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Alright. Good morning, everybody. Can you hear me okay?
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Yes, ma'am.
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Great. Good morning. What a beautiful day, You would hardly even know that this week was such a disaster. But you made it here. We're glad that you're here.
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What do you say we stand up and we worship? The first line in the song is here in this worn and weary land where many a dream has died. It could feel a bit weary. Some of you may have feeling or feeling a little weary this morning. But take heart.
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We serve a big, strong, and awesome God who is able to fill us up and sustain us and give us energy where we lack.
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Here in this, here in a sworn and weary land where many a dream has died. Like a tree planted by the water, we never will run dry. Living water flowing through living water flowing through. God, we thirst from more of you. Fill our hearts and flood our souls with wonders.
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I don't know
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you and to make you known.
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Just didn't know you and to make you known. Lift your name all night. Shine like the sun made darkness run and hide. We were made. We know we were made for so much more than ordinary lives.
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It's And to your word, we're digging deep to know our father's heart. And to the world, we're reaching out. Show them who you are. So living water flowing through God, we thirst for for more of you. Through.
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Fill our hearts and flood our souls with one desire. Just in know you until making We know we were made for so much more than ordinary lives. It's time for us to more than just
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Thank you all very much. I don't know if y'all know but the Boy Scouts have been meeting at First B wherever the location of First B has been in this town for eighty four years. Eighty four years and they came this morning. It was scouting Sunday last week. We bumped them because of a congregational meeting but they're here this morning all dressed and ready and they have made breakfast.
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So, that is during the connect hour time down between services, the Boy Scouts, we love the Boy Scouts have made breakfast for us but Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts have made breakfast down the hall. So, thank you for being here. Tomorrow night, Monday nights at 1st B, wherever two or three are gathered. Yeah. That actually is a picture from the talent show last night.
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We have a talent of impersonating Blake but nobody can be Blake except for Blake but Monday nights at First B is happening down the hall. Fellowship Hall, 6PM. What's the message on Carl?
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Romans 12.
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Romans 12. Alright. Sounds good. Down down the hall. Men's retreat is coming up February 24 to the twenty sixth.
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So, that is coming. It's $100 to stay. You can see Kyle Knutson and if you want to get a snowmobile, let him know ahead of time. We're renting them from additional locations. He's standing right in the back right now in a green sweater and a big burly man mustache.
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Would you wave your hand back there, Cal? Alright. If you want to go on that men's snowmobile retreat. Truth Project, we started this this past Wednesday night. It started February 8 at 06:45.
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I can't say enough good things about this series. It is fantastic. It this past week, we went, what is truth was the major question for the evening. We had about 30 probably that showed up. Y'all, this is one of the best things I've ever seen produced about how God interacts with all aspects of society.
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There's no place that God has not spoken and it's really really good. It's worth the time. 06:45 on Wednesday evenings is the truth project. We have a Thursday evening study for ladies, 06:45 to eight and it's called Seamless. It's attempting to understand the Bible as one complete story.
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It's ambitious. It's Genesis to Revelation but it is a fantastic study. Maria Knutson is helping to administrate that one And we have another one that is happening during Wednesdays during the daytime, 10:00 until twelve noon. It's unashamed by Christine Cain. We'll do videos and we'll meet in this room right here, Wednesdays, 10AM to twelve.
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Books are available in the church office for that one. All of this information is in your bulletin. By the way, too. Nancy, would you stand up? Where's Nancy?
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Erwin. She's not in the room right now. She's here somewhere. Never mind. Alright.
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And this one, I hate to be Debbie Downer during the announcements. But the Reno's, if you all have not heard, Renzi and Kale and Ace and Boone will be moving in June and so that is is the way Carl and I read it like we're crying but I think Renzy intended it more like okay. Please be praying for them and for for this church as we seek to they're irreplaceable but as we seek to kind of find somebody to do the jobs that they have been handling since they've been here. They've been utility players the whole time along and we have until June 15 before they go. So, enjoy them in this four, five month period but I just wanted to let you all know at the same time.
