Assurance in Christ

Well, good morning. If you have your Bibles, would you please turn with me to Colossians chapter 2.

Colossians 2 · chapter mention

! And if you don't know who I am, my name is Daniel Shear.

! I've been able to serve as the intern here for the past five months or so.

And I've actually had the privilege of being here for nine years as well, even before being an intern.

And I'm currently a student at Cedarville, getting my master's degree, the MDiv, which is a ministry degree.

And I just want to say, like, it's good to see you all here today.

And it's good to be here and have the privilege of opening up the Word with you all and just worshiping God together.

I was told to tell you about the prayer cards this morning as well.

So this month, as a church, we want to focus on prayer.

Not that we aren't supposed to be praying the rest of the year, but this month in particular,

we want to just come together as a church and just consider and think about the importance of prayer in our lives as believers, as the church.

And as we continue to study through Colossians, just thinking about how we can memorize the book together or parts of the book

and be in prayer through the book, praying God's words back to him and just desiring to just have a love for God

and a love for his people and a love for the gospel in the world that needs the gospel.

And so if you just—there should be cards out by the doors and also at the Welcome Center.

So if you haven't already, please go ahead and grab one of these cards.

You can put them in your pocket.

You can put them in your wallet.

Whatever else you can think of, just put this somewhere just to remind you of prayer throughout the week and throughout the day.

There's some prompts on the back to just keep in mind as well.

So it can be just a helpful tool for us to just—this month in particular—to think about prayer together.

So let me just go ahead and open us up with another word of prayer.

God, we recognize that we are completely dependent on you.

Would you please open up our ears to hear your word?

And may we come and worship you together as your people.

May we know you and may we know what your Son has done for us.

And through that, may we also be assured and stand firm in our faith, knowing what you have done on our behalf.

May we believe in the gospel and live out the gospel.

And may we be encouraged as well by the truth that your Son, Christ, dwells in us.

In your name I pray. Amen.

Amen.

So, as I was a camp counselor just a couple years ago,

and one thing that I recognized about the pattern of how the speakers would come in

is they would start on the first day, so on Sunday night,

they would start with a gospel presentation.

And after this gospel presentation, they would have this altar call

and try to get everyone on the same page that this is the gospel, you must believe it.

And then throughout the week, they would go through their topic until they got to Wednesday.

Wednesday night, they would have a talk about assurance of salvation.

They wanted all the kids, after making a profession of faith,

and those who had already believed in the gospel,

to then know that they can be assured of their salvation.

And I recognize that this is an important discussion for us as the church and believers

to affirm as well, is we can have assurance in salvation.

Although I may not agree with some of the camp speakers and how they presented assurance,

they would sometimes fall short in some aspects.

Some camp speakers would talk about how all you needed to do was believe in the gospel

and everything else doesn't matter.

You know, you can live however you want, you can listen to do whatever you want,

you can do whatever you want, and no one could even know that you're a Christian,

but since you said that you believed in the gospel, then you're fine.

And on the other hand, there were some speakers who fell short because they only focused on,

well, just look at the fruit of your life.

Look at all the actions that you're doing.

Are you reading the Bible every day?

Are you praying every day?

Are you memorizing scripture?

Are you saying the right things?

Are you going to church?

Church, just look at the fruit of your life, and then you'll know that you're saved.

And not all the speakers did that, but it was unfortunate to see how many people fell

into either one of those two categories.

And as we read through this passage, we're going to be reading Colossians 2, 1 through 10.

Paul talks about assurance of salvation for the believer.

What the assurance of salvation is, and what it does for us.

And so I'm just going to go ahead and begin by reading those first 10 verses of chapter 2.

So if you have your Bibles, please turn there.

If you have the Pew Bible in front of you, you can find it on page 983.

And it just says this.

For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea,

and for all who have not seen me face to face,

that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love,

to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery,

which is Christ, in whom are hidden all treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

I say this in order that you may not be deluded with plausible arguments.

