First Place in Everything

Introduction

Well, I believe that you meant what you just affirmed with your lips. That you believe in Jesus, that he died on Mount Calvary, that he caused Lazarus to rise from the dead, and he himself rose from the dead, and that you understand, and I believe I speak to most everybody here this morning, you believe he’s the answer for you. But what exactly does that mean? How is he the answer for you? What does the Bible say about how Jesus is the answer for our lives? And we need to make sure that the answers we give to those questions are correct, and that our response to Jesus is what it needs to be in order to please God to be prepared for what’s coming. I want to begin this morning with an affirmation.

See, Daniel, you’ve messed up my slides. The affirmation is supposed to be up here. That’s okay. This is going to mess things up. As you’ll see in a moment. But I love it when these little things happen. So just imagine it says the affirmation up there. I don’t know that Daniel did it, but I’m pretty sure he did.

And if not, we just love blaming things on Daniel anyway. This affirmation comes from a video that I watched a couple of weeks ago, sent out by Focus Magazine Online. They don’t publish an actual paper anymore, but they send out articles. They come into my inbox and several of your inboxes. I know Mike gets some and George Sellers gets them because George says, hey, do you see the video? So you have to. The video that’s distributed by a local church of Christ, and a very well done video that begins with this affirmation, and I have it sort of color-coded. How clearly I see Jesus will determine how closely I follow him. We need to follow him closely, and thus we need to see him clearly. Let’s give Christ the supremacy.

See? Okay, that’s not as bad as I thought. Closely, what do we mean by that? To follow Jesus closely. That is, we need to follow him carefully, and we need to follow him thoroughly. Now, in regard to his supremacy, let’s give Christ the supremacy. First of all, we need to understand that he possesses the supremacy, whether we acknowledge it or not.

At his name, every knee should bow. Paul says in Philippians chapter 2. He has a name that is better than the angels. As they are exalted servants of God. But Jesus is above them. According to Hebrews chapter 1. He is the king riding on the white horse in Revelation chapter 19, who defeats all of his enemies. Everything that is opposed to him, he is king of kings and Lord of Lords. And so the issue is not, is he supreme? Because he possesses supremacy. The issue is whether we acknowledge his supremacy. The proper and fitting acknowledgement is critical to our soul’s salvation. And so as we talk this morning about the supremacy of Christ, don’t misunderstand that’s what this lesson is about. In fact, this is an unusual sermon for me.

It has two points. And one of them has to do with Christ’s supremacy. And the other has to do with how we acknowledge his supremacy. How big is your view of Jesus? I wonder, as that video wonders, if our view of Jesus is large enough to take in all that he really is as he reigns in heaven today. I’ve suggested this book to our people before. It’s a book that impressed me when I was a young preacher in Indiana. A book by J.B. Phillips, a little paperback book. You can get it at Amazon still, Your God is too small. Did a lot of sermons as a result of reading that one little book about our view of God. But not just God. What about the person of God as it relates to Jesus who came and took on human flesh?

I wonder if our view of him is large enough. I wonder if it is large enough to command loyalty in our lives. That’s what we’re getting at. He’s the answer for me. Is he large enough to command your loyalty? And your submission to his rule, to his words of authority. Not just today, but every day of our lives.

He is the Savior supreme. Is our view of him large enough? And I had this thought about Jesus and who he really is. There was a saying a while back that sort of sent people down the road. Teach the man, not the plan. I don’t think that’s really the idea, because we need to teach his plan in order to render people in Christ and save from their sins. So, yes, we need to emphasize his plan. But I wonder sometimes if we go too far in that direction and not far enough in emphasizing the man who issues the plan for us to be saved. Notice in Acts chapter 2, when the first gospel sermon was preached on the day of Pentecost after Jesus had risen from the dead several weeks ago.

The conclusion of that sermon is that this Jesus whom you crucified, God hath made him both Lord and Christ. He is everything the Old Testament had been promising. He is the reigning king and Lord. God has made him both Lord and Christ. And we know the response, right? How many times have we read it? They were pierced to the hearts. And they said, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Repent and be baptized. And it doesn’t seem there was any quibbling about that. Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, on the basis of all that he is, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and you shall receive all that the Holy Spirit had been talking about.

All that the Holy Spirit had promised. You shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. And so we read all of that, we say, ah, 3,000 souls were baptized. That was a great day, a day unlike it in all history, and that’s true. But what motivated that audience? It was their understanding of who Jesus was and their culpability. It is death. God has made him both Lord and Christ. Let me emphasize that a little bit further. I wonder when we’re teaching people, if we’re too quick to get to the requirements of salvation, because people have at least some belief in Jesus as the Savior of the world, and we’re so quick to get to the requirements that we don’t spend enough time emphasizing the one who gives us the requirements to whom we must give our allegiance, not just in submission initially, but in the entirety of our lives, our thinking, and our being.