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The Reno's will be moving up to Northern Wyoming closer to home, closer to both their mamas, right? Alright. I asked you last week and I'm going to ask you to do it again next week. If you bring your smartphone with you to church, we are trying to update our bulletin and we're trying to do it in a new and efficient way, Nick.
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Alright, good morning everybody. My name is Nick and I'm the new assistant secretary here. And we're gonna have an updated photo wall down the hall, which we've been meaning to do for a long time. We also need to update our contact information. So if you would kindly pull out your cellphone, we're gonna do it right now in about three minutes.
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So if you pull out your cellphone, what we need from you guys, if you're willing to give us your information, it's okay if you're just visiting, don't worry about it. But if you've been plugged in here for a while, you want us to know your information, you wanna be a part of it, give us as much as you can. All the directions are right here. So we need to take a photo of everyone in your family together. If you have one already on your cell phone, use that one.
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Okay? But the faces are most important like this frame right
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here. Like this
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much right here. Find a photo on your phone if you already have one that you like and then put it in an email, not a text, and type in as much contact information as you want to share. It's all right there, everything you have and then email it to assistantfirstbjackson dot org. That's me. Then after that, help others if you can.
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So if we can do that right now, go to town guys. Just follow those directions, walk us through it if you would. And if you guys can do that all right now, that'd be super.
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Greet one another during this little thing we stand up and shake hands. Just do the digital handshake right now. Get get with it. The information and we'll take a few minutes and Carl and Florine and I will bring you back together with a song. Thank you very much.
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Thank you.
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Alright, let's see if this works, guys.
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Would you stand with us and sing Jesus firm foundation.
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Alright. How firm a foundation. How firm a foundation you saints of help. Help. You Jesus have fled.
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We Fear not. Fear not. He is with us, so be not dismayed. For he is our God, our sustainer and strength. He'll be out of fender and cause us to stand upheld by his mercy, o almighty.
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How firm our foundation? How firm our foundation? I'll show our salvation, and we will not be shaken. Jesus firm foundation. Alright.
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The soul that's trusting. The soul that is trusting in Jesus is Lord. Press on enduring in the darkest of storm. And though we've in hell should endeavor to shake, you'll never, no, never, no, never forsake. How firm, how firm, our foundation, how sure our salvation and we will not be shaken.
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Jesus from foundation.
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I wanna sing H to H, he stands.
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And H to H, he stands, faithful to the end. And all may fade away. And he will remain. Will remain. I'll firm a foundation.
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I'll sure a salvation and we will not be shaken. Jesus, firm foundation.
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Let's sing. You are the fullness of the beauty I see.
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And you are the fullness of the beauty I see. You are you are the healer of the broken and weak. And you are the healer of the broken and weak. You are you are. Even though, and even though few may stand and proclaim your great name.
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It's a life I want to live because I'm convinced there is the like you. Not ashamed of the gospel. I'm not ashamed of the gospel. I'm not ashamed on Jesus Christ. I will stand in more of these sick.
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This is my life. I'm not ashamed of the gospel. I'm not ashamed on Jesus Christ. I will send him for these. Say this is my life.
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He's the author of salvation and faith. Listen. And are the author of salvation and faith. You are. You are.
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Even though few may stand and proclaim your great name. It's a life I want to live because I'm convinced there is nothing like you. Not ashamed of the gospel. I'm not ashamed ashamed
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the gospel. I'm not ashamed on Jesus Christ. I'm a state
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and for the sake. This is my life. I'm not ashamed of of the gospel. I'm not ashamed of Jesus Christ. I'm standing both these saved.
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This is my life.
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From Ephesians, he says, also pray that you understand the incredible greatness of God's power for us who believe in him. Consider that just God's power. But more, this is the same power that raised Christ from the dead that lives in us and seated in him, a place of honor at God's right hand in the heavenly rooms.
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Feet, I can feel. The breath on those surrounding me, I can hear. The sound of nations rising up. We will not be overtaken. We will not be overcome.
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And I can walk down this dark and painful road. I can face. Every fear of the unknown I can hear. All God's children singing out. We will not be over sick and we will not be overcome.
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The same power. Listen. The same power that rose Jesus from the green. The same power that commands a dead to wake lives in us, lives in us. The same power that moves mountains when it speaks.
