I'm going to give a brief overview of Colossians really quickly.
So chapter 1, verse 1.
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God's will, and Timothy, our brother,
to the saints in Christ at Colossae, who are faithful brothers and sisters,
grace to you and peace from God our Father.
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you.
For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all of the saints
because of the hope reserved for you in heaven.
You have already heard about this gospel and the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you.
It is bearing fruit and growing all over the world, just as it has among you
since the day you've heard it and came to truly appreciate God's grace.
You learned this from Ephraim.
Our dearly loved fellow servant, he's a faithful minister of Christ
on your behalf, and he has told us about your love in the Spirit.
For this reason, since the day we heard this, we haven't stopped praying for you.
We are now asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will
in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so that you may walk worthy of the Lord,
pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work, and growing in the knowledge of God,
and being strengthened by all power, according to his glorious might,
so that you might have great endurance and patience,
joyfully giving thanks to the Father who has enabled you to share in the saints' inheritance in the light.
He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.
In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation,
for everything was created by him, in him and on earth, the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities,
all things have been created through him and for him.
He is before all things, and by him all things hold together.
He is the head of the body of the church.
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the head,
so that he might come to have first place in everything.
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,
and through him to reconcile everything to himself,
whether things on earth or in heaven,
by making peace through his blood shed on the cross.
Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds,
expressed in your evil actions,
but now he has reconciled you by his physical body through his death
to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before him.
If indeed you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith
and are not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that is before you,
this gospel has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven,
and I, Paul, have become a servant of it.
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you,
and I am completing in my flesh what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for his body,
that is, the church.
I have become its servant according to God's commission that was given to me for you,
to make the word of God fully known,
the mystery hidden for ages and generations,
but now revealed to his saints.
God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery,
which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
We proclaim him, warning him,
teaching everyone with all wisdom,
so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
I labor for this,
striving with his strength that works powerfully in me.
And just up to verse 3 in chapter 2.
4.
I want you to know how greatly I am struggling for you,
for those in Laodicea,
and for all who have seen me,
for all who have not seen me in person.
I want their hearts to be encouraged and joined together in love,
so that they may have all the riches of complete understanding,
and have the knowledge of God's mystery.
Christ.
I'm going to pray really quickly,
and let me begin.
Heavenly Father,
I thank you that you are a good and kind king,
that you sent your Son,
who is the firstborn of all creation, O Lord.
I pray for clarity and for boldness
as I preach and proclaim your word, O Lord.
I pray for hearts to receive it well, O Lord.
I pray for all humility on everyone's part,
including mine, O Lord.
I pray against Satan,
against his devices, O Lord,
and I pray that our attention would be focused on Christ,
his preeminence,
his reconciliation,
and now us as ministers of reconciliation.
Amen.
So just a note of view.
First, verse 2,
this is a letter of encouragement.
It's not necessarily a letter that's written to rebuke them,
not in any sort of way.
We see that in verse 2.
To the saints in Christ at Colossae,
who are faithful brothers and sisters.
He's not writing this to people who need rebuking.
He's writing it to faithful brothers and sisters.
And you can usually tell that tidbit
from all of Paul's letter at the beginning.
Colossians and Ephesians are sister letters
because they're both letters of encouragement.
If you look at that tidbit in Ephesians,
you'll see the same things.
Faithful saints who are in Ephesus.
Verse 3 to 8,
Paul is happy and thankful for the news of good fruit,
good and godly fruit from these believers
that he's never met before.
Verses 9 to 14,
even though he's thankful for the fruit of salvation
and all these good things that are coming from them,
he still prays for spiritual maturity for them.
He wants them to be fully matured in Christ.
In verse 15 to 20,
what I believe is the magnum opus of this chapter,
Paul gives us a hymn of Christ's preeminence.
And then to the section that I'll preach on,
verse 21 to chapter 2, verse 3,
this, in a sense,
is the practical application
of Christ's preeminence over the cosmos.
Paul has laid out what he believes about Christ,
what Christ's preeminence is,
and now we're getting into,
well, what do we do with this?
And so my first point,
verses 19 to 23,
is we are aliens now reconciled.
We are aliens now reconciled.
And to start,
verse 21,
19 to 21,
for God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him
and through him to reconcile everyone to himself,
whether things on earth,
in heaven,
by making peace through his blood shed on the cross.
Once you were aliens,
hostile in your minds,
expressed in your evil actions.