For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit,

rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

Therefore, as you receive Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,

rooted and built up in him and established in the faith,

just as you were taught abounding in thanksgiving.

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit,

according to human traditions and the elemental spirits of the world,

and not according to Christ.

For in him all the fullness of deity dwells bodily,

and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.

I think we can all agree that we want some sort of consistency in our life.

I know growing up, I loved having my seat, my designated seat at the dinner table,

and whenever I didn't get that designated seat, I was a little upset.

Or even at school, like a lot of my classmates, we want to have our assigned seats,

you know, in each of the classes.

And when that order is messed up, we kind of are like confused.

But if you know anything about this world, you know that it's not consistent.

For even someone as young as I am, I know that just a couple of years ago,

the fads and the traditions and the words that were used are now no longer used.

You know, like the 6-7, is that a new thing, right?

I've heard about that.

Don't know what it means, but, you know.

And for those who are older, you don't even know what that means.

Like the world is constantly changing.

The terminologies that people use are changing.

Even technology, it wasn't even a thing before I was born,

and now, like, it's taken off.

And so everyone has a phone.

And so the world has changed so much.

But Paul says here that we can have assurance.

We can have a firmness in our faith.

And why is that the case?

It's because it's not based on the world and the teachings of the world,

but we have firmness and assurance because our assurance is in Christ

and in what he has done and in who he is.

Christ does not change.

What he has done has not changed.

And therefore, we can have assurance.

So I just want to walk us through this progression in the passage.

It kind of follows this.

I say this.

You receive this.

Do not be deceived.

And so he begins a passage by saying, I say this.

And then he moves on to, like, talking about what we have received

and how we should walk.

And then he'll end by talking about, do not be deceived.

And so for each of those progressions, I'll give us a point.

And so for that first point, it is that no, like, no Christ.

We have assurance by knowing Christ.

And when we read this passage, he talks about, I say this.

Like, what is this?

What are you talking about, Paul?

What are you referring to?

What have you said?

And the purpose of what he says is that we may not be deluded by plausible arguments.

And so to look at the context, I want to walk through chapter 1 really quick

and just point out, like, the first, like, verses 3 through 14,

he kind of talks about knowledge of God.

In his prayer for them, starting in verse 9, he says that,

And then this knowledge of God's will will lead them to walking in a particular manner,

in a manner that is worthy of the Lord,

walking in a way that desires to please God in all things.

And not only that, but they are also to increase in bearing fruit,

and then increase in their knowledge of God.

So again, Paul is praying that this church would know God,

that they would increase in their knowledge of God,

and that God would strengthen them so that they're able to endure with joy,

endure through the trials and temptations that they face.

And then he talks about in verses 11, sorry, verses 12,

saying giving thanks to the Father.

So again, he continues to expound on this knowledge of God.

What has the Father done for you?

Well, he has qualified us to share in the inheritance with the saints in light.

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness,

and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.

So we are no longer like the world,

given over to the domain of darkness.

But God has saved us, he has redeemed us,

and has set us into this new kingdom,

with his Son as the head and king.

And his Son has somehow made redemption possible,

the forgiveness of sins possible.

And so the second part of chapter 1 talks about knowledge of Christ.

Who is Christ?

Well, Christ is the image of the invisible God.

So if you want to know God, you have to know Christ.

And then it says that Christ is the creator of all things.

For through him and for him, all things were created.

He holds all things together.

He is before all things.

He is the preeminent one.

And Christ is the head of the body, the church.

And so Paul talks about this knowledge of God,

and this knowledge of Christ,

who is God, who reveals God.

And then he talks about this knowledge of the gospel,

which, again, is Christ.

He'll say that the mystery that was revealed to us,

to the saints, to the church,

is that Christ dwells in us.

He talks about in verses 21 through 23,

that Christ has redeemed us,

he has reconciled us.

We who were hostile in mind and alienated,

we were separated from the promise,

the inheritance that God has given,

being with him in heaven for eternity.

We were separated from that.

But he has brought us in to this relationship.

