The Christian's Worship and Spiritual Sacrifices

Colossians 2:18-19

COL-449

We are considering: "The Error of Angelic Worship," segment number 6, in Colossians 2:18-19.

The very first part of Colossians 2:18 says, "Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize." Let no one rob you of your prize. This is a dramatic statement of God that most Christians are not aware of. Most Christians are not on guard of what Satan and his demonic hosts want to do. This is the number one thing they want to do. They want to rob you of your Christian heritage, the power system, and all the eternal results of blessings on earth and rewards in heaven that are only yours in this age of the church.

When the apostle Paul, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, wrote this, and when he said, "Let no one defraud you," it is a command. This is not an invitation. It is God the Holy Spirit saying, "Whatever else you do in life, my child, see to it that you understand what the church age is all about, and what the power system of walking by means of the Holy Spirit is all about. Otherwise, you will run off the years of your life, and you'll get to heaven, and you'll find yourself a poor pauper at the Judgment Seat of Christ, with little rewards. That would be a tragedy. He commands the church-age believers not to let any legalists rob them of their church prize; their spiritual heritage in Christ; or, their freedom from the Mosaic Law way of life – the spiritual Holy Spirit power system of the church age.

Now, this same admonition – to know, and to hold dear, and to protect uncompromisingly our spiritual power treasure as Christians, is found reiterated in Ephesians 1:18. There, the apostle Paul said, "I pray that the eyes of your heart (your mind – your mentality) may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling – what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. Paul says that he prays for these Ephesians Christians: for their spiritual understanding; and, their mental appreciation of the prize that they have as church age believers?

The Understanding of the Hope in Christ

He also prays for the understanding of what they have that he calls "their hope in Christ." Then he prays specifically that they might understand how rich they are as Christians, with all the glory of God, and all the capacity of heaven itself at your disposal day-by-day, and moment-by-moment. Nobody has to be a loser or a spiritual casualty.

Riches

All of this is true of members of the body of Christ – the calling – the riches of the glory of His testimony and His inheritance of the Saints. The glory of heaven – that is your inheritance. And the Mosaic legalistic law code way of life, righteous and good as it is, will rob you of that. Paul is very focused upon the riches that we have in grace in this whole book.

Notice in Ephesians 1:7, Paul says, "In him (Christ), we have redemption through the blood (forgiveness of our trespasses) according to the riches of His grace. That's why you're going to heaven – because His grace was so rich that it paid the price, so that you could be a member of the royal family of God.

Mercy

In Ephesians 2:4, Paul says, "But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us – the riches of the mercy of God." Do you know what the word "mercy" means? In Scripture, it means "to relieve somebody of their suffering." The word "mercy" means "to come to your help." And it is the grace of God that comes to help. Why would you suffer emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually as a Christian, when you have all the power system of heaven to make it right, and to guide you to where you're under the mercy of God?

Ephesians 2:7: "In order that in the ages to come (in eternity), He might show the surpassing riches of His grace and kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For all eternity, you are going to find, every day, new realms of the riches of the grace of God. But as you know, the Colossians Christians were being told, "Go back to the Mosaic Law. Go back to the ritual system. Go back to that system, which, while it was holy and good, and nobody could keep because they had no capacity to do that. But God has given you the ability and the Holy Spirit to be Christlike. And if you know how to handle things when you step out of line, with the confession of known sins, and to forget it and go on, you'll never be a loser in the spiritual life.

The riches of his grace – what a kindness that is. He didn't have to do this for us. But in contrast to the bloody brutality of a god, like in Islam, the Lord Jesus Christ is a God of love. He treats us in kindness, beyond anything we could imagine or deserve.

In Ephesians 3:8, Paul says, "To me, the very least of the saints, this grace has been given, to preach to the gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ." This is the prize – the unfathomable riches that you have in Christ. This is the prize that we're being warned. Don't let anybody take this away from you. Don't listen to your relatives, unless they are godly people in the know, and trained in the Word of God. Don't listen to your society. Don't listen to your "churchianity" folks. They're religious, but they do not know the riches of the grace of Christ.

