Don't Be Deceived Pt 3

Would you join me in prayer?

Church service to you.

Wishers too, as they usher in a busy time of mercy. You're so good to us, Lord. We just want to sing to you from our hearts, Lord.

Refuge in the storm.

Hearts to be aware of what you're doing to be spoken to by your Holy Spirit as we study your word this morning together. Have our hearts soften before you. God, if there be anything that we can sense in our hearts that's blocking or that's causing us to feel like we can't just let go, Lord, if there's unconfessed sin, if there's just a strain going on, Lord, whatever it might be, we come to you with it, Lord, and we ask that you would just encourage us and help us through. Be with you, Lord, in any sin that might be in the way, and thank you for your loving kindness and your forgiveness.

Lord, whatever the stress may be, may we sense your presence and know that. You are faithful. You'll bring us through, and you'll guide us in all the time. God is good. Father, bless our time now as we're in your word, as we study your word. Speak to us by your Holy Spirit. Fill us afresh. Anoint me. Pastor Ryan, by the power of your Holy Spirit, to bring forth your word with your power, Lord.

Be glorified in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's have some fellowship. I really want to make some kind of a joke about the fact that baby's crying and leaving. That's how I leave most people, is I want to cry and leave. So, on the left-hand side of your bulletin, are the things you want to do. What are the things you want to do? What are the things you want to do? What are the things you want to do?

There are a lot of things that are going on throughout the week, except for one change. There will be no ladies' study this Thursday because it is the 4th of July. You should go blow things up in the quietest way that you possibly can so as not to affect your neighbors. Although, this is a really good reminder. I saw a great reminder on Facebook this week that if you hear fireworks going

off, don't call the police. If your house is on fire, do go ahead and call 911. If your wife can't sleep because of the fireworks, don't call the police. If you can't wake your wife up, go ahead and call 911. If your cat is upset because there's fireworks going off, do not call the police. If your cat starts shooting back, do call 911. So, a little helpful hint, because it's 4th of July this week,

just remember, things are going to blow up all week. So, as long as it's on purpose, that's okay. Over in the middle section of your bulletin, just a reminder that the kiddos at the other end of the hall are doing promotion. Ooh, sorry. Sorry, it's got tickled by something there. Promotion Sunday today. Not about that. Sorry. It's my brain. They're going to be doing their missions kickoff and all that kind of fun stuff.

So, you need to pay attention next Sunday because your child may be attending a different Sunday school class next Sunday. Also, just a reminder, we have a guest speaker coming on the 15th of July. So, come check out that on Monday, July 15th at 7 o'clock p.m. And then, mark your calendars. We have a baptism. We have a baptism coming up on August the 11th. A little more detail will be coming out in the next couple of weeks about that.

Still kind of nailing down some details, but it will be August the 11th. If you have not been baptized before, I would encourage you to come talk with me, and we will get you on the list. So, those are the things that are going on. If you would make sure that your mobile device is silenced for our responsive reading this morning, we are going to be in Psalm 30.

Psalm 30. Looking at the New American Standard for this part so that we can hopefully all sound the same. If you need one, it should be one around you. And as you are turning to Psalm 30, if you are able, please stand in the honor of the reading of God's Word. I will read the odd verses if you will follow along with Pastor Allen and the even verses. Psalm 30.

A psalm, a song at the dedication of the house, a psalm of David. I will extol you, O Lord, for you have lifted me up. And have not let my enemies rejoice over me. O Lord, my God, I cry to you for help, and you healed me. O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol. You have kept me alive that I would not go down to the pit. Sing praises to the Lord, you his godly ones, and give thanks to his holy name.

For his anger is but for a moment, his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning. Now as for me. I said in my prosperity, I will never be moved. O Lord, by your favor, you have made my mountain to stand strong. You hid your face, I was dismayed. To you, O Lord, I called. And to the Lord, I made supplication.

What profit is there in my blood if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it declare your faithfulness? Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me. O Lord, be my helper. You have turned for me my mourning into dancing. You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness. That my soul may sing praise to you and not be silent. O Lord, my God, I will give thanks to you forever.

And Father, we do give thanks to you forever for who you are. And so, Father, as we approach your word this morning, may you fill us each one afresh with your Holy Spirit. Father, fill me afresh with your Spirit to bring forth your word. And Lord, fill us all afresh with your Spirit to be able to take in what your word has. What your word has to say to us this morning.

And so, Father, minister to our hearts, we pray. In Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. And if you would open up in your Bibles to the book of Colossians chapter 2. Colossians chapter 2. Today we come to the third and final in our series from chapter 2 entitled, Don't Be Deceived. Don't Be Deceived. The first thing that we looked at in the first few verses of chapter 2

is that Paul told us about his conflict that he had for the people. That none of them would be deceived by persuasive arguments. And then last week we talked about the philosophy. What he did not want them to be taken captive by. This philosophy that was based on men's traditions. That was elementary in nature. And that was not of Christ. And he reminded us that kind of segues into what we talk about this morning.

That you have died. With Christ. And you have been raised with Christ. And the certificate of debt that was against you has been canceled because of the cross. And so because of that, now we come into this third part of do not be deceived. And I've entitled it the practice. Because in this philosophy it was not just an idea. The idea carried into practices.

And so we pick up in verse 16 of chapter 2. And this is what it says. Therefore no one is to act as your judge. In regard to food or drink. Or in respect to a festival. Or a new moon. Or a Sabbath day. Things which are a mere shadow of what is to come. But the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize. By delighting in self-abasement.