He has reconciled us.

He made enemies friends.

And this is not just for the Jews any longer.

It's for the Gentiles.

Everyone who believes in the name of the Lord will be saved.

And so Paul, in chapter 2,

says that he struggles for the church.

He wants them to be encouraged.

He wants their hearts to be knit together in love

to reach full assurance.

Paul doesn't want them to be confused about their status before God.

He wants them to know for sure the gospel.

And he says in verse 3,

this assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery,

which is Christ,

in whom are hidden all treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

So if you want to know God,

if you want to be assured,

you must know Christ.

And so Paul says,

I say this,

right,

that you might have assurance

in the knowledge of Christ.

I say that

in order that you may not be deluded

by plausible arguments.

So if we know and understand Christ,

what he has done for us,

who he is,

and that he dwells in us,

we are guarded and have full assurance.

And if you look back at the culture of Colossae,

there were a lot of,

the main form of entertainment was rhetoric.

So you'd have a lot of speakers

who were very skilled

in grabbing people's attention

and having a flow of logic

and being able to captivate an audience

in the way that they were communicating.

And so people would actually listen to them

not because of the content of what was said,

but because of the way that it was said,

because of the oratory devices that were used.

And so Paul's concerned

that the Church of Colossae

would also be captivated

by these plausible arguments,

this lofty speech

that these speakers,

these orators would use.

And this is also relevant

to us today too.

I know that there are many forms of entertainment

that we also give ourselves to,

such as movies,

or music,

or social media,

or different forms of news.

And each of these mediums

and modes of entertainment

are trying to grab our attention,

not because of the content

with which they're trying to give us,

but because they just want to buy us.

They want to buy our attention

and just feed whatever we're willing

to listen to.

I was reading a book

for one of my classes

called Scrolling Ourselves' Death.

And in one of the chapters,

it was titled,

Now This.

And he was talking specifically

about news

and how it changed

to a now this kind of culture.

Right?

For one news article,

you may read about

an earthquake in the Philippines

and the devastation

that has come upon

so many people there.

And then the Now This,

the next article,

is about Gatorade and Cheetos

getting a new natural dye makeover.

I read that last night

just to try to find some examples.

And it's crazy about how fast

they want us to just grab our attention

from one devastating event

to a makeover on Gatorade and Cheetos.

And the way that they are trying

to just inundate us

and teach us

what they think is important,

and so then we actually lose sight

of what is truly important.

Paul was concerned

that the church of Colossae

would also be captivated

by this lofty speech

to be deluded.

And again,

to be deluded is to be led astray

by false beliefs.

He didn't want them

to be captivated by this speech

that may have grabbed their attention

and be a form of entertainment

that actually caused them

to believe false doctrine.

And so Paul wanted them

to have full assurance.

And where does full assurance come from?

Well, it comes from knowing Christ.

Full assurance comes

from knowing Christ.

All wisdom and knowledge

are hidden in Christ.

So these teachers

who claim to have

this special knowledge,

they claim to know

something beyond

what Christ has already revealed

to kind of grab our attention.

Paul says that that's not true.

You must go to the word.

You must go to knowing Christ,

what I've already taught you,

in order to be assured.

I think it's important for us

to also consider

and think about

the voices

that we're listening to.

What is the music

that we're listening to?

Each of those have a message.

I was just driving

with a bunch of non-believers

to Indiana and back,

and just listening to some

of the music

that they listened to

is like,

it was kind of sad

because you could hear

the hopelessness

of the artists.

And even the way

that they're trying

to captivate your attention

and tell you this message

that was apart from Christ.

And I know a lot of believers

who listen to that same kind of music.

They're listening to these voices.

Again, the movies we watch

do matter.

We can't just move on quickly

from one form of entertainment

to another

without considering

what they're trying

to teach us.

We must evaluate it

with God's word

and what we know about Christ.

And then Paul,

after saying this,

reminds the church,

for even though

I am absent in body,

yet I am with you

in spirit,

in order to see,

rejoicing to see

your good order

and the firmness

in your faith

in Christ.

