Rescued From Darkness - Cullen Smith

It's great to be here this morning.

It's a privilege. Always to preach the Gospel of

Jesus Christ. It is especially an honor and a

privilege to do that on the Lord's day where we're called to

remember the one who called us out of Darkness Into His

Marvelous Light. There was a powerful piece of

evidence that was given almost 2,000 years ago as to God's

commitment to us and how much he loved us.

And that was he sent his son to die for us.

And we're here this morning to show forth to the world.

That Jesus died. And although that's a great

Paradox. It is a paradox in this way, it

was bad for him, it was great for us and that is something we

need never ever forget. Darkness is one of those things

that we spent a lot of time dealing with believe it or not.

It doesn't matter where you go darkness is one of those things.

Where sometimes you find, fear. I know that in three little

girls where I live. There are night lights and we

don't just have Night Lights. We have multiplicity of not

lights. Just in case one of the Night

Lights goes down because darkness is not a good thing for

going to bed at night. We've got little pink, flamingos

that light up. We got princesses that light up.

We've got Onna and Elsa on the ceiling that will light up.

We got lots of ways that we can bring just a little bit of light

into a room, so that some girls can go to sleep.

Darkness is something I've always been afraid of, you know,

that moment whenever you're riding your bicycle at night and

you're a little boy and you think I'm going to I'm going to

stay as long as I can. And wherever I am and you come

up a road and you see a stump and all the sudden that thing is

turning into a bear. It's not really, but the

darkness just has a way of making everything just looked

like it's coming after you. Well, darkness is one of those

things that Satan doesn't tell you about Satan does not tell

you about how things how things really end.

He doesn't tell you the in-game ago.

He just simply tells you to experience the physical good

stuff and fun. I say good stuff, the physical

enjoyment, the instant, fleshly gratification of, whatever sin

Going through. But what he doesn't tell you, is

it ends in a place literally of outer darkness when Jesus came.

He described it like this light has come into the world but men

loved Darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.

Have you ever been asleep? Really, really asleep.

And you found a little girl that found your 1000 Lumen or however

much it is one of them like cannons and they come right up

to your face and go and shine that light and you just have

this physical Physical reaction of just, it is a physical

reaction. When you were asleep, you're in

darkness. But all the sudden you've got

this light cannon, that's now in your face, and you have this

reaction to it. Sometimes, that's how people

react to the Lord. He is such bright light.

He doesn't allow you to stay asleep.

He's going to make you run away. His light is going to shine on

you. It's going to shine, but the

reality many times is that people run away from it.

You look at this guy and this image and all the Darkness of

the room, our enemy. We don't know how dark that is,

but I can promise you, if you use your imagination, you can

see some faces that are lurking in the shadows, many of which

may be, are looking to see what this guy is going to do.

And I do not understand for the life of me, The Human Condition

that many times misery loves company.

And you find people that are dwelling in darkness and they

find reasons to justify that Darkness over and over and over

again. Will God rescues us from

darkness? And we're going to go through

the book of Colossians chapter 1 this morning in about 30

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

minutes, look at the land of around that Paul was writing as

he wrote to these people. Sometimes we don't know or look

at the geography, but it's pretty neat to think about that.

You look at hieropolis and colossi and laodicea over here

as Ephesus. That's kind of a other region

that were the Tri-Cities and Ephesus that Paul spent time

working establishing congregations in Acts 18 and

also Acts 19. It was all about water.

If you look at these cities, most of them are on waterways.

They had to do that to get things back and forth together.

But again when you look at the colossian letter, here's what

the Bible says, Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of

God and Timothy our brother to the Saints and faithful brethren

in Christ who are in colossi Grace.

You and peace from God, our Father and the Lord Jesus

Christ. We give thanks to God in the

father of our Lord. Jesus Christ.

Praying. Always for you since we heard of

your faith in Jesus Christ, and of your love for all the saints,

because the Hope which is laid up for up, for you in heaven of

which you heard before, in a word of the truth of the Gospel,

which has come to you as it is now in all the world and is

bringing forth fruit as it is also among you since the day,

you heard and knew the gray. S of God in truth as you also

learn from epaphras. Our dear fellow servant who is a

faithful minister of Christ on your behalf who also declared to

us your love in the spirit. A lot of things in here.

