Colossians 1:21-29

I'm going to give a brief overview of Colossians really quickly.

So chapter 1, verse 1.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God's will, and Timothy, our brother,

to the saints in Christ at Colossae, who are faithful brothers and sisters,

grace to you and peace from God our Father.

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you.

For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all of the saints

because of the hope reserved for you in heaven.

You have already heard about this gospel and the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you.

It is bearing fruit and growing all over the world, just as it has among you

since the day you've heard it and came to truly appreciate God's grace.

You learned this from Ephraim.

Our dearly loved fellow servant, he's a faithful minister of Christ

on your behalf, and he has told us about your love in the Spirit.

For this reason, since the day we heard this, we haven't stopped praying for you.

We are now asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will

in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so that you may walk worthy of the Lord,

pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work, and growing in the knowledge of God,

and being strengthened by all power, according to his glorious might,

so that you might have great endurance and patience,

joyfully giving thanks to the Father who has enabled you to share in the saints' inheritance in the light.

He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.

In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation,

for everything was created by him, in him and on earth, the visible and the invisible,

whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities,

all things have been created through him and for him.

He is before all things, and by him all things hold together.

He is the head of the body of the church.

He is the beginning, the firstborn from the head,

so that he might come to have first place in everything.

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,

and through him to reconcile everything to himself,

whether things on earth or in heaven,

by making peace through his blood shed on the cross.

Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds,

expressed in your evil actions,

but now he has reconciled you by his physical body through his death

to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before him.

If indeed you remain grounded and steadfast in the faith

and are not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that is before you,

this gospel has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven,

and I, Paul, have become a servant of it.

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you,

and I am completing in my flesh what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for his body,

that is, the church.

I have become its servant according to God's commission that was given to me for you,

to make the word of God fully known,

the mystery hidden for ages and generations,

but now revealed to his saints.

God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery,

which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

We proclaim him, warning him,

teaching everyone with all wisdom,

so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

I labor for this,

striving with his strength that works powerfully in me.

And just up to verse 3 in chapter 2.

4.

I want you to know how greatly I am struggling for you,

for those in Laodicea,

and for all who have seen me,

for all who have not seen me in person.

I want their hearts to be encouraged and joined together in love,

so that they may have all the riches of complete understanding,

and have the knowledge of God's mystery.

Christ.

I'm going to pray really quickly,

and let me begin.

Heavenly Father,

I thank you that you are a good and kind king,

that you sent your Son,

who is the firstborn of all creation, O Lord.

I pray for clarity and for boldness

as I preach and proclaim your word, O Lord.

I pray for hearts to receive it well, O Lord.

I pray for all humility on everyone's part,

including mine, O Lord.

I pray against Satan,

against his devices, O Lord,

and I pray that our attention would be focused on Christ,

his preeminence,

his preeminence,

his reconciliation,

and now us as ministers of reconciliation.

Amen.

So just a note of view.

First, verse 2,

this is a letter of encouragement.

It's not necessarily a letter that's written to rebuke them,

not in any sort of way.

We see that in verse 2.

To the saints in Christ at Colossae,

who are faithful brothers and sisters.

He's not writing this to people who need rebuking.

He's writing it to faithful brothers and sisters.

And you can usually tell that tidbit

from all of Paul's letter at the beginning.

Colossians and Ephesians are sister letters

because they're both letters of encouragement.

If you look at that tidbit in Ephesians,

you'll see the same things.

Faithful saints who are in Ephesus.

Verse 3 to 8,

Paul is happy and thankful for the news of good fruit,

good and godly fruit from these believers

that he's never met before.

Verses 9 to 14,

even though he's thankful for the fruit of salvation

and all these good things that are coming from them,

he still prays for spiritual maturity for them.

He wants them to be fully matured in Christ.

In verse 15 to 20,

what I believe is the magnum opus of this chapter,

Paul gives us a hymn of Christ's preeminence.

And then to the section that I'll preach on,

verse 21 to chapter 2, verse 3,

this, in a sense,

is the practical application

of Christ's preeminence over the cosmos.

Paul has laid out what he believes about Christ,

what Christ's preeminence is,

and now we're getting into,

well, what do we do with this?

And so my first point,

verses 19 to 23,

is we are aliens now reconciled.

We are aliens now reconciled.

And to start,

verse 21,

19 to 21,

for God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him

and through him to reconcile everyone to himself,

whether things on earth,

in heaven,

by making peace through his blood shed on the cross.