Paul tries to continue

to connect this church

with the universal

body of Christ.

He doesn't want them

to think that they're alone.

They're not crazy

for believing the gospel,

but they are

a part of something

that's going on

that's bigger.

He already mentions

in chapter 1,

verse 23,

that the gospel

that they received

has been proclaimed

in all of creation.

Right?

And even earlier

in chapter 1,

he mentions that

just as the gospel

is taking root

in the church of Colossae,

it's also taking root

and increasing

in the whole world.

And so this church

is not alone.

And Paul wants them

to know that

there's not only

other local bodies

around them,

but that he wants to,

he's there with them too.

Even though he's not able

to be there present

in body,

he wants to be there

with them

and encourage them

through this letter

and through his prayers.

He's there with them

in spirit.

And as I was reflecting

on this

and how it relates

to us as well,

I was even just encouraged

and thanking God

that we have leaders

who are present with us.

They're not just

there spiritually,

but they're there

with us shepherding us

physically.

And so just thinking

about the way

that God uses

our leaders

and our church

to just help encourage us

and point us

to the truth.

They're guarding us

from false doctrine.

And so just another way

to be thankful

for what God has done

in our church

here at Maranatha.

And also thinking

about the universal church,

like how we can be present

with those around us

in our universal church.

church.

We have several

different missionaries

we support.

And so as we're thinking

about prayer together

as a church,

like I would encourage you

to consider praying,

like picking a missionary

and praying for them

that we support.

Pray for their church.

Participate with them

in spirit.

You know,

as Paul desired

and agonized

over this church

and prayed for them,

like why don't we

be a church

who desires

to pray for

people and believers

that we haven't

ever even met.

Desiring for their

good order in the faith

and desiring for God

to keep them

in their faith

because we know

that that's a work

that God can do.

And so moving on

to our second point,

we must walk

in Christ.

The progression

of the passage again

is,

I say this,

you receive this,

do not be deceived.

And so what we have

received,

we also have to walk in.

And so Paul says

in chapter 2,

verses 6 and 7,

Paul reminds the Colossians

church that they have

already received Christ.

He's not questioning

their salvation here.

And so for all

who have received Christ

and have accepted Christ,

our encouragement

from God's word

is that we may also

walk in him.

And so as I was

studying this,

I just took a moment

to reflect my own

conversion,

thinking about what

God has done

for me.

That without God,

I would not be

where I am at right now.

I was thinking

about Romans 5,

8 through 10,

where it says,

but God

shows his love for us

and that while we were

still sinners,

Christ died for us.

Since therefore

we have now been

justified by his blood,

much more shall we

be saved from the

wrath of God.

For if while we were

reconciled to God

by the death of his son,

much more now

that we are reconciled

shall we be saved

by his life.

And then Ephesians 2

also speaks

that we were dead

in the trespasses

and sins in which

we once walked,

following the course

of the world

and following the prince

of the power

of the air.

Right?

We were dead,

but for some reason

God,

in his grace

and in his love

for us,

made us alive

together in him.

There is a particular

gospel that we received.

Let us not question

that.

Let us not allow

the teachings

of this world

dilute us

and lead us

astray

from what God

has taught us

in his word.

We must believe

and hold firm

to the faith

that we have received,

the gospel

that comes

in God's word.

But also recognizing

that when we walk,

we're not walking

as those

who have,

who can do this

on our own.

This is not a work

that we do of our own.

This is a work of God.

Just as we receive Christ

by the work of God

from death

to life,

so also we walk

by the power

of God.

When Paul was

confronting

the Galatians church,

there were

teachers in that church

that were telling them

that they had

to receive circumcision,

these works

of the law,

in order

to be saved.

That even though

they received Christ

in one way,

that they had

to be sanctified

and be perfected

in the faith

through their own works.

And a similar thing

is happening

to this church

in Colossae.

