and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. Col. 2:10

We continue our conversation today regarding Colossians 2: 6-10 with our concentration being on verse 10. If you have missed any of the previous posts they can be found here:

http://wp.me/p39vIx-IQ Written sermon- He Completes Me Pt 1

http://wp.me/p39vIx-IU Written sermon- He Completes Me Pt. 2

http://wp.me/p39vIx-J8 Written sermon- He Completes Me Pt. 3

http://wp.me/p39vIx-Ju He Completes Me Pt. 4

Now today we will discuss the subject of sanctification…

If you have asked Jesus into your heart then you are complete in your salvation. You can take nothing away from it and you can add nothing to it. Christian if you have asked Jesus into your heart you do not need to keep asking him over and over. You have asked He has responded. You are saved and unless you go to Him and say Jesus I don’t believe in you I no longer want you in my life you are saved because you are complete in your salvation.

But not only are you complete in your salvation you are also complete in your sanctification. “Sanctification” is a long Christianese word for being holy.

and “holy” is a short little Christianese  word meaning you are set aside for special purposes by God to live righteously, that is to live defeating sinful attitudes and actions on a daily basis. You are complete in your holiness. The moment the Holy Spirit entered you and filled you up and saved you unto eternal life you were set aside for special purposes by God. The Bible says it this way:

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. I COR. 6:19,20

Christ died for you. You can live for Him. You have the ability to walk in righteousness over every sin and addiction.

“on July 3l, 1838 on the Island of Jamaica, a man named William Knibbs, gathered 10,000 slaves for a great praise gathering. They were celebrating the New Emancipation Proclamation Act that would abolish slavery on the island. They had built an immense coffin and into it were placed whips, branding irons, chains, fetters of all kinds, slave garments and all the things that represented the terrible slavery system that was now coming to a welcome end.

At the first stroke of the midnight bell, Knibbs shouted out, “The monster is dying.” At each stroke of the bell that followed this cry was repeated and the great crowd began to join in the cry. At the twelfth stoke 10,000 voices cried out, “The monster is dead, the monster is dead, let us bury him.” They then screwed the coffin lid down and lowered it into a huge grave and covered it up. That night, every heart rejoiced and 10,000 voices grew hoarse, shouting and crying with joy. Once they were in bondage to slavery, but now they were free.

There is a tragic side to this story. While many rejoiced in their new liberty and freedom, there were some slaves, that lived in remote areas of the island, that did not know they had legally been set free. Because they didn’t know, for many years after the Emancipation Proclamation had been made a law, they still continued to serve their slave masters. Their former masters successfully kept the news from them as long as they could. By law they had been declared free men and did not have to live as slaves any longer. However, ignorance of the truth kept them in bondage.
Now let me tell you an even sadder story. Today, if we’d hear a story of something like that happening, we’d be shocked, sympathetic and even angry. But the truth is, the same type of thing is happening in our day. Jesus Christ, because of his victory against sin on the cross, has issued an Emancipation Proclamation of liberty and freedom from sin to everyone on this earth. But like some of the Jamaicans were, there are those today that just don’t understand that they no longer have to live as slaves to sin any longer, and the devil is trying to keep them in that mind set.
The message of the cross is this: Satan has been defeated and sin’s penalty has been paid. We no longer have to surrender to sin or be controlled by Satan. We can belong to Jesus and live to please God.” Bill Lobbs

You see we are complete in sanctification, but we still struggle sometimes don’t we? What do you think causes the struggle?