Steve Conover: Thank you for joining us for the Friends of Israel today. I'm Steve Conover. With me is our host and teacher, Chris Katulka. Foiradio.org is where you can connect with us. We have nearly a decade of content on the site featuring Chris Katulka’s insightful teaching and various interview guests. Again, that's foiradio.org.

Chris Katulka: In a moment we're going to share with you ways that you can help support FOI Radio. This is such an important ministry, we believe, for communicating biblical truth about Israel and the Messiah while continuing to bring spiritual and physical comfort to our Jewish friends. Because we really believe that passion for God's Word should lead to compassion for God's Chosen People and we would love for you to partner with us. So again, we're going to share information in a moment on how you can partner with us at the Friends of Israel Today. Now we're wrapping up our last message of this Colossians series that we've been doing. We've been looking at various aspects of the letter that Paul wrote to the Colossians, a group of believers he actually never ever visited. But he gets a chance to share his heart and really the meaning of it, the supremacy of Christ, and how that should really guide us in how we have a relationship with the Lord and relate with one another as well.

Steve Conover: But first in the news, United States mediator Amos Hochstein, who helped broker the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire complained that Israeli surveillance drones are still flying over Beirut as France complains about strikes on Hezbollah terrorists who violate the terms of the ceasefire agreement. Officials have stated that restraint is needed from all sides for the ceasefire to hold.

Chris Katulka: Well, Steve, here's my take. This ceasefire is a lose-lose situation for Israel. As Hezbollah rearms south of the Litani River in plain sight of the United Nations, it's Israel being called out for responding to the terrorist organization's blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement. France would prefer Israel submit complaints before taking military action.

Chris Katulka: Today we're concluding our series on Paul's letter to the Colossians. Last week we looked into Colossians chapter three, where we focused on how this ancient Christian hymn found in Colossians 1:15-20, concerning the supremacy of Christ, serves as a compass on where we fix our gaze. “On things above,” as Paul writes in Colossians chapter three, “not on the things of this world.” Remember, Christ's supremacy, as he's sitting at the right hand of the Father above, gives us the foundation we need to know how the universe is held together through Christ and in Christ. And what we saw last week was that where we fix our eyes can have a profound impact on how we experience the Lord's leading in our own lives personally. When you know that the creator of heaven and earth holds all things together and you're rooted and built up in Him and your gaze is set on things above where Christ sits, then a greater peace in your life can be experienced today.

As we enter into this Christmas season, I can't help but think at how appropriate this Volvo station wagon that I've been talking about for the last four weeks fits into the supremacy of Christ. I've been sharing about this unique Volvo station wagon from the 1990s, an ordinary car with a very unique engine under the hood. In fact, it was a 380 horsepower Ford V8 with a supercharger and a Mustang five speed gearbox. It's almost laughable. That's a racing engine shoved into a family station wagon. Looks like a station wagon on the outside, but drives like a Formula One car on the inside you can comfortably put all your groceries in the back and then drag race home. Paul's hymn does the exact same thing for the supremacy of Christ. Jesus looks like a man, but God was pleased that his fullness dwelled in him.

100% God and 100% man. Now, Paul wrote this letter to the Colossians from Rome during his imprisonment, and Paul never stepped foot in Colossae. So this letter was actually an expression of care for a community that he only knew from a distance. And Paul had these three purposes in mind when writing to the Colossians, and we've been going through this week after week. But first I want you to remember, Paul wanted to highlight Christ's deity and supremacy so that they could counter the false teachings that threaten the Colossian church. Second, he wanted to guide believers toward a spiritual maturity, encouraging them to grow deeply rooted in their faith. And finally, Paul sought to update the Colossians on his own circumstances, asking for their prayers and support for his ministry. Now remember, why was it important for Paul to convey the supremacy of Christ to the Colossians?

Well, in Paul's day, there were really a litany of thoughts about how the world was held together. And let me tell you, the Apostle Paul, he stood at the crossroads of many of these ideas. This was Paul's big argument: everything is held together by Christ. Paul says in Colossians 1:17, “He himself is before all things and all things are held together in him. If all things in heaven and earth were created in him and for him, then as followers of Christ, our eyes should be fixed on the things that are above and not the things of this earth.” And that's why the last three weeks of our Colossians study can really just be wrapped up in these few sentences. In all of Paul's letters, it's his desire to see genuine spiritual change in the lives of those who have placed their faith in Christ. Even for those believers he's never met in person, like the Colossians, and like you and me.

