WEBVTT 00:00.723 --> 00:05.905 [SPEAKER_00]: For Jesus to accept you, you don't need to do anything. 00:07.145 --> 00:11.806 [SPEAKER_00]: You don't have to jump through hoops, no prerequisites you need to obtain. 00:12.286 --> 00:14.747 [SPEAKER_00]: There is no Jesus plus subscription. 00:15.967 --> 00:20.949 [SPEAKER_00]: The reality of the cross is that it is the answer, the only answer. 00:26.528 --> 00:30.931 [SPEAKER_00]: Hello everyone, my name is Jesse and I am overly competitive. 00:32.132 --> 00:35.575 [SPEAKER_00]: This has been a burden that I have carried my whole life. 00:36.195 --> 00:46.543 [SPEAKER_00]: From an early age when I played monopoly with my family I insisted on being the banker because I had to have control of the money so I could top up my dwindling finances. 00:47.605 --> 00:51.666 [SPEAKER_00]: This continued into primary school where going up tag became the game of choice. 00:52.446 --> 01:02.868 [SPEAKER_00]: Many times the out of bounds rules were questioned when it came to my hiding spots, and I still debate whether a tag that just brushes the fabric of your clothes counts as out. 01:04.168 --> 01:15.851 [SPEAKER_00]: I still remember heated high school arguments that led to detentions as discussions grew more intense over whether a hit was on the line or out on the 4-square court. 01:17.017 --> 01:25.782 [SPEAKER_00]: All this is to say that whenever the rules were there to be stretched or tested, I often tried to see how malleable they were. 01:25.802 --> 01:40.889 [SPEAKER_00]: I think part of this came from an idea in my head that my identity was somehow defined by my ability on the sporting field, and given my general lack of sporting ability, I was already at a severe disadvantage. 01:41.870 --> 01:44.051 [SPEAKER_00]: You win and you feel like a hero. 01:44.685 --> 01:45.745 [SPEAKER_00]: You feel validated. 01:46.246 --> 01:48.346 [SPEAKER_00]: You are the king of the school yard. 01:48.866 --> 01:52.467 [SPEAKER_00]: So testing the rules became a means to an end. 01:53.708 --> 01:55.388 [SPEAKER_00]: Sports and games validate you. 01:55.669 --> 01:58.769 [SPEAKER_00]: You are measured against your peers and opponents. 01:59.110 --> 02:02.991 [SPEAKER_00]: You get points based on certain criteria. 02:03.271 --> 02:05.031 [SPEAKER_00]: You either meet or you don't. 02:06.172 --> 02:09.773 [SPEAKER_00]: The school board tells you whether you are a winner or a loser. 02:10.457 --> 02:19.261 [SPEAKER_00]: and you're judged only on objective results, your worth and identity are judged by what you do and how great your achievements are. 02:20.642 --> 02:23.484 [SPEAKER_00]: For a long time in my life, these ideas plagued me. 02:23.884 --> 02:28.166 [SPEAKER_00]: I needed to come out on top in order to have a certain standing in the school yard. 02:29.687 --> 02:32.568 [SPEAKER_00]: We're in the second week of a four-part series on Colossians. 02:33.388 --> 02:36.190 [SPEAKER_00]: Linda kicked us off last week where we looked at Colossians 1, 02:37.062 --> 02:42.645 [SPEAKER_00]: Where we learn that Jesus reveals God to all redeems us and is still king today. 02:43.726 --> 02:46.347 [SPEAKER_00]: Today, we're going to be looking at Colossians chapter 2. 02:47.368 --> 02:53.311 [SPEAKER_00]: The Colossians were told that they're standing with God, depended on what they did and didn't do. 02:54.052 --> 02:58.034 [SPEAKER_00]: How well they kept traditions and what their experiences with God were. 02:58.935 --> 03:01.116 [SPEAKER_00]: This was a part of the culture that they were living in. 03:02.605 --> 03:08.850 [SPEAKER_00]: Paul writes to them in order to encourage them, but also to help them claim an identity in Jesus. 03:09.971 --> 03:12.894 [SPEAKER_00]: That they were struggling to marry with their place in society. 03:13.955 --> 03:15.676 [SPEAKER_00]: Colossians is a book written by Paul. 03:16.057 --> 03:19.019 [SPEAKER_00]: Many believe he wrote it while he was imprisoned in Rome. 03:19.540 --> 03:29.949 [SPEAKER_00]: And whilst Colossi was once a bustling trade hub when this was written around 68D, Colossi was quickly being superseded by growing neighboring towns. 03:31.595 --> 03:36.337 [SPEAKER_00]: One interesting aspect of Colossians is that Paul never actually went to the physical church. 