Month: December 2023

Colossians 2:4 (KJV) “And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words.”

Now we are going to take some of these words apart so that the HOLY SPIRIT can use them to draw us closer to the LORD and to teach us how to be more aware of the fact that Satan is doing his best to destroy us as Christian and also to stop US as a vital part of the “BODY OF CHRIST”. Satan can not stand to see a church that is LOVING one another and others, or a church that is showing COMPASSION, or a church that is growing together for the GLORY of GOD! Now let’s dig into this 4th verse of the 2nd chapter of Colossians. First I want us to look at the word SAY:

Say: the Greek word used here “LEG’-O” is used instead of the many other words that mean to speak or to make a noise, or to just simply to break the silence. The Greek word  (LEG’O) means to paint a picture with words, to “LAY FORTH” words that will form a picture or thought in the heads of the ones reading or hearing it, to help them, and of course help US to continue on the path or our task. I found it very interesting that this word “LEG’-O” in it’s Latin counterpart means “I put together” or “I assemble” and is the word that, in the early to mid 1900’s, that an American immigrant named his company product after. He called that product “LEGGO’S”. I am sure you I and most every youngster in the US has used those plastic pieces to construct or build many things. It is so, fitting that Paul would use this Greek word to help this new congregation to be built, or grow, into a great witness for CHRIST. Paul knew that the Judaizers would soon be attempting to destroy the work that had begun there at Colossae. So, the Apostle Paul wanted to EQUIP these new CHRISTIANS with the weapontry or tools they needed to carry on as a powerful witness for the LORD. So that they could be able to continue the work that Epaphras had started there at Colossae, because as I have said numerous times, GOD did not save us to just sit idly by, but to work as the “BODY OF CHRIST”, to be the arms, the legs, the mouths of the head which is JESUS! Let’s look at the next part of this verse and look at the word “beguile”.

Satan was at work in that day, just as he is at work in our day and time, he is very busy at attempting to stop the great task that is given to the church to spread the GOSPEL of JESUS THE CHRIST! Because this proclamation of that GOOD NEWS is the only hope for a lost and dying world.  

The word “BEGUILE” simply means to “lie to” to decieve and cause delusions in the mind of the “BODY OF CHRIST”.

If Satan cannot stop the work of CHRIST then he tries to “dilute” it so that the witness is without POWER, and cannot accomplish the task that GOD desires. Satan has been “BEGUILING” people since the beginning of time, he has had a lot of experience in doing it, and in one place in GOD’s word, he was declared to be “the father of a LIE”. He lied, or beguiled Adam and Eve, to disobey GOD and plunged mankind headlong into sin. He has been lying and deceiving people ever since, and even tried to deceive the “SON of GOD” in the wilderness during JESUS’ temptation.  Satan lies to you and I today, he lies to everyone today to accomplish his task. To beguile all of the world so that he will have more and more company in HELL. Never listen to his lies, that is why John said to “try the spirits” in 1 John 4:1 (KJV) “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of GOD: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” Never let satan “beguile” you, because he will try for sure, and he will try it just as Paul says in this 4th verse of the 2nd chapter of the book of Colossians. He will do it by using “enticing words” which by the way is used only one time in the Bible and means “using persuasive language”. Remember some of these words satan has used. Such as when he was talking to Eve in the garden of eden (KJV) “…Yea, hath god said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” and when he was talking to JESUS in the wilderness and said: (KJV) “…If thou be the Soon of God, cast thyself down: for it is written…” listen satan is BOLD BRASS and BEGUILING. Use the WORD of GOD quoting God’s Word back to him. Just a note about the Hebrew word “subtil”, it means “CUNNING” “CRAFTY” and also “BEGUILING”.

So when someone comes to you preaching or teaching things that are “TICKLING” to the ear. BEWARE!!!

Order your life by the “WORD OF GOD”. Live as the “WORD OF GOD” says live, Love as the “WORD OF GOD” says love, Give as the “WORD OF GOD” says give. “Everything that you do, do in the NAME OF THE LORD!

I read to you just a little bit ago out of the book of 1 John the 4th chapter and the 1st verse so here now is the 5 verses following it. 1 John 4:2-6 (KJV) “Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.”

