BEWARE OF PIRATES! — TREASURE BANDITS! Colossians 2

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“Let no man beguile you of your reward..”. –Colossians 2:18 KJV ,

“That their hearts [the center of desire and longing] might be COMFORTED, being knit [forced]  together in LOVE [deep family bond], and unto [the collective purpose of this bond is towards] all RICHES of the FULL ASSURANCE of UNDERSTANDING, to the acknowledgement [complete knowledge, discernment] of the MYSTERY of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;  In whom are HID [kept secret] ALL THE TREASURES [treasure chest] of WISDOM and KNOWLEDGE…And this I say, lest any man should beguile you [to cheat by false valuing something] with enticing [persuasive] words.. As ye have therefore received [taken possession of] Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye IN HIM:  Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving… Beware lest any man spoil [take spoils, lead away as booty] you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.  For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.  And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:  Let no man beguile [to defraud or beguile of the prize of victory] you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, Colossians 2:2‭-‬4‭, ‬6‭-‬10‭, ‬18 KJV

We have these bandits, pirates, today. Beware of the pirates, stealing your treasure and leading you away captive. They lead you away from Christ the priceless treasure, and towards the fools gold of religious/spiritual activities and doctrines. see Col.2:23


It is important to understand (like the Galatian false teachers,) these pirates were professing Christians. They were teachers in Christian churches, pretending to serve Jesus but denying his glory by placing equal or more value on religious rituals, activities, empty philosophies, and traditions.
False teachers lead into all kinds of religious distractions, but they do not comprehend Jesus So they reject his riches. They believe other things are more profitable. They trick their followers to treasure the wrong thing.
When in fact, ALL THE PRICELESS TREASURES IN THE UNIVERSE ARE HID IN JESUS CHRIST THE SON OF GOD.

So then, if you are going to mine for gold and search for treasures, there is only one true place to spend your time.


[THE TREASURE:] Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; [THE JOY:] teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.–Colossians 3:16 KJV

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:   Who, when he had found one pearl of GREAT PRICE, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.–Matthew 13:45‭-‬46 KJV

Study your Bible until you know it’s treasures by heart, and are a walking encyclopedia of knowledge about Jesus in whom all the fullness of God dwells.

The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, WE WOULD SEE JESUS. John 12:21 KJV

There are a number of hidden treasures concerning Jesus the Son of God in the short letter to the Colossians– do you know them? How valuable is this secret knowledge to you? What’s your plan for mining more treasures about the Lord and his kingdom?


“And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is ABLE to BUILD YOU UP, and to GIVE YOU AN INHERITANCE among all them which are sanctified. –Acts 20:32 KJV

The Glorious Sun! No shades please.

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They tell us most of the country is vitamin-D deficient and are therefore sick. Yet they insist you need sunscreen to block the greatest natural source of vitamin D–“the sun is now harmful, so you need to buy some cream.” God wants to hurt you, but we got you covered.” 😉

2 Corinthians warns is against this trick. Never let anyone tell you you need shades when gazing into God’s glorious light. Reject any teacher who filters God’s glorious word. They explain, they pure word is too harsh for the mind and needs to be cleverly watered down so that it is more easily digestible for sinners. Their sermons are full of interesting stories “people can relate to.” (Friends, you want life giving stories, the word of God is full of them!)

“But have renounced the HIDDEN things of DISHONESTY , not walking in CRAFTINESS [trickery], nor handling the word of God deceitfully [no light filters or sunglasses;] but by manifestation [visible exhibition] of the TRUTH commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. But if our GOSPEL be HID, it is HID to them that are lost: In whom THE GOD OF THIS WORLD hath BLINDED [obscured, shaded] the MINDS OF THEM WHICH BELIEVE NOT, LEST the LIGHT of THE GLORIOUS GOSPEL OF CHRIST, who is the image [exact likeness] of God, should SHINE unto them. For God, who commanded THE LIGHT to SHINE out of darkness, hath SHINED in our hearts, to give the LIGHT OF THE KNOWLEDGE of THE GLORY of God IN THE FACE OF JESUS CHRIST. For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day [as we stand face to face before the Word of God].–2 Corinthians 4:1‭-‬4‭, ‬6‭, ‬16 KJV

Bathe IN THE LIGHT OF JESUS’ FACE IN THE GOSPEL, God’s word!!!

Don’t put a novice in office.

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There is a trend in many churches these days of putting younger people into leadership. I recently visited a fellowship run by young people in their 20’s and early 30’s. Most of them are also new believers.