In the worship of angels. Taking his stand on visions he has seen. Inflated without cause by his fleshly mind. And not holding fast to the head. From which the entire body being supplied and held together. By the joints and ligaments grows with a growth which is from God. If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world. Why as if you were living in the world do you submit yourself to decrees.

Such as do not handle. Do not taste. Do not touch. Which all refer to things destined to perish with use. In accordance with the commandments. And teachings of men. These are matters which have to be sure. The appearance of wisdom and self-made religion. And self-abasement. And severe treatment of the body. But are of no value against fleshly indulgence. And so as he looks at the practices that this philosophy ends up carrying out.

He's going to couch each of these practices in negative statements of don't do this. And so there's three negative statements that he gives to us. The first is. Don't let anyone. Judge you. Don't let anyone. Judge you. Again I'd refer you back to verse 16. It says therefore. No one is to act as your. Judge in regard to food. Or drink. Or in respect to a festival.

Or a new moon. Or a Sabbath day. He gives a warning. He says. Stop letting anyone act as your judge. And that's the tense of the Greek that's used there. Stop doing something that is already currently taking place. There are people who are acting as a judge over you. And you are allowing them to have power over you. And you should stop allowing them to sit in judgment over you.

He deals with first of all what we call legalism. Legalism takes rules and then sits in judgment over other people based upon these rules. And it's interesting because when you look at legalism. We find that the New Testament refers to it as a yoke of bondage. As a matter of fact. Peter when addressing the all of the elders of the church. In Acts chapter 15.

When they were trying to decide what to do with all of these Gentile believers. All of these believers who didn't have the Mosaic law as their basis. They said what do we need to do? And he said we don't want to put them back under the yoke of bondage. That you and I were not able to keep in reference to the law. So the law is referred to as a yoke of bondage.

And then again Paul in the book of Galatians refers to it in the exact same way. Not to be brought again under a yoke of bondage since you have been set free. And so. So he deals with this aspect of legalism. Because part of this philosophy that was going around tied in Jewish legalism. And so he tells them there's three things they should stop allowing people to sit in judgment over them about.

Number one is food and drink. Food and drink. Now if you were to look back into the Mosaic law. If you were to go back into the book of Leviticus. You would find some incredibly exciting and entertaining reading on the dietary laws. He said with sarcasm in his voice. But there's all of these rules about dietary laws. Things that they were not to eat. Things that were to be taken out of their diet.

And then the things that they were to eat. Now God did this in the old covenant for two reasons. The first reason was for health purposes. Because some of those things truly would be unhealthy. Right? Like if you look at the list of things that you shouldn't eat. You just kind of look at it and go. I mean that just seems like the right thing to do. It's just to not eat that thing.

Like that's never crossed my mind before. To make that food. So yeah, let's keep up with that idea. And so there were some of those things. But also with health they understood that in the wilderness. Which is where a lot of this was written. They might not have the same cooking techniques that they would have once they were in an established place. And so it was for health purposes.

But the second reason why they were given these dietary instructions. Was for spiritual purposes. Because they were to be set apart from the nations around them that partook in anything. And so for spiritual purposes. They were to be a set apart nation. Even in the way that they ate things. But when Jesus came along. He reminded us that all things were now clean.

As a matter of fact. Jesus when he was speaking about defilement. He said it's not what goes into the mouth that defiles the body. And the gospel writer at that point in time. Added a little parenthetical commentary for us. And he said thus declaring all foods to be clean. And then of course the same thing happened with Peter in Acts chapter 9. When he said.

When he said. When he said. When he said. When he said. When he said. When he went to go see Cornelius. And God let down that blanket of all of those seemingly unclean animals. And he said. Lord I've never eaten anything unclean. And God said. What I have called clean. Do not call common or unclean. And so as New Testament believers. We're not bound by those same rules and laws.

But we don't sit in judgment over each other about it. If some people feel like the most healthy thing for me to do. Is abstain from some of those foods. I can't judge you for that. In the same way that if I partake in all of them. And all of them. You can't judge me for that. We're not to sit in judgment over each other. Because we're not bound by that mosaic system any longer.

And so he says. Don't let anyone judge you over food or drink. Now I've rarely seen this take place. So again it's a little bit localized where that's concerned. The second thing he tells us that we are not to allow anyone to continue judging us about. Is about new moons and festival days. New moons and festival days. Or feast days. Or holidays if you will.

Now this does start to happen. Just a little bit. But these next two I have actually seen take place. The Jewish calendar was set up on feast days. Right? There were three main feasts that everyone was supposed to keep. It was the feast of Passover. The feast of Pentecost. Or Pentecost. And the feast of booths or tabernacles. Those were what every Jewish male was supposed to partake in.

But many of their feasts and festival days were based on the lunar calendar. So they were set upon when the new moon would take place. Now that Jesus had come. And been the fulfiller. And the fulfillment of all of those feast days. They weren't necessary any longer. And so they were judging and saying no you should be partaking in some of these festivals. Some of these feasts.

Some of these new moons. Some of these holidays. And they were judging them for not partaking in them. But I find a little bit of an application to our current culture on this as well. Because there's a lot of judging of people when it comes to holidays. Have you ever noticed that most of the holidays that we celebrate as Christians. Actually have something to do with the holidays.