So at one point,
if you're a believer now,
you were totally depraved.
Total depravity.
It's what I want to start with.
I want to start with that
because it says you were alienated
and hostile in your minds,
expressed in your evil actions.
What total depravity means
is that from birth,
we inherit a sinful nature
and we are beings now bent towards sinning.
All of our being is bent towards sinning.
That is our desire.
And honestly,
whenever I think of this,
I think of Lord of the Rings.
I think in particularly of one character,
I think of Gollum.
I think of Gollum
because of how much he loves the ring.
Gollum starts off as a hobbit,
as Smeagol,
and is kind of good.
He's just a river folk,
chilling,
having fun,
enjoying creation.
And then the ring enters the picture.
It poisons his mind,
poisons it so much
that he hates the light.
He hates the moon
and he hates the sun.
That he goes into a cave of darkness
where he dwells there for 500 years
and is obsessed with this ring,
this precious.
And then we continue the story
that at the end of it,
he would even give his life.
He dies to be with this ring
of how much he loves it.
That is a picture of total depravity and sin.
Sin loves the darkness.
It loves the darkness.
There is no one that I know
who is sinning
who wants to reveal that sin.
Sin loves darkness.
And sin wants to bring us to death.
The wages of sin is death.
We are working to death in our sinning.
And for those who are not saved,
you are totally depraved now.
But what precious verses
for us in verse 19 and 20,
that Christ is sent
to reconcile us.
Christ is sent to save us.
Christ, the firstborn of all creation,
he was sent by God,
promised by the prophets to come
to take on the weight of the world,
to live a perfect life,
and to suffer, to bleed,
and to hang on a cross and die.
And three days later,
he rose from the grave.
And that is the only thing
that we could believe in
that would save us
from total depravity,
from this nature
that is bent towards sinning.
And I love that it says
that we once were alienated,
past tense.
We are no more.
We are no more
in this total nature.
Yes, we still have a sin nature,
but we are now reconciled, believer.
Romans 3, 19 to 18
gives us a great picture
of what depravity looks like
in the human.
You don't have to turn there.
I could just read it.
Let's read this part.
There is no one righteous,
not even one.
There is no one who understands.
There is no one who seeks God.
All have turned away.
All alike have become worthless,
and there is no one
who does what is good,
not even one.
Their throat is an open grave.
They deceive with their tongues.
Vipers' venom is under their lips.
Their mouth is full of cursing bitterness.
Their feet is swift to shed blood of ruin,
and wretchedness are in their path,
and the path of peace they have not known,
and there is no fear of God in their eyes.
That is total depravity.
What does that mean?
That means that you, us,
would have picked up a stone
and stoned Stephen
as he was preaching the gospel with us.
You, me, us,
we would have yelled crucified
to the Messiah
because of our depravity.
You, I, us,
we are Barabbas.
We are murderers.
We are defilers.
We are evil.
But Christ takes our place
as he took Barabbas'.
He saves him
from this punishment
that he deserves.
But even more than that,
verse 23,
verse 22 to 23,
but now he has reconciled you
by his physical body
through his death
to present you
holy,
faultless,
and blameless
before him
if you indeed remain grounded
and steadfast in the faith
and are not shifted away
from the hope of the gospel
that you have heard.
Even more,
brothers and sisters,
taking our place,
dying for us,
he will present us
as what?
Holy.
Who's the only person
that I know
that is holy?
The Lord Almighty.
He will present us
as holy,
faultless.
Who's the only person
that I know
that is faultless?
The Lord Almighty.
And blameless.
Who is the only person
that I know
that is blameless?
The Lord Almighty.
And he will present us
as these things
to his father.
Let me remind you
who God is
and who will be presented to.
God is the king
of the cosmos.
Hubble telescope
can take a snippet
of his kingdom
and still not fully reveal it.
He holds together
the fabric of time and space
by the word of his mouth.
He is omnipresent.
He is everywhere.
He is omniscient.
He knows everything
in his kingdom.
He is omnipotent.
There is nothing
that he cannot do.
Shall I continue?
He is enthroned in heaven
and earth is his footstool.
He is holy,
holy, holy.
The king of kings
and the Lord of lords.
The majesty,
the perfect one.
That's who will be presented to
as holy, perfect,
and blameless.
We should be trembling
before that.
As Isaiah says,
tremble before
the word of the Lord.
As Isaiah sees
the Lord high
and lifted up,
he says,
woe is me,
a man of unclean lips,
living amongst people
of unclean lips.
