He's Above That Too!

I preached a sermon recently out of Colossians 1, dealing with the subject of Christ's preeminence. Paul was writing to Colosse to refute doctrines that were creeping into the church that were attacking the Deity of Jesus Christ. The doctrines were putting Him on the same level as created spirit-beings such as angels. Nothing could be further from the truth!
Christ can never be compared to angels, creatures on earth, the universe, etc. He is far above everything that can be named upon the earth. It is impossible to name something that is of greater value, power, strength or abillity than Christ.
No matter what the world says about Him He is still the Rock of Ages, the Word, the Lord of lords, the Head of the Church, the Lamb of God, the King of Kings, the Good Shepherd, the Bread of Life, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah and the Way, the Truth and the Life! He is above all and without Him nothing would exist and be sustained as it now is.
Why do you need to know this child of God? That's easy...because now you realize even more clearly that no matter what problem comes against you, Jesus is above it! Are you struggling with the guilt of your past sins? Jesus is above that! Are you feeling the flesh begin to rise? Jesus is above that too! Is Satan and/or his demons lying in your ear? Jesus is above them too! Do you feel that there is no light at the end of your trial tunnel? Jesus is above it! Are you fearful because of what's going on in the world today? Jesus is above it!
What about sickness, is it still fighting against your body? Jesus is above it! You say you've been battling depression? Jesus is above that too! You could try for 10 million years to come up with a scenario, a 'bad guy', a trial or a situation that could overpower Jesus...but there is none! He is the Supreme Ruler of everything and guess what...He lives in YOU! In Him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily (Col. 2:9) and He DWELLS IN YOU! PRAISE GOD!
You are not defeated, weak or disabled when you are in Him! Let Him live in you during your toughest trials and your greatest victories; after all,He is above them all!

Rom 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?


God Bless!

Where is the Fighter?

Does anyone remember the story of a little boy named David, who lived in a country called Israel and was the caretaker of his father's sheep? Sure we do, this was King David. The one that defeated giants, ruled the kingdom in righteousness and was such a great king that every king after him was compared to him. But I want us to focus in way before he was all those things; to the time when he was just a boy.
This boy, David, most likely had absolutely no idea as to what would be his future. He simply knew one thing, he loved the Lord! It's not hard to read the psalms he wrote and not picture him sitting out in the field in the stillness of the night, gazing upon the beautiful stars as his heart flowed with the presence of God. I can see him as he falls asleep thinking and meditating on God. His heart was a heart after God's own heart. He had a relationship with the Lord, unlike many ever experience. He did not worry about fitting in, he wasn't concern about being labeled a religous finatic he was in love with the God of all the universe!
This love is what fueled the "fighter" within him. What do I mean? Take a look at 1 Samuel 17 and you will find out. This boy wasn't concerned about popular opinion in any way. Our modern day evangelists and preachers could take some lessons from little David. As he heard Goliath shouting profanities against the one true God, David knew that he had to take action. He was not going to stand by and let his God's name being trampled like that.
Today we fight a different enemy, although the same enemy we fight fueled the one David fought. Our enemy is called the devil. This enemy is at work today with extra force. He has turned the nation of the United States from a Christian nation, to a nation that has almost completely forgotten about God. He slowly began to creep into the church, bringing the standard of the church down ever so slightly over time until finally you can no longer tell the church from the world for the most part. Our concerts are the same; our services have changed from preaching the Word of God to telling jokes; the church is no longer the house of prayer, it is the house of comedy! The saddest thing of all, it is our fault. The devil can't defeat us unless we let him. God help us see this!
Here's my question though: Where is our Fighter? Where is that within us that rises up when we see the name of our Lord defiled? Where is the stirring within our souls that cries out to advance the kingdom of God and show the nations that they are but men (Psalm 9:20)? It is clear that if we were stirred, bothered, concerned or moved in any way by the state of the church that we would most certainly begin to pray and cry out for God to move through us in a mighty way! We may not have any physical Goliaths to fight against today, in fact we are told that our warfare is not against flesh and blood, but our warfare is spiritual (2 Cor. 10:1-4).
I say we come back to our first love. I say let's come back to the place where we have a heart after God's own heart; where his desires are first in our lives; where what hurts him, hurts us and what pleases him pleases us. God help us today to realize there needs to be a fighter in us to rise up and fight against sin, wickedness and all the evil the devil will try and bring our way. You may be the next David, you may be called upon to gather the stones from the brook and sling it at the enemy; but you must first fall in love with the Lord before ever being stirred enough to step out by faith. God bless!