Telling the Truth

Guest (Male): What does it mean for the word of Christ to dwell in you richly? Welcome to Telling the Truth with Stuart and Jill Briscoe. Today, Stuart is continuing his series on wisdom, and he'll get started in just a moment.

So many people read their Bible, go to church, serve on mission trips, and go through the motions yet still struggle to find God. Jill Briscoe has a surprising and deeply encouraging answer to this dilemma, which she shares in her three-message series titled Finding God.

In this inspired series, you'll discover how you can stop spending so much energy on finding God and let him find you. By slowing down and putting yourself deliberately in his presence, you'll recognize that he's already there waiting for you. You'll be uplifted as Jill explains how God worked in the lives of men and women in the Old Testament and how he works in your life, too, even when you don't see him and feel his presence.

The Finding God series is our thanks for your gift today to help more people experience life through the teaching and resources of Telling the Truth. So, request your copy when you give today. 1-800-889-5388. That's 1-800-889-5388, or you can give online at tellingthetruth.org. Now, Stuart starts his message, Be Wise About the Word of God, on today's Telling the Truth.

Stuart Briscoe: I'd like to read to you from verse 15. Colossians Chapter 3, verse 15: Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Now, if we're thinking about living wisely, notice what it says in verse 16: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom. And so today, I want to talk to you about being wise about God's Word. I think everybody who goes to church has probably heard the expression, "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God."

That, of course, is a quotation from Jesus when he was tempted in the wilderness. The evil one tempted him to turn stones into bread, and he said, "No, man doesn't live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." He was, of course, quoting the Old Testament. Now, that is a basic principle with which I suppose all church-goers totally agree.

It's obvious that there's a physical side to us and we need physical food. And we would not try to keep ourselves physically fit without physical nourishment. But there's a spiritual side to us and, therefore, we recognize we need spiritual food. And we would not try to keep ourselves spiritually fit without spiritual nourishment, would we?

Well, there's the problem. Because whilst we do all agree with the idea man cannot live by bread alone, there is a tendency in the way we live our lives to say, "Man can't live by bread alone, but I'm sure going to try." Because not infrequently, if we were to look at our lives, we would have to say to ourselves, we are far more concerned about physical nutrition than spiritual nutrition.

We spend far more attention on physical diet than spiritual diet. And we are much more disciplined in our physical input than so often we are in our spiritual input. We need to be very, very much aware of the fact that if we are going to be spiritually healthy, we must have spiritual nutrition. You can't live on bread alone. You do need every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. That is quite clear.

From what Jesus said, from what the Old Testament teaches, and also from what Paul is saying here. He says, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly." And so let's try and find out what that means. Now, I think we'd have to accept the fact that there must be some reasons why so often people really aren't very disciplined about regular input of the Word of God.

We recognize that we live busy lives. We recognize that a lot of people don't like reading. We recognize that our society is more orientated towards images than words. We recognize all these things. And unfortunately, all of these things tend to militate against people taking time for the Word of God. However, Scripture is quite straightforward.

We might be busy. But if we're too busy for the Word of God, we are too busy, period. If we have time to do all kinds of other things and not to make a priority of our spiritual diet, something else has got to go. Because we are becoming spiritually impoverished if we are not getting spiritual nutrition. I think that's very, very obvious.

On the other hand, we should ask ourselves the question, well, all right, given that we may not be very word-oriented now, and given that many of us don't like reading, and given that many of us are very, very busy, still there must be some reason why we don't really give attention to the Word of God for maybe ten minutes a day. I mean, we're not too busy for ten minutes a day, are we?

And I think the point that we need to make here is this: that very, very often, we don't appreciate the significance of God's Word enough. If we did, there would be a priority in our lives to feed on it. And so let me talk to you first of all about appreciating God's Word. In the first chapter, in verse 25, the Apostle Paul talks about the Word of God.

He says that he has become a servant of the church by the commission of God to present to them the Word of God in its fullness. And then in the next verse, verse 26, he describes the Word of God in its fullness. He says it is the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages but is now disclosed to the saints. The first reason that we should appreciate the Word of God is because of its mystery.

Somebody immediately jumps in and says, "That's exactly why I do not appreciate the Word of God, simply because it is a mystery to me." In Paul's day, as far as the mystery religion was concerned, there were two kinds of people: those in the know and those in the dark. Now, says the Apostle Paul, using this picture, there was a time when people were in the dark concerning God's person and concerning God's purposes.

But those days are gone. He has shined in our darkness. He has given us in His Word a revelation of Himself and a revelation of His purposes. And those who are initiated into this revelation are in the know. They are no longer in the dark. Now, think about that for a minute. If I really believe that in God's Word there is a revelation of God and His purposes that will make all the difference between me being in the dark and in the know, if I believe that about this book, that is going to mean I have a tremendous appreciation for it.