03:37.537 --> 03:46.501 [SPEAKER_00]: Efforts, effort, effort, for us, formed it, likely to convert it to Christianity by Paul while preaching in Ephesus. 03:47.001 --> 03:52.463 [SPEAKER_00]: Efforts would go on to plant and pass the churches in Colossian and surrounding cities. 03:53.823 --> 04:00.806 [SPEAKER_00]: Paul's heart for the church was large, and he took it upon himself to reach out and encourage their ministry. 04:01.819 --> 04:12.115 [SPEAKER_00]: We read at the start of the passage, I want you to know how hard I am contending for you, and for those at Laticea, and for all who have not meant me personally. 04:13.057 --> 04:17.003 [SPEAKER_00]: My goal is that they'd made me encourage in heart and united in love. 04:18.461 --> 04:22.603 [SPEAKER_00]: so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding. 04:23.403 --> 04:31.566 [SPEAKER_00]: In order that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom I hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 04:32.367 --> 04:36.908 [SPEAKER_00]: I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by finding sounding arguments. 04:37.589 --> 04:44.852 [SPEAKER_00]: For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are 04:49.339 --> 05:08.812 [SPEAKER_00]: Paul's contention is that despite his distance and lack of physical presence, he can still encourage, exult and uplift not only can he do this, but the savior of the universe in whom all treasures of wisdom and knowledge are known can also be of help. 05:10.413 --> 05:12.814 [SPEAKER_00]: Both Paul and Jesus are there for them in spirit. 05:13.575 --> 05:16.777 [SPEAKER_00]: For Ephraus and the Colossian Church, this would have meant the world. 05:17.519 --> 05:25.666 [SPEAKER_00]: One of the fathers of Christianity is reaching out and taking a time to speak deliberately into the pastoral troubles that they are facing. 05:27.027 --> 05:32.091 [SPEAKER_00]: For us, I believe that we should read this chapter with the same appreciation. 05:32.892 --> 05:44.081 [SPEAKER_00]: The reality of our situation, as the world is right now, is that the troubles burning the closions are similar to what we're going through, but maybe just with a different 05:46.163 --> 05:51.488 [SPEAKER_00]: Part of the challenge of reading a chapter like this is that we are only really hearing one side of the story. 05:52.068 --> 05:57.152 [SPEAKER_00]: It's kind of like he's dropping on someone's phone call and only hearing what they have to say. 05:58.153 --> 06:04.939 [SPEAKER_00]: We can infer what Paul is talking about by the content of his letter but we can't know the full story. 06:05.559 --> 06:08.422 [SPEAKER_00]: In fact, scholars still debate exactly what the Colossians 06:13.650 --> 06:20.376 [SPEAKER_00]: which is when more than one culture, religion, or philosophy merge into one new unified system. 06:21.156 --> 06:32.306 [SPEAKER_00]: Paul was probably speaking in generalities about a few different things, not focusing on one area, but attempting to help the church navigate a complex cultural moment. 06:33.667 --> 06:39.632 [SPEAKER_00]: They have a new fresh cultural revelation in Christ fighting against an old status quo. 06:40.734 --> 06:54.140 [SPEAKER_00]: The church in Colosseum is young and in a melting pot of cultures that put both real and inferred pressure on its leaders to both conform and go against societal norms in different ways. 06:55.540 --> 07:02.543 [SPEAKER_00]: As I've read through Colossians and tried to unpack its density, I've drawn more and more parallels to our own cultural moment. 07:03.404 --> 07:06.385 [SPEAKER_00]: We may as well be reading Melbourneians rather than Colossians. 07:07.470 --> 07:26.301 [SPEAKER_00]: And while the age of the church is a little different, and the revelation and but the revelation of Jesus, just as important, maybe not as fresh, the cultural context Paul is speaking into feels almost ever present, and the richness of his writing translates into our circumstances. 07:27.442 --> 07:33.245 [SPEAKER_00]: Throughout the letter, we read the cultural touchstones that Paul references and is challenging, 07:34.052 --> 07:38.354 [SPEAKER_00]: We're going to jump around the chapter a little bit, but bear with me and I'll bring it to a larger point. 07:39.634 --> 07:46.377 [SPEAKER_00]: Verse 8 speaks into philosophical elitism and reliance on human tradition over understanding scripture. 