First of all, when you get to the Bible and you need to

understand how it works, it goes like this, the Old Testament

from Genesis to Malachi that was getting us to the point of how

the Messiah, the Son of God was going to come into the world.

He had to jump through all those Hoops, every one of those, every

one of those pages. Just is an amazing page because

it points toward and looking forward to Jesus coming into the

world. But then, in Matthew, Mark,

Luke. And John.

That's about telling us. He did come into the world, he

is the Messiah and you read the book of Acts and how the church

was established. And that's when the gospel

began. It was beginning to be preached

to all the world and that's what's happening right here.

But then, as churches began to be established in cities, like

colossi or Bakersfield California.

There were problems. Is that would creep up.

And so, he writes to the Saints, he writes to the church, those

that are in colossi. He says, to those who were in

colossi, those that he calls literally faithful Brethren.

And then he says, I've heard your faith in Christ Jesus and

of your love for all the saints. In other words, there ought to

be things that you hear about of congregation, there ought to be

ways that you could go into a place or not, even go into a

place. And you can say, okay, tell me

about the church at plans Road. In Bakersfield.

Tell me about the church in Strong Arkansas or at Park in

Farmville. Louisiana.

Tell me about that church. You could have never been there

before. And what you read about today is

a real live Church. They don't have superheroes,

they had normal people just like you but there was something

about him that was unique and that was that they were pretty

on the ball. There were some problems, there

were some teaching that they had to get but they were pretty much

on the ball and one of the things that ought to

characterize all churches of Jesus.

Christ is your love for all the saints, that's demonstrated.

And then he says, because of the Hope, which is laid up for you

in heaven of which you heard before, in a word of the truth

of the Gospel which is come to you.

This is very, very important stuff.

The Bible describes, this is fruit whenever you preach the

gospel. It produces fruit.

You know what God wants? He wants fruit, he wants fruit

from us. He as being a child of God, in

other words when you preach the gospel to people, there's going

to be fruit in the form of people that are saved.

And he also wants fruit out of us.

As individuals and collectively as the congregation.

And he places a great deal of emphasis upon truth.

You heard a new the grace of God in truth.

And then he also tells us there's some people that work

among you. You know, we prayed for Frankie

this morning, he should always do that.

You should pray for the, you should pray for the people that

are working. That's so serious.

In such a big deal. This guy was a heavy hitter, his

name was epaphras and it also tells us that whenever you're

trying to be, all you can be and a congregation is being all you

can be, you can do that. And you need to do that.

But there's always going to be a way that I submit to Chris and

Chris submits to Terry and Terry some it's different.

There's going to be teaching that we all need and were

members one of another, when we sing songs, the Bible says that

we teach and admonish and we encourage one another, that's no

small ball thing. Don't take that for granted,

don't take your voice. For granted, don't take what you

say for. Granted, absolutely, very

important to always be a people that have the word of God and a

song on. Lips because it has power and

God designed it to be something that would constantly fuel Us in

the body of Jesus Christ. Verse 9 says, for this reason.

We also since the day, we heard it, do not cease to pray for

you. And to ask that, you be filled

with all knowledge of his will. In all wisdom, and spiritual

understanding, who do you pray for?

I just talked about praying for Frankie.

Hey, Frankie would tell you this.

Pray for one another, pray for each other.

When you notice, are you perceive that somebody's having

a bad moment? Somebody is going through stuff.

Somebody is really light as kicking their teeth in right,

then you pray for them. I promise you of all the things

I know about God. There are some times, just like

a perfect, father would be there are times when his children are

crying out to him. He moves Heaven and Earth to

make it change. I don't know how he does all

that to him, be the glory for whatever he does.

But I know this you and your mouth on your knees with a heart

that is a pleading and begging the father for your brothers and

sisters in Christ wherever they are all over the world, you're

making a the greatest difference you could ever make.

