Good evening. Can I thank you again for the kind words of welcome from my brother Colin and can I thank you for the privilege of being here over this last number of Tuesday nights ministering. God's word has been my joy and I trust you've been blessed through the ministry and we look forward to being with you again God willing in a couple of weeks time. Now we're coming please to Colossians in chapter number one. Colossians in chapter number one. You'll know our little subject on these four Tuesday nights has been four marvelous mysteries. We've looked at different passages of Scripture dealing with some of the mysteries. Now let me say that these are not all of the mysteries in the New Testament. There's a great list of this one word mystery if you put it into concordance. We'll look it up. There'll be many more passages, but I've really taken over this last number of Tuesday nights, really what I would say the fundamentals are how that one is born out of the other, and we've looked at each one. But tonight we come to the concluding one, and we come to Colossians chapter number 1 and verse number 23. Colossians 1, Verse number 23, and it says if ye continue in the faith Grounded and settled and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel which ye have heard and Which was preached to every creature which is under heaven whereof I Paul and made a minister in who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church, whereof I am made a minister according to the dispensation of God, which is given to me for you to fulfill the word of God. Even the mystery, which has been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints, to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of the mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you. the hope of glory, whom we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. Whereunto I also labor, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily. Amen. And we know the Lord will bless the reading of his own precious words. As I say, over this last number of weeks, we've been looking at these marvelous mysteries of the Bible, not things that are shrouded in secrecy nor covered by uncertainty, but rather things that have been conceived by God, concealed by God in previous ages, but now revealed by God to mankind. in the present. So when we come to think of mystery and it's particularly important in the context of Colossians where there was those Gnostics in those days who practiced lots of things in secret and formed secret societies. Well really what Paul is saying here is the mystery that he speaks of is something that has been conceived and born in the heart of God that only he has known about that man could never have come up with, or thought about, or invented. He has kept it concealed until the right time, and then through various means and methods, through various men, he has revealed his marvelous mystery. We have considered, first of all, the mystery of Christ. That's the great foundation upon which every other mystery is then manifest. And that mystery was revealed by Paul to Timothy in 1 Timothy 3 and 16. And it's the great mystery of God manifest in flesh. Out of Christ, then, we considered, secondly, the mystery of the gospel, which, of course, is born from Christ. That God would reach out to the whole world through this all-embracing message of the gospel. Last time then we looked at out of Christ came the gospel, out of the gospel then came the mystery of the church, and we considered that last time from Ephesians chapter 3. That which was a unique body, that unique body that was born at Pentecost. That body that was born as God's heavenly body and born as Christ's heavenly bride. That body made up of Jew and Gentile who stand. on equal footing in Christ, which was the great mystery. As I finished off the meeting last week, I said, never let anybody tell you that the church has replaced Israel. It hasn't. Rather the church was that new body born at Pentecost and it exists for such a time as this while Israel nationally is set aside in blindness but God will turn again to deal with them after the church has been raptured. So we have the mystery of Christ, we have the mystery of the gospel, we have the mystery of the church. But of course the church collectively is made up of millions of Christians individually. The great truth is this tonight, beloved. Every single Christian in themselves is a marvelous mystery. We all, I'm sure, have our own ideas of what a Christian is. If I was to do a straw poll and asked you to shout from the floor what you believe the Christian is, we would get very different and diverse answers, and probably all of them would be correct. When it comes to the word Christian or Christians, it only appears three times in our Bible. It's used first of all in a derogatory term in Acts chapter 11 where the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. It was a nickname or a slang title given to any who followed Christ. It was given by the Gentiles to distinguish them from