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Drenched in Scripture 

Why you should let the word of Christ dwell in you richly

Colossians 3.16

The idea for this sermon came from a sermon by George Lawson, “Scripture Saturated Saints”

Don Ruhl • Savage Street, Grants Pass, Oregon • September 15, In the year of our Lord, 2013

 

Prelude: 

  1. Breathed into by God.
    1. Without fault.
    2. Authoritative.
    3. Sufficient.
    4. Powerful.
    5. Influential.
    6. Revelation from the God of heaven.
      1. That is the Bible.
      2. That is the Book we believe with all that is within us.
  2. If those things be true,
    1. should not the word of Christ live in me in abundance?

      “What if I say the Bible is God’s holy Word, complete, inspired without a flaw? But let its pages stay unread from day to day and fail to learn there from God’s law. What if I go not there to seek the truth of which I glibly speak for guidance in this earthly way? Does it matter what I say?” (Maud Frazier Jackson).

    2. The caterpillar does not merely crawl over the leaf, but
      1. the creature gets its face right into the leaf and
      2. consumes it so that it becomes part of the caterpillar,
        1. then the creature can transform into a butterfly,
        2. otherwise, it will never transform, and will die.
      3. Likewise, we cannot merely glance over the word of Christ occasionally, but
        1. we have to get our faces into it,
        2. we have to bury our noses in the word of Christ, for then
          1. we will have the transforming power of the God of heaven
          2. to turn into something wonderful
            1. that He will want with Him in heaven.
            2. Otherwise, He will turn us away,

              27 But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life (Rev 21.27).

Persuasion: 

  1. Colossians 3.1–17 – Scripture Should Be Our Blood Type
    1. Let us so fill ourselves with Scripture that we bleed Scripture.
      1. Let us be like one who has come out of the water,
      2. dripping on everything and everywhere.
    2. vv. 1–4 – Jesus is the focus of our minds, influencing
      1. vv. 5–8 – our conduct
      2. vv. 8–11 – our speech
      3. vv. 12–14 – our relationships
    3. vv. 15–17 – The word in us:
      1. Permanent: “Dwell” – The word resides permanently within us.
      2. Permeate: “Richly” – The word permeates us
      3. Perception: “In all wisdom”
      4. Personally: “Dwell in you”
  2. How Do You Know You Are Drenched in Scripture?
    1. That is the message of verses 16 and 17.
    2. What happens when you soak a sponge in water?
      1. It drips.
      2. It gets everything wet that it touches.
        1. So it is with Scripture drenched Christians.
        2. They affect every part of their lives.
          1. It comes out in everything you say – v. 16, and
          2. in everything you do – v. 17.