Notice what they did. A large number who believed turned to the Lord. They didn’t just turn to a plan or system of salvation. They turned to the Lord. Because he is the Savior supreme. He is both Lord and Christ. And when news of that reached Jerusalem, they sent down Barnabas. And when he came, what did he do? When he witnessed the grace of God, the salvation that had taken place among those in Antioch, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to teach baptism for the remission of sins. My Bible didn’t read that way to yours. I’m sure he did do that. But that’s not overall what he did. It says he encouraged them with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord.

I want to tell you, my struggle is not with understanding the requirements of salvation. My struggle is to in daily thinking and choices and behavior to remain true to the Lord.

And they were first called Christians in Antioch. What does that mean? They were followers of Jesus Christ.

1. How Big Is Your View of Jesus?

And to help us with this a little bit more, I want to spend the rest of our time in Colossians this morning in chapter one. Those who had received the grace of God and had believed in Jesus were the Christians in Colossae. And Paul is encouraging them to grow up in Christ in verses 9 through 12, to be filled with all knowledge of his will and spiritual understanding, and to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. That’s my goal in this lesson. That we’ll leave this place, and not just today, on the Lord’s day, not just in this period of worship as we have executed his commands as he is instructed, but that we will leave this place and we will walk day after day, hour after hour in our lives in a manner worthy of the Lord.

To remain true to the Lord. To please him in all respects. And if that’s all respects, what does that leave out? Bearing fruit. In every good work, he goes on to say, increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all power, attaining all steadfastness in verse 11, giving thanks to the Father because He’s qualified us. There’s nothing like being qualified. You’re in the race. You qualified. We talk about that in racing all the time. They’re getting ready to run the Indianapolis 500 in Indianapolis, Indiana. And only 33 cars qualified. But when you qualify, you’re in the race. He has qualified us. He’s gotten us in. And what we’re in is the sharing in the inheritance. That’s good, isn’t it? The inheritance of the saints of life.

How have we been qualified to share? He has delivered us from the domain of darkness. Man, we needed that. He’s the answer for us, we’ve son. Yes, because we needed to be delivered from the domain of darkness, where sin gripped our soul, and we were under the influence and wiles of Satan leading to destruction. He delivered us from that. And transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son. That’s what happened on the day of Pentecost. That’s what happened at Antioch. Transferred into the kingdom. The realm of the King, the reign of the King. In whom we have redemption. The forgiveness of our sins. And he. Okay, this you’re in the kingdom of the Son. But you need to understand who He is. He is the image of the invisible God.

He came to earth and displayed Godhood in human form. In him all the fullness of deity dwells, according to verse 19. The image of the invisible God, then this.

Now that doesn’t mean he was a created being. That means of all that has been created, Jesus has the preeminence. And what Colossians 1 is going to do for us is to give us a larger perspective of who Jesus is. This is point number one. How big is your view of Jesus? Some people look at Jesus and they see the baby in the manger, and that was God taking on human flesh in those humble beginnings. Born of a virgin, a miracle involved. Yes, that’s when the Savior entered the world. And this would be the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. That’s important. And he taught all of those marvelous lessons, and he taught them in parables, and he said so many things to help his disciples unto true living and to live life abundantly.

Yes, he was the Galilean teacher, and yes.

He bore our sins in his body upon the cross. And by his stripes we can be healed. And all of those things are important in the picture that we have of Jesus. But he’s even more.

It’s everything in every realm. Nothing that has come into being has come into being except by him. The John Narratus says in John chapter 1 and verse 3. Apart from him, nothing has come into being that has come into being nothing apart from him. Visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things have been created by him and for him. And he is before all things.

And in him all things hold together. He created everything. He existed before everything. Everything was created through him and for him. And he is currently holding all things together. Jesus is supreme. Thus. He is also head of the body, the church. And he is the beginning. The firstborn from the dead. So that he himself might come to have first place in everything. Now, you can do church however you decide you want to do it. But that doesn’t make Jesus the head of the church. Jesus is head of the church when we submit to his rule as the king. That’s when we are his people. And he knows those that are his. 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 19. We’re not Jesus’ church merely because we proclaim it.

We are Jesus’ church when we submit to his rule and leadership and guidance, and when we properly acknowledge him as the king.