Once you were aliens,

hostile in your minds,

expressed in your evil actions.

So at one point,

if you're a believer now,

you were totally depraved.

Total depravity.

It's what I want to start with.

I want to start with that

because it says you were alienated

and hostile in your minds,

expressed in your evil actions.

What total depravity means

is that from birth,

we inherit a sinful nature

and we are beings now bent towards sinning.

All of our being is bent towards sinning.

That is our desire.

And honestly,

whenever I think of this,

I think of Lord of the Rings.

I think in particularly of one character,

I think of Gollum.

I think of Gollum

because of how much he loves the ring.

Gollum starts off as a hobbit,

as Smeagol,

and is kind of good.

He's just a river folk,

chilling,

having fun,

enjoying creation.

And then the ring enters the picture.

It poisons his mind,

poisons it so much

that he hates the light.

He hates the moon

and he hates the sun.

That he goes into a cave of darkness

where he dwells there for 500 years

and is obsessed with this ring,

this precious.

And then we continue the story

that at the end of it,

he would even give his life.

He dies to be with this ring

of how much he loves it.

That is a picture of total depravity and sin.

Sin loves the darkness.

It loves the darkness.

There is no one that I know

who is sinning

who wants to reveal that sin.

Sin loves darkness.

And sin wants to bring us to death.

The wages of sin is death.

We are working to death in our sinning.

And for those who are not saved,

you are totally depraved now.

But what precious verses

for us in verse 19 and 20,

that Christ is sent

to reconcile us.

Christ is sent to save us.

Christ, the firstborn of all creation,

he was sent by God,

promised by the prophets to come

to take on the weight of the world,

to live a perfect life,

and to suffer, to bleed,

and to hang on a cross and die.

And three days later,

he rose from the grave.

And that is the only thing

that we could believe in

that would save us

from total depravity,

from this nature

that is bent towards sinning.

And I love that it says

that we once were alienated,

past tense.

We are no more.

We are no more

in this total nature.

Yes, we still have a sin nature,

but we are now reconciled, believer.

Romans 3, 19 to 18

gives us a great picture

of what depravity looks like

in the human.

You don't have to turn there.

I could just read it.

Let's read this part.

There is no one righteous,

not even one.

There is no one who understands.

There is no one who seeks God.

All have turned away.

All alike have become worthless,

and there is no one

who does what is good,

not even one.

Their throat is an open grave.

They deceive with their tongues.

Vipers' venom is under their lips.

Their mouth is full of cursing bitterness.

Their feet is swift to shed blood of ruin,

and wretchedness are in their path,

and the path of peace they have not known,

and there is no fear of God in their eyes.

That is total depravity.

What does that mean?

That means that you, us,

would have picked up a stone

and stoned Stephen

as he was preaching the gospel with us.

You, me, us,

we would have yelled crucified

to the Messiah

because of our depravity.

You, I, us,

we are Barabbas.

We are murderers.

We are defilers.

We are evil.

But Christ takes our place

as he took Barabbas'.

He saves him

from this punishment

that he deserves.

But even more than that,

verse 23,

verse 22 to 23,

but now he has reconciled you

by his physical body

through his death

to present you

holy,

faultless,

and blameless

before him

if you indeed remain grounded

and steadfast in the faith

and are not shifted away

from the hope of the gospel

that you have heard.

Even more,

brothers and sisters,

taking our place,

dying for us,

he will present us

as what?

Holy.

Who's the only person

that I know

that is holy?

The Lord Almighty.

He will present us

as holy,

faultless.

Who's the only person

that I know

that is faultless?

The Lord Almighty.

And blameless.

Who is the only person

that I know

that is blameless?

The Lord Almighty.

And he will present us

as these things

to his father.

Let me remind you

who God is

and who will be presented to.

God is the king

of the cosmos.

Hubble telescope

can take a snippet

of his kingdom

and still not fully reveal it.

He holds together

the fabric of time and space

by the word of his mouth.

He is omnipresent.

He is everywhere.

He is omniscient.

He knows everything

in his kingdom.

He is omnipotent.

There is nothing

that he cannot do.

Shall I continue?

He is enthroned in heaven

and earth is his footstool.

He is holy,

holy, holy.

The king of kings

and the Lord of lords.

The majesty,

the perfect one.

That's who will be presented to

as holy, perfect,

and blameless.

We should be trembling

before that.

As Isaiah says,

tremble before

the word of the Lord.