2 Corinthians 9:15 “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.”

Colossians 2:3 “In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

Let’s look at some words that Paul has used here in these two verses of scripture. I always try to picture in my mind what Paul is doing at the time he is writing these letters, try to see maybe where he is at and what the circumstances are as he is writing or as he is dictating to someone else who is actually doing the penmanship. Paul is probably sitting in some dank dark jail as he serves the LORD or maybe on some lonely island in a storm, huddled under some bare shelter, or in some other dire situation. So let us first look at some words in this first verse where Paul was writing to those Christians at Corinth. The first word I want to look at is “UNSPEAKABLE”  

The Greek word that was translated “UNSPEAKABLE” means, that which cannot be told out to the end; what cannot be told in detail, or related. Paul is wanting these Christians to know that this person, this JESUS the CHRIST, is no ordinary person but is GOD HIMSELF in the flesh, who has came down from heaven above to help HIS people, to deliver them, to comfort them, to be near them in there time of need. In the Bible in the book of Matthew in Matthew 1:23 says: “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, GOD with us.”  The word unspeakable means “Indescribable” which really “reminds me of the candy bar named “PETER PAUL MOUNDS”, because back in the day, when I was still a very young boy, this company’s advertisement used that word “indescribable”. It is fitting isn’t it that the man that concocted that formula and started that company was an “imigrant” from a far country, who had come to this new nation to realize his dream. Which brings me to the book of Luke where the greatest gift ever, the most “UNSPEAKABLE GIFT” was prophesied to happen in Luke 1:26-33 “And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, name Nazareth, To a virgin expoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever: and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” GOD came to HIS people and became flesh so that HE could deliever them by becoming the propitation for their sins and the sins of the whole world. The word:

Gift: Suggests and means that they and we did not earn it, that we were not even thinking about GOD at the time. It was not any sense of duty that brought GOD to this sin-laden earth but it was HIS GREAT LOVE that moved HIM to come and deliver HIS people from there sins. The Bible declares in:

Romans 5:18 “Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righeousness of one the FREE GIFT came upon all men unto justification of life.” JESUS HIMSELF said in the Gospel of John in:

John 4:10 “Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.”

A gift is something presented to you without payment from you, a present that you did not earn or buy but it did cost something to the one giving the GIFT and in this case it cost GOD HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON to come and die a horrible death upon the CROSS so that you and I and that ALL (WHOSOEVER WILL) could be SAVED.

Have you received this GIFT, just as we celebrate CHRISTMAS with the giving of gifts, you don’t just leave the gifts unwrapped and laying around but you open it and take unto your self. You must receive this “UNSPEAKABLE GIFT” into your heart and do with it as GOD would have you to do.

Now in this next scripture which is in Colossians 2:3 “In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” The first word I want us to take note of in this verse is the word “HID”. Which says to me, that we have to open it so that we can see what this GIFT is, in our lives today when we celebrate CHRISTMAS, we don’t just leave the presents unwrapped or tossed in a corner or thrown in a drawer somewhere, but we open them and use them for what they are intended for. What is HID in GOD? The word HID does not mean that it is placed somewhere so you can not find it, but that it is placed as a treasure, so to keep it safe till you dig it up, or unwrap it, to see what it is. The word “TREASURES” simply means “WEALTH”. We search or work for wealth most of lives but the Bible says that “ALL” the “TREASURES” all of the “WEALTH” that is worth having is in JESUS. All of the “WISDOM and KNOWLEGE” that you will ever need has been given to anyone and everyone who wants it, who is willing to SEEK it. The Bible says to “SEEK AND YOU SHALL FIND”, so may I offer to you these suggestions or these options of what we must do with this “GIFT”? First:

We most “OPEN” this GIFT: We must open our HEARTS and receive JESUS in as our SAVIOR. HE is available and ready to save you from your sins: He is availble and ready to “change your life”, OH!! The pain and shame we bear needlessly because we delay coming to CHRIST. Reach out this day and “OPEN” your HEART to JESUS and receive HIM today as your SAVIOR. 

Secondly, after you have been saved:

We must OBEY: We must obey GOD and be about doing ALL that HE has commanded US to do. And, of course the greatest commandment, the greatest task that HE has given us, is to LOVE, to LOVE GOD, to LOVE ourselves, and to LOVE others. When we obey these commandments all of the others just fall in line right behind them. Remember 1 John 5:3 “For this is the love of GOD, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not greivous.” Then last but not least:

We must OFFER our lives to HIM: We must offer our lives as a LIVING SACRIFICE unto GOD to be used of HIM. When we offer our lives to HIM, it is only our reasonable service. Listen please, think of it this way, SACRIFICE for SACRIFICE, HE gave is life for you, and, you give your live to HIM.