And it has to do directly with what's coming out of your mouth

and who you're talking to, we're dealing with the god, that is

infinitely powerful, and he wanted us to be filled with the

knowledge of his will. In all wisdom and spiritual

understanding that we may walk worthy of the Lord, fully

pleasing him being fruitful in every good work and increasing

in the knowledge of God. There should never be a time

where I say, yeah, I know what I need to know.

I'm just going to show up and it's all going to be good.

Don't do that. Please don't do that.

We're leaking vessels. You know what I've learned about

people? I've known I've known men and

women that were super, super strong.

But then they got to a point in their life, just kind of again,

I use this illustration a lot because it's true.

Life's coming at you fast. Wife's going to do, it's very

best through the God of this world.

That is Satan to kick your teeth in and he's gonna do everything

he can to make you stop. Feeling yourself up.

And what God is basically saying is this every time you get a

chance, fill yourself up. You're feeling down, you're

feeling. You're feeling like literally

your half-empty you're drained, fill yourself up.

Those are the moments where you need to lean in more than ever

before. And God's plan is that he has a

plan strengthened with all might according to his glorious power

for all patience and long-suffering with joy.

Giving thanks to the father who has qualified US to be partakers

of the inheritance of the Saints.

In light, listen, he has delivered us from the power of

darkness and can fade conveyed us into the kingdom of the son

of his love in whom we have Redemption through his blood,

the Forgiveness of sins. Has anybody told you that

Darkness has power? Sure it does Darkness has power.

He said he he took us out. He has greater power.

He's delivered us from the power of Darkness.

Are you here this morning and you don't feel that you don't

have to just feel something about that?

You can know it. You can know that you've been

delivered from the power of darkness and none of us know,

preacher of the Gospel. What everyone, anybody to come

to an assembly of God's people and leave not knowing what it

is. It is to leave the power of

Darkness. You can this morning but it's

not me. It's going to do it.

It's no man in this group that's going to do that or no woman.

But God can do it. This is whether or not you want

that. That's the most difficult thing

that ever ever existed. The Bible says, whom we have

Redemption through his blood. The Forgiveness of sins.

You got sand in your life. You see this right here.

You see this table? This table was set almost 2,000

years ago by the son of God. This table is very, very

meaningful if you're here, and you've never seen it uncovered

before you're going to see it uncovered in just a few minutes.

After I finished preaching, it's a table.

That's representative of exactly what the Apostle.

Paul by inspiration of the holy spirit said, we have Redemption

through his blood. We're fixing to have communion

of the blood of Jesus Christ. We constantly remember, and we

announce it, we tell the world basically.

He did this for us. Every time we partake of that

loaf, that that is his body that was just shredded for us.

Not physically broken, not a bone was broken, but broken in

the sense of what all they did to his body.

Every time we drink of that cup, we're telling the world and

we're telling ourselves that blood is, the only thing that

saved us. He's your only hope.

He's all that you have and he's reminding.

The colossian church about this. I want to tell you about the

desperate situation that were in here because it's just words

sometimes. Until sometimes you take a page

out of History, this page out of history boschwitz and Dachau and

several of these prison camps. These are men and women lines in

Nazi Germany. The prison lines that Hitler

would have whenever he wrote Mein Kampf, one of the things

you need to know about Hitler is that he was a man who believed

in Darwinism. He did not believe in God.

He did everything he could to run from God.

He would preach a superior and a master race of Germans

basically. And if you know anything about

the Olympics about 1939, when Jesse Owens and American blew

out all the Germans, every one of the snowflakes lost compared

to this guy, it was amazing. It was Awesome.

It was also awesome. That whenever you talk about

Hitler, he would talk about how it was great to be a German.

He wasn't even, German wasn't born in Germany, but that's what

he would preach. And he would preach this, this

doctrine of hate. And so what he did is he

convinced everybody that the real mess up problems of World

War One. And the treaties that Germany

had to sign, they were really the fault of a lot of different

people and he would pin it on several different groups of

people. But one of them was he pinned it

on the Jews. And he would go long and he

would dehumanize the Jews in mind.

Copy told the world exactly what he was going to do.

He would have all of his SS guard read.

Charles Darwin's The Descent of Man that was in 1871.

And 1859 he got the real problem with what he put out about,

basically the strong survive and preached.

