Jesus: Fulfilment
Series: The Kingdom of God
Speaker: Debbie Gould
Date: 17th March 2012
Passage: Colossians 1:15-23
00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Colossians 1, 15 to 23.
00:00:03 --> 00:00:08 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
00:00:09 --> 00:00:14 For by him all things are created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,
00:00:15 --> 00:00:18 whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities.
00:00:19 --> 00:00:22 All things were created by him and for him.
00:00:22 --> 00:00:26 He is before all things and in him all things hold together.
00:00:27 --> 00:00:29 And he is the head of the body, the church.
00:00:29 --> 00:00:35 He is the beginning and the firstborn from among dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
00:00:36 --> 00:00:45 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him and through him to reconcile to himself all things,
00:00:45 --> 00:00:51 whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood shed on the cross.
00:00:52 --> 00:00:57 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.
00:00:57 --> 00:01:05 But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you wholly in his sight,
00:01:05 --> 00:01:07 without blemish and free from accusation.
00:01:08 --> 00:01:14 If you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held in the gospel,
00:01:14 --> 00:01:22 this is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven,
00:01:22 --> 00:01:25 and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
00:01:28 --> 00:01:30 Well, good evening to you all.
00:01:33 --> 00:01:36 And good evening to you all.
00:01:37 --> 00:01:39 Oh, lovely. Thank you.
00:01:39 --> 00:01:44 Because it would be an exceptionally lonely place to be up here and nobody out there.
00:01:44 --> 00:01:48 Let's look at God's word here.
00:01:49 --> 00:01:56 Now, in the 1970s, Andrew Richardson, a Liverpool postal worker,
00:01:57 --> 00:02:04 declared his semi-detached flat to be the independent nation of Granbya.
00:02:05 --> 00:02:12 After a while, however, Richardson lost interest and the department reverted back to England by default.
00:02:12 --> 00:02:19 In 1964, Leicester, I think that's how you say that name.
00:02:20 --> 00:02:21 How do I say it?
00:02:21 --> 00:02:21 Leicester.
00:02:22 --> 00:02:23 Yes. Okay.
00:02:23 --> 00:02:29 Hemingway, the little brother of author Ernest Hemingway,
00:02:29 --> 00:02:33 built an eight-by-30-foot floating bamboo platform,
00:02:34 --> 00:02:36 seven miles off the coast of Jamaica,
00:02:36 --> 00:02:42 anchoring it to the ocean floor with a Ford engine block.
00:02:43 --> 00:02:47 I can stand on the platform, walk around on it and salute the flag,
00:02:48 --> 00:02:51 all of which I do periodically, he told the reporters.
00:02:52 --> 00:02:53 There are no taxes here,
00:02:54 --> 00:02:59 because taxes are for people not smart enough to start their own countries.
00:02:59 --> 00:03:09 In time, part of his country was destroyed by fishermen in search of scrap wood,
00:03:09 --> 00:03:11 and the rest sank in a storm.
00:03:12 --> 00:03:18 In 1969, in Australia, in Western Australia,
00:03:18 --> 00:03:23 the wheat quota board limited the amount of wheat he could grow,
00:03:23 --> 00:03:29 so Leonard George Casely took his 18-acre farm
00:03:29 --> 00:03:34 and seceded from Australia to form his own country.
00:03:35 --> 00:03:40 The Principality of Hutt River, it was called.
00:03:40 --> 00:03:44 He designed his own national flag and motto,
00:03:44 --> 00:03:48 printed his own money and set up his own parliament.
00:03:48 --> 00:03:52 Australia refused to recognise his sovereignty,
00:03:53 --> 00:03:57 so in 1977, he declared war.
00:03:58 --> 00:04:00 Nothing came of it.
00:04:00 --> 00:04:01 What a surprise.
00:04:01 --> 00:04:05 He backed down two days later and re-established diplomatic relations.
00:04:06 --> 00:04:10 Casely claims he pays no Australian taxes,
00:04:11 --> 00:04:14 but he admits he makes payments to the Australian government
00:04:14 --> 00:04:17 as an international courtesy.
00:04:17 --> 00:04:20 You can still actually visit that place.
00:04:21 --> 00:04:22 Tourism.
00:04:22 --> 00:04:23 People go to it.
00:04:24 --> 00:04:26 Kingdoms come and kingdoms go.
00:04:27 --> 00:04:32 Even the most mighty of nations don't last forever,
00:04:33 --> 00:04:37 except for the kingdom of God
00:04:37 --> 00:04:39 that we have been talking about over the last few weeks.
00:04:41 --> 00:04:44 In this series, we've been saying that the kingdom of God
00:04:44 --> 00:04:48 is God's people in God's place under God's rule.
00:04:48 --> 00:04:52 And today, we focus on Jesus being the fulfilment
00:04:52 --> 00:04:55 of all of what the Old Testament has been saying to us.
00:04:56 --> 00:04:58 We read in Matthew 1,
00:04:59 --> 00:05:04 and some might wonder at the importance of reading it,
00:05:04 --> 00:05:10 but you and I both know that when we look at our own family tree,
00:05:11 --> 00:05:16 there are stories that go along with absolutely every person in that tree.
00:05:17 --> 00:05:19 Some may be more colourful than others,
00:05:20 --> 00:05:23 but there is something important with every entry,
00:05:23 --> 00:05:26 as is with the Matthew 1.
00:05:26 --> 00:05:30 The genealogy we were looking at today in Matthew
00:05:30 --> 00:05:33 is very important for us to understand the kingdom of God.
00:05:34 --> 00:05:40 It's important because we see Jesus' lineage was no accident.