And if I have a tremendous appreciation for it, of course, I will be eager to discover what it says. Conversely, if I do not find myself eager to find out what it is saying, it is probably because I do not appreciate this whole concept of God having revealed Himself to people through His Word. He goes a little bit further. Paul does, that is, and explains this in verse 27 of Chapter 1.

To them, God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ. Now he goes a step further. If we are to know God, we know God in Christ. Christ is the physical manifestation of the invisible God. Jesus said, "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father." But how do we get to know Christ?

Have any of you met him personally, shook hands with him, taken his photograph? Of course not. Have any of you talked to him personally, heard his voice? Of course not. We get to know Christ in His Word. So now we see the train of thought that Paul is giving us. God has revealed Himself in Christ. The record of Christ is in His Word. As we approach His Word, we see Christ. And in Christ, we understand God, and we're initiated into the knowledge of God and His purposes.

And now we're in the know as opposed to being in the dark. The mystery has been revealed. Now then, if I really believe that, I will have a tremendous appreciation for God's Word. Secondly, it is appreciated not only because of its mystery but because of its message. Now look again, if you will, in verse 27. For Paul says that the message is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

He goes on to explain that the wonderful truth about God revealed in Christ through His Word is that now Christ is in you, and as such is the hope of glory. Now, what does this mean? Well, we have all kinds of information concerning Christ in the Bible. For instance, we know from the Bible that he was co-equal and co-existent with the Father before the creation.

We know that he laid aside his glory and assumed our humanity and was born at Bethlehem. We know that as an adolescent he grew up in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and with man. We know as a 30-year-old young man, as was customary in those days, he came into his public ministry at the age of 30.

We also know that he confronted the evil one and overcame him. We know that he taught, we know that he healed. We also know that he exposed the hypocrisy of many of the religious hierarchy. We also know that on one awful day he was crucified. We know that he was dead, we know that he was buried, we know that on the third day he rose again.

We know that he ascended to the Father's presence, we know that he is seated in the place of authority. We know that he's waiting until his enemies are made his footstool. We know that he will return in great glory and establish his eternal kingdom. We know all that from Scripture. But we haven't touched on something that Paul is emphasizing here, and it is this: the Christ of whom all these things are true is not just resident in the immediate presence of the Father but, incredibly, is resident within the individual believer in the person of the Holy Spirit.

Christ in you. Now think about that for a minute. If it is true that God has revealed Himself in Christ through His Word, and in the revelation of Himself in Christ and in word, he tells us among other things that if Christ has come into our lives, the living Christ and the power of the resurrection has taken up residence in us, if that is true, that is totally life-changing and totally earth-shattering.

It certainly was for me as a teenager when somebody sat me down and explained to me that the Christ who died for me had risen again to live in me. And that, therefore, in Christ, I was empowered for all that God would ask of me, I suddenly discovered that majoring on inadequacy was an irrelevance. My inadequacy was a given. I was to major on his adequacy.

Concentrating on my weakness was nonsense. His strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, the emphasis must be on his strength, recognizing the given-ness of my own weakness. I began to sense the illimitable resources of spiritual experience wrapped up in three simple words: Christ in you. This mystery, this message is explained in the Word of God. And I'll guarantee that if anybody latches on to that, they'll begin to appreciate God's Word.

But not only that. He goes on to explain that Christ in you is the hope of glory. If Christ in you is that which makes you able to live now, the hope of glory is the promise of you being able to live then. If Christ in you powers you for life here, the hope of glory is the promise of life there. In other words, when you understand that Christ by his Holy Spirit has come into your life and is resident within you, that in and of itself is the down-payment, the guarantee that ultimately and finally you will be in eternity with him.

Now when I understand that the Bible teaches about Christ in me for now and the hope of glory for then, when I recognize the Bible tells me all about life here and all about life there, I appreciate the Word. And you can tell I appreciate it. I let it dwell in me richly. Do you appreciate God's Word? How does it show?

Well, let's move on to the second thing here. Not only do we need to recognize that we should appreciate God's Word, but then we need to know how to approach God's Word. Now given that we're very busy, given that we're very image- rather than word-oriented, given that we don't like to read very much many of us, given that some of us haven't finished a book in years, given that some of us haven't even started a book in years, do we have problems approaching the Word of God?

And the answer is emphatically yes. But listen, I don't care if we're becoming more image-oriented than word. And I don't care if we don't read many books. And I don't care if we have decided that we're very, very busy. I want to tell you this: that God's Word is still His method of conveying His truth. And that whether you like reading or not is not particularly relevant. And whether you're more image-oriented than word-oriented is not particularly relevant. And whether you're busy or not is not particularly relevant. You absolutely need to approach God's Word if it is going to dwell in you richly.

