Colossians 1:15-23 January 18, 2009
First Place Sermon Series
“On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!”
Rev. Meagan M. Boozer
It seems that at least once a month, I find out new information about how someone is related to someone else in this valley. “You mean, his mother and her father were brother and sister? I’m telling you, this happens to me regularly in this valley! All of sudden, I understand why these two particular people interact with each other the way they do! All this time, I had no idea they were related!
In spending time with the Baker family as we prepared for Doris’ funeral, they shared with me some of their favorite foods that Doris would cook for them over the years. In particular they mentioned her macaroni salad. She didn’t write her recipe down – though she did share how she made it with others. But the family says they just can’t get it right. Wouldn’t it be a great moment when all of sudden someone hits it just right – “I’ve got it! I was putting in too much vinegar!” It’s like an…epiphany! You know what I mean? An epiphany, is according to the dictionary a sudden intuitive leap of understanding, especially through an ordinary but striking occurrence. In plain words, it’s like the light bulb goes on in your head – and all of sudden you understand something you didn’t understand a moment before!
January 6th, the 12th day after Christmas, is always the day called Epiphany. We don’t make a very big deal out of it here in this church or in most Presbyterian churches, for that matter, but for some churches, Epiphany is a very special day that marks the beginning of the season of Epiphany that lasts until Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent). The word itself comes from two Greek words that combine to mean “to shine upon,” “to reveal, or “to appear.” In 2 Timothy 1:8-10, we see the use of the root word as both a verb and as a noun, “God, 9who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace - This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 10but it has now been revealed (the verb) through the appearing (the noun) of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
Listen to how the word is used in Luke 1:79 as Zechariah is singing over his son, John (the Baptist), And you child, will be called the prophet of the Most High . . . to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” To give light – comes from the same word we use when we say we’ve had an epiphany! The light bulb goes on! Ah-ha! We’ve got it!
On January 6th, and throughout the season of Epiphany (until February 24th this year), we celebrate God’s revealing of Jesus’ identity for us as true God, Messiah, and Savior of the world.
On the Day of Epiphany, some faith traditions focus on the revealing of Jesus’ identity to the magi, the wise men, as we read it in Matthew 2:1-12. Other traditions focus on another major moment when Jesus’ identity was revealed – the moment of his baptism in the Jordan River. Remember that after he was baptized, he came up out of the water and a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Think of what an epiphany that would have been for those standing in line for their own baptisms – and this moment as recorded in Scripture is considered an exem-plary epiphany because both the Father, by his voice, & the Spirit, by his action in alighting upon Jesus as a dove, clearly revealed who Jesus was!
In both of these moments in history, God acted first: God took the initiative. The wise men could never have discovered God’s revelation in (exposure of) Jesus apart from the star and the Hebrew Scriptures – most specifically the prophet Micah’s prophecy (Micah and Isaiah were contemporaries, living about 700 years before the birth of Jesus) in 5:2-4, “But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days. Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has brought forth; then the rest of his kindred shall return to the people of Israel. And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth; and he shall be the one of peace.
When Jesus came to be baptized, John the Baptist and the others along the Jordan that day could never have possibly understood his true identity as the Son of God unless God allowed them to see and hear the testimony of the Father and the Spirit. God took the initiative to reveal His Son to them – and hear me now: God is still taking the initiative to help you and me understand who Jesus is today.
I’m praying that in this season of Epiphany, all of us might have our eyes opened to something God knows we need to comprehend about our Savior – something that is so powerful and beautiful that it will change how we live our lives. Is there anyone here who thinks they already know all there is to know about Jesus? Some of us are all bound up in fear, anger, worry, depression, apathy, rebellious behavior, patterns of control – and God knows that if we could just have an encounter with Jesus, if we could just experience an epiphany about who Jesus really is, what he has really done – God knows that we will see that those ties we think have us bound to the darkness, haven’t been put there by anything other than our own hand – meaning that by God’s grace, and in the strength of his power, those ties can be cut so that we can live free.
During the season of Epiphany this year, we’re going to study a very small portion of Paul’s letter to the Colossians – an incredibly important part of this letter in chapter 1, vv. 15-23. Let’s read it together:
15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. 17He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. 19For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.