Whereever you are at, whatever you are doing, or whenever, “LIVE FOR HIM” GOD has all you need, “WISDOM” “KNOWLEDGE” “STRENGTH” “PROTECTION” “LOVE” and “COURAGE”

COLOSSIANS 2:7(KJV) “Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.”

Rooted: (Which means to become stable) to put down roots into the fertile soil of the “WORD of GOD”, and “Built Up” ( Which is a compound Greek word, made up of (epi or upon) as to build upon, or to build thereon) you see, when we are saved and become “borned again” we are given the FOUNDATION within us to build upon, when GOD saves us, HE does not expect us to remain as just a Foundation, but fully expects us to erect a life on that Foundation that will remain stable, so it can be used by others to lead them to “HIM” or of course lead them to JESUS the CHRIST! I, in my life, have seen many foundations started, but they never went any further. I have seen, out in the country, in residential city areas, in failed subdivisions, or any city neighborhoods, Foundations that never had anything placed on them, Foundations that were taken over by weeds and vines and never became the home that they were planned for. Foundations that were bare and useless, no signs of life or movement, no signs of the Family that was hoped for, no signs of the growth that was planned. Such a sad site, but the same things happen in the Foundations of Faith when people get saved and never move from that spot. They remain just a Foundation, they never build on it and create a life of service for JESUS. Now let’s look at the next phrase.

Stablished in the FAITH: The word stablished means to stabilitate or “MAKE STABLE”. Even a foundation can become weak and unstable if we never build on it, if we have nothing built on our foundation, that foundation can begin to crumble and fall apart and become very unstable, we must always build on our Foundation of Faith, and not let it become unstable. Listen my brothers and sisters in Christ, without the stablization of “building upon” that Foundation, it will crumble and erode away. Now, I am not saying that you can be lost again but that your salvation can become nothing but “powder” and “dust” and there will be no power there to make you a “witness” for the LORD. So, by FAITH we need to “stablish” our Christian lives. We need to allow the “HOLY SPIRIT” to take the WORD OF GOD and build some flooring, some walls, some roofing on that Foundation, so that we can become a “POWERFUL” witness for JESUS. So we can live our Christian lives with “POWER” and strength and become a real laborer for the “BODY OF CHRIST”. Now, please listen to what the Apostle Paul says next.

Abounding Therein with THANKSGIVING: The Greek word here that is translated “ABOUNDING” means to SUPERABOUND in quantity or quality. To be in “EXCESS” not to just do something but to be superfluous at doing it. To cause to SUPERABOUND or to excel, to love MORE, to work MORE, to worship MORE so that there is plenty of results to go around. To go OVER and ABOVE that which is expected of you, to be better than you are supposed to be. PLEASE never forget this, “YOU CANNOT OUT GIVE GOD”, not in monetary value, not in laboring, not in loving, not in having compassion, not in anything. GOD gave till it HURT!! GOD GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON TO BE SACRIFICED ON THE CROSS for the propitiation for our sins. YOU cannot out GIVE GOD!! But you can attempt to be as LOVING and as CARING as HE is. You can try to, at least give and care as much as HE does, by FAITH, to SUPERABOUND in FAITH. And do it with THANKSGIVING. The word THANKSGIVING means: Gratitude; active grateful lanuage to GOD, as an act of WORSHIP, not only in WORD but in ACTION. Living a life of THANKFULNESS, loving HIM with ALL YOU GOT!!!

Are you living that kind of life, am I living that kind of life, is our CHURCH or our BODY OF CHRIST living that kind of life? “WE SHOULD BE” We should be building on that FOUNDATION, so that our community can be strengthened, caring and loving. So that we can be an example of Christlike people LIVING for GOD.

Colossians 2:1-3 (KJV) “For I would tht ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

Love will always get you where you want to be, LOVE is the “stitches”, or the glue, the “MATTER” that holds a LOCAL CHURCH together. In one place in the Bible the Holy Ghost led the writer to say, that LOVE covers a multitude of sin, LOVE is what keeps a group, a team, a couple together. It is what keeps friends together, it is the warmth, happiness, the good feeling that is present when you are together. Did not the HOLY GHOST also say “Where 2 or 3 are gathered together, there I am in the midst of them.”