As Isaiah sees

the Lord high

and lifted up,

he says,

woe is me,

a man of unclean lips,

living amongst people

of unclean lips.

When we are before

the Lord God,

our face should be

to the ground

and we should be

like dead men.

Instead,

we are presented

by Christ

as holy,

faultless,

and blameless.

But there's also

an if in verse 23.

If you indeed

remain grounded

and steadfast

in the faith

and are not shifted away

from the hope

of the gospel

that you have heard.

Let me ask you this, church.

Is the gospel

still precious to you?

Are you like Jesus' relative

who when brought

before them

in their community,

he could not perform

miracles because of

relations with them?

Has the gospel,

has grace,

has salvation,

has all these

glorious truths

become common to you?

Or is it just

like water rolling

off the duck's back

that you're just like,

yeah, salvation,

grace.

grace.

So like,

I can spend my day

without thinking about it.

Has it become

these common objects

to you?

If it has,

repent.

It should not be

like that.

The king of the cosmos

deserves eternal worship.

Not a second thought.

If these things

are common to you,

as it should not be,

repent.

Do not become

like relatives

of Jesus

where because

of relations,

because of time

spent with him,

you say,

I already know

about grace.

I already know

about these things.

Do not be like that.

Repent

and believe

in the gospel.

And if you are

holding fast to that,

praise God.

Praise God,

truly.

But does this verse

mean,

if you hold fast,

does it mean

that you can lose

your salvation?

By no means.

This is not what that means.

This is not accurate

with scripture.

It says

in the scriptures,

he who has found,

he is the founder

and finisher

of your faith.

He is the author

of salvation.

He is the perfecter

of your faith.

He is the author

of all creation.

He is writing

what I am speaking

right now.

But,

what Paul

is getting to

is what he talks

about

in

2 Corinthians

13.5.

You want to turn

over there

really quickly?

2 Corinthians

13.5.

Test yourselves

to see if you

are in the faith.

Examine yourselves

or do yourselves

not recognize

as Jesus Christ

is in you.

Test yourselves,

brothers and sisters,

to see if you are

in the faith.

More recently,

I mean,

the person that I

can think of

is Carlos.

A person who,

at one point,

I would have called

a brother.

Test yourself

to see if you

are in the faith.

And then,

again,

in the book

of James,

turn with me

if you can

to James

James 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5.

Or,

sorry,

James chapter 2,

James 2 · chapter mention

18 to 26.

But some

will say,

you have faith

and I have works.

Show me your faith

without works

and I will show you

my faith

by my works.

You believe

that God is one.

Good.

Even the demons

believe and they shudder.

Senseless person,

are you willing

to learn that faith

without works

is useless?

Wasn't Abraham,

our father,

justified

by works

in offering Isaac

his son on the altar?

You see that faith

was active

together with his works

and by works

faith was made complete.

And the scripture

was fulfilled to say,

Abraham believed God

and it was credited

to him as righteousness

and he was called

God's friend.

See that a person

is justified

by works

and not by faith alone.

In the same way,

wasn't Rahab,

the prostitute,

also justified

by works

in receiving

the messengers

and sending them

out by a different route.

Just as this body

without the spirit

is dead,

so faith

without works

is dead.

You cannot have faith

and truly be pleasing

to God

without works.

as it says

in Colossians

1,

21,

once you were alienated

and hostile

in your minds

expressed

in your evil actions,

you show

that you were alienated

and hostile

to God

expressed

by your evil actions.

You show

that you were

in the faith

and that you love

God

by your actions.

You cannot have

one without the other.

Truly,

but I'm also

not preaching

for a works-based

salvation

by no means.

I do not believe that.

I do not believe

that you can

bring anything,

that you can add

anything

to Christ's

finished work

on the cross.

But God

is true

in what he says

that if

by your works

you are shown

fruitless,

if you are a branch

that produces nothing,

you will be cut off

and thrown

into the fire

to burn

forever.

Test yourself.

Are you in the faith?

What are your fruits?

Can anyone

here

affirm your fruits?

What do they look like?

Verse 23.

Verse 23b.

The gospel

has been proclaimed

in all creation

under heaven

and I, Paul,

have become a servant

of it.

I just want to,

there's many ways

that I can go.

Just suffice it

to say this,

that this should be

interpreted

in cosmic terms

instead of

geographical terms

because honestly

that would be a lie.

The gospel now

has not been

proclaimed

in all creation.

The gospel then

in Paul's days

has not been

proclaimed

in all creation.

