Untitled Sermon

Now why

does Paul

tell us

that wisdom and knowledge

is hidden in Christ?

It’s because

if your

intellect

is full

of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge

in Christ

then there won’t be

any more room

in your intellect

to be filled

with nonsense.

Look at v.4

‘I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.’

Paul is telling you why

he is teaching you

about wisdom and knowledge

being hidden in Christ

so that no one will delude you.

Another translation

for delude

is deceive.

So that you are not deceived.

You’re not

swindled

by these con-artists.

What do these deceivers

use

to fool people?

Paul says, ‘with plausible arguments’.

Plausible means something

that seems good.

Seems possible

even

reasonable.

Another translation

for plausible

is persuasive.

That these are arguments

that are even convincing

and smart!

There is a real temptation

to overspend

when grocery shopping.

So the best way

to save money

when you go grocery shopping

is not

a groceries list

or to use cash.

Those are good techniques

but they are not the best.

Here is the best:

Eat

before

you go to the grocery store.

There’s a reason

that there are all these random things

to buy

at the checkout.

Everything from more candy

drinks

gum

and snacks.

But if you’re already full

then you won’t even look

at them.

And church

if you

instead

fill your intellect

with the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden in Christ

you won’t

be deceived.

You won’t

even

see

false teaching

as plausible

or persuasive

or tempting

because you would be

already

fully satisfied

in Christ.

Like castle walls

wisdom and knowledge in Christ

creates

a secure perimeter

against

worldliness.

And that

makes Christians

secure.

Look at v.5, ‘For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.’

What makes Paul

so joyful

even though

he never met the Colossians

is that

he knows

that by

teaching them the Word

they would be

united

and secured

from false teaching

in their faith

because their intellect

has been filled

with Christ.

Every day

I walk by

this sidewalk

near my home

and a good

two to three sections

of the sidewalk

is covered in darkness.

And that darkness

was from

a shadow.

And that shadow

pointed me

to this big

pine tree.

That shadow

was not

the tree

it merely

pointed

to the tree.

Boxers will

do what is called

shadow boxing

in order

to prepare

for their match.

What they do

is imagine

an enemy in front of them

punching

and moving

so the boxer

fights back

ducks

and weaves

as if fighting for his life

but if you actually watch them

do this

they’re just

punching the air.

And the false teachers

wanted the believers

to do the same

but only

with the Old Testament.

Punch air.

In addition

they have no head.

No leader.

Christ

is not

their leader.

They are

their own

leader

when Christ

is the supreme leader

of the universe.

of a little girl

floating in the air

with supernatural strength.

In fact

the best selling book

on Amazon

right now

is The Let Them Theory

by Mel Robbins.

A self-help book

claiming

to have wisdom and knowledge

for life’s problems.

You what’s the description?

It says:

Learn

how to:

break free from fear and self-doubt

create the love you deserve

define your own path to success, joy and fulfillment.

But that doesn’t mean

that the trials

and temptations

aren’t real.

The grocery store

though seemingly innocent

whats to

tempt you

to buy things

you don’t need.

Just look at the checkout aisle

and all the random things

they are filled with

snacks

magazines

I’ve even seen batteries!

But the best way

to not be tempted

is to come to the grocery store

with a full stomach.

So that you’re not interested

in buying junk.

Driving back

from Philadelphia

from a missions trip

with a fellow leader

we had to fill the tanks

of our rental vans

before

we returned them.

So we stopped

at a gas station

to fill our tanks.

So I adjusted the switch

on the gas nozzle

so that it would fill

on its own

while I go

and pay inside.

When I got back

I was shocked to see

that the gas

was overflowing

out of the gas tank!

Seeing the cost of the gas

continually increase

I immediately

pulled out

the nozzle

out

of the gas tank

to stop it.

Now this was a malfunction

usually

the nozzle will stop

on its own

when the tank is full.

But it didn’t.

And instead

of continuing

to fill the tank

with gas

it flowed out

because there was no more space

in the tank

because it was already full.