00:05:41 --> 00:05:44 He was born to fulfil a certain plan
00:05:44 --> 00:05:48 that we have been reading and hearing about over these last weeks.
00:05:48 --> 00:05:52 It's a specific plan in a specific time,
00:05:52 --> 00:05:58 in a specific place from a specific line of people.
00:06:00 --> 00:06:03 It had to be this way because God had promised
00:06:03 --> 00:06:06 that Jesus would be born a ruler,
00:06:07 --> 00:06:09 not just an ordinary ruler,
00:06:09 --> 00:06:12 but King of kings, Lord of lords.
00:06:13 --> 00:06:15 God planned this ruler through promise.
00:06:17 --> 00:06:18 God not only makes his promises,
00:06:18 --> 00:06:21 but he's faithful and he keeps his promises.
00:06:22 --> 00:06:24 And so we've seen over the weeks
00:06:24 --> 00:06:27 that God had a couple of specific promises
00:06:27 --> 00:06:30 that stand out above the rest.
00:06:30 --> 00:06:35 Promises made to Abraham and promises made to David.
00:06:35 --> 00:06:37 Covenants, we call them.
00:06:38 --> 00:06:44 Now Matthew lists them in the first verse.
00:06:44 --> 00:06:49 He lists it with Jesus is the son of David first
00:06:49 --> 00:06:52 before he says son of Abraham.
00:06:53 --> 00:06:57 Matthew does that because his purpose in writing his gospel
00:06:57 --> 00:07:00 was to show how Jesus is the Messiah,
00:07:01 --> 00:07:03 that he's the king of the Jews.
00:07:04 --> 00:07:06 And that's what the Davidic covenant was all about.
00:07:06 --> 00:07:09 It was about establishing the throne.
00:07:09 --> 00:07:14 In Chronicles chapter 1 verse 17,
00:07:14 --> 00:07:17 1 Chronicles chapter 17,
00:07:17 --> 00:07:20 which if you want to look up, but I will read.
00:07:21 --> 00:07:24 When your days are over and you go to be with your fathers,
00:07:24 --> 00:07:28 I will raise up your offspring to succeed you.
00:07:28 --> 00:07:30 One of your own sons,
00:07:30 --> 00:07:32 and I will establish his kingdom.
00:07:33 --> 00:07:35 He is the one who will build a house for me,
00:07:35 --> 00:07:37 and I will establish his throne forever.
00:07:37 --> 00:07:41 I will be his father and he will be my son.
00:07:41 --> 00:07:44 I will never take my love away from him
00:07:44 --> 00:07:46 as I took away from your predecessor.
00:07:46 --> 00:07:50 I will set him over my house and my kingdom forever.
00:07:51 --> 00:07:54 His throne will be established forever.
00:07:55 --> 00:08:01 God is reaffirming his promise of the land to Israel,
00:08:01 --> 00:08:05 and he promises David an eternal throne.
00:08:05 --> 00:08:09 By saying that Jesus is the son of David,
00:08:09 --> 00:08:12 Matthew is saying that he is the fulfillment
00:08:12 --> 00:08:14 of God's prophecy to David.
00:08:15 --> 00:08:20 Jesus is the one whose throne is established forevermore.
00:08:20 --> 00:08:24 He is the seed of David that God would raise up
00:08:24 --> 00:08:25 and establish his kingdom.
00:08:26 --> 00:08:28 Now, Jesus was the literal fulfillment
00:08:28 --> 00:08:31 of God's promise to David,
00:08:31 --> 00:08:35 and Jesus also fulfilled the Abrahamic covenant,
00:08:35 --> 00:08:37 the promise made to Abraham.
00:08:38 --> 00:08:41 Not only did Jesus fulfill God's promise for a throne,
00:08:42 --> 00:08:45 but he also fulfilled God's promise for a seed.
00:08:46 --> 00:08:49 Remember, we have read in earlier weeks
00:08:49 --> 00:08:51 in Genesis chapter 12,
00:08:51 --> 00:08:55 God told Abraham that through his lineage,
00:08:55 --> 00:08:57 all the earth would be blessed.
00:08:57 --> 00:09:01 It didn't happen through Isaac or Jacob.
00:09:01 --> 00:09:05 It didn't happen through Judah, David or Solomon.
00:09:06 --> 00:09:08 The blessing happened through Jesus.
00:09:10 --> 00:09:12 Galatians chapter 3 says,
00:09:12 --> 00:09:16 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law
00:09:16 --> 00:09:19 by becoming a curse for us.
00:09:19 --> 00:09:20 For it is written,
00:09:20 --> 00:09:23 cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.
00:09:23 --> 00:09:27 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham
00:09:27 --> 00:09:31 might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus,
00:09:31 --> 00:09:36 so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
00:09:37 --> 00:09:40 Not only did God plan for a ruler through promise,
00:09:41 --> 00:09:43 he planned for a ruler through people.
00:09:44 --> 00:09:46 Look at the list we read earlier.
00:09:47 --> 00:09:49 As I look at the list in Matthew 1,
00:09:49 --> 00:09:53 the first thing I notice is that it isn't a list
00:09:53 --> 00:09:55 that I would have chosen.
00:09:56 --> 00:10:01 If I was to choose a lineage for the Son of God,
00:10:02 --> 00:10:04 God in the flesh,
00:10:04 --> 00:10:08 I would have chosen better people than these ones,
00:10:08 --> 00:10:10 if I knew them.
00:10:11 --> 00:10:13 Abraham was a liar.
00:10:15 --> 00:10:17 Isaac learned from his dad
00:10:17 --> 00:10:19 and was a liar as well.
00:10:20 --> 00:10:22 Jacob was a cheat and a swindler.
