Colossians Lesson 13 Week 3
Colossians · Courtney Hemenway · Aug 17, 2014
Colossians (2014), No. 32
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://www.hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/492643723822

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

All right, we are in lesson 13. I believe we finished question 6 last week, is that correct? All right. And we will try and get finished today with lesson 13. I think we can, although my kids give me grief about that. I was studying last night and I said, don't worry, Dad, just study one question. You're only going to get through one question. I get no grief, even on my birthday I get no end of grief.

All right, let's just go over it again. This is Colossians 2, lesson 13. And the verses we're going over are verses 15 through 19 of chapter 2. I'll go ahead and read those just to get us back. We had the week off for the camping trip, so kind of get us refocused again. 15 When he had disarmed the rulers and authorities, he made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through him.

Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink, or in respect to a festival, or a new moon, or a Sabbath day, things which are a mere shadow of what is to come. But the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of angels, taking a stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the head from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with the growth which is from God." Okay, so we're at question seven. What is your prize or reward? And again, coming from verses 18 and 19. Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement, in the worship of angels, taking his stand in visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his flesh and mind, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with the growth which is from God. So, let no one keep defrauding you of your prize.

So, what is the prize? We're under a law, now we're under grace, we have a freedom, now we're being all bound up in, I mean Christ is the prize too, but freedom from the law. So the prize is we're not under the law anymore? I think that's part of it. I'm just reiterating what you're saying. Other thoughts? Is the prize salvation? Well, that we grow. That we grow? Okay. Isn't it? We grow with a growth that is from God. Okay. Other thoughts? Isn't it the reward of the judgment seat of Christ? We are all over the board on this one. I'll go with something like fellowship with Christ. Fellowship with Christ?

Okay. We are all over the board on this one. I wasn't expecting this many different variants on this. Any others? Well, I said God is present in such power in Christ that all the Christian's needs are supplied. Okay. Good. Any other thoughts? We are given serious gifts. Gifts. Okay. So that would be the prize he's talking about here? Well, our gift is to the fellowship. Okay, the prize is to the fellowship.

Others? Wow, I wasn't expecting this broad of an answer. This is cool. Any others? I think it's your gift. A gift that all our sins are taken care of and we don't have to worry about. That's the prize. Were you holding up your hand, Mike? OK. So. Oh, one more late breaking. I don't know what the price is. There we go. You get your money later.

So, again, who thinks it's salvation? Nobody thinks it's salvation? Because I thought there'd be some that the prize is salvation. So who's he addressing here? Believers or non-believers? Believers. Okay. So defrauding you of your prize or taking away the prize. So you think it runs out, you know, as far as salvation. It couldn't be salvation. because it's defrauding you of your salvation. So, again, just weeding out through the answer.

So, the prize. I had, and this is, I don't know, Mike puts these questions, I had, the prize is the intimacy, union, everything that we have with Christ. Our relationship, our identification with Christ. That's the prize. And I forget who said about the growth.

At the end of the verse it says, growing, and I go back to 2 Peter 3.18, to grow in the grace and knowledge. That's what I think the prize is. Growing in the grace and the knowledge. And that is the intimacy or the union with Christ that we have. Don't let people defraud you of that or take that away from you.

And what's the rest of the verse say? By delighting in self-abasement, the worship of angels, taking a stand on visions, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind. What is that doing? The last part, what is that taking away? What? The old man? Grace? He likes freedom today. So where is that pointing? All those verses, they're the last part of that. After defrauding, who's that focused on? Self. So is that focusing on Christ?

No, so all these things are pointing us away from Christ and our intimacy, our relationship with Christ. If you start focusing on their worshipping angels and the mysticism and all the different things they're trying to mix in here, what does that do? That points you away from Christ. And if you're pointed away from Christ, are you having fellowship with Him? No. Do you have that intimacy? The union is still there, it's just a fellowship.

