Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Thursday, March 3rd. True strength depends on a strong foundation. For believers in Christ, your faith is like that too.
Learn more about walking by faith. There is one area of the Christian life that all of us fail in not once, but very, very often. And the result is that we feel discouraged. We feel insecure. Oftentimes we feel depressed.
People feel all kinds of things as a result of failing in this one area. In Colossians chapter 2, Paul says in one verse, one phrase here, he gives us the key to what we are talking about. And in this particular phrase, he gives us the way also that you and I are to live a Christian life.
And what is that mistake we make? Well, let's read this second chapter and read the first 10 verses of it here. Remember now that Paul is writing to the Colossian believers. And there are all kinds of vain, empty philosophies that are being perpetrated upon the church.
And wherever Paul established the church, somebody would try to come along with some different kind of theology and just cause confusion in the church. And so he writes and begins by saying in verse one, for I want you to know how great a struggle I have on your behalf. And for those who are at Laodicea, for all those who have not personally seen my face, that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding resulting in a true knowledge of God's mystery, that is Christ himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with persuasive arguments, for even though I'm absent in body, nevertheless, I'm with you in spirit rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ. As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in him and established in your faith. Just as you were instructed and overflowing with gratitude, see to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. For in him that is in Jesus, all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form. And in him you have been made complete and he is the head over all rule and authority. Now, if you notice, he says in this passage, he says, so walk in him.
What does he mean by walking in him? And I would simply say the walk of faith is this, it is having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, which results in placing my trust in him for every circumstance of life. It is enjoying a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, which results in placing my trust in him for every circumstance of life, which simply means I will trust him in every circumstance to do what is good for me, what is best for me, what is right for me every single solitary time, no exception. That's what the walking in faith is all about. It is placing our trust in him for every circumstance of life, no matter what, believing that he will always choose the best for us and he will always do the best for us. So when Paul says, as you receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your savior, as your Lord, so walk in him. It isn't enough to trust him for salvation. Our daily walk is a walk of faith. He wants us to do, listen, that's like getting inside the door. And that's what many people do. They get inside the door of salvation by faith. That's where they stop.
Then from then on, it's their works. It doesn't work that way because he wants us to trust him for everything, not just for our salvation. And so Paul says here, as you therefore have received Christ Jesus, the Lord, so walk in him. Now, it's easy to trust him when things are going my way and he and I are in agreement. But when there is adversity and hardship and trial and difficulty and troubles, sometimes it is not easy to trust him. But when he says, here's what I want you to do. We don't want to do it. We don't see how we can do it.
We don't see our way clear. And he says, just trust me. Just trust me. Then our trust level begins to be tested. So Paul says now, just as you trusted Christ to save you or just as you trusted him as Lord of your life, he said, so walk in him. That is, develop this relationship with him by faith. Walk by faith. That is, have a relationship with him such that you will trust him for every circumstance of life.
If that's going to happen, what does he say? He says, you've got to draw nourishment from him, rooted in him. Build strongly upon that foundation.
Be established in him, instructed in the word of God and ever showing gratitude toward him. So you see, what I want you to notice is it doesn't just happen. Because, you see, a building isn't built instantly.
It doesn't just happen. A building is planned and it takes work. And so in the Christian life, if you and I are going to walk this walk of faith, we need to learn to pray. We need to learn to read and meditate upon the word of God.
We need to serve the Lord, worship the Lord and to use our spiritual gifts and to give to the Lord's work and to share our testimony. Because, you see, the more you share what you hear, the better you understand it. And you'll be surprised as you share what God is teaching you. You'll be surprised how much more you are learning, listen, simply by telling it to someone else. It's like it becomes a part of you. And the more you tell it, the more it becomes a part of you. And if you talk to someone, for example, who may not agree with you, you say, well, the reason I don't want to share my faith is because they may not agree. Here's what happens. When you know something in your heart that God's worked in your life and somebody disagrees with you, that won't bother you. That shouldn't intimidate you. And what it'll do, it'll make you examine even more thoroughly what you believe, why you believe it. And the next time somebody doesn't agree, what happens? You come on a little bit stronger.
Why? Because you are more established and settled in your faith than ever before. And so Paul says now, he says, as you receive the Lord Jesus Christ, so walk in him. That is walking in this intimate relationship with him, trusting him for every single circumstance of life. And if you want to walk that kind of life, which is the best way, he says, you've got to make it your habit to draw from him, build upon him, established in him, being instructed continuously, applying these principles to your life, and ever showing gratitude toward him.