When we are before
the Lord God,
our face should be
to the ground
and we should be
like dead men.
Instead,
we are presented
by Christ
as holy,
faultless,
and blameless.
But there's also
an if in verse 23.
If you indeed
remain grounded
and steadfast
in the faith
and are not shifted away
from the hope
of the gospel
that you have heard.
Let me ask you this, church.
Is the gospel
still precious to you?
Are you like Jesus' relative
who when brought
before them
in their community,
he could not perform
miracles because of
relations with them?
Has the gospel,
has grace,
has salvation,
has all these
glorious truths
become common to you?
Or is it just
like water rolling
off the duck's back
that you're just like,
yeah, salvation,
grace.
So like,
I can spend my day
without thinking about it.
Has it become
these common objects
to you?
If it has,
repent.
It should not be
like that.
The king of the cosmos
deserves eternal worship.
Not a second thought.
If these things
are common to you,
as it should not be,
repent.
Do not become
like relatives
of Jesus
where because
of relations,
because of time
spent with him,
you say,
I already know
about grace.
I already know
about these things.
Do not be like that.
Repent
and believe
in the gospel.
And if you are
holding fast to that,
praise God.
Praise God,
truly.
But does this verse
mean,
if you hold fast,
does it mean
that you can lose
your salvation?
By no means.
This is not what that means.
This is not accurate
with scripture.
It says
in the scriptures,
he who has found,
he is the founder
and finisher
of your faith.
He is the author
of salvation.
He is the perfecter
of your faith.
He is the author
of all creation.
He is writing
what I am speaking
right now.
But,
what Paul
is getting to
is what he talks
about
in
2 Corinthians
13.5.
You want to turn
over there
really quickly?
2 Corinthians
13.5.
Test yourselves
to see if you
are in the faith.
Examine yourselves
or do yourselves
not recognize
as Jesus Christ
is in you.
Test yourselves,
brothers and sisters,
to see if you are
in the faith.
More recently,
I mean,
the person that I
can think of
is Carlos.
A person who,
at one point,
I would have called
a brother.
Test yourself
to see if you
are in the faith.
And then,
again,
in the book
of James,
turn with me
if you can
to James
chapter 5.
Or,
sorry,
James chapter 2,
18 to 26.
But some
will say,
you have faith
and I have works.
Show me your faith
without works
and I will show you
my faith
by my works.
You believe
that God is one.
Good.
Even the demons
believe and they shudder.
Senseless person,
are you willing
to learn that faith
without works
is useless?
Wasn't Abraham,
our father,
justified
by works
in offering Isaac
his son on the altar?
You see that faith
was active
together with his works
and by works
faith was made complete.
And the scripture
was fulfilled to say,
Abraham believed God
and it was credited
to him as righteousness
and he was called
God's friend.
See that a person
is justified
by works
and not by faith alone.
In the same way,
wasn't Rahab,
the prostitute,
also justified
by works
in receiving
the messengers
and sending them
out by a different route.
Just as this body
without the spirit
is dead,
so faith
without works
is dead.
You cannot have faith
and truly be pleasing
to God
without works.
as it says
in Colossians
1,
21,
once you were alienated
and hostile
in your minds
expressed
in your evil actions,
you show
that you were alienated
and hostile
to God
expressed
by your evil actions.
You show
that you were
in the faith
and that you love
God
by your actions.
You cannot have
one without the other.
Truly,
but I'm also
not preaching
for a works-based
salvation
by no means.
I do not believe that.
I do not believe
that you can
bring anything,
that you can add
anything
to Christ's
finished work
on the cross.
But God
is true
in what he says
that if
by your works
you are shown
fruitless,
if you are a branch
that produces nothing,
you will be cut off
and thrown
into the fire
to burn
forever.
Test yourself.
Are you in the faith?
What are your fruits?
Can anyone
here
affirm your fruits?
What do they look like?
Verse 23.
Verse 23b.
The gospel
has been proclaimed
in all creation
under heaven
and I, Paul,
have become a servant
of it.
I just want to,
there's many ways
that I can go.
Just suffice it
to say this,
that this should be
interpreted
in cosmic terms
instead of
geographical terms
because honestly
that would be a lie.
The gospel now
has not been
proclaimed
in all creation.
The gospel then
in Paul's days
has not been
proclaimed
in all creation.
The Americas
weren't even found.