The doctrine of Darwinism that we might know now is the theory

of evolution. But in 1871 he preached this

Doctrine and put it in writing and it had all of his guys that

were close to him as SS guard reader.

And it basically goes like this, we should make sure that we

breed human beings, the strong with the strong and get rid of

all the week. If there's any weakness, if

there's any sickness in your family, want you to stop.

And think about that, his whole philosophy was, let's let him

die. In fact, let's encourage it.

Lets get rid of them. He viewed this group of people

the Jews as needed to be exterminated, it wasn't just

them. Wasn't just Jews.

There were Gypsies and others that he wanted to destroy.

But the Jews were a major selection and he would draw rat

noses for Jews, and he would call them all kinds of names.

The point of it, is, you have to dehumanize somebody in order to

kill him. You can't go up to him and say,

hey, you you human being, I'm going to kill you and I feel

nothing about it, but you can kill a rat.

Phil Phil. All right, about fact, if you

feel pretty good about killing rat, You've never known

desperate in your life. To the kind of desperate.

These people were feeling. They were told they were going

to certain places. There were going to go certain

here. They're in Ian and they would

literally put them in cattle cars on railroads and they would

take them toward these death camps.

And they would separate them out.

And I want you to think about how much you have to take out a

Min for those men, not to come across that line and get their

wives, but there was also another line for children.

It's what I'm not telling you about as well.

It was separate all these people out.

And they would put them in these death camps.

Today, you can go to museums and you can find piles of shoes.

Piles and piles and piles of shoes.

Now, these are not shoes that people just got worn out and

didn't want to wear anymore. These are shoes of these.

These people right here, let me tell you what these are.

Those are wedding rings. Those are people that took rings

off their hands. And then the museum today, you

can see wedding rings. There are other boxes of teeth.

There's everything you can imagine every atrocity known to

man. If you were fixing to have a

baby, you were a science experiment for the Nazis.

They didn't care about you, remember.

They think about you, not even as a human being.

They think of you as nothing but less than an atom, will not even

a good animal. And they pile these Jews in

these debt Chambers, these gas Chambers and you see the walls

and you see the columns across the top and they were barely

lit. And they literally would

completely take their clothes off of them and they thought

they were getting a shower. Then they would turn the gas on.

We've never been in a desperate situation like that.

You see this right here? You see those marks on the

walls? Those remarks from human hands.

That called way past their fingernails into the very bone

itself. Trying to figure out a way to

get out of those moments and they're still there staining,

the walls and those literally. Now museums Of one of the worst

periods of human history. Of one of the worst examples of

people that decided that another group of people were not

valuable anymore and not only not valuable anymore that they

needed to be exterminated and anywhere from 6 to 12 million,

Jews died. But I'm going to tell you what

this represents this represents people that wanted to get out of

there and they tried every which way they could, they could to

get out of there and they couldn't get out of there.

There's a guy one time. That was giving advice pretty

popular, guy to families and marriages and a guy stood up in

the in the group and he was talking about his, his family

and he wanted some advice in the way this guy works, is you just

stand up and you're going to own it, you're going to own your

problem and you're going to tell me what your problem is and I'm

going to give you advice in this guy's there.

Any tells this guy he can tell this guy's really not into it.

You know, sometimes you talk to people.

They just kind of halfway want to fix it.

They don't really want to fix it.

They just kind of halfway want to fix.

Well, this guy stands up and he says got a problem with my wife,

not looking too good. He's kind of cavalier about how

he's explaining this to this guy.

And this guy says, hey, you know, let me just say this, is

there anything you're not willing to do and the guy

sitting there and you can tell his calculating like, okay?

This is where I have to make a full commitment and you can tell

you didn't really want to is like you know what, this is

going to work. Well then the guy gets a little

defensive when somebody tells you, oh, you this thing going to

work sometimes. Then you say, oh no, it's gonna

work, it's gonna work. Like okay, it's gonna work.

He said, I know you're missing. My point until you want your

marriage to work. As bad as you want to breathe.

It said, Let me Give an example of this.

I'll tell you guys a story from Pat Riley, from the Lakers days.