the Jews. Just as those who followed Caesar, just like those who followed Herod, this band of people that had risen up who followed Christ, well they were called Christians. So it was used firstly as a derogatory term, but then it was used in a deliberating term in Acts 26 where King Agrippa said unto Paul, almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. Agrippa was saying to Paul, by your preaching you have almost persuaded me to become a follower of Jesus Christ. So it's used in derogatory terms, it's used in deliberating terms, but finally it's used in distressing terms. The word Christian appears in 1 Peter 4 and 16, where Peter says, if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God on his behalf. And what a summary even those three word usages of the experience of the Christian in this world. As we think about those three terms as they appear in the Bible, my, how it's so sad that today, as Christians, we're mocked by the world. How true it is that, as Christians, we are messengers to the world. The times, as many of you know, sadly we suffer, as Christians, misery in the world. What a summary. But if that's all a Christian was, then it wouldn't be much. of a privilege or a blessing. So easily the phrase, I'm a Christian, rolls off the tongue and yet how often I wonder do we stop to consider the marvelous mystery of what it means to be a Christian. You see, as the word Christian only appears three times in our Bible, the most common term that's used to speak of a Christian are those who are in Christ. That's the most common term. In fact, if you look back to Colossians chapter number 1 and verse number 1, listen to how Paul, as he often introduces his epistles, look at what he says. He says, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God and Timotheus, our brother, to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ. which are at Colossae, grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. It's used almost 140 times throughout the New Testament to describe what you and I are. Yes, we're Christians, but better than that, beloved, tonight, we are in Christ. Captain Reginald Wallace. whose evangelistic crusades and convention ministry blessed thousands of young and old on both sides of the Atlantic, used to define the word Christians as follows. He would say, spell out the word Christian and then take the letter A from the end of the word and put it at the beginning. And now what do you read? The answer, of course, was a Christ in. And with great earnest, he would then say, and he would add, a Christian is a man or woman who has Christ living within them. That's what a Christian is. Today there's many, and if you ask them, are you a Christian? They'll say yes, but the reality is tonight a Christian is a man or a woman who has Christ living within them. Oh beloved, that's what it means to be a Christian, to be in Christ tonight. It's not to be in the church tonight. It's not to be in Christianity, but it's to be in Christ. But not only that, for here in Colossians chapter 1, Paul reveals the marvelous mystery of every individual Christian, is that our hope, and I want you to get this tonight, and I want you to read very carefully the verse we're going to look at, Colossians 1 and 27. Notice carefully that Paul, how he freezes his words through the Holy Spirit, he reveals that our hope our assurance, our steadfastness, our reliance for glory. It's not put on the fact that it's us in Christ, but rather it's Christ in us, the hope of glory. And here's the great truth for you and I tonight, and here's something we ought to rejoice in tonight, that not only do I live in Christ, but thanks be to God that Christ lives in me. Keeping with the context of last week of Ephesians 3, the mystery of Jew and Gentile being united as one in Christ, we find here the setting for this subject in Colossians. The concept of the Christian was another mystery that was concealed, as Paul says here, from the ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints that God would make known what is the riches of the glory of his mystery among the Gentiles. So from that we see here that it's to the Gentiles at Colossae to which Paul writes to make them aware and reassure them of the great mystery of their new position and possession. That in this new dispensation of grace, Christ has made an end of the law. that he has broken down the middle wall of partition between these two groups and created in himself of twain one new body. And even as Gentiles, they can fully enjoy all the riches of their salvation of God dwelling within them. In fact, I want you to notice there at the beginning of verse number 27, the phrase, to whom God would. That literally translates that it pleased God, or it was the wish of God's will. And this was not something man discovered. This was something God was pleased to reveal through Paul. What a wonder. Well, certainly I think it's a wonder that it pleased God to reach down to people like you and I, and through His beloved Son, make us, us who