But we should
emphasize
or see an emphasis
in the word
all creation
as in Christ
is the firstborn
of all creation.
Viewed in cosmic terms,
he is preeminent
over all creation.
His gospel,
his kingship
is over
all creation.
that does not mean
that when
he died
and rose on the cross
that that went out
to all creation.
No,
that also does not mean
that God's glory,
his eternal power
being revealed
by his creation
is what's saving people.
No,
it is cosmic proportion
to this gospel
has gone out
to all creation.
But
that's what I want to say
in that section.
Now,
section,
verse 24
to chapter 2-3,
the three things
that I want us to consider
in this portion
of Colossians.
One,
we will suffer.
Two,
the mystery
is revealed.
And three,
we must labor
as Paul labored.
I'll say that again.
We will suffer.
The mystery
is revealed.
We must labor
as Paul labored.
verse 24.
Now,
I rejoice
in my sufferings
for you
and I am completing
in my flesh
what is lacking
in Christ's afflictions
for his body,
that is,
the church.
Just a note
on Paul's suffering here.
He is by no means,
again,
adding to Christ's works.
That's not
what he's saying here.
What he is saying
is he is following
his preeminent Savior,
the one who goes
before all Christians
and saying,
I am following
a crucifix life
as my Savior followed.
I am taking up
my cross daily
and suffering
as all Christians
are promised suffering.
Christ is the firstborn,
the preeminent,
the one who leads the way.
We must follow
in Christ,
we must follow Christ.
He says in Matthew 5,
blessed are you
when others revile you
and persecute you
and other all kinds
of evil against you
falsely on my account.
Rejoice and be glad
for your reward
is great in heaven
for so they persecuted
the prophets
who were before you.
Paul's reward
is great in heaven.
Truly,
rejoice when you
are persecuted
and follow
in Paul's example
of suffering.
Rejoice.
did not shy away
from suffering.
He despaired so much
in life at one point
that he wanted to die.
Yet because of Christ,
he continued going.
The second point,
the mystery is revealed.
I've become
its servant,
verse 25,
I've become its servant
according to God's commission
that was given to me
for you to make
the word of God
fully known.
The mystery,
hidden for ages
and generation,
but now revealed
to his saints.
God wanted to make
known among the Gentiles
the glorious wealth
of this mystery,
which is Christ in you,
the hope of glory.
We proclaim him,
warning him,
and teaching him,
everyone,
with all wisdom
so that we may present
everyone mature in Christ
and labor for this,
striving with strength
that works powerful in me.
For I want you to know
how greatly I am
struggling for you,
for those in Laodicea,
and for all who have not
seen me in person.
I want their hearts
to be encouraged
and joined together
in love so that
they may have
all the riches
of complete understanding
and the knowledge
of God's mystery,
Christ,
in him are hidden
all the treasures
and wisdom of knowledge.
Mystery.
Paul has mentioned
the mystery
like five times
in three verses
or five verses,
and he talks about
the mystery
in Ephesians.
What is this mystery?
Simply,
the mystery is Christ.
Christ and the gospel,
and the mystery
is Christ
and his prophetic,
these prophetic words
that were promised
of him.
Christ revealed
in the Old Testament
is this mystery,
and the gospel
that is before us
is that mystery.
You might think
the gospel,
Christ,
a mystery?
I've known that
since birth.
I've been sitting
in these pews
since conception.
This isn't a mystery.
It's not new to me.
But two things
to consider on this.
First,
Gentiles had no part
in the covenant
with Yahweh.
We were aliens.
If a non-Jew
came to Israel,
they were called
resident aliens.
They didn't belong there.
They had no part
in the covenant,
in the Old Covenant.
But Jews did.
But now,
Christ offers a way
for even Gentiles
to worship
the King of Kings,
and the mystery
is revealed
to the world,
not just to the Jews.
Praise God for that.
Second,
consider
our spiritual heritage.
Adam,
who walks with God
in the garden,
and after a royal screw-up
that any of us
would do,
is left with a conscience
of what did I just do
to the world?
Noah,
who was a man
found right,
who was the only man
found righteous
on the planet,
he builds an ark
trusting what God
says is true.
Faithful father Abraham,
who leaves his hometown
of Ur
to follow God
into the wilderness.
Sarah,
by faith,
even Sarah,
who was past childbearing,
was enabled
to bear child
because she considered
him faithful,
who made the promise.