They said Pat Riley used to go in and try to motivate and Pat

Riley's a tremendous motivator always has been.

He goes into the locker room and he has a bucket.

One of those guys has a bucket of water that they've got their

ankle in you know they didn't have all the fancy stuff they

have now and weren't hooked up to everything.

You just stick a bad ankle in a bucket eyes.

He goes in before the game and sticks his head in the bucket of

ice. For a long time, I'm not talking

about a little time. They said we started getting

worried about him. We start thinking what in the

world. And finally, he came up for air,

and it's point to his players was, and this is the same point.

This motivational van was making to this, this bad husband, he

said until you want it to work until you want it.

As bad as you want to breathe, it won't work.

There's a lot of Truth in that. Do you want to be saved as bad

as you want to breathe? Be like, well, I don't know.

Well, I'm going to tell you about how bad you want to

breathe fight or flight will take over you.

Let somebody shove your head under water.

It's going to take about two seconds for you.

Realize you can fight off a bear.

I was the littlest brother. I was but little baby brother.

I know what it is for brothers Savannah's here.

My niece, my older brother knew what it was to hold my head

under water. I knew what it was to fight off

a brother, eight years older than me to come up there and he

was about to kill me but it He's one of those fun things, right?

Wasn't fun for me. Sometimes, I had it coming.

I was the aggravating little brother.

But until you want it, as bad as you want to breathe.

Until you want it. As bad as you want to breathe.

You don't want it. It's going to take that.

We've got to be a people that know what it is to recognize the

situation we're in. And we've got a want to get out

of this moments, and we got to do everything we can to one out

so bad. There's nothing we won't do.

There's no wall. We won't try to climb out of.

Do you know the power of our God?

Here's what the Bible says. These people knew that.

Whenever one of their, they would start trying to hold their

breath as this gas and they would see people dropping.

They would hold it as long as they could.

As they literally, Claude, the walls But they were all dying.

Here's what Paul said. But God, who is rich in Mercy

because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we

were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ and

raised us up together and made us sit together in the Heavenly

places in Christ Jesus. That in the ages to come.

He might show the exceeding Riches of his grace, in his

kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Here's the difference, we had this coming, we had this coming,

we deserve to die. Jesus did not die.

Earth to die, but he died. Anyway, God, commendeth his love

toward us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for

the ungodly. Verse 15 says he Jesus is the

image of the invisible. God, the firstborn over all

creation for by him are all things created that are in

heaven. And that are on earth, visible

and invisible, whether Thrones, or dominions, or principalities

or Powers. All things were, you were

created through him. And for him, he is before all

things and in him all things consist and he is the head of Of

the body, the church. Who is the beginning, the

firstborn from the dead. That in all things, he might

have the preeminence. He's making an authority

argument there. The holy spirit is he's

basically saying, who are you going to surrender your life to

who is it? That is now in charge of your

life and that somebody is the one that spoke the world into

existence. That's who you want in charge of

your life. That's who you want leading you

You want the one that saw? What you cannot do for yourself

and he did it for you. You want him, you want him in

charge? You want the one that has always

been? In charge of your life.

The Bible says in verse 19 for it pleased, the father that in

him, all the fullness should dwell and by him to reconcile

all things to himself by him, whether things on earth or

things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of his

cross. And you, who once were alienated

and enemies in your mind by Wicked Works yet.

Now he has reconciled in the body of his flesh, through

death, to present you, holy and blameless and above reproach in

his sight. If indeed you continue in the

faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the

hope of the Gospel. gospel, which you heard, which you

preached it to every creature under Heaven of, which I Paul

became a minister You know who had to make the way for you.

Jesus. Those hands.

Those hands had to be nailed that body had to be physically

abused. Paul said a rather Jesus said in

Luke chapter 24. He said everything in the law,

Luke 24 · chapter mention

everything in the profits, and everything.

In the psalm says, the Christ had to suffer.

My sins made him suffer. Why?

Because God is just God's just. If you ever wondered how it is

that inside all of us, there's this thing where we want

somebody to get what's coming to.

I have it real strong, the force runs strong in me on that one.

Somebody gets what's coming to him, you know, the word.