feel Him daily, us who fall so often, to make us His holy habitation. Oh, what a marvelous mystery, that it was the wish of God's will, and it pleased God to make known unto us, we who were far off, we who were outside the place of promise, the mystery of God dwelling within a Gentile. And what a marvelous mystery, the mystery of Christ in you, the hope of glory. We want to take this great statement now and break it up into three very simple sections. We see, first of all, the heart of the Christian, that's Christ. We see the honor of the Christian, that's Christ in you. And finally, we come to the hope of the Christian, the hope of glory. So tonight, I trust this message, out of all the messages, perhaps will be a great encouragement to our hearts as we consider afresh when we live in this day where the world is coming against the Christian, and tonight we may feel like the poor relations, the poor cousins, the dynamites in this world. Beloved, tonight may we lift and hold our heads high when we consider the marvelous mystery of being a Christian. So number one, let's look, first of all, at the heart of the Christian. Paul says here in verse 27, That which is Christ in you, the very heart of the Christian. This takes us back to week number one. We're back. We've done a full circle because the reality is and the fact tonight, beloved, is Christ himself is the crux of the Christian. Paul doesn't say that it's our duty. and he doesn't say it's our doctrine and he doesn't say it's our denomination that's at the heart of every Christian rather clearly it's Christ and yet so often when we talk as Christians we get so hung up on our duty and we we talk so much about our doctrine and we sang so much in our denomination and yes those are important things but the very heart the very center the very crux of your life and mine as believers is Jesus Christ tonight You see, all those other things, our duty, our doctrine, our denomination, they're simply the facets of our faith, but it's Christ and Christ alone that's the foundation of it. It's Christ in you. Simply put, Christianity is Christ. Notice how Paul uses the title of the Lord rather than the name of the Lord. He doesn't say Jesus in you, but he says Christ in you. Now, why might that be significant? Well, Jesus is his name. That connects us to his person. But Christ is his title, and that connects us to his work. You see, the Christian is not only one whose life is connected with the Lord, but a Christian is one whose life is controlled by the Lord. You see, a Christian doesn't just accept the Lord's past work of atonement, but also allows the Lord's present work in sanctification with Christ at the heart. We take him personally as our prophet, priest, and king. We take him as our instructor, our intercessor, and our influence, our mind, our motivation, and our master. Christ is the essence. He is everything to the Christian. When it comes to our dependence in life and our destiny in death, our hope is not pinned on anything else other than Christ alone. Oh, dear friend, I don't know who you are tonight, but if your hope is pinned for eternity on your duty or your doctrine or your denomination, dear friend, when it comes to death, they're kind for nothing. Our dependence on life and destiny and death is pinned on Christ alone. When it comes to his atonement, we need to add nothing. He is all we need for our salvation, sanctification, and our service. As Christians, we're to be what's called Christocentric, where Christ is enthroned and He's exalted and He's highly esteemed within each and every one of our lives. And I ask you tonight, dear friend, where does Christ lie in your heart? What position does He occupy in your life and mine tonight? Is He enthroned? Is He exalted? And is He highly esteemed in our hearts? Remember the reason for the book of Hebrew. Whoever the writer was, and perhaps it was God's purpose to veil their identity in order to promote the priority of Christ, but the great theme of that book is summed up in the one word, better. It was written to remind those Jewish readers who still wanted to hang on to the rituals of past religion that Christ is now central, that Christ is better than the angels, he's better than the law, he's better than the priesthood, he's better than the sacrifices, and he has instituted a better way to God. Centered within his person is the complete fulfillment of all those prior practices and approaches. You see, in a previous time, the Jews had given great priority to sacrifices, and the Gentiles had given great precedent to superstitions, but in this one new body, they both now were given central place to the Savior. This is very much the theme of Paul's introduction to the Colossians, for he sets Christ at the head of all things. Just glance back up to verse number 18, and this is one that we know well. Let's look at verse 17 for the context. And Paul says, and he, that's Christ, is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminent. What does that verse mean? Well, Paul is