Col 3:12-17
12 Therefore, God’s chosen ones, holy and loved, put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, 13 accepting one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so also you must forgive. 14 Above all, put on love—the perfect bond of unity. 15 And let the peace of the Messiah, to which you were also called in one body, control your hearts. Be thankful. 16 Let the message about the Messiah dwell richly among you, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, and singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Longfellow wrote a significant poem during the American Civil War.

I heard the bells on Christmas day Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And thought how, as the day had come, The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Till ringing, singing on its way The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head “There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: “God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail With peace on earth, good will to men.”

2 verses not usually included:

Then from each black, accursed mouth The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound the carols drowned Of peace on earth, good will to men.

It was as if an earthquake rent The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn, the households born Of peace on earth, good will to men

Verse 15 says, “As members of one body you were called to peace.” Not only do we enjoy peace with God and the peace OF God, we can enjoy peace with others as well. Satan is the great divider. He wants to divide every nation, every church, every marriage and every family. The Holy Spirit binds us together as one. The Bible says, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:3) Sadly, too many churches and Christians groups are known more for their fighting and splitting than for their forgiving and submitting. Someone said whenever you have two Baptists you have three opinions. But the peace of Christ allows us to disagree without being disagreeable. There will always be differences of opinions, but when we are walking in the Spirit, the peace of Christ will serve as the “umpire” over our differences, and we will submit to the Spirit of God.

Until the Prince of Peace comes to earth again we will not have Peace. But in the church oneness of unity and peace

Luke 2: 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Worship wars over Style rather than substance. Doctrine wars really issues of personality style and type.

Have you ever come across the practise of Passing the Peace in an Anglican church? I don’t know that a handshake or aan embrace necessarily passes peace along to anyone. But Paul directs us to pass peace to all those we meet. How do you do that? You can pass Peace on to others By Being Rightly related To One Another

Passing The Peace By Bearing With one Another

James 5: 9Brothers, do not complain about one another, so that you will not be judged. Look, the judge stands at the door! . It reminds me of a young father who was standing in the middle of a grocery store with a screaming kid in the shopping basket. The child was red-faced and crying loud enough to be heard all over the store. The young father was repeating, “Easy, Donald. Take it easy, Donald. Calm down, Donald.” A lady who overheard him said, “Sir, I want to commend you on the way you’re talking to Donald. You know how to speak to a child, calmly and quietly. Good job.” She bent down to the child and asked, “What’s the problem little Donald?” The man said, “Oh no. His name is Henry, my name is Donald. Take it easy, Donald!” Displaying longsuffering or patience means we don’t respond in anger when we are mistreated or insulted. Booker T. Washington was born a slave but became a great African American educator and innovator. He founded Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. He was the first African American to be a guest in the White House when Teddy Roosevelt invited him to dinner. The story is told that one day Mr. Washington was walking down the street in Tuskegee and a wellto- do woman asked him if he would like to earn a few extra dollars chopping wood. Instead of being offended or telling her who he was, he simply rolled up his sleeves and chopped the wood. A few days later, when the woman learned he was the President of Tuskegee Institute, she apologized profusely. She was so impressed with Booker T. Washington’s humility and longsuffering she organized a group of local donors to fund Tuskegee Institute. That’s a great example of being longsuffering. The Bible says Jesus displayed longsuffering when He was insulted, “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.” (I Peter 2:23) When we wear Jesus’ patience, we’ll demonstrate the same kind of behavior.

Passing The Peace By Forgiving One Another

Living with the dent in the car. There are all kinds of dents and bruises in our relationships.