There's teachers

who are claiming

that they have

to do a bunch

of works

in order

to maintain

their salvation.

But Paul says

in chapter 3

in Galatians,

O foolish Galatians,

who has bewitched you?

Are you so foolish,

having begun

by the Spirit,

are you now

being perfected

by the flesh?

Right?

It's so,

it's almost stupid

for us to think

that being,

by beginning

our faith

in Christ

through the work

of God

on our behalf,

that we could

somehow receive

sanctification

and perfection

through our own works.

That is,

it's not possible

to be sanctified

without God's

working in us.

We are completely

dependent upon

His work.

I was also

just thinking

about the fact

that we can never

get past the gospel.

We can't ever

get past the gospel.

I have a friend

at Cedarville,

his name is Fletcher,

and I just remember

a couple times

just talking with him

and telling him

about what I was learning

in the Bible

and mentioned,

like,

kind of briefly mentioned

passing over

a fact about the gospel

to move on

to my main point.

But he would stop me

and his demeanor

would change

and he would just think,

wow,

isn't that such

a wonderful truth

that you just said

about the gospel?

That our sins

were forgiven?

Like,

wow,

like,

that's so amazing.

Like,

how could God

allow us

to be forgiven

of our sins?

How could He allow us

to have this hope

of being with Him

in heaven?

I could just imagine

Paul doing the same thing

when he was writing

this letter.

Or,

you know,

through chapter 1

all the way up

to this point

where it's like,

wow,

like giving thanks

to the Father

who has transferred us

from the domain

of darkness

to the kingdom

of His beloved Son.

Like,

I can't believe

God would do

such a wondrous thing.

That man,

Christ,

has redeemed us.

He has offered us

forgiveness of sins.

Wow,

Christ is the image

of the invisible God.

God,

if I know Christ,

I get to know God.

And that same Christ

who is preeminent,

He dwells in me.

Like,

how can that even be true?

Like,

we cannot get past

the gospel.

I know so often

I can open up

God's Word

and just quickly

read through it

and not be

astounded

by the wonder

of the truths

written within it.

but

just as you receive Christ,

we must also walk in Him.

So just as amazing

as the truths were

when we first believed,

those same truths

apply to us

as we seek to walk

faithfully

as believers.

And the gospel

hasn't changed,

so that's why

we can have assurance

in our walk

in Christ.

Not just looking

at the fruits

that we have

in our life,

but knowing that

God helps us

grow.

God is the one

who produces

fruit in our lives

as we grow

in a knowledge

of Him.

And so,

I'm just also

thinking about

how Paul says

in 1 Corinthians

15,

1 and 2,

I would remind you,

brothers,

of the gospel

I preached to you.

And this is the gospel

by which you received

and in which you stand

and by which you are

being saved.

If you hold fast

to the word I preached

to you,

unless you believed

in vain.

Again,

the gospel

remains the same.

The same gospel

that we received

is the same gospel

by which we are standing

and by which we are

being saved.

There's a past,

present,

and future reality

of the gospel

that we received.

And so,

Paul explains

using three

passive participles

that we are rooted

in Him,

we are built up

in Him,

and we are established

in the faith.

Those are all

passive realities

that are true

of believers

who walk in Christ.

And I think

it's interesting

that he uses

this passive

tense

to help us

recognize

that this is not

something that

we are actively doing.

Our walking in Christ

is not dependent

upon our striving,

but it's dependent

upon the work

that Christ has done.

So,

the first participle

is rooted

in Him.

And it's just

helping give

this agricultural

sense of firmness.

You know,

I think about

the Psalm 1 man

who does not walk

in the counsel

of the wicked.

He does not stand

in the way of sinners.

He does not

sit in the seat

of scoffers.

Like,

this man

does not follow

the ways

of this world,

but he delights

in the law

of the Lord.

And on God's law

he meditates

day and night.

So,

there's a consistency.

There's a rootedness

in God's word.

And so,

he says that

this man

is like a tree

planted by streams

of water.

God gives him

what he needs.