setting Christ as the head of the church, and as the head of the church collectively, it means he must be the head of the Christian individually. Then as the head, it says, in all things he or he must have the preeminence. That means that Christ Jesus takes the center stage, not us. That means, as John the Baptist said, he must increase, but oh, oh, I must decrease. And here's the challenge for you and I tonight. Almost without knowing, We can find ourselves sitting with the disciples around a table and arguing, which of us should be the greatest in the kingdom? Here's the great truth tonight. The greatest in the kingdom is Jesus Christ. And as we think about that, we ought to be happy and content with the fact that we were even included in it. Over in 3 John, in verse number 9, we meet a man, Deotrephes. It says of him that he loveth to have the preeminence among them in that church. They were having great problems with that man because he was a man who hadn't recognized Christ as the head. He wanted to be the head. He wanted to be in charge. He wanted the glory. And there was a man who hadn't seen Christ as the center of Christianity. To the Corinthian Christians, Paul reminded them that the head of every man is Christ, and as you and I examine ourselves as we take the title of Christian, can we honestly say that we recognize and reverence Christ as our head? It's a challenge to my heart. Am I living for self or am I living for the Savior earnestly? You see, the problem is I feel like a hypocrite saying this tonight because it's true of me, but so easily we can be doing so much, and we can be doing so many good things, and we can be involved in so much and running from here to there to everywhere, and yet in all we can be losing the focus of our faith. You see, it happened in the Ephesian church. My, as we look at the Ephesian church, what a church it was. It was a church that was dedicated to God's work. My, it was active. Oh, it was a church that was doctrinally signed. They had crossed their Ts and dotted their Is and they stood on their beliefs. We couldn't fault their service and we couldn't fault their stand. We could look at them from the outside and say, boy, there's a church on fire for the Lord. There's a church there that's got everything in place. They're active and they've got a great statement of faith and they're going on well with the Lord. And yet it says in Revelation, nevertheless, said the Lord, I have somewhat against thee. Thou hast left thy first love. My, they had faltered in their devotion. You see, Christ was no longer at the heart. Beloved, can I say honestly to everybody tonight, I know it's hard to be a Mary in Martha's world. That's a title of a book that I've seen, I've always remembered. How to be a Mary in a Martha's world. Martha, of course, rebuked her sister for sitting at the Savior's feet while she was serving. In tenderness, the Savior simply said, service comes second, sitting in surrender comes first. That's right. Service comes second, but sitting in surrender comes first. Beloved, being a Christian means having Christ at the heart, and sometimes we need to take a rain check on our lives and consider our priorities. Dear friend, tonight, if you're here, can I challenge you? You're serving the Lord and praise the Lord for it, but maybe you're serving the Lord a little bit too much, and you're serving the Lord to the detriment of your own quiet times, your own time spent with him. Oh, dear friend, don't lose the focus of our faith tonight. Get back to the basics, get back to the beginning. It's Christ. And out of that flows our service for him. We have the heart of the Christian. Secondly, we have the honor of the Christian. The great honor here, we see it's Christ in you. Now there is great debate, and I want to clear this up before we move on any further. There's great debate among scholars when we come to the word in there. You see it says, Christ in you, the hope of glory. There's great disagreement among scholars. Some say that that word in should actually be among, because it's the same Greek word n-e-n as already used, as you'll see there in verse number 27, to whom? God would make known what is the riches of the glory of the mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. That word in and among are the same word in the Greek. And so some say that this should read Christ among you, the hope of glory, making the point that the revelation of God's great mystery was the fact that Christ would be manifest among the Gentiles, that he wouldn't be an exclusive Jewish savior, but the savior of all who will believe in him. And certainly there is truth in that conclusion and nothing particularly wrong with it. In fact, it links back to our thoughts about the mystery of the church, that God would make no difference between Jew and Gentile in this dispensation of grace. and both individually could accept and stand as equals in Christ. However, I have to say personally, I wouldn't be that big of an advocate of changing it from in to among. While