There is a very good reason the Bible says:

“A bishop [elder/pastor-teacher] then must be … apt to teach; Not a novice, [new plant] lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.-1 Timothy 3:2‭, ‬6 KJV

Even though the “young plant” may have knowledge–be a quick learner; They lack one essential ingredient all God-appointed Biblical leaders have: EXPERIENTIAL KNOWLEDGE.

You can teach what you’ve learned, or you can teach what you know to be fact.

In God’s kingdom this required EXPERIENTIAL knowledge is

  1. Of God. (1Jhn. 1-2)
  2. The Christian journey, battlefield. (Rom. 5)
  3. The enemy the devil. (1Tim.3,
  4. The path to victory/Overcoming.

It is IMPOSSIBLE for a young plant to possess this knowledge. This is why all of the prophets and disciples were trained over long periods by God before given responsibility to lead his flock. It’s also why we don’t reach maturity until we have been tried in the furnace of trails, and have endured like gold.

Objection! But wasn’t Timothy young? Yes, but he wasn’t a young plant. He was trained in the faith/scriptures since a child.

These churches who covert young leaders also SHAME the elders in their midst as they dismiss their wisdom and experience in favor of “young talent”.

Many of these churches have spiritually dried up, and hope to survive by recruiting youthful leaders. It’s a misguided business strategy, mixed with LACK OF KNOWLEDGE.

*the pic is from Unconscious: Unlocking the Zone book.

MANNA: “Surpasses all understanding”

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And he humbled [afflict, oppress] thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know [were force fed like a helpless baby. Not food!?]; that he might make thee know that man doth not live [have the activitiy of life]  by bread [grain, earthly] food only, but by every word [all the commandments] that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live. –Deuteronomy 8:3 KJV

Like the unfamiliar food: manna, the word of God is the answer to all of our distress. We normally expect relief to come from what ever we feel we are lacking that causes our discomfort. But, getting closer to God in prayer and his word are the remedy we really need. Notice the level of relief, comfort, and satisfaction promised in these passages.

“for NOTHING BE ANXIOUS, but IN EVERYTHING by prayer, and by supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God;  and the peace of God, that is surpassing all UNDERSTANDING, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6‭-‬7 YLT1898

“Surpasses all understanding,” is exactly what the manna from heaven did to the starving Israelites in the wilderness. It was nutrition they knew nothing about, yet it was more than enough to satisfy their needs, with plenty left over when they could not work for food.
Friends, the word of God, (full of his promises) is all we need to lean on when times get tough. God promises to take care of everything we need.

“and let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also ye were called in one body, and become thankful.  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing each other, in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, in grace singing in your hearts to the Lord; –Colossians 3:15‭-‬16 YLT1898

“‘Come unto me, all ye labouring and burdened ones, and I will give you rest,  take up my yoke upon you, and learn from me, because I am meek and humble in heart, and ye shall find rest to your souls, –Matthew 11:28‭-‬29 YLT1898

“Do you believe this?”

Manna: I’m Starving! But, what is that?

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In the wilderness, the Lord afflicted the souls of the Hebrews through starvation, so that they would learn to look to him daily for food and sustenance. (Deut. 8:3)

This was an important event on planet earth going forward in the history of God saving his people.

Did you know that the “fat man” may very well be as nutritionally deficient as the starving, skin and bones child in the third world country? The fat man is stuffing his starving body with nutritionally empty substances Therefore his starvation continues even as his body grows.

First there must be a certain type of hunger/starvation, nutritional deficiency. Then the sweetness of the words of God are no longer words in another book on the shelf.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.–Matthew 5:3‭-‬4‭, ‬6 KJV

The world system, the kingdoms of men, are organized to condition its subjects to look to the empire for the satisfaction of every need. For example, entertainment for the lonely and empty. Specially created and packaged food for the hungry. Club memberships for community and a sense of identity, etc. These, like the starving fat man, create an illusion of healthy growth.

The nutritional deficiency is so great that a mere threat of taking away these things creates a panic that often manifest in a war-like reaction, such as we see in the two party political system. The members are trained to fight the opposing side as if food and water are at stake. The same mindset is seen in organized sports leagues.

When these provisions fail, the kingdom provides drugs to numb the delusion and disappointed mind, or to take the mind on drug trips.

What if our soul and spirit were starving for a different, super-natural food? A food not for the body, but for the mind, soul and spirit?