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The same power that can con the rage and sea lives in us, lives in us. He lives in us, lives in us. And we have hope. And his promises are true and his strength. There is nothing he can't do.
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Yes, we know. There are greater things in store. We will not be over sick and we will not be overcome. Same power. Listen.
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The same power that throws Jesus from the grave. Power that moves mountains when it speaks. The same power that can calm the rage and sea lives in us, lives in us, lives in us, lives in us. And greater sea, let's say. A greater sea that's living in me.
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He's conquered our enemy. No power of darkness. No power of darkness. No weapon prevails. We stand here in victory.
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Let's sing greater is he and greater is he that's living me. He's conquered our enemy.
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The same power.
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The same power that rose Jesus from the grave. Same power that commands a dead to wait lives in us, lives in us. The same pie that moves mountains when it speaks. The same pie that can con the regency lives in us, lives in us. It lives in us, lives in
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Y'all can have a seat. I'm going invite the frontline team to come forward. God, thank you for this morning, for this glorious, beautiful morning and I thank you that you are the one lord that can calm the raging storm, calm the raging sea. Lord, after this week of extremes, We look to you. Our the author and finisher of our faith and the one lord that continues to build his church and so we're looking to you God and acknowledging that you are the giver of every good and perfect gift and lord, in acknowledgement of that, we trust you to do what you will to build your church.
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Would you use us in our words in this week but would you also use these resources lord that we're putting in these plates to see your gospels advance. In Jesus name, lord, would you bless and multiply these gifts so that everyone may know that you are our savior, redeemer, and lord and in you, we live and breathe and have our being. Amen. The children's time. Now, the children are dismissed to head down to Children's Church downstairs This ought to be fun.
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An onslaught of uniformed cubs and boy scouts joining in, it looks like. Well, good morning and welcome. Glad that you're here. We are starting this week back up where we left off in Colossians one. This is the verse kind of that is the one that I think is most difficult.
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Actually, when I was asked this week, so what are you preaching on this week? I said, Colossians, he goes, you're going to read it to him. It's about as simple as it gets. I said, well, yeah. I am going to read it to him actually but it's it is pretty simple especially chapter two, chapter three of Colossians.
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It's right where you live your life. It's a very practical thing but there are some confusing things about chapter one. One of em is this one. Now, rejoice in my sufferings for your sake and in my flesh, Paul says, I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body that is the church. This I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions.
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Sounds haughty, arrogant, or it sounds like, I don't think I understand what that means. How could there be anything lacking in the afflictions of Christ? We know that he and his perfect life and his sacrificial death was completely sufficient for everyone who would put their faith in him but that's where the lacking goes. It's completely sufficient for everyone who will trust in him but what's lacking? Not everybody trust in him and so Paul's statement here is, I'm rejoicing in my sufferings which sounds a little crazy too but I want, that's what we're honing in on today.
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That's the middle of the section that we're going to cover. 21 through 29 is what we're going to cover today and I said I would go back and read this. I'm going to read it. 15 is the grounding. Now, I said before, there's a pertinent prayer right before this.
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I want for you to grow in the knowledge of God's will so that you'll be walking worthy and doing God's will so that that leads to a greater knowledge of God. That was last week's sermon and this is the grounding because it's not dependent upon you. It's dependent upon Christ. He, Christ, Jesus, is the image of the invisible God. Last week, I used illustration of the elephant, right?
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He is the all, all of the elephant. He's the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him, all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things, all things were created through him and for him and he, Jesus, is before all things. He's eternal before all things and in him, all things hold together. He spoke creation into being and Colossians will go on to say that and it keeps on going because of Christ.
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He's the one who upholds it. They hold together in him and he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, first born from the dead. He, when he was resurrected, has not died again. We see in scripture a few elements or examples of a little girl that Elijah raised back to life and we see one that Jesus did or couple of those Lazarus but those folks died again.
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This is he's the beginning. He's the first born from the dead. The one in his glorified eternal existence and body. That in everything he might be preeminent. This is the grounding for all that simple stuff that comes later in Colossians.
