Christ as King, The Kingdom has Come.

Paul has been encouraging the believers of Colossae that there has been a condition met through the work of Christ, a reality in which every believer exist. Because of this reality in Christ the believer is to (Put Off) and because of this reality in Christ the believer is to also (Put On). Colossians 3:12-15

Transformation begins with making a resolve on what is reality. In the Christian faith , we must first make a resolve as to what has been done for us and to us through Christ and from this same reality we make the resolve to follow, to be renewed to be transformed.

As children of a Good Father as subjects of a Great King. The people of God should always yield to the leading of God. He who is a Good Father and a Great King.

Transformation begins from the reality of Jesus Christs' Cross, Burial, Resurrection and continual ministry for the saints.

What is the deciding factor concerning being condemned and not condemned? Is it food? Is it drink? Is it observance of a day or non observance of a day? Who holds the metrics to this weighty topic? It is CHRIST.   (Apologies concerning the audio, we're trying to recover a replacement)

We like the Colossians must be reminded and assured that in Jesus Christ we have all that we need. The power to put away sin and to place fallen man in a right relationship with God has been accomplished through the Mighty work of the Messiah.

In Christ the believer has at present ALL the riches of the Kingdom of God available to them. It is when the believer has taken and is aware of the inventory they have in Christ that they are equipped to stand against the attacks on their soul and temptations of false doctrine or philosophy that seeks to rob them of their true riches.

The hardest thing is to be okay with getting the short end of the stick. In our day fairness and equity are at the core of most contentions. What would happen if we summed up our persecutions, frustrations and sufferings as an opportunity to offer something precious to our Savior, by responding in a way that acknowledges what He has done and been for us.

The Gospel of Jesus produces a steadiness in the life of His followers that is a testimony in an unstable and fallen world.

The Gospel is the demonstration of the love of God. But not only is the Gospel compelling due to its relational nature but it is compelling due to its specificity and exactness of the necessary transactions needed to put fallen man right with a holy God.

The Gospel is indeed Good News! But we are comfortable with hearing the Good News apart from why the Good News is so good! God reached out to redeem not a friend or the innocent but instead, in His grace, He offered redemption, reconciliation to ENEMIES and the GUILTY. This is the condition of man, this is what God through Christ chose to save.

In the wake of the Good News and the focal point being on the way in which salvation has been secured for the world, it is likely that the God of the Gospel is forgotten. In many circles Jesus, incorrectly is positioned between the fallen world and an "angry" God, saving mankind from God. But the bible shows that from the beginning it is God who has initiated the Gospel and has taken great pleasure in the salvation of mankind. God is pleased to save!

Is Christ simply the best amongst many? Is Jesus the first in creation to be perfect? These 2 questions begin in an error, that error being that Jesus is like unto any thing in creation or a product of creation. Through out the ages even to this day many use the term "firstborn" to explain Jesus as the most supreme in the line-up of created things. However the point of the letter to the Colossians is just the opposite concerning Jesus. He is Creator!

Everything that the believer has available to them pertaining to fellowship with God, inclusion in His covenant, identity in His Family and Eternal Life are by God Himself making those in his fallen creation Qualified, Able, Empowered by being found in Christ through Faith!

Many times we can figure out the potential or significance of a piece of equipment by the power source needed to operate it. In the same way when we see the power of God being infused into a person, a life, a people , that should make us wonder at the significance and potential of that person, ( the Christian) that life ( Following Christ) that people (the Children of God) and what amazing purpose is being unveiled.

How can a believer be assured that the work that they are participating in or heading up is going to be fruitful? As we look at this hope of Paul for the Colossae church we get a "life picture" of someone living this out in the book of Genesis concerning Abrahams servant.

Can a person actually "fully" please the Lord? The Apostle Paul believes so, so much that this is a part of his prayer that he is continually praying for the Colossae church.

In Colossians we take a look at the "now what" stage of the believer. You've trusted in Christ, have been made a "Saint" and a child of God's family. Now since that is the reality... how does that look? Is there an expectation of the believer to grow, to mature? The answer is, "Yes!" In Colossians we are discovering that there is a thing called "Walking worthy of the Lord. Lets open our bibles and see.

We take a moment to REMEMBER who and what God has been to His creation! It is when we make a real effort to remember God we will live in a heart of Worship towards Him!