they may be the same Greek word, I believe Paul is preaching here about the personal presence of the indwelling Christ, particularly in relation to the Gentiles. Paul was stating that the great mystery is that not only would God dwell in man, but that he would come to dwell in a Gentile. Listen to what F.B. Mayer said. He said that God should dwell in the heart of a child of Abraham, was deemed a marvelous act of condescension, but that he should find a home in the heart of a Gentile was incredible. My beloved, as we move into this section, can I ask you please tonight to take these truths to your own heart personally, because that's why Paul gives them tonight. What a marvellous mystery that the man of glory who became the man of Golgotha, who emerged as the man from the grave and ascended as the man back to glory, Christ Jesus our Lord, he stands as the head and the heart of each and every Christian in this building and in this world tonight. Paul said the great mystery which was hidden is that the Messiah, the Jews collectively rejected and nationally humiliated, can be individually accepted by any person from any place. And this truth serves as both a comfort and challenge. Oh beloved, I think tonight we should thank God for the word in. You see, notice very carefully, it's not Christ with us, although He always is. It's not Christ for us, although He always is. It's Christ in us. At His birth, He was pronounced Emmanuel, God with us, so that forever in the believer He would be God within us. Of course, it's not the physical body of Christ dwelling within us. Rather, it is the spirit of Christ. When the Lord was leaving his disciples, they were losing his physical presence. But Jesus promised that he wouldn't leave them comfortless. Rather, the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you. And beloved, that's still the case today. No matter how down and out we feel this evening, Christ dwells in us and comforts us through his own Spirit. As I've already said tonight, thank God for the marvelous mystery that not only do I live in Christ, but thank God he lives in me. That by the Spirit of God. Oh, what a thought. What a thought that by the Spirit of God He's entrusted and given to me the honor of presently and personally possessing the risen, exalted, glorified Lord Jesus Christ in our hearts. What an honor! Beloved, this is the King of creation here. When we think of the Old Testament, how God was veiled in glory and Moses couldn't bear to look upon the Lord, he saw his back were parched, and yet tonight in this new dispensation, he lives in us. What an honor to have God in us tonight. Does it stir our hearts, folks? G. Campbell Morgan says, he is present in my inner life so that I have not to ascend to heaven to find him or descend into the depths to bring him up, neither have I to go on long pilgrimages to reach him amid the hurry and the rush of the day. Christ is within. But you want to know the greatest tragedy of this truth? It's that so many Christians have never grasped the glory of it. Every believer has come to understand personally that Christ has died for my sins, that on the cross he paid my penalty and he was crushed under my condemnation. Upon hearing the truth of the gospel and the call coming from the cross, we believed and took Christ as our savior. But that's sadly where many saints stop. They stop at the cross. so few press on into the realization that Christ died for me so that he might then live within me. In fact, many saints just live trusting that Christ died, but give little thought that He rose again. Oh beloved, here's the reality tonight. We didn't stand with Mary at the empty tomb, but we can still run with the same joy. We didn't walk with the two in the road to Emmaus, but our hearts can still burn within us. We didn't gaze with the apostles at His ascension, but we can still marvel at His majesty. Why? Because as Christians, we have Christ alive in us, and He's the assurance within us, and He wants to be acted through us. And here's the facts tonight. As Paul writes to the Colossians, he's not speaking as a theologian, but he's speaking as a testifier who knew the reality. He knew what it was for Christ to live in him, to work through him. He had experienced and felt that indwelling and outworking power of Christ's Spirit in himself. Oh, that God would energize us to see him. And I wish I could. I transport all of you back to last Wednesday morning. I was in the academy primary school in St. Phil doing their assembly, and just as I sat at the front of the school, the assembly was full, and there's a ECEF Bible club in there, and the teachers have been learning songs to sing at assembly, and I had done my heart good because the first chorus they started off with was, God's not dead, no, he is alive. When you get 500 children or that, singing that chorus, I'm going to read you the words. They repeat that verse a couple of times. God's not dead. No, he is alive. I know he's living in me. I see him in my hands. I see him in my feet. I