In Matthew 18, Jesus told the parable of a man who owed his boss, the king $100,000. The king demanded payment, but the servant couldn’t pay and begged the king to forgive the debt. The king had mercy on the servant and erased the debt. That same day the servant went out and found a fellow servant who owed him $10. He seized him by the throat and said, “Pay up now!” The fellow servant didn’t have the money and begged the first servant for mercy. Instead, the servant had him arrested and thrown into jail. When the king heard about this, he was furious. He had the first servant brought back and said, “I forgave you $100,000, and yet you wouldn’t forgive your fellow servant? Forget that! Now, you owe me the $100,000 and you’re going to jail until you can pay it off.” That story describes our lives. We owed a debt we could not pay, and God forgave it. The Bible says “God demonstrated his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” (Rom 5:8) When you have truly experienced God’s unconditional forgiveness, you will be willing to extend forgiveness to those who sin against you.

Passing The Peace By Loving One Another

Love is the key to patience, because the Bible says, “love is patient.” And the key to forgiving others is to love them because we read, “love keeps no record of wrongs.” The Bible says love covers a multitude of sins. When it comes to dressing in style with Jesus the Beatles were right when they sang, “All you need is love.

Passing The Peace By Ruling Ourselves

If we would have peace in the church Be Ruled By The Peace Of Christ.

We read in verse 15, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.” The word “rule” means to serve as a judge or umpire. It means to overrule. In a court of law, an attorney may stand up and say, “Objection your honor!” If the judge decides the objection is out of order, he or she simply says, “Objection overruled!” (Which means, “Sit down and be quiet.”) That’s what the peace of Christ can do for you. When fear leaps to its feet and says, “Boo!” The peace of God immediately calls for order and says, “Boo overruled! Fear, sit down and be quiet!”

Objection overruled. I’m the judge and I have decided.

An umpire brings stability and peace and order to a game. “I’m out of order” peace disappears.

He brings order and stability.

The Umpire decides what is right.

It feels good to me! No but you are still out of order.

A troubled soul is a trouble maker.

A full bucket washes out and sloshes out on every body.

What’s in the bucket? Overflowing with love or overflowing with bitterness?

Peace in the heart means peace in the church. She’s got the peace but I got the pieces. False peace of Jonah fell asleep in the hold of the ship.

The wicked say peace peace when there is no peace for the unrighteous.

You cannot have peace unless you surrender to the Lord Jesus.

His Peace Must Rule Our Hearts

His Peace Must Rule Over Your Fears

Jesus promised us this inner peace when He said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you

may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

We think of peace being the absence of stress—but the Bible teaches peace is the presence of God in the midst of your stress. This phrase “the peace of Christ” assures us we can have the same flesh-and-blood peace Jesus experienced. The believers in the book of Acts experienced this supernatural peace of Christ. It is the peace that caused Stephen’s face to shine like an angel as those jagged stones impacted his body. (Acts 7:60) This is the peace that enabled Peter to sleep soundly on the night before he was to have his head chopped off (Acts 12:6). It is the peace that inspired Paul and Silas to sing songs at midnight in the middle of a dungeon. (Acts 16:25) It is the peace that empowered the prisoner Paul to stand tall on a rolling deck of a ship caught in a violent storm for two weeks (Acts 27:35). This is the same peace that is available to you when you hear about the next terrorist attack. This is the same peace available to you when you get that scary diagnosis from the doctor. This is the same peace available to you when you feel all alone and afraid. Let the peace of Christ overrule your fears!

Acts 16 the Spirit of Jesus hindered them.

Sometimes the Umpire settles disputes in ways we don’t like.

He needs to settle the issue not what I think but what He thinks.

Isa peace like a river.

His Peace Must Run Our Your Thoughts

“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You.” (Isaiah 26:3)

Read God’s Word! Let it dwell at home in your life.

Some Doubt the word

Some Deny the word

Some Devalue the word … rarely reading it or living by it.

Some Depend by the word

Some Declare the Word

Some Devour the Word.

Bread milk food

Jeremiah 15:16 Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.

Read meditate digest it

Josh 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

Psalm 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

Teach the word 2tim 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

We are like post offices the message comes to us and through us.

Convey the message.

Admonish encourage rebuke and reprove.

I.e. Warrior of Ethiopia chemist gaoled during communist Derg’s, found Bible hid and read it. Became a medical orderly and ministered to prisoners. Beaten often for being a Christian by the guards. Peace in midst of conflict.