The Americas

weren't even found.

But we should

emphasize

or see an emphasis

in the word

all creation

as in Christ

is the firstborn

of all creation.

Viewed in cosmic terms,

he is preeminent

over all creation.

His gospel,

his kingship

is over

all creation.

that does not mean

that when

he died

and rose on the cross

that that went out

to all creation.

No,

that also does not mean

that God's glory,

his eternal power

being revealed

by his creation

is what's saving people.

No,

it is cosmic proportion

to this gospel

has gone out

to all creation.

But

that's what I want to say

in that section.

Now,

section,

verse 24

to chapter 2-3,

the three things

that I want us to consider

in this portion

of Colossians.

One,

we will suffer.

Two,

the mystery

is revealed.

And three,

we must labor

as Paul labored.

I'll say that again.

We will suffer.

The mystery

is revealed.

We must labor

as Paul labored.

verse 24.

Now,

I rejoice

in my sufferings

for you

and I am completing

in my flesh

what is lacking

in Christ's afflictions

for his body,

that is,

the church.

Just a note

on Paul's suffering here.

He is by no means,

again,

adding to Christ's works.

That's not

what he's saying here.

What he is saying

is he is following

his preeminent Savior,

the one who goes

before all Christians

and saying,

I am following

a crucifix life

as my Savior followed.

I am taking up

my cross daily

and suffering

as all Christians

are promised suffering.

Christ is the firstborn,

the preeminent,

the one who leads the way.

We must follow

in Christ,

we must follow Christ.

He says in Matthew 5,

blessed are you

when others revile you

and persecute you

and other all kinds

of evil against you

falsely on my account.

Rejoice and be glad

for your reward

is great in heaven

for so they persecuted

the prophets

who were before you.

Paul's reward

is great in heaven.

Truly,

rejoice when you

are persecuted

and follow

in Paul's example

of suffering.

Rejoice.

did not shy away

from suffering.

He despaired so much

in life at one point

that he wanted to die.

Yet because of Christ,

he continued going.

The second point,

the mystery is revealed.

I've become

its servant,

verse 25,

I've become its servant

according to God's commission

that was given to me

for you to make

the word of God

fully known.

The mystery,

hidden for ages

and generation,

but now revealed

to his saints.

God wanted to make

known among the Gentiles

the glorious wealth

of this mystery,

which is Christ in you,

the hope of glory.

We proclaim him,

warning him,

and teaching him,

everyone,

with all wisdom

so that we may present

everyone mature in Christ

and labor for this,

striving with strength

that works powerful in me.

For I want you to know

how greatly I am

struggling for you,

for those in Laodicea,

and for all who have not

seen me in person.

I want their hearts

to be encouraged

and joined together

in love so that

they may have

all the riches

of complete understanding

and the knowledge

of God's mystery,

Christ,

in him are hidden

all the treasures

and wisdom of knowledge.

Mystery.

Paul has mentioned

the mystery

like five times

in three verses

or five verses,

and he talks about

the mystery

in Ephesians.

What is this mystery?

Simply,

the mystery is Christ.

Christ and the gospel,

and the mystery

is Christ

and his prophetic,

these prophetic words

that were promised

of him.

Christ revealed

in the Old Testament

is this mystery,

and the gospel

that is before us

is that mystery.

You might think

the gospel,

Christ,

a mystery?

I've known that

since birth.

I've been sitting

in these pews

since conception.

This isn't a mystery.

It's not new to me.

But two things

to consider on this.

First,

Gentiles had no part

in the covenant

with Yahweh.

We were aliens.

If a non-Jew

came to Israel,

they were called

resident aliens.

They didn't belong there.

They had no part

in the covenant,

in the Old Covenant.

But Jews did.

But now,

Christ offers a way

for even Gentiles

to worship

the King of Kings,

and the mystery

is revealed

to the world,

not just to the Jews.

Praise God for that.

Second,

consider

our spiritual heritage.

Adam,

who walks with God

in the garden,

and after a royal screw-up

that any of us

would do,

is left with a conscience

of what did I just do

to the world?

Noah,

who was a man

found right,

who was the only man

found righteous

on the planet,

he builds an ark

trusting what God

says is true.

Faithful father Abraham,

who leaves his hometown

of Ur

to follow God

into the wilderness.

Sarah,

by faith,

even Sarah,

who was past childbearing,

was enabled

to bear child

because she considered

him faithful,

who made the promise.

