"Overflowing Joy”

As we come together this Sunday morning, we set out with our eyes looking forward to a new week and for Christians, the week that is before us is the week of great significance that we know as Holy Week. Yet while our gaze looks with great expectation to celebrating the death and resurrection of Jesus with upcoming Easter activities, we know that this comes on the heels of another week whose events have given cause for flags around the nation to fly at half staff once more. This time a Christian school was attacked and seven lives were ended. While the facts that rise to the surface will never justify the violence, we are reminded once more of what evil a life absent the rule and reign of Jesus Christ can carry out.

I wouldn’t expect that much more than we have learned already will be shared by the news, but I believe it’s reasonable to conclude that the shooter at the Covenant School in Nashville did such evil because she was attempting to deal with the guilt and shame that her life’s choices had brought upon her.

We are told that the shooter identified as transgender, which at its root, is the belief in the lie that you are your truest and freest self when you identify as a gender that is different from the gender that God gave you at birth. Of course, you can only believe that if you can buy in to the idea that God isn’t real and as a consequence of pretending that this world is not ruled by the Lord, you can do whatever you please without any sense of guilt or shame.

Tension

For the lost soul in Nashville, if she were asked, “Hey, who are you?” she’d likely answer it on the basis of whatever gender she decided she was going to be the day you asked. There are many ways someone might answer the question, “Who are you?”, by the way. Others might answer the question on the basis of their appearance, their nationality, or their race.

Let’s turn the tables for a moment. How do you answer the question we each are faced with at some point or many points in life? How do you answer the internal question, “Who am I?” Where do you find your identity?

Truth

The Indication

I’ve posed that question to you differently than how that question would have been posed in the first century. For these people then, there wasn’t this sense of non-religious influences vying for their commitments like the dreadful lies of atheism and secularism that we see in our time. There would have never been a debate about the existence of God during the time of these Colossians, but there was healthy debate about which god among all the religions of the world then was superior to the rest.

And for these brothers and sisters in Colossae, no sooner had they begun to walk in their new faith than teachers of the Jewish law had begun to infiltrate their congregation. They were saying things like, ”Jesus isn’t really God,” and, “he wasn’t really raised from the dead…” In a sense, they were saying, “You Christians…you’ve wrapped yourself up in a lie. Come find yourself wrapped up in the law of God given through Moses.”

It’s with this in mind that we now turn our attention to the beginning of Colossians 2:6 which reads “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord...”

As we begin to make sense of this, I want to share with you a very helpful tool when it comes to reading Scripture… It’s that when you come across the word, “therefore,” you should ask yourself, “What is the ‘therefore’, there for?” We know that therefore is a word used to transition to a new thought, but it doesn’t transition by abandoning what preceded it. It transitions the thought in the same way that a home builder begins to frame the walls after a home’s foundation has been poured. Just imagine trying to frame the walls to a new home with no foundation to fasten the studs to.

So Paul is bringing what he’s written before this into frame. “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord...”

If we read this verse just by itself, we would be right to ask… Who is Christ Jesus? Or, what Christ Jesus are we talking about? Thankfully we don’t need to ponder that for long and in seeking to address any uncertainty about who it is that Paul is writing about, we can confidently know that it is the Christ Jesus who is written of in Colossians 1:15-20. It is the Christ Jesus who is God’s Image and God’s Wisdom and God’s Mystery. And it is this Christ Jesus who Paul has labored and struggled to share with these Colossians and many others, seeking to put to bed any doubt that the Christ Jesus that they received, is the Messiah of God that the law of Moses foreshadowed and anticipated.

It is this Christ that they have received. Moreover, this Christ is none other than the crucified and risen Jesus, who is now exalted as King! But we must ask, what does it mean to “receive” Christ? What do you think it means to receive Christ? How would you begin to answer that?