His Peace Must Reign In Worship

Eph 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

145 times commanded to sing to the Lord but all in the power of the the Spirit

Our Worship must be in Spirit

Our Worship must be substantial. Word based, doctrinal Christ honouring Worship in Spirit and Truth

Diversity Psalms to God hymns doctrinal songs about the Lord and spiritual songs everthing else.

1 Cor 14:26 How is it then, brothers? Whenever you come together, each one has a psalm, a teaching, a revelation, [another]language, or an interpretation. All things must be done for edification.

Each one participating.

Focus giving thanks to the Lord, doing everything for the Lord.

We are not here for the rhythm song or sound of the music but to give glory to God.

Every song should give thanks to God.

Evangelise and Edify but all for An audience of one

Glory to God in the highest and then peace on earth.

Hunger

The Father seeks those to worship Him I (Jn 4)

There is a longing for God. Hunger for us to have a passion for someone greater than ourselves.

Community.

1741 Handel at end of rope strokes paralysed lost eyesight through cataracts and poor surgery severe arthritis, no longer popular in debt feared debtors prison loomed.

Charles Jennens, who organized the Scripture texts for Messiah, was a staunch Protestant

• He intended the Messiah text to challenge the deists, who denied Christ's divinity

• He had admired Handel's music for 15 years before Messiah (1741)

• He gave Handel the text for the oratorio ‘Saul’ (1739) and for Handel’s masterpiece ‘Belshazzar’ (1744)

• Music historians suspect that Jennens wrote the text for ‘Israel in Egypt’ (1738)

Inspired by the Word and admonished by a friend he wrote greatest classical piece the Messiah Wrote in 24 days the Messiah

1. His redemptive sacrifice, His agony at Calvary 2. His sacrificial death, resurrection & ascension

3. The beginning of evangelism 4. The world and its rulers reject the Gospel 5. God's triumph 1. Promise of bodily resurrection 2. The day of judgment and general resurrection

3. The victory over death and sin 4. The glorification of the Messiah

July 10, 1741: Charles Jennens wrote in a letter, "I hope I shall persuade Handel to set another Scripture collection I have made for him... I hope he will lay out his whole genius & skill upon it, that the composition may excel all his former compositions, because the Subject excels every other subject.

The Subject is Messiah."

• 22 August : Handel begins to compose Messiah

• 28 August : Completes draft of Messiah Part 1

• 6 September : Completes draft of Messiah Part 2

• 12 September : Completes draft of Messiah Part 3

• 14 September : Completes orchestration of Messiah

• Handel’s Messiah was composed in 24 days!

It was as if all heaven was open and I saw the Great God before me.

The hallelujah chorus King George stood before it in honour.

That’s worship isn’t it.

I’m not one for empty ritual.

Passing the peace? Well… but are you experiencing peace enjoying peace and being an agent of God’s peace?

Are you Passing The Peace By Bearing With one Another?

Are you Passing The Peace By Forgiving One Another?

Are you Passing The Peace By Loving One Another?

Are you Passing The Peace By Ruling Yourselves?

His Peace Must Rule Over Your Fears, Run your thoughts and Reign In your Worship.

2. The General Renewal The Tide Returns Reviving

Adopted for Life

"Praise he to God who has blessed us, for He chose us in him to he adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ." Ephesians 1 :3-5

"You received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, 'Abba, Father'." romans 8:15

The little boy sat alone crying on the dusty road. The few neighbours had buried the young woman, his mother. Then they collected their tools and jackets and hurried away. They didn't want to be involved any further. They had enough troubles of their own. The young woman was hardly more than a child herself. She died of fever, an infection of some unknown disease, untreated and alone. A woman passing by saw her body on the dirt floor near the open door of the shack and alerted the nearest neighbours. No one bothered about the boy. No one wanted him. He was just abandoned. The little grass shack where he lived with his mother was about to fall down anyway. The boy and his mother were outcasts. Not accepted by the locals. There was some story about an unknown father. Rape? His mother did not give the child a name. She had no reason to. Then, quite suddenly, she died - alone.

