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Walk Ye in Him
In the Gospel of John we turn your attention to a very, very familiar passage of scripture found in Chapter 3:1-8 where we read,
“There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: (2) The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. (3) Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (4) Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? (5) Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the
Now would you notice again verse 3 and verse 7, where Jesus said, “…Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (7) “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.”
Jesus was saying to Nicodemus, this Jewish Ruler, in order to get to heaven, you must have a new birth experience. You must have a spiritual birth, a second birth, a birth from above. There was a time when someone said they were “Born Again,” there was a stigma attached to it, “O you are one of those religious Jesus people.” This is no longer the case. Today, for the most part, it seems fashionable to be “Born Again.”
We have Politicians claiming a “Born Again” experience.
We have
We have sports figures claiming a “Born Again” experience.
We even have those who claim to have had a “Born Again” experience in the pews.
So it is somewhat fashionable to talk about being “Born Again.” People know what you are talking about for the most part. Praise God if you have come to Christ and received Him as your personal Savior, you have been “Born Again.”.
However, when you think about the life style of some of those people who have claimed a “Born Again” experience in Christ, it becomes somewhat confusing. Maybe to you it does not, but to me it does. I firmly believe when someone accepts Christ as Savior, there ought to be a change in one's life style. There ought to be a change in one’s way of living. The sinful and questionable activities you once loved, you ought not to love them any longer. Do we not read in II Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (that is creation); old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." There should be a revolution that takes place in our actions, activities, and attitudes after we have accepted Christ as Savior.
I believe there is a reason for so little difference in the actions, activities, and attitudes of believers after acceptance of Christ as Savior, and why so many people are still living in sin, and why they remain un-convicted about the kind of life they are living. That reason is because the ACCENT TODAY is more upon ACCEPTANCE of Christ, than it is upon CONTINUING in Christ.
The accent is upon being “Born Again” as if that was the end of the journey, when in reality being “Born Again” is just the beginning of the journey.
Now from Colossians 2:1-8 we read, “For I would that 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; (2) 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; (3) In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (4) And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. (5) For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ. (6) As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: (7) Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. (8) Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” Now would you focus your attention upon verses 6-7, “As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.” From verse 6 would you notice two important words "AS" and "SO."
The first phase, "AS ye have received,” represents one’s faith in Christ Jesus as Saviour.
The second phrase, “SO walk in Him." should be the natural result of having placed one's faith and confidence in Jesus Christ.
Paul said, "As ye have received Christ Jesus…" There can be NO Christian life until first of all there is a BELIEVING and INVITING of Jesus Christ into our lives as Personal Savior. This certainly ties in with John 1:12, "But as many as receive Him, to them gave he power to become the Sons (little children) of God, even to them who believe on His name."
Notice Paul said, "AS ye have received Christ Jesus THE LORD…" There are two sides to the coin.
First: receiving Christ Jesus as one’s personal Savior.
Second: placing yourself under His jurisdiction as Lord of your life.
Now if I were to ask how many of you have received Christ as your Personal Savior, I believe for the most part, most if not all of you could stand and give testimony to that fact. But if I were to ask, “How many can say this Christ Jesus is "LORD OF YOUR LIFE?" I believe we would have a very disturbing and revealing service. Any church gathering can sing, "Bring forth the royal diadem and crown Him Lord of all," but not all who are willing to crown Him with their lips will make Him Lord of their lives.
We have only two options. We can either receive Him as Savior or reject Him as Savior. But once we receive Him as Saviour, our options end. We are no longer our own, for in I Corinthians 6:19-20 we read, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? (20) For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.”
As Lord of our lives, He has the first word and the last word. He demands absolute loyalty beyond that of any earthly dictator. Remember the 4th stanza of the hymn “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” which reads "Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were a present far too small. Love so amazing, so Divine, demands my soul, my life, my all."
