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This past Sunday (2/5/2023) We were able to move along in our discussion of Colossians 3 and were looking at the instructions Paul gives in order to lead them on in learning to walk in a manner pleasing to the Lord.
We got the sermon up on YouTube and you can take a look - click on the link below:
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by: Preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him." ----------------------------------------------------------------------  Lazarus is to be envied. It was well to be Martha and serve Jesus, but better to be Lazarus and commune with Jesus. There are times for each purpose, and each is lovely in its season, but none of the trees of the garden yield such clusters, as the vine of communion with Jesus. To sit with Jesus, to hear His words, to mark His acts, and receive His smiles--was such a favor as must have made Lazarus as happy as the angels!
When it has been our happy lot to feast with our Beloved in His banqueting-hall, we would not have given half a sigh for all the kingdoms of the world, if so much breath could have bought them! Lazarus is to be imitated. It would have been a strange thing if he had not been at the table where Jesus was, for he had been dead, and Jesus had raised him. For the risen one to be absent when the Lord who gave him life was at his house, would have been ungrateful indeed. We too were once dead! Yes, and like Lazarus--we were stinking in the grave of sin! Jesus raised us, and we live! Can we be content to live at a distance from Him? Do we omit to remember Him at His table, where He deigns to feast with His brethren? Oh, this is cruel! It behooves us to repent, and do as He has bidden us--for His least wish should be law to us. To have lived without constant fellowship with one of whom the Jews said, "Behold how He loved him," would have been disgraceful to Lazarus! Is it excusable in us, whom Jesus has loved with an everlasting love! To have been cold to Him who wept over his lifeless corpse, would have argued great brutishness in Lazarus. What does it argue in us, over whom the Savior has not only wept, but bled! Come, brethren, who read this portion, let us return unto our heavenly Bridegroom, and ask for His Spirit, that we may be on terms of closer intimacy with Him, and henceforth sit at the table with Him!  Trusting God’s providence is not to be confused with succumbing to fatalism. It is not a resigned sigh of Que sera, sera—“What will be, will be.” This Joseph understood (Gen. 40).
The account of Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker does not tell us which of the two, if either, was actually guilty of something; it only tells us which of the two Pharaoh decided was guilty. Even then, we are not told the nature of the crime. The focus, rather, is on their respective dreams, and the fact that only Joseph, of those in prison, is able to interpret their dreams. The interpretations are so dramatic, and so precisely fulfilled, that their accuracy cannot be questioned. Joseph himself is under no illusion as to the source of his powers. “Do not interpretations belong to God?” he asks (40:8). Even before Pharaoh, where he might have been expected to slant his explanations just a little so as to enhance his own reputation, Joseph will later insist even more emphatically that he cannot himself interpret dreams; God alone can do it (41:16, 25). Yet despite this unswerving loyalty to God, despite this candid confession of his own limitations, despite the sheer tenacity and integrity of his conduct under unjust suffering, Joseph does not confuse God’s providence with fatalism. The point is demonstrated in this chapter in two ways. First, Joseph is quite prepared to tell his predicament to the cupbearer (the servant who will be released in three days and restored to the court) in the hope that he might be released (40:14–15). Joseph’s faith in God does not mean that he becomes entirely passive. He takes open action to effect improvement in his circumstances, provided that action is stamped with integrity. Second, when he briefly describes the circumstances that brought him into prison, Joseph does not hide the sheer evil that was done. He insists he “was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews” (40:15). The point was important, for most slaves became such because of economic circumstances. For example, when people fell into bankruptcy, they sold themselves into slavery. But that was not what had happened to Joseph, and he wanted Pharaoh to know it. He was a victim. Further, even during his life as a slave in Egypt he did “nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon”—which of course means he was incarcerated unjustly. Thus Joseph does not confuse God’s providential rule with God’s moral approbation. Fatalism and pantheism have no easy way of distinguishing what is from what ought to be. Robust biblical theism encourages us to trust the goodness of the sovereign, providential God, while confronting and opposing the evil that takes place in this fallen world. --------------------------------------------------------- “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.” ---------------------------------------------------------  When we talk about the need for revival in our country, we must first individually ask ourselves these questions: Am I personally revived? Am I living as a committed, on-fire follower of Jesus Christ?