21And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him— 23provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel.
Now, before we really jump into this passage, I believe to get us started, it is very important that we stop and ask God to shine his light on our current location. Sort of like one of those maps that has a spot marked, “You are here.” We can’t have an ‘ah-ha’ moment about where we’re going if we don’t know where we are right now. And so, I’m going to take all of you through a Bible study that I use in our new members’ class. If you taken that class recently, don’t zone out. Every time I teach it, I learn something important about my walk of faith, and I trust it will be the same for you.
Take out the sheet in your bulletin with three circles on it, and make sure you have something to write with. On your mark – get set – here we go: There are three kinds of people:
1. The natural, or unspiritual person,
2. the spiritual person,
3. and the carnal (or of the flesh) person.
First, let’s learn about the natural, or unspiritual person. Here are some characteristics of this kind of person from 1 Corinthians 2:14, “14Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” This person does not receive the things that come from God, for they are foolishness to them. This person is not able to understand the things of God because he/she does not have the Holy Spirit within. In Romans 8:6-8, we learn further that this person’s mind is hostile to God. Does anyone know somebody in this category? An atheist’s mind is hostile to God. An atheist says, “There is no God.” An agnostic says, “I don’t know if there is a God or not.” An atheist’s mind is hostile territory to the truth of God’s very existence.
Do you see the little chairs in the middle of each circle? In Circle A, write the word, “self” on the seat of that chair. Now, draw a cross outside the circle and write the name of Christ beside the cross. In plain words, the unspiritual person has put themselves on the throne of their lives, and Christ is not even invited. Romans 8:9 tells us very plainly: “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.” This is circle ‘A.’ (We might remember ‘A’ is for Atheist – someone who has been deceived by Satan to believe there is no God.)
Now, let’s move to the middle circle ‘B.’ This circle represents what is called the spiritual person. Listen to this Scripture from 1 Corinthians 2:12-16 (which will include v. 14 that we heard before), but starts a couple of verses sooner and then goes 2 verses beyond it. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. 13And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual. 14Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else’s scrutiny. 16“For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.” The spiritual person:
• Has the gifts of the Spirit,
• Is taught by the Spirit,
• Has the mind of Christ.
In Romans 8, we learn further that the spiritual person:
• Sets his/her mind on what the Spirit wants,
• Is controlled by the Spirit,
• Is plugged into the Spirit’s power,
• Is a child of God,
• Is led by the Spirit.
Draw a cross on the seat of that chair, and label it with the name of Christ. Write the word ‘self’ somewhere in the circle. The spiritual person has put Christ on the throne of their lives. They want Christ calling the shots. He is in first place. Period. This person is no longer merely created by God, this person is now a child of God. Now, this may be an epiphany for some of us right now, that until we receive the Spirit of Christ into our lives, we are not children of God. This is contrary to what we often hear, “We’re all God’s children.” That’s not biblical! We’re all God’s creation – but we do not become God’s children until we come into a relationship with Jesus, his Son. Listen to this truth from Romans 8:14-17, “4For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.”
Finally, let’s move to circle, ‘C.’ Listen to this passage from 1 Corinthians 3:1-3 to find out about the carnal or “of the flesh” person.
1And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, 3for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations? The Message’s paraphrase, “Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to mature Christians. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life. 2I had to feed you with milk and not with solid food, because you couldn’t handle anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, 3for you are still controlled by your own sinful desires. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your own desires? You are acting like people who don’t belong to the Lord.”
So, who’s on the chair in circle ‘C’? Self. Now, draw a cross somewhere IN the circle and label it with the name of Christ. This person has invited Jesus into their lives, but is not willing to allow Jesus to call the shots.
Listen to another passage describing the life of the carnal person from Galatians 5, “16Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. 19Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, 20idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, 21envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. 24And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.