07:47.357 --> 07:57.141 [SPEAKER_00]: This may have looked like a respected leader encouraging the young church to attend their series of lectures to unlock the full knowledge of advanced scripture. 07:57.842 --> 08:03.384 [SPEAKER_00]: The implication being, without the help of this pastor, you cannot know the depth of scripture. 08:04.775 --> 08:11.277 [SPEAKER_00]: Steeking with verse 8 and also looking at 20, there seems to be a fascination with elemental spiritual forces. 08:11.777 --> 08:13.718 [SPEAKER_00]: Scholars debate what exactly this means. 08:14.338 --> 08:29.142 [SPEAKER_00]: It's likely either physical elements like earth, air, fire or water, or actual powers, spirits, stars and other days thought to govern, thought to govern the world and human fate. 08:30.623 --> 08:31.323 [SPEAKER_00]: For those new to 08:34.992 --> 08:45.614 [SPEAKER_00]: When a loved one was sick, they might have sought special charms, completed rich rules or even sacrifices to create a sense of safety rather than relying on the one to adopt. 08:46.815 --> 08:55.717 [SPEAKER_00]: Moving to verses 11 and 16, we find a mostly gentile church at Colosseum, but they're still a strong Jewish influence. 08:56.357 --> 09:01.198 [SPEAKER_00]: Because of this, the message of those in the new church was kind of confusing. 09:04.317 --> 09:06.498 [SPEAKER_00]: Do we still need to observe Jewish customs? 09:07.499 --> 09:09.760 [SPEAKER_00]: Is circumcision still necessary? 09:10.500 --> 09:14.442 [SPEAKER_00]: Can we eat with this person if they don't observe our rituals? 09:16.343 --> 09:21.505 [SPEAKER_00]: In verses 18 and 19, we read of visions and angelic worship. 09:22.490 --> 09:31.600 [SPEAKER_00]: Scholars again debate what exactly this refers to, but it may have been a teacher claiming to have seen things in a vision and entered the heavenly realm. 09:32.461 --> 09:36.705 [SPEAKER_00]: He says the community can join him through discipline, fasting, and worship. 09:37.406 --> 09:44.734 [SPEAKER_00]: And anyone, without such an experience, is told that they haven't yet seen the full riches of what Jesus can do for them. 09:46.190 --> 09:51.554 [SPEAKER_00]: Pulled-end warns, inverses 21 through 23, against aesthetic practices. 09:52.235 --> 10:00.802 [SPEAKER_00]: Or, in other words, putting yourself and your body through harsh practices, abstaining from food and avoiding pleasurable things. 10:02.063 --> 10:14.012 [SPEAKER_00]: This again may have been due to residual Jewish practices, or, as Linda talked to her about that last week, an ancient belief that matter is dangerous, and the active abstinence may draw you closer to divinity. 10:15.063 --> 10:24.906 [SPEAKER_00]: For the Colossians, it may have looked like a group within the church, taking time to abstain from certain foods, drinks, or even abstaining from groups of people. 10:25.786 --> 10:33.808 [SPEAKER_00]: For new believers who don't understand the purpose of this, it can feel like an era of superiority, a deeper wisdom that they cannot yet reach. 10:35.711 --> 10:40.073 [SPEAKER_00]: As you can see on the screen, there is a list of issues that the Colossians are facing. 10:40.793 --> 10:46.596 [SPEAKER_00]: Paul is trying his best to give them wisdom and encouragement to tackle all of these issues together. 10:47.736 --> 10:53.639 [SPEAKER_00]: And as I've been doing my research, I couldn't help but feel like some of these kind of translate to our cultural moment. 10:54.379 --> 11:02.363 [SPEAKER_00]: So I've done my best to juxtapose what Paul has had to say and the warnings and collocions with what I feel like he might have written to us. 11:03.725 --> 11:08.267 [SPEAKER_00]: for philosophical elitism and reliance on human traditions over scripture. 11:09.408 --> 11:30.659 [SPEAKER_00]: It might be the use of self-actualization frameworks, like personality types or wellness retreats, the assumption that we can find true purpose in our professions, aspirations to achieve the dreamhouse, the perfect family, or finding wisdom through experts, self-help books, 11:34.707 --> 11:44.834 [SPEAKER_00]: The Melbourne letter might discuss elemental spiritual forces and point towards finding meaning in astrological phenomena, like retrogrades and horoscopes. 