I really kind of that. That's a real problem for me.

It's great to say this person that hurts a little kid.

This person that does this, this person that does that, they

ought not to, they ought to get what's coming to him.

Do you know where I need to start saying that in the mirror

every single morning? But Jesus got what was coming to

me. And he got, what was coming to

you? No one off to have to beg you,

to come to worship. Every Lord's day to sing,

praises to Jesus, to God, to the spirit, that literally made all

of this happen. They weave together.

A plan, that was only reserved in their mind and today you're

here to celebrate a death that dot was died for you.

You're here to talk about and listen to and watch a service, a

memorial that announces to the world that Jesus died, and

literally in his flesh. Something amazing happen for our

benefit verse 24. Says, I now rejoice in my

sufferings for you and fill up in my flesh.

What is lacking in the afflictions of Christ?

For the sake of his body, which is the Church of which I became

a minister according to the stewardship from God, which was

given to me for you to fulfill the word of God, the mystery,

which has been hidden from ages from Generations but now has

been revealed to his Saints to them.

God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory.

Free of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in,

you the hope of glory. Mystery.

We like Mysteries, I don't know if you ever remember there used

to be a show where William Shatner before he started making

silly commercials used to have this show called Unsolved

Mysteries. When I was little preteen that

came on I have never drawn the shades at night, more and

locked. My bedroom door.

More than listening to Unsolved Mysteries.

Because you just would think that whoever done the deed that

still out there lurking around that they're still looking for,

it happened in your neighborhood and the guy was seen last in

your neighborhood. That's how it kind of affected

me. I want you to take that same

consideration. and understand that the mystery, The mystery

was revealed and is being revealed to you today at your

address and your ears and your heart.

And the goal is for everybody in the whole world to understand

this mystery. Listen to what the Apostle Paul

said in Ephesians 3, how that by Revelation, that's the Bible he

made known to me. The mystery is I've written

already by which when you read you may understand my knowledge

in the mystery of Christ. Which in other Ages was not made

known to the sons of men as it has now been revealed by the

spirit to his Apostles, and Prophets that the Gentiles.

That's all Us should be fellow heirs with the Jews.

In other words, and of the same body, there's just one and

partakers of his promise in Christ, through the gospel of

which I became a minister according to the gift of the

grace of God, given to me by the effective working of his power.

You want to know why I said that, he said that, because this

is a guy that it is very best to destroy the church.

And now he's writing about God's plan, really, to allow him to be

in it. To me, who I'm lit, Who Am less

than the least of all the saints.

This Grace was given that I should preach among the

Gentiles. The unsearchable Riches of

Christ and to make all men. See What is the Fellowship of

the mystery? Which from the beginning of the

ages has been hidden in God who created all things through,

Jesus Christ to the intent. That now, the manifold wisdom of

God, by me, they'd known by the church, to the principalities

and powers in The Heavenly places.

According to the Eternal purpose, which he accomplished

and Jesus Christ, Our Lord So, let me go back and just break

down one or two things very quickly.

We understand the mystery now. It used to be a mystery.

Now, it's been revealed. What's the mystery Well, I doubt

there's anybody in here. Maybe after Services.

You can come tell me if you're a natural born Jew and you got a

lineage for your just Jewish by birth most of us in here.

Can't say that most of us in here are Gentiles what God did

is he changed everything in Jesus Christ.

It used to be about the Jews and the bloodline that would bring

Jesus into the world. And what God did to help us

understand how powerful Jesus is the son of God, he said, look,

it used to be a bloodline that was back to Abraham were These

Jews would say I've got Abraham's blood in my veins.

When Jesus came along, the Bible says that we have the power to

become a part of the family of God.

He said we are all children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

For as many of us as have been baptized into Christ, have put

on Christ, therefore there is neither Jew nor Greek.

There is neither Jew nor Greek Bond or free male nor female.

But Year all one in Jesus Christ and if you be in Christ, then

are you Abraham's seed and heirs?

According Cording to the promise.

In other words, God made a way for us to sit here in this

assembly and be able to be just like everybody else as his

children. And we need to thank Jesus for

that because our Our savior. Died.