Something kind of pagan at their roots. Have you ever noticed that? For instance Christmas. We're pretty well sure that Jesus was not born on December the 25th. That actually December the 25th is actually has to do with one of the solstice holidays that the Romans established. And Christmas trees were probably not used when Jesus was born. Those are actually a symbol of eternal life.

Because they're evergreen trees. And those are somewhat pagan in nature. And so I've known people that are just like you cannot celebrate Christmas. On December the 25th. And you cannot have a Christmas tree in your house. Matter of fact my wife does the decorating. Not now. But usually she does all of the decorating. That all just came down for VBS. So we haven't had a chance to get new stuff up.

And she does a phenomenal job at Christmas time. Like I think we can all agree that what she does at Christmas is just amazing. Right? She puts this epic Christmas tree up there. And I'll never forget some guy coming up to me and saying. Why in a church are we putting up a Christmas tree? It's like because it looks really good. Because that's what Christmas is.

And that's how most of us celebrate Christmas. He goes you know those are pagan don't you? I said I know. Don't tell the pagans. Right? Like he was really upset about it. He was really pretty fired up that he had a Christmas tree. But listen. You can't judge us for having a Christmas tree here. Because I don't look at that Christmas tree and think. I'm going to worship a pagan holiday with it.

I look at it and say this is how our culture celebrates Christmas. It's how our culture celebrates a particular holiday. And so I don't worry about the pagan nature of it. I pay attention to what. Is actually going on. And that I'm celebrating the birth of my savior. It's the same with Easter. Right? Even the term Easter is pagan. And so are the. Believe it or not.

When Jesus rose from the dead. A Cadbury bunny did not show up with an egg. Although would that not have been epic? Jesus is alive here. The disciples are like. That is tasty. And we're celebrating that Jesus is alive. I love that that happens. Right? But that's pretty pagan in nature. But we don't judge each other over it. You can. Be a Christian. Understand that the cultural practices are not necessarily godly.

And still celebrate the godly aspect of the holiday. You can be set free in Christ. And do that. And so we can't judge each other. Listen. If somebody has a conviction about that. I can't sit in judgment over them. I'll never forget my Romans teacher talking about. The fact that forever he couldn't have a Christmas tree in his house. Because he just felt like it was compromised for him.

He said I remember when God first started delivering me from that legalism. He said the first thing we got was a ficus tree. I was like that's the most epic thing I've ever heard. He goes I couldn't go as far as a Christmas tree. Because I knew what that stood for. But we got a ficus tree. And we put it in the living room. And we all celebrated Christmas. And put our presents under the ficus tree.

He goes eventually God fully delivered me. And I was like okay. It's okay to have a Christmas tree in my house. But we can't judge each other over those things. Just like if you have a conviction about that. And I don't. You can't judge me about it. Right? Because we're not supposed to sit in judgment over each other. About things that are a shadow. That have no real reality to them.

And so the third thing he says. And this one does get a little bit heated. Is Sabbath days. Now I worked with a guy at one point in time. Who was convinced that he was Jewish. He couldn't trace his roots. He couldn't tell you how he was Jewish. But he was pretty convinced that he was. He was pretty sure that he was a part of the lost tribes. In particular the tribe of Dan.

He knew that that's the tribe that he was a part of. Even though he could not trace his Jewish. His Jewish roots to anything. And so he brought up a lot of Judaistic things to me. And Jewish things. And one of them that he brought up was the Sabbath. And I've actually heard this debated about quite a bit here recently. I actually just saw somebody put something on social media.

Some sort of an article about how the fact that we worship on Sunday. Is actually pagan in nature. Which actually is not true at all. And I'm going to deal with that in just a moment. Us worshiping on Sunday is not pagan in nature. It's what the early church did. But he really had an issue with this Sabbath thing. And I thought man. If you just worship on Sunday.

If you just worship on Sunday. If you just worship on Sunday. If you just worship on Sunday. If you just read the New Testament. It would deal with so many issues. And then we could all just kind of relax and just love each other. Amen. And so it says don't judge each other over Sabbath day. So let's talk about the Sabbath for just a minute. The Sabbath was first brought into existence.

When God rested from all of his creation. He rested on the seventh day. By the way that's what Sabbath means. Sabbath means seventh. And so on the seventh day God rested. It was not a covenantal issue at that point in time. It was just an example that was given. And so usually we would work. Six days and rest on the seventh. When God established the nation of Israel.

He gave them the Sabbath law. Which was between. Listen. God and his covenant people. Every time in the Old Testament. And I emphasize the phrase Old Testament. Because that's the only place where the Sabbath is enforced. Every time in the Old Testament. That the Sabbath law is mentioned. It's mentioned as a covenant forever. Between God and the Jewish people.

I actually know some people that are like. Nope. We celebrate Sabbath. I'm like you do? That's awesome. How do you do it? And they tell me that they start on Saturday morning. And I say well then you're not really celebrating Sabbath. Because it starts on sundown on Friday. And it goes through sundown on Saturday. And so some people get bound by this law. They're like no we can't go to church on Sunday.

It has to be Saturday. Because that's a Sabbath day. Well are you Jewish? Are you doing it properly? Then we can start to talk. So the question is. Why do we worship on Sunday? Well first of all. Because the Sabbath is not a commandment. That's given to us in the New Testament. Nowhere in the New Testament are we commanded. To observe the Sabbath day. To keep it holy.

That was an Old Testament covenant. We worship on Sundays. Because Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday. And so the very first time. That they gathered on Sunday morning. Was the day that Jesus rose from the dead. And it became known as the Lord's day. Listen Sunday is not the Christian Sabbath day. Sunday is the Lord's day. And so we gather together that day.