But you need a sense of objective. The objective that many of us have in doing anything is simply this: we ask the question, "What's in it for me?" And I guess that's not the noblest motivation for doing anything, but given that we're not the noblest of people, let's accept it. What's in approaching God's Word for me?

I would suggest to you three very quick answers to this question. Number one, I approach the Word of God—this will surprise you—with a view to perfection. Secondly, I approach the Word of God with a view to progress. Thirdly, I approach the Word of God with a view to protection. Now let me take those one at a time.

Notice now back in Chapter 1 of Colossians, the Apostle Paul still talking about the Word of God, the mystery, etc., goes on to say in verse 28: "We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom." We say, "Why do you do it, Paul?" Answer: "So that we may present everyone perfect in Christ." That's the point. Perfection, folks. Perfection.

You say, "I'm getting a little nervous about this." Well, let me explain to you what this means. When we talk about the Word of God being preached to people in order that they might be presented perfect, we're talking first of all in the sense that the Word of God is going to bring us to faith in Christ so that we become born again of His Spirit and begin to move through life and ultimately will die and move into the presence of Christ our Savior. And when we see him, we'll be like him. And then we'll be perfect.

It's a process of perfecting, or it's another word for being saved. When you think about it, man started out perfect and then fell, blew it, and there's been disaster ever since. God immediately kicked in His plan to bring imperfect men back to their original state of perfection. And it will happen after you've died, if you're regenerate, when you see Christ. When you see him, you'll be like him.

Guest (Male): Stuart, has there ever been a time in your life when you felt like you struggled because you didn't feed yourself spiritually?

Stuart Briscoe: Yes. Your question reminds me of the saying with which I was very familiar as a youngster in England, and that is: seven days without prayer make one week. But we spelled week W-E-A-K. Seven days without prayer make one week. In the same way, seven days without trust make one week. Or seven days without worship make one week. Or seven days without the Word make one week.

Well, we don't need to go seven days. One day without these things—these spiritual disciplines, these spiritual dynamics—makes us weak. And have there ever been times in my life when I have failed in my disciplines, when I have failed in drawing on my resources? Well, of course I have. We are failing creatures all the time. And so what we need to do is to take life one step at a time, factoring in the things that keep us strong. And it's of course lived one step at a time.

Guest (Male): Stuart, why was the knowledge that Christ is living and active so life-changing for you as a teenager?

Stuart Briscoe: There was a time in my spiritual life when I was very, very much younger when I had gone happily through the stage saying Christianity is easy. All you do is trust Jesus, ask him to forgive you, and he promises to take you to heaven when you die. That was a very infantile faith, but it was a genuine faith. Then as I thought about it, I thought, well, there's something not quite right here.

Because if Christianity is all about having my past forgiven and my eternal destiny secured, I'm very young and it looks like it's going to be an awful long time until I can cash in on this thing called salvation. In other words, I've got to wait to die to go to eternity. And then I realized that the Christian life is supposed to be lived right now. And then I began to struggle.

And I remember on one occasion coming to the point of saying, "You know, it's easy and it's a gift, but it's a terrible price you pay, where you spend all these years just struggling to be what you're supposed to be and know that you're not doing very well." And then I was reminded of something and it was this: that Christ did not just die for me, but Christ rose again to live in me.

And because Christ was living in me, in him was the power to be what I could not be and do what I could not do. And I was introduced to the idea of a life of faith—not only faith in the Christ who died for me, but faith in the Christ who lived in me. And that made all the difference.

Guest (Male): Thanks for being with us today here on Telling the Truth. We pray today's message encouraged you and helped you experience life in Christ. We want you to hear this encouraging note we received from Marilyn, a listener in Kansas. Marilyn writes: "Thank you for teaching God's Word. Your broadcast daily expands my knowledge of my personal Savior, Jesus Christ. Love your stories. God bless."

Thank you, Marilyn. God bless you. So many people read their Bible, go to church, serve on mission trips, and go through the motions, yet still struggle to find God. Jill Briscoe has a surprising and deeply encouraging answer to this dilemma, which she shares in her three-message series titled Finding God.

In this inspired series, you'll discover how you can stop spending so much energy on finding God and let him find you. The Finding God series is our thanks for your gift today to help more people experience life through the teaching and resources of Telling the Truth. So, request your copy when you give today. 1-800-889-5388. That's 1-800-889-5388, or you can give online at tellingthetruth.org.

Next time, we'll hear more from Stuart about wisdom in God's Word. We hope you'll join us then for Telling the Truth with Stuart and Jill Briscoe. Be listening tomorrow and experience life here on Telling the Truth.