Now, then he gives us a caution here. Watch this. I want you to notice what he says in this eighth verse. Look at verse eight.
Now he says, see to it, that means, hey, watch out, see to it that no one takes you captive, how? Through, listen, through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. I want you to think about what happens today is the person who saved by the grace of God and they join a church and are baptized and they begin to live their Christian life and oftentimes not instructed, not instructed in the things of God.
I mean, the concrete basic principles by which we live. Listen, you can't live the Christian life with shabby, halfhearted, a sort of truth. You've got to have truth to live in this world full of error. And so he says, now watch out.
It's what he's saying. He says, watch out. They'll deceive you. They'll mislead you. He says that you'll be deluded because what they're going to come to you with is the world's wisdom.
It's the world's philosophy. It sounds real good. You and I know that anytime somebody is going to do a sales job on you, what do they do? They give you all the positives. They make everything look good.
They color it up exactly right. I mean, listen, you'd make a million dollars overnight. You can do this. You can do that. You can have this. I mean, they painted up and you smell the odor and you and you hear the sizzle.
It all sounds fantastic. On the other side of all that stuff is a bunch of junk. Because the truth is that it's empty, vain deception. That's exactly what Paul said here. Notice what he says. He says, see to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception. And he's exactly right. Empty deception. And so what he's saying, he says, watch out for these vain philosophies because he says, because that's what it is.
It is empty. The only person who can meet your needs in mind is the person of Jesus Christ. If I want to know something about the future, I need to get on my knees and ask God.
Now, watch this. He may not tell me everything I want to know. He may not tell me anything I'd like to hear.
But if I want to know the truth, he's the one to go to. Or he may say, here's what I'm going to do. And oftentimes I've said, now, Lord, I need some direction here. And oftentimes God will just lay it out step by step. And sometimes he'll say, here's what I'm going to do and give me no steps.
And of course, my next question is, how in the world are you going to do that? And his favorite words to me are, just trust me. And that's the way God wants us to live. You can't listen. One thing I found out and surely you have, you can't make him do anything after one thing. You can't make God do anything. And you know what else can't do?
You can't rush him. The world offers many things. The only offer that lasts, that satisfies the human heart. Listen, is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
I've lived long enough to know this. There isn't anything God has ever created on the face of this earth. No place, no experience, no material possession. Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing that can equal or satisfy brain contentment to the human heart. Like an intimate, personal, warm relationship with Jesus Christ. Nothing.
And you can try, my friend. You live a hundred years. You gain everything, experience everything, go everywhere, do it all. You know what you're going to end up feeling? Empty, incomplete.
Why? There's only one way to walk in real joy, and that's in an intimate, personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Now watch this. The last thing he says here, he says, now I want to tell you why you can have confidence in him.
Look at this. In the ninth and tenth verses, he says, for, on the basis of what he's been saying, for in him, that is in Jesus, all the fullness of deity dwells in a bodily form. And in him, you've been made complete, and he is the head over all rule and authority. Now, here's what he's saying to us. He's saying, now, here's the reason, here's the reason you can have confidence in putting your trust in him every day for everything. He says, here's the reason you can have confidence. And what he does here, he gives us two very, very basic truths that is so very important.
He says, now, wait, look, watch this. He said, now, here's the reason, here's the reason you can walk in faith. Here's the reason you want to sink your roots into him. Here's the reason you want to build upon this foundation. Here's the reason you want to be established. Here's the reason you want to continue to be instructed. Here's the reason you want to overflow with gratitude. Because, he says, it works. And here's the reason it works.
Two reasons. Number one, because of who you're putting your trust in. Now, look how he describes him. He says, in him that is in Jesus, all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form. Who is this you and I are placing our trust in? When you and I come to some circumstance in life, we don't know what to do next. And God says, here's what I want you to do.
Shall I trust him or shall I not? Well, who is he? He's God. Jesus Christ is God.
God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. This is why I can trust him. I can trust him because of who he is.
He is the God of this universe. I can trust him because of who he is. There's a second reason I can trust him. I can trust him because of what he's done. Well, what has he done?
Look at what he's done. He says in this passage, for in him you have been made complete. Now, what does he mean here when he says that you and I have been made complete? I want you to turn to Second Peter chapter one, verse three says, seeing that his divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness through the true knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and excellence. Now, why would I say to someone?
