HE CAME TO RESTORE THE IMAGE - Colossians 1:15-22

Well, anyways, this morning, if you have

a Bible, go ahead and open it up to

Colossians 1, verse 15, uh, through 22

Colossians 1:15

is where we're going to spend the

majority of our time this morning.

Um, and I really, really enjoyed just

kind of looking over this, and I've

always enjoyed the book of Colossians. I

don't know about y'all, but I've always

enjoyed uh just kind of reading through

the letters that Paul wrote, but

especially the letter that Paul wrote to

the church in Colasse. And as I was

reading over this, just with it being in

the Christmas spirit and just the fact

that we've got our our little boy now

and and it's so special because now we

get to experience that first Christmas

of being parents and even though he's 3

months old, he's going to have more

Christmas presents than he ever knows

what to do with that he's never going to

remember. Um just because that's what

you do as parents, right? You give your

kids way more than they ever deserve.

And then he's got grandparents that are

going to absolutely give them way more

than what we're giving them. So just a

lot of fun. Um, if y'all are really

looking for something to get us

personally, uh, we wear a size, uh, 10

by 20 storage unit. Um,

that would be greatly appreciated. Um,

it can be it can be a wooden shed, it

can be a metal shed, whatever you feel

fancy with. Um, but no, I'm just

teasing. But, um, I just remember

thinking back to those sweet moments

when I was a kid and just what Christmas

felt like. And it felt like there was

just this sense of just inspiring magic.

Um, and I began to think about like,

man, what were some of the cool things

that I got as a kid and I thought back

to this one moment when when my dad, he

bought us, it wasn't even a gift that I

got, but he bought my sister this

Galileo telescope. And I remember my

sister opened it and she was so excited

because she was super into astrology and

I was too. And I was real into geology

as well and rocks and I just really

wanted a asteroid of some sort just to

say I had it. And I remember when we

finally got it out and we got it open

and my dad decides to pick the coldest

night of the year, which there's only

two days in winter that there's actually

winter in South Texas. Uh, and my dad

decides to pick the night where it's 30°

outside. So, we're nestled in the truck,

huddled together, just freezing to

death. Um, but my dad is outside getting

this telescope set up and he's getting

it all keyed in and queued in on the

stars and all the planets and we got to

see everything. It was so cool. I was an

eight-year-old kid getting to see Saturn

with its rings, getting to see Jupiter

with its with its uh little dot and

getting to see um you know, Mars and

Venus and the moon and feeling like I

was going to be Neil Armstrong that got

to walk on the moon and just it was so

inspiring and getting to see all the

stars and the expanse and he's pointing

out the Big Dipper and he's pointing out

Orion's belt and he's like, "Hey, look,

this is all that has been given to us."

And it made me immediately shrink in

that moment.

And I don't know if you've ever felt

that way where you look at something and

you began to realize the expanse of

everything

because something shifted in that

moment. Everything that felt big in my

world, whatever I was worried about,

whatever I was frustrated with, whatever

I was overwhelmed by, especially as a

young kid, suddenly felt so small in

comparison. I felt small in comparison.

I felt like I was just a speck of dust

floating around in a room.

Nothing in my life changed,

just perspective.

I saw something truly bigger.

And I don't think that we ever truly

outgrow that need because we live in a

world where our problems always feel so

massive. They always feel much bigger

than what they truly are. Our schedules

are always so packed and so heavy and so

weighted down and it feels like there's

constant pressures that are pushing down

on our shoulders and there's always this

next deadline, this next due date, this

next thing that we've got to get to that

we just get so caught up in rush and

hustle and bustle and then all of a

sudden our emotions begin to just take

over and it feels deafening and crushing

and without meaning to. Sometimes we

even do this with our view of Jesus,

with our view of how God is and how big

God is. We shrink it to a size of

whatever we're going through. We make it

manageable. We try to make it

comfortable. We want it to be familiar.

And almost like we can just somehow tuck

him into this little box of our

day-to-day life.

