Worthy of the Lord

Colossians 1:1 – 14

“Worthy of the Lord”

 

 

I.          Eternal life requires us to respond to God.

 

            A.        Faith in Jesus Christ. [v 4]

 

                        1.         Faith is the basis of all action.

 

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- [9] not by works, so that no one can boast.” [Ephesians 2:8 – 9]

 

                        2.         Anything not done in faith is “sin.” 

 

“…everything that does not come from faith is sin.” [Romans 14:23c]

 

3.         Faith is the “active ingredient” which is the line between sin and righteousness.

 

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” [Hebrews 11:6]

 

Faith is our response to God is where it all begins and is the foundation for all our life.

 

            B.        Love for all the saints. [v 4]

 

                        1.         Christ-like.  (Unconditional, sacrificial, un-offend, brave.)

 

“To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.” [1 Peter 2:21]

 

                        2.         Love is the expression of obedience.

 

“But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: [6] Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” [1 John 2:5 – 6]

 

            C.        Hope comes from the gospel. [v 5]

 

                        1.         The gospel produces transformation.  (produces fruit, growth [v 6])

 

                        2.         God says that people change.

 

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” [2 Corinthians 5:17]

 

II.        Spiritual growth requires prayer. [v 9]

 

            A.        For intelligence:

 

                        1.         [v 6] Wisdom and understanding.

 

                        2.         [v 9] Knowledge of His will.

 

                                    a.         “Filled” literally means “to be made complete.”

 

                                    b.         Knowledge is what God gives us.

 

                                    c.         “God’s will”  (spiritual wisdom and understanding)

 

            B.        For sensitivity to God:

 

1.         [v 10] “Live a life worthy of the Lord.” (holiness, following Jesus example)

 

                        2.         Please God.

 

                        3.         Bear fruit.  (fruit of the Holy Spirit, souls saved)

 

            C.        For strength:

 

                        1.         [v 11] “strengthened with all power”

 

                        2.         Exercise is the key to strengthening…

 

                                    a.         great endurance (only in difficult or trying circumstances.)

 

b.         patience (only in difficult or trying circumstances.)

 

c.        joyfully giving thanks to the Father [v 12] (ESPECIALLY in difficult or trying circumstances.)

 

Joy is the proof of our relationship with God.  Think about it: we have been “qualified” and “share in the inheritance.”

 

Because we have eternal life, we see spiritual progress.  The progress transforms our loyalties requires God to intervene to rescue us.

III.       Transformed loyalties God’s intervention (sometimes violently). [v 13] 

 

“But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. [29] "Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house.” [Matthew 12: 28 – 29]

 

            A.        Rescued from old structures.

 

“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.” [Colossians 1:14]

 

                        1.         The idea of “dominion” is control (authority).

 

                                    a.         The biblical expression is “slaves to sin.”

 

                                    b.         Old structures control our thought process.

 

                        2.         We move from the tyranny of sin to the Lordship of Jesus.

 

“That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. [10] For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” [Romans 10:9 – 10]

 

“Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.” [1 Corinthians 12:3]

 

            B.        Transferred to new structures.

 

                        1.         Literally we are MOVED from one kingdom to another.

 

2.         We have “redemption.” (Bought back)  (Ill. Of Hosea… told to marry an “adulterous wife” as an illustration of Israel’s relationship with God.  Yet God had plans to do whatever was necessary to win His people back.)

 

                        3.         We have “forgiveness of sins.”

 

a.         Extreme love means Jesus had to die for our salvation… it was, is, and always will be the ONLY way for us to have forgiveness.

 

                                    b.         That means that all sorts of NEW things have to happen.

 

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” [2 Corinthians 5:17]

 

“He told them this parable: "No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old.” [Luke 5:34]

 

To consider:

           

            1.         Do you believe and trust that Jesus died to provide the ONLY means of

your forgiveness (redemption)?

 

2.         Has faith changed you, so that you are able to declare (publicly) that Jesus is Lord (of your life and Lord of all)?

 

            3.         Is your life governed by love for God and others?  (How so?)

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"Words for Living" part 4 (published January 2, 2008 in "The Coummunity Voice.")

[Please note the sermon for 1.20.08 is posted below.]

Somewhere, out there, is an elephant who remembers me.

I was just at teenager when we went to a local zoo. As a teen it held only one attraction for me, the elephants. Since the zoo was poor, it got visitors to feed the animals. It was a good system, but I always wondered how smart it was to put small children in contact with a creature that could pick up a bulldozer.

Such were my adventures with this elephant. I nagged my parents into buying the peanuts. Standing in line feeding this elephant a peanut at a time from my hand, I came up with the most brilliant idea a teenage boy ever had who had ever feed this elephant. The decision was made and I executed with the flawless hand eye coordination of a third string basketball guard. The extended trunk reached for my hand and found the entire bag offered to him.

You would think that an animal of that intelligence would realize that I was his best friend in the world. After all, no waiting for a measly single peanut. You would think. Trouble is animals, like politicians, have their own agenda. Call it training, call it nature, or call it human stupidity. The elephant knocked the bag out of my hand where it lay at his feet. I began to yell and point at the bag. Just a word of advice, I don’t think it’s smart to yell at a creature that could pick up a bulldozer. So when you get a chance to do it, don’t.

Remember the elephant can reach me. It pointed its trunk at me. I took a step back wondering if the chicken wire that doubled as its fence would hold it. The trunk scrunched up. The elephant inhaled and made a noise like it was clearing its throat. At that moment, I was euphoric that I was typical juvenile male. You see, at that moment any male knows what’s coming next.

I stepped aside and ducked. The guy behind me obviously wasn’t paying attention. Trust me on this one, a creature that could pick up a bulldozer also produces a profuse amount of “mucus.” You remember that old TV show that was popular with the kids a while ago, the one where they poured buckets of slim over some victim. They got the idea from looking at this guy.

I’m told an elephant never forgets. I went back many, many, many years later. There was the elephant, taking peanuts from people one at a time. Suddenly, on seeing me walk by, his head snapped up. He made a trumpeting sound. Thankfully, I could run faster than a bulldozer.

New Years is a time to forget the old and create the new, “forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.” [Philippians 3:13b] God calls the forgiveness extended to us compassion. “They are new every morning.” [Lamentations 3:23a] “They” means more than once, thankfully.

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