Like all of his neighbours, Takke was a hard-working farmer with a few acres of land. When an evangelist came to their area and preached the Gospel of Christ, Takke was one of the first to respond. To him, one of the amazing aspects of the Gospel was that God had "adopted" him into His family.

The evangelist read from the Bible that God had by Jesus Christ adopted us to Himself as sons. Then he read that we were no longer in bondage but free because we received "God's Spirit of adoption" and we "belong" to His family. He also read that God redeemed us by the blood of Jesus to adopt us as His sons and gave us His Holy Spirit in our hearts to cry, "Abba Father." It was all so new, so wonderful! It gripped Takke's heart and mind. Takke rejoiced and shared this Good News with his wife and his neighbours. Some of them believed too, and they built a "Prayer House" on his land in the village.

The concept of adoption was foreign to the Wolaitta people. This animistic tribe feared "Shaitan," the devil, the many witchdoctors who demanded gifts and sacrifices, and most of all, they feared the spirits of their ancestors whom they believed never left the village and could bring had luck if they were offended. When a man died, his brother was obliged to take the wife and have children with her for his brother. The children would be called by the dead man's name. Occasionally and out of necessity, a family might take a child of a relative who died into their home and raise it for the relative. But that child always kept his father's name. It would inhabit only its share of its father's possessions. Usually there wasn't much to inherit!

One day Takke was riding his mule home from a distant market. He drove his two donkeys along ahead of him. As he passed through a small village, he heard about the sudden death of the unmarried young woman. Then he saw the little black boy on the road. He was naked and filthy and crying for food. He was only about a year old and very thin. No one came to answer his cries or seemed to care.

Takke asked, but nobody wanted the boy. "He will soon die or the hyenas will eat him," said a man who shrugged his shoulders and turned away.

Takke sat on his mule, looking at the boy. He thought of his own family of three sons and two daughters. "If no one else wants him, I'll take him," he said. He dismounted, wrapped the boy in his shawl and climbed back on the mule. Then he hurried home. The villagers were glad to see him go. Now it would not be their responsibility to bury the child when he died.

Takke's wife was somewhat surprised when her husband arrived home from the market with a baby in his arms! But she just took the baby and put him on her breast. When he was fed, she washed him and wrapped him in a cloth. She held him in her arms and sat on a small three-legged stool by the fire. Only then did she look at her husband for an explanation.

Takke told her the sad story of finding the outcast boy on a road weeping for his mother who had just died - no name - rejected - sure to die - nobody wanted him.

"I believe God sent you there at just the right time," his wife said, "Let him be our child. He is black, not brown like our other children, but he will be one of us. He will bring us happiness. Let us call him Desalegn (I have joy)." That night the other children were told that Desalegn was their new brother. They were all to love him and care for him and teach him good things. The girls carried him around on their hacks. The boys looked after him for hours.

So it was that the little boy grew up as Takke's son. He was loved and hugged, fed and washed, clothed and disciplined. He did everything the other children did. He ran and played, jumped and climbed. Every year at Christmas time, like all the others, Desalegn received new clothes. That was always a great day!

When he was old enough Desalegn was sent to school with the other children. He was enrolled as Desalegn Takke. His brothers protected him from the few bullies who called the boy "black" or

"stranger" or much worse. The oldest brother Gusho was very strong and no one dared hurt Desalegn while Gusho was around. At home Desalegn looked after the sheep with his brothers, then, as he grew bigger, he watched the cattle and donkeys too. He learned to plough with the oxen, to sow the seed and to reap the harvest. With his brothers, he picked the coffee beans and dug up the sweet potatoes, peanuts and ginger roots. He collected wood for his mother's fire and cut grass with a sickle for the animals to munch on at night. Takke sometimes took Desalegn to the market where he soon learned to trade and barter.