And that's exactly what was happening to

the church in Colasse. And that's what

Paul is writing to. They didn't deny

Jesus. They weren't saying that Jesus

didn't exist or that Jesus wasn't who he

said he was, but they rather started

treating Jesus like he was just a

stepping stone to the next process in

the spiritual journey. Like he was one

piece of a much larger puzzle.

And they began to hear from these false

teachers and these false prophets that

they needed Jesus plus some aspect of

special knowledge. They needed Jesus

plus these strict legalistic rules. They

needed Jesus plus these spiritual

experiences to truly encounter the one

true God.

And slowly as these began to kind of

make their way into the church. And as

they began to kind of really dig deep

into the minds of the church in Colasse,

their view of Christ began to get

smaller.

So what does Paul do? Well, Paul does

what Paul does. and he says, "You know

what? I'm gonna write him a letter and

I'm going to correct these things." But

rather than diving straight into

arguments, rather than picking apart

these teachings and dissecting them,

Paul does something completely

different.

He lifts their eyes.

He gives them a picture of Jesus that

higher than creation, deeper than

redemption, wider than the universe

itself.

He shows them and points to them a Jesus

so glorious that everything else begins

to completely shrink in comparison.

And that's what he does in Colossians

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1 15-22.

It's almost as if Paul puts his hands on

his shoulders on our shoulders and he

says, "Before we deal with anything

else,

let's just look to him.

Not just a quick glance, but let's

really examine who Jesus is. Let's

really understand and dive much deeper

than the surface than the surface to

understand who the savior is. Because

when you see Jesus for who he truly is,

everything else, your fears, your

failures, your shame, your stress,

your emotions, whatever situations we're

walking through suddenly don't seem so

overwhelming anymore.

And that's what we're going to see as we

read it together. So let's look at

Colossians chapter 1 verse 15- 22.

Colossians 1:15–22

And it says, "He is the image of the

invisible God, the firstborn of all

creation. For by him all things were

created in heaven and on earth, visible

and invisible, whether thrones or

dominions or rulers or authorities, all

things were created through him and for

him." And he is before all things. And

in him all things hold together. And he

is the head of the body, the church. He

is the beginning, the firstborn from the

dead, that in everything he might be

preeeminent. For in him all the fullness

of God was pleased to dwell. And through

him to reconcile to himself all things,

whether on earth or in heaven, making

peace by the blood of his cross. And you

who once were alienated and hostile in

mind, doing evil deeds, he is now

reconciled in his body of flesh by his

death in order to present you holy and

blameless and above reproach before him.

Let's pray for a second.

Father God, we just lift this time up to

you, Lord. Just praying that your word

just speak to us, Lord. Just praying

that you open our eyes and our hearts to

who you are, Lord. May we grow to know

you more, Lord. May we grow to

understand your word. Lord, bless this

time. Amen.

>> And so, I just love immediately how Paul

comes right out in verse 15 where he

says, "He is the image of God." This is

a statement that Paul is making. Stall

Paul is not denying that Jesus is the

image of God. He's come right out and

saying this is the image of God. If

you're looking for who God is, look to

Christ. That is the first place that you

must look. And I think that there's

three key points that we can draw out of

this that Paul is pointing us to that

help us to better put Jesus into the

true picture that God has intended for

him to stand in that icon, that image of

who Jesus is. And that's first thing

that we must understand is that Jesus is

first.

Jesus is first. Jesus was first. Jesus

will be first. And so, let's step into

this like we're stepping into a go into

a story together.

Because imagine Paul sitting down with

believers in Colossians, even though

he's writing them a letter and he's

writing this to his friend,

knowing that they've been hearing all

these mixed messages of you need Jesus

plus something else.

But Paul gently just says, "Let me show

you who the real Jesus is. Let me show

you the true Jesus that you have never

truly maybe encountered or maybe that

you've heard about, but now you've

truncated him down to something

smaller."

