“Faith in Christ Jesus”

Colossians 1:2-4

2) To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3) We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,

4) Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,

Introduction

E

veryone is looking to gain the victory, however, all too often, we are not willing to let go of what the Lord is trying to get out of us. We need to remember that our victory comes through our relationship with Him Whom is already victorious.

Main Thought

People have faith in all kinds of things, but declaring faith in Jesus Christ means that one will have to put all things concerning himself into His hands. This is not really a “big deal,” because the fact of the matter is that He has already overcome, subdued, mastered and destroyed all things concerning us. Therefore, all that we are really being required to do is simply agree with Him and His victories. This is what “actualizes” these victories in our lives.

We waste valuable, irretrievable time attempting to work things out in our favor. The time is “wasted” because in that we are redeemed by the Lord, He can never allow this to happen. Believe it or not, the Lord is not concerned with what is in our best interest, but rather, that which is in His. This needn’t upset us, for if we are submitted and dedicated to Him, what is in His best interest, will be in ours, as well.

If we will ever realize the victory that is ours through our “faith in Christ Jesus,” we will do so not because of anything that we do, but rather, because we trust what He says that He has already done. Anytime we attempt to do something for ourselves, we are betraying the fact that we do not have faith in what has already been done.

As human beings, we naturally attempt to make things work according to what “makes sense” to us. This is exactly where faith needs to be applied. You see, we can use the example of “planting.” When one plants a seed, the result doesn’t always come up right away. Sometimes, it can take as much as a year to actually push through the surface of the ground. However, just because it doesn’t show itself immediately doesn’t mean that it is not reproducing. Underground, everything is happening just as it should in order for there to be reproduction.

Now that we are saved, all of our time should be spent praising and thanking God for everything that He has done. The Kingdom of God is suffering from the selfishness of many who claim to serve it in that too much attention is spent on trying to get things to go our way. What we often fail to accept is that the “way” that things “go” is the way that they are supposed to go—provided we allow the Lord control. There is nothing that comes to us at the hands of the Lord but that it is allowed. In that it is allowed, it is perfectly in alignment with what needs to happen to us that we might be saved.

Frequently, we will quote a scripture without really considering what its message is to us. An example of this is the scripture that states “all good and perfect gifts” are given to us by God. We think that this means that we know that something is “from God” only if we deem it to be “good” and “perfect.” Actually, we need to realize that anything that comes from God is a “good and perfect gift,” and therefore, must be accepted as such. Why are we to accept everything as being from God? Because God sends that which He knows will work on our flesh—and this is a gift, indeed! You see, He, Alone, knows that if we never cede our total selves to Him, we will neither be saved, nor successful.

Our “faith in Christ Jesus” is to lead us to the testimony that “This is what God can do because this is what He has done for me.” Now, in order to have any kind of testimony, one needs to have experienced “deliverance,” and if one never allows himself to be delivered, he will never have a testimony. Therefore, to have a testimony of healing, one would have to have been sick. If one would have a testimony of the Lord as a “mind regulator,” one would have to have been delivered from an addled mind. But here is the problem, isn’t it? After all, what we look for upon coming to salvation is a life free from all disruptions and interruptions, because all too often when we come, we come for selfish reasons. You see, as opposed to viewing salvation as the “witnessing” opportunity that it is, we see it as a means to an end—our own! Like it or not, we have “signed on” to one of the greatest service organizations known to Man; one that gives it members priceless benefits, and requires nothing but obedience in return. You see, we could view its membership requirements as “unnecessary hardships,” but if any of us thinks that outside of Christ life is “hassle-free,” he is deluded. What we get from the Lord is the opportunity to let the unavoidable conflicts of life “count” for something—in both our own lives and in the lives of others. This is one thing that those with “faith in Christ Jesus” know for themselves.