SUNNY THOUGHTS FROM SUNSET by Rev. Vance Drum 6-29

Next Sunday, July 2, will be our annual Sunset Patriotic Day.  We’ll have a fellowship dinner after the morning worship, and we invite you to join us!

On Sunday the Sunset pastor brought a message, “Raised with Christ.”

The text was from Colossians 2:12:  “raised with [Christ] through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.”

 Who are we?  What is the nature of our identity in Christ?

 The pastor made two points:  (1) Who is Christ?  (2) Who are You in Christ?

 (1) Who is Christ?  If you’re a Christian, then you are in him, so who is Christ?

 (a) V9:  “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.”  In Christ the fullness of God lives in bodily form—that is, in a human body.  When the Son of God came down from heaven to earth at Christmas, he was born of Mary.  That made him Mary’s baby, born into our humanity.  But he had no human father, since Mary was a virgin woman.

Her fiancé Joseph thought about breaking off their engagement, since he knew he was not the father of Jesus.  But an angel said (Matthew 1:20): “Joseph, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”  Jesus was both God and Man—the Deity in a human body.

 (b) V10: “Christ is the head over every power and authority.”  Jesus is the Christ — the Lord.  He is Lord of all in heaven and on earth and under the earth. He said in the Great Commission: “All power has been given to me in heaven and on earth,” and John said (Revelation 1:5):  Jesus is the “ruler of the kings of the earth.”  Jesus is supreme over all.

 (2) Who Are You in Christ?

 (a) V9:  “You have been given fullness in Christ.”  When you’re related to the King of the universe, that elevates you.  When you’re related to Christ, who is Lord of all, that lifts you up.

 If Christ is in you, and you are in Christ, that makes you special.  You are somebody.  You’re already somebody because God made and loves you.  But in Christ, you are somebody extra — his covenant child, recipient of the blessings of heaven, and an heir of the King.

 If you are child of God, and living for him, then he is your heavenly Father.  He will bless you.

 (b) V11:  “In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism….”  Circumcision was a sign of one’s inclusion in the Old Testament covenant.  It meant you were God’s child.

 In the New Covenant, circumcision is spiritual, not done by human hands but done by Christ as we put off the sinful nature.  We put off the sinful nature when we repent of our sins — even our favorite sins.

Somebody said, that’s hard to do.  I say it’s impossible to do apart from God’s help.  But the Lord helps us in our struggle with sin.  He gives us strength and power.  We died to sin when we turned away from it in repentance.

 Then, what should we do with a dead man?  Bury him.  V12, “…having been buried with him [Christ] in baptism.”  When the sinful man has died and been put away, we should then bury that old man.

 (c) V12, “and raised with him through your faith in the power of God….”  We are “raised with Christ to walk a new life.” (Romans 6). The Spirit of King Jesus lives in us; we walk with our head up as God’s power is working in us.

 “The Lord reigns, let the nations tremble; he sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake.  Great is the Lord in Zion; he is exalted over all the nations.  Let them praise your great and awesome name….”  [Psalm 99:1-3]

 May the Lord God be exalted in our nation — America — this day and every day — our prayer from your friends at Sunset Christian Church.