And so he tells them that he is the

image of the invisible God. Think about

that for a second. He's not saying this

is just some partial or faint glimpse or

reflection of God. He's the full living

picture of who God is.

Paul is inviting us to see that Jesus is

the true image of God. The God who

seemed invisible has now become visible.

He's saying, "Look at Jesus and you will

see exactly who God is."

But then look at the word that Paul uses

there.

He goes from saying that he is the image

of the invisible God to now he is the

firstborn of all creation. And I like

how he uses that word firstborn. But

immediately in our mind what we begin to

think is oh he's talking about how Jesus

was part of creation and Jesus was the

first of creation. So therefore Jesus

was created by God. That's a misguided

statement and that is nowhere anywhere

true because in our world firstborn

might make us think of birth order but

in the Bible it's about rank and it's

about honor.

For example, we know that David was

given the rank of firstborn but David

was not the firstborn of Jesse's sons.

He was the youngest but yet he was

chosen and was told that he was the

firstborn.

And so Paul is saying Jesus is the one

who stands above all of creation.

He's the one who everything else points

to. All of creation points back to the

firstborn of creation.

Not only that,

but he's saying that Jesus is the one

who stands above all of creation. He is

outside of creation. He is not bound by

creation. He is not bound like we are.

He is outside of it.

But then

we see as he goes on into verse 16 where

he says, for by him all things were

created in heaven and on earth.

But that statement for him is a

significant point. It identifies Jesus

as the aim of creation, not just a piece

or a part of the story of creation. He

is saying that everything from the

moment from the time that God spoke and

creation came into existence. Jesus is

already being laid as the foundation for

creation. Jesus is the reason for

creation. He is the firstborn of

creation.

This is to show us that Jesus is the

alpha and the omega, the beginning and

the end. And we start to see that this

isn't just about adding Jesus to our

lives.

It's about realizing that Jesus is the

center of every aspect of our life.

Jesus is at the center of every aspect

of everything that has life

because then as it continues it tells us

that he is before all things and in him

all things hold together. So let's think

about what that means for us. Let's put

that into practical terms.

It means that every part of our life,

every aspect, every hope, every worry,

every dream

is held together by him.

So that means that Jesus not only

existed prior to creation, but he

actively participated in creation and

continues to sustain creation. He is the

sovereign king of the universe.

So why is this important?

Why does this matter? Why do we need to

know these things if we've already been

told these things and we understand

these things? Jesus isn't just someone

we add on top of everything else because

a lot of times that's where we want to

put Jesus. We want to put him at the top

of the checklist. We want to wake up in

the morning and go check. Had my Jesus

time. Oh, woke up on Sunday, went to

church, got that out of the way. I can

move on now to the next aspect of my

life because the Jesus part is taken

care of. So therefore, it's good. I've

done what God has called me to do to put

Jesus first. So I put Jesus first and

I'm now I'm done. Rest of the checklist

comes and it's all about me.

No, he's not someone we add on top of

everything else. Jesus wants to be

central to the checklist that is our

life. Central to everything that we do,

central in anything that we do. He's the

one who gives everything its meaning and

its value.

That's what Paul wants them to see.

Stop treating it like it's just some

spiritual experience, like it's just

this one-time thing that gives you a

quick spiritual high and you move on to

the next.

He wants us to know that when we put

Jesus first,

we're actually seeing him as he truly

is.

the one who was there at the beginning,

the one who holds all things together,

and the one for whom everything exists.

So, as we continue to step into this

text together, let's remember Jesus is

first, not just in theory, but in the

reality of our everyday lives.

And as we see him that way, what we're

going to begin to realize is that when

we put Jesus first, when we put Jesus

central to everything, when we look to

him in every aspect of our life,

it's like everything else begins to just

slowly fall into place. It's like the

natural order begins to take place

because now God is structuring our life

instead of us trying to structure it

ourselves.

Stop trying to fight against the hand of

God and just let the hand of God lead

you.

And so we take this to heart.

