Proving God’s Will

Introduction

Well, you know, I just love series preaching. And that’s why I do it so often. You know, just start a subject and go with it for several weeks. You know I don’t do that regularly. Well, I’m doing something that’s extremely unusual. I’m doing a two-part lesson. But the first part was 364 days ago. On December 31st, 2017. So we might need a little bit of a reminder of what that sermon was about as we were about to ring in the year 2018. And we’re down to the last couple of days of that year, this year. And 2019 is upon us. Lord willing. Well, we started that lesson by looking at Colossians, the second chapter, and particularly verse 4, where Paul is concerned about influences that would come to bear on the church at Colossae.

1. Not Moved Away From the Hope of the Gospel

He says, I say this in order that no one may delude you with persuasive argument. What we believe matters. We learned that from Paul in Colossians chapter 2 and verse 4. And that he has a very real concern of the church, which was meeting in Colossae being influenced by others in a negative way that has dramatic and eternal consequences. He says, I say this so that no one will delude you. Now, this doesn’t come out of nowhere in Colossians. Now, Colossians is a book about the supremacy of Christ in the universe. But not just the universe, the supremacy of Christ in his church, and then of necessity the supremacy of Christ in our individual lives. And in the midst of this treatise about who Christ is and how important he is and what he’s supposed to mean in our lives, going back earlier in the context to Colossians chapter 1 and verse 23, we find these words that are important to all believers.

If indeed you continue in the faith, that’s what Paul is seeking, a continuance in the faith. Firmly established. And that’s further what we want to promote among believers that you be firmly established and steadfast and not moved away from the hope of the gospel. Paul’s concern about believers being moved away from the hope of the gospel is a concern of every elder of every preacher who cares about the Lord’s will in our time. Not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven. And so as he warns them about being moved away from the very real and awesome hope of the gospel, he says in verse 4 that no one may delude you. And then in verse 5, he says, I rejoice to see your good discipline and the stability.

Remember, we saw well established in Colossians 1 23, the stability of your faith in Christ, therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, and he doesn’t go in to describe how that process occurs, but there is a process of receiving the Lord or coming into fellowship with him. He says, so walk in him. And notice this, just like we see stability in verse 5, just like we saw firmly established in 123, he then concludes, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, overflowing with gratitude. And so Paul is wanting this result. I am wanting this result. Our elders want this result. But there are some influences that can create a different outcome.

Not the voices of various media, perhaps our peers, who do not speak consistently with truth. And those voices are everywhere. Plethera they are. That means there’s a lot. So many voices woo us away from the truth and the hope of the gospel. But did you notice in Sean’s reading in Genesis 22? Why was that history altering promise? And that’s what it was. Why was that history altering promise made to Abraham? Why Abraham? Because the text says, You obeyed my voice. You followed my voice. And that’s what people of the new covenant do. According to Jesus in John 10 and verse 27, he said, My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And it’s upon this basis that the often misconstrued verse that follows says, And I give eternal life to them, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand.

That passage is not saying that once you have received Christ the Lord, that there is nothing then that could threaten your eternal salvation. That is not what this passage is saying. This passage is saying there is no force strong enough in the world. There is no power anywhere, any place that can harm affect your relationship with Jesus when you follow his voice. That’s what he’s saying in John chapter 10 and verse 28. And it is powerful language. There isn’t anyone that can snatch this away from you. So you don’t be a moved, you don’t be moved away from the hope of the gospel. So we talked about these things a year ago, and I’m sure by now you’re saying, oh, I remember everything that he said about this.

2. Oaks of Righteousness, the Planting of the Lord

364 days ago. Now, some of you weren’t here, so see, you’re getting all of this for the first time. But those of you that were here, it’s like, I don’t remember any of that. But you might remember as we move forward, the quotation from the Old Testament that we looked at in Isaiah chapter 61, where Isaiah is envisioning, as the passage that incidentally Sean read in Acts chapter 3 is talking about prophetic messages and what they were saying, and probably had Isaiah in view as one of those prophets. And we looked at 56 verses in Isaiah very briefly. We looked at 56 verses surrounding this one in Isaiah, where Isaiah is talking about all the glories of the era of the Messiah and God’s intentions for Jerusalem for Zion.

