Saturday, December 16, 2006

 

Colossians 1:21-23. RECONCILIATION WITH GOD

Colossians 1:21-23. And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. 21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled 22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: 23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;


You have all heard of the KISS principle in public speaking. It means Keep It Simple, Stupid. It is a reminder that the best way to communicate with others is to make sure that your primary message is the primary message. The more complicated we make something, the more likely the main message will be blurred.
We must remember to apply the KISS principle in our Christianity as well. What true Christianity is, can be quite confusing to people today. We talk about styles of worship, we argue about music, we erect walls called denominations, we use gimmicks to fill our sanctuaries and become much too deeply involved in the political process. All of this blurs the real message.
I remember talking with an elderly saint, one of the inventors of the pace maker , en elder from HEBC, Johno Jackson: I’m not what I HOPE to be. I’m not what I WANT to be. I’m not what I OUGHT to be.
But thank God, I’m not what I USED to be!”
Windows XP has a system tool I have used several times when my computer starts running slow or starts doing crazy things. It’s called “System Restore.” Sometimes you may download or install programs that make your computer perform slowly, or you have inadvertently downloaded a harmful virus. System Restore can fix your problem. It’s pretty easy to use. You just click on start, go to all programs, then click on accessories, click on system tools and you’ll find System Restore. System Restore allows you to literally go back in time and reset your computer to an earlier date when it was running smoothly. You can choose a date up to two months in the past, before the time when harmful applications affected your performance. You just click on that date and any new applications, damaging software, or spyware that might have been installed or downloaded since then are removed. And the amazing thing is you don’t lose any of the files or emails you received after your System Restore point. Whenever I use System Restore, it reminds me of salvation. Have you ever wished you could go back in time and undo something bad you did? We all do. There are places and times we all wish we could go back to and undo what we did or unsay what we said. But we can’t. We can’t unscramble the eggs. We can’t put the toothpaste back into the tube. We can’t really go back in time. But the good news is Jesus Christ isn’t bound by time. And when He died on the cross, He was enacting a cosmic System Restore for all our sins. Before Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, their mental and moral systems were running smoothly without a problem. But when they sinned, they were infected by a deadly virus that has been passed down to every person since then. It is worst than the most sinister computer virus you can imagine–every one of us has been infected. Our mental and moral systems are malfunctioning. The Bible says in I Corinthians 15:22, “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” On the cross, Jesus spanned time and space to undo the damage of what was done. System Restore is such a powerful tool, that when a hacker creates a damaging virus, often the first command embedded in the virus is to turn off your System Restore–but you can always activate it yourself. In the same way, Satan will do everything within his evil power to implant the idea that you can’t be forgiven and restored to wholeness. But greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world! And Jesus’ has reconciled us to God.

The Person Of Reconciliation
And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
It is the Father who is oinvolved in the reconciliation process. Some think of God the Father being against us, but God the Son being ofr us. No its the Father here who initiates the reconciliation.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only beogotten Son.

There’s an old Mayan folk story about a young man who ran away from home. His father saw him leaving and called out, “My son, come back. Come back.” The young man responded, “I cannot, Father, I am too far gone.”
And the father said, “Come as far as you can and I will come the rest of the way to meet you.”
That’s what God is saying to you today: “Come as far as you can ... I will come the rest of the way to meet you.”
I love the song:
I’ve wandered far away from God, Now I’m coming home;
The paths of sin too long I’ve trod, Lord I’m coming home.
Coming home, coming home, never more to roam, Open wide thine arms of love, Lord, I’m coming home.
The Purpose Of Reconciliation
And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
Reconciliation of all things?
Rom 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
All the universe awaits this redemption.
The bringing of things back to where they were at the garden of Eden before the fall.
The cross is at the centre of the universe!
The Lord Jesus is what the entire universe is about!
He isn’t some add on in the area of religion. He isn’t just an option to believe in. He is everything.
Sin is still the curse of the human race. Salvation is still its greatest need. And that’s what everything is all about.
It centers in Jesus Christ who is “the same yesterday, today, and forever.” It is rooted in:
• His virgin birth - “A virgin shall conceive and bear a son” (Matthew 1:23).
• His virtuous life - “He was at all points tempted, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).
• His vicarious death - “Christ died for our sins” (I Corinthians 15:3).
• His victorious resurrection - “He is not here, he is risen” (Luke 24:6).
• His visible return - “Behold he cometh ... and every eye shall see him” (Rev. 1: 7).
The central glory of the old time religion is not a great truth nor even a great movement. It is a great person - Jesus Christ himself.