11:45.895 --> 11:59.645 [SPEAKER_00]: Tarot, crystals, and manifestation culture would undoubtedly get a mention, and a church-based example might be the excessive reading of apocalyptic literature at a fair-based gospel taken hold in the church. 12:01.385 --> 12:09.149 [SPEAKER_00]: Observing Jewish customs was a little tricky for us to contextualise, but it might look like infighting between denominations. 12:10.030 --> 12:13.872 [SPEAKER_00]: And Christians bickering over what is deemed the right way to do things. 12:14.772 --> 12:16.733 [SPEAKER_00]: What is the best translation of the Bible? 12:16.853 --> 12:20.155 [SPEAKER_00]: Should I be sending my kid to Christian school or public school? 12:20.856 --> 12:21.936 [SPEAKER_00]: Should you drink or not? 12:22.556 --> 12:26.719 [SPEAKER_00]: It could be moralism attributed to what you put or don't put into your body. 12:27.744 --> 12:33.609 [SPEAKER_00]: and intentional rhythms and practices in the church like keeping the Sabbath becoming badges of honor. 12:35.250 --> 12:43.416 [SPEAKER_00]: For our version of angelic worship, Paul might have warned us against chasing spiritual mountaintops to get our next big Holy Spirit high. 12:44.217 --> 12:51.182 [SPEAKER_00]: Seeking out prophetic words or going to the next huge worship night because the Sunday Service doesn't cut it for you anymore. 12:52.501 --> 12:58.785 [SPEAKER_00]: Practicing meditation and mindfulness and giving things over without keeping Jesus at the center. 13:00.166 --> 13:16.956 [SPEAKER_00]: And finally our own ascetic practices might be things like intermittent fasting, strict diets and cold plungers, digital detoxers and social media bands, purity cultures that shame people in the wrong group and give those who have stained pride of place. 13:17.857 --> 13:23.819 [SPEAKER_00]: or even a culture that tells you to hustle, grind and work until you're burnt from both ends. 13:25.379 --> 13:33.541 [SPEAKER_00]: Now, before I never get invited back to preach, I see you making mental notes of how many things you do in your own lives. 13:34.642 --> 13:39.163 [SPEAKER_00]: We add these to our personal school boards that count how good of a Christian we are. 13:40.506 --> 13:48.376 [SPEAKER_00]: I need to be very clear, and Paul is also very clear, these examples themselves are not necessarily bad. 13:48.957 --> 13:51.199 [SPEAKER_00]: In fact, some of them are great. 13:52.000 --> 13:57.047 [SPEAKER_00]: Paul uses the image of a looming shadow to help us understand this point clearly. 13:58.849 --> 14:07.814 [SPEAKER_00]: Therefore, do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink or with regard to a religious festival, a new moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 14:08.454 --> 14:11.175 [SPEAKER_00]: These are a shadow of the things that were to come. 14:11.836 --> 14:15.678 [SPEAKER_00]: The reality, however, is found in Christ. 14:17.238 --> 14:24.262 [SPEAKER_00]: Some in Colosseum insisted the young church celebrate festivals, commit to fast and keep strict laws and customs. 14:25.415 --> 14:28.077 [SPEAKER_00]: Scripture foretold a Savior was to come. 14:28.618 --> 14:29.879 [SPEAKER_00]: None of these things were bad. 14:29.959 --> 14:32.842 [SPEAKER_00]: In fact, some of these things were direct is from God. 14:33.602 --> 14:41.289 [SPEAKER_00]: However, the Colossians were still looking at a shadow on the wall when the cause of the shadow had walked into their lives. 14:42.330 --> 14:50.658 [SPEAKER_00]: The practices they are doing are in anticipation, and they can be replaced with the reality of living in relationship with God. 14:51.870 --> 15:00.498 [SPEAKER_00]: A whole point of this chapter is that Paul is fighting against the idea that to fully realize everything that Jesus has done for you. 15:01.259 --> 15:10.227 [SPEAKER_00]: To deeply understand the grandeur of His sacrifice and to accept it and integrate it into your life, you need more. 15:11.108 --> 15:24.714 [SPEAKER_00]: You need to do more, no more, go to more, understand more, read more, attend this program, buy this bestselling book, pray, fast, serve again and again, more, more, more. 15:26.594 --> 15:31.816 [SPEAKER_00]: For Jesus to accept you, you don't need to do anything. 15:33.037 --> 15:37.619 [SPEAKER_00]: You don't have to jump through hoops, no prerequisites you need to obtain. 