CONTINUE TO LIVE IN CHRIST – Colossians 2:6-7& I Thess. 4:1

Introduction:

The journey of “Living for Christ”, which we started 4weeks ago will be rounded off this morning after considering

Living for Him (Christ); Living to please Him; Life of Holiness and Consecration; Life of Dedication. But God is not giving up on us in the journey of Glorious Transformations. He desires that we keep encountering Him.

A. Understanding the Call to continuously live in Christ:

• One way that guarantees sustained encounter with Jesus is to strive to continue to live in Christ.This is a call for deep close walk with God (Psalm 42:7; 1-2)

As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?Psalms 42:1-2 NKJV

1Bí ọkàn àgbọ̀nrín tií máa fà sí odò tí omi rẹ̀ tutù, bẹ́ẹ̀ ni ọkàn mi ń fà sí ọ, Ọlọrun.2Òùngbẹ Ọlọrun ń gbẹ ọkàn mi,àní, òùngbẹ Ọlọrun alààyè.Nígbà wo ni n óo lọ, tí n óo tún bá Ọlọrun pàdé?

• To Continue to live in Christ implies that your walk with God has no ending and is for as long as you live
• It speaks of consistency in your walk  with God
• Unrelenting efforts to keep loving God even in the face of many challenges of life

B. Living in the Pattern of Christ You Received: Col.2:6; Gal.1:12

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him

• The questions to understand here are : How did you come to know the Lord ? How did you received Him?

Is it as the Lord? The Saviour? Or as Saviour and the Lord?

• The manner in which you come to know Him will inform your pattern of life- John 11:26-27; Acts 10:13-15 NLT
• The Colossians received Him as Christ Jesus, but also as “the Lord.” “Lord” refers to His deity. In the Old Testament it is the personal covenant name of God. It focuses on His absolute sovereignty as the Creator of the universe, the ruler over all that exists.
• It means that what He commands we must obey. He made us and knows everything about us. His commands are not burdensome, to plague us. Rather, they are perfect, right, and for our good (Ps. 19:7-11; Rom. 7:12; 1 John 5:3)

C. How do you continue to live in Christ? Col.2 vs 6

1. Life rooted in Christ
2. Life being built up in Christ daily
3. Life anchored on faith in Christ

• Life teachable in Christ
• Life of Thanksgiving and Praise

1. Life Rooted in Christ
2. This pictures a tree, how it usually firmly rooted so that it gets the water and nutrients from the soil to grow and be healthy- Psalm 92:12
3. The root prepares the tree to withstand the storms that blow against it and to endure times of drought-Matt.7:24-28
4. The roots are hidden from view, but they are absolutely essential. It signifies connectivity( John 15:5-7), through which manifestations of life of Christ comes. Life that seek Him in His words and Prayer

2. Life Being built up in Christ

• This is a call to grow up in Christ,  a growing into maturity- Growing in grace( II Peter 3:18)
• Feeding fat in God’s word and adequate spiritual meals-Proper nourishment
• We need a regular diet of God’s Word. Our souls must be “nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine” (1 Timothy 4:6; 1 Pet 2:2; Isa.55:2; Heb.5:12-14)
• We need to pray regularly. In reading the Bible, God speaks to us; in prayer, we speak to Him. Prayer helps us realign our lives to the Lord’s timing and

direction. David wrote, “Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you” (Psalm 55:22).

• When you walk with the Lord, sometimes there are obvious changes that others can easily see. More often, the Lord is steadily at work on areas that aren’t as dramatic, but are just as necessary.
• We learn to trust and obey Him on little, daily matters. We judge our grumbling spirit. We put to death the lusts of the flesh. We speak kindly to others, even when they are mean towards us. We’re gradually being built up in Him.
• This pictures a building under construction with steady progress toward completion

3. Life anchored on faith in Christ

• This is another virtue that children of God must exhibit in all our journey with Christ
• It takes faith to continue to live in Him and to please Him- Heb.11:6; II Cor.5:7
• Faith give us directions to go with God and it upholds us in Him

4. Life teachable in Christ

• Part of what guarantees and sustain our walk with God is being submissive to the teaching of Holy Spirit. I John 2:27( 24-27).
• You cannot grow more Him or else you die off

5. Life of Thanksgiving and Praise

• Emphasis here is about life of thankfulness. As we saw (Col. 1:12), we should be “giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saint in Light.” (See, also, Col. 1:3; 3:15, 16; 4:2).
• All that we have in Christ is a privilege that demands thanksgiving

Conclusion

Are you going on with Christ Jesus the Lord in the same way you received Him? Don’t lose your first love for the wonderful, exalted Savior who loves you and gave Himself for you! If your love for Him.