It's not about adding him to a checklist

or giving him the first five minutes of

our day. It's about letting him be the

first one we turn to in every situation.

Life went hard. Who did we turn to? Life

got difficult. Where did we go? We

achieved a little bit of success in

life. Who did we look to? Who got the

credit? Whose name did we call on when

we were in need? Where was our first go?

Who is our first source of strength and

peace in every aspect of life no matter?

Who is the person that we turn to?

Because when Jesus is first,

everything else finds its rightful

place. And we realize that he's not just

part of our life. He's not just a piece

of the story that is our life. He is our

life. He is our source of life.

And we realize that he's our first love.

He's our first refuge.

He's our first response.

And that just begins to scratch the

surface of the beauty that is our Lord

and Savior Jesus.

Because if he's first in all creation,

let's see how he's first in his church

and also in the resurrection. Because

Paul begins to point to that as well. He

says, "Not only is he first in creation,

but he's first in the church."

And Paul is about to show us how Jesus

supremacy changes not just the universe,

not just every aspect of our life, but

even down to the finest details of the

very people and the very heart of who we

are.

And so, let's keep walking through this.

Let's keep navigating through this.

Let's keep understanding what Paul is

pointing us to here. And that's the next

incredible thing that we understand is

if we truly understand that Jesus is

first

and we begin to place him first in

everything and everything begins to fall

into line and to fall into place, we

begin to understand that Jesus is

supreme.

Jesus has a certain supremacy about him

that no other thing has.

And so as we keep walking through Paul's

words, he shifts our eyes from creation

to something even more personal,

the church.

It's almost like Paul is saying, if you

think Jesus authority over creation is

stunning, if you think that's cool,

wait until you see what he does with his

very own people. Wait until you see what

he does with the people he was willing

to lay his life down for. The people he

was willing to give up heaven for

because he gives us this beautiful

picture. Jesus is the head of the body

that is the church. And we see this in

verse 18 because he says, "And he is the

head of the body, the church. He is the

beginning, the firstborn from the dead,

that in everything he might be

preeeminent."

So what does this mean to us? What does

this tell us? It means that Jesus and

God and the Trinity are not just hanging

out from a distance just watching what's

going on. They are up close. They are

personal. They are intimate. It is an

organic relationship. It is something

that is so entwined into every fiber of

our being. This is the same God who

said, "I knit you together in your mo

mother's womb. I formed your inward

hearts. You have been beautifully and

wonderfully made. I know every detail

down to the hairs of your head. And you

mean to tell me that I'm somehow not big

enough to handle your problems? That I'm

not somehow supreme enough to rule and

to reign over your life? That you

somehow know better than me. He's not

distant. He's not uninvolved. He's not

taking a step back. And if we feel

distant from God, it's us that moved.

God stays stationary. God stays put. It

is us that moves from him.

And a lot of times we feel like God's

not really speaking to us anymore or we

can't really hear hear his voice. Well,

here's the thing. You don't have to

shout to the person you're sitting next

to.

You just got to open your ears and

listen.

He's the one who gives us direction, who

gives us our purpose, who gives us life

itself.

And it is a life that has meaning. And

it is a life that is everlasting.

Think about that because if Jesus is the

head then that means that we are meant

to be connected. We are meant to be

engaged. We are meant to respond

to him.

He is the one who leads us forward.

But a lot of us too like to think that

this is somehow a passive relationship

like it somehow just occasional. It's

only when we feel like it. It's only

when we want to. It isn't occasional.

This relationship is active. It's

vibrant. And participation in the life

of his church is not just something

that's recommended. It's something that

is commanded.

It means serving, loving, showing up,

being involved.

Not because the church needs warm

bodies. That's not why we push serving

and getting engaged and being involved

in some sort of ministry. That's not the

whole purpose behind it. It's not so we

can just have warm bodies to fill in

ministry so we can get more people.