15:41.862 --> 15:46.826 [SPEAKER_00]: The reality of the cross is that it is the answer, the only answer. 15:49.869 --> 16:04.181 [SPEAKER_00]: We read through verses 9 through 15, for in Christ, all of the fullness of the deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. 16:05.270 --> 16:16.058 [SPEAKER_00]: He is the head over every power and authority, and in him you will also circumcise with the circumcision not performed by human hands. 16:17.359 --> 16:22.583 [SPEAKER_00]: Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ. 16:23.323 --> 16:34.552 [SPEAKER_00]: And have been buried with him in baptism in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God who raised him from the dead. 16:35.750 --> 16:43.494 [SPEAKER_00]: When you were dead in your sins and in the un-circumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. 16:44.235 --> 16:51.959 [SPEAKER_00]: He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us. 16:52.580 --> 16:58.403 [SPEAKER_00]: He is taken it away, nailing it to the cross and having disarmed the powers and authorities 17:06.692 --> 17:12.936 [SPEAKER_00]: The power that suppresses us a no longer, the binding chains have been removed. 17:13.837 --> 17:32.510 [SPEAKER_00]: It's as if we've committed a series of clients, been arrested, tried, found guilty, and despite our pleas of innocence, when suddenly the judge who tried us, takes off his robes, takes off his headdress, pays the fine, and spares us from jail. 17:34.212 --> 17:39.853 [SPEAKER_00]: For some of you sitting here today, who you may be thinking to yourself, I know Jesus died for me. 17:40.514 --> 17:43.214 [SPEAKER_00]: We hear about this most weeks in some capacity. 17:45.195 --> 17:47.015 [SPEAKER_00]: I want you to engage with me for a second. 17:48.236 --> 17:49.836 [SPEAKER_00]: If you feel comfortable, close your eyes. 17:52.337 --> 17:57.638 [SPEAKER_00]: Take a breath and let the business of your life fade away for just a moment. 17:58.998 --> 18:01.839 [SPEAKER_00]: The jobs you have to do later, the errands you have to run. 18:02.653 --> 18:05.054 [SPEAKER_00]: The problems going on at work or school. 18:06.014 --> 18:12.057 [SPEAKER_00]: The worries about loved ones try to send to yourself on this moment, breathe in a little deeper. 18:13.577 --> 18:21.340 [SPEAKER_00]: When you were dead in your sins and the uncertain decision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. 18:22.081 --> 18:29.884 [SPEAKER_00]: He forgave us all our sins, having cancer the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us. 18:30.898 --> 18:40.143 [SPEAKER_00]: He has taken away nailing it to the cross and having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them. 18:40.818 --> 18:43.359 [SPEAKER_00]: Crying over them by the cross. 18:43.899 --> 18:49.860 [SPEAKER_00]: Remember that you were dead in your transgressions, but you are made alive with Christ. 18:50.501 --> 18:52.221 [SPEAKER_00]: Jesus has made you alive. 18:52.781 --> 18:55.382 [SPEAKER_00]: Remember that Jesus was sent for you. 18:55.822 --> 19:02.704 [SPEAKER_00]: God came down in human form with human thoughts, feelings and pain, ultimately to be a lamb to the slaughter. 19:03.084 --> 19:06.625 [SPEAKER_00]: In order that you and I, we could live in that freedom. 19:08.128 --> 19:10.409 [SPEAKER_00]: When was the last time you remembered that freedom? 19:11.210 --> 19:14.012 [SPEAKER_00]: When was the last time you lived out of that freedom? 19:15.032 --> 19:19.595 [SPEAKER_00]: That freedom is for everyone, but it's also meant for you entirely as an individual. 19:20.516 --> 19:25.939 [SPEAKER_00]: You are known, seen, and loved, and the decision to send Jesus was made with you in mind. 19:27.300 --> 19:29.121 [SPEAKER_00]: Let that freedom wash over you. 19:30.162 --> 19:33.284 [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe you've not been able to remember that freedom for a long time. 19:39.037 --> 19:41.758 [SPEAKER_00]: This is what God wants for us. 19:42.959 --> 19:45.600 [SPEAKER_00]: Ultimate, loving, freedom. 19:46.580 --> 19:50.162 [SPEAKER_00]: As you come back in and open your eyes, this is the point. 19:51.082 --> 19:53.763 [SPEAKER_00]: This is what Paul is saying to the Closions. 19:54.383 --> 19:56.184 [SPEAKER_00]: Christ is enough. 19:56.844 --> 20:00.306 [SPEAKER_00]: And in Christ, you are made enough. 