the
gold
standard
of the
Christian
life
we
live
treasuring
him
we live
for him
he's the
gold
standard
just as you
were taught
this is
what's been
passed down
to us
through the
scriptures
and the
apostles
but what
we're going
to see
next week
is that
this gold
standard
not only
helps us
to see
what's
most valuable
it actually
helps us
to spot
and renounce
counterfeits
false claims
things that
are not
worthy of
our lives
and that's
what we're
going to
look at
next Sunday
but between
now
and next
Sunday
would you
call to
your mind
who
Christ
is
so that
you live
your life
for him
in him
to him
by him
who Christ
is
determines
how we
walk
all for
the glory
of Jesus
let's pray
together
father
god
would you
pour out
your spirit
upon us
that we
would
walk
empowered
by your
spirit
to take
step
after step
for the
lord
jesus
christ
would you
do a work
in us
father
to make
us a
grateful
people
who give
voice to
that gratitude
in heartfelt
full-throated
thanksgiving
it's your name
we pray
amen