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Christ is the foundation for all of it. For in him, all of 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 cross and that's where we left off last week was verse 20. Making making peace by the blood of his cross. So, it is what can wash away my sin?
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Nothing but the blood of Jesus, right? But what if somebody does not know about Jesus? The message of the cross. To those who are perishing, it is mere foolishness. To those who are being saved, it's the power of God.
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If we look at verse 21, it says, and you, people, all you people, you, Christians, who were who once were alienated and hostile in mind and doing evil deeds. He's saying, Christians, don't forget where you came from. You were on the other side of this equation. You were considering this foolishness or you didn't know about it and you are perishing at that point. And you who were once alienated and hostile in mind and doing evil deeds, he, Christ, has now reconciled in his body of flesh.
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He wants to make sure they said that there was already a growing trend to think everything was just spiritual and Jesus was not really here in a real body and didn't really live life the same way that we do. So, he's already combating gnosticism at this point. He has now reconciled in his body of flesh. He really did come. He really did live a perfect life and he really did die that perfect sacrificial death.
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He's now reconciled, past tense, in his body of flesh, by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him. So, it's not just for your salvation. According to this, it's for your sanctification so that you'd be holy and blameless and live a different kind of lifestyle from the world around you. Alright, we're building up towards that 24 where it gets a little confusing. He has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death.
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It is the message of the cross. It is about his sacrifice. God made the first step in sending Jesus. He lived that life without sin. He had no sin debt to pay and so, he could pay for other people's sin debt.
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He humbled himself, hung himself even to death, even death on a cross, it says, in Philippians. In order to present you holy and blameless and above repent before him. If indeed you continue, there's something about persevering that's very important in the Christian life. If indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard. He knows that these people accepted Christ and accepted the gospel that Epaphras had presented him with.
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We've talked about that. Epaphras was a fellow worker of Paul's and Paul did not plant this church. He did not found this church. He was not there. Probably had never been to Colossae at all and Epaphras had found it and he says, I know that you heard this gospel and you accepted it.
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I don't want you to turn away from it. Christians, who grew up in a home where your mom and daddy were Christians and they presented you with this and presented you with it and in Sunday school, you knew it and you trusted it and then you got into middle school, high school, college, sociology class. Sociology class where the teacher tries to undermine everything that you've ever learned. That happened to me. Sociology class, first day.
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She said, can tell you what 97% of you are, what religion you are by asking you one question and the question is not, what religion are you? Okay. 97% of us. She sounds like she's got us pigeonholed. The question is, what religion are your mom and daddy?
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Oh my goodness. That starts undermining my faith. Well, I just believe whatever they said. Oh my goodness and I kind of disagree with them anyway. They're doofuses.
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They won't let me do what I want to do and I'm in college out of their house. If indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard. It's it's got to be yours. It's gotta be yours. Now, it can be yours and you can have doubt.
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That's true but Paul is combating doubt. He's saying that Christ is the preeminent one and must be. He has to be. He is necessarily so. This is the case.
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Whether you believe it or not. The gospel that you heard which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven and of which I, Paul, became a minister. Now, Paul was thinking that he was doing God's will when he was persecuting the followers of the way and the Christians and going and seeking to have em arrested and killed and then, he was converted in a very dramatic fashion and he says, I became a minister. I wholeheartedly believe this. I want for you to have the confidence in it and wholeheartedly believe it and not turn away from it.
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No matter what the society around you says, Christ is preeminent. And then he gets to the part in 24. Now, nowadays, after I've been ministering for twenty two, twenty three, twenty four years, somewhere in there, he has been carrying the gospel forward. We've heard of his travails in second Corinthians. We've heard of, you know, being beaten.
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We've heard of him being shipwrecked. We've heard of him being snake bit. We have heard of him being lowered lowered down over a wall and he says, now I now, I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake. For those I'm ministering to. Now, he's never even met these people before but he's saying, I'm rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake and in my flesh, I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions.
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So, what is lacking in Christ's afflictions? Was his death totally sufficient for everyone who would ever put their faith in him and they can count on the incorruptible hope in heaven to come. Yes and can they count on the sanctification that comes from knowing and surrendering your will to your lord and savior Jesus Christ? Yes. So, what's lacking?