He says, it shall be the praise of all the earth. And of course, he is speaking spiritually. He’s not talking about the physical city of Zion. He’s talking about all that was going to be accomplished in the new Zion, in New Jerusalem. But in the midst of this, he says these words. In Isaiah chapter 61 and verse 1 or verse 3, he says, to grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garlet instead of ashes. You know, better times are coming. Joyous times are coming associated with the Messiah. The oil of gladness instead of mourning. Now, no wonder Paul said, rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say rejoice. He says, This is what’s coming. The oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.

We’ll have everything we need to move forward and to press on toward the mark of the prize. I wonder when Paul wrote Philippians if he was thinking about Isaiah. That we might press toward the mark of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. And he says, and they shall be called oaks of righteousness. The planting of the Lord, because you know every plant not planted by my heavenly Father shall be rooted up, Jesus said, in Matthew 15 and verse 13. He says, I’m going to plant something in future days that’s going to be extraordinary, and they shall be called oaks of righteousness. If you wanted to paint a picture of something strong, firm, steady, dependable, they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, and understand the purpose of those oaks that he might be glorified.

And so when I come to Colossians chapter 1 and Colossians chapter 2, and I see the words firmly established, and I see the word stability, and I see the words rooted. I think of the imagery of Isaiah chapter 61 and verse 3. The oaks of righteousness. What’s interesting to me about this is this is the very context from which Jesus reads when he returns to his hometown of Nazareth, and they hand him the Isaiah scroll. He reads verses 1 and 2 of Isaiah 61. And he says, Today this passage has been fulfilled in your hearing. And he sets down. All of the glories of the Messiah are about to come about through Jesus. And this is a part of that glorious picture. Oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord.

3. Clothed With Christ: Not an Invitation but a Reminder

Is that how we see ourselves? And so we concluded the sermon by talking about digging deeper spiritual roots. And here we are. We’ve made it through another year. How’s your oak doing? Are you still firm and steadfast, not moved away by the hope of the gospel? Your presence here is a good sign. But I looked at some passages with you in the end. And I think I went over this very hurriedly. That I want to go back over with you again this morning. Galatians chapter 3, verses 26 and 27, where Paul says, So in Christ Jesus, these are people who’ve received the Lord, as we saw in Colossians chapter 2. He says, So in Christ Jesus, you all are children of God through faith. That is your confidence in unseen things.

Your confidence in Jesus. You become children of God through faith. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. We do something with this text often that is not its primary intention. We have used, how many times have you stacked up your passages on the role baptism plays in our salvation? In Galatians 3 27 is one of them. And we try to teach people what the Bible is saying about the necessity of baptism for the remission of sins. And we’ll use this passage, and correctly so, because he says, those who have been baptized into Christ have clothed themselves with Christ. They come into union with Christ. They have shrouded themselves in Christ. And Paul will talk about that again in Colossians chapter 3, by the way, lives hidden with Christ in God.

It’s a lot of connections with Colossians. And we’ll go to this passage and we’ll say, see, baptism is necessary for salvation. But would you please understand something about Galatians 3 and verse 27? It is not first and foremost an invitation. Where you’re trying to teach people about the necessity of coming to the Lord and how they do that. Yeah, it addresses that. But that’s not its primary intention in Galatians. It’s not first and foremost an invitation. It is instead a reminder. It is telling those who are in the church in Galatia, don’t you remember why you were baptized? It’s a reminder to keep themselves clothed with Christ. Again, not be moved away from the hope of the gospel. And isn’t it interesting? In Ephesians chapter 4, and again, we were quoting this verse at the end of that lesson on oaks of Righteousness a year ago, he says, don’t be carried about by every wind and every doctrine, but grow up into all aspects unto him who is the head.