As a matter of fact. In the book of Acts. We see example that the early church gathered on Sunday. We find that in the book of 1st Corinthians. When Paul was writing to the church of Corinth. And telling them about their giving. He says when you gather together. On the first day of the week. That's when you make your decision. About how you're going to give.

Right? And so Sunday was always the day. That was used in the New Testament. Because they celebrated the fact. That Jesus rose from the dead. Because the Sabbath was never intended. To be a law to be followed. It was always supposed to be a reality. To be enjoyed. Because the Sabbath. Finds its fulfillment in Christ. So why are we not to sit in judgment. Over each other.

About these things. Well he goes on in verse 17 to tell us. Because these things. Are a mere shadow. Of what is to come. But the substance belongs. To Christ. All of those things from the Old Testament. And you know. How much I love the Old Testament. I think it's amazing. Because the shadows that you see in the Old Testament. Are fascinating. The pictures of Jesus throughout the Old Testament.

Are mind boggling. That God wove the gospel. Into this entire Old Testament account. But listen. All of those things are just. A shadow. All of those things were just. A picture. The reality belongs to Christ. In this translation it says. The substance belongs. To Christ. Literally what it means is. The body belongs to Christ. He is the body of the shadow that we're seeing.

Now. When my kids were little. They played soccer. Right? Everybody's kids here. Probably play soccer at some point in time. And my favorite part of watching them play soccer. On an early Saturday morning. Is that they didn't really like soccer that much. But they really enjoyed one thing in particular. Watching their shadow while they ran. Right? My favorite thing was to see them look over like this.

And go. And they could see their shadow. And they'd pump a little bit big. Listen. I do the exact same thing when I run. Okay? Sometimes I see my shadow. And I'm like. Look at those arms. Right? Because the shadow maybe looks pretty good. At that point in time. But it's just a shadow. Right? The body belongs to them. And that's the way it is with these laws.

Right? Do you remember what Jesus said? Jesus said. I did not come to abolish the law. And that's important for us to pay attention to. He said. I didn't come to abolish the law. I came to. I came to fulfill the law. As a matter of fact. There's not even going to be one. The words used are a jot or tittle. Or I could say comma or apostrophe. That will be left out of the law.

Until all is fulfilled. Because Jesus fulfilled all of those things. Jesus is the purity that those dietary laws represent. Jesus is the reality that all of the feast days represent. And listen. Jesus is the rest that the Sabbath. Represents. Why were they supposed to rest every seventh day? Because God knew. Not only do our bodies need a rest. And by the way.

Can I just tell you. As a sidebar. Your body needs a rest. You really should just take one day off. And just do nothing. You should just be lazy that day. Lay around and don't do anything. When I don't do that. And I'm not good at it. When I don't take that day off. I am just beat. Right? This last week. I went a long time without taking a day off. So don't do what I do.

Do what I say. I took a long time without taking a day off. I went at least a couple of weeks. And one morning last week. I didn't have to come in early for anything at the office. I didn't have any meetings. And so Aaron said. Hey do you know what time it is? And I said. Yeah it's seven. I'm going to get up in just a minute. And I rolled back over. And went back to sleep.

And at 845 I went. Oh gosh. I should have. I should have gotten up a long time ago. And I walked into the living room. Only it was that kind of getting up. Where like. You still don't know what your name is yet. And you're just like. What day of the week is it? Is this Sunday? Did I oversleep on Sunday? Like that's how tired I was. And it's like. I just felt the Lord tell me.

You're not taking your rest. You need to make sure you're taking your rest. And so listen. Taking a day is an incredibly important thing to do. But that day is not a law for us. That day is a gift for us. Because every day I rest in Christ. Every day I Sabbath in Christ. Because that is what the Sabbath was always to be. Is a picture. Of the rest that we would ultimately have in Christ.

Because he is the reality. While the rest of that stuff is a shadow. Imagine if you will. Somebody that you love and care about. Somebody that means so much to you. They go on a long trip. And so you take one last selfie together. Right? Take one last picture. And maybe you've got a copy of the picture. I doubt it anymore. Maybe you've got your phone. And every day you look at that picture.

Because you're like. Oh man. I love him so much. I can't wait to see him. Right? Now imagine they come back into town. And they say. Hey I'm home. And you're like. That's great. I'm going to keep looking at this picture. Right? And they're standing right there. And you're like. Oh I can't wait to see you again. Even though they're standing right there. That's a ridiculous thought.

Isn't it? We would never do that. That's stupid. And yet that's what we do. When we only want to hold on to the law. Instead of the one. That the law was intended to point us to. Don't let anyone. Continue to sit in judgment. Over you. Because the reality. Is Christ. Number two. He says. Don't let anyone defraud you. Don't let anyone defraud you. Notice what it says.

Verse 18. Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize. By delighting in self-abasement. The worship of angels. Taking his stand on visions. He has seen. Inflated without cause. By his fleshly mind. And not holding fast to the head. From whom the entire body. Being supplied. And held together by joints and ligaments. Grows with a growth. Which is from God. The next thing he deals with.

Is what we call mysticism. Mysticism. Or shall we say. A higher spiritual understanding. A higher spiritual understanding. And so he starts off again. With a warning. He says don't let anyone defraud you. Or keep on defrauding you. That word defraud means. To declare you unworthy. To declare you unworthy. And can I just say from the offset. People that think that they have reached.