If I asked you to write down your answer on a slip of paper, I would venture to guess that many of the responses would be based on some variation of the idea of a new believer inviting Jesus Christ to enter into his or her heart and life. That’s a powerful and moving idea that’s rooted in the language of Ephesians 3:17 where “Christ...dwell[s] in your hearts through faith...” But if we answered the question about what it means to receive Christ in that way, we would be thinking too much about the work of the Spirit to give us faith if we try to put receiving Christ Jesus in those terms. And that’s not the full sense of what Paul is talking about here. He’s not talking about Jesus bringing you into his promise, he’s talking about the sign that you’re living the Christian life. He’s talking about the sign that Jesus is your King. Can you guess what the sign is of the Christian life? It’s baptism. Baptism is the indication of living the Christian life.

It was common in this day and age for people who were new to the faith to declare publicly before others, despite the law of the land that decreed the emperor of Rome was Savior and Lord of all… New Christians would declare, “Jesus Christ is Lord” and then be baptized. These Colossians had accepted the preaching that Jesus is King, confessing that they believe Jesus is the Son of God, that Jesus died for their sin, that Jesus was raised on the third day from the dead, and all of this was received when they took their stand of faith and submitted to baptism.

My friend, have you received Christ Jesus on these terms? I’m not asking if you’ve invited Jesus into your heart. I’m asking, have you come for baptism, being fully immersed as a believer as the sign that your life is wrapped up in Christ Jesus?

I know many of you in this room have done so and I know that just as many of you are approaching what Christ has done for you quite selfishly, if you actually believe the tenets of the gospel. There’s this idea out there in the world that faith is a private thing, something that is best kept to yourself. It’s the bubble wrap society we live in that has fallen to Satan’s lie. Do you remember the movie “The Little Giants” where the really fragile kid is all wrapped up in bubble wrap by his mother in an attempt to protect him from the game of football? Satan has convinced generations of Christians that they can keep their faith private, they can be cowards, covered in bubble wrap and still washed in Christ’s blood. If that’s you, someone who’s been straddling the fence of faith, you don’t keep much about the rest of your life private, do you? The public can know your name, your occupation, your marital status, what types of vehicles you drive, where you live, who you’re gonna vote for. The public knows when your home is empty because you’re posting pictures from your vacation destination while you’re still there...but your faith… <first silent, then whisper> “I believe in Jesus and there is power, power, wonder-working power, in the blood of the Lamb...”

If that’s you this morning, if you actually believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that he died as a substitute for your sin, that he was raised from the dead on the third day and is King of all… Your salvation that you’re expecting to claim when you stand before the Almighty is based on the VERY PUBLIC works of Jesus Christ. I am not saying that baptism is when salvation is given by God, but I am saying that Christ calls his disciples to follow him in every way. Imagine if Jesus said, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to bubble-wrap his life only privately and inwardly as a ransom for many. ” Doesn’t have quite the force as Matthew 16:25 “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it,” does it?

Friend, get off the fence and receive Christ Jesus in the way that Jesus has ordered things to be. Jesus did not have in mind your sprinkling as a baby that was done to you, any more than he had in mind a faith whose finish line is a prayer from the safety of your bedside. He had in mind your very public declaration that your life belongs to the King of kings and Lord or lords. Leave the comfort of Satan’s lies.

The Imperative

And if you’ve received Christ, having been fully-immersed in baptism as a believer, you have received all the riches that are life in and with Christ Jesus. That’s what Swayze will do / has done this morning. That’s what I did 20 years ago.

And Paul tells these Colossians first and now thousands of years worth of disciples of Jesus to follow, if you have received Christ Jesus, the Jesus who is God’s Image, God’s Wisdom, and God’s Mystery, if you have received him, then you are gonna have to walk in him.

And this begins to get to the other side of what I know you might be thinking right now. You’ve heard me just warn against the lie of a private faith and the skeptical part of your mind knows that there are plenty of people who are baptized and didn’t come to Christ as a response to the call of the Holy Spirit. Their baptism was a thing they did, much like infant baptism is a thing that family does, with the idea that salvation can be earned by our own effort. And if your attempted approach to the throne of Jesus is not in line with the way that the King has prescribed, then everyone who has truly received Christ Jesus is going to know it. Jesus is certainly going to know it. You can’t fool God. And the body of Christ, the Church, is going to know it, too.

“Pastor Dan, I’m missing a few details here. How would anyone know? What does Paul mean he says that Colossians 2:6 “...as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him”? I’m glad you shared that question, I’ve been waiting for someone to ask!