Power

As we pointed out you last time, the Holy Spirit does not hit you with a clenched fist. He has a gentle hand. You have to let Him lead, and He does lead you. That mind will be guided; those decisions will be made; and, you will listen to the right people. Usually, when we get outside of the richness of the grace heritage, it's because we're listening to bummers who are not speaking for God, but are speaking from their own sin natures.

The Christian is Christ's inheritance. And Jesus Christ is our treasured prize, as church-age saints under the grace power system. That's what Paul means in Colossians 2:18: "Don't let anybody take this away from you. Don't let anybody take you from walking tall and confident in Christ, to being a sniveling victim of Satan." The riches of God's grace bestowed on Christians are their prized possession.

Grace Has Rules

Once more, Ephesians 2:4-7 – the riches of God's grace. This is what we are to hold in the highest esteem. And grace does not mean that you can do anything you want to do. Sometimes people are using the grace of God to cover up doing what is evil; to cover up the greed; to cover up their hatred; and, to cover up their self-centeredness. No – grace has rules. It's called doctrine. It's called the principles of Christlike living. And these are there, and we are to obey them. And we must. And there are riches of the grace of God. This is our prized possession. We have freedom, but not freedom to do what is wrong, but what is right.

Ephesians 2:4-7: "But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us." It is not because we merit it: "And even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ: by grace who have been saved; and, raise us up with Him, and seated us with Him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus."

So, where are you now, in relationship to God? Positionally, you're in heaven. You're as much in heaven now as you will ever be. You are positionally in heaven. And when you walk as somebody up there in the heavenly life, it's a magnificent life down here. But when you forget who you are, and that you're seated in heaven with Christ, then you begin to act in a way that is unbecoming in His presence.

In verse 7, we are there in that heavenly place for what reason? "In order that, in the ages to come (all eternity), He might show the surpassing riches of His grace and kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." God the Father is rich in mercy to sinners – our undeserved kindness because of His love. His mercy gave believers, as a grace gift, the prized treasure of spiritual life. God has placed the church-age believe positionally in heaven in Christ. We are permanent citizens of heaven. And with that, it means that we will rise from the dead. You don't have dead bodies walking around heaven. Well, you don't in hell either, but we are raised because we are already in heaven, and the body eventually joins you.

Then in eternity, God will show the full extent of the spiritual grace riches which Christians possess by the kindness of God. Ephesians 2:7: In order that in ages to come, He might show the surpassing riches of His grace and kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."

The apostle John reiterated the same concept in 1 John 3:1-2. John said, "See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us (we Christians), that we should be called children of God. And such we are. For this reason, the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are the children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is." Yes, we are the children of God, and we are positionally in heaven. But that doesn't get the whole picture. The time will come when we will enter the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And in that instant, everything will change about us. And we will become absolute righteousness in Him, in experience. We already have absolute righteousness positionally. But in experience, we will be like Jesus Christ. Do you see why we tell you that you have to be as good as Jesus Christ to go to heaven? And if you try to do that by works, it can't be done. God has to give you (impute to you) that righteousness.

The last element of the Christian's prize that we've been studying and you have been very generous and gracious in your response. We've been looking at several things that we are all indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and we're all controlled by Jesus Christ. And the last one is one of the greatest, and one that, strangely enough, makes people kind of uneasy, I've noticed.

1 Peter 2:9: "But you are chosen race, a royal priesthood." Every Christian is a priest of God. This was not true to the saints of the Old Testament under the Mosaic Law. The Mosaic Law had a specialized priesthood from the tribe of Levi, and with a high priest from the line of Aaron. Christians today are their own priests, who therefore, in privacy, deal with God in behalf of themselves only, and the Lord Jesus Christ as their High Priest. You have to deal with God concerning your own sin; concerning your own life; concerning your own needs; and, concerning your own victories. You are God's priests. On a human level, people always want to parade their dirty linen in front of other people.