And then he talks about people who have walked in a course of sensuality, and then he says, but that’s not how you learned Christ. And so being clothed with Christ and learning Christ means that we embrace His righteousness.

Paul says in Ephesians chapter 4. So, how is your oak doing a year later? Or if you’re hearing this sermon for the very first time, could it be said of you that you are an oak of righteousness? The planting of the Lord with the purpose of glorifying God.

And I readily admit that.

Plenty of room. I could have thousands of pictures of my grandson now. And not have to worry about deleting some of them. But then I started when I got all this room now, going from 16 to 128. And I said, Yeah, I can probably get some new apps now. So I started researching. Best apps. To get some new apps. I didn’t find very many I really wanted, but I found very useful. But I did find this. And I told my niece about it, and she loved it. The Daily Bible app was a highly rated app. And all it does is it gives you a verse every 24 hours. Sometimes more than one in 24 hours. And if you get behind a couple of days, you go to the app and you just, oh, I’ll just do two or three of these.

4. Test and Approve What God's Will Is

And a verse comes up. And one of the verses that came up on December 10th was this one. Romans chapter 12 and verse 2. Very familiar text to a lot of you, I’m sure. Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world. Do not conform to the pattern. And this is the NIV, that’s why I’m starting to quote the NASV in my mind. But this was the NIV, and so it reads a little bit differently. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may present and see this is that’s the new American standard. This is this new NIV, but I bring this out for a reason. Because some of the other translations are a little bit confusing when you come to the end.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. That’s what Paul was saying in Ephesians 4. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is. His good pleasing and perfect will. And the reason why I want to use what was in Daily Bible app and use the NIV in the sense is because in the other translations, it seems to carry the idea that we’re somehow supposed to prove God’s word to be true. Or prove it to others. And that’s really not the idea. This is more the idea that we put God’s word into action in our lives, and we see that God’s word is exactly that. That it is good. It is pleasing.

And it is perfect. And when you go on from the context in Romans chapter 12 and verse 2, as you pursue all of those things, I’ll tell you what you should observe. God’s will is good. God’s will works. It’s the best in human relationships. You look down further, rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. That’s just good. And we need to test it in our lives and see that it is good. That’s what Paul is saying in Romans chapter 12 and verse 2. And then he goes on, never pay back evil for evil. Let me show you a better way. Overcome evil with good. God’s will is good, it is pleasing, it is perfect, it is the best in every relationship in every walk of life.

5. What Oaks of Righteousness Are Going to Do

They embrace God’s will, knowing that it is good, it is pleasing, and it is perfect. And so let’s talk about where we should go as oaks of righteousness in 2019. Again, Lord willing. I found this little graphic things to do every day beyond the fact that we should be pursuing holiness. Apparently that’s important if it’s both one and two in the graphic. But beyond that, let me suggest some things that oaks of righteousness are going to do. Oaks of righteousness will commit themselves to assembly. Not because they want to put a check mark by the fact that they attended, but they realize that God is deserving of such a decision. And I tell you, that’s not the only reason, though that’s enough. I’ve said how many times have you heard me say that?

A reason for assembly. God is deserving of the sacrifice and fruit of our lips. Hebrews chapter 13, verses 15 and 16. That’s enough reason. But that’s not all. Every time I’m here, I know that I’m being enriched, that I’m imbibing of God’s will, that I’m in that I’m thinking about and meditating upon this message that I’m trying to test and approve in my life. And so every time that I’m here, I am enriched as well. Not to mention the fact that my presence here has an influence on all the other oaks. We contribute to each other’s oak stability when we come here. But you’ve never heard that before. Secondly, make 2019 a year of commitment to prayer, daily prayer, and Bible study. We’ve been doing daily Bible reading for several years, have we, Mike?

How many years? Four or five years? How many of you have been doing it for I’m not going to ask for a show of hands. For four or five years. I have to admit, been a little sluggish myself. Of course, my job’s a little different than yours. I get to study every day. But probably a lot of us would say, haven’t done that. Maybe some of our older folks. Retired folks. I’ve been doing the daily Bible reading. Good for you. And so I’ve been talking to Mike about how can we get our entire group reading the Bible almost every day. If not every day. And so I thought, wouldn’t it be better than to have many chapters of reading where we’re just reading to be reading, we get it done?