Another thing Paul always does is tie prophecy to spiritual growth. Early in Colossians chapter three, he shares about the events that are coming in the future, in the last days. But it's couched in between the sections that tell us how we should be living our life today in light of the supremacy of Christ and the change that comes with following Jesus. 

Paul will go on to say in Colossians chapter three, starting in verse 12, “Therefore as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourself with a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience bearing with one another and forgiving one another. If someone happens to have a complaint against anyone else, just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also forgive others. And to all these virtues, add love, which is the perfect bond. Let the peace of Christ be in control in your heart for you were in fact called as one body to this peace and be thankful. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly teaching and exhorting one another with all wisdom, singing Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with all grace in your hearts to God. And whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” 

Here's something interesting. Most English translations open the sentence with, as the elect of God. But in the Greek, Paul’s sentence leads with a verb. It's actually a verb that's in this thing called the imperative form, which means the word Paul uses at the open in Colossians 3:12 is a command to us. He's exhorting us. And what is that command? He says, “you are to clothe yourselves.” That's how he opens this entire segment that we just read starting in Colossians 3:12, “you ought to clothe yourselves.”

You know Colossians in Ephesians are letters that have very similar messages. In fact, at the end of Ephesians, Paul says, “clothe yourself with the full armor of God.” The word in Colossians 3:12 and the word in Ephesians 6:11 is the exact same word, same verb, same tense, same placement in the sentence. Paul's telling us to do something here. He's telling us that we have to participate in our faith. Now hear me out. I'm not talking about a works-based salvation. No way. I'm not even going there. By grace you have been saved through faith, not by works. But I am talking about that after you've placed your faith in Christ, Paul is saying you are not to just stand there as a passive participant in your relationship with the Lord. I'm saying God wants you involved in your faith. He's saying clothe yourself. You get up every morning and as Paul said earlier in Colossians 3:10, you have been clothed with the new man that is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of the one who created it.

So since you've been clothed with the new man every day, we should actively participate in our faith, in our walk with the Lord. In Romans 6:4, Paul says, “therefore, we have been buried with him through baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may live a new life or walk in newness of life.” See, Paul is saying, we identify in Christ's death and if we identify in his death, we will identify with him in his resurrection in the future. But right now because of the supremacy of Christ sitting at the right hand of the Father, we might walk in newness of life today. This is the reason Paul commands us to clothe ourselves in Colossians and in Ephesians. Because he knows it's a daily choice to do so. Did you hear what he said In Romans 6:4? “We identify with Christ's death, burial, and resurrection, which means that we might walk in newness of life today.”

Well, when he says “clothe yourself” he's using a command. But here Paul is using a verb to show that we have the potential, the possibility to walk in newness of life. So how can Paul go from the realm of possibility and potential in Romans 6:4 to a direct command in Colossians 3:12 to clothe yourself? Paul wants us to know that if we're going to take seriously this call that we have as followers of Christ because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, God has given us today the ability to walk a resurrected life right now. Our glorification is certainly coming in the future. In fact, Paul uses the same word for “clothe yourself” in Colossians 3:12 when he says it in 1 Corinthians 15:35, “that one day this perishable body must put on [clothe yourself] the imperishable and this mortal body must put on [clothe yourself] immortality.

Now when this perishable puts on, again that same word, “clothe yourself”, puts on imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality. It's all the same Greek word. Paul is commanding us, think about this, to participate in our new life in Christ today because we actually have the potential, now in Christ, we have the potential to walk a newness of life. So just as you get up each morning and you choose to get out of bed, take a shower, brush your teeth, get dressed for the day. Paul is saying you have to do the same thing with your spiritual life. Choose every day to clothe yourself. But clothe yourself in what? Maybe that's the question you're asking yourself. When we come back, I'll share what God's asking us to dress in each day. 

Chris Katulka: Steve, for 10 years I've had the privilege of hosting the Friends of Israel Today radio show and serving alongside you.