On one occasion, as I was closing a service, long ago, when we used to be in the other little auditorium (the academy library), suddenly, a man came walking down the aisle. And I expect people to be mad at me, but when they come toward me, then I get uneasy. In every service, we always try to say something to offend somebody. No, we don't do that. But here's this guy coming down the aisle, and he says, "I've been a terrible sinner, and I want to confess before God." He wanted to close the service with confessing his sins. Some of those people look forward to that: "Hot dog!" What is this? I tell them, "No. You'll have to deal with that between you and God. You're his priest. We don't want to know about it." It is surprising what people on their own, when they are not doctrinally taught, we'll do. They just don't do things God's way, because they don't know God's Word, and therefore, they don't know God's mind.

Well, the Christian priest who is in temporal fellowship – that means God the Holy Spirit is in control of your life, he may approach the throne of grace in a heavenly sanctuary in the third heaven at any time. You don't have to have a preacher to go there for you.

Christians Worship God

1. Bible Doctrine

   We Christian priests, we pointed out, our called to worship God. And this is what makes people nervous. How do you do that? By listening and meditating on church-age Bible doctrine. "Uh-oh! How am I going to listen to the instruction of doctrine? I have to be in church Sunday morning and Sunday night." That's the main place. The other is periphery that will never make it all the way for you.

2. Intercessory Prayer

   Secondly, we worship by the private and local group prayer of intercession. "Uh-oh! I don't like that. That means prayer meeting. That means getting out in the cold weather."

3. Financial Giving

   Number three: we worship by grace-oriented financial gifts to sustain God's Word. "Oh, man, I don't like that. That sounds like all my money belongs to Him, and I'm His steward, and I have to go ask Him how much I can use for myself, and what I should be doing for the needs of his work.

4. The Lord's Supper

   Then the fourth one is worshiping God by the observation of the Lord's Supper, the remembrance of Christ' death. It is very strange how people I've seen, over the years, are very faithful attending church services, but when you say that it's going to be a Lord's Supper meeting, they bug-out. That's the one service you want to be at, to enjoy the testimonies of the grace of God, that other Christians have, to find the encouragement that you're not out there alone. None of us is perfect. We're all stumbling over our big feet. But those who are mature make the confession; stand up; brush themselves off; God's hand is already on yours; and, off you go. Now, either you believe that, or you don't.

5. Spiritual Gifts

   Then number 5: we worship by exercising our spiritual gifts. That makes us uneasy. There are only nine spiritual gifts that are in operation now, at this point of the church age. And, for those gifts, you have to know where you stand – where God has given you the ability to serve. And with this, you will fulfill your assigned mission in life. Whatever your gift is (one or more, that you have), do it.

What Does the Devil Want You do Do?

Now, what do you think the devil wants you to do? Well, number one, he doesn't want you to listen to the Word of God, so he doesn't want you in church. And he doesn't want you meditating upon the Word of God by reading it at home.

Secondly, he doesn't want you to put any time into prayer at home. He sure doesn't want you to take that prayer list back there by the offering box, and go through it a little bit of time during the week, remembering these group requests for intercession that people gave us on Wednesday night. And he certainly doesn't want you to be praying in prayer meeting.

Thirdly, he doesn't want you to give your money to God's work. He wants you to think that you'll starve, and that you'll be in bad condition if you give your money away to God's work. But that's the only way you'll take it to heaven. I can tell you that. At the Judgment Seat of Christ, you'll be glad that you have all those gold coins up there with you in Christian Service, divine-good production.

The devil doesn't want you to observe the Lord's Supper. Certainly, Satan does not want you to exercise your spiritual gifts. And it is humbling, here at Berean Church, because people understand this: "I am the Lord's servant." We are not a country club church. That's why we're not big. But you will walk out of here with some perception as to what God thinks, and how you stand with Him. And it is humbling to me, as well as very gratifying, to see Christians who, all week long, are operating in this place.