No, it's because Jesus is calling us to

be part of his living breathing body on

this earth. And if we are not connected

to the head, if we are not connected to

what Jesus is doing through the life and

through the body of his church, then

everything else falls flat

because there is no purpose. There is no

meaning. We are just consuming

and never giving.

But then Paul gives us this phrase that

I think carries even more weight than

what we realize

because not only does he say that he is

the head of the church, but then Paul

takes it a step further and he says that

he is the firstborn from the dead.

He's already told us that Jesus is the

firstborn of creation. meaning he holds

authority over everything that has ever

existed.

He holds that authority. But now Paul

shows us that Jesus isn't just the first

over the world we can see. He is first

over the world that we cannot see.

Jesus is the first to rise from the

dead,

the first to step out of the grave in a

resurrected body, and the first to walk

in a new life that will never perish

again.

Jesus was the first.

And what that means is breathtaking.

Think about that for a second.

He rules not only over creation, but

life and death itself. Jesus has the

final say.

He's the one who spoke the universe into

existence. And now he stands as the Lord

over life and death. There is no realm,

heaven, earth, death itself, where Jesus

is not first and is not reigning supreme

as the sovereign ruler.

And because he's that firstborn, he

leads us the way into the new creation

that we are invited to now live in and

dwell within. And this is where it

becomes extremely personal again

because if Jesus has authority over

creation and and if Jesus has authority

over the church and if Jesus has

authority over the graves itself then he

deserves authority over us over our

hearts over our decisions over our

desires over the way that we live. Jesus

isn't meant to be a weakened addition to

our schedule.

It's not meant for us to just come in

here to occupy a seat to hear a good

message, feel good about ourselves, then

go out, have lunch, and forget

everything that we ever learned.

Never apply it. Never put it into

application. never put any aspect of it

to where we are so excited and filled up

with the spirit to where when we walk

into our businesses or in our schools or

wherever we go on a Monday morning and

are so excited and just so jumping for

joy that the spirit of the Lord just

flows forth from us and we can't help

but tell everybody about the firstborn

from the dead, the firstborn from

creation, Jesus the Messiah. We are so

excited to tell him. No, instead what we

do is we come in here, we sit down, we

get comfortable, we get consumed,

we become spiritual glutton, we hit that

door and it never makes anywhere else.

But what we forget is the moment that we

hit the door is the moment that the work

begins.

The work doesn't just happen here. It

happens everywhere outside of here. It

is not bound by these four walls. The

church doesn't exist because it's a

structure. The church exists because

it's a person.

He's not some spiritual accessory that

you get to hold on to on your little God

chain.

He's meant to be the center of who we

are. The one seated on the throne of our

hearts.

And that's a question that we have to

ask ourselves. What is seated on the

throne of my life? What is seated on the

throne of my heart? Who is first in

everything I do?

Because it's through this reflection

that we fulfill our calling and we begin

to make him known to the far corners of

the earth in every capacity of our lives

in every aspect.

Whether it's an employee, whether it's a

parent, whether it's a student, whether

it's a neighbor, we must do it all as

unto the Lord. Work heartily as if doing

unto the Lord. Do everything you do as

if you are doing it for Jesus alone

because that is our ministry. That is

our purpose. That is our calling. It may

not be vocational ministry, but you have

been called to a ministry.

Whether you're a teacher, whether you're

a welder, whether you're a plant

operator, whether you work in a in an

office, that is your ministry. That is

your flock. SHEPHERD IT WELL and lead

and love them well. Show them and point

them to the one true God. Show them and

point them to Jesus.

Matter of fact,

yesterday was just an even greater

reminder of that.

Yesterday, we got to celebrate the life

of a wonderful, wonderful woman.

And we heard countless story after story

after story

of just how she fought the good fight.

She did well. She walked with purpose.

And all she did was love the people

around her.

She may not have been the most

biblically minded person. She was sharp

when it came to the Bible, though.

But that's what I'm saying is you don't

have to be full of biblical knowledge.