While still a young teenager Desalegn accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour. The lessons taught by his parents as the family read the Bible and prayed together every night, were well learned.

The church elders who examined him for baptism said Desalegn knew all the answers about his faith and was ready to follow the Lord. With about 500 other new Christians from churches in different villages, he was baptised in a river not far from the village. Vida and I were among the thousands of people watching from the riverbank.

Soon Desalegn was involved with other young people in the life of the church. Everyone worked together to build a new, much larger Prayer House and to buy a piece of land which they called "The Lord's Harvest." The Christians all ploughed the land together. Then they sowed corn, sweet potatoes and ginger. They used the crops to feed the poor, to support their pastor and to send evangelists out to reach distant tribes with the Gospel.

So the years passed. The girls married and left home. The older boys married, built separate houses for themselves but stayed on their father's land. Takke treated them all alike. As the family grew, he purchased some more land that they worked together. Gusho became one of the leaders of the churches in their area. Desalegn came to our SIM Bible School at Bolosso for two years and became the pastor of a church. Desalegn and I became good friends and often shared ministry at church meetings and District Conventions. He married a lovely Christian girl and with the others, still farmed Takke's land. For a time there was a lot of persecution of Christians. Desalegn, Gusho and Takke spent many months in prison. The opposition and suffering seemed only to strengthen and multiply the believers.

Then Takke's wife died and Desalegn mourned for her, the only mother he knew. Takke was getting old too, and as his strength failed, he called the four boys together. He said, "I love you all. Keep following the Lord. Teach your children as I taught you. Desalegn, I adopted you as my son. I gave you my name and fed and clothed and educated you. You are mine. Now I want you and the other boys to equally share all of my property. Soon I am going to die. I am going to my Father who adopted me. Promise me that you will all equally inherit my possessions." The four boys promised to do as their father asked. They placed their right hands on Takke's knees, as is their custom, and vowed to obey.

When Takke died a few weeks later, the family called all the Christians together for his funeral. Crowds of non-believers came to show their respects too. It was a huge funeral. There were several thousand people there. At the graveside, Gusho and Desalegn preached the Gospel of God's grace and several people came to repentance and faith.

In hundreds of homes that night, the families sipped their coffee as usual, laced with rancid butter and salt and they ate the roasted corn. They also talked a lot about Takke and his boys. They discussed how Desalegn was adopted - a bit different, a stranger, with no claims or rights - but how he was given a new name, a new family, a new relationship, a new father, clothes, food and education. Most of all they talked about the new thing they had seen that day. It was unheard of in Wolaitta. It was new, strange, different. The adopted boy had been made an heir and equal with the sons! That was amazing! And it was all a free gift - grace, the preacher called it - undeserved, unearned, just to be accepted! Many people would go to the "Prayer House" in the following weeks to ask some more of the preacher. Some of them would accept Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord too and would stay and join the believers.

Desalegn, like most of the pastors in Wolaitta's rural areas, is a "bi-vocational pastor." He still farms the land with his brothers. And with his sons! They have bought extra land for the growing families of Takke's sons. Desalegn still preaches every Sunday, visits the sick, teaches the Word of God to young people, and seeks the lost. Often he is invited to preach in other places and he regularly uses "adoption" as the topic of his message.

When Desalegn gives his testimony, he tells of dying, unwanted, unloved, alone and of Takke saving him, making him his own son, making him a member of a new family, everything provided and even given an inheritance. He loves to read Galatians, chapter 4 and verse 7 and says, "I was a slave of sin, of Satan, of death but I was saved and became a son and heir. By God's grace alone, because Jesus shed His blood for us, we can all be free from Satan and eternal death. By faith we can become God's children and inherit all His riches in Christ."

Epilogue

The last time I was driving through the Bolosso countryside, I met Desalegn again on the side of the road. What a reunion we had! He was on his way to visit an old believer who was sick and "hoping to go soon!" Desalegn still farms the land and he still preaches the Gospel. He and his wife have six children - and also several orphans whom they have adopted!