If we are not, then we’re part of the problem, not part of the solution. Here’s what Jesus said to the church of Ephesus in the Book of Revelation: “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love” (2:2–4 NKJV). It’s clear they weren’t lazy. They were discerning, persevering believers. And they were making a difference. But Jesus was saying, “That’s all great, but we have a problem here. You have left your first love.” What does that mean? It means that in spite of all their activity, they had lost that first passion when Jesus was their highest priority. They still believed. They hadn’t abandoned their faith. But they were spiritually drying up. They were leaving their first love, and they needed to be revived. Jesus went on to give them the three Rs of revival: “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent” (verse 5 NKJV). Remember. Repent. Repeat. Remember from where you have fallen. Repent and do the first works. And repeat. Go back and do what you did before. Let’s remember the three Rs of revival and put them into practice, because we need to be revived before God. We need a personal revival.  Colossians 3:1-4 – Living the Risen Life (P1)
We’re able to move on in our study of the Book of Colossians and into chapter 3! This Pivotal section marks an end to the section of Paul’s teaching against the false teachers and is a bridge to his appeal for the Colossians to live in a manner pleasing to the Lord. It begins what we could call the “Ethical” section of the letter!! His appeal is simple “Become in experience what you already are in God’s grace!! Click the Link Below!:  Joshua, the name of Moses’ aide-de-camp, or personal minister (24:13; 33:11; Josh. 1:1), appears for the first time in Exodus 17:9. His assignment to muster a task force was part of his being groomed for military leadership in Israel. Actually, at this stage his name was still Hoshea, which later changed to Joshua at Kadesh just before the reconnaissance mission in Canaan (Num. 13:16). At this stage, Israel could not be described as a seasoned army and was not even militarily well prepared and trained.
The staff, or “the rod of God,” that Moses held up in his hands was no magic wand. Rather, it had been previously used to initiate, via God’s chosen leader, the miracles that God did and about which He had informed Moses in advance. It became, therefore, the symbol of God’s personal and powerful involvement, with Moses’ outstretched arms perhaps signifying an appeal to God. The ebb and flow of battle in correlation with Moses’ uplifted or drooping arms imparted more than psychological encouragement as the soldiers looked up to their leader on the hilltop, and more than Moses’ interceding for them. It demonstrated and acknowledged their having to depend upon God for victory in battle and not upon their own strength and zeal. It also confirmed the position of Moses both in relation to God and the nation’s well-being and safety. They had angrily chided him for their problems (Ex. 17:2), but God confirmed His appointment as leader. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ.” -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ✧✧✧ God’s greatest desire for us is that we seek diligently to know Him. To know God and all that He has revealed about Himself is the highest pursuit of life. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Prov. 9:10). Such a realization should really be the starting point for all of life’s other pursuits. As David gave his throne to his son Solomon, his primary counsel was that Solomon know God: “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever” (1 Chron. 28:9). Knowing God not only determines the quality of one’s present life, but also the destiny of one’s life in eternity. Jesus says, “And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent” (John 17:3). Eternal life is simply knowing God in an intimate way for the rest of eternity. It begins here on earth when we believe in Christ and partake of His very nature and life. How can we know God? The Lord says, “You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:13). Solomon teaches us, “For if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding; if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will discern the fear of the Lord, and discover the knowledge of God” (Prov. 2:3–5). This pursuit of God must be our top priority in life. Otherwise, it is so easy to be distracted by the pursuit of money, career success, personal power and prestige, or any earthly endeavor that demands our time and energy. ✧✧✧ Suggestions for Prayer: Thank the Lord that you know Him personally.
For Further Study: Read 2 Peter 1:1–11. What are the benefits to those who know God? ✧ What qualities should be evident in your life? |
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