You just got to be full of the Lord. You

got to be full spirit. And you got to be

willing to walk in that purpose that he

has given you. Because all that she did

was love people and invite them to

church. And we heard story after story

after story of encounter after encounter

of people coming to know the Lord, of

people walking into ministry, of people

becoming pastors, of people just

genuinely feeling the call and the tug

and feeling like now they were home,

that they became a part of a bigger

family.

And I think every single one of us in

here can relate to that because

personally, that's my story.

My story began

because a sweet apartment manager saw it

within me to say, "I'm going to invite

that kid to church.

I'm going to get him. He's going to come

and I'm going to love him as much as I

can. I know he's rough around the edges.

I know he's hostile to the gospel, but I

know that he's going to he's going to

show up one day and the Lord's going to

do a work and I'm going to be faithful

to it."

And so every week I'd go in there. She'd

keep saying, "Hey, come join us. Come

join us. come join us. So finally I did

and it was because she understood the

fact that it is not about us anymore. It

is about pointing all back to the work

and the glory of the Lord. It is all

about pointing back to the fact that

there is a firstborn of creation. One

who reigns supreme. One who has all

authority. One who can silence every

fear. Who can calm every storm. who can

bring peace into the most turbulent of

situations.

And so when we begin to work heartily as

if for the Lord, when we begin to

understand that our life is no longer

about us, but rather about pointing back

to who Christ is and what Christ did for

us, that indwelling spirit begins to

glow so brightly that it begins to just

flourish from every facet of our life.

And what begins to happen that as people

begin to see us working as if working

unto the Lord, they can't help but stop

and stare and LOOK AND PROCLAIM, "ALL

HAIL, King Jesus, that is re who reigns

supreme in the life of that person that

stands before me." And I praise God that

we continue to get that opportunity to

go out and to be the flawed, broken

vessel that we are, but yet get to

proclaim a perfect and holy God. GOD WHO

SAW US IN THE MUCK and mire and said,

"You're worth it.

>> I'll call you out. I'll redeem you

because I love you."

And so, let us live with that truth at

the forefront. Let us serve with pure

hearts and let every aspect be a

reflection of his glory.

Because when we truly understand that

Jesus is first, begin to understand how

Jesus is supreme,

we get to the final aspect of what Paul

points us to.

That's that Jesus is enough.

There's nothing else we got to add to

it. There's nothing else that we've got

to somehow do on our end to make it

right.

Jesus is enough.

Take a moment to just let your heart

experience that truth.

Just let it think and marinate for just

a second. Jesus is enough. Stop trying.

Stop fighting. Stop pressing back. Stop

thinking that somehow you've got to

clean your life up. You've got to

straighten everything else out. You've

got to get everything taken care of and

make sure that you look holy and

spotless and blameless to go before a

king. No. understand that Jesus is

enough. Jesus's work is finished. We've

just got to step into it now.

Because as Paul continues, he opens our

eyes to a truth so rich

that you can't help but slow down and

want to just breathe it in over and over

and over again. Because look at the

beautiful truth that lays in verse 19.

For in him all the fullness of God was

pleased to dwell.

Think about that. The fullness of God

was pleased to dwell within him.

And I love that word dwell. And I love

how Pastor Roland talked about how Jesus

tabernac was the tabernacle.

Jesus tabernacle was the tabernacle of

God with us. Jesus is now the image of

the invisible God. Every attribute of

God, every bit of his holiness, his

mercy, his authority, his power

dwells in Christ.

Jesus isn't just part of God's plan.

Jesus is God's fullness walking among

us.

Heaven wrapped itself in humanity,

not as a glimpse, but as the fullness of

divine presence stepping into our world.

And from that fullness, what comes?

Reconciliation.

Something so beautiful.

Because verse 20 tells us that God is

making peace.

Because it says that and through him to

reconcile to himself all things whether

on earth or in heaven making peace by

the blood of his cross.

through the blood of his cross.

Let's think about that for a second.