So we can sit at the same table. He sits at He made it available.

He made it available, not just that the Bible describes, this

Fellowship of the mystery that used to be hidden and he said

that now God's purpose, his manifold wisdom is made known by

the church. What is the church?

The church just simply means Ecclesia in the original.

It just is the called out what are we called out?

If were called out of Darkness into light, Is it my plan is in

the thing. I'm going to show to the world

is I'm going to bring people out of their sins and I don't care

what they look like and what their background is and I don't

care what race they are. I Don't Care What ethnicity are.

I don't care. Okay, who they are?

Because there's somebody that tore apart all the differences,

that separate ethnicities, and races and languages.

And that somebody was Jesus Christ.

That somebody was Jesus Christ, not only that he said the Angels

found out about it. He said the principalities and

powers in The Heavenly places found out about it.

You know who that is anxious. Angels God kept it in his mind.

When the Bible says, there was a mystery, it was a mystery in

heaven for the angels to they didn't know about it.

Do you know that the Angels long to look into these things?

Lots of people long to look into these things and now you get to

know the manifold are multifaceted.

Wisdom of God, that you are God's plan.

You right here in these pews are the manifold wisdom of God.

You're the mystery revealed. God can take people, no matter

who you are and where you are and put you in one body.

And strip away, all the genetic predispositions, that we may

have and grow in us one group. One savior can do that.

And that was Jesus. He can take you from your

background, he can take you from your sins.

He can take you from all of this and he can accomplish all of it

because that's his eternal purpose that he accomplished in

Jesus Christ. Our Lord verse 28 says him.

We preach warning. Every man and teaching every man

in all wisdom that we may present every man, perfect in

Jesus Christ, that means complete to this end.

I also labor striving according to his working, which works in

me mythili. All Paul did all of his life is

he wanted to bring men to Jesus. He even tried to make a deal,

the Holy Spirit. Wouldn't let him go there but he

did let him explain it. The Holy Spirit gave him the

words to say it like this? I would give my life.

Basically, I would trade places with all the Jews if I could.

I wish that my brethren, my Jews, my family, my people.

Would come to know Jesus like I do.

God won't let you make that trade.

It won't let that happen. That's not yours to make.

It's not yours to make its each Soul at a time and what Paul did

is, sometimes he did it individually, sometimes he would

go in and he would reason with people whatever it was.

Sometimes he would have large groups of people.

Sometimes he was in jail, and he would convert Caesars household,

amazing. His goal was to bring men to

present them and get them ready to meet Jesus.

Do you know what we're trying to do this morning, we're trying to

get everybody ready to meet Jesus.

If I told you that after Services, Jesus was outside the

door, Or he was here, he was here right now.

You tell me what would be on your heart and mind.

Tell me what you be wanting to do.

I'm gonna tell you what Paul was trying to do.

He said that we may present every man perfect in Jesus

Christ. He said I'm doing this with all

that I have. And God works in me to do this.

It's not me. It's not Frankie, it's not any

other preacher of the Gospel. It's God working.

It's his power. Paul said, I'm not ashamed of

the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For it, is the power of God unto

salvation, to all, who believe to the Jew first and also to the

Greek, you may have come here this morning and thought you

were just going to attend a service and you were going to

feel good about attending to worship service and you should

attend feel good about attending to worship service.

That's great but maybe just maybe you're not ready.

Maybe just maybe though you're ready.

Now, to recognize that Jesus Christ is all you need and he's

the one that's going to fill you up.

He can fill you up. if you're low and you're down and out and

you don't have any more strength to go, there is somebody that

can work in, you mightily in a way and with functions that I

don't fully comprehend But I know this.

That there is a possibility for us to live a Victorious Life in

the midst of circumstances. That are hard to even talk

about. And the reality of being able to

live, that life is Christ in you the hope of glory.

Is Christ in you. If Christ is in you, you have an

Earnest expectation. You have a hope of one day,

being with him in glory. If you have been drained by sin

and sin, by the way, will drain you send will drain Jesus right

out of your life. Sin will drain you and make you

feel like the Lord's, not doing anything for you.