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Hearing about it. Having an example there that knows it, that has trusted it, that will live out the life of Christ before you. I am filling up, Paul says, what is lacking in Christ's afflictions. So, I've been in since we've been in Colossians, I've been saying, Paul, since I'm translating Paul to you, you know, I'm reading it to you. I put myself in Paul's position sometime because I'm a messenger of what God has to say and y'all are the recipients in some cases.
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Y'all are the recipients of what God has to say and so I put myself in that position and I don't mean to equate myself with Paul because I think I'm a great apostle but just because of the nature of what my job is here, right? The what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ makes me think of another place where this is this is found. The same construction, same phrasing. I won't bore you with the Greek words like I usually do but Philippians two thirty is where it's found. It's almost exactly like that.
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It says, I thought it necessary. This is Paul writing to the Philippians right after that great passage about the humility of Christ. He says, I've thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditis, also known as Epaphras, same guy that shared the gospel with the Colossians. My brother and my fellow worker and fellow soldier and your messenger and minister to my need. Your messenger administered my need.
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He's coming to me from you and bringing some sort of blessing whether it was financial assistance or help. For he has been longing for you all and he has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. Now, Epaphras is upset because the other folks heard he was ill. He was actually ill. He he could be upset about that but he was upset because they had heard about it and he knew that it hurt them that he was ill.
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Indeed, he was ill and he was near to death but God had mercy on him and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. I'm the more eager to send him therefore that you may rejoice at seeing him again because you've been sick and you've heard about it and so I'm sending him back to you that you may rejoice and seeing him again and that I may be less anxious. So, receive him in the Lord with all joy. Paul's in prison this time. He cannot go.
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So, he's sending Epaphras out. Receive him in the Lord with all joy and honor such men, people like Epaphras who are willing to carry the gospel forward, to carry God's word forward. For he nearly died for the work of the cross. Do you think Epaphras had suffered? Now, he was ill.
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Could have been just a physical illness. I've been ill. My goodness. For I don't know how long now. November 1, like I've had pneumonia.
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I've had every virus that's come along. I've had all kinds of stuff. I've just been physically ill, suffering. He nearly died for the work of Christ. I don't usually equate my physical well-being with my work.
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Almost never, actually. I think I'm sick, whatever. I'm going to do the same thing whether I'm sick or well. That's kind of what I feel like but I keep doing what I do regardless of the circumstances because this is where God's put me and y'all do too and I know and I know I'm thinking of a whole lot of you who do exactly what it is but Ed, at the bus barn, you do what you do out of deference for Christ. You would do whatever you could to do for the cause of Christ, what you do at that bus barn and I know that.
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Risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me. So, Epaphras was risking his life to complete or to fill up what was lacking in your service to me. So, they were sending something to Paul and Epaphras was the one bringing it and he was physically doing what they couldn't do because they were there, what Paul couldn't do because he was stuck. So, they were actually walking out the gift and bringing it to him. Physically, in this body of flesh.
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They were doing what it is that they do. Risking his life to complete what was lacking. Risking his life to complete what was lacking. That's the same exact construction, same phraseology as this part about filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions and why? For the sake of his body, that is the church.
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Christ said, he would build the church and he's going to do it using his obedient followers. That's plan A. There's no plan B. That's it. That's the way he's gonna do it.
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And so the way that Christ's afflictions become effective and the blood of Jesus cleanses people from sin is through willing participants obediently walking it out sharing the life of Jesus with others. Piper, John Piper tells a story about a guy walking around India. He's a a fellow who has been converted to Christ and he's going village to village. He's walking barefooted He's got blisters like crazy on the bottoms of his seat but he keeps on going and he goes into village after village and one village rejects him out of hand. Get away from here with that foreign stuff.
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We don't want hear anything about it. Pushes him outside of the village and he's worn completely out. Blisters all over his feet. Been walking forever. He slumped over and he just decides to lay down, take a nap.