He sustains him.

This is also a,

this word

is in a perfect tense.

So,

it means that

it happened

one time.

So,

he had been rooted.

Which means

that it doesn't change.

Our rootedness

in the gospel

does not change.

Once we accept Christ,

we now live

as those

who have accepted Christ.

Again,

that's another sense

of the assurance

that we have.

And then,

the second sense

is that we are built up.

This one's in the present tense.

So,

it has this continuous

sense.

And so,

as we are continuing

to grow

and continuing

to learn

and continuing

to know God,

we are built up

in him.

So,

not only have we been

rooted in him,

but we are also

built up.

We grow

in our knowledge

of him.

And as we grow

in our knowledge

of him,

we're able to walk

in him.

The last one

is talking about

that we are established

in our faith.

So,

there is a necessity

of being established

in our faith.

Again,

this is not dependent

on our own work.

It's not based

on aimlessly striving,

but we have a goal.

We have a message

that we can believe in

and know

that God

will be faithful.

And then,

that last element

found in the end

of verse 7,

it says,

just as you were taught

abounding

in thanksgiving.

So,

again,

just as we're not

supposed to move

past the gospel,

we must respond

appropriately

to the gospel.

Not just walking

in him,

but abounding

in thanksgiving

for all that

he has done.

You know,

in 1 Thessalonians 5,

he says that we must

give thanks

in all circumstances.

It's a pretty well-known

phrase.

And sometimes

I wonder,

like,

okay,

how can I give thanks

in all circumstances?

Like,

you didn't know

what happened to me

yesterday,

you know,

or tomorrow is Monday.

Like,

how am I supposed

to be thankful then?

But,

we can be thankful

in all circumstances

because God

does not change.

What he has done

for us

does not change.

And so,

we can be

thankful

in all things

because we know

that God

is in control

of all things.

He's not dependent

on our circumstances.

So,

our thanksgiving

is not dependent

on our circumstances

either.

And so,

God uses our thanksgiving

and our contentment

in every situation

to help keep us

in the faith as well

and help remind us

of our need

for God

and what he is doing

for us.

Helping us

keep attentive

to God's work

and God's power.

And so,

that last point

is that we are

being filled

in Christ.

We must not be deceived

because

we are being filled

in Christ.

It says,

in verses 8-10,

see to it

that no one

takes you captive

by philosophy

and empty deceit

according to

human tradition,

according to

the elemental spirits

of the world

and not according

to Christ.

For in him

the whole fullness

of deity

dwells bodily.

And you have been

filled in him

who is the head

of all rule

and authority.

I think it's interesting

right off the bat.

He begins by saying

being taken captive.

So,

there's this contrast

between

you have received

Christ

but then

don't be taken

captive

by these philosophies.

The philosophies

of this world

and from these

teachers,

they're trying to

steal believers

from the church.

They're trying to

steal them

and take them

captive

from what they

have received

already.

The gospel

has been freely

given.

We have

freely received

it.

So,

we must be

careful

not to be

taken captive

by the

teachings

of this

world.

I don't think

it means like

when he talks

about not

being taken

captive by

philosophy

that philosophy

is inherently

evil.

There are

many church

leaders who

were trained

in philosophy

and so

what I mean

by that is

reason is

God-given

but reason

that stems

from our

self

and from

this world

is empty

deceit.

Reason

that comes

from God,

knowledge

and wisdom

that comes

from God

is heavenly

and can

provide us

with assurance.

Right?

We're not

called as

believers

to not

think

but

we must

be aware

and evaluate

the philosophy

of this world

that is teaching

empty deceit.

It's teaching

us to trust

in and be

assured in

ourselves.

If you see

the explanation

he gives,

this philosophy

and empty

deceit

is according

to human

tradition,

it's according

to the human

tradition,

it's according

to the elemental

spirits of the

world

and it is not

according

to Christ.

And so

it's important

for us to

evaluate

the philosophies

of this world.

