Grace World Outreach Church
Pastor Daniel K Norris
Colossians 2:6-15 ESV
I Am ______
Risen Indeed, Risen In Me
Text: Col 2:6-15
Paul, "I have labored, struggled and have even been imprisoned to bring this revelation to you. This secret of the gospel that LIFE IN ALL ITS FULLNESS is found In Christ and Christ alone… and In Him I Am Fully Alive!
To Be Fully Alive means, "in Him" I am fully FOUND, FILLED and FINISHED!
1) In Him… I Am FULLY FOUND
6 In the same way you received Jesus our Lord and Messiah by faith, continue your journey of faith, progressing further into your union with him! 7 Your spiritual roots go deeply into his life as you are continually infused with strength, encouraged in every way. For you are established in the faith you have absorbed and enriched by your devotion to him! (TPT)
Where have I been unfaithful (Un-Faith-Filled)?
The place I fear the most, is the place I trust God the least!
The place I fail the most is the place I need God the most!
2) In him… I am FULLY FILLED
9 For he is the complete fullness of deity living in human form. 10 And our own completeness is now found in him. We are completely filled with God as Christ’s fullness overflows within us. (TPT)
This is the original temptation. The enemy introduces the idea of being incomplete. Needing something else to be more like God.
Where am I unfulfilled (Un-Fully-Filled)?
The places I feel alone, frustrated, unfulfilled are the places I need invite Christ to come.
3) In him… I am FULLY FINISHED
12 For we’ve been buried with him into his death. Our “baptism into death” also means we were raised with him when we believed in God’s resurrection power, the power that raised him from death’s realm. 13 This “realm of death” describes our former state, for we were held in sin’s grasp. But now, we’ve been resurrected out of that “realm of death” never to return, for we are forever alive and forgiven of all our sins!
Finished has two seemingly opposite definitions
Finished… wrecked, doomed, ruined, destroyed, bankrupt, washed up, over the hill, beaten, done for, over with, at whits end, unraveled
Finished… flawless, complete, finalized, fulfilled, wrapped up, final,
That's good theology! To be finished (perfectly complete), I must be finished (absolutely wrecked)!
The key to being being fully alive is to first be fully dead
I am Dead to Sin and sin is Dead to me!
I am Dead to my Past and my Past is dead to me!
Where am do I feel unfinished, incomplete, lacking?
Reset - I am Fully Alive In Him! His Masterpiece!
Conclusion
14 He canceled out every legal violation we had on our record and the old arrest warrant that stood to indict us. He erased it all—our sins, our stained soul—he deleted it all and they cannot be retrieved! Everything we once were in Adam has been placed onto his cross and nailed permanently there as a public display of cancellation.
15 Then Jesus made a public spectacle of all the powers and principalities of darkness, stripping away from them every weapon and all their spiritual authority and power to accuse us. And by the power of the cross, Jesus led them around as prisoners in a procession of triumph. He was not their prisoner; they were his!
Questions:
This Weeks 714 Prayer
Dates: 4/26
Pastors, leaders, churches, and individuals from around the globe are joining together — with one heart, one voice, and one prayer — to see the COVID-19 halted, lives healed, hardships mitigated, people come to Christ, and an outpouring of God’s Spirit.
Thousands of churches are joining in one united prayer during church services. Untold thousands of believers are also praying the same prayer at 7:14 each morning and night.
Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel,Ephesians 6:18-19 (ESV)
The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:2 (ESV)
THE PRAYER
Heavenly Father, we humbly come before You and ask You to sustain us by Your mercy, Your grace, and Your power. We continue to trust in Your gracious promise that “no weapon that is fashioned against” us, our families, or our churches “shall succeed.”
We take refuge under Your protective wings. Your faithfulness is our shield. By Your great strength, protect our hearts and minds from the grip of terror. Empower us, oh God, so that fear will not paralyze us or define our lives.
Great multitudes are affected by this appalling pandemic, and so we lift them up before You in prayer. Heal those battling this disease and comfort those who have lost loved ones. We know You alone are our Healer.
As 2 Chronicles 7:14 urges us, we identify with the sins of our nation and ask for Your forgiveness. Have mercy on us. Spare us from this “pestilence.” Cleanse us from our sins. Heal our lands.
With one heart and one voice, we stand together in unity, asking You, Almighty God, to protect our cities, our nations, and the world from COVID-19.
We pray this in the powerful Name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.