see him in the air. I see him everywhere. I see him at the church. I see him on the street. And I know he's living in me. And as I sat there and I looked at those children, they sung so heartily and they had so much joy in their faces. And they were really shouting out the words. And I looked at them. I thought, you know, here's the great truth and the great tragedy. Many of those wee children sitting in that assembly, they're not Christians. They're probably saying it because they enjoy the tune. But as I thought about that, they had no experience or understanding of what it means for Christ to be living in me. And then I thought, you know, how often and how sad that here we are alive in Christ. And yet at times we appear so dead. And boy, those wee children, they were singing out, God's not dead. And then they shouted out, no! And I thought, Lord, give me that. Lord, give me that joy on a Sunday morning. Lord, give me that joy when we stand and sing, my hope is built on nothing less. Oh, give me that joy, Lord, when we sing about the fact that you're alive and living in me and coming for me. Oh, what a comfort to know that it's Christ in you. What an honor. But then comes the challenge of Christ in us. You see, in past dispensations it pleased God to dwell on the earth in the tabernacle and in the temple. The Jew had to meet with God in a building. Furthermore, no man prior constantly and literally had God within him, but the Spirit of God came upon men for set seasons and set tasks. But on the cross, after that great victory cry, the veil of the temple was rent in two. After that great cry, it is finished signifying that God would no longer dwell amongst men in a building, but now God would live within men in their own bodies. And that was the truth that Paul had to remind the carnal Corinthians of in 1 Corinthians 6 and 19, where he said, Oh, beloved, tonight, if you're saved, here's the reality, here's the facts tonight. Our body is God's abode. Therefore said Paul, if our body is God's abode, glorify God in your body. and in your spirit, which are God's. The theologian E. Schuller English sums up this point that I'm trying to make very simply with an illustration, and listen to what he says. He says, this is not just a cold theological fact, put simply as a biblical doctrine to be apprehended mentally. It can be a practical reality by which to live. Let us suppose, for example, that there is someone whom you admire greatly, you want to be like that person, so you dress like them, you walk like them, you go to the places to which they go, try to talk like them, you imitate them nearly as good as you can in every way. Now, you may be a very good actor and mimic, so that all outward appearances, you are like the one whom you admire. but within you are still yourself. You cannot be that other person, no matter how hard you try to imitate them, for you are still you, and they are still themselves. But suppose further, by a miracle, his life, he himself could be implanted within you, then you would not need to try to be like him anymore, for you would be that person whom you admire so greatly, all you would need to do would be to permit him to live his life in you. What an illustration. That's it in a nutshell. And I would say the great majority of us tonight, like Paul, we can say, I am crucified with Christ, and Christ liveth in me. We say hallelujah for that, praise the Lord. But that's only a couple of wee bits out of that verse. What about the life that I now live? I am crucified with Christ. Christ liveth in me. But what about the life that I now live? What was Paul's little three words, or four words? It is no longer I. It is no longer I. But Christ liveth in me. And here's the truth tonight, beloved, only, and I mean only, The indwelling Spirit makes the Christian an imitator of Christ. Certainly we can be imitators of other Christians. We can be imitators of other preachers. We can be imitators of everything else that we want, but it's only the indwelling Spirit of Christ that makes the Christian an imitator of Christ. We have the heart of the Christian, we have the honor of the Christian, but let's finish up tonight with the hope of the Christian, because Paul says, this marvelous mystery of the Christian, it's Christ in you, the hope of glory. Finally, Paul connects the mystery of Christ within us to the glory that's set before us. The Gentiles were once described, as we thought last week in Ephesians 2, as having no hope and without God in the world. Now Paul could say that in the world they have God within them and therefore the great assuring hope of glory. When these Gentiles received Christ, the full implication of their inheritance wouldn't be seen until a future day when Christ appeared that second time onto salvation. The full realization would happen or wouldn't be seen until the Lord Jesus Christ returned. Now, beloved, here again, I say at this point, this is not a theory for us to contemplate, but it is a truth for us to cling to. Paul takes these believers