GOD is LOVE, and so when WE come together it is like putting a bunch of sparks together and it becomes like a bon-fire. The warmth from that LOVE just flows in and out and among you all, or us all, if I may use that phrase. The warmth of the LOVE just draws everybody together and causes others to want to come and gather with you so that they also can feel that WARMTH. There AIN’T nothing like it!! Remember that this world, is a cold dark place without the LOVE of GOD in the midst of it. Kind of like bisquits! Have you ever taken some flour and put it in your mouth, it is not really very palatable by itself. But, if you take that flour, some milk and other ingredients, and kind of mix and pat it together and then put in the oven and heat it up, you have a really tasty morsel of food that will sustain you when you are hungry, and by-the-way, the WORLD is a hungry place, it is hungering for what GOD has for them, I think sometimes we have forgot the meaning of some words and take them for granted, like the word hunger which means: a feeling of discomfort or weakness caused by the lack of food. Doesn’t that sound like a fit discription of the world today. The world is just going to and fro with no power and finding no comfort for their pain, and WE, as the BODY of CHRIST have that FOOD, we have what they NEED. Each one of us as the unique part of that BODY, when gathered together with the other unique parts, make a BODY that can supply all the needs of the WORLD. You see the word “knit together” is a compound word that is put together by using the Greek word “SUN” a preposition, and the Greek word BIBAZO which translated into our language today means to “drive together” to cause things and even people to “UNITE” or mesh together. In Psalms 133, Please listen to what David says about HARMONY and UNITY, the KJV translates the Hebrew word here as “UNITY”, and I believe rightly so, but many of the other translations of the Bible translate it as “HARMONY”. Both translations are great and mean the same thing. The verse says: “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.”

This Psalm was sung by the Jewish people as they came together to worship in the TEMPLE. The JEWS, for so long were very tribal, very distant from one another and GOD had promised them that HE would be there in the TEMPLE with them, when they met HARMONIOUSLY there to worship HIM. It is so JOYOUS and AWE inspiring to see GOD’s people fellowshipping together, LOVING one another and being HAPPY in the presence of one another. It is like the whipped cream and cherry on the top of a milkshake. And most of all it pleases GOD, to no end, to see HIS children, spreading HIS LOVE among one another. MT Zion of course is where Jerusalem is and in the background is Mount HERMON, which is the highest peak in Israel, and it is said that there is so much DEW on Mount HERMON that the mountain can not contain it but it “puddles up” and spills over and runs down to JERUSALEM. Dew is so refreshing, so LIVING, it sparkles in the sunlight and gives such emanance that David would liken it to ETERNAL LIFE. OH that the CHURCH would be like MT HERMON and with so much LOVE within it that that LOVE would puddle up and run out and fill the communities, the cities, the states, the countries, and YES even the whole world with LOVE, like the mountain fills JERUSALEM and the surronding valley’s with the DEW! 

In Ephesians 4:16 the Apostle Paul used the same Greek word as he was explaining how the BODY of CHRIST was fit together with JESUS as the HEAD of that BODY, but the HOLY SPIRIT chose to translate it with a different English word. Well, listen or notice as I read that verse to us: “From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.” Can we let these verses that Paul has written, spark our imagination to the point where we will let it paint a picture in our minds of what Paul is talking about. Look at it this way, or in a similiar way. Think of  the size of the task, or JOB that GOD has given us to complete, the JOB of “GROWING A CHURCH” as the BODY of CHRIST. NOW, picture 1 person trying to accomplish that task, very daunting isn’t it. NOW, again, picture that person or BODY multiplied by even just 30 or 40, let me paint or draw that picture to help us picture it better. We, if my math is correct, as a picture of a person, who is now over 200 feet tall, about 70 or 80 feet wide with legs that are over 60 feet long with a stride of 50 or 60 feet and which would now make our reach, now also magnified to about 120 feet. Now, don’t go to thinking that your PASTOR has finally gone all the way and forever looney, but realize that I have just described a GIANT, which could now be more able to take care of and accomplish the great awesome task that GOD has set before us. Now, this body that I have just described, towers over the work that we are sent to do. WE can now, with less steps, with less reaches, with less volume in our combined voices, take the message of CHRIST out to our community and to, YES, even the whole world. Listen, my brothers and sisters in CHRIST, with our combined efforts we become this massive WITNESS for CHRIST and, our community, and our WORLD can better see the NEED to be SAVED and the NEED to JOIN the BODY to make it EVEN MORE effective in it’s outreach.