Do you know what I saw yesterday at band practice? We have two ladies who are excellent musicians, and they have little babies or little toddlers. And before 10 o'clock begins, that door opens, and they walk in here. They walk in here with the little thing for the baby to sit in. They walk in here with the toys. It takes them sometimes two trips to go back to the car to get it all. They walk in here; put up the little table; put up the chair; put up the little drinking cup; and, put up the teacups. And the children are there, playing away, while we're having band practice. And then after practice, that's a heavy load to have to pack up. I usually ask band members to give us a hand, and get all that back. Why would they do such a thing? And the weather wasn't all that good? They do that because God has given them that gift of ministry. And they know they have that calling. They have the musical ability, and they're not going to let Him down, or us down. They're not going to let Satan say, "Ah, don't bother using that gift which falls under the category of the gift of ministering." He's always out to tell you not to do the things of ministry, and he's a liar all the time.

Spiritual Sacrifices

Christian priests are also called to offer spiritual sacrifices. This really makes some Christians uneasy. 1 Peter 2:5: "You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house, for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." This is such an important prize (treasure) that we have in Christ – this universal priesthood of believers. That's why I'm taking the time to be sure you understand it, and to be sure how costly it would be for you to blow this off. Well, there are at least five spiritual sacrifices that we make.

1. Sacrifice Your Body

   First of all, Romans 12:1 tells us about the sacrifice of your body. Where you are; your physical capacity; and, what you're doing with the time that that involves.

2. Sacrifice Your Praise

   The second spiritual sacrifice, in Hebrews 13:15, is praise. Private praise is when you're driving down the road, praising God for the situation in your life at the moment. We have a Lord's Supper meeting, and you're standing up, briefly praising God for his grace in your life. Satan doesn't want you to do that.

3. Sacrifice Your Substance

   Then, thirdly, there is the spiritual sacrifice of our substance (our possessions) (Hebrews 13:16, 1 Corinthians 16:2, 2 Corinthians 9:7-8). We do not tithe in the church age. Any preacher who calls upon you to tithe does not understand the prize and the treasure which is yours in Christ Jesus, in this powerful, Holy Spirit, grace-age system. He is imposing an element from the Law of Moses. And it's not that easy. In the church-age is all God's. Nine-tenths does not belong to you. It is all the Lord's. You are His steward. And if He tells you to give 10%, then that's fine. That's what you give. But as the time comes, and He prospers you, and He says, "I want you to kick it up to 30%," then that's what you do. Nobody can tell you what to get. Nobody can give you a benchmark. It is between you and the Lord. You are His priest. So, you find out from Him. But you should always remember that, whatever you give, I'll never leave you nor forsake you up: "Good. There will be another McDonald's meal waiting in the in the offing for me. I'm not going to starve, and I'll always have what I need (logistical grace) – what I need to fight the battle, He'll always provide.

4. Sacrifice your Service

   Then there is the sacrifice of your service. Ephesians 2:10 – what a verse that is! In Ephesians 2:10, right after the apostle Paul says, "You've been saved by grace, apart from works," He says, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus," for what? "For good works." Which good works? Those good works: "Which He has preordained beforehand, that we should walk in them." He has preordain a body of works. That's your mission in life. Then He gives you the spiritual gifts that you need to execute that mission.

5. Sacrifice your Prayer

   The Christian priest also has access to God in prayer to intercede for others and himself (Hebrews 4:16, 1 Timothy 2:1).

The Church Ordinances

Ambassadors of Christ

Reconciliation

An ambassador is the one who stands between people in great disaster. He is there, contacting people, to bring about peace and reconciliation, and to bring about good relationships. Well, what is your ambassadorship all about? Who are the people to whom you are speaking? There is a wall which separated God from men. That wall of sin was all removed by Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is now possible for a sinner to be reconciled to God. The word "reconciliation" in the Bible means "to be brought into alignment."