And the church is not doing anything for you and I just I

need to be somewhere else. I need to do something else.

That's not the Lord doing that that's in doing that.

Stop letting the devil drink out of your drink.

Sometimes the devil's drinking with a big straw faster than the

Lord, God Almighty is piling in. And that's just kind of how it

works. He will drain you dry.

He'll leave you hopeless. He'll leave you away from God.

He'll lead you with all kinds of guilt and stain that you don't

feel like you can get off. What I want to tell you is this

that vessel that you feel like this morning will never be able

to be full again, there is a God in heaven, that can put all

those broken pieces back together again, and fill you up.

That's the power of the Gospel. That's the power of the god that

we serve and that is the power of a Christ that we're here to

celebrate and remember this morning.

And there is one other being in the godhead three that must

never be ignored. He is the one that has inspired

the Apostle Paul to write to this church.

And he is one that the father and the son, both took issue

with anyone that would grieve or frustrate.

And there is no greater grief, that you will ever give the holy

spirit of God. Then when he has convicted you

of what you need to do, and you resist him and walk away.

If you're here this morning and, you know, you need to make a

change in your life that change is between you and God and we

want to help you with it. In fact, we're that's how it's

going to work. You see?

The Bible says that when you want to be saved, you have to

come to the Lord. You have to, he said, go into

all the world and preach the gospel to Every Creature, he who

believes and is baptized shall be saved.

Why would he say that in Matthew 28?

He said, go and make disciples of all Nations, baptizing them,

in the name of the father, in the name, of the son, in the

name of the Holy Spirit, listen in the name of the father, in

the name of the son, and the name of the holy spirit is the

only kind of baptism you ever need to be a part of and it is

for the remission of your sins. You see the father and the Son,

and the Holy Spirit, are the only ones that can justify your

sins and your mistakes and You may go to some man that tells

you you've been absolved from sin that man lied to you.

I can show you the words of the Father, the Son and the Holy

Spirit directly revealed. I can show it to you in

scripture right now. You want it, here goes John

John 8:24

8:24, the Son of God says he that if you don't believe that I

am he you will die in your sins. The Son of God said in Luke 13

and 3. I tell you nay but unless you

repent you will all likewise perish.

The Son of God said, whosoever therefore, shall confess me

before men. I will confess him before my

father but if you don't confess me before men I will not confess

you before my father. Jesus, the son of God said, go

and preach the gospel to Every Creature, he who believes and is

baptized shall be saved. He that does not believe shall

be damned. Jesus is the one that said in

John 3 and 5 except a man be born of water and of the spirit,

he cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

That happened in Acts 2:38, they cried out, recognizing their

Acts 2:38

lost condition men and Brethren, what shall we do?

The Holy Spirit, inspired the Apostle, Paul the Holy Spirit,

literally had fallen upon these men and they began to speak by

the power of the Holy Spirit and they said repent.

Baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the

remission of your sins and ye shall receive the gift of the

holy spirit for the promise, is to you and to your children and

to those that are fought off far off.

And to as many as the Lord, Our God shall call, then they that

gladly received their word were baptized and that same day were

added unto them about 3,000. Souls verse 47 says the Lord

added to the church daily such as were being saved.

Have you been saved? That's the plan because I just

showed you from the Son of God from the Holy Spirit.

And from God, the Father Will you surrender to that plan?

Will you come this morning and confess your faith that you

believe? Jesus Christ is the son of God.

It's the most important thing that'll ever cross your lips.

You will have the assistance of someone that will help you in

surrendering to being baptized into the death, burial and

resurrection of Jesus Christ. And you arise to walk in newness

of life and all your old life is done away with all the things

that you felt guilty about and you're ashamed of, and you wish

nobody else could know about those things.

Nobody else is going to know about.

This is an offer from the Father, the Son, and the Holy

Spirit. We thank you for listening to

our podcast, put on by the Church of Christ at 22:15 plans.

Road in Bakersfield, if you would like any additional

information or you would like to receive a free Bible

correspondence, course by mail. Please email us at info at True

Church of Christ Bakersfield.com.

Our service times are on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. and

Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. Please make plans to join us.

We would love for you to be our honored guest.