Now, listen to one more passage from Romans 7:14-25, “14For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am of the flesh, sold into slavery under sin. 15I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. 17But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. 19For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. 20Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. 21So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. 22For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, 23but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So, where are you? A, B, or C? Who is on the throne of your life? Have you invited Jesus into your life, and if so, have you truly given him rule and reign over it? If we’re honest, we must confess that if we have invited Jesus into our lives, because of the power of sin, we move between circles B and C. Sometimes Jesus is on the throne and things are moving in the right direction; other times we kick him off because, for whatever reason, we either think we can do life without him, we think we can get things going faster without waiting upon him, or we decide we don’t trust him to get us where we believe we need to go. (Bottom line: we don’t trust him to get us where we want to go, not where he knows we need to go. It’s the infantile/toddler way: “Mine.” “I do it myself.”
With all my heart, I believe that Jesus doesn’t just deserve first place in our lives, but I believe that we need him to be first in order to truly live. Listen to this commentary from the Life Application Bible on Luke 12: Seeking the kingdom of God means making Jesus the Lord and King of your life. He must control every area, your work, play, plans, relationships (your money, your stuff). Is the kingdom only one of your many concerns, or is it central to all you do? Are you holding back any areas of your life from God’s control? As Lord and Creator he wants to help provide what you need as well as guide how you use what he provides.
If you turn in your pew Bibles to the book of Colossians, you will see that the section we are going to study during Epiphany has a title: The Supremacy of Christ. To be supreme means to be highest, best, ultimate, absolute, top, unbeatable, greatest. Some of us here want the Philadelphia Eagles to be supreme! Some of us want the Pittsburgh Steelers to be supreme! We understand about supremacy.
By the grace of God and through the instruction and conviction of the Holy Spirit, this section of Scripture will teach us WHY Christ should be supreme in our lives. I pray that while we study this section, every single one of us will have an epiphany about where we are and where we have put Jesus in our lives and why. I pray that we will all be undone, as we are taken to our knees in true worship and prayer.
Let us pray: O God, we need you. Though we know we need to be changed, we are so blinded by our sin that we cannot even see what it is that needs transformation – and certainly it is true that we cannot change ourselves. Holy Father, in these next weeks, I ask that your Holy Spirit would come and rest upon us all, drawing us to that place of worship and prayer that will bring delight to your heart, peace to our souls, and a light for revelation to the lost. This we pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
First Place Sermon Series
“On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!”
Rev. Meagan M. Boozer
It seems that at least once a month, I find out new information about how someone is related to someone else in this valley. “You mean, his mother and her father were brother and sister? I’m telling you, this happens to me regularly in this valley! All of sudden, I understand why these two particular people interact with each other the way they do! All this time, I had no idea they were related!
In spending time with the Baker family as we prepared for Doris’ funeral, they shared with me some of their favorite foods that Doris would cook for them over the years. In particular they mentioned her macaroni salad. She didn’t write her recipe down – though she did share how she made it with others. But the family says they just can’t get it right. Wouldn’t it be a great moment when all of sudden someone hits it just right – “I’ve got it! I was putting in too much vinegar!” It’s like an…epiphany! You know what I mean? An epiphany, is according to the dictionary a sudden intuitive leap of understanding, especially through an ordinary but striking occurrence. In plain words, it’s like the light bulb goes on in your head – and all of sudden you understand something you didn’t understand a moment before!
January 6th, the 12th day after Christmas, is always the day called Epiphany. We don’t make a very big deal out of it here in this church or in most Presbyterian churches, for that matter, but for some churches, Epiphany is a very special day that marks the beginning of the season of Epiphany that lasts until Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent). The word itself comes from two Greek words that combine to mean “to shine upon,” “to reveal, or “to appear.” In 2 Timothy 1:8-10, we see the use of the root word as both a verb and as a noun, “God, 9who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace - This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 10but it has now been revealed (the verb) through the appearing (the noun) of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
Listen to how the word is used in Luke 1:79 as Zechariah is singing over his son, John (the Baptist), And you child, will be called the prophet of the Most High . . . to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” To give light – comes from the same word we use when we say we’ve had an epiphany! The light bulb goes on! Ah-ha! We’ve got it!
On January 6th, and throughout the season of Epiphany (until February 24th this year), we celebrate God’s revealing of Jesus’ identity for us as true God, Messiah, and Savior of the world.