Colossians 1:22-29 (KJV)  “In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sigh: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister; Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church: Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of GOD which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.” 

This would be a good time to look at the word that the Apostle Paul used here, RECONCILE: which means “restoration to DIVINE FAVOR” because when ADAM and EVE decided to choose to believe satan, the serpent, and disobey GOD, all of mankind was plunged into sin and death that comes along with it, and because of that we have also chosen not to obey GOD, because the bible in the Book of Romans says: “…ALL HAVE SINNED and COME SHORT of the GLORY of GOD” and also that the WAGES of that SIN is DEATH, then GLORY to GOD the Bible also says BUT!!!! BUT!!!! THE GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE “THROUGH” JESUS THE CHRIST OUR LORD. (Romans 6:23) (KJV)  Listen folks you won’t get there by “being good” or with “righteous living”, if you’ll remember the Word of GOD in Isaiah 64:6 (KJV) says, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquites, like the wind, have taken us away.” NO!! Your righteousness will not get you to heaven or get you to becoming “BORN AGAIN”, the only way that can happen is by your “HEART FELT BELIEF” or “FAITH” in the shed blood of the SAVIOR JESUS. The Apostle Paul started out that 6th Chapter of Romans with these verses, let me read Romans 6:1-6 (KJV)  “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dad to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucifiec with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” I surely know and I am aware that there or those that preach different and present a different gospel, but please read along with me, to what GOD’s holy scriptures say in Romans 3:22-28 (KJV)  “Even the righteousness of GOD which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.”

The Bible talks about the “latter days” that will come, that men and women will want to heap to themselves, or to continually pile up PREACHERS and TEACHERS that will tell them what they want to hear, to TICKLE their ears with LIES and PROMISES that will make them feel good, and feel that they are OK because GOD loves them, but listen to me please, GOD loves us all and always will, but we do not become saved and “BORN AGAIN” till we call upon the name of the LORD with saving FAITH, always remember this that the abundance of LIES and FALSEHOODS will never equal the truth, you can continue to pile up a huge stack of good sounding stories and tales, but the truth, and GOD’s WORD is the TRUTH, one word about JESUS will extinguish all of the LIES you can pile up. Listen to what Paul says in verses 21 and 22 of our text. “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.” Do you feel HOLY? Do you feel BLAMELESS? Are you ABOVE REPROACH? The answer of course is NO! NO! A thousand times NO! We ARE NOT, but because of JESUS’s  sacrifice upon the cross, and the shedding of HIS precious BLOOD we are SEEN that way, we are SEEN as righteous when we accept HIS  SACRIFICE and BELIEVE IN HIM. There is an old song from the 1960’s, don’t know whether you have heard it or not, but that makes no difference, it was not a GOSPEL song nor a church HYMN, it was titled “TELL IT LIKE IT IS”. And I hope that when I preach or when I teach, that you can KNOW, beyond a shadow of doubt, that I don’t beat around the bush, but I “TELL IT LIKE IT IS” I am no one’s toy or puppet on a string, but I have been “CHARGED” by ALMIGHTY GOD HIMSELF to preach HIS MESSAGE. I have been “Charged” or commanded to be “IN SEASON” or “OUT OF SEASON” in other words, to preach HIS WORD whether it’s popular or not, whether people like it or not. I think we as preachers and teachers of the BIBLE have to preach and teach that HELL is REAL and is HOT, and that HEAVEN is REAL and is SWEET. That GOD does not send us to HELL or HEAVEN but has provided everything we need to escape that damnation, but we must make that choice, HE will not force it on us. We must choose JESUS of NAZZERTH and HIS SACRIFICE for the atonement of our sin, and we must also choose to follow HIS example and HIS directions to LIVE for HIM.

In verses 26 and 27 of our text, Paul talks about the “MYSTERY” that has been hidden since the beginning of time. Please listen as I read those 2 verses “The mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to HIS saints. To them GOD willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is “CHRIST IN YOU, the HOPE OF GLORY.” My brothers and sisters in  CHRIST, we have no HOPE except that HOPE that we have placed in JESUS’ “BLOOD AND RIGHTEOUSNESS”

The JEWs thought HEAVEN and SALVATION was just for them, but that was the MYSTERY that was HIDDEN from the beginning of time, but the CHURCH is made up of JEWS and GENTILES alike, just as JESUS said in John 3:16 (KJV) “…WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH…” those that have trusted in the SAVIOR, JESUS, JESUS of NAZZERTH, who was sent to be the SAVIOR of WORLD. I am going to read you a couple of last verses and if you remember last Sunday I ask you to look at one of those verses because I would use it this Sunday Morning.