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So, he lays down, takes a nap right on the side of the street, just outside of town and people walk by and they look at his feet and they see the blisters on his feet and how it's horrible. How afflicted this guy is. Yet, when he came in and when we threw him out, he was standing up and he had a message to proclaim and that message must have been mighty, important to him for him to stand up in that condition and to do what he's doing and so, when he wakes from his nap, there are people standing around him saying, tell us that message again. Tell us that message again. It's so important that you would do what you've done.
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We hear a lot about missionaries in this church. There's a missionary heartbeat in this church, I know. There are people all over the world that need Jesus. All over the world. And there are some difficult places for cushy American types to live.
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There there are difficult places for some people to live yet for the cause of Christ and for the gospel, they're willing to do that. And the weirdo factor is what I always call it being a tall blonde guy in Mexico. I was a weirdo. I was I stood out like crazy and I stood out because of the way I looked but I hopefully, I was staying out because what I was there to do. You know, just to bless and to fill up in my flesh what was lacking in the afflictions of Christ.
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That's what Paul was saying. I I look around. I think of Martin Murphy and Awana and he's been doing that for stinking ever. He's been doing it for a long, long time. He does a good job but he always feels like he's drowning and there is some suffering going on there.
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Medically, there's some suffering going on there. Since 1991, he has been not whole, I should say. Very, very difficult medically. Yet, he carries on and he keeps going. Miss Becky, mister Martin's away.
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I could actually go. I I start right here with Florine but you'll already hear that. He's here from Romania as a missionary. I could go through every single one of you and so that I'm not on the platform going, it's me, it's me, it's me. I'm suffering for Jesus by whatever.
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I get to live in Jackson Hole. I've got lots of joy here. But all of you that are suffering for the cause of Christ are doing it for the sake of his body, the church. That is how he builds his church. That's how the gospel expands and breaks over cultural barriers.
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Filling up what is lacking in the Christ afflictions. Being willing to walk that via Dolorosa, that painful path for the sake of his body, that is the church. I think of this too. I always have to qualify this. First Peter four, beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you.
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There will be trial. Jesus said there would be. As though some strange thing were happening to you but rejoice in so far as you share in Christ's sufferings that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. It's not easy but it is worth it. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed because of the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
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The same way that they cursed him, they will curse you. The same way they resisted him, they will resist you. Actually, the same way when they hit rock bottom and reached out to him, they may reach out to you too. The next line is the reason I put this up here. Let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer, a malefactor, or as a meddler.
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Don't let it be on you. Let it be for the cause of Christ. Don't just be a jerk. If you suffer for being a jerk, that's on you. If you suffer for being righteous and living out a holy life, then that is on Christ.
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Yet, if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed. Let him glorify God in that name. Alright. Of which, I became a minister. This is coming from the body of Christ of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you.
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Now, I can't put myself back in this position again because I got called to come here and do this at this church. So, I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you. Now, Paul, my brother-in-law, youth basketball. He loves it. Absolutely loves it.
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He is a Christian and he loves basketball and he loves kids. And the stewardship from God is that he would minister well basketball to those kids. I'm catching people's eye. Don't look away from me, alright? I need you.
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I need you. I left some space in this one. Tutoring, Diane Gilmore tutors high school students, mostly high school students. She does that because God has given her an understanding of calculus and science and she what she has, she has and it is available. Anne, Anne, Stalker.
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So, the women's retreat. There was suffering involved in those women's retreats beforehand. Now, during, people were incredibly blessed, incredibly blessed. Children's ministry, Krista, I see you back there. Yes, I see that hand.
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According to the stewardship from God that was given for whatever segment of people that you're working with. Wes, back there in the back, feeding kids. There's a stewardship that God's given you and he's placed on you, Christian, so that the body of Christ would grow. Quantitatively, there would be more Christians, more called Jesus lord but qualitatively, their lives would improve because of how you live out your faith in Jesus. Amen.
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Thank you. Spiritual authority. So, that's what it is. I don't actually look at spiritual authority and go, well, I'm a pastor so that means I'm here and you are lay people so you are here. Now, the spiritual authority is derived from Jesus.