20:01.506 --> 20:06.048 [SPEAKER_00]: You don't need to be more, do more, achieve more or no more. 20:06.977 --> 20:10.179 [SPEAKER_00]: Come to church more, any of that, Christ is enough. 20:11.340 --> 20:13.962 [SPEAKER_00]: He didn't come down to earth in human form. 20:14.903 --> 20:19.386 [SPEAKER_00]: Grow, teach, to cycle, love, get betrayed. 20:19.807 --> 20:26.232 [SPEAKER_00]: Drag his cross up a mountain, serve himself up to an incredibly painful death. 20:26.732 --> 20:34.018 [SPEAKER_00]: Rise again, just so we needed to retrace those steps and make those same sacrifices in order to be enough. 20:34.750 --> 20:47.349 [SPEAKER_00]: His human journey finished on the cross so that ours could start at the foot of it, redeemed and transformed by his love, and we can live out of that love. 20:49.192 --> 20:56.959 [SPEAKER_00]: Tim Keller says this, religion operates on the principle, I obey, therefore I am accepted by God. 20:57.640 --> 21:05.047 [SPEAKER_00]: The gospel operates on the principle I am accepted through what Christ has done, therefore I obey. 21:06.028 --> 21:11.453 [SPEAKER_00]: Before a goal is kicked, a triuskord, a point is won. 21:11.473 --> 21:14.556 [SPEAKER_00]: The game has already been won. 21:16.567 --> 21:19.691 [SPEAKER_00]: Here is what we might need to reshape in our hearts and lives. 21:20.552 --> 21:22.995 [SPEAKER_00]: We don't need to do anything to be worthy of Christ. 21:23.856 --> 21:35.730 [SPEAKER_00]: Though as our hearts transform, we should want to experience his love, grow in our understanding of it, and learn our role in this world to help others experience that love. 21:36.904 --> 21:40.366 [SPEAKER_00]: We cannot add anything to what Christ has done. 21:40.646 --> 21:46.968 [SPEAKER_00]: It will always be the same, revolutionary, beautiful and freeing, but we can understand it better. 21:47.969 --> 21:53.111 [SPEAKER_00]: If we look back to the warnings, Paul is not admonishing any of these things in isolation. 21:53.671 --> 21:56.973 [SPEAKER_00]: The practices themselves weren't necessarily the problem. 21:57.993 --> 22:04.836 [SPEAKER_00]: The issue that Paul was addressing was that the people in Colosseum were putting customs over Christ. 22:06.173 --> 22:10.856 [SPEAKER_00]: Paul warns of false humility, judgment towards Gentiles from those who know better. 22:11.217 --> 22:16.240 [SPEAKER_00]: The idea that human commands and teachings are necessary for the full experience of God. 22:17.301 --> 22:18.862 [SPEAKER_00]: This is the crux of the issue. 22:19.743 --> 22:24.987 [SPEAKER_00]: When people who have faith replace their experience of Jesus with religious practices. 22:25.987 --> 22:30.590 [SPEAKER_00]: Jesus is not a program, a church service, a sermon, a worship song. 22:30.910 --> 22:32.811 [SPEAKER_00]: We cannot add to Jesus. 22:33.272 --> 22:34.692 [SPEAKER_00]: He is the answer in full. 22:35.513 --> 22:38.135 [SPEAKER_00]: You do not have to strain or strive to achieve it. 22:38.195 --> 22:41.977 [SPEAKER_00]: It's freely given that are you taking it? 22:44.134 --> 22:45.655 [SPEAKER_00]: Eugene Peterson puts it like this. 22:46.516 --> 22:48.758 [SPEAKER_00]: My counsel for you is simple and straightforward. 22:49.338 --> 22:51.220 [SPEAKER_00]: Just go ahead with what you've been given. 22:51.740 --> 22:54.162 [SPEAKER_00]: You received Christ Jesus the Master. 22:54.542 --> 22:56.104 [SPEAKER_00]: Now live him. 22:56.884 --> 22:58.385 [SPEAKER_00]: You're deeply rooted in him. 22:58.746 --> 23:00.387 [SPEAKER_00]: You're well constructed upon him. 23:00.707 --> 23:02.809 [SPEAKER_00]: You know your way around the faith. 23:03.269 --> 23:04.570 [SPEAKER_00]: Now do what you've been taught. 23:04.931 --> 23:05.691 [SPEAKER_00]: Schools out. 23:06.112 --> 23:11.376 [SPEAKER_00]: Quit studying the subject and start living in and let your living spill over into Thanksgiving. 23:12.967 --> 23:16.210 [SPEAKER_00]: To him in this home, we read in verse 9 and 10. 23:16.710 --> 23:21.414 [SPEAKER_00]: It says, for in Christ, all the fullness of the deity lives in bodily form. 23:21.895 --> 23:25.118 [SPEAKER_00]: And in Christ, you have been brought to fullness. 23:25.678 --> 23:28.721 [SPEAKER_00]: He is the head of every power and authority. 