Okay, I’ve read through the Bible in a year. Wouldn’t it be better to take a smaller section, a smaller verse, to read it, think about it, meditate. What does this mean? Prove it in our lives, as Romans chapter 12 and verse 2 is saying. Wouldn’t it be better to have a shorter reading that all of us could commit to? This is what I want to see happen in 2019. I’ve already talked to the high school class since I’m teaching them this quarter. I’m going to be monitoring them for the next two months while I’m going to come back to this. They’m not going, oh boy. And here’s the cool thing. When you’re doing smaller readings, let’s say you get behind a day or two. I think you can catch up.

There’s only 31 chapters in Proverbs. So Mike’s going to be sending out the schedule, and I’m going to remind you of this again. Wouldn’t it be awesome? If we had 100% participation. Do you think we could do this? Do you think? How many churches do you think have ever had 100% participation in the daily Bible reading? Not many. Well, we have a church of 10, maybe. They might get it done. But a church of, how many? 200 people, roughly. Everybody doing the daily Bible reading. Have I said that I think we all could do the daily Bible reading? And that I want us all to do this as a group? We might even have some sermons like we had on Proverbs 27 and verse 2 recently.

I got you a head start there. What was that sermon about? Be thinking about that. Joanne, by the way. I preached this sermon about Proverbs 27, verse 2, and I talk about saying she got quote of the day as she came out and said, Don’t toot your own horn. That was good, Joanne. That was really good. And finally, and I’ll tell you, this is a short list. We talk about New Year’s resolutions, and I want to tell you we can we can have a really long list, and that goes up in smoke by the end of January. You know, New Year’s resolutions to be any good. They’re like babies crying in the assembly. Not that ever happens here. We’re about to have more babies. Okay.

Lord willing. Babies crying in the assembly, they have to be taken out to do any good. They have to be carried out to do any good. Or as once said about New Year’s resolutions, they often go in one year and out the other. That’s bad, wasn’t it? Okay. Commitment to assembling. Commitment to Bible reading. Choose a person. Just one. There’s a lot of people to serve here. Choose a person. Serve one. A week. Communicate. Make sure you talk to them. I’m not saying pester them or wrestle them out. You’re here with them. Talk to them. Have a conversation. And then pray for them specifically. And next week, choose someone else. And do the same. Well, aren’t those realistic goals that we could accomplish? How do you see yourself?

Conclusion

I think some of us we just see ourselves as so weak and insignificant. Don’t see ourselves as this tiny tender twig or something weak, a sickly sapling, but instead see ourselves as mighty and majestic oaks. Would you sing with me? Glory, hallelujah. I shall not be moved. Anchored in Jehovah. I shall not be moved. Just like a tree that’s planted by the walls. I shall not be moved. I shall not be, I shall not be moved. I shall not be, I shall not be moved, just like a tree that’s planted by the water. I shall not be moved. In his love abiding, I shall not be moved, and in him confiding I shall not be moved, just like a tree that’s planted by the water, I shall not be moved.

Though all hell assail me, I shall not be moved. Jesus will not fail me, I shall not be moved, just like a tree that’s planted by the water. I shall not be moved. I shall not be, I shall not be moved. I shall not be, I shall not be moved, just like a tree that’s planted by the water. I shall not be moved. Though the tempest rages, I shall not be moved on the rock of ages. I shall not be moved, just like a tree that’s planted by the water. I shall not be moved. Oh, I’m going on. Thought I was done. Oaks of righteousness. I shall not be moved. Three things that we need: an abiding confidence, an abiding hope, an abiding effort. Make that your resolve.

Be firmly entrenched in the will of God. Can we help anyone in this assembly this morning to put on Christ? Be clothed with him while there’s time and opportunity. Let’s stand and sing.