00:10:23 --> 00:10:25 While Joseph was resisting temptation
00:10:25 --> 00:10:28 and living a blessed and holy life in Egypt,
00:10:28 --> 00:10:32 Judah was spending time with his daughter-in-law, Tamar,
00:10:33 --> 00:10:35 who was disguised as a prostitute
00:10:35 --> 00:10:37 and he got her pregnant,
00:10:37 --> 00:10:39 so their son was illegitimate.
00:10:40 --> 00:10:42 Do you see a pattern sort of happening here?
00:10:43 --> 00:10:45 Of course not all of them were bad.
00:10:45 --> 00:10:47 Boaz was honourable,
00:10:47 --> 00:10:50 although he did marry a Moabite woman
00:10:50 --> 00:10:54 that was forbidden for him to marry.
00:10:55 --> 00:10:56 Some of the kings were good.
00:10:57 --> 00:10:59 David was a man after God's own heart,
00:11:00 --> 00:11:01 but he was a murderer
00:11:01 --> 00:11:05 and he had committed adultery with Bathsheba,
00:11:05 --> 00:11:08 who, by the way, is also in Jesus' lineage.
00:11:08 --> 00:11:15 No, what this list shows is God's goodness and God's mercy.
00:11:16 --> 00:11:23 Aren't you glad that God does not choose the best and the brightest?
00:11:25 --> 00:11:29 He chooses to work through the weak things of this world
00:11:29 --> 00:11:32 that he might be shown to be strong.
00:11:32 --> 00:11:38 In God's plan for a ruler through people,
00:11:39 --> 00:11:41 he used the royal line of David
00:11:41 --> 00:11:45 to give Jesus legal claim to the throne.
00:11:46 --> 00:11:49 So we have God's rule in Jesus.
00:11:49 --> 00:11:52 Well, what about God's place?
00:11:53 --> 00:11:57 Last week, Steve preached about the prophet Ezekiel
00:11:57 --> 00:11:59 and the promise from God.
00:12:00 --> 00:12:02 All of what he knew about God
00:12:02 --> 00:12:04 was attached to the promised land,
00:12:05 --> 00:12:08 Israel, Jerusalem and the temple.
00:12:08 --> 00:12:12 The temple was the centre of God's activity with his people.
00:12:13 --> 00:12:15 The temple was God's dwelling place.
00:12:16 --> 00:12:18 And yet it was no more.
00:12:18 --> 00:12:19 It was destroyed.
00:12:20 --> 00:12:24 But without the land, Jerusalem and a temple,
00:12:24 --> 00:12:25 what is left?
00:12:25 --> 00:12:27 Steve had asked,
00:12:28 --> 00:12:31 has God abandoned his people?
00:12:32 --> 00:12:35 Has his promises to Abraham and David failed?
00:12:36 --> 00:12:40 What does it now mean to be the people of God?
00:12:41 --> 00:12:45 Well, we've already seen that God has fulfilled his promise
00:12:45 --> 00:12:46 through Abraham and David.
00:12:47 --> 00:12:48 And now in the New Testament,
00:12:49 --> 00:12:51 we can see that the new temple
00:12:51 --> 00:12:53 has already come into existence
00:12:53 --> 00:12:57 for it is none other than Jesus Christ himself.
00:12:57 --> 00:13:00 John describes it in John 1, 14.
00:13:00 --> 00:13:04 The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
00:13:05 --> 00:13:08 That literal translation is,
00:13:08 --> 00:13:10 he tabernacled among us.
00:13:10 --> 00:13:12 In other words,
00:13:12 --> 00:13:18 John saw Jesus as resembling the tabernacle in the wilderness.
00:13:18 --> 00:13:21 We don't need a temple anymore
00:13:21 --> 00:13:26 because Jesus himself is dwelling with us.
00:13:27 --> 00:13:30 Jesus is God dwelling with us.
00:13:30 --> 00:13:36 We continue to see that God's place is directly linked to Jesus
00:13:36 --> 00:13:37 in the words of the kingdom.
00:13:38 --> 00:13:40 Look at Matthew chapter 3,
00:13:40 --> 00:13:41 the first couple of verses,
00:13:41 --> 00:13:44 where John is talking about Jesus.
00:13:44 --> 00:13:45 In those days,
00:13:45 --> 00:13:47 John the Baptist came,
00:13:47 --> 00:13:49 preaching in the desert of Judea
00:13:49 --> 00:13:50 and saying,
00:13:50 --> 00:13:53 repent for the kingdom of heaven is near.
00:13:53 --> 00:13:57 Mark 1, verses 14 and 15 say,
00:13:58 --> 00:14:00 after John was put into prison,
00:14:00 --> 00:14:01 Jesus went into Galilee,
00:14:01 --> 00:14:03 proclaiming the good news of God.
00:14:04 --> 00:14:06 The kingdom of God is near.
00:14:06 --> 00:14:08 Repent and believe the good news.
00:14:09 --> 00:14:10 Mark 11,
00:14:10 --> 00:14:13 as part of the triumphal entry into Jerusalem,
00:14:14 --> 00:14:15 we hear the people shout,
00:14:16 --> 00:14:16 Hosanna,
00:14:16 --> 00:14:19 blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
00:14:19 --> 00:14:23 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David.
00:14:24 --> 00:14:26 And in Colossians 1, 13,
00:14:26 --> 00:14:27 we read,
00:14:27 --> 00:14:30 for he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness
00:14:30 --> 00:14:35 and brought us into the kingdom of the son he loves,
00:14:35 --> 00:14:36 in whom we have redemption,
00:14:37 --> 00:14:39 the forgiveness of sins.