Steve Conover: Chris, I love working with you and the team and it's been my joy to be part of the FOI radio ministry now for nearly 30 years.

Chris Katulka: And really this is why it's an honor for both of us to ask you, our listeners today, to join on the ground level to help broadcast biblical truth all around the world. Whether Friends of Israel Today is airing on a local radio station or through our podcast, never before has it been so needed to have the truth of God's Word running throughout the airwaves.

Steve Conover: Romans 10:17 says, “so then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” Friends, we need your help to continue to produce and broadcast the Friends of Israel Today.

Chris Katulka: Now, the Friends of Israel Today radio program is supported by donors, listeners, and friends like you. See, we believe that if you have a passion for God's Word, then you should have compassion for God's Chosen People. And our goal is to raise $50,000 this month to continue to produce and broadcast the program that you're listening to right now with your financial gift. Today you will be taking the gospel to the ends of the earth with trustworthy, uncompromising biblical teaching.

Steve Conover: If the Friends of Israel radio program has been a blessing to you and you'd like to make it possible for all to hear, you can make a gift right now at foi.org/radiosupport and from the bottom of our hearts, thank you. Again, that's foi.org/radiosupport.

Chris Katulka: Welcome back everyone. We're wrapping up our series on Colossians today and we're focusing on Paul's call and command to clothe ourselves, which is another way of exhorting us to participate in our faith. In Ephesians, Paul tells us to clothe ourselves in the armor of God so that the terror of the devil's schemes don't overtake us. That requires us to actively participate in our faith by putting on each piece. Well, here in Colossians, Paul tells us to “clothe ourselves with a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another. If someone happens to have a complaint against anyone else, just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also forgive others.” Can I tell you something amazing about what Paul is asking us to put on as believers in Christ? I've taught on this before, but I want you to hear the similarities between the moment God tells Moses his character and nature that Paul wants us to have when we clothe ourselves.

Listen to what it says in Exodus 34:6-7, when God reveals his character and nature, he says, “He (the Lord) passed by Moses and proclaimed: “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness, keeping loyal love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished.”” Who is God? He is the compassionate and gracious God. He's patient and covenantally loving, which means his love isn't based on emotions. It's a love that's rooted in his covenant to us. He's faithful and forgiving. It says in Exodus 34:6-7. Now listen to Paul. He writes, “clothe yourself with a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another.” What are we to put on? What are we to clothe ourselves with? We are to clothe ourselves with God's character and nature.

The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is God in us. If we actively participate in our faith, our walk with the Lord, then the Holy Spirit should begin to conform us into the image of his Son who is God. We should have the heart of compassion to those who need compassion. We should be merciful to those who need mercy. We should be kind because it's the kindness of God that leads to repentance. We should humble ourselves as Christ humbled himself to the point of death on the cross. We should be gentle as God has been gentle to us. We should be patient as God has been long suffering with us as well. We should forgive because Christ forgave us. 

What Paul's saying here is that by the power of the Holy Spirit in your life, clothe yourself with the character and nature of our loving, compassionate, merciful, patient and forgiving God. This doesn't happen overnight, my friends. It happens when we routinely clothe ourselves through prayer and the reading of his Word. It happens when we participate in our faith and put on the character and nature of God as the Holy Spirit changes us from the inside out. Why do we do this? Because we fix our eyes on things above. Because we're rooted and built up in Jesus. And finally because of the supremacy of Christ. In Him, God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell and all things are held together in Him.

Steve Conover: Israel, on the verge of becoming a state, a teenaged Holocaust survivor arrives on her shores alone. His name is Zvi Kalisher. Little did he know, his search for a new life in the Holy Land would lead him to the Messiah. Zvi, enthusiastic to share his faith, engaged others in spiritual conversations, many of which can be found in our magazine, Israel My Glory. While Zvi is now in the presence of his Savior, his collected writings from well over 50 years of ministry continue to encourage believers worldwide. Now, Apples of Gold, a dramatic reading from the life of Zvi.

Mike Kellogg: Whenever I visit Eilat in the south of Israel, I enjoy walking along the beach and meeting new people. On a recent visit, I met two men who looked disheveled, and when I tried to speak with them about faith in God, they became upset.