I was even

just reminded

of some

of the

professors

I had

at Cedarville

who were

philosophy

majors

and they

were just

telling me

some stories

about their

classmates

who just

had no

hope.

They didn't

even know

what reality

was

because they

were so

caught up

in their

thoughts

and in

their

imaginations

and in

the conceptual

that they

couldn't even

think about

what reality

could be.

And so

we must

be aware

of the

things that

seem to

be wise,

that seem

to make

sense,

but are

not according

to the

word.

Because

philosophy

that has a

source other

than Christ

leads to

deceit

and it

leads us

to emptiness.

the reason

that Paul

gives for

why we

should not

be taken

captive

is because

in Christ

the whole

fullness of

deity

dwells bodily.

These

philosophers

and teachers

of the day

assume that

they have

this special

knowledge that

can give

people a

higher sense.

You know,

I can name

a bunch of

people that

I've talked

to that

believed in

this higher

reality that

if they just

lived a

certain way

that they

could become

more spiritual.

And it was

very undefined

characteristics.

It didn't

really have an

end goal in

mind.

But Christ

already is

the fullness

of God.

We don't have

to go anywhere

else.

There's no

other source

that we need.

Christ is

the fullness

of God.

And he

has filled

us.

We have

been filled

in Christ.

So we

don't have

to go

anywhere

else.

And so

just thinking

about what

this means

for us

this week.

how do we

consider and

evaluate the

voices that

we are

listening to?

How do we

consider and

evaluate the

hope that we

have, the

assurance that

we have in

Christ?

You know, the

last song that

we sang talked

about, I set my

hope in Jesus.

You know, even

when the doubts

remain or when

we're tempted by

sin or when

we're discouraged,

where is our

assurance?

Where is the

firmness of our

faith placed in?

Where are we

going to churn on

Monday morning when

we don't want to

wake up?

Where are we

going to churn when

we're tempted by

sin on Thursday

afternoon, whatever

it may be?

Do we turn to the

teachings of this

world and just

trying to put our

earbuds in and

just keep walking

until we go to

bed at night?

Or are we going

to take the

moment to plead

with God for

help?

Are we going to

turn to the

assurance in the

gospel and walk

in Christ?

Again, Christ

offers us

assurance.

And so as we

turn to his

word, as we

turn to the

believers that

God has given

to us, that we

can be kept

accountable,

we're then able

to then walk

in Christ, rooted

and built up in

him.

We don't have to

doubt, we don't

have to wonder,

but we can

worship and praise

God, abounding in

thanksgiving, knowing

that we have been

filled in Christ and

he has a plan and

purpose for us.

Let me go ahead and

just close this in a

word of prayer.

Dear Lord,

I know, again, that

we are desperately

in need of you, but

we're also so

thankful for the

work that you have

done on our

behalf.

Thank you for the

fact that you have

sent your son to

live on this earth.

Your son who was

fully God.

He lived a bodily

life and died a

bodily death and rose

again, defeating

death.

And in him are

hidden all wisdom

and knowledge.

And so as we turn

to Christ, we can

have assurance in

our salvation, but

only if we believe in

what you have done

for us.

Only if we believe in

the gospel.

Help us to not move

past the gospel, but

to worship you for

what you have done.

That you have

delivered us from

this domain of

darkness and have

transferred us to

this kingdom of

your beloved son.

Thank you so much

for the redemption,

the forgiveness of

sins that is

possible through your

son, and for the

inheritance that you

have given to us, and

for the redemption and

reconciliation that you

have bought with the

blood of Christ.

And so help us to be

aware of the false

teachings of this

world that seek to

delude us and lead us

astray.

And may we fill our

minds with truth.

faith.

May you use your

church, your body, to

encourage one another.

May we seek to exhort

one another every day as

long as it is called a

day, so that we may not

be deceived by, may we

not be led astray by the

deceitfulness of sin.

In your name I pray.

Amen.

Hey, thank you all for

coming.

It's a pleasure to have

you here, and thank you

for the opportunity to

preach.

God bless you.