23:29.687 --> 23:34.868 [SPEAKER_00]: Paul is saying here that Christ was fully human and fully God. 23:35.228 --> 23:37.109 [SPEAKER_00]: His bodily form was still the deity. 23:37.589 --> 23:45.270 [SPEAKER_00]: However, the Greek word, the Paul uses for fullness in verse 9, is the same word again he uses in verse 10. 23:45.770 --> 23:46.370 [SPEAKER_00]: Pluroma. 23:47.191 --> 23:49.491 [SPEAKER_00]: Through Jesus, you are full. 23:50.011 --> 23:51.992 [SPEAKER_00]: Your cup is overflowing. 23:52.592 --> 23:55.692 [SPEAKER_00]: You can't do anything to anything more to receive more. 23:59.679 --> 24:06.006 [SPEAKER_00]: Now that I've told you that you don't have to come to church next week, let me try and get you back here for Darren soon. 24:07.728 --> 24:13.335 [SPEAKER_00]: Paul is trying to get us to understand that Jesus is what we need first and foremost. 24:14.376 --> 24:18.801 [SPEAKER_00]: He will transform our hearts, minds, souls, and lives. 24:19.751 --> 24:26.396 [SPEAKER_00]: As a result of that transformation, who we are will inevitably change. 24:27.017 --> 24:32.861 [SPEAKER_00]: The more you rest in what he has done, the more your heart will be transformed. 24:33.421 --> 24:46.831 [SPEAKER_00]: And out of that transformation, you will start to see what practices, like church giving, serving, even some of the things that pull points out to, or the equivalents that we might think are worth doing. 24:49.566 --> 24:51.548 [SPEAKER_00]: They are worth doing, why they are worth doing. 24:51.868 --> 24:53.970 [SPEAKER_00]: We don't gather to earn anything. 24:54.811 --> 24:56.672 [SPEAKER_00]: We gather because we're one body. 24:58.474 --> 25:01.056 [SPEAKER_00]: We support each other, cheer each other on. 25:01.576 --> 25:02.697 [SPEAKER_00]: I and Sharpen's Iam. 25:04.199 --> 25:12.566 [SPEAKER_00]: But they are only worth it if they come from a place of wanting to know and understand Jesus' love more deeply. 25:13.667 --> 25:17.410 [SPEAKER_00]: The minute coming and serving at church becomes a chore, 25:18.517 --> 25:22.419 [SPEAKER_00]: You feel like you don't want to have a conversation with someone who is on their own. 25:23.299 --> 25:35.365 [SPEAKER_00]: You feel like it would be easier to sit at home and do them scroll rather than go to small group, or you start going to a silent retreat, not for your face, that what people might think of your face. 25:36.486 --> 25:41.769 [SPEAKER_00]: This is when you need to come back to the cross, take a breath, 25:42.587 --> 25:49.350 [SPEAKER_00]: kneel down and once again realize the magnitude of God's sacrifice for you. 25:51.311 --> 25:52.311 [SPEAKER_00]: Let's look at it this way. 25:53.211 --> 25:55.092 [SPEAKER_00]: Everyone can build a circle like this. 25:55.752 --> 25:56.973 [SPEAKER_00]: You are at the center. 25:57.633 --> 26:04.756 [SPEAKER_00]: The things you care about surround you and the closer they are to you, the more important they are to your identity. 26:05.476 --> 26:07.097 [SPEAKER_00]: Up on the screen is my circle. 26:08.292 --> 26:15.155 [SPEAKER_00]: For many people, these things shape their sense of self and control their understanding of identity. 26:15.935 --> 26:23.498 [SPEAKER_00]: When things are going well at work, maybe they get a promotion, they will adjust their sense of identity to fit this narrative. 26:24.318 --> 26:32.001 [SPEAKER_00]: However, when things get hard, maybe there are big decisions that need to be made, the inverse effect is also true. 26:32.682 --> 26:35.683 [SPEAKER_00]: They will also affect your sense of identity. 26:36.938 --> 26:44.661 [SPEAKER_00]: When you let the world dictate your understanding of self, the world changes you. 26:45.921 --> 26:55.985 [SPEAKER_00]: The more we understand what Jesus has done for us and how full we are in Him, the more our identity changes to mirror that. 26:57.033 --> 27:10.042 [SPEAKER_00]: When we live out of this identity, instead of the world affecting us and changing our identity, we flip the script and let our identities and in turn, Jesus affect the world. 27:10.943 --> 27:18.428 [SPEAKER_00]: In the spaces that we care about, the transformation of our heart through what Jesus has done should be seen. 27:18.868 --> 27:19.969 [SPEAKER_00]: It should be evident. 27:21.056 --> 27:31.848 [SPEAKER_00]: If I go back to my competitive nature for just a moment, the way I engage with sport, which I love, the stories I told earlier, I when I let the world rule over my identity. 