Isaac,
Rebecca,
Jacob,
Joseph,
Moses,
Phineas,
Miriam,
Aaron,
Caleb,
Joshua,
Rahab,
Gideon,
Hannah,
Ehud,
Deborah,
Samson,
David,
Samuel,
Nathan,
Isaiah,
I could keep going.
These men and women
who were faithful
did not have this mystery
revealed.
They were not given
the privilege
of knowing who Christ is
and who the gospel is.
They were never,
this was never fully
revealed to them,
but it is
to you.
And praise God
that he chose
that you would be born
in this half
of the covenant,
in this new covenant,
this age,
this modern period,
this country,
this time
for you to have
freedom of religion
and know
what the gospel is.
Oh,
great is our God
that in his kindness
that he would reveal
this mystery to us
because there's still
people in America
who this mystery
is not revealed to.
Praise him.
last point
on this section
is that we must
labor
as Paul labored.
Verse 28
onward.
We proclaim him
warning and teaching
everyone with all wisdom
so that we may present
everyone mature
in Christ.
I labor for this
striving
with his strength
that works powerfully
in me.
These verses,
Christ's church,
must be ours.
We're a new work.
This is the work
that we're doing.
Let me read that again.
We proclaim him
warning and teaching
everyone with all wisdom
so that we might present
them mature in Christ.
I labor for this
striving
with all strength
that works powerfully
in me.
That is our work.
That is what we must champion.
All this theology,
Christ's preeminence,
him being the firstborn,
the suffering servant,
his glory,
his ministry
of reconciliation,
now ours.
As Sam read earlier,
turn with me to
2 Corinthians 5, 17.
Therefore,
if anyone,
let me say that again,
therefore,
if anyone,
not select people,
not apostles,
not evangelists,
therefore,
if anyone is in Christ,
he is a new creation,
the old has passed away
and see the new has come.
Everything is from God
who has reconciled us
himself through Christ
and has given us,
everyone who is in Christ,
the ministry of reconciliation.
That is,
in Christ,
God was reconciling
the world to himself,
not counting their trespasses
against them,
and he has committed
the message of reconciliation
to us,
to those who are in Christ.
It's not only Christ's church
that this labor belongs to,
it belongs to all who are in Christ.
Meaning,
let me read that again,
we who are in Christ
must proclaim him,
warning,
teaching everyone
with all wisdom
so that we might present
everyone mature in Christ.
That is the charge
given to a Christian.
I labor for this,
striving with his strength
that works powerfully in me.
That means
that you do not do this
in your own strength.
Paul
was given
39 lash
minus one
from the Jews
five times.
He faced dangers
on the seas,
on the roads.
He was without food,
without clothes,
with frost.
How can one do that
in their own strength?
Verse 29,
I labor for this,
striving with
his strength
that works powerfully in me.
In this new work,
if you are striving
in your own strength,
if you are already
getting tired,
consider that you're
striving in your own strength.
Consider that
and then repent.
Turn to the Lord.
Ask for strength.
Striving means
to endeavor
to reach
or strain
for something
above
or beyond.
We all know
how to strive.
We were all once,
Isaiah
or Reuben,
reaching
to grab something.
We all know
how to strive.
We all know
how to strain
for something.
Apply that
to your Christian life.
You must strive.
And if you're not,
then according
to this verse,
you are not walking
as a Christian
should be.
If you're just
living the Christian life,
you are not walking
how a Christian
should be living.
You should be living
in a way
to present everyone
mature in Christ.
Show me your fruits.
Where's the fruit of that?
Continue really quickly.
Verse 21,
I want their hearts
to be,
verse 2,
sorry,
I want their hearts
to be encouraged
and joined together
in love
so that they might
have all riches
of complete understanding
and have the knowledge
of God's mystery,
Christ.
In Him are hidden
all the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge.
You should want this
for other people.
You should be praying
this for other people.
You should be desiring
this for other people.
If you're older in here
and you have a far
longer time
with the Lord
than I ever have,
do not put those books
on the bookshelf
and just say,
young people don't need me.
I need fathers.
I need those shelves
off the books.
I need those books
off the shelf
for you guys
to teach me.
I need old people.
Do not consider
that I am too young.
Wisdom has no age limit.
Wisdom is Christ incarnate.
Solomon asked for wisdom
and wisdom was given
to him at a young age.
Wisdom is doing
what is right,
doing what is godly.
It's not experiential.
That is worldly wisdom.
Wisdom has no age limit.
Young people,
you can be wise.