Symbol that was meant to be the most

brutal symbol of death. A symbol that to

a world marked defeat, but to our Lord

marked victory.

It becomes the place where God writes a

peace treaty with humanity.

But he doesn't do it because we earned

it. He doesn't do it because somehow

we're good enough now. Not because we

reached up to him and said, "Lord, save

us."

But rather because Christ reached down

to us and said, "No, I'll save them.

I'll stand in the place. I'll stand in

the gap. I'll stand where they can't

stand. And I'll be the one that they

could never be to achieve the aspect and

the area that they will never be able to

attain all for them.

That's grace.

That's a gift.

That's love

moving first.

But then Paul gives us something even

more incredibly personal in verse 21 and

22.

He gives us this gospel timeline where

he says, "And you,"

I love transitions within the text. If

any if any of you know and you've ever

been here on a Wednesday night and you

hear my students, I love the word but in

the Bible

cuz anytime you see the word but, it's

usually talking about here's where

you've messed up, but here's where God

is great. Here's where you've fallen

short, but here's where God picked up

the pieces. And that's exactly what Paul

is doing. Paul is talking all the way

through this and he's saying, "Look at

the supremacy of Christ. Look at the

power. Look at the aspect. Look at every

fiber of his being. And now there's you.

Now we get to the point we call you out.

But it's past tense.

He says, "And you who once were

alienated

and hostile in mind doing evil deeds."

You were alienated.

We were hostile.

and we were evil towards God. In other

words, no aspect of us was neutral in

this whole problem.

We weren't spiritually confused. We

weren't just somehow taken astray.

No, we had full separation from God. We

inwardly were resistant to him.

We outwardly were walking away from him.

That's who we were.

But then comes the present

because then we get to verse 22

where now we step into that present

tense.

You were once alienated. You were once

hostile in mind. You were once doing

evil deeds. But he has now

reconciled in his body of flesh by his

death in order to present you holy and

blameless

through his body. Through his death,

through that blood that speaks a better

word than our guilt, we are brought

near. The hostility is over, the

distance is closed, the chasm has been

filled, the separation is healed, and

peace has been made. And then Paul lifts

our eyes to the future.

God is presenting us and will present us

as holy, blameless, and above reproach

all through the work of his son Jesus.

But I want you to not miss out on this

truth either because a lot of times this

is where we like to rest. We like to get

to the what we think is the finish line

of salvation, which is giving and

turning our life over to Christ. And we

think, "Okay, my ticket to heaven's been

punched. I'm good now. I don't need to

do any other aspect. I don't need to do

anything else. All I got to do is show

up to church on Sunday, carry a Bible

around occasionally, memorize John 3:16,

John 3:16

and say a prayer every time I think

about it."

But we miss out on so much because we

miss out on the true sacrificial aspect

that is going on here. This is not just

words on a page. This is a sacrifice

being written before us. Words used to

describe offerings set apart for God.

It's like Paul is saying, "Your past

doesn't define you, but Jesus sacrifice

does."

Because of the mercy shown at the cross,

we now live as living sacrifices

ourselves,

offering our lives to God, not out of

obligation,

but out of gratitude, out of a sense of

awe and wonder, out of a sense of love.

And when you follow that time to time

timeline from who we were to who we are

to who we will be, it all leads to one

clear conclusion.

Jesus is enough.

We don't have to add anything to his

finished work. We don't need Jesus plus

some spiritual experience. We don't need

Jesus plus rules. We don't need Jesus

plus your self-effort plus your

behavioral modifications.

The fullness of God was pleased to dwell

within him and the fullness of f

salvation flows forth from him. In

Christ, we are made whole. In Christ,

the gap is closed. In Christ, we lack

nothing.

So what do we do now?

Now we walk forward as living

testimonies of that reconciliation. Our

lives become the loud evidence that the

gospel truly does transform a broken

heart. That the gospel truly does

transform a broken mind. That the gospel

truly does heal the hurt.