00:14:40 --> 00:14:42 The kingdom we see in scripture
00:14:42 --> 00:14:45 is also referred to as a mustard seed,
00:14:45 --> 00:14:46 a fine pearl.
00:14:47 --> 00:14:48 Steve mentioned before,
00:14:48 --> 00:14:50 a treasure hidden in a field,
00:14:51 --> 00:14:52 a net of fish.
00:14:53 --> 00:14:55 All of them are directly connected to Jesus.
00:14:56 --> 00:14:59 For it is Jesus who is the treasure.
00:14:59 --> 00:15:01 And without the treasure,
00:15:01 --> 00:15:03 we are lost for all eternity.
00:15:03 --> 00:15:04 Hence,
00:15:04 --> 00:15:06 we have,
00:15:06 --> 00:15:09 as our statement for this church,
00:15:09 --> 00:15:11 that we want to treasure Jesus.
00:15:11 --> 00:15:12 Without Jesus,
00:15:12 --> 00:15:13 we have nothing.
00:15:14 --> 00:15:16 What these verses show
00:15:16 --> 00:15:20 is that Jesus is the head of the new race.
00:15:20 --> 00:15:22 All who are united with him
00:15:22 --> 00:15:24 are members of that race.
00:15:25 --> 00:15:26 That is,
00:15:26 --> 00:15:28 whoever is in Christ
00:15:28 --> 00:15:30 is a new creation
00:15:30 --> 00:15:32 and Christ is the head.
00:15:34 --> 00:15:35 So we have a people of God,
00:15:36 --> 00:15:38 those who are in Christ.
00:15:38 --> 00:15:41 And we have one who is under God's rule,
00:15:42 --> 00:15:43 that is Jesus Christ.
00:15:44 --> 00:15:47 So how is Jesus the ruler?
00:15:47 --> 00:15:52 Let's read Colossians,
00:15:53 --> 00:15:56 that first part of the Colossians reading again.
00:15:56 --> 00:15:58 He is the image of the invisible God,
00:15:58 --> 00:16:01 the firstborn over all creation.
00:16:01 --> 00:16:02 For by him,
00:16:03 --> 00:16:05 all things were created,
00:16:05 --> 00:16:07 things in heaven and on earth,
00:16:07 --> 00:16:08 visible and invisible,
00:16:09 --> 00:16:11 whether thrones or powers
00:16:11 --> 00:16:12 or rulers or authorities,
00:16:12 --> 00:16:15 all things were created
00:16:15 --> 00:16:16 by him and for him.
00:16:17 --> 00:16:20 He is before all things
00:16:20 --> 00:16:21 and in him,
00:16:22 --> 00:16:23 all things hold together.
00:16:24 --> 00:16:25 And he is the head of the body,
00:16:25 --> 00:16:26 the church.
00:16:26 --> 00:16:27 He is the beginning
00:16:27 --> 00:16:28 and the firstborn
00:16:28 --> 00:16:29 from among the dead
00:16:29 --> 00:16:31 so that in everything,
00:16:31 --> 00:16:34 he might have the supremacy.
00:16:35 --> 00:16:36 For God was pleased
00:16:36 --> 00:16:38 to have all his fullness
00:16:38 --> 00:16:39 dwell in him
00:16:39 --> 00:16:41 and through him
00:16:41 --> 00:16:42 to reconcile himself
00:16:42 --> 00:16:43 all things,
00:16:43 --> 00:16:44 whether things on earth
00:16:44 --> 00:16:46 or things in heaven,
00:16:46 --> 00:16:47 by making peace
00:16:47 --> 00:16:48 through his blood
00:16:48 --> 00:16:50 shed on the cross.
00:16:51 --> 00:16:53 The gospel is saying,
00:16:56 --> 00:16:57 he, sorry,
00:16:57 --> 00:16:58 he is the one
00:16:58 --> 00:16:59 who brings salvation
00:16:59 --> 00:17:00 to humankind.
00:17:01 --> 00:17:04 Everything is in Jesus.
00:17:04 --> 00:17:06 He holds it all together.
00:17:06 --> 00:17:08 It is in God's fullness
00:17:08 --> 00:17:09 in him,
00:17:09 --> 00:17:11 he then brings peace.
00:17:14 --> 00:17:15 Following on in verse 21,
00:17:16 --> 00:17:17 once you were alienated
00:17:17 --> 00:17:18 from God
00:17:18 --> 00:17:19 and were enemies
00:17:19 --> 00:17:20 in your minds
00:17:20 --> 00:17:21 because of your evil behaviour,
00:17:22 --> 00:17:24 but now he has reconciled you
00:17:24 --> 00:17:25 by Christ's physical body
00:17:25 --> 00:17:26 through death
00:17:26 --> 00:17:27 to present you
00:17:27 --> 00:17:29 wholly in his sight
00:17:29 --> 00:17:31 without blemish
00:17:31 --> 00:17:32 and free from accusation.
00:17:33 --> 00:17:34 If you continue
00:17:34 --> 00:17:35 in your faith
00:17:35 --> 00:17:37 established and firm,
00:17:37 --> 00:17:38 not moved
00:17:38 --> 00:17:39 from the hope
00:17:39 --> 00:17:40 held out in the gospel.
00:17:41 --> 00:17:42 This is the gospel
00:17:42 --> 00:17:43 that you have heard
00:17:43 --> 00:17:44 that has been proclaimed
00:17:44 --> 00:17:45 to every creature
00:17:45 --> 00:17:45 under heaven
00:17:45 --> 00:17:47 and of which I,
00:17:47 --> 00:17:47 Paul,
00:17:47 --> 00:17:49 have become a servant.
