Colossians 2:8-15 - Victory - Easter

1. Numerous eyewitnesses.

not just a couple dudes. It is a lot of people who see Jesus.

2. Early movement not an evolving fable over centuries Not an evolving fable over centuries. A movement of people begin following Jesus and worshipping him as God very soon after his death. Thousands and thousands of Jews switch mindsets and see Jesus as God and worship him. It was blasphemy to worship a human. They believed Jesus was God. Why? Resurrection.

3. Empty tomb Major religious leaders have huge tombs where people go and worship and take pilgrimage. Abraham, Mohammed, Buddha - all have tombs. Jesus has no tomb.

4. Empty tomb (((PPT)))))))) Major religious leaders have huge tombs where people go and worship and take pilgrimage. Abraham, Mohammed, Buddha - all have tombs. Jesus has no tomb.

4. Why die for a lie? Most of Jesus’ closest disciples were killed for following Jesus. They were killed.

I encourage us to doubt and question but for lots of us, it isn’t about logic or evidence, it is about control. The implications of Jesus being God and us believing means we aren’t our own authority.

It is about transferring faith not creating it. We have faith in ourselves, faith in success, faith in family… but if Jesus rose and is God then we need to transfer our faith to him. We have to trust him instead of trusting that we can be our own master of our own fate.

I want to encourage you to allow yourself to doubt your doubts. Consider Jesus.

But today, we are going to look at the Bible and I believe that Jesus’ story leads all of us to say “I want to believe its true!”

Oh, it is so good that you are here today.

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(NLT)

9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. 21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

8 Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. 9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. 10 So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority. 11 When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. 12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. 13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.

12 always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. 13 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. 15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, 16 for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. 17 He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. 18 Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. 19 For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20 and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. 21 This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. 23 But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.

(ESV)

11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

(NLT)

13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.

Listen to one paraphrase of the text of Colossians:

13 When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive—right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven, 14 the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ’s cross. 15 He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets.

Victory! The cross becomes a symbol of victory.

We are invited to win - Jesus defeated death & sin.

+++Basketball - team sucked!

But our victory depends on Jesus not on us. Our moments of failure can help us recognize we need a saviour. Our losing can lead us to living.

(NLT) You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins.

13 When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive—right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven, 14 the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ’s cross. 15 He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets.

13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins.

Prayer.

INTRO

i. Optimist & Pessimist

++ Anyone here naturally an optimist? (the rest of us love you!).

Who are the pessimists? We don’t call ourself that though do we - we are “realists.”

pessimist?

Christianity is the most pessimistic and the most optimistic of any faith or philosophy. It is both at the same time.

ii. Hope.

“where does your hope come from?” When we tell ourselves “tomorrow will be better.” “Good will come of it.” “Things can turn around.” “Success is coming.” What would you say if someone asked you this question: “why?”

How do we face injustice and tragedy? How can we forgive when we are wronged? How can we persevere through failure, through heartbreak? How do we approach death well?

2. Hope

“What is source of our hope? What sustains it during storms?

We are invited to win - Jesus defeated death & sin. Easter is about hope. Hope for eternity and for today. Our perspective on forever frames our future.

WALK THRU

Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. (NLT)

8 Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.

There were beliefs and ideas in the first century as there are today in the 21st century. They can take us captive and take us as prisoners. Don’t let that happen says Jesus.

“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

- C.S Lewis

God is offering us more than we understand and we settle for far too little.

Why does death feel so wrong? Why have all humans through of all history sought out the divine and hoped for an afterlife? Because we are made for forever! We are made for eternal life, not death.

Why does slavery, war and terror feel so strong? If it is everyone out for their self, it is about us seeking success, if it is about the survival of the strongest? Because we were all created out of love, for love, and everyone matters including the lost, least, and lacking.

Trying to suck the most out of life today but it melts before us.

++++ Love a deal…LYNDEN ice cream cone… melting and trying to eat it as fast we can. Trying to get the best of the mudpies as fast as possible.

9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. 10 So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority. (NLT)

No one questions that Jesus is a historical person who was crucified.

He wasn’t just a teacher and he didn’t claim to be merely a teacher. He is God.

Throughout history, humans have sought out a way to know God. God became human to seek us out and reveal himself.

We can have a relationship with him by trusting him, this unites us to Jesus. Through Jesus, we have relationship with God, we are fulfilled/completed. We have resurrected life and power and hope - starting now. Big IDEA

11 When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. 12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.

We are spiritually dead. Just like Jesus was buried, we need to recognize that we are spiritually dead. But then Jesus rises from the dead - and by trusting in him, we also are raised have new life. Big IDEA

And the “dead stuff” of our hearts - God is cutting it away. There is victory over the dead stuff!