2. He Has to Have First Place in Everything

Okay, now get the so that here. So that he might have first place in everything. I like being able to leave people with just one or two things. One thing that’s really important. Is Jesus the answer for you? If so, then he has to have first place in everything. Robert prayed that in his prayer. I noticed. That’s the second point. He’s not just a part of my life. He is my life. You know that text a little bit later in Colossians 3. If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above. Where Christ is, firstborn, seated at the right hand of God. No one else sits there, only him. Set your mind on the things above, not on things that are on earth.

For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Because he has first place. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory. Now that’s what we’re wanting. We’re looking at, we’re anticipating. I want to be revealed with him in glory. What a wonderful, incredible day that will be, and it could be today. To be revealed with him in glory, you don’t want to miss that. You don’t want to be on the outside looking in. You want to be included in that. But only if you are determined to let him have first place in everything. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed. I think this is our problem right here. And this is what the video points out.

We have all of these things that are our lives. And Jesus fits nicely in the midst of all of those things. But he wants to be ruler in our lives. We must not compartmentalize our faith. Okay, Jesus, this is what I’m giving you today. Special religious days a couple times a year, Easter, Christmas, whatever. A lot of misunderstandings about all that. This is what I’m giving you today. This is a religious day. I’m giving you this. I’ll give it to you 52 Sundays a year. That’s generous. Some people don’t do that. Might even come on a Sunday night and a Wednesday night every now and then. I’m going to give you 52 days a year. Not just a part of our lives. When Christ, too, is our life.

First place in everything. The problem with this compartmentalizing of behavior, this is the part I’m giving to Jesus. The rest of it’s mine. To do with what I want. What that leads to is inconsistency in our discipleship. We are not thus encouraged with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord because I’ll tell you who we’re true to is ourselves. The problem with I’m giving Jesus a part of my life leads to the kinds of inconsistencies that we struggle with in regard to what we do, what we speak, how we dress. What involvement does the Lord have in that? Or am I just making decisions on the basis of what I want to do? Or is Christ my life? And thus he affects the words that come out of my mouth, the things that I will and will not do, how I’m going to clothe myself, or even how I’m going to treat others and regard others, what I’m going to say to others, how I’m going to serve others, and even how I view myself.

Isn’t it interesting that when the initial discussion begins about what faith means in our lives in Romans 12, as we’ve just studied, about being living sacrifices and being transformed by the renewing of our minds, the next thing he says is a man ought not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think. You see, you understand your role. I am completely dependent upon this great Savior. He is my life. I’m not the center of my life anymore. He is.

Paul says in Galatians 2 and verse 20. I live now this life in the flesh by faith in the Son of God who loved me and delivered himself up for me. The bottom line is we need this because we are pretty pitiful saviors. I’m glad we’re looking this morning at Dean and Jared and Jaden. Because Dean might not have seen his 30th birthday. When Sean posted what he did about their Pecos kayaking trip that went awry thanks to a flash flood. Things like that happen. We realize how powerless we really are.

Man, I wanted to do something. But I couldn’t even text. Sean said, don’t text him. That’s what the no said. Don’t text him. A lot of people get we’ll be texting. They’re trying to get these guys to safety and help and whatever. What if your battery did your battery on your phone run out? That could have been bad. It didn’t.

They didn’t even have phones. Let that be a lesson. Got to hear more about this story now. Powerless. Nobody think. What could I do? What could Sean do? Very little. We’re powerful. We’re just hopeful that these guys somehow get to safety and get back home. Don’t fall into the hands of somebody with nefarious plans. Out there and wherever they were, Pecos.

We’re powerless. Sometimes we think we’ve got it all under control. This is all we’re pitiful saviors. And we’re temporary to boot. But he’s eternal. He’s the creator of all, and he’s above all. We need him. And we need him not just as a part of our lives, we need him as our lives. He is the Savior supreme. And let his word richly dwell within you. With all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another. Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or indeed. Do all in the name of the Lord Jesus. Giving thanks to the Father through him. Whatever you do, not just a part of it, but you need to be determined. Is he the answer for you?

Conclusion

Then he’s not just a part of your life. You let him determine your life. That’s what it means. That Jesus is our Savior. And he can do things for us that we cannot do for ourselves. He gives us salvation and purpose and promises us glory. Has he come to have first place in everything in your life? That’s what we want for you. That’s what heaven wants for you. And you’ll be blessed if you put him there. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, you will be revealed with him in glory. There’ll be nothing like that day. Are you ready? Can we assist you in your readiness? Let’s stand and sing.