Isaac,

Rebecca,

Jacob,

Joseph,

Moses,

Phineas,

Miriam,

Aaron,

Caleb,

Joshua,

Rahab,

Gideon,

Hannah,

Ehud,

Deborah,

Samson,

David,

Samuel,

Nathan,

Isaiah,

I could keep going.

These men and women

who were faithful

did not have this mystery

revealed.

They were not given

the privilege

of knowing who Christ is

and who the gospel is.

They were never,

this was never fully

revealed to them,

but it is

to you.

And praise God

that he chose

that you would be born

in this half

of the covenant,

in this new covenant,

this age,

this modern period,

this country,

this time

for you to have

freedom of religion

and know

what the gospel is.

Oh,

great is our God

that in his kindness

that he would reveal

this mystery to us

because there's still

people in America

who this mystery

is not revealed to.

Praise him.

last point

on this section

is that we must

labor

as Paul labored.

Verse 28

onward.

We proclaim him

warning and teaching

everyone with all wisdom

so that we may present

everyone mature

in Christ.

I labor for this

striving

with his strength

that works powerfully

in me.

These verses,

Christ's church,

must be ours.

We're a new work.

This is the work

that we're doing.

Let me read that again.

We proclaim him

warning and teaching

everyone with all wisdom

so that we might present

them mature in Christ.

I labor for this

striving

with all strength

that works powerfully

in me.

That is our work.

That is what we must champion.

All this theology,

Christ's preeminence,

him being the firstborn,

the suffering servant,

his glory,

his ministry

of reconciliation,

now ours.

As Sam read earlier,

turn with me to

2 Corinthians 5, 17.

Therefore,

if anyone,

let me say that again,

therefore,

if anyone,

not select people,

not apostles,

not evangelists,

therefore,

if anyone is in Christ,

he is a new creation,

the old has passed away

and see the new has come.

Everything is from God

who has reconciled us

himself through Christ

and has given us,

everyone who is in Christ,

the ministry of reconciliation.

That is,

in Christ,

God was reconciling

the world to himself,

not counting their trespasses

against them,

and he has committed

the message of reconciliation

to us,

to those who are in Christ.

It's not only Christ's church

that this labor belongs to,

it belongs to all who are in Christ.

Meaning,

let me read that again,

we who are in Christ

must proclaim him,

warning,

teaching everyone

with all wisdom

so that we might present

everyone mature in Christ.

That is the charge

given to a Christian.

I labor for this,

striving with his strength

that works powerfully in me.

That means

that you do not do this

in your own strength.

Paul

was given

39 lash

minus one

from the Jews

five times.

He faced dangers

on the seas,

on the roads.

He was without food,

without clothes,

with frost.

How can one do that

in their own strength?

Verse 29,

I labor for this,

striving with

his strength

that works powerfully in me.

In this new work,

if you are striving

in your own strength,

if you are already

getting tired,

consider that you're

striving in your own strength.

Consider that

and then repent.

Turn to the Lord.

Ask for strength.

Striving means

to endeavor

to reach

or strain

for something

above

or beyond.

We all know

how to strive.

We were all once,

Isaiah

or Reuben,

reaching

to grab something.

We all know

how to strive.

We all know

how to strain

for something.

Apply that

to your Christian life.

You must strive.

And if you're not,

then according

to this verse,

you are not walking

as a Christian

should be.

If you're just

living the Christian life,

you are not walking

how a Christian

should be living.

You should be living

in a way

to present everyone

mature in Christ.

Show me your fruits.

Where's the fruit of that?

Continue really quickly.

Verse 21,

I want their hearts

to be,

verse 2,

sorry,

I want their hearts

to be encouraged

and joined together

in love

so that they might

have all riches

of complete understanding

and have the knowledge

of God's mystery,

Christ.

In Him are hidden

all the treasures

of wisdom and knowledge.

You should want this

for other people.

You should be praying

this for other people.

You should be desiring

this for other people.

If you're older in here

and you have a far

longer time

with the Lord

than I ever have,

do not put those books

on the bookshelf

and just say,

young people don't need me.

I need fathers.

I need those shelves

off the books.

I need those books

off the shelf

for you guys

to teach me.

I need old people.

Do not consider

that I am too young.

Wisdom has no age limit.

Wisdom is Christ incarnate.

Solomon asked for wisdom

and wisdom was given

to him at a young age.

Wisdom is doing

what is right,

doing what is godly.

It's not experiential.

That is worldly wisdom.

Wisdom has no age limit.