That higher plane of spirituality. People that are mystical in the way that they act. That they've reached this higher place of understanding. That's exactly what they do to everybody. That they consider to be under them. Is they declare you. To be unworthy. And they will declare that they. Are the only ones. Who can really interpret. Truth. He says let no one defraud you.

Let no one count you. Or declare you as unworthy of. The prize. And then he tells how they do that. Verse 18. He says first of all. Number one. By delighting in self abasement. Delighting in self abasement. The amplified Bible translates that. False humility. Okay this aside. Have you ever been around somebody. That's just got that false humility. Like they're not.

Like they can't quit telling you enough. How not good they are. They can't quit telling you enough. How not worthy they are. They can't quit telling you enough. Those kinds of things. And at some point in time you're like. Do you really believe that. Or are you just telling me that. So that I'll give you a compliment. Right. We've been around people like that.

And so this is the idea. Is that this sort of mysticism. Has a false humility about it. In other words. They want you to think that they're very humble. In their thinking. But they're not. They're actually very inflated. And they're thinking we'll deal with that. In just a moment. But there's this false aspect of humility. But this false aspect of humility.

Leads them to something. Because I want you to notice. What the second thing says. It says delighting in self-abasement. And number two. The worship of angels. The worship of angels. Again the world of mysticism. And the world of the occult. And the world of the new age. They're always fascinated with heavenly beings. Right. They're always fascinated with the angelic beings.

But this time. It's more than just being fascinated with angelic beings. Because there's a false humility involved here. You see Gnostics believed. That angels would act as intermediaries. Between God and man. In other words. They would intercede for man before God. This is where the false humility part comes in. They say. I'm not good enough to go to God myself.

I will pray to this angel. And he will intercede for me. Does that kind of sound familiar to anyone? Does that sound like something else. That might take place in culture today. I don't hear too many people say. That they needed an angel to intercede for them. But I do hear people say. That they need a saint to intercede for them. Or they need Mary to intercede for them.

And that's the idea that's given to us here. Is you don't need someone to intercede for you. You don't need that. But these people are falsely humble. And as this false humility comes into play. They worship angels. Seeking an angel to be the one. That is the intermediary for them. And I want to tell you something. This is incredibly important for you to know.

You can go directly to the throne of grace. And it doesn't make you proud. It makes you bold. Because that's what the blood of Jesus Christ does for us. The blood of Jesus Christ makes us bold. Because we can go boldly. We're told in the book of Hebrews. To the throne of grace. You don't need an angel to intercede for you. You don't need a saint to intercede for you.

You don't need the priest to intercede for you. You don't need Mary to intercede for you. Because you can go directly. To the throne of grace. Why? Because of the blood of Jesus Christ. What did Jesus tell his disciples? I am the way. I am the truth. And I am the life. And no one comes to the Father. Except through me. Right? That's what Jesus said. And then we're also told elsewhere in the New Testament.

That there is one mediator. Between God and man. And that is Jesus Christ. And so this false humility. Creates false gods. Because we're told that any worship of angels. In scripture is called idolatry. And brothers and sisters. We are supposed to flee idolatry. And so he says. Not only is it false humility. Not only is it the worship of angels. But number three.

They take their stands on visions that they have seen. Can we just go ahead and say. Every cult leader that's ever taken a stand on anything. Starts with. I had a vision. And they're the only ones that had the vision. They're the only ones that understand the vision. They're the only ones that can interpret the vision. And they're the only ones that can interpret scripture.

Through that vision. It's fascinating to see how all of them take place. I kind of get a little bit. Geeked up on watching. Documentaries about false religions. Because I find them kind of interesting. I find them kind of fascinating. Mildly heartbreaking. Nah, definitely heartbreaking. But also pretty fascinating. We watched one about the Duggars. Have you guys read anything by Jill Duggar.

About what took place with them. And that whole Bill Gothard movement. Who again. Had to be the visionary. That led everything. And the one we watched most recently. Was called dancing with the devil. Or dancing for the devil. Something like that. It's all about the TikTok cult. That came about. First of all. I thought TikTok was a cult anyway. Second. I'm just kidding.

If you're a TikToker out there. Just. It was a joke. Ish. But I haven't seen anything good come from it so far. I did watch. Well anyway. But there was this cult that came about. And this guy's name was Robert Shin. And Robert Shin of course has this vision. And he's the only one that can see the vision. And everything has to be for him. And he's the only one that can really interpret scripture.

And he's the only one that can really do these things. He starts bringing all these TikTok dancers in. Because he sees their talent. And as they start making money. They of course have to tithe. 10% goes to the church. 10% goes to the man of God. Guess who the man of God is. It's Robert Shin. It's Robert Shin. The guy with the vision. Right? It was at 20% that had to go to some other thing.

They gave almost 50% at some point in time. And I'm going. Yep. He's standing on a vision. Right? But here's the thing. A vision should always line up with scripture. And at some point in time. You go. That doesn't really line up with scripture anymore there buddy. I don't think you're the. I don't think you're the man of God. There's just all kinds of things that go on around it.

But they always stand up and say. But I had a vision. But there's a vision. But there's a vision. Entire cults have been formed by that. But I was there. And there's a vision. And there's a vision in the vision. But I don't. I was the man. I was the man of God. And there's a vision. Entire cults have been formed by that. And this is what they're taking there stand on.