On the Day of Epiphany, some faith traditions focus on the revealing of Jesus’ identity to the magi, the wise men, as we read it in Matthew 2:1-12. Other traditions focus on another major moment when Jesus’ identity was revealed – the moment of his baptism in the Jordan River. Remember that after he was baptized, he came up out of the water and a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Think of what an epiphany that would have been for those standing in line for their own baptisms – and this moment as recorded in Scripture is considered an exem-plary epiphany because both the Father, by his voice, & the Spirit, by his action in alighting upon Jesus as a dove, clearly revealed who Jesus was!
In both of these moments in history, God acted first: God took the initiative. The wise men could never have discovered God’s revelation in (exposure of) Jesus apart from the star and the Hebrew Scriptures – most specifically the prophet Micah’s prophecy (Micah and Isaiah were contemporaries, living about 700 years before the birth of Jesus) in 5:2-4, “But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days. Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has brought forth; then the rest of his kindred shall return to the people of Israel. And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth; and he shall be the one of peace.
When Jesus came to be baptized, John the Baptist and the others along the Jordan that day could never have possibly understood his true identity as the Son of God unless God allowed them to see and hear the testimony of the Father and the Spirit. God took the initiative to reveal His Son to them – and hear me now: God is still taking the initiative to help you and me understand who Jesus is today.
I’m praying that in this season of Epiphany, all of us might have our eyes opened to something God knows we need to comprehend about our Savior – something that is so powerful and beautiful that it will change how we live our lives. Is there anyone here who thinks they already know all there is to know about Jesus? Some of us are all bound up in fear, anger, worry, depression, apathy, rebellious behavior, patterns of control – and God knows that if we could just have an encounter with Jesus, if we could just experience an epiphany about who Jesus really is, what he has really done – God knows that we will see that those ties we think have us bound to the darkness, haven’t been put there by anything other than our own hand – meaning that by God’s grace, and in the strength of his power, those ties can be cut so that we can live free.
During the season of Epiphany this year, we’re going to study a very small portion of Paul’s letter to the Colossians – an incredibly important part of this letter in chapter 1, vv. 15-23. Let’s read it together:
15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. 17He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. 19For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.
21And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him— 23provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel.
Now, before we really jump into this passage, I believe to get us started, it is very important that we stop and ask God to shine his light on our current location. Sort of like one of those maps that has a spot marked, “You are here.” We can’t have an ‘ah-ha’ moment about where we’re going if we don’t know where we are right now. And so, I’m going to take all of you through a Bible study that I use in our new members’ class. If you taken that class recently, don’t zone out. Every time I teach it, I learn something important about my walk of faith, and I trust it will be the same for you.
Take out the sheet in your bulletin with three circles on it, and make sure you have something to write with. On your mark – get set – here we go: There are three kinds of people:
1. The natural, or unspiritual person,
2. the spiritual person,
3. and the carnal (or of the flesh) person.
First, let’s learn about the natural, or unspiritual person. Here are some characteristics of this kind of person from 1 Corinthians 2:14, “14Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” This person does not receive the things that come from God, for they are foolishness to them. This person is not able to understand the things of God because he/she does not have the Holy Spirit within. In Romans 8:6-8, we learn further that this person’s mind is hostile to God. Does anyone know somebody in this category? An atheist’s mind is hostile to God. An atheist says, “There is no God.” An agnostic says, “I don’t know if there is a God or not.” An atheist’s mind is hostile territory to the truth of God’s very existence.
Do you see the little chairs in the middle of each circle? In Circle A, write the word, “self” on the seat of that chair. Now, draw a cross outside the circle and write the name of Christ beside the cross. In plain words, the unspiritual person has put themselves on the throne of their lives, and Christ is not even invited. Romans 8:9 tells us very plainly: “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.” This is circle ‘A.’ (We might remember ‘A’ is for Atheist – someone who has been deceived by Satan to believe there is no God.)
Now, let’s move to the middle circle ‘B.’ This circle represents what is called the spiritual person. Listen to this Scripture from 1 Corinthians 2:12-16 (which will include v. 14 that we heard before), but starts a couple of verses sooner and then goes 2 verses beyond it. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. 13And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual. 14Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else’s scrutiny. 16“For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.” The spiritual person:
• Has the gifts of the Spirit,
• Is taught by the Spirit,
• Has the mind of Christ.