Ephesians 5:32 (KJV) which goes right along with the 26th verse in our TEXT and it says: “This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning CHRIST and the CHURCH.” 

My hope is that you have trusted in this JESUS as the sacrifice for your sin, and believe that GOD hath raised HIM from the dead. For the Bible says in Ephesians 2:8 (KJV) “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of GOD:” My hope is that you would respond to the HOLY GHOST, if you have never been saved, call upon HIM and HE will save you. Place your “HEARTFELT” FAITH in JESUS’ atonement and you will receive all of HIS promises.

Maybe this is the day you would like to step back on the right path and follow JESUS.

Maybe this is the day you would want to follow Jesus in Baptism.

HE is waiting for you, waiting for you to decide!

Colossians 1:20-22 (KJV) “And, having made peace through the blood of HIS cross, by HIM to reconcile all things unto HIMSELF: by HIM, I say, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath HE reconciled In the body of HIS flesh through death, to present you HOLY  and UNBLAMEABLE and UNREPROVEABLE in HIS sight:”  

I want us to look at some words and phrases, as I usually do, so that GOD’s HOLY SPIRIT can lead us to the meaning or explaination of what the Apostle Paul is saying to those at Colossae and to anyone that reads or hears this. First, let us look at the word peace.

Peace: Means to be a peace maker, that is to harmonize things or people, with that or those that are at enmity with something or someone but, here, specifically with GOD. It also means to make peace, probably not the type of peace that comes first to your mind, but to make peace with GOD.  Now let’s look at the word Enemies.  

Enemies: means actively hostile or warring against, as an adversary , or as satan does against GOD or anyone or anything of GOD’s, now you might say: Well, I never fought against GOD, but think now, We are in the flesh, and fleshly thoughts are against the will of GOD because they are controled by satan and satan is always, I say again, satan is always, against GOD and he is always the ADVERSARY of GOD, so whether it was consciously or subconsciously you were GOD’s enemy before you “REPENTED” and turned to GOD and asked forgiveness and were “BORN AGAIN” or “BORN ANEW”.

You might ask the question why do I need to make peace with GOD I am not an ENEMY of GOD, but wait, let’s read further, verse 21 of our text: “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind, by wicked works, yet now hath HE reconciled”.That was what GOD was talking about in the Garden of EDEN when HE was speaking to the SERPENT. Listen to  Genesis 3:15 (KJV) when GOD said: “And I will put enmity between thee and the worman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”

Now let me bring some more scripture into our study that will shed a little more light on this subject. Look at:

Ephesians 2:15,16 (KJV) “Having abolished in HIS flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in HIMSELF of twain one new man, so making PEACE; And that HE might reconcile both unto GOD in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:” also look at:

Romans 8:7 (KJV) “Because the carnal mind is enmity against GOD: for it is not subject to the law of GOD, neither indeed can be.” and also read:

James 4:4 (KJV) “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with GOD? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of GOD.”

Sometimes, in fact, most of the time, when we hear or see the word ADULTERERS or ADULTERESSES, we immediately form this thought in our minds that GOD is talking about people caught up in sexual immoralities, but most of the times that GOD uses these words, in the OLD and NEW Testaments, HE is talking about HIS people that have gone “a whoring” as we see in Judges 8:33 (KJV) “And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim, and made Baalberith their god.” and as we see in Deuteronomy 31:16 (KJV) when GOD was talking about what would happen after Moses would die and what GOD’s people would do: “And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them.”

We, as GOD’s PEOPLE, want to remember always in our minds that JESUS’ death upon the cross of CALVARY, as awful as it was for HIM, was for our REDEMPTION, for our SALVATION. He suffered and died for YOU and I and also for everyone that would believe and choose HIM as their SAVIOR.

We should read, over and over again the story of what we call “THE PRODIGAL SON” in Luke 15:11-32 (KJV) but we should read the whole story and pay close, special, attention to “BOTH SONS”, 

Think on these things as you read this:  “REPENTANCE” “FORGIVENESS” “REDEMPTION” “COMPASSION”

 “…A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himsel to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him. And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found. 

GOD LOVES YOU WITH AN EVERLASTING LOVE