And brothers and sisters, this is why you need to know God's word. And then the fourth thing. And I love. I love the way he puts this. He says. Number four. Number four. Number four. They are inflated without cause by his fleshly mind. Now, he could have just said inflated by his fleshly mind, but he threw that little clause in there without cause. And I really appreciate that because they have no reason to have a big head, but they have a really big head.

They have no reason to be puffed up, but they're very puffed up. And you will find that when mysticism is what is used, pride is what is involved. And he says these things and here's the real problem. And he gets to the issue right here in verse 19. And he says, not holding fast to the head from whom the entire body being supplied and held together by the joints and the ligaments grows with a growth, which is from God, who is the head of the church, Christ.

So when this begins to happen, you are not holding on to the head, because if you hold on to the head, if you hold on to Christ, if you stay focused on Christ, you can start. You can start to identify, I don't think that vision was from God. I don't really need an angel to be my intermediary. I think you're just full of a bunch of hot air, right? That's what happens when we hold on to Christ.

How do we hold on to the head? How do we stay close to Christ? Well, you'd better be in God's word and know what it has to say. You'd better be in God's word for yourself every day so that you can begin to discern and decipher what is true and what is false. What is just a bunch of hot air and what's the reality of Christ? What the shadow? What the shadow is and what the reality is, because it keeps us close to the head, because this is the words of God.

And so we need to take that in so that we can identify the garbage when it comes along. Because the only way I'm able to identify all these things is not because I have a great deal of discernment, not because I'm all that smart, but because I go, I don't think that's what the Bible says. And I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to stick with what the Bible says. After all, God honors it above his name.

So I'm pretty sure I should really pay attention to what it has to say. So he says, number one, don't let anyone judge you. Number two, don't let anyone defraud you. And number three, don't let anyone enslave you. Starting in verse 20, it says, if you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees such as do not handle, do not taste, and do not touch,

which all refer to things destined to perish with use in accordance with the commandments and the teachings of men. These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom and self-made religion and self-abasement, and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence. The last subject that he deals with is a subject called asceticism. I don't think I had to put it up there.

Let me spell that for you. Asceticism is spelled A-S-C-E-T-I-C-I-S-M. Oh, look, they did. They're so good. I love those guys.

Asceticism is defined as extreme self-denial or severe treatment of the body. Extreme self-denial or severe treatment of the body. One of the greatest examples of this in history is Martin Luther. Martin Luther is who started the Protestant Reformation when he nailed his 95 theses to the door in Wittenberg, Germany. But Martin Luther was so bound by his guilt.

He was so bound. He was so bound by law that he was doing everything he could to try to appease his guilt. And the way that he did it was through asceticism. He would do things like crawl up a set of stairs on his knees. He would whip himself. He would starve himself. He would do all of these things to simply try to appease the guilt that he had on the inside of him.

Until one day, God showed him the scripture, the just shall live by faith. And everything about his life changed at that point in time. And no longer was it a life of strife. It was a life of stricter asceticism. That was a life of faith that he began to live. And that's the idea that's given to us here. And so Paul starts with a statement. He says, Now, the if there is not maybe.

The if is since, as is the fact, you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world. Remember how we defined the word elementary? The word elementary is rudimentary or basic. Warren Wiersbe in his commentary, He calls it the ABCs of life. You have died to those things with Christ. Not only did you die to sin, but you died to a legal requirement to deal with that sin because Jesus took care of both of them.

If since, as is the case, you have died with Christ to the elementary things of the world. Why do you keep submitting yourself to decrees? Why do you keep submitting yourself to rules? Why do we keep doing it? Why do we keep making? Why do we keep making lists of rules for ourselves? Again, Warren Wiersbe has two beautiful quotes in here. He says, Number one,

An ascetic hopes to sanctify his soul by his discipline of the body. An ascetic hopes to sanctify his soul by the discipline of his body. And the second quote he has is this. For an ascetic, their life is wrapped up in a system of rules. Now, maybe you're sitting here thinking to yourself, I'm not going to whip myself today. I'm not going to whip myself today.

I'm not going to whip myself today. I'm not going to starve myself today. I'm not going to do all of those things. But maybe you have a set of rules that you think you have to live by. But maybe you think that your life is wrapped up in a system of rules. And the only way that you can make your soul clean is by disciplining your body, or better yet, by living a life of discipline.

I have a good friend who is constantly quoting philosophers on his stories on Instagram. And always, all of the philosophers that he quotes, I kind of agree with the philosophy, but I don't, or I agree with the philosopher. I don't agree with their philosophy because he's quoting a lot of stoic philosophers. Now, if you don't know anything about stoic philosophy, stoic philosophy has the idea of extreme self-denial so that the things of this earth no longer move you one way or the other to where you are eventually immune from the emotions of this world.

That's kind of the idea of stoicism. So it really carries with it the idea of great self-discipline. Now, are there some good things to know about self-control and self-discipline? Absolutely. There's nothing wrong with self-control, but when self-control becomes your God and the way that you feel like you are now acceptable to God, that's when it becomes a problem because self-control is a fruit that should be produced by the Holy Spirit in our life.

And we are not to live by this system of rules because you know what happens to us with a system of rules? There's one of two things. Either one, you will become lifted up with pride because you can check every box, every box possible. And listen, I've been around people like this. And when they check every box possible, you feel it because you feel like you don't measure up to their list.