That's why I started with salvation. It's not anything related with salvation. This is just our relationship. with Christ, the intimacy that we have. If we're worried about angels and all this, we're not focused on Christ. We're focused on other things. And can we have fellowship with him when we're focused on worshiping angels? No. And all these other fleshly things that we're going to get into. So, I had it as the intimacy or union or fellowship with Christ. When we start focusing away from Christ, we don't have that intimacy or that union or that fellowship with him.

And I looked at my favorite part in John 17, the real Lord's Prayer, in John 17, 13. But now I come to you, and these things I speak in the world, so what? That they may have my joy made full in themselves. Again, with the intimacy that we have, the prize that we have is that relationship so we can have joy made full in us by the relationship or the union we have with Christ. In John 17, 20-23, I do not ask on behalf of these alone, so now this is where we get carried into it, but those who also believe in me through their word, that's us, that they may all be one, even as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me.

Again, that intimacy, that union, that fellowship that we have, that's what we have when we are, what, focused on the Lord. If we're off on angels and all that, are we having that fellowship, this union that we have by position, but our condition is pulled away by all these other distractions. Do we have distractions today? We're talking about worship of angels and things. Do we have other distractions now that will accomplish the same thing?

I heard cell phones. Don't even get me started on that one. Family get-togethers now. Yeah, there are a whole bunch of distractions now. Worldly things, your job, money. success, any number of things can keep us away from that fellowship. Distractions, things that are shiny baubles and things over here that we look away from, what? Our intimacy with Christ, our union with Christ. There are so many things that distract us now. Careers can get in that way, where your career is just everything. And for guys, that's a big thing. A lot of times our identity is in who we are business-wise, what we do. But that's not our identity. Our identity is Christ.

So again, these warnings still apply to today. That any distractions that we have, these little baubles, these things that take us away from the intimacy with Christ, are things that are distractions. You know, we are in this world, and if I went on John 17, he left us in the world. But again, our focus is to be on Christ, not all these other things.

So, okay with that? I got, well actually another one, a couple more on John, that was, let me see, 1725 through 26. O righteous Father, although the world has not known you, yet I have known you, and these have known that you sent me. And I have made your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which you love me may be in them, and I in them." Again, that's the desire. That's if we focus and our focus is on Christ. What do we have?

This is true whether we acknowledge it or not, the love is still there. It's just whether we're receiving that love. God never turns his back and has little distractions over here. He's full on, fully engaged with us. We're the ones that turn away to these distractions. The love is always there. It can't be separated. There are lots of verses that say we can't be separated from his love. He's always full on coming after us. We're the ones that have these little distractions over here. And so that's what he's getting at here.

Don't be defrauded. Don't go after these things. Because you lose the prize, which is the intimacy with Christ. Yeah. Do you think that, going backwards, that the prize could be But Paul speaks of it in the 5th verse of chapter 1 of the book which is laid out for you in heaven. That's part of it. Again, I look at what mine is in Christ. That's all part of the hope.

So the focus is on Christ, but what is all engaged in that? There's grace, there's all these other attributes that we have. When you're going off the rails, they're not going to have some of the things that might be attributed to them in heaven. Instead of going after angels and everything else, and not having the same mistake of God that you're speaking of. And belief in the word that Paul has presented to them. Yeah, and that's, you know, I go back to fight the good fight of faith.

We have to believe what's true about us. And I look at it as, if you really think about this, this is absolutely insanity. Why do we look at these little baubles and things on the earth and make us all bent out of shape about whatever's here? Our focus should be on Christ and that's where the intimacy, the peace, the rest, all those things are. But we get so distracted in our condition to look over and remember position and condition. Positionally we're positioned in Christ and he's at the right hand of God. That's positionally where we're at. Conditionally, we wander all over the board. And the thing is the loss.

It could be rewards if we're doing things that we'll be burned up at the judgment seat. That's our rewards, where we get rewards, but those other peripheral things we chase, those are going to be burned up. But again, the prize is intimacy. And why do we choose not to engage that all the time? It's the old man screaming at us and we listen to that. And if you think about that, that's spiritual insanity. That's just stupidity. Why do we give up the intimacy with the God of the universe for a babble on earth?

