Chico Alliance Church
“What Is Garbage?”
Two themes in Colossians
Jesus reigns supreme over all creation.
Jesus remains sufficient for all creation.
After reviewing the wonderful work of God on their behalf, Paul reinforces the truth of our identification with Christ. This truth of identification is such a fantastic truth. We could spend a lifetime exploring its implications. When you identify with someone or something you enjoy all the benefits of the person with whom you identify or suffer the same difficulties. Moses chose to identify with the Hebrews even though he was raised in Pharaoh’s courts. When we trust Christ, God identifies us with His own son. When Jesus died we died. When Jesus rose we rose. What is true of Him is counted true of us. Paul applies the truth of our death with Christ in the area of the law of sin and death. Having died with Christ we are no longer subject to the law of sin and death. We now live on the basis of the law of the spirit of life. We have been raised with Christ. Because God raised us in newness of life after the likeness of Christ’s resurrection we are to live our lives as new creatures.
Keep seeking the “up things”
Keep thinking about the “up things”
Why? Past – Present - Future
• You died
• Your life is now hidden with Christ in God
• You will be revealed with Christ in glory.
As we launch into another year it is always good to take a look at the map. What are your goals? Where are you going? Where we going as a church? Where will you fit into the vision? How does this fit you?
Paul arranged his whole life around one all consuming objective. He continually evaluated his life according to the goal. When Paul neared the end of his life, he confidently affirmed…
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing. 2 Tim. 4:6-8
Boredom is a continuing complaint among people today. Boredom comes from the absence of a powerful enough purpose to engage our whole life. Paul calls these believers to a high calling to an all-consuming passion to steadily seek and constantly contemplate God’s eternal purpose. Paul prayed this prayer for them constantly. He prayed that they would be “filled” with the knowledge of God’s will. The word filled means to be directed controlled, permeated, saturated. Why? So they would be able to walk worthy of the calling with which they had been called.
Philippians chapter 3.
Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you. Beware of the dogs (those with out moral direction or foundation), beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh, although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: Then Paul provides us some basic idea of what he means by the flesh. circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless
Here he talks of ceremony, heritage, privilege, theological keenness, admirable purpose, and earthly recognition. By today’s evangelical standard this person would take confidence that: Dedicated to the Lord as a baby. Born in America. Born to a good family.
Conservative, evangelical Zealous for the cause of Christianity by rooting out all sorts of evil.
Boycott Disney
Protest rallies
Write our senators
As far as the world is concerned leads a blameless life by following all the rules of the society and the church.
But
because of Christ I have considered (perfect) loss (disadvantage, damage, suffer loss) what was to me gains
Paul turned from law keeping to Christ holding. Because of Christ’s work and his relationship with Christ, Paul discovered that any attempt to gain confidence from anyone or anything else was a great disadvantage. He considered what might be gain as disadvantage.
But also
I consider (present middle) to be loss ALL
through the surpassing value of the knowledge of Christ
my Master
through whom
I lost (point time passive) all
and
I consider (present middle) garbages (refuse, dung, scraps, filth)
These are the things in which dogs delight. Paul came to the point where he recognized what was important. Paul called these Philippians and the Colossians to focus on the eternal.
THAT
I might gain (point time) Christ
And
I might be found (point time passive) in him
not having (present active) my righteousness from the law
But
having the righteousness from God through faith in Christ upon faith
to know (point time) Him
and
to know the power of his resurrection
and
to know the fellowship of his sufferings
being conformed(present passive) to His death
If perhaps
I might arrive to the resurrection from dead
NOT
that I received (point time passive) already
or
that I have been completed (perfect passive) already
BUT
I pursue (follow zealously, set in motion, march row, hasten)
If I might take hold of (seize, hold fast, comprehend, know)
that which I was also taken hold of by Christ Jesus
What is that? What does he want to grab? He wants to be and do what Christ called him to do and that is to glorify the God everything.
We have been called that we might with one voice glorify God.
5Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus; 6that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 15:5-6
9But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY. 1 Peter 2:9-10
Paul’s passion is to please God. Paul’s goal in life above all others and against which all else appears as cat poop is to know Christ and demonstrate his resurrection life to those in darkness. Did he get there?
Brothers
I do not think myself to have taken hold (perfect)
But one thing indeed
I pursue, I live life according to the goal the prize
the up call of God in Christ Jesus
the things after forgetting (present middle)
the things in front stretching forward (present middle)
Let us think this (this priority)
as many as are mature
If any think otherwise
Then God will reveal it to you
However
Let us keep living by the same standard to which we have attained.
Don’t fall backwards. Move closer to the goal of Christlikeness.
For
many walk, enemies of the cross of Christ
of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping
whose end is destruction,
whose god is appetite, and
whose glory is in their shame,
who set their minds on earthly things.
For
our citizenship is in heaven,
from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;
who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory,
by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.
We live in a culture that pursues garbage, cow pies. We dig wells that cannot produce or hold water while neglecting the very things that lead us to the springs of living water of God. Somehow in the church we have lost the wonder of our God and the wonder of citizenship in the kingdom of His beloved Son. His purpose seems not to concern us let alone consume us. We as a church must decide once again whether we will take up the challenge on the front lines or limp along. Chico has existed as an organization for over 50 years. Institutionalization has set in where keeping the organization moving smoothly becomes more consuming than production. You can tell a church’s status by the issues that cause conflict. Do the issues deal with things of eternal consequence or temporal preferences?
There are three kinds of church members and churches.
• Base camp soldiers
• Front line soldiers
• Wounded soldiers
You can tell which one you are by what occupies your time and conversation.
Base camp soldiers focus on their own personal comfort and preferences.
Front line soldiers focus on the goal and the enemy and the one they serve.
Wounded soldiers focus on healing and their woundedness.
We are soldiers commissioned to carry out a high purpose.
God commissioned us to make disciples of all peoples.
Baptizing them
Teaching them to live according to the spirit of life in Christ Jesus
We have adopted a wonderful mission statement that declares our very purpose for existence.
It is a purpose worthy of adoption by each individual by each family. It is my job and the job of our leaders to put flesh on the mission statement, to draw us a picture of how we might live according to the statement.
Will we set our minds on eternal things?
Will we ponder eternal things to the point where all else seems like cow pies?
We exist to glorify God…
We are here to draw attention to our heavenly Father.
We are here to cause people to lift their head.
We are here to cause people to pursue that longing to worship God as in the beginning.
How do we do it?
By developing and demonstrating the beauty of relationship with God and each other.
Developing
We aren’t there yet.
We are continually in process.
We are learning.
Yet there are many that should have moved from the learning to the living.
We need continual fresh examples of these things that are tangible.
Dynamic Relationship with God
Development deals with leaning, observing, practicing.
Demonstrating
Demonstration deals with living before others what we have developed.
We must commit to personal and corporate growth in three specific areas.
Commitment to do whatever it takes to grow personally
Commitment to do whatever it takes to grow corporately (together)
Worship
By worship I mean response to God out of a devoted heart.
• A heart committed to continually seek him.
• A heart committed to acknowledge and demonstrate our continual need of him.
• A heart committed to spend time talking with Him.
• A heart committed to trust him for and through the delightful as well as the difficult.
• A heart committed to please Him first.
That heart expresses itself by many different means.
Obedience
Praise and celebration
Service