00:17:49 --> 00:17:53 The gospel is saying
00:17:53 --> 00:17:54 that what man
00:17:54 --> 00:17:56 cannot do for salvation,
00:17:57 --> 00:17:58 this God
00:17:58 --> 00:17:59 has done
00:17:59 --> 00:18:00 on our behalf
00:18:00 --> 00:18:01 in the person
00:18:01 --> 00:18:02 of Jesus Christ.
00:18:03 --> 00:18:04 We know from history
00:18:04 --> 00:18:05 that man
00:18:05 --> 00:18:05 has failed
00:18:05 --> 00:18:07 time and time
00:18:07 --> 00:18:08 and time again
00:18:08 --> 00:18:09 to present a life
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10 to God
00:18:10 --> 00:18:11 that is perfect
00:18:11 --> 00:18:12 and acceptable.
00:18:13 --> 00:18:14 And here,
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15 we see Jesus
00:18:15 --> 00:18:16 do this for us.
00:18:16 --> 00:18:17 He's the one
00:18:17 --> 00:18:18 who is perfect
00:18:18 --> 00:18:19 and acceptable
00:18:19 --> 00:18:20 on our behalf.
00:18:20 --> 00:18:21 It is Jesus
00:18:21 --> 00:18:22 who has perfectly
00:18:22 --> 00:18:23 lived out
00:18:23 --> 00:18:25 the holy law
00:18:25 --> 00:18:26 of God
00:18:26 --> 00:18:27 and its penalty
00:18:27 --> 00:18:28 was perfectly
00:18:28 --> 00:18:29 paid for us
00:18:29 --> 00:18:29 in Jesus.
00:18:30 --> 00:18:31 It is the living
00:18:31 --> 00:18:32 and the dying
00:18:32 --> 00:18:33 of Christ
00:18:33 --> 00:18:34 for us
00:18:34 --> 00:18:35 that is the basis
00:18:35 --> 00:18:37 of our acceptance
00:18:37 --> 00:18:38 with God.
00:18:39 --> 00:18:41 It is Jesus Christ
00:18:41 --> 00:18:42 who rules.
00:18:42 --> 00:18:45 But did you pick up
00:18:45 --> 00:18:46 that small word
00:18:46 --> 00:18:47 if
00:18:47 --> 00:18:50 in the verses
00:18:50 --> 00:18:51 in Colossians?
00:18:51 --> 00:18:52 It is Christ
00:18:52 --> 00:18:54 who will present us
00:18:54 --> 00:18:55 without blemish
00:18:55 --> 00:18:58 and free from accusation
00:18:58 --> 00:18:59 to almighty God
00:18:59 --> 00:19:01 if.
00:19:02 --> 00:19:03 If what?
00:19:03 --> 00:19:06 If you continue
00:19:06 --> 00:19:07 in your faith
00:19:07 --> 00:19:09 established
00:19:09 --> 00:19:10 and firm
00:19:10 --> 00:19:12 not moved
00:19:12 --> 00:19:12 from the hope
00:19:12 --> 00:19:13 held out
00:19:13 --> 00:19:14 in the gospel.
00:19:15 --> 00:19:16 Well,
00:19:16 --> 00:19:16 what does that
00:19:16 --> 00:19:17 look like?
00:19:18 --> 00:19:20 It is a life
00:19:20 --> 00:19:20 trusting
00:19:20 --> 00:19:22 a sovereign God.
00:19:22 --> 00:19:23 Looking at our
00:19:23 --> 00:19:24 core values
00:19:24 --> 00:19:25 here at church
00:19:25 --> 00:19:27 it's a life
00:19:27 --> 00:19:28 of Christ
00:19:28 --> 00:19:29 centred
00:19:29 --> 00:19:30 Bible
00:19:30 --> 00:19:31 saturation.
00:19:31 --> 00:19:33 Why do we
00:19:33 --> 00:19:34 keep harping
00:19:34 --> 00:19:35 on about
00:19:35 --> 00:19:36 this Christ
00:19:36 --> 00:19:36 centred
00:19:36 --> 00:19:37 Bible
00:19:37 --> 00:19:38 saturation?
00:19:39 --> 00:19:40 Because it is
00:19:40 --> 00:19:41 there that
00:19:41 --> 00:19:41 your life
00:19:41 --> 00:19:42 will be
00:19:42 --> 00:19:43 changed.
00:19:44 --> 00:19:45 It is there
00:19:45 --> 00:19:46 that we are
00:19:46 --> 00:19:47 challenged
00:19:47 --> 00:19:48 to live
00:19:48 --> 00:19:49 a life
00:19:49 --> 00:19:50 of servanthood.
00:19:51 --> 00:19:52 It is
00:19:52 --> 00:19:52 in
00:19:52 --> 00:19:53 Christ
00:19:53 --> 00:19:54 centred
00:19:54 --> 00:19:54 Bible
00:19:54 --> 00:19:54 saturation
00:19:54 --> 00:19:56 that we
00:19:56 --> 00:19:58 live a life
00:19:58 --> 00:19:58 that is
00:19:58 --> 00:19:59 seeking
00:19:59 --> 00:19:59 God's
00:19:59 --> 00:20:00 wisdom
00:20:00 --> 00:20:01 and God's
00:20:01 --> 00:20:02 discernment.
00:20:03 --> 00:20:03 It's where
00:20:03 --> 00:20:04 the result
00:20:04 --> 00:20:04 is that
00:20:04 --> 00:20:04 we are
00:20:04 --> 00:20:05 challenged
00:20:05 --> 00:20:06 to live
00:20:06 --> 00:20:07 a life
00:20:07 --> 00:20:07 seeking
00:20:07 --> 00:20:07 for God
00:20:07 --> 00:20:08 to change
00:20:08 --> 00:20:09 us
00:20:09 --> 00:20:09 to be
00:20:09 --> 00:20:10 more like
00:20:10 --> 00:20:10 Jesus.