One of the things that struck me from right here, and Josiah sent me a paper last week that was really good, I think we get bogged down in method. I think that we may have the goal in mind to know Christ, but somebody comes along with a method that isn't biblical. And so we worship angels or we put ourselves under a legal system or we engage in some sort of a practice that we think is going to move us ahead spiritually and flesh. And the issue is, if spiritual growth is my focus, I haven't figured out what God has in mind for me yet. What he has in mind for me is intimacy with Christ. The method is beholding Christ. You get bogged down in methodology, and how am I going to do this? You know, and that's why I stressed on the John 17.

It's intimacy. You know, even in prayer, you know, Abba, Father. Can you imagine, I mean, when you really put this in your mind, you go before the God of the universe who created all this, keeps every heartbeat, every breath, everything going on, and he intimately wants you to come before him, so much so that he wants you to call him Daddy. Daddy. That's the intimacy that we have.

It's not a method. It is not anything but a relationship. And that's why I go back to 2 Peter verses, growing the grace and knowledge. And the knowledge is knowing Him. In 2 Corinthians 3, verse 18, we're to look as reflections and we'll be transformed from glory to glory. As we're looking at him through his word and the Holy Spirit convicting us and convincing us of these truths, we are transformed. When we start looking elsewhere, do we want to be transformed into what the world is?

No. So we're looking at the loss of intimacy, and as Mike said, it's not a method. I talked about that at times with Mike years ago, just read. Don't read for, you know, memorizing just whatever. Sometimes just read. And get to know him by just reading the word.

And that, you know, like I said, I love John 17. Just the intimacy that we have there that's expressed. And that union that we have with him. You know, the love with which you love me. Christ talking to the Father. I want that love in them. Us. What can the world offer that's better than that?

We get so bunched up in politics, world events, all these different things, where our focus should be on Christ. And as we do that, we become ambassadors for Him, because as we know Him, we are what? Conformed to Him. And then we become the salt that seasons, and become the ambassador for Him. But it's the intimacy that we have. So the prize again, I think, is the intimacy. The other day, a few Sundays back, somebody asked how many people knew about Zoroastrianism, I think. I raised my hand. I remember back to a course I took as a freshman in college, which was years ago.

One of the things that they pointed out, they talked about the strengths and weaknesses of the 11 living religions, you know, in the world. And one of the things that they really pointed out was that Christians call the God Father. And that even among those who just believed in one supreme being, they still never had that concept of Father.

And how that was such a strength. Yeah, you know, and that's why I go back to those verses with Abba Father. In the Greek that really means Daddy. Now just, again, those verses blow me away because I'm saying Daddy to the God of the universe. I mean, What more is there than to have that access, which is only through Christ? But daddy, not only father, but daddy. That intimacy that you have with him. The God of the universe?

I think of all these in the world right now, just the evil that's in here. You look at all the things with ISIS and all the anger and evil that is there. I think of, you know, whatever they're believing in, that you can chop the head off somebody and be proud of it, you know, versus a God who tells me He loves me. I mean, what a stark contrast between the world and what we have.

We have a God who loves us with a love so much that He gave us His Son. He gave us His Son. We're not going chopping heads off and calling it in the name of Allah or whatever. It's an unbelievable contrast that as you see what's going on in the world, what we have as believers, we have an intimate God who loves us with a love that can't be separated.

We're not chopping heads off. We're drawing people to Christ. What a stark contrast as you see in the world today. I look at those pictures and you know there's evil in the world. And what this world offers is that. It's a stark contrast to what we have as believers. A God who loves us with a love that's infinite. Just to end this question about the prize from Kelly.

It was false teachers who were thus depriving the saints of their blessing. The men habitually and instinctively seek to ingratiate themselves with the children of God, whose unsuspecting simplicity exposes them to be carried away by them. The worship of angels was one method in which the evil showed itself there and evinced its false character.