Because when we love, when we forgive,

when we serve, when we lay ourselves

down as living sacrifices,

we are proclaiming with every fiber of

our life that Christ is sufficient.

And this is how we carry the message of

Jesus into a world that is in desperate

need of it. So, how do we do it? How do

we begin to go and to live on mission?

How do we begin to go and to walk in

this truth that has been given to us?

Well, it's simple.

By living as people who truly believe

that Jesus is enough,

and that through him all things can be

made new.

That no one is too far gone, that no one

is outside the reach of the gospel. That

no one is unredeemable.

Everyone can have an encounter with

Christ. But the question is, is that

encounter going to come by you living

that transformation?

By you being that walking, talking

example.

There was a truth that was shared with

me when I first came to know and I'm

sure many of you have heard it.

And it was told to me like this. You may

be the only Bible that someone may ever

read. So, make sure it's the truth.

>> Make sure it's the real gospel. And make

sure it's a gospel that points their

hearts and minds to Jesus, not to you.

Because Paul has shown us that Jesus is

bigger and more beautiful than we often

ever allow ourselves to truly see.

He is a Jesus who is first over all of

creation. A Jesus who is supreme over

his church and over resurrection and

over life. A Jesus who is enough to

reconcile us, to restore us, to make us

new.

This is the Jesus who holds all things

together, including our lives, including

every aspect, including every detail.

Jesus is holding it together.

But now we stand at a place where

we must call our hearts to a response.

Because if Jesus truly is first and

Jesus truly is supreme and Jesus truly

is enough, then he deserves our whole

hearts. Not just the peace that we have

reserved, not just the bits that we have

left over, but he deserves every fiber

of it.

He deserves our trust. He deserves our

surrender.

And I simply want to invite you to open

your heart to him this morning.

Because maybe you need to say, "Jesus,

be first in my life."

Maybe you need to say, "Jesus, take your

rightful place. Lead me, guide me, shape

me, mold me into the person you have

called me to be."

Or maybe today you just need to say,

"Jesus,

you're enough for me. I don't need

anything else as long as I have you.

I don't need another materialistic item

as long as I have my mansion that is

prepared for me."

>> Lord, I don't need anything else as long

as I have you and as long as I have your

church.

Wherever you are, I want you to

understand that God meets you right

there.

You don't have to go to him. You don't

have to somehow straighten things up.

You don't have to tidy up the house so

he can come in. No, God comes into your

house and he cleans it up for you. He

does the work. You just got to let him

do what only he can do.

And so as we take a moment here in just

a second and as we pray,

just let the Jesus that Paul has lifted

before us be the Jesus that we lift our

lives to.

Would you join me as we pray?

Father God, we just praise you so much

for this morning. Lord, we just Lord, we

are just in awe of your son, Jesus.

Lord, we are just in awe of the fact

that you would call us, Lord, that you

would send such a precious gift to come

in some of the most in one of the most

humble ways,

Lord, to come as a baby

who's born in the most humblest of

places in a manger

to show us the greatest gift that we

could have ever given, Lord, which is

life through you, Lord. to be reconciled

to you, Lord, to give your son up as the

firstborn of creation, to make peace

through the blood of his cross.

Lord, may we lean into that truth, Lord.

May we lean into the fact that you are

enough,

Lord. That we don't need a spiritual

experience, Lord. That we don't need

another spiritual high, but Lord, we

just need you.

Lord, we just need your son. Lord, may

you fixate our gaze on him. And Lord,

may our life continue and always be a

reflection

of the transformational work that took

place.

Lord, may we continue to point others to

you.

Lord, may we feel so equipped and so

overflowing with the spirit that the

moment as soon as we hit the doors this

morning, we can't wait to tell everybody

about the greatest gift this world has

ever received.

Lord, may you fill us with that power.

Lord, I'm praying that you do a work

this morning.

Lord, I'm praying that you transform

hearts and minds. Lord, I love you. I

thank you. It's your name we pray. Amen.