00:20:12 --> 00:20:12 To live
00:20:12 --> 00:20:13 a life
00:20:13 --> 00:20:13 of Christ
00:20:13 --> 00:20:14 centred
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15 Bible
00:20:15 --> 00:20:15 saturation
00:20:15 --> 00:20:16 means a
00:20:16 --> 00:20:17 life
00:20:17 --> 00:20:18 of humble
00:20:18 --> 00:20:19 authenticity.
00:20:20 --> 00:20:20 We don't
00:20:20 --> 00:20:21 live
00:20:21 --> 00:20:22 differently
00:20:22 --> 00:20:22 with different
00:20:22 --> 00:20:23 people.
00:20:24 --> 00:20:24 We are
00:20:24 --> 00:20:25 authentic
00:20:25 --> 00:20:26 people of
00:20:26 --> 00:20:26 God
00:20:26 --> 00:20:27 in every
00:20:27 --> 00:20:28 moment
00:20:28 --> 00:20:29 of every
00:20:29 --> 00:20:29 day.
00:20:30 --> 00:20:31 It is
00:20:31 --> 00:20:31 a life
00:20:31 --> 00:20:31 where the
00:20:31 --> 00:20:32 needs
00:20:32 --> 00:20:32 of others
00:20:32 --> 00:20:33 are far
00:20:33 --> 00:20:33 more
00:20:33 --> 00:20:34 important
00:20:34 --> 00:20:35 to us
00:20:35 --> 00:20:37 than our
00:20:37 --> 00:20:37 own
00:20:37 --> 00:20:38 needs.
00:20:39 --> 00:20:40 It's a
00:20:40 --> 00:20:40 life where
00:20:40 --> 00:20:41 we're seeking
00:20:41 --> 00:20:42 to know
00:20:42 --> 00:20:43 God in a
00:20:43 --> 00:20:44 closer and
00:20:44 --> 00:20:45 more personal
00:20:45 --> 00:20:47 way every
00:20:47 --> 00:20:48 day of
00:20:48 --> 00:20:49 our lives.
00:20:51 --> 00:20:52 That we
00:20:52 --> 00:20:52 are never
00:20:52 --> 00:20:54 ever satisfied
00:20:54 --> 00:20:54 with just
00:20:54 --> 00:20:55 head knowledge
00:20:55 --> 00:20:56 life.
00:20:56 --> 00:20:57 It's a
00:20:57 --> 00:20:58 life of
00:20:58 --> 00:20:59 contentment
00:20:59 --> 00:21:01 in Jesus
00:21:01 --> 00:21:02 and Jesus
00:21:02 --> 00:21:02 alone.
00:21:02 --> 00:21:03 It's a life
00:21:03 --> 00:21:03 that we do
00:21:03 --> 00:21:04 not get if we
00:21:04 --> 00:21:18 don't get our
00:21:18 --> 00:21:19 own way in
00:21:19 --> 00:21:21 family or
00:21:21 --> 00:21:22 at our
00:21:22 --> 00:21:23 uni or
00:21:23 --> 00:21:23 our
00:21:23 --> 00:21:25 workplace or
00:21:25 --> 00:21:25 with our
00:21:25 --> 00:21:26 friends or
00:21:26 --> 00:21:27 we don't get
00:21:27 --> 00:21:28 our own way
00:21:28 --> 00:21:28 in our
00:21:28 --> 00:21:30 ministry or
00:21:30 --> 00:21:31 we don't get
00:21:31 --> 00:21:31 our own way
00:21:31 --> 00:21:32 in this
00:21:32 --> 00:21:33 church.
00:21:34 --> 00:21:35 That we
00:21:35 --> 00:21:36 can humbly
00:21:36 --> 00:21:38 seek to do
00:21:38 --> 00:21:40 what is best
00:21:40 --> 00:21:40 for other
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 people.
00:21:41 --> 00:21:41 That we
00:21:41 --> 00:21:42 are content
00:21:42 --> 00:21:46 because we
00:21:46 --> 00:21:46 know Jesus.
00:21:48 --> 00:21:49 I would
00:21:49 --> 00:21:49 actually
00:21:49 --> 00:21:50 challenge you
00:21:50 --> 00:21:51 to consider
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 what is it
00:21:52 --> 00:21:52 that you
00:21:52 --> 00:21:53 and God
00:21:53 --> 00:21:54 are working
00:21:54 --> 00:21:55 on at this
00:21:55 --> 00:21:55 moment in
00:21:55 --> 00:21:55 time.
00:21:56 --> 00:21:56 What part
00:21:56 --> 00:21:57 of your
00:21:57 --> 00:21:58 character are
00:21:58 --> 00:21:59 you working
00:21:59 --> 00:21:59 on with
00:21:59 --> 00:22:00 God?
00:22:01 --> 00:22:01 Because if
00:22:01 --> 00:22:02 you are not
00:22:02 --> 00:22:02 working on
00:22:02 --> 00:22:04 anything at
00:22:04 --> 00:22:05 all, I
00:22:05 --> 00:22:06 can actually
00:22:06 --> 00:22:06 say to
00:22:06 --> 00:22:07 you, you
00:22:07 --> 00:22:08 might be
00:22:08 --> 00:22:09 stalling in
00:22:09 --> 00:22:09 your Christian
00:22:09 --> 00:22:10 faith.