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He came to serve, not be served and so to the extent that we serve our community and the people around us, non Christians and Christians, both. Non Christians to bring them into the faith by our loving example and our words and not I mean, and and believers to give them the strength to carry on. I know that some of y'all are weary right now in doing good. Don't grow weary in doing good. Jesus is preeminent.
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That's the grounding. You are making the word of God fully known. That's an experiential knowledge. Not just known head knowledge but an experiential knowledge. When you see somebody that believes it and lives it out, It's great.
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There's no theological argument against a changed life. The mystery hidden for ages and generations. Think about Paul who studied this Torah and scripture and the prophets. He studied all this for so long and he had to come up with mystery. The mystery which has been hidden for ages and generations past as they look forward to Messiah anticipated him in a way that they may not have been totally accurate on.
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It's a mystery that's been hidden for ages and generations but now, it's revealed to whom? To the saints, to the holy ones, the ones that God has made holy. It's revealed to his saints. To them, who is that? To his saints.
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To them, God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles, the nations, Gentiles means all nations to the nations. Known how great among the nations are the riches of the glory of this mystery. How can it be? How can it be that simple? How can it be that easy to just place your faith and your trust in Jesus?
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Well, he is the provision. He is the way that God has provided. To his saints, God chose to make known how great among the nations are the riches of the glory of this mystery which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Christ in you, hope of glory. Not hope like I hope it happens, but absolutely sure that it will happen.
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Hope of glory. Looking forward, it is the evidence of things. To come. Christ in you. How can that be?
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Because that's the way God said it should be. That's free will. You have to place your faith in him. He's given you a measure of faith and you have to exercise that faith and place it in Jesus. Christ in you, the hope of glory.
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Verse seventeen eighteen, in him, Christ, we proclaim. I'm not proclaiming a self help theory. I'm not proclaiming a particular philo I'm proclaiming Christ who is reconciling all things to himself, who has made the only perfect sacrifice, the only way. Him, Christ, we proclaim. Warning everyone who does not believe it.
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And teaching everyone with all wisdom. All wisdom is bound up in Christ and in God. What is truth? Was what the truth project was about this week and there's so many times where Jesus said, it is in truth I say to you or truly, truly, I say to you, it's about the truth. He has all of the wisdom and him, Christ, we proclaim.
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Warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom that we may present everyone mature in Christ, not just in Christ but mature in Christ. It doesn't stop just that the salvation. Oh yeah, we had this many baptized. Had this many baptized and they're growing is the way that it ought to be through the ministry of the body. I'm supposed to equip the saints to do the work of the church.
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We may present everyone mature in Christ. And for this I toil, Paul says, struggling with all his energy. That's Christ's energy. I didn't capitalize the H. Excuse me.
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For this, I toil struggling with all Christ's energy that he powerfully works within me. Even here, Paul will not brag about his long road or his sufferings or anything else. In fact, the time when he did talk about his sufferings, he said, I'm going to get down in the ditch with you and I'm going to be silly just like you're being silly. I'm going to tell you about my sufferings. For this I toil, he had been rolling, rolling, rolling hard from about thirty, thirty three to this was around 61, 62.
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So, it's been a while, twenty nine years. For this, I toil, struggling with all of Christ's energy that Christ powerfully works within me. Do I have any more slides up there? That's it. This passage this week hit me in a different way than it ever had before.
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The the filling up what lays lacking in the afflictions of Christ. There is nothing lacking in the afflictions of Christ for him who believes but there are tons of people who don't believe. Maybe it's because they haven't heard, haven't read, haven't seen. Maybe it's because they haven't seen someone living it out that gives credence to the written word, that gives credence to the preacher on the radio that they hear. It is an enormous privilege to be a part of the advance of the gospel.
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To get to pray with someone, to receive Jesus is fantastic. To see somebody when the coin drops and they go, I need to repent from that. I gotta stop doing that. As Christ is my helper, I will stop doing that. When you see that coin drop for a Christian, there's nothing like that.
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It's an amazing, amazing privilege and so Paul says, in this first part, I'm going to flip back. Oh, I can't do that. Renzi, Carl, Blake, somebody in the back help me. Go go to the very first couple of slides. Now I rejoice in my sufferings.