How foolish to say as a Christian, “Nobody is going to tell me how much I am supposed to give in the offering.” My friends, God has already told Christians how much you are to give in the tithe.
How foolish to say as a Christian, “Nobody is going to tell me what to do as a Christian.” My friends, God in this book has already told Christians how to live. May I remind you that God has a will and path for you to walk therein.
If there is anything to be understood, it is this: When Jesus becomes Lord of your life "YOU ARE NOW UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT." He is the MASTER, YOU are the SERVANT. Now, when you drift away from this arrangement in the slightest, you’ll find:
Your prayer life is affected.
Your witnessing is affected.
Your spiritual growth is affected by going nowhere.
Your Christian life begins to stagnate.
So again, focus your attention on the first half of Colossians 2:6 were we read, “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord…”
You are to receive Christ Jesus, "that is, as your Savior."
You are to receive Him as Lord, "that is, as Master of your life."
Now the second half of this verse shows how your conduct must be consistent with your belief. "So walk you in him." You say what does that mean? As you go through the New Testament you will discover great stress is placed upon your walk with the Lord. The walk of the Christian life is laid out for you. You will find phrases such as:
Walk in love, Ephesians 5:2 Walk by Faith, II Corinthians 5:7
Walk circumspectly, Ephesians
Walk in the light, I John 1:7 Walk in truth, III John 4
Walk in wisdom, Colossians 4:5 Walk in the Spirit, Galatians 5:16
Now the explanation of this phrase, "So walk ye in Him" is spelled out for us in verse 7. “Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.” Please note the word "Rooted." If something is rooted, you expect the upper part to be a tree or bush. On a number of occasions in the Bible, the righteous are referred to as "TREES."
In Psalm 1:1-3 we read, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. (2) But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. (3) And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” Again in verse 1 we read, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” Verse 1 can be interpreted as a warning to Christians to avoid the ungodly, because it shows us what happens when someone begins to drift away from fellowship with God.
First: They WALK in the counsel of the ungodly. They may follow advice from the ungodly.
Second: They STAND in the activities of sinners. They may do sinful things, just like sinners do.
Third: They SIT in the places of the ungodly. They may socialize with those who show contempt for Godly things.
This implies that listening to, emulating (acting like), and hanging around with ungodly folks will prevent Christians from receiving God’s blessings. However, this verse is not meant to be negative. Actually it is very positive; for it begins by saying "Blessed (Happy) is the man who does NOT do these things."
Some Christians have said to me, “When it comes to my Christian faith, I am just neutral.” My friends, there is no such thing as being neutral or stationary in the Christian life. You are either drifting backward, as you WALK, SIT and STAND with the ungodly, or you are progressing forward with the Lord toward godliness.
In verse 2 we read, “But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” In this verse we find our delight will be in the Lord and in the Word of God when we are focused on Him and NOT walking, standing or sitting with the ungodly.
Then we come to verse 3 where we see the result of the one who delights in the Word of God he "shall be like a tree planted." And this planted tree will bring forth fruit and prosper.
In Isaiah 61:3 we read, “To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.” Here God calls us "Trees of Righteousness." Now when we look at a tree we see a number of visible things:
We see the trunk of the tree.
We see the branches of the tree.
We see the leaves on the tree.
We see the massive size of the tree.
But often we overlook a vital aspect of the tree, and that's the root structure.
About 30 years ago at our first ministry we began to clear the land where the first parsonage was erected. We would cut down the trees and then start digging at the roots. In doing so, we soon discovered the root structure going every which way. We would chop here and then chop there and soon you would discover the one big root that holds that tree securely to the ground. That root is called the "Tap Root"
The “Tap Root” is the most important root the tree has. It's the most vital root of the tree. It's the primary root. Now you could cut off all the secondary roots of a tree and still have this tap root and the tree will still remain alive and active. However, you cut off that tap root and the tree will die.