Young people,

you can be wise.

I'm a young person.

I can be wise.

That's the Lord for it.

But that's all.

I want to close

with some application points.

Here are some ways

to struggle

and to strive.

First, pray.

Ephesians,

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6.

Ephesians 6, 18.

Pray at all times

in the spirit

with every prayer

and request

and stay alert

with all perseverance

and intercession

for the saints.

19, pray also for me

the message

may be given to me

when I open my mouth

and make known

the boldness

of the mystery

of the gospel.

At the end

of everything

that Paul is saying

with the armor of God,

he ends it with pray.

Truly,

that is the Christian's weapon.

Prayer.

Strive in prayer.

Labor in prayer.

You don't have time

to go and share

the gospel?

Pray.

Pray.

There's no one

underneath you

who you're teaching?

Pray.

Pray for Christ's church.

Pray for strength

for Christ's church.

Pray for the loss.

Pray for maturity.

Pray for other churches

as Paul is praying

for another church.

Is there another church

that you know of

that you're praying for?

Do you want them

to be mature in Christ?

Is this your only bubble?

Pray.

Pray for other churches.

Pray for pastors.

Pray for ministers.

Pray that we may be

mature in Christ.

Pray that our ministry

would be going out

and bringing those in

to make them mature in Christ.

Two.

Fast.

I don't know why.

I don't know how.

But it works.

It works.

Fasting works.

A dependence upon God works.

Saying, Lord,

I'm emptying myself.

Look upon my struggling.

Help me, Lord.

Listen to these things

that I'm praying for.

Do you fast now?

Do you do the quarterly fast

just because

the Holocaust is doing it?

Fast.

Works.

Three.

Go evangelize.

I love evangelism.

Ephesians 6.16.

In every situation...

Sorry, not 6.16.

15.

And your feet sandaled

with readiness

for the gospel of peace.

Go evangelize.

If you're a mom

and you have kids,

go to the park.

If you're a single person,

you got a bunch of time.

Maybe.

Go evangelize.

If you're just married,

go to the park

with your family.

Go evangelize.

If you're a new couple,

go evangelize.

It is the best way

to be persecuted.

Rack up your rewards

in heaven

by being persecuted.

Go get the loss.

Four.

Moms,

bring your kids

in the gospel.

People are watching.

There are so many people

who are watching

kids who are obedient now.

They're like,

why are your kids

so obedient?

Because I'm not

gentle parenting.

Because I spanked my kids

because the word

commands me to.

dads,

work hard

without grumbling.

Your coworkers

are watching.

If you work

with a bunch of believers,

that's awesome.

I don't.

I work with a bunch

of non-believers.

I get the ability

to preach the gospel

all the time.

But if my work

is just sloppy

and terrible,

why would they

listen to me?

Rejoice in trials.

Do not be anxious

in trials.

That is a fool's errand

to be anxious

in trial.

Do not be anxious.

Turn to the Lord

in the same way

that we strive

with His strength.

We need His strength

in trials.

That's the only way

that we can rejoice

when we lose a baby.

That's the only way

that we can rejoice

when we lose a loved one.

That's the only way

we can rejoice

when we have no money

and we just got fired

and our house is on fire.

That's the only way

is with His strength.

And then

the last application point,

rest in Christ.

How do we get strength?

It's by resting in Christ.

Meaning,

read God's word

and pray daily.

Truly,

read God's word

and pray daily.

This is not a,

you must do this

to be saved.

It is a,

that is the only way

for you to receive strength.

It's by asking the Lord,

going before Him,

being on your knees,

reading His word,

being encouraged

in the faith.

He is your daily bread.

He is your sustenance.

All my application points,

but to close,

I just want to read

the lyrics to this song,

which is,

He is our strength.

Lord,

send your church

to the nation afar.

Burden our hearts

for the hearts

that are hard.

Please be our strength.

You send your spirit

to help in your place.

Behold,

you are with us

forever always.

He is our strength.

Lord,

we're unable

unless you enable.

Graciously give us

your strength

to go make disciples

of every land

so we may stand

and worship

and adore the Lamb.

He is our strength.

Every nation

and every tongue

hear of His goodness

and what He has done.

He is our strength.

Lord,

send Christ's church

into the world

for your glory.

Graciously give us strength

to desire your glory

above all else.

I need your grace.

We need your grace.

Help us deny ourselves.

You are my strength.

Though for the gospel

we may lose our life,

it's incomparable

to Jesus Christ

who is our strength.