12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. 13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins.

13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. - (NLT)

GOSPEL

We are dead without Jesus.

Death

“You were dead because of your sins.” Christianity is the most pessimistic and the most optimistic of faiths or philosphies at the same time.

Natalie knows I am not perfect

We are not just “not perfect.” We are evil, dead, helpless, rebellious. We are far worse than we want to recognize. We are spiritually dead, facing physical death, and deserving eternity cut off from God and goodness.

Wait a second “I’m not that bad. I try to be a good person. I may not believe but I am not that bad. Or I believe in God, I go to church, I serve, I may not obey God wholeheartedly but I’m a believer. If I stand before God one day, wouldn’t he just accept me? I’m not a murderer”

+++ Imagine Trevor Linden invites me to go play hockey with him and some buddies. Now, there is one problem. I can’t skate. I know he is on another level but it isn’t just that - I can’t even get around on the ice. What do I do? Well, I think about how I am pretty good at floor hockey and how I used to be really good. I hear about some other people who are going to play as well and they don’t even know how to play hockey. In fact, they have never even handled a hockey stick. They are talking about how they are really good at badminton so they think they give it a go! Badminton! Well, I am going to be way better than them.

What am I doing? I am ignoring the reality that I can’t skate and that I have no place playing with Trevor Linden but lifting up the skills I do have by comparing them to other people I deem worse. But who should I be comparing myself to? Trevor Linden.

We do this. I don’t want to admit that I have no place before a perfect, all-powerful God so I focus on how I am not a bad person because I am not a murderer.

Dead in your sins. We are far worse than we can even understand and there is nothing you can do to make yourself clean before God. Christianity is the most pessimistic.

13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. - (NLT)

We are dead without Jesus.

2. We are invited to life in Jesus.

We are invited with life in Jesus.

2. We are invited to life in Jesus.

i. Made us alive today (know resurrection)

But the optimism, is that we are far more loved than we believe, with full access to God.

We are spiritually alive today! This isn’t just about waiting for eternity. It is about resurrection life today, God’s Spirit transforming us today.

We are spiritually alive today! This isn’t just about waiting for eternity. It is about resurrection life today, God’s Spirit transforming us today.

“that I may know him and the power of his resurrection.”

10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection

Knowing his Resurrection Power

Illustration: Maya Bay Kho Phi Phi

In 2001, I went to thailand. I visited the most beautiful beach that I have ever seen. It was out on a very small island.

http://static.wixstatic.com/media/29a259_3f7ea2c6ff7ebd86e5b8d3b23d62168b.jpg_srz_980_465_85_22_0.50_1.20_0.00_jpg_srz

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XoLgot8xRuk/UDD__tGgMQI/AAAAAAAALto/gXOg3lN0L-8/s1600/KoPhiPhiLehMayaBay2.jpg

The sand was so white and soft. Like you were standing on a million tiny marshallows that were gently squished under your feet. The water glistened and sparkled like it was layered with diamonds. It was warm like a bath and clear.

We can know Jesus today. We can know his resurrection power today. We can know victory today! Big Idea

God “made us” alive. We don’t make ourselves alive spiritually. We don’t overcome the divide on our own. Jesus achieves the victory. He offers us life.

ii. He defeated sin

14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.

Our lack, our guilt, our charges - Jesus died for us.

No condemnation, no record of wrongs.

iii. Resurrection victory - death defeated.

15 In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross. - Col. 2:15

VIDEOS of life & victory?

14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.

In Roman world, when you defeated an enemy, you paraded them back into your city. It was a celebration of shame on your enemies. Finally, at the end, they would kill the enemy king.

Finally, at the end, they would kill the enemy king.

Jesus was stripped, shamed, and killed. On the cross, it said “king of the jews.” Even though he wasn’t seen as a big enemy or crucial king, it was another statement to the world. Rome rules. Big IDea

Look at this scripture! It says that people had it backwards. Jesus turned losing into winning. The cross became a tool for triumph! Jesus rose again, and the forces of darkness and death, sin, satan and shame - they end up being shamed.

Jesus is alive. Victory!

We are invited to win - Jesus defeated death & sin.

++ White board: bell curve.

All the forces of darkness. Sin, shame, satan, death. Jesus has defeated, he disarmed them when he rose again in victory!

Recap:

We are dead without Jesus.

We are invited with life in Jesus.

We can live in power with hope

We can live in power and hope.

Big Idea