forward to that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Oh, beloved, while our future glory is yet to come, it is absolutely certain because of Christ in us. Yes, the Christian life is a struggle at times. And yes, the Christian life is made up of suffering at times. And yes, the Christian still sorrows at times. And yes, oh yes, as Paul said in Romans 7, yes, the Christian still sins at times, far too often. At times, beloved, we can look at our lives and we come to the place where Paul was and say, oh wretched man that I am. And we look at our lives and we go, Lord, am I ever gonna make it? Lord, have I ever really truly been saved when I look at my life and the devil whispers, if you were really born again, you wouldn't have gone like that, you wouldn't have done that. And then Paul brings it all back and he says, do you know what? Our assurance, our hope for glory is Christ in you. That's the dependence. That's the assurance. Beloved, tonight if you're here and you're discouraged, you're struggling, and you don't know if you can keep going on, and you maybe think that your faith is futile, can I say tonight it's not. No matter how many hurdles we have to jump through, no matter how many things we have to suffer, our faith is not futile. Rather, with Peter we can say, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in that last time. Here's the thing. That statement applies to you and me tonight, if we're saved. an inheritance laid up in heaven reserved in glory that cannot fade away. Christ is our certainty. He is our assurance. O beloved, make no mistake about it, the next great event on God's calendar is the rapture of His church. We have the blessed hope within our hearts that Jesus is coming again. Amidst the struggles of life, we listen for the shout of the Lord. In a hopeless world, we have a hope that endures, a hope that doesn't come from without, but rather that abides within us. Thank God, with a shout, He's going to lift us out of this scene of time and carry us through the clouds into His blessed abode above. Paul went on in Colossians chapter 3 and verse number 4, and he says, When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory. Oh, beloved, this is not theoretical theology. This is reality. This is the sure and certain hope of every Christian. Oh, so often as we stand at the graveside, the pastor will say as he lays a dear believer into the ground, we lay their body to rest in the sure and certain hope. That's to come, beloved. That's the future glory. But in the meantime, We take comfort from Paul's words to the Corinthians when he reminded them that our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding, eternal weight of glory. Also similarly to the saints at Rome, he said, for I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. You know, as Christians, as we finish off the meeting tonight and as little exhortation into the weeks ahead, I want you to remember tonight, as we conclude the meeting, that as Christians, we're here on this earth for two purposes. We're here, number one, to be conformed more to the image of Christ. But we're here, secondly, to be communicators of the message of Christ. That's our two purposes. To be conformed more to the image of Christ. to be communicators of the message of Christ. We are the medium and the method, the chosen channels to display Christ to this world. Here Christ on this earth is working in us, bringing many sons unto glory to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. And here's the great truth. The Christian's experience is going to climax in glory. And yes, with the glories of heaven, but better than that, with the glories of him. Oh, what a day that will be. Then we'll see that life, with all we faced and all we stood for, and we'll see that it was worth it all. And here's the thing, I'm convinced of this, beloved, tonight. Just one look at his face. And then all the things of earth shall go strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. Oh, what a day. What a day that will be when he takes me by the hand and leads me through the promised land. What a day. Glorious day. That'll be, oh beloved tonight, are you looking forward to meeting him? Christ in you, the hope of glory, that's your assurance. Oh beloved, I was preaching on Sunday night and we were solemnly saying, you know that in the blink of an eye, that if God took the breath from our lungs, we'd be in eternity before our body hit the floor. The other side of that is this, before anybody comes to lift us off the floor, will already be with Christ. And that's the hope, beloved. That's the assurance. And dear friend, tonight, if you're struggling, you keep pressing on. Your faith is not futile. Go back to the foundations of it. Go back to the heart of the Christian. It's Christ. And then consider your honor. It's Christ in you, the risen, glorified Lord dwelling in me. Oh, I'm never alone. And then just lift your eyes and think of the hope, the hope of glory. of being forever with the Lord. Let's pray.