00:22:11 --> 00:22:11 We need
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12 to be
00:22:12 --> 00:22:13 Christ
00:22:13 --> 00:22:14 centred,
00:22:14 --> 00:22:15 Bible
00:22:15 --> 00:22:15 saturated
00:22:15 --> 00:22:16 Christians and
00:22:16 --> 00:22:17 doing that,
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 God is going
00:22:18 --> 00:22:18 to be knocking
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 off the
00:22:19 --> 00:22:20 rough edges
00:22:20 --> 00:22:21 of us.
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23 And so
00:22:23 --> 00:22:24 there needs
00:22:24 --> 00:22:24 to always
00:22:24 --> 00:22:25 be something
00:22:25 --> 00:22:25 that you
00:22:25 --> 00:22:26 are working
00:22:26 --> 00:22:26 with.
00:22:27 --> 00:22:28 You and
00:22:28 --> 00:22:30 God trying
00:22:30 --> 00:22:31 to work
00:22:31 --> 00:22:32 through and
00:22:32 --> 00:22:33 are you
00:22:33 --> 00:22:34 asking the
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 Lord to
00:22:35 --> 00:22:35 help you
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 to be more
00:22:36 --> 00:22:36 prayerful?
00:22:36 --> 00:22:36 Are you
00:22:36 --> 00:22:37 asking the
00:22:37 --> 00:22:38 Lord to
00:22:38 --> 00:22:39 deal with
00:22:39 --> 00:22:39 your anger?
00:22:40 --> 00:22:41 Are you
00:22:41 --> 00:22:41 asking the
00:22:41 --> 00:22:42 Lord to
00:22:42 --> 00:22:43 help you
00:22:43 --> 00:22:43 to be
00:22:43 --> 00:22:43 more
00:22:43 --> 00:22:44 sensitive
00:22:44 --> 00:22:44 to another
00:22:44 --> 00:22:45 person's
00:22:45 --> 00:22:45 needs?
00:22:46 --> 00:22:46 What is
00:22:46 --> 00:22:47 it that
00:22:47 --> 00:22:48 you and
00:22:48 --> 00:22:48 God are
00:22:48 --> 00:22:49 working on
00:22:49 --> 00:22:50 at this
00:22:50 --> 00:22:51 moment in
00:22:51 --> 00:22:51 time?
00:22:53 --> 00:22:54 That's a
00:22:54 --> 00:22:54 question my
00:22:54 --> 00:22:55 mentor would
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 be asking me
00:22:56 --> 00:22:57 each time she
00:22:57 --> 00:22:57 sees me.
00:22:57 --> 00:22:58 What is it
00:22:58 --> 00:22:59 that you and
00:22:59 --> 00:23:00 God are
00:23:00 --> 00:23:00 working on?
00:23:01 --> 00:23:02 And that's a
00:23:02 --> 00:23:02 question we
00:23:02 --> 00:23:03 should be able
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04 to ask each
00:23:04 --> 00:23:05 other at
00:23:05 --> 00:23:06 any time.
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 What is it
00:23:08 --> 00:23:09 that you and
00:23:09 --> 00:23:10 God are
00:23:10 --> 00:23:11 working on
00:23:11 --> 00:23:11 at this
00:23:11 --> 00:23:12 moment for
00:23:12 --> 00:23:12 you to
00:23:12 --> 00:23:13 build godly
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 character or
00:23:14 --> 00:23:15 for God to
00:23:15 --> 00:23:15 be building
00:23:15 --> 00:23:16 godly
00:23:16 --> 00:23:16 character?
00:23:17 --> 00:23:18 Next week
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19 we look at
00:23:19 --> 00:23:19 Jesus and
00:23:19 --> 00:23:20 the great
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 fulfilment of
00:23:21 --> 00:23:22 Jesus and
00:23:22 --> 00:23:22 where Jesus
00:23:22 --> 00:23:23 takes us.
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 And as
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 Jesus changes
00:23:27 --> 00:23:28 our life through
00:23:28 --> 00:23:29 the Holy Spirit
00:23:29 --> 00:23:30 we actually have
00:23:30 --> 00:23:31 the great hope
00:23:31 --> 00:23:33 of glory,
00:23:33 --> 00:23:34 the great hope
00:23:34 --> 00:23:35 of heaven.
00:23:36 --> 00:23:37 But don't be
00:23:37 --> 00:23:39 tricked into
00:23:39 --> 00:23:39 thinking it's
00:23:39 --> 00:23:41 all about what
00:23:41 --> 00:23:42 Jesus has done
00:23:42 --> 00:23:42 in us.
00:23:43 --> 00:23:45 It's about what
00:23:45 --> 00:23:45 God has done
00:23:45 --> 00:23:47 for us in
00:23:47 --> 00:23:47 Jesus.
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 That is the
00:23:48 --> 00:23:48 gospel.
00:23:50 --> 00:23:50 And we get the
00:23:50 --> 00:23:52 blessing of being
00:23:52 --> 00:23:53 changed to be
00:23:53 --> 00:23:54 Christ-like as we
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 go along.
00:23:56 --> 00:23:58 Earlier on
00:23:58 --> 00:23:58 Steve actually
00:23:58 --> 00:24:00 mentioned movies
00:24:00 --> 00:24:02 and he mentions
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 that he sees
00:24:03 --> 00:24:05 the end and
00:24:05 --> 00:24:06 speaks it
00:24:06 --> 00:24:06 forth.
00:24:07 --> 00:24:08 And Nat
00:24:08 --> 00:24:09 is the one
00:24:09 --> 00:24:11 who still
00:24:11 --> 00:24:11 cries even
00:24:11 --> 00:24:12 though she
00:24:12 --> 00:24:12 knows the
00:24:12 --> 00:24:13 end.