If you look at your watch, and you discover that it is five minutes slow, when you hear an accurate time report, you reconcile your watch to the standard. And the standard to which a sinner must be reconciled is the absolute righteousness of God. He has to be as good as Jesus Christ to go to heaven. That's an important message. They need to know that. They're doomed without it. They're in disaster land. That's why we give you those brochures, and ask you to distribute them.

Here it is. 1 Timothy 2:3-: "This is good and acceptable in the sight of God, our Savior, Who desires all men to be saved, and to come to a knowledge of the truth." Our Heavenly Father does not send anybody to the lake of fire. He doesn't want to send anybody into the lake of fire. He doesn't want to see anybody go to the lake of fire. He wants them to be reconciled to Himself. Therefore, He has removed all barriers, and now he's sending out Christians, as His representatives (His ambassadors), to tell people that the problem has been solved. They do not have to spend eternity in the lake of fire, because their moral guilt has been paid for by Jesus Christ. And He has paid the penalty of death. Now it is up to them to accept the ambassador's goodwill offer, or to reject it. The angels of heaven weep when a lost sinner has come under that John 16 conviction of sin, righteousness, and judgment, that the Holy Spirit brings to a person, who has received the gospel, and then that person turns his back on it, and refuses it. He listens to Satan instead of the ambassadorial voice of the people of God, and of the clarification of the Holy Spirit.

In Romans 5:10-11, Paul says, "For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son. Much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exalt in Christ, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom we have now received the reconciliation." There was a time when God and man were back-to-back. But with the death of Christ on the cross, the barrier was removed, and God now face the sinner. Now He could extend His love; His grace; and, His salvation. And the appeal is: "Believe this" – for the sinner to turn, and face God, and embrace each other in reconciliation. It's just that simple. You either choose to accept the offer, or you reject it. Nobody can do this for you.

This is unlike Roman Catholicism, which promises to give people salvation. That's not true. It is a gift of God. Then there is 2 Corinthians 5:18-19: "Now all these things are from God, Who reconcile us to Himself, through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation." That's why you're taking your next breath. When God decides that you're no longer in the loop of things, to be part of the ministry of reconciliation, He will take you home to heaven – namely that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them. And He has committed to us, and He has committed to us the Word of reconciliation.

You must tell people the gospel, and I mean the real gospel – not this cutesy-pooh, pop-Christianity gospel. You really know that it's: "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and trust Him in the work that He's done for you." Who's going to tell them? We get to these Lord's Supper services, and people blow us out of the water with these testimonies of their experiences, of speaking to people with the Word of reconciliation. And we know the power of God unto salvation, but we're amazed how, when we plant that seed, suddenly, a person's eyes – the glaze goes, and they say, "I see it and I believe it."

In 2 Peter 3:9, Peter says, "The Lord is not slow about His promises, as some count slowness, but is passion toward you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance." What does our Heavenly Father want? He wants everybody to be reconciled to Him. And you are the ambassador to extend that invitation, and to clarify the terms upon which there may be peace between the two parties.

Upon trusting in Christ as Savior, the lost person is brought into peace with God. Ephesians 2:14-18: "For He Himself (Christ) is our peace, Who made both groups into one (Jews and gentiles), and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall (the enmity between Jews and gentiles) by abolishing in His flesh (on the cross) the enmity which is the law of the commandments, containing ordinances, that in Himself, He might make of the two, one new man, putting Jew and gentile into one new body of believers called the church – establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you gentiles, who were far off, and peace to those who were near (the Jews). For through Him, we both have access in one Spirit to the Father."