Now, in our short time in Colossians we didn’t cover the material at the beginning of the letter, but just like the Bible reading clue I gave you about the word “therefore,” it’s a good practice that when a writer in the Bible gives us an imperative like “walk” or “run” or “shout”, that the writer is probably reinforcing something that’s already been said earlier in the book or letter. So if we’re going to understand what Paul is saying now with “so walk in him,” we’ve got to direct our eyes to what he’s already told us in Colossians so far. And if we did that, we’d find something that would tell us we’re on the right track… Look at Colossians 1:10. Do you see that it says, “so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord”? That’s our clue that we can find more information about what he’s meaning now in Colossians 2:6.

Paul tells us that to walk in Christ Jesus, we would discover that our lives consist of Colossians 1:10-12 “bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.”

Don’t take this listing of what comes from walking in Christ lightly. Do you know who can do any of this? Only the person who has been called and has received Christ Jesus, the King. Only the person who has been given the Holy Spirit. An unbeliever cannot bear fruit in every good work, neither can he increase in the knowledge of God. Why is that? Because the unbeliever is not strengthened with all power. They don’t have lives marked by patience and joy. They don’t give thanks to the Father who is in Heaven. They cannot because they don’t share in any eternal inheritance. They have no future to look forward to beyond this life.

Friends, let me try to explain it this way… Have you ever watched a squad of soldiers marching? When soldiers are in basic training, they learn how to march together, in unison. You can imagine the impressive sound of countless boots striking the ground simultaneously as soldiers march together. Hold on to that image for a moment…because that’s the image of those who have received Christ and are walking in Christ. It is Christ who is leading, it is Christ who is directing, it is Christ who has synchronized the beating of our hearts and the cadence of our steps for him. We have been arrayed in white garments, washed in his blood and you can picture the beauty that is the body of Christ that bears fruit in their work because of the empowerment of Christ’s Spirit among us.

You can then imagine the the awful and obvious sign of anyone who is not lock step with the group. The thundering sound of boots striking the ground is no more than a noisy scuffling that has no distinctiveness to it. The squad isn’t marching together in unison, united in their direction and pace, but rather some are walking an opposite direction, running along their own way merrily.

The directive to walk in Christ bids us to live in a manner pleasing to King Jesus, marching to the beat of his drum. We can only do that when he has begun the work of transforming us, delivering us from the realm of darkness unto his glorious kingdom of light. And if he has done this, we should find that our former, sinful ways are being put to death. We may have been idolaters, fornicators, drunkards, adulterers, homosexuals, swindlers, and so on, yet who we are after we have received Christ Jesus is not who we once were before he intervened in our lives. That’s why Paul, writing to the Romans, asks to those who are supposedly saved by Christ, Romans 6:1-2 “1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?”

My friend, if you have received Christ, so walk in him. Go to war with sin in your life. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you where sin is present and to make you sick of it.

The Implications

Someone says, “Pastor, I can’t live in a manner pleasing to Jesus. I don’t have the strength. You don’t know where I’ve been, you don’t know what I’ve done, you don’t know what I’m capable of doing.” And to you I’d say, that all may be true, but don’t underestimate the power of God and his active involvement in your life. For the gospel Romans 1:16 “is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes...” If you have received Christ Jesus and are walking in him, you are doing so because God has taken the initiative to root you in him. For some of you, those roots run deep and were planted long ago, for others of you, that’s not the case, and yet, don’t be mistaken, you’re not here by accident. You may feel like you’ve been drug here by a parent or friend. Maybe you never imagined yourself sitting in First Baptist Church and yet, here you are. No matter the circumstances, I need to make you aware that there is a God who is seeking to save you that is patiently waiting for the seed of the gospel to find fertile soil and take root in your life.

At times we talk about laying down roots and when we do, it’s with this idea that we’re going to settle down in a place and become established. My friend, where are you laying down roots? Where are you established? And please know I’m not asking about whether you’re settled in Devine or some other place. Have you laid down roots in Christ, who is the Maker of Heaven and earth?