What's the basis for saying to someone? Look, just as you trusted Jesus Christ to save you by faith, trust him too for every day's circumstances, no matter what. He's trustworthy, reliable.
Well, how do I know? Because of who he is. He's God.
And secondly, because of what he's done. What has he done? Here's what he's done. Here's what he's saying. Listen, that you and I have in our relationship to Jesus Christ, all that we need already for all of life and to make us God.
Look at that. That is God has already. He has already deposited to our account every single thing we need for life and for living a godly life. He says he's already deposited to our account.
We already have it. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has already blessed us with all spiritual blessings and heavenly places in Christ Jesus. He says, here's the reason you can put your trust in him, who he is. He's God. Second, what has he done for you?
He's already made you complete. Now, I know that a person who is in need says, wait a minute now, if I've been made complete, why do I have these needs in my life? I can tell you why they're not there. They're not there because God forgot. They're not there because God overlooked.
They're not there because God's being harsh and mean and ugly. If you have needs in your life that are not being met, they're because you are trying to draw from something out yonder somewhere to meet this need of yours. When he says we are rooted in the person of Jesus Christ and we are to seek him to meet our needs, whatever those needs may be, he may use somebody, he may use something, but we have to look to him. He is the source. The believer is not to look at anybody else as the source. He is the source.
He says, draw up as the roots, draw up their nourishment to make the plants strong and grow. He says, so we are to do that. Now, I want you to jot these three things down. They're all short, but these are three absolute basic truths that are absolutely essential. If you and I are going to walk in faith, walk in this relationship to him, facing different kinds of circumstances in life, the good times, if somebody says, well, you know, I believe I can trust him for some things.
No, you can trust him for every single solitary thing, no matter what it is. And listen, jot down these three statements, because here is the basis of it all. This God, listen, this God whom you and I serve, this Christ who lives on the inside of us, here's what I want you to notice. This is the reason you and I have absolute perfect confidence in trusting him for everything. Number one, God is completely sovereign. God is completely sovereign. He has everything in his control.
God is completely sovereign. Secondly, God is infinitely wise. He is absolutely wise about every single thing. He knows every side, inside and out. He knows past, present and future equal as well. He is infinitely wise.
And the third thing, he loves perfectly. God loves us perfectly. That means he always, with no exception, always does the right thing by us and chooses the best for us. Faith is a simple thing.
It is placing my trust in someone. And here's what Paul is saying. He says this is where the believer lives. We live in this intimate relationship with Jesus Christ and we have such a relationship with him that our daily behavior and conduct, our walk, is that we trust him for every circumstance of life.
Why? Because of who he is. He is a God who is completely sovereign, infinitely wise and perfectly perfect in love. And he's made us absolutely complete in him. Now, do you think he's trustworthy or do you not?
Absolutely, he is. Let me ask you a question. Why do you keep struggling with life, fighting against God, rebelling against him, wanting it your way when you can have it the very best way? Remember what you're doing. You're turning down life at its best. And maybe you're a believer and you're struggling and you're fretting with life and you're depressed and you're discouraged and you're rebellious toward God and you're going to have it your way. Remember what you're doing?
God gave you the foundation. You've got all the high quality stuff on this side, the shabby stuff on this side. You know what you're doing? You're choosing the shabby stuff.
And you wonder why you don't like yourself, you don't like life, things aren't working out. You're choosing shabby stuff. And you know what? If somebody said, well, go to the clothing store and pick out anything you want, what would you pick out? You'd pick out the best. Suppose you decided you'd go down to someplace and you'd get some of this used stuff.
Now, some of this used stuff's pretty good, but let's go to some of those real used things. I mean, you can just choose all kind of shabby, dirty, smelly stuff. You wouldn't do that.
You know why? You think better of yourself than that. Well, my friend, listen carefully. Think better of yourself than to build your life out of shabby, junky, combustible stuff when you can build it out of God's very, very best.
You never lose choosing His best. And Father, we just tell You with all of our heart that we love You, praise You, worship You, adore You. How would you pray for someone who is unsaved, someone who's never trusted You as their Savior?
Would You enable them to understand that You offer the best today? Forgiveness, cleansing, new start, new beginning, Savior, Lord, Master, and life's very best. Grant to all of us the wisdom to make the wise choices in life is my prayer. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for listening to part two of Walking by Faith. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or In Touch Ministries, stop by InTouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
Whisper: medium.en / 2023-05-28 04:34:21 / 2023-05-28 04:42:33 / 8