The Holy Spirit is come down to glorify Christ, not angels. Again, does the scripture ever say that the Holy Spirit should worship angels? No. No. Are we to worship angels? No. These guys were being drawn off by the worship of angels, which nowhere are we called to worship angels.

And again, I went through a bunch of verses last week where, you know, when they're in an encounter with John and that with the angels, and the angels, you know, John, boom, right on the floor. You know, whew. And it was the angels that said, don't worship me. Get up. Get up. You know, so we're never supposed to do that. I say, yeah, we're never supposed to.

If we have the very mind of Christ and the Holy Spirit is the one who indwells us, we should never worship angels. Again, You know, I look at this as the prize is not a loss of salvation. I want to make sure that defrauding you of the prize, that's why I went through the beginning of this, defrauding you of the prize, the prize is not salvation. We're talking about believers here, so this is just people who are losing fellowship, the intimacy with Christ.

What is the relationship or the object of even having angels to us? What is their work in relation to us? How do we relate to angels anyway? Are they to us? You know, there are fallen angels and non-fallen angels. I'm talking about the non-fallen angels.

You know, used for his purposes. You know, there's one passage I think I read last week, which was, they are, let me just look at that. There was a, oops, wrong way here. They are purposely not seen. Angels have purposely been hidden from our eyes lest we should give them the place that belongs to God. They are amongst things not seen. There would be worshippers that are puffed up by the mind of their flesh. So they are purposely kept out so we don't worship them.

Michael, an angel? Yeah, the archangel Michael. Yeah. But again, those were in Old Testament times, you know, and I forget who it was who was he's doubting and then God opened his eyes and all the angels were exposed in the battle. I forget where, which one that was, but it was like, okay, you're worried and they let him see. And there were angels everywhere.

Again, I don't, I don't know now. And there's another, is it in Hebrews? I think there's one where we've entertained angels, or you may have entertained angels without knowing. And so, I mean, again, without knowing. I don't think, you know, have you ever thought of an invisible angel?

I don't think, I think they're being used for his purposes, but purposely not being seen or known. Because we would then, what would we do? They'd have a TV show on Sundays with the angel and everybody flocking to, you know, so. Right, that's what I said, they're being used by God for his purposes, however. So, you know, again, they're being used, they're not seen.

And the fallen angels are being used by Satan. But remember always this, I always say, when you're being, quote, attacked by Satan, oh, I'm being attacked by Satan. Well, again, if it's Satan, you're really big because he's not omnipresent. Versus his minions or his fallen angels.

But always remember in that, who allowed that? Who allowed those fallen angels to give you a trial? Who allowed that? God did. So, he's reigned a man, he's using him for his purposes. Again, when you think, when you capture in war, you capture a country, what do you do? You put that population to work for you. So, he has defeated them but he uses them now for his purposes. So even in those trials and when you're being, quote, attacked, just remember at all times, God is sovereignly in control and he's allowed that to occur. So even if you think you're being attacked or trials or whatever, it's being allowed by God. Because it's like, did God go, oops, missed that? Oops, I forgot. Oh, let that little guy go by. Never.

Maybe just to kind of back up and give a bigger picture category of what's going on here, I mean obviously these verses have to do with angelic worship, but kind of thinking back into Romans 1 where you see the sinful nature exchanging the truth of God for a lie, the bigger category here is exchanging the truth of the creator for the lies of the creature. And so you have the creator-creature issue here.

And angels fall into creative beings, right? Same as four-footed animals and so forth that are talked about in Romans. And so the Colossians are obviously struggling with the exchange of truth from the creator to a creature. And in their case, it was angels. In our case, it could be animals. In Egypt's case, it obviously was, in many cases, an actual animal or a crop or even gods that were falsely made up in the Greek world. So the category is the exchange, the creator versus the creatures.

Where is our worship being focused? And that's going back to the focus. Yeah, the big picture. The big picture is, are we focused identifying and looking at Christ or anything else? Anything else? Are we being distracted? And in that we lose that intimacy. Well, we'll get into a little bit of that.