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That's what I'll that rejoice right there. I rejoice in my sufferings. That's a great place to live life where you don't notice how bad it is. Tanya, when asked about Mexico, she goes, oh, it was beautiful. I just looked at her.
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I said, what? She said, where we lived in Mexico? She said, it was so pretty. I thought, it is the quite possibly one of the ugliest places on Earth. It's as flat as it can possibly be.
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It's 42 miles from the gulf and 33 feet above sea level. There's not a tree taller than this. It's a mesquite tree. Everything that doesn't bite cuts. It's awful.
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It's desert. It's ugly. It's powder all the time. The wind never stops blowing. It's brutal.
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It's just awful conditions. Hundred days in a row over a 100 degrees. Yes, no is bad. A 100 degrees in a row over a 100 degrees, that's worse. Okay?
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And I I just looked at her and said, that's the ugliest place I've ever seen. The bags in the trees like they get stuck in the spines of the mesquite trees. It's horribly ugly. Yeah, but we were doing what God had called us to do and to her, she was rejoicing. It changed my perspective a little bit to to hear that.
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I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, for the sake of those kids at that school, for the sake of that Christian community that was growing and budding there. Amen. We were filling up what was lacking in Christ's afflictions and we're not alone in that. I see in y'all and I've named a few of you and I could name a whole lot more. Those who have taken on working at Turning Point.
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Those of you who've taken on enjoying your staff members and trying to meet them where they are with their language. Those of you who do what you do out of conviction and deference to Christ. You're filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions by doing what it is that you do for the sake of his body. In Jesus name, now we come to this table and this is the great equalizer. None of us deserves a part in Christ's blood.
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None of us. And so, would I can I get the elders to come forward? And I'm gonna pray. God, knowing that none of us deserve this, may we never be haughty about being a Christian. May we never be arrogant about being a believer in Jesus.
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May we minister the truth that you have given us, allowed us to accept. The truth that transforms and changes us. Lord, would you allow us to speak that truth, to live out that truth? Would you, Lord, cleanse us from all unrighteousness? Live your life publicly before the people of this valley and Ada, Oklahoma, and Georgia and Alabama, the visitors here this morning, wherever they may go, lord, would you live out their life in their circle and would you increase your kingdom?
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So, God, would you bless this bread as we distribute it this morning? Thinking of your life perfectly live. This body of flesh that you lived in all the same temptations that we have, yet you were without sin. As we contemplate your sinlessness and our sinfulness, Lord, we ask you to bless this bread as we distribute it this morning. For everyone that partake and everyone, lord, that must let it pass because they just haven't put their faith in you.
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Would you bless this morning? So we come now to this table contemplating this that we who once were alienated and hostile in mind and doing evil deeds have been reconciled in his Christ body of flesh by his death. So on the same night that Jesus was betrayed, he took bread after supper and he blessed it and after having given thanks, he said, this is my body which is given for you. Take this and eat and do it in remembrance of me. And now, Lord, as we have contemplated your sinlessness and our sinfulness, and we see your blood being the only sufficiency, the sacrifice of your perfect life for our imperfect one, Lord.
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We ask that you'd bless this representation, this cup, this little cup of grape juice that represents the perfect blood of Christ given and shed on our behalf. In Jesus name. In the same way that Jesus had taken the bread, he took the cup after the supper and he said that this is the new covenant in my blood. The new covenant, a covenant of grace. This is the new covenant in my blood.
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Take this and drink and do it as often as you will in remembrance of me. Would you stand with me now and Carl, would you jump up here and play that song? We're going to say, we believe in what we believe in. Would you stand with us?
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Alright. So we believe.
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We believe in God the Father. We believe in Jesus Christ. We believe in the Holy Spirit that he's given us to life. We believe in the crucifixion. We believe that he conquered death.
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We believe in the resurrection. That he's coming back again. We believe.
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Let's sing that again. Shall we?
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We believe in God the father. We believe in Jesus Christ. We believe in the Holy Spirit and he's given us new life. We believe in the crucifixion. We believe that he conquered death.
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We believe in the midst of
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midst to in and the let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt that you so that you may know how you ought to answer each person individually. Amen.