As “Trees of Righteousness," we have roots, lots of roots. In the Christian life, we have lots of what we could call secondary roots. These roots branch out into lots of different interests and many different activities:
I have a family and I am concerned about them
I have a job and I am concerned about that.
I have a ministry and I am also concerned about that.
I have a vital interest in you, the people of this church.
Some of you have an interest in missions and evangelism.
Some of you have an interest in the youth ministry.
Some of you have an interest in your football team winning today.
Hold it, my friends. Need I remind you, you have a Tap Root, a primary root in your life, a primary interest, if you please, who is the Lord Jesus Christ.
You may say, “Pastor, I’m not sure what or who represents the primary root in my life. How do I know?” To answer that question, let me ask you, "What is the primary interest in your life?" For most of you, your primary interest in life is that to which you channel:
all your efforts, and
all your affections, and
most of your thoughts, and
most of your dreams, and probably
most of your money!
Now the Word of God is telling us, from our text in Colossians 2:6-7, that our primary root should not be in an activity or in things but in a person, the person of CHRIST. Notice again in Colossians 2:6 we are to "WALK IN HIM." and in verse 7 we are literally to be "ROOTED IN HIM"
Our primary interest in life ought to be Jesus Christ.
He is the TAP ROOT of our lives.
He ought to have "First Place" in our lives.
He ought to have the Pre-eminence in our lives.
Now it is a normal thing for us to have many secondary roots in our life, and there is nothing wrong in having them.
There is nothing wrong with being interested in SPORTS as long as it is not the TAP ROOT.
There is nothing wrong with being interested in CARS as long as it is not the TAP ROOT.
There is nothing wrong with being interested in your JOB as long as it is not the TAP ROOT.
There is nothing wrong with being interested in some form of RECREATION as long as it is not the TAP ROOT.
There is nothing wrong with being involved in your family life as long as it is not the TAP ROOT.
There is nothing wrong with being involved in (blank)…you fill in the (blank).
However, as a growing, developing believer, the TAP ROOT of your life has got to be CHRIST,
Our primary concern ought to be Christ,
Our primary thought ought to be Christ,
Our primary goal in life ought to be the will of God.
Now, please be careful here. As you travel down life's pathway, the old devil could move in and move you to the point where if you take inventory of your life you will say:
My primary interest is my church.
My primary interest is my job.
My primary interest is my family, children and grandchildren.
My primary interest is my money.
My primary interest is my recreation.
My primary interest is getting things in life.
My friends, if your primary interest is in something other than Jesus Christ, please allow me to give you a word of caution. Think about this. Every area in life is subject to change. Any area of life could be cut off or destroyed, ever so quickly.
You could lose your job.
You could lose your money.
You could lose your family.
You could lose your ability in your recreation.
You could lose your friends.
And because that was the TAP ROOT of your life, all of life may seem to die with it. That is why you need to make these things secondary and the primary TAP ROOT Jesus Christ.
Praise God that believers are secured in Christ, nothing shall separate you from the love of Christ.
He has anchored the believer’s soul to eternity, with eternal life.
He will never leave the believer nor forsake the believer.
All else can and will fail, but Christ will remain forever. Amen!!
Again note from verse 7 not only are we to be rooted in Christ, but we are also to be “built up.”
It is interesting to note that the word "Rooted" is in the Greek perfect tense, which tells us that something is completed. It means something has been firmly established once and for all..
On the other hand, the words "Built up" are in the present tense and this denotes a continuous action. This conveys the idea of something that needs to be done repeatedly.
II Peter 3:18 spells out how believers are to be built up continually, "But GROW in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." See those words, "But GROW…” It’s is not possible to be neutral, There needs to be continuous growth in our spiritual lives. Growth brings development and development brings change. And we must remember growth takes both, SUNSHINE as well as RAIN.
You and I need the SUNSHINE of the SON OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, Jesus.
We also need to experience the SHOWERS OF BLESSING as well as the SHOWERS OF SUFFERING.