Hold fast to the head. Who's the head? And the body is the church. And we can go back. in Colossians about who is the church. So, yeah, I mean, the head is Christ. You know, and if you're not focused on the head, where's the body? Left field. All right, let's go to question eight. How valid are visions, feelings, or anything produced by the mind of flesh? So, are we to rely on visions or feelings to validate scripture? What? What? I thought you always did that. You know, if I prayed and then, you know, I prayed for that Porsche. It hasn't come yet, but I know it's coming. You know, and that I just feel really good about things.

That validates scripture, right? Just how I feel? Scripture validates scripture. Yeah, you know, I guess the other question I had is, what if our feelings don't match scripture? Yeah, I guess the point is whether we have feelings or not. Well, if our feelings don't match scripture, which is right? Our feelings or scripture?

Yeah, no brainer. So, I had a bunch of verses on this about where Paul gets after feelings, visions, our mind, our fleshly mind. Romans 8, 6 through 8. For the mind set on the flesh is what? Death. But the mind set on the spirit is life and peace. Because the mind set on the flesh is hostile towards God. For it does not subject itself to the law of God. For it is not even able to do so. And those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

But that translation makes it sound like I'm the one that decides where my mind is set, and I don't think that's the gist of it. If I am from the flesh, my mind is on the flesh, because that's what my source is. If I am from the spirit, I'm set on the spirit, because that's what my source is. It isn't that I sit on the yellow line and decide which way I'm going to go. This just describes what the mind of flesh is. That's the point of this. If you're relying on the mind, the fleshly mind, what does it say here?

It's a great thing? It cannot please God. It cannot. The fleshly mind cannot please God. It is hostile to God. That's the character of a fleshly mind. Completely against God. If we look at Ephesians 2, 1-3, And you were dead in your trespasses and sin, in which you were formerly walked according to the course of the world, according to the prince of the power of air, and of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath.

So how's that fleshly thing going? Pretty good? That intimacy we're going to have with Christ? If we're going after the flesh and those fleshly feelings, the mind of flesh, we're going to really have that intimacy with Christ? Don't think so. Go back, we'll go ahead to Colossians 3, 1 through 4. Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, Keep seeking the things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on the things that are on earth, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ and God.

Again, so where is this saying we're supposed to be focused? On visions, flesh, mind, earthly things? Is that where our focus is supposed to be? Our feelings here? And what our mind comes up with? Keep focused on things above. And where is Christ seated? The right hand of God. Keep focused on Christ. Romans 7, 21-23.

I find then the principle that evil is present in me. The one who wants to do good I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God and the inner man, but I see a different law on the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members." Again, are we to focus on flesh, feelings, visions, fleshly mind?

No, not at all. Someone has said, concerning the validity or the invalidity of that, it is really the most subtle kind of pride for it involves supposedly wiser than the revealed Word of God. You know, the one that always comes to mind, to me on that, is some of my favorite passages in Job.

When Job's thinking he's pretty special, you know, and then God has a little discussion with him. You know, and I always think about that, that, you know, Job goes and God just gently tells him, you know, where were you when I created all these things? Where were you when, you know, if you're the smarty on this thing, where were you when all this happened? Where, you know, I guess, you know, God's saying, I was just fortunate that I was able to do this without your help, you know.

That's where, you know, the mind of God versus the mind of man and flesh, you know, very, very much, and it's prideful. you know, just saying the pride of, you know, we think we're the smartest thing, you know, ever come down the pipe. Well, if we rely on that, our fleshly mind, we are relying on something that is characteristically against God.

So, other thoughts? Let's see here. So, question nine, what do all of these practices What do all of these practices result in negatively for the believer? Loss of fellowship. Loss of fellowship. So, again, going to the verses, let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement in the worship of angels, taking a stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the head. from whom the entire body being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments grows with the growth which is from God.

They all focus on what? Flesh. Self. All of these things are pointing to self, flesh, anywhere but Christ. So, in the end of this it says we're to hold fast to what? The head. So we're to focus or be focused on the head. And what is the head? Christ.