There’s an implication that follows those roots that have been laid down in him. It’s that if you are rooted in Christ Jesus, it means that he’s started a good work in you, and that he’s going to build you up in him. He’s going to continue to transform you so that your sinful ways are put more and more to death. And as Scripture teaches, Philippians 1:6 “... he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

Every workman takes pride in a project completed and well-done. I thought of this recently when I visited the site of a new house my friend is building. The foundation had been laid, the walls erected, and the wiring and plumbing installed, but the structure still wasn't a house. It needed the finishers. Without the woodworkers, the cabinetmakers, the tile layers, and the painters, the building was incomplete.

If you’re not in Christ, if you have not received him, take a step back and look over your workmanship in the life that it has produced. There may be a foundation and walls, but your life will only be a shell of what it might be with Christ Jesus in it.

It’ll only ever be a shell because we all need a "finisher.” We depend upon the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It’s the Holy Spirit that Jesus gives to us when we come to faith in him, the Holy Spirit is our seal in Christ, and it is the Holy Spirit who will actively continue to work in our lives until the One who began the transformation by rooting us in him, finishes it. And that can happen only by trusting and obeying Jesus, "the author and finisher of our faith," the One to whom we are being conformed. My friends, imagine that carpenter’s son from Nazareth who is actively working in your life, chiseling and sanding away the rough edges, so that you are being molded into a beautiful masterpiece that will one day perfectly reveal the glory of God.

Application

Your job and my job, is to be in and remain in fellowship with Christ Jesus. To remain in fellowship with his body. To stay all our being, our heart, our mind, our soul, upon Christ Jesus and his kingdom.

As you have received Christ Jesus, you have been identified with the King who saved you for his glory. Count it your life’s joy to and aim to walk in him, surrendering all your thoughts, your words, and your actions fully unto Jesus. My friend, if you have received Christ, I also want to remind you that with each day of life given to you, that with the onset of each new day, you are starting from God’s grace, you’re not earning it. You’re starting from God’s mercy. You’re starting from God’s perfect love. So walk as one who has received Christ Jesus and has been transformed by his grace, giving thanks and finding joy in God’s glory.

Don’t be satisfied with anything less.

Inspiration

Some times Christian books can come along side us to help us as we walk in Christ Jesus. Especially when aspects of walking in the Christ we have received become challenging for us.

If you’ve ever heard of Pilgrim’s Progress, you would remember that it’s a fictional story about a man named Christian Pilgrim that records his conversion to Christianity and his walk with Christ Jesus through his entrance into heaven.

Similar to Pilgrim’s Progress is a book titled, “Hind’s Feet in High Places.” I suggest that you pick up a copy of either or both, if you can. I think either of these would make for great book studies for any of our groups that are meeting, by the way. The main character in Hind’s Feet is a female named Much-Afraid. As she goes along her life’s journey, she picks up some bumps and bruises and is ready to give up. As she nears her breaking point, Jesus intervenes in this way...

He says, "Much-Afraid, don't you know by now that I never think of you as you are now but as you will be when I have brought you to the Kingdom of Love and washed you from all the stains and defilements of the journey? If I come along behind you and notice that you are finding the way especially difficult, and are suffering from slips and falls, it only makes me think of what you will be like when you are with me, leaping and skipping on the High Places."

I offer this as an encouragement to you. In saving you, Jesus would not answer the question about who you are in any other way than what he is making you to be when you join him in glory. Jesus does not see your slips and falls when you walk in him, he sees the joy that you and all creation will have because of the glory he has won in and through his cross.

Action

Who are you?

How would Jesus answer that about you? If you cannot confidently say that you are walking down the path that Jesus has laid out before you, then my friend, the most loving thing I can tell you this morning is to repent of your sin and turn to Jesus. Turn to him, give your life to him, and receive him.

I would challenge you, after you have heard this teaching, Colossians 2:6-7 “…as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” If you have received Christ, you know that where sin is present in your life, you need to confess that to the Lord and ask him for his help to put it to death in your life.

Dying to self is not meant to be comfortable, but neither was the cross that Jesus went through for us. As he hung suspended between heaven and earth, the Son of Man was glorified. As he conforms you to the image of Christ Jesus, you will find joy in God’s glory revealed in your life.

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