The Problem Of Reconciliation
21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
Denial - "I didn't do anything wrong"
Diversion - "everyone is doing it." or "What gives you the right to call me a sinner?" If we can put the other person on the defensive then we can get them off of our "case". Sometimes we are even successful at putting the blame for our behavior onto another.
Repression - We avoid any value judgement at all. We believe that if we never examine or discuss the rightness or wrongness of an action it is thereby amoral.
Rationalization - "you know it's not like it's stealing . . . the insurance company expects to pay this money and, afterall, they can afford it." we try to explain that the evil we did was really a good thing.
Renaming - If we call our sin something else then it doesn't seem so sinful anymore. So, adultery becomes a "fling"; Lying becomes "sparing another the painful truth"; Gluttony becomes "eating too well"; Greed becomes "seeking God's abundance". A divisive spirit becomes "sharing my concerns".
People may feel that the Bible is cruel when it calls us enemies of God. But let me ask you: Has Paul overstated the case?
The story is told of a man who used to stop by a clock shop every morning and stare at one particular clock in the window. One morning the owner of the store came out (sensing a chance for a sale) and remarked that he had seen the man stop there every day to look at that "beautiful" clock. The stranger replied, "I am somewhat embarrassed to admit that I stop here every day because my watch is not very accurate. Every morning I synchronize my watch with this clock. You see, I am the time keeper at the factory and I am the one charged to blow the whistle at 4:00 to denote quitting time." The shopkeeper began laughing. He said, "I must admit that this clock is not very accurate either. Every day I set it by the 4:00 whistle at the factory."
Obviously, when neither of these clocks is a dependable standard, the standard will become more and more corrupted. This is exactly what is happening in our world. People are determining their standard of right and wrong (and their view of God) by the prevailing view of public opinion. And Public Opinion is determined by the prevailing standard of right and wrong! Is it any wonder, then, that our society drifts deeper and deeper into the mire of perversity? There is no standard of truth! There is no fear of God before their eyes!
G.K. Chesterton understood things clearly. He wrote a letter In response to a question posed in The Times of London. The question was: "What's Wrong with the World?" Chesterton replied, "I am. Yours truly, G.K. Chesteron."
Edward Mote has given us the answer to this problem in his hymn : , “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.” The last stanza says, “When He shall come with trumpet sound; oh, may I then in Him be found; Dressed in His righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne.”

The Perfection Of Reconciliation
22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:
Past You have been saved from the Penalty of Sin
Present You are being saved from the power of sin
Future You shall be saved from the very presence of sin
Present you.. formally in heaven
Holy, only what’s hoily enters heaven Heb 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
Unblameable in justification
Unreproveable well done thou good and faithful serant.

The Perseverance Of Reconciliation
23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;
“if” here is not hypothetical, that is, that Paul is saying well you may or may not continue in the faith once you are saved, and making sure you are saved is only possibl;e if you continue in the faith. This would bring a sense of uncertainty to your salvation. it would ll reside on you as to whether you made it or not. you could slip into hell at the very doors of heaven were this so. this would be contrary to the wonderful assurances we have in scripture that He who began the good work in us would bring it to completion on the day of Christ Jesus. that no one can snatch us out of the Father's hands.
Rather "if" here means it means “assuming”. Paul is assuming these people the Colossions have a genuine faith. If they have a genuine faith they WILL persevere in it. They will continue in it. If they don't have a genuine faith they'll fall out the back door of the church. they'll live like the world. Which are you?
We are not saved by continuing in the faith , we continue in the faith because we are saved.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Whatever decision you need to make today about the Lord Jesus, you better go ahead and make that decision now. Satan always says “Wait awhile!”
CE Mathews was a pastor . He had a little daughter 12 years old, who one day persistently pleaded with him for a pair of white knee length socks.. They were the fashion then. He surveyed the need, and the resources and the opportunity, and said no to her. So she went to her mum.
And she asked her for the, Without checking what her dad had said, she said yes. Bit it was only a few short weeks later, when this child suddenly died.
As Pastor Matthews stood beside the casket of that small frail child, he saw that she had on those white knee socks, He said, “I thought “I’d give everything I have got if I had just said yes to her that day.’”If you have persistently said no Jesus Christ, there will come a day when you stand before Him and you will say I’d give everything I have got if I had just said yes to her that day.’”





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