Again, so all these self-focusing, but if you're doing that, you're not holding fast to the head or focusing on Christ. If you're all distracted by all these things, you're not focusing on the head. So if we focus on another thing, what do we lose? Again, the prize, which is the loss of fellowship, intimacy with the Father. And we will not hold fast to the head. So if you're focused on other stuff, you're not holding fast to the head, or focused, or looking at the head, which is Christ. So again, you lose the prize, which is intimacy.

If we focus on everything else but the head, that's what these verses, basically in a nutshell, focus on. So, question 10. How does a believer hold fast to the head? How do you hold fast to the head? I said, turn your eyes upon Jesus. That almost makes me break out in song. You don't want that. Okay, turn your eyes. How do you, so just turning your eyes, you hold fast? Any other thoughts? This is Mike that I mentioned earlier, beholding Christ's word. What's that? Beholding Christ's word. Beholding the 2 Corinthians 3. Beholding as in a mirror. Other? Beholding, you're holding fast the head. Faith.

I think that is a lot of it, is focusing on Him and believing what is true. I think that's the key, is that if you don't, you know, again I go back to those verses that everybody cuts off, we're to fight the good fight and everybody thinks that's it, we're supposed to go out and beat the tar out of Satan and his minions. What does the end of the verse say? Fight the good fight of? Faith. That's our fight. Believe what is true of us. Believe in that intimacy that we have. Believe we can't be separated from his love. Believe all these things that he has told it is true of us. That's the key.

Holding fast is believing, one, you're connected to the head. And who is the head? Christ. So I think that's the holding fast is believing or the faith in what is true of you and true of us as believers. That's how you hold fast. And again, it's through the Word and the Holy Spirit. Those are the ones that are convicting and convincing us of His Word.

And by doing that, the faith, we hold fast to the head who is Christ. Again, this whole passage is, as we deviate to these other things, We don't hold fast to the head. We don't believe what's true about us. We start believing these other things. And again, it comes down to faith. I think that's exactly it. Others? I just had a thought. I think there's a tendency to introduce Christ as kind of a buffet of beliefs.

So in their case, they had different angels that they would call on for different problems to sort different difficulties that they were challenged with. And so Christ might have been a part of their belief system, you know, useful for this and this other angel might be useful for that. But the word head, I mean, obviously, has a authoritative function and a directional function for the entire body so it's a final authority. So to say this for Paul would have been like saying all those other things that you have mingled in with Christ have reduced him down to a belief or a body part of beliefs as opposed to that final authority and head of all things which he's been establishing in Colossians 1 and 2. Just the final authority in Christ is something that they needed to be reminded of instead of just having him as a part of a buffet type selection.

Yeah, one of many. One of many. Yeah, you know, and that's I think, you know, if Paul's addressing this whole, yeah, this mortgage board of, you know, we're going to mix all this together and it's really going to be good, you know, not just focused on Christ the head, the final authority. We're going to mix all this other junk in, and it's really going to be good. It's special. Special. Really special.

Well, the funny thing is about this spiritual formation, which is not even worth looking at, but if you do, and read their stuff, they actually say that. They boast about that. All truth is God's truth, so therefore, if we can go to other religions, so Buddhism, from Catholicism, Hinduism, and we can get the good from those to help our sanctification. Those are the words they use.

So have things changed in how many thousands of years? I always love that with scripture. You think there are some things that are cultural to what was going on at the time, but the vast majority of them we still struggle with today. As I say, we don't know. When you start teaching about grace and identification and all those things, you get a lot of things, apathy or, you know, I'm not under law. I am free. I can do whatever I please. Did Paul address that? So am I supposed to sin so grace may abound more? What did he say? May it never be.

But we still fight that today. You know, sometimes when we teach about grace and we're not under law but we're under grace, we get, you know, a lot of people say complacency, you know, you should be doing stuff, you should be doing things. And, you know, a couple of things that Paul addressed thousands of years ago and yet it's still applicable today. And these verses, you know, now we're seeing this again with What is it? Spiritual formation and contemplative prayer?