You feel like you don't measure up to what they do and you know that they do. And so you can kind of feel it when you're around them. So either one, you're going to get lifted up with pride or number two, you're going to always feel defeated. You're going to always feel defeated because listen, when it comes to rules, sometimes rules are made. To be broken,

right? And so he, he warns us against this. He says, uh, that why would you continue to submit yourself to decrees? Notice what it says in verse 21. He gives a little example. Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch. And these things all refer to things destined to perish with use. Then he goes on to tell us exactly what these rules are based on and why they become a danger to us.

Into verse 22, because they are in accordance with the commandments and the teachings of men. They're in accordance with the commandments and the teachings of men. I love to go to a Christian bookstore, mainly because I like to shop for Bibles at the Christian bookstore. By the way, Mardell's running a great sale right now on some amazing premium leather Bibles that you can get for 50% off.

You might just log that in the back of your mind. Um, but I like to go there. I like to look sometimes at the, some of the Bible studies, the people in some of the, some of the books. I think my favorite slash least favorite section of the Christian bookstore is, is the self-help because I'm always like, come again. It's called spiritual self-help. That's the section of the Christian bookstore.

And I like to, I like to look at it and laugh a little bit. Right. And you know what they all are. They're all a system of rules. How I did this by these 10 rules or how I did this by following these five things. Now, listen, there's principles for life. I get it. I'm not trying to throw everything under the bus. Don't think I, I think you should read as much as you can learn what you can base it all on God's word.

Amen. But, but it's kind of fascinating to me to see that everybody has their system of rules. I think one of my favorite moments in all of Christian bookstore history, I don't know if you guys remember a guy named Joshua Harris. Do you guys remember Joshua Harris? He wrote the book called I kiss dating goodbye. And so I kicked it out the door. No, that was my part that I added with the book.

I kiss dating goodbye. Um, but I went into a Christian bookstore one time and it was the spiritual self-help section where it just keeps getting better. The oxymorons just keep getting better. First of all, it was the spiritual self-help section and underneath was godly dating. And there was one book by Joshua Harris called I T I kiss dating goodbye. And right next to it was a book by somebody else.

I don't remember who it was and it was called I gave dating a chance. And I was like, Oh my gosh, really? All of those. I was like, if, if phones would have had cameras at that point in time, I would have absolutely snapped that. And I would, I would still have it today and I would display it every now and then on some sort of social media and say, this is why you have to be careful because sometimes the Christian bookstore sends mixed messages,

right? But there are always rules of men. And when it comes right down to it, you always have to come back and go, but what does the Bible say? Cause here's the fact of the matter. When I am around people that make that many rules, all I can think to myself is I don't think it's supposed to be that hard. I think you're making it a lot harder than it needs to be.

I think walking with Jesus is a lot more simple than that. Do you notice what Jesus did the most with his disciples when he walked with them? Yeah, he taught, but do you know what he did more than anything? He asked questions and he just made them think. And then he would bring them back to the centrality of the truth of scripture. After he made them think a little bit.

And that's what we need to do is just keep coming back to, to the centrality of the truth of scripture. He says, don't let anyone defraud you of those things because they're all in accordance with the commandments and the teachings of man. And then notice what else he says. Verse 23. These are matters which have to be sure the appearance of wisdom and self-made

religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body. And this is why we can sometimes fall into this stuff. This is why this can be a danger. Because on the outside, when it's first presented, you can kind of go, you know what? That guy kind of makes some sense. That seems like a lot of wisdom, but pretty soon you find that that wisdom has led you either to pride or

failure. And you go, man, is it really supposed to be this hard? And then you get back to the simplicity of scripture and you're like, no, it doesn't because it just looked like wisdom, even though there was no true scriptural wisdom in it. And the problem is the problem with rules is getting to the point where you're given to us at the very end of verse 23.

They have no value against fleshly indulgence. They have no value against fleshly indulgence. Let me tell you how they have no value against fleshly indulgence. Why living by this system of ascetic rules doesn't work. Number one, because it puts all of the focus on the flesh. It puts all of the focus on the flesh. Have you ever noticed that? Do you know who the first person to practice asceticism was?

Eve. Do you remember what happened with Eve? God gave Adam and Eve the command and they said, God said, do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the day that you eat of it, you will die. And so Eve's hanging out by the tree one day. I'll get to that in just a second. Eve's hanging out by the tree one day. And as she's hanging out by the trees,

tree, Satan shows up and he says, did God say you can't eat from any of these trees? And she said, no, we can eat from all of them. We want to accept this one. And God said, you cannot eat of it, nor can you remember what she said next touch it. See, that's an aesthetic rule. She just added to what God had to say and made it even harder. Now we could initially go,

Oh, but that's really good. I mean, let's, if, if eating it's wrong, then touching it's probably wrong too. Yeah. But what did that aesthetic rule cause her to do? Hang out by the tree. Did you notice that? Where was Eve when she was tempted right next to the tree? Why? Because she'd made it harder than it needed to be. God said, go eat from everything else in the world,

except this one tree. And the one tree she wanted to hang out next to was the one that she made an extra rule about. Because when we start making rules, it puts all of the emphasis on the flesh. Have you ever been up somewhere really high? Maybe you're doing, you know, I know a bunch of kids were at camp this week and they probably did the zip line and some of that kind of thing.

And you get up to this really tall tower. What's the first thing somebody says to you? Don't look down. And what's the first thing you do? Look down. You probably didn't think about it until they said it because all you're thinking is I just don't want to die. Right? And so you're standing there going, okay. They say, don't look down. You're like, right. Cause the first thing you did was look down.

