Ps 46:1,”God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” This verse helps demonstrate the theological truth that   “Christ is All and in All”.  As discussed in a previous blog we discovered that Christ is the believer’s refuge, and that God had established “cities of refuge” for people who had accidentally killed someone.  We also see that Christ is a very “present” help in trouble.  He was “present” when David’s life was being threatened by King Saul, his son Absalom and in battle.  He was “present” when David as a lad volunteered to fight Goliath, the Philistine giant.

God tells Joshua in Jos 1:9″ Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”  What a very comforting and encouraging thought to know that God is with you wherever you are.

Another example would be when God led the Israelites  out of Egypt.  He went before them in the day with a pillar of cloud and at night with a pillar of fire.  They could see his presence.

In John 14: 18-23, Christ promises not to leave us comfortless, but to make his abode with us.  We have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us.  While He can’t be seen, He is there because scripture says so.  There is no reason to fear because the Eternal, Holy God indwells the believer.  When the trials of the world are overwhelming flee to Christ who is the believer’s refuge.  He is a very present help in trouble.  There is no need to feel pinned in, overwhelmed or defeated.  Christ is always near and always hears the cry of the saint.  Scripture testifies of that intimate, personal  assurance that Christ is present.

Today’s sermon is a continuation of last week’s “Christ is All”.    There were three major points from last week:  Christ is all we have, Christ is all we want, and Christ is all we need.  Today we will focus on three more important ideas regarding Christ as All in All.

1. Christ is chiefest.

The Song of Solomon  is full of symbolism which intimates of one to come , a Redeemer, who is above all.  In Song 5:10(“My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand,”),  we understand that the word chief presents a picture of a banner elevated above all others.  The word white describes His purity, while the word ruddy or red hints at his blood sacrifice for our sins.

In Song 2:1 (” I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.”), the emphasis is on the word “the”.  He is “the” ,not ,”a” rose of Sharon.  He is “the” ,not ,”a” lily of the valleys.  He is above all the others.

In Isa 6:3 (“And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.”) the seraphims describe Christ’s purity above all of creation.  Christ is just not white, He is a dazzling white.

2. Christ is the chief cornerstone.

In 1Pe 2:6, (” Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.”)  The chief cornerstone holds the building together.  Again, the word “the” is of importance because He is not “a” stone, but the chief cornerstone.  In this verse, He is also described as precious.  Do we as Christians show His preciousness in our manner of living or do we as the little stones exalt ourselves above the chief?

3. Christ is the Christ of God.

In Lu 9:20, (“  He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God.”) we have the word “The” again.  He is “The” Christ of God, not “A” Christ of God.  In Joh 14:6, (” Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”) the word “The” is emphasizing  way, truth and life.  It is by Jesus or Christ that one can only come to the Father.  He is the only way.  You cannot come to the Father by way of Islam, Mohammed, Confucius, Buddha or even the Pope.  There is only one way, and that way is Christ.

In conclusion, Is “The” Christ sufficient for you?  Is He all you have, want or need?

Christ Is All: Still sweeter every day is from a Sunday sermon by Pastor Daniel Kaminski on the Vimeo.com web site of Pastor Stephen Haasch on Vimeo.

The speaker in this full length video is Pastor Daniel Kaminski of Grace Baptist Church, Kittanning PA.

Today’s sermon  title was taken from the Bible reference in Colossians 3:11 ” Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.” Then our Pastor posed the question, “What does it mean that Christ is all?”  His sermon outline gives 6 points which answer that question.

1.  Re 1:8 “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”  In this text the Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet.  God communicates to us by using the alphabet.  Christ is also the Word.(Jn 1:1 ¶ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.)  So, we learn that Christ is the Almighty Communicator.

2.  Heb 3:1 “Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;”.  The word Apostle in this verse means “sent”.  Jn 3:16 tells us that God gave or sent his only begotten Son into the world.  Therefore, as an Apostle and High Priest, Christ is sent of God to represent God to mankind.

3.  Heb 5:9 “And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him”.  The word Author means initiator or the first cause of it.  Christ is the Initiator of our salvation.  In Acts 16:31 we are commanded to “ And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”  By believing we are literally obeying him.

4.  Jn 6:35 “And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”  If we come to Christ we will never hunger or thirst again.  Christ is sufficient.

5.  Jer 33:14-15 “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.  In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.”  The “Branch of righteousness” is a prophetic reference to the Messiah who came out of the tribe of David.  He will rule and have peace in the earth.  Christ is The LORD our Righteousness.

6.  Re 22:16 “I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.”  After the dark judgment of the world, this world, Christ comes as the bright and morning star.  There will be no need for the sun because of His brightness.  Christ is the bright and morning star.

From these 6 points we can summarize that Christ is sufficient.  Because He is all in all, we can apply Ph 4:6 “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”  The word nothing in the verse means “not one little thing, no not nothing”.

If you are saved by the grace of God then rest in his sufficiency.  Trust him and don’t be dismayed by the affairs of this world.  Don’t let one little thing make you anxious.  Cast all your burdens upon Him.

If you do not know Christ as your Saviour, then trust Him for All, your life now and eternal life later.  Christ is the Initiator of your salvation.  He bids you to come to Him now, today.  Today is the day of salvation.

See the 10 minute introduction to this video