In Romans 8, we learn further that the spiritual person:
• Sets his/her mind on what the Spirit wants,
• Is controlled by the Spirit,
• Is plugged into the Spirit’s power,
• Is a child of God,
• Is led by the Spirit.
Draw a cross on the seat of that chair, and label it with the name of Christ. Write the word ‘self’ somewhere in the circle. The spiritual person has put Christ on the throne of their lives. They want Christ calling the shots. He is in first place. Period. This person is no longer merely created by God, this person is now a child of God. Now, this may be an epiphany for some of us right now, that until we receive the Spirit of Christ into our lives, we are not children of God. This is contrary to what we often hear, “We’re all God’s children.” That’s not biblical! We’re all God’s creation – but we do not become God’s children until we come into a relationship with Jesus, his Son. Listen to this truth from Romans 8:14-17, “4For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.”
Finally, let’s move to circle, ‘C.’ Listen to this passage from 1 Corinthians 3:1-3 to find out about the carnal or “of the flesh” person.
1And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, 3for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations? The Message’s paraphrase, “Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to mature Christians. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life. 2I had to feed you with milk and not with solid food, because you couldn’t handle anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, 3for you are still controlled by your own sinful desires. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your own desires? You are acting like people who don’t belong to the Lord.”
So, who’s on the chair in circle ‘C’? Self. Now, draw a cross somewhere IN the circle and label it with the name of Christ. This person has invited Jesus into their lives, but is not willing to allow Jesus to call the shots.
Listen to another passage describing the life of the carnal person from Galatians 5, “16Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. 19Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, 20idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, 21envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. 24And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.
Now, listen to one more passage from Romans 7:14-25, “14For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am of the flesh, sold into slavery under sin. 15I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. 17But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. 19For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. 20Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. 21So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. 22For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, 23but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So, where are you? A, B, or C? Who is on the throne of your life? Have you invited Jesus into your life, and if so, have you truly given him rule and reign over it? If we’re honest, we must confess that if we have invited Jesus into our lives, because of the power of sin, we move between circles B and C. Sometimes Jesus is on the throne and things are moving in the right direction; other times we kick him off because, for whatever reason, we either think we can do life without him, we think we can get things going faster without waiting upon him, or we decide we don’t trust him to get us where we believe we need to go. (Bottom line: we don’t trust him to get us where we want to go, not where he knows we need to go. It’s the infantile/toddler way: “Mine.” “I do it myself.”
With all my heart, I believe that Jesus doesn’t just deserve first place in our lives, but I believe that we need him to be first in order to truly live. Listen to this commentary from the Life Application Bible on Luke 12: Seeking the kingdom of God means making Jesus the Lord and King of your life. He must control every area, your work, play, plans, relationships (your money, your stuff). Is the kingdom only one of your many concerns, or is it central to all you do? Are you holding back any areas of your life from God’s control? As Lord and Creator he wants to help provide what you need as well as guide how you use what he provides.
If you turn in your pew Bibles to the book of Colossians, you will see that the section we are going to study during Epiphany has a title: The Supremacy of Christ. To be supreme means to be highest, best, ultimate, absolute, top, unbeatable, greatest. Some of us here want the Philadelphia Eagles to be supreme! Some of us want the Pittsburgh Steelers to be supreme! We understand about supremacy.
By the grace of God and through the instruction and conviction of the Holy Spirit, this section of Scripture will teach us WHY Christ should be supreme in our lives. I pray that while we study this section, every single one of us will have an epiphany about where we are and where we have put Jesus in our lives and why. I pray that we will all be undone, as we are taken to our knees in true worship and prayer.
Let us pray: O God, we need you. Though we know we need to be changed, we are so blinded by our sin that we cannot even see what it is that needs transformation – and certainly it is true that we cannot change ourselves. Holy Father, in these next weeks, I ask that your Holy Spirit would come and rest upon us all, drawing us to that place of worship and prayer that will bring delight to your heart, peace to our souls, and a light for revelation to the lost. This we pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