I love this with little kids when they walk by a stove and you're like, that stove's hot. Don't touch it. The first thing, you know, they always do this right with their hands. And then they just keep walking where they keep walking right by the stove. And what do they end up doing? Right? I told you not to touch it. Right? No, but all I could think about was touching it.

Right? And that's what happens to us when we create rules. When we create rules, all we can think about is that thing that we created the rule about. And it has no ability to change us because it focuses all of our energies on the flesh. But the second thing is that rules can't change our heart. Rules can't change our heart. As a matter of fact, rules were never intended to change your heart.

Rules were intended to show you that your heart needs changed. I'll go back to the illustration I used a couple of weeks ago. When I, when I really gave my heart to Jesus at the age of 17 years old, it was on a Saturday night and Sunday morning I showed up to church and nobody had to tell me to bring my Bible that day. Why? I didn't need a rule. Why? Because my heart had been changed.

Nobody had to tell me to take notes that day. Right? Because my heart had changed. I just simply looked at it. I looked over and I found the bulletin. I opened it up to the back flap where you probably have a little room for notes on your bulletins too. And I started writing some things down because it wasn't a rule that I had to follow because my heart had been changed.

My mom and dad could have made rules for me. You have to do this and you have to do this and you have to do this. But then it would have been compulsory on my part. Right? And I would have been like, how many more do I have to take? Not how much more can I learn? And rules don't do anything to change our heart. Listen, if you want your heart to change, you need to ask God to change it.

You need to ask God to change your heart because making a rule won't, won't change the way that you feel about things. If you have trouble with your mouth, you can't tell yourself, I'm just not going to talk. Right? Like I live in a house with all girls. I can't happen. I mean, you've got to be able to talk at some point in time. Right? And so, and so if you're struggling with profanity,

you can't just say, well, I'm never going to open my mouth. Even the Psalmist David said, I made a covenant with my mouth and I'm not going to open it up. And pretty soon it didn't work. He was burning on the inside of him. Right? Because he had to talk. No. So what do you do? How do you change your heart? We'll put all good things in. It's really hard to swear when you're praising Jesus.

Right? I remember my pastor up in Johnson County saying that he said, I had a profanity problem. So I turned it into a praise problem. And everything that I did was praise. Everything that came out of my mouth was praise. Do you have a pornography problem? Well, don't just make a rule for yourself. Change what goes into your mind. Change what you're taking in on the consistent basis.

Don't give yourself an opportunity. Take in God's word. And let God's word change your heart. And then pretty soon you don't need to rule anymore because your heart has been changed. Do you have a hate problem? Do you have a problem because there's somebody that you hate? You can't stand to be around them. Then let God change your heart. You know how he wants to do that.

You start praying for them. And I'm not talking in precatory Psalms. I'm talking pray God's best for them. And God will change your heart because it's impossible to hate somebody that you're praying for. It's impossible to hate somebody that you're praying God's best for. Do you have an unforgiveness problem? Maybe it's time that you ask. God to show you how much he's forgiven you of.

Because now you don't have to make a rule that you have to forgive them. Now your heart's changed because you realize how much you've been forgiven of. You see, rules are great if they point us to Jesus, but they have no ability to change our heart. Only Jesus can do that. And this is the issue I have with everything going on in our culture right now. I understand that we have to make godly laws.

I'm not saying we shouldn't make godly laws. But godly laws will not change our culture. Jesus. Godly laws will change our culture. You guys heard what happened in Oklahoma? I point that way because I'm pretty sure it's that way. You guys heard what happened in Oklahoma? The Bible has to be taught in public schools. I got to be honest. I'm mixed on this right now.

I'm mixed on how I feel on this right now. Because when you force people to teach the Bible, sometimes it can be good because God's word never returns void. But there's a handful of teachers I know that I don't want God's word coming out of their mouth because I know what they're going to say about God's word. And I know how they're going to teach God's word.

And so, yes, it's good that God's word is going to be put in there, I think. Does that make sense? Because a law can't change a heart. A rule can't change a heart. Only Jesus can do that. And so, brothers and sisters, don't be deceived. Don't allow anyone to judge you. Don't allow anyone to defraud you. And don't allow anyone to enslave you. Instead, remember the reality.

Don't allow anyone to enslave you. Don't allow anyone to enslave you. Remember the reality of Christ. Remember the headship of Christ. And remember the ability of Christ to be the only one who can truly change our hearts. Did you notice that in all of this, he kept taking us back to the exact same truth, that what it really comes back to is Jesus? So get into God's word this week and celebrate Jesus and the freedom that you ultimately have in him.

Amen? Let's all stand.

And if you'd bow with me. Father, we come to you now. And I thank you. For the time that we've had in your word here this morning. And Lord, I thank you for how good your word is to our hearts and to our souls. And so, Lord, if there are those living in bondage, if there are those who are living under judgment or father are trying to make rules to try to make themselves better.

Lord, would they discover the freedom that there truly is in you, the freedom that there truly is in simply walking with you and allowing you to be the one who can change our hearts. Lord, I thank you. Thank you. Father we thank you and we praise you. Jesus name. Amen. We just ask now that you would just go lead us and guide us as we leave here, looking and 나 믿CT tradition building, traiziO

ct Knowledge For benefit.

Really, this morning. Would we seek to follow your way. We desire that things of you. Have a hunger for your word. Lord. Would you? Work that? and a real reality of being ourselves, trusting you to make us trust you. We praise you. We thank you. In Jesus' name, amen. The Lord bless you all. Have a great week.