Jerry Bridges wrote: "As a new Christian I prayed that God would use the Bible to guide my conduct. Then I began diligently to seek to obey it. I had never heard the phrase "the pursuit of holiness," but that became my primary goal in life. Unfortunately, I made two mistakes. First, I assumed the Bible was something of a rulebook and that all I needed to do was to learn what it says and go do it. I knew nothing of the necessity of depending on the Holy Spirit for his guidance and enablement. Still worse, I assumed that God's acceptance of me and his blessing in my life depended on how well I did. I knew I was saved by grace through faith in Christ apart from any works. I had assurance of my salvation and expected to go to heaven when I died. But in my daily life, I thought God's blessing depended on the practice of certain spiritual disciplines, such as having a daily quiet time and not knowingly committing any sin. I did not think this out but just unconsciously assumed it, given the Christian culture in which I lived. Yet it determined my attitude toward the Christian life.

As I see it, the Christian community is largely a performance-based culture today. And the more deeply committed we are to following Jesus, the more deeply ingrained the performance mindset is. We think we earn God's blessing or forfeit it by how well we live the Christian life.
Most Christians have a baseline of acceptable performance by which they gauge their acceptance by God. For many, this baseline is no more than regular church attendance and the avoidance of major sins. Such Christians are often characterized by some degree of self-righteousness. After all, they don't indulge in the major sins we see happening around us. Such Christians would not think they need the gospel anymore. They would say the gospel is only for sinners.
For committed Christians, the baseline is much higher. It includes regular practice of spiritual disciplines, obedience to God's Word, and involvement in some form of ministry. Here again, if we focus on outward behavior, many score fairly well. But these Christians are even more vulnerable to self-righteousness, for they can look down their spiritual noses not only at the sinful society around them but even at other believers who are not as committed as they are. These Christians don't need the gospel either. For them, Christian growth means more discipline and more commitment.
Then there is a third group. The baseline of this group includes more than the outward performance of disciplines, obedience, and ministry. These Christians also recognize the need to deal with sins of the heart like a critical spirit, pride, selfishness, envy, resentment, and anxiety. They see their inconsistency in having their quiet times, their failure to witness at every opportunity, and their frequent failures in dealing with sins of the heart. This group of Christians is far more likely to be plagued by a sense of guilt because group members have not met their own expectations. And because they think God's acceptance of them is based on their performance, they have little joy in their Christian lives. For them, life is like a treadmill on which they keep slipping farther and farther behind. This group needs the gospel, but they don't realize it is for them. I know, because I was in this group.

Gradually over time, and from a deep sense of need, I came to realize that the gospel is for believers, too. When I finally realized this, every morning I would pray over a Scripture such as Isaiah 53:6," All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all," and then say, "Lord, I have gone astray. I have turned to my own way, but you have laid all my sin on Christ and because of that I approach you and feel accepted by you."
I came to see that Paul's statement in Galatians 2:20, "The life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me," was made in the context of justification (see vv. 15-21). Yet Paul was speaking in the present tense: "The life I now live ...." Because of the context, I realized Paul was not speaking about his sanctification but about his justification. For Paul, then, justification (being declared righteous by God on the basis of the righteousness of Christ) was not only a past-tense experience but also a present-day reality.
Paul lived every day by faith in the shed blood and righteousness of Christ. Every day he looked to Christ alone for his acceptance with the Father."

Yes Jerry's experience was also my own. And, as we read last week in Colossians 2 It was also the experience of these believers too!

Legalism doesn’t work Run, John, run, the Law commands; But gives him neither feet nor hands. Far better news the Gospel brings; It bids him fly and gives him wings.” —John Bunyan

Mysticism doesn’t work

The moral failure of modern mystics.

On expressing my concerns for a certain church where the head pastor was recently outed in the news paper for pedophilia and other staff for sexual immorality:

“Maybe Good doesn’t look at sin as we think.”