27:32.429 --> 27:40.137 [SPEAKER_00]: The desire to win to be the best to come out on top were more important to me than fair play and sportsmanship. 27:41.117 --> 27:45.739 [SPEAKER_00]: I still love sport, but Jesus has transformed my life. 27:46.520 --> 27:49.561 [SPEAKER_00]: Now when I play soccer on a Saturday, I still want to win. 27:49.761 --> 27:55.964 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm still competitive, but ultimately, my aim is to live in a way that magnifies Jesus. 27:56.644 --> 28:01.887 [SPEAKER_00]: My identity isn't defined by the scoreboard, it's set in Jesus and what He has done for me. 28:03.268 --> 28:07.950 [SPEAKER_00]: So I do my best to be overly encouraging of my teammates even when they mess up. 28:08.591 --> 28:11.972 [SPEAKER_00]: To support my teammates off the field, just as well as on it. 28:13.213 --> 28:17.315 [SPEAKER_00]: To be to shine a light for the guys in my team who don't know who Jesus is. 28:18.716 --> 28:24.419 [SPEAKER_00]: And try my best not to kick myself when I make mistakes, which is most games. 28:25.499 --> 28:27.200 [SPEAKER_00]: Sport isn't why I'm here. 28:27.640 --> 28:28.121 [SPEAKER_00]: Jesus is. 28:29.522 --> 28:31.584 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't always get this right, obviously. 28:32.145 --> 28:32.925 [SPEAKER_00]: Ask my teammates. 28:32.965 --> 28:35.468 [SPEAKER_00]: I'll often come off the field and bemoan my mistakes. 28:36.549 --> 28:44.937 [SPEAKER_00]: But I also know that I can try again because I'm freely forgiven and will always live out of Jesus' sacrifice for me. 28:46.579 --> 28:53.206 [SPEAKER_00]: As we close, for some of us who live our lives and performance has become our drive, 28:54.467 --> 29:03.092 [SPEAKER_00]: What defines us, whether through how much we earn, how much we serve, or how much we know. 29:04.413 --> 29:14.139 [SPEAKER_00]: Jesus is asking you once again to realize that you are defined by his love for you alone. 29:15.440 --> 29:16.800 [SPEAKER_00]: There is no scoreboard. 29:18.802 --> 29:22.464 [SPEAKER_00]: If this is you, I encourage you to take a moment, 29:23.545 --> 29:25.046 [SPEAKER_00]: and to look at what you were doing. 29:26.207 --> 29:27.607 [SPEAKER_00]: Are you doing it for Christ? 29:28.588 --> 29:45.018 [SPEAKER_00]: And if not assess how you can be doing it as a thank you for that sacrifice, or whether I just maybe you need to adjust how much you are doing so you can focus on what he's doing in you. 29:46.959 --> 29:51.502 [SPEAKER_00]: If you're here and you've been longing for something, searching for answers, 29:52.547 --> 29:59.811 [SPEAKER_00]: We often search in the wrong places, in human tradition, in experiences, in self-actualization. 30:00.932 --> 30:10.877 [SPEAKER_00]: The invitation for you is to meet with Jesus, the person who cared enough about you to die on a cross. 30:12.645 --> 30:22.813 [SPEAKER_00]: This is not an invitation into ignorance, but Paul prays for the full riches of complete understanding for the Colossians and for us. 30:24.374 --> 30:35.203 [SPEAKER_00]: If this is you, take a moment, pray, just speak to God, tell God where you are at, the good, the bad, the ugly, 30:36.131 --> 30:46.095 [SPEAKER_00]: And if you're feeling really brave, come talk to someone, speak to a welcome team member, a neighbor in the crowd or someone from the ministry team. 30:46.415 --> 30:47.555 [SPEAKER_00]: We'd love to hear from you. 30:48.836 --> 30:57.859 [SPEAKER_00]: And for any of you who believe that you've blown it, you've gone too far, there is no outstanding balance to pay. 30:58.960 --> 31:01.701 [SPEAKER_00]: The record has been wiped clean. 31:02.421 --> 31:05.182 [SPEAKER_00]: Your slate is clean. 31:06.699 --> 31:07.219 [SPEAKER_00]: Let me pray. 31:08.840 --> 31:16.005 [SPEAKER_00]: Heavenly Father, we just thank you so much that there is no scoreboard, and you have already won. 31:17.566 --> 31:21.989 [SPEAKER_00]: Lord, I pray that you would help us to act out of that victory. 31:23.110 --> 31:27.913 [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you that in Christ we have been brought to fullness. 31:29.634 --> 31:29.874 [SPEAKER_00]: Amen. 31:45.827 --> 31:46.351 [UNKNOWN]: Thank you.