Now that's really good news. Whether you're a Jew or a gentile, you're invited, and you have access. And if you believe the gospel: Christ died for you, and paid the penalty of death, you will be saved. But you try to fool around and introduce your good works, or your good character, remember what Romans 11:6 says: "If it's grace, it's not works; and, if it's works, it's not grace." And a lot of people who think they're going to heaven, are going to end up in the lake of fire, because they say, "Yes, Christ died for my sins, and He paid for my original sin. Now I must pay for my sins by my good life and my good works." And all of a sudden, they've added their works to the grace of God. And God says, "I can only give it to you as a gift. If you won't take it that way, then even God cannot impose it upon you."

In John 5:24, Jesus says, "Truly, truly, I say to you: he hears My word, and believes Him Who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death, into life." If you believe what God has said about His provision of salvation, you will be saved. That's it. Believe on what basis? On the basis of the Scriptures – this inerrant book. It has no mistakes, and it is confirmed constantly, as genuinely the Word of God.

Now, this mission, of being the ambassadors of Christ, gives purpose to the Christians life. This call to ambassadorship is specified in Matthew 28:19-20: "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father; the Son; and, the Holy Spirit." After they've been saved, the public identification with Christ, through water baptism, does not add anything to salvation. It declares your faith in Him: "Teaching them to observe all that I commanded you (the work of biblical instruction to believers). And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." That, Christian, is your mission.

Reading once more Ephesians 2:10, and adding to that Matthew passage, you can see your mission: "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

Now, many Christians are not spiritually mature. That's the problem. And it is so much easier in a church (I can tell you) to tell people to do this gimmick and that gimmick, and to whip up their emotions for this purpose and that purpose, and to focus on organizational power, and strength, and the numerical size, that you don't have the capacity to build people up spiritually. When you come into the Christian life, you are a spiritual baby. You're 100% spiritual. You're in the inner circle of fellowship with your Heavenly Father, and the Holy Spirit is governing your life, but when you step out by sin, you're out of the inner circle. You're still within salvation. But if you stay out of that inner circle, which is where most Christians spend their time, you never grow spiritually. You never grow up. You're never mature. You never begin to grasp the structure of church doctrine. Consequently, you're just a little babbling baby, who does not know anything, and whose life is always at a hazard.

So, many Christians lack the sustaining power, if they do know their mission, to stay with it, as God's ambassadors. They become AWOL: Absent Without Leave. That is a very dangerous position to be in. It is a very dangerous position. If you ignore these five things of worship, as we told you, and you ignore those five spiritual sacrifice, you're AWOL, and you're in dangerous territory. I can tell you that, in the military, when soldiers are AWOL, it's viewed very seriously. And when he is apprehended, he's in big trouble.

The Christian's livelihood comes into this picture, as His ambassador, how do you finance your ambassadorship? With the means that God gives you? That's why it's important when you get up and go to work. You're securing the divine means to perform your ambassadorship, and to be the voice on behalf of the King of Heaven, to the people of the unsaved world, and to deliver to them the invitation to step into the arms of God, Who has done everything to make that possible.

However, you yourself have to be a Christian who is in that inner circle. You don't want to go out into combat when you yourself are not fit. You're going to be a sitting duck. But when you go out into spiritual combat, in and fellowship with God the Holy Spirit, in temporal fellowship with your Heavenly Father, you are beyond the reach of anything that Satan can do. You are immortal, until God decides that He wants you in this effort.

So, the bottom line is that we are all the spokesmen of God, our King. But they were not so in the Old Testament. Do you want to go back to the legalistic system of Moses? Do you want to go back to the emotionalism that is scattered all through Christendom today, as the approach to God, because preachers don't prepare, to find out the deep things of the Spirit of God to convey to the congregation, so they may know the deep things of what God thinks? And then when they get to heaven, they find what little rewards they have accumulated, because they were always out of step as the ambassadors of God? Do you want to go back to the legalistic system? I would think not. That old liar, Satan, says, "That's where you should go." Please don't believe him.

Dr. John E. Danish, 1995

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