“You can see the sorry state of our lives,” one said. “How can you speak to us about faith? We are worlds apart from you. We have done so many bad things God could never forgive us.”

I took out my Bible and read John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” I explained, “This passage does not say God will accept people based on who they are or what they have done. God said, ‘whoever,’ and the only condition is that you believe on His Son. If you will accept the Lord Jesus as your Savior, God will forgive and forget whatever you have done thus far in your life, and He will give you the means of receiving forgiveness of any sins you commit in the future.”

The man earnestly responded, “We are insignificant to God. It will not  help us now to come before Him and ask Him to forgive us. We are poor and homeless. We live here on this beach, and we are so dirty people hate to even look at us.” 

I then read the comforting words of Psalm 118:22: “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.” I said, “Do not say that you are beyond hope, my friends. In God’s sight, you are of as much value as any other person. God’s Son was rejected by the Jewish leaders, but God the Father did not reject Him. Rather, through His death and resurrection He became the Messiah and Savior of the world.”

One of them asked, “What do you want us to do?” 

I answered, “For me, you do not have to do anything. What you must do is for yourselves. You must come to God, worship Him, be faithful to Him, and bear fruit for His glory. Regardless of what you see when you look in the mirror, you will be children of God and will never again doubt your worth before Him.”

They opened up and told me about their lives. They were alcoholics and had lost their families and homes. 

I told them, “It would be easy for you to stop drinking.” 

They were surprised, and one asked, “How?”

I replied, “Open your hearts before God. He will listen and answer your prayer. He will enable you to turn from alcohol.”

 “Shall we do it now, or wait until we go to bed?” one asked. 

I could not tell if they were being serious or mocking, so I said, “If you are not serious about this, I will be glad to leave you alone.”

“No, we are very serious,” he assured me.

“Good,” I responded. “You can go to a quiet spot on this beach and pray silently in your hearts. Tell the Lord of your sins and ask Him to forgive you and become your Savior.”

“Will you wait here for us?” he asked. I assured them I would.

I waited and watched for more than a half hour as they both sat quietly under the hot sun with their heads slightly bowed and very serious expressions on their faces. As I waited, I prayed the Lord would open their eyes and hearts and draw them to Himself.

The two men returned, full of joy because the Lord had taken away their stony hearts and given them hearts of flesh (Ezek. 36:26). The Lord had given them a new heart and a new Spirit—the Spirit of the living God—and they were rejoicing in Him. And so, of course, was I!

Chris Katulka: The impact of Zvi's life in ministry in Israel, it didn't end when he went home to be with the Lord. In fact, Zvi’s legacy lives on. Our Friends of Israel ministry representatives continue to share the gospel in Jerusalem, Israel, and really all throughout the world. We also serve Holocaust survivors and their families. We provide free food, medicine and clothing, and we even promote the safety and security of the state of Israel and the Jewish people everywhere. So when you give to the Friends of Israel, your donation actually allows us to advance the gospel of our Messiah Jesus. You can give online by visiting foiradio.org. Again, that's foiradio.org. You can click right there on our donate link. Also, be sure to let us know where you listen when you contact us.

Steve Conover: Thank you for joining us for today's episode of The Friends of Israel Today. If the Lord is leading you to support our radio ministry, visit foi.org/radiosupport. Chris, where are we headed next week?

Chris Katulka: One of my favorite episodes is always our Israel My Glory in Depth, where we look at our most recent issue of Israel My Glory, which is all about John the Baptist. So Cameron Joyner, one of the writers for the magazine, is going to talk about his article, which is really talking about the idea that John the Baptist spoke truth to power and Cameron did a fantastic job.

Steve Conover: Our mailing address is FOI Radio PO Box 914, Bellmawr, New Jersey 08099. Again, that's FOI Radio PO Box 914, Bellmawr, New Jersey 08099. Our web address is foiradio.org. Again, that's foiradio.org or you can call our listener line. That number is 888-343-6940. Again, that's 888-343-6940. Our host and teacher is Chris Katulka. Today's program was produced by Tom Gallione. Edited by Jeremy Strong, who also composed and performs our theme music. Mike Kellogg read Apples of Gold, and I'm Steve Conover, executive producer. The Friends of Israel Today is a production of The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry. Passion for God's Word. Compassion for God's Chosen People.