We still fight the same thing. I guess I want to go back on that. Why is that? Why do we still fight the same things then as today? The old man is still sinful. That has not changed. We're listening to the old man and that hasn't changed. since Adam. So when these things regenerate and come back and they're the same thing, it's still the same old man, the same sinful side, the sinful nature.

Yeah. I have a problem with sin. The greatest problem I have in serving Christ is being obedient to Him. I think that's why You know, I have a struggle keeping the armor on so I can stand. He didn't say go out and fight. He said stand therefore. Having Gertrude Deloitte and having put on all these things. My greatest problem in my Christian life has been obedience. You know, I go on obedience.

It's still, and it goes back to faith, who you are. Are you in Christ? And as you understand that intimacy, your identification with Christ, your position. As you understand your position, that can never change. And as you keep your focus on Christ and who you are in Christ, as you grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, these distractions and our example of the captain who mutinies and they tie him up to the mast and he's still screaming, As you grow in the grace and knowledge of him, of Christ, those voices become dimmer and duller.

And it's, you know, the Lord takes you through all these things. You know, again, he's sovereignly in control. You know, when I think I got something whipped in my life, you know, I got her figured out. You know, the Lord's worked that out of me. You know? Yeah, left hook hits me and goes, you haven't dealt with that at all. You're still struggling with it. So, I mean, he's going to take you through that, but it's all, you know, I go back to that sheet that I handed up way back in one.

You know, God is love. He first loved us. We love him. We can't be separated from his love. And all these things he's taking us through is what? To draw him to himself. So all these challenges that you go on, the struggles you have on, are what? To weed out your dependency on yourself and to focus on, to refocus you on Christ. and your total dependency on him.

So as you grow in the grace and knowledge, and I love that because you grow in grace, you understand what grace is, it's unmerited. You can't do anything about it. There's nothing how good you become if you think you got her today and you got her all figured out. It's nothing that you do, it's unmerited. And the beauty of it is the unlimited, unlimited blessings. But again, as you understand that, again, the focus has to be on Christ. And again, it's not you, it's the Holy Spirit convicting and convincing you of these things.

So if it's totally relayed on you, or relied on you, you're failing. You're going to fail. So, yeah. I was going to get to the last question. What's coming up in the next class that JD is going to teach is basically a repeat of identification truths.

And that's the answer to the question, did you die with Christ or didn't you? And if you did die with him, did you die into sin and the whole principle of sin? Or didn't you? And if you did, then the obedience is simple. I trust him, I obey him in faith. I'm not to implement, I'm just to trust him and what he's told me is so.

And he takes care of the implementation of the work of the Spirit to separate me from the power of sin. And that's a lot of what J.D.' 's going to talk about in the next couple of weeks. Yeah, and in Chapter 3 also. So, you know, again, it comes down to, I think, to faith. Believe what is true about you. Believe that. Jess, real quick, and otherwise I can get really quick and finish the last question.

So the last one is, what is the result of holding fast the head? So in verse 19, not holding fast to the head from which the entire body being supplied, held together by joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God. So not holding fast to the head, what is the result of holding fast to the head? I guess my one question, how well does a body function without a head? So, holding fast, holding fast to the head. Alright, let's close.

Heavenly Father, thank you again for all the truths you have in your word. We just understand through the Holy Spirit convicting us of these truths, we can have, as you promised, a peace that surpasses all understanding and a rest that can't be offered by the world. We do hold fast to the head, which is Christ, and our intimacy that you have allowed us through his finished work on the cross. an intimacy in which we can come before you now and say, Daddy, Daddy, we thank you for all that you do for us moment by moment, and we are resting in the fact that you're sovereignly in control of each and every moment, and in the trials and in the blessings, we are not separated ever from your love. It's our turning away to distractions that take us away from the intimacy that we have with you. So, Father, we just, again, with the Scripture, we pray to grow in the grace and knowledge of your Son. Father, we again just thank you for this time. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.