In Psalm 104:16 we read, “The trees of the LORD are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted;” Notice the phrase "The trees of the Lord are full…" This speaks volumes to me. May I say to you as trees of righteousness?
We should be a people full of SPIRITUAL LIFE.
We should be a people full of JOY.
We should be a people full of God’s POWER.
We should be a people full of God's PEACE.
We should be a people full of HOPE.
We should be a people full of PURPOSE.
Yes, because of Christ in our lives there should be fullness. But on the other hand, have you ever sat down and talked with somebody
Who did not have time for God,
Who did not have time for the Word of God,
Who did not have time for the House of God?
You will have to excuse me, but I find they are the emptiest people in the whole world. They may be very knowledgeable, or very sports minded, or possess a wealth of things. But, you know what, they talk about, NOTHING IMPORTANT and in reality they posses NOTHING IMPORTANT. Now, on the other hand, when I sit down and talk with those
Who do have time for the Lord, and
Who do have time for the Word of God, and
Who do have time for the House of God,
I discover they are full of blessings, praise, purpose and hope. These people know the experience of the RAYS OF THE SON OF RIGHTEOUSNESS and the SHOWERS OF GOD'S BLESSINGS pouring into their souls. They are ROOTED and they are GROWING and according to Colossians 2:7 I find they are being "established in the faith."
This word "established” means "steadfast." Back in Colossians 2:5 we read, "beholding your order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ." Let's face it. The more you are taught in the WORD, and the more you are growing in the WORD, the greater you will be STABILIZED or ESTABLISHED in the faith.
Do you know what brings the greatest joy to a pastor's heart? It is seeing His people growing in the things of Christ:
Growing STEADFAST IN CHRIST,
Growing STEADFAST IN THE WORD OF GOD,
Growing STEADFAST IN THE FAITH,
Growing STEADFAST IN LOYALTY,
Growing STEADFAST IN COMMITMENT,
Growing STEADFAST IN SERVICE, and
Growing STEADFAST IN CONVICTION.
Can you say, "Here I stand, Jesus is my Savior, Jesus is my Lord."
What a joy it is for a pastor to see someone come to know Christ as Savior.
What a delight it is to see that same someone recognize and accept Christ as Lord and master of their life and to see them walking in vital union with the Lord, tap rooted in Christ as the center of their lives.
What a joy to see believers growing, building up their faith, daily, weekly and yearly becoming steadfast in the faith.
There is yet one more phrase to be noted in verse 7, “Abounding in Thanksgiving.” We will take up that phrase on the next Lord ’s Day. As we draw this message to a conclusion, let me ask you, "Where are you in these verses."
Have you received Christ as your Savior? Are you absolutely sure of Heaven?
Is Jesus the TAP ROOT of your life? Is He the Lord of your life in every action, activity, and attitude?
Are you spiritually growing in the Lord day by day? If not, what adjustments do you need to make in your life TODAY to make Christ come alive in you?"
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If God has spoken to your heart, after reading the sermon “Walk Ye in Him” right now talk to God about what He has spoken to you.
Do you have the assurance that one day you will go to heaven? If you have no assurance that you know Jesus Christ, then I trust you will decide to accept Him as your personal Savior. The Bible tells us in
Acts
Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
This prayer is here for those who need to ask Jesus to be their personal Savior: “I do want to go to Heaven. I know I am a sinner, and I do believe Jesus Christ died for me. I realize I cannot buy this great salvation, nor can I earn it. Knowing Jesus died on the cross and arose from the grave to pay my sin debt and to purchase my salvation, I do now trust Him as my Savior, and from this moment on I am completely depending on Him for my salvation.”
If you made the decision to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior let me know? Please send an e-mail to, pdmikBBM@aol.com and I will send you some literature that will help you in your Christian life.
The “Weekly SERMON” was sent as a ministry of Bible Baptist Ministry,
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