I'm a young person.
I can be wise.
That's the Lord for it.
But that's all.
I want to close
with some application points.
Here are some ways
to struggle
and to strive.
First, pray.
Ephesians,
chapter 6.
Ephesians 6, 18.
Pray at all times
in the spirit
with every prayer
and request
and stay alert
with all perseverance
and intercession
for the saints.
19, pray also for me
the message
may be given to me
when I open my mouth
and make known
the boldness
of the mystery
of the gospel.
At the end
of everything
that Paul is saying
with the armor of God,
he ends it with pray.
Truly,
that is the Christian's weapon.
Prayer.
Strive in prayer.
Labor in prayer.
You don't have time
to go and share
the gospel?
Pray.
There's no one
underneath you
who you're teaching?
Pray.
Pray for Christ's church.
Pray for strength
for Christ's church.
Pray for the loss.
Pray for maturity.
Pray for other churches
as Paul is praying
for another church.
Is there another church
that you know of
that you're praying for?
Do you want them
to be mature in Christ?
Is this your only bubble?
Pray.
Pray for other churches.
Pray for pastors.
Pray for ministers.
Pray that we may be
mature in Christ.
Pray that our ministry
would be going out
and bringing those in
to make them mature in Christ.
Two.
Fast.
I don't know why.
I don't know how.
But it works.
It works.
Fasting works.
A dependence upon God works.
Saying, Lord,
I'm emptying myself.
Look upon my struggling.
Help me, Lord.
Listen to these things
that I'm praying for.
Do you fast now?
Do you do the quarterly fast
just because
the Holocaust is doing it?
Fast.
Works.
Three.
Go evangelize.
I love evangelism.
Ephesians 6.16.
In every situation...
Sorry, not 6.16.
15.
And your feet sandaled
with readiness
for the gospel of peace.
Go evangelize.
If you're a mom
and you have kids,
go to the park.
If you're a single person,
you got a bunch of time.
Maybe.
Go evangelize.
If you're just married,
go to the park
with your family.
Go evangelize.
If you're a new couple,
go evangelize.
It is the best way
to be persecuted.
Rack up your rewards
in heaven
by being persecuted.
Go get the loss.
Four.
Moms,
bring your kids
in the gospel.
People are watching.
There are so many people
who are watching
kids who are obedient now.
They're like,
why are your kids
so obedient?
Because I'm not
gentle parenting.
Because I spanked my kids
because the word
commands me to.
dads,
work hard
without grumbling.
Your coworkers
are watching.
If you work
with a bunch of believers,
that's awesome.
I don't.
I work with a bunch
of non-believers.
I get the ability
to preach the gospel
all the time.
But if my work
is just sloppy
and terrible,
why would they
listen to me?
Rejoice in trials.
Do not be anxious
in trials.
That is a fool's errand
to be anxious
in trial.
Do not be anxious.
Turn to the Lord
in the same way
that we strive
with His strength.
We need His strength
in trials.
That's the only way
that we can rejoice
when we lose a baby.
That's the only way
that we can rejoice
when we lose a loved one.
That's the only way
we can rejoice
when we have no money
and we just got fired
and our house is on fire.
That's the only way
is with His strength.
And then
the last application point,
rest in Christ.
How do we get strength?
It's by resting in Christ.
Meaning,
read God's word
and pray daily.
Truly,
read God's word
and pray daily.
This is not a,
you must do this
to be saved.
It is a,
that is the only way
for you to receive strength.
It's by asking the Lord,
going before Him,
being on your knees,
reading His word,
being encouraged
in the faith.
He is your daily bread.
He is your sustenance.
All my application points,
but to close,
I just want to read
the lyrics to this song,
which is,
He is our strength.
Lord,
send your church
to the nation afar.
Burden our hearts
for the hearts
that are hard.
Please be our strength.
You send your spirit
to help in your place.
Behold,
you are with us
forever always.
He is our strength.
Lord,
we're unable
unless you enable.
Graciously give us
your strength
to go make disciples
of every land
so we may stand
and worship
and adore the Lamb.
He is our strength.
Every nation
and every tongue
hear of His goodness
and what He has done.
He is our strength.
Lord,
send Christ's church
into the world
for your glory.
Graciously give us strength
to desire your glory
above all else.
I need your grace.
We need your grace.
Help us deny ourselves.
You are my strength.
Though for the gospel
we may lose our life,
it's incomparable
to Jesus Christ
who is our strength.