Asceticism doesn’t work Augustine is greatly influenced by asceticism, which looks as if it is something held in high regard by the Church and Christians at this time. The story of the two friends at Trier who abandon their possessions and their betrothed to follow God affects him greatly. Alypius after his conversion is praised for subduing his body by walking barefoot on the frozen soils of Italy. Chasteness in particular is held in high regard. The betrothed of the two friends at Trier dedicate their virginity to God, Augustine notes that Nebridius served God in perfect chastity after his conversion and of course Augustine himself sets out to be celibate.

Paul now shows us what does work. How in this world can you be holy? How can you be a holy eprson, and not fall into the traps of legalism, and its emptiness, mysticism and its foolishness, asceticism and its barreness?

Let me ask you a few questions:

1. What Is The Centre Of Your Life?

Throughout its about you with Christ.

Risen with Christ

Died with Christ

Hid with Christ

Christ who is our life

In Him we died, in Him we rose, In Him we triumphed o’er our foes; In Him in heaven we took our seat And heaven rejoiced o’er earth’s defeat.

John Fawcett (1740-1817), an important Baptist figure in the North of England, and came across these great lines: Depraved minds on ashes feed Nor love nor seek for heavenly food.

Augustine thou art a Platonist, not a Christian a platonist., for this is what you think about, this is what you talk about this is where your hearty is set. What would they say of you?

I did a funeral for a fisherman. He had pone fo those plaques with a singing fish on it. It had two songs.. “I gotta get out of this place”. And “Don’t Worry Be happy.”

William James divided all religious people (in several religions) into the once born and the twice born. The once born are the people of the journey, of the holy continuity, whose lives are more or less at home in Zion. The twice born have such inner tension that they must release it in a burst or blow apart. Augustine (and St Paul) are the classical examples of this type of believer

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

What are the three things you are currently seeking the most? What are the three things you love the most? What are the three things you think about the most? What do you read? What do you watch? What do you daydream about? ponder? Based on your answers, what is your preoccupation, God or self? What should your preoccupation be? If your preoccupation has been yourself, why is that ? If your preoccupation has been yourself, then you need to make the commitment today to concentrate on Christ.

2. What Is The Concentration Of Your Life?

“Where you stand is dependant on where you sit” politicians stand on issues dependant on where they sit in parliament.

Seek things above, mind Matt. 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (involves our motivation)

We continually must decide to turn our minds and hearts toward Heaven. The tense of Paul's command is that we must be actively, constantly turning our thoughts Heavenward. This is not our normal practice. Normally we fret, stew, finagle, rearrange, plot and despair. Then and only then do we sometimes turn toward Heaven. To be heavenly minded we must deliberately turn God's way FIRST. Whenever you feel one of these emotions begin to well up inside you . . . look up.

We must resist the notion that true happiness can be found in anything this world has to offer. It is not in the new car, the faster computer, the new mate, the bigger home, the highest award, the swelling bank account. It's not in the lottery, or the Publisher's Clearing House Sweepstakes. True happiness is not in the will of a rich relative . . . it will only be found in Heaven! The Lord's instruction must be kept close to our heart: (Matt. 6:19-21) "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." If our greatest desire is for the things of this earth, that's where our heart is. If our greatest desire is for the things of Heaven, that's where our heart will be.

We must make time to "look up". The first way to do this is to make time to read the Bible. We must read with a desire to be instructed. The Bible is God's thoughts for us. As a student can't become a Doctor unless he reads the medical books, a football player can't succeed unless they know the plays, and a mechanic cannot fix the new machine he has never seen before without consulting the book, so a believer can't fix their thoughts on Heaven without consulting the Scriptures.

DEDICATE Yourself To The PURSUIT of God. (V. 1)

Set affections on things above heart Phil. 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. (involves our meditation)

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Erasmus 1529 in Antwerp “We can not call any man a Platonist, unless he have read the works of Plato. Yet call we them Christian, yea and divines, which never have read the scripture of Christ. Christ sayeth, he that loveth me doth keep my sayings, this is the knowledge and mark which he hath prescribed. Therefore if we be true Christian men in our hearts, if we believe unfeignedly that he was sent down from heaven to teach us such things as the wisdom of the philosophers could never attain, if faithfully we trust or look for such things of Him, as no worldly prince (be he never so rich) can give unto us, [then] why have we any thing in more reverence and authority, then his scripture, word, and promise, which he left here among us to be our consolation?”