00:24:13 --> 00:24:14 But in actual
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 fact for me
00:24:15 --> 00:24:17 I actually can
00:24:17 --> 00:24:18 see movies over
00:24:18 --> 00:24:19 and over and
00:24:19 --> 00:24:20 over again and
00:24:20 --> 00:24:21 I forget what
00:24:21 --> 00:24:23 the ending is.
00:24:24 --> 00:24:27 My son Jason
00:24:27 --> 00:24:28 who's not here
00:24:28 --> 00:24:29 but Jason
00:24:29 --> 00:24:29 says I get
00:24:29 --> 00:24:31 the best value
00:24:31 --> 00:24:32 out of hiring
00:24:32 --> 00:24:33 movies than
00:24:33 --> 00:24:34 any person
00:24:34 --> 00:24:36 because I
00:24:36 --> 00:24:38 can look at
00:24:38 --> 00:24:39 it fresh all
00:24:39 --> 00:24:40 the time and
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 it's new.
00:24:41 --> 00:24:42 I never
00:24:42 --> 00:24:43 sort of,
00:24:43 --> 00:24:43 oh that's a
00:24:43 --> 00:24:44 surprise.
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 I can do it
00:24:45 --> 00:24:47 with books
00:24:47 --> 00:24:47 also.
00:24:47 --> 00:24:48 Vander will
00:24:48 --> 00:24:49 tell me,
00:24:49 --> 00:24:49 I'm not sure,
00:24:50 --> 00:24:50 halfway through
00:24:50 --> 00:24:51 the book I
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52 think I've read
00:24:52 --> 00:24:52 it.
00:24:52 --> 00:24:53 And he'll say
00:24:53 --> 00:24:53 yes you have.
00:24:54 --> 00:24:54 You know sort
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 of.
00:24:56 --> 00:24:57 But that's a
00:24:57 --> 00:24:58 problem if you
00:24:58 --> 00:24:58 do that with
00:24:58 --> 00:24:59 Jesus.
00:25:00 --> 00:25:01 You see
00:25:01 --> 00:25:02 because I
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 can forget
00:25:03 --> 00:25:04 the goodness
00:25:04 --> 00:25:05 and the
00:25:05 --> 00:25:06 greatness of
00:25:06 --> 00:25:07 Jesus.
00:25:08 --> 00:25:09 You might be
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 somebody who
00:25:10 --> 00:25:11 sits in
00:25:11 --> 00:25:12 Steve's camp
00:25:12 --> 00:25:13 or Nat's
00:25:13 --> 00:25:14 camp or in
00:25:14 --> 00:25:16 my camp which
00:25:16 --> 00:25:16 is another one
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 altogether.
00:25:18 --> 00:25:19 But don't be
00:25:19 --> 00:25:20 complacent with
00:25:20 --> 00:25:21 Jesus.
00:25:22 --> 00:25:23 Yes Jesus is
00:25:23 --> 00:25:23 the answer.
00:25:23 --> 00:25:24 We all know
00:25:24 --> 00:25:25 that from Sunday
00:25:25 --> 00:25:26 school and from
00:25:26 --> 00:25:26 scripture.
00:25:26 --> 00:25:27 Jesus is the
00:25:27 --> 00:25:28 answer and you
00:25:28 --> 00:25:29 sort of nearly
00:25:29 --> 00:25:30 there most of
00:25:30 --> 00:25:30 the time.
00:25:31 --> 00:25:31 But don't be
00:25:31 --> 00:25:32 complacent with
00:25:32 --> 00:25:33 Jesus.
00:25:33 --> 00:25:34 Jesus needs to
00:25:34 --> 00:25:34 be changing
00:25:34 --> 00:25:36 our lives.
00:25:37 --> 00:25:37 I know that
00:25:37 --> 00:25:39 most of us have
00:25:39 --> 00:25:39 heard this
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 message over and
00:25:40 --> 00:25:41 over again or
00:25:41 --> 00:25:42 one similar.
00:25:43 --> 00:25:44 But you need
00:25:44 --> 00:25:46 to ask how
00:25:46 --> 00:25:47 does this
00:25:47 --> 00:25:49 message consistently
00:25:49 --> 00:25:50 challenge the
00:25:50 --> 00:25:52 way I think and
00:25:52 --> 00:25:53 live out life.
00:25:54 --> 00:25:55 None of us in
00:25:55 --> 00:25:56 this building
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 absolutely none
00:25:57 --> 00:25:58 of us have
00:25:58 --> 00:25:59 finished the
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 race that we
00:26:00 --> 00:26:01 are in.
00:26:01 --> 00:26:03 So no one is
00:26:03 --> 00:26:04 sitting on the
00:26:04 --> 00:26:04 side.
00:26:05 --> 00:26:06 We are all in
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 a race together.
00:26:08 --> 00:26:09 I want you to
00:26:09 --> 00:26:11 continue to run
00:26:11 --> 00:26:12 the race and to
00:26:12 --> 00:26:14 run it faithfully
00:26:14 --> 00:26:15 with Jesus.
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 I want you to
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 know that the
00:26:18 --> 00:26:19 kingdom of God
00:26:19 --> 00:26:21 is here now but
00:26:21 --> 00:26:22 is also your goal
00:26:22 --> 00:26:23 later.
00:26:23 --> 00:26:25 that way we
00:26:25 --> 00:26:26 can be God's
00:26:26 --> 00:26:28 people in God's
00:26:28 --> 00:26:30 place under God's
00:26:30 --> 00:26:30 rule.
00:26:31 --> 00:26:38 thanks for saying
00:26:39 --> 00:26:39 that
00:26:39 --> 00:26:42 I can see you
00:26:42 --> 00:26:42 as
00:26:42 --> 00:26:44 people in
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 with
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 as
00:26:46 --> 00:26:46 people in