CONCENTRATE On The WILL of God. (V. 2)

3. What Is The Circumference Of Your Life?

The circumfernce is those things that affect your practical Christian living. its where the rubber hits the road.

The circumference is affected by the center
listen to George Mullers testimony : "There was A day when I died, utterly died, died to George Mueller, his opinions, preferences, tastes, and will—died to the world, its approval or censure—died to the approval or blame even of my brethren and friends—and since then I have studied only to show myself approved unto God." Thus answered George Mueller when asked for the secret of his successful service. While it is never wise to set up any personal experience as a pattern for others, there is back of all successful spiritual service that which answers in some practical way to the above—namely, a surrender, a voluntary consent to the frightful and blessed implications of the Cross. With many Christians this surrender is a definite crisis in their Christian experience. Countless Christians, on the other hand evade this concrete, crisis-identification with Christ in death and resurrection, fearing that it savours of fanaticism; and therefore prefer to continue in a kind of indefinite and ineffective Christian life. To them that is the one all-important thing. As to their Christian inheritance they remain lazy, hazy, and indefinite—living a life of little fruit and less fight. While they feel that they would like to enjoy an abundant life, they consider the terms too severe, and therefore oppose any crisis. They refuse to consent to their crucifixion with Christ. The gateway lo their goal lay through nothing short of a grave.

The pathway into the Christian's holiness is marked out through death and resurrection. "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life" (Rom. 6:3,4). Christ's pathway back to glory could have been by no other way than through death and resurrection. Neither can mine, for the servant is not above his Lord. Maxwell.

"The believer's whole disposition should orient itself toward heaven, just as a compass needle orients itself toward the north." To be "preoccupied with heaven is to be preoccupied with the One who reigns there and His purposes, plans, provisions, and power. It is also to view the things, people, and events of this world through His eyes and with an eternal perspective. . . it is to allow our preoccupation with heaven to govern our earthly response."[MacArthur, COLOSSIANS p. 128]

What does Paul mean when he says we died to sin? It's fairly obvious he doesn't mean we died to the daily committal of sin. If that were true, no honest person could claim to be justified because we all sin daily. None of us truly loves God with our whole being and none of us actually loves our neighbor as ourselves (see Matt. 22:35-40). Nor does it mean we have died in the sense of being no longer responsive to sin's temptations, as some have taught. If that were true, Peter's admonition to abstain from the passions of the flesh would be pointless (see 1 Pet. 2:11). So what does Paul mean?

Some Bible commentators believe that Paul means only that we have died to the penalty of sin. That is, because of our union with Christ, when Christ died to sin's penalty we also died to sin's penalty. Well, it certainly means that, but it also means much more. It also means we died to sin's dominion.

Consider Yourselves Dead to Sin
So we are free from both the guilt and the dominion of sin. But what use is this information to us? How can it help us live out a gospel-based pursuit of sanctification? Here Paul's instructions in Romans 6:11 are helpful: "So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus."

The circumference takes in everything about your life Vs 5 Now MORTIFY the deeds of the flesh. There are some thigs you can stop doing now. You no longer have to live captive to your own desires. You can put to death some of these things.

SEPARATE Yourself From The ENEMIES of God. (VS. 5-7)

4. What Is The Conclusion Of Your Life?

What is your destination? What is your destiny? When I speak of destiny I speak not of that which the world thinks of, "fate, chance, or luck." Our destiny speaks of "one's lot" in Christ by the divine providence (the ability to see beforehand and act) of God.

Looking for the appearing of Christ.

Knowing we will appear with Him glorified!

1 John 3:2-3 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

SATURATE Character With Hope.