Untitled Sermon (30)

Abundance

Good morning everyone, it’s been a really special morning already through worship, song and testomony

I pray and hope that as we’ve heard of the testomny we are expierecing what Rev 12:11 says

Revelation 12:11 ESV

And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.

There is something that stirs inside of each one of us as we hear these stories of people facing really difficult circumstances but expiericing Jesus in the middle of it all

as I think about Francis video I’m reminded of what Paul says in Phil 1:21

Philippians 1:21 ESV

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Francis has battle cancer for a long time but in the midst of it her life, her leading bible studies and investing in teenagers shows us a life worth living a life worthy of the gospel of our Lord Jesus christ

a person who who realzing for thier life on earth belongs to Jesus and thier life in heaven belongs to Jesus

so whether they live or die they are the Lords

how do we posture our lives in such a way

One of the answers to that question is found in our text I want to focus on today

Colossians 2:6–7 ESV

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

It’s a life that is walking in Jesus. It’s no suprise Paul using walking in Jesus as his example. He is remineding the beliver that each step, each moment, each circumstance they are in should also be in Christ

that truly every step they take should be a step with Jesus

and this happens when we are rooted and built up in faith

being rooted means their is a deepness to our walk with him and built up means we realize the christian life is about progress and not perfection

and when these things happen we live that phil 1:21 life but we also abound in thanksgiving. Another word for abounding in this text could be overflowing with thanksgiving.

So how do we do that? Our culutre is talking a lot about thaksgiving right now with the holiday coming up but as we move into thanksgiving and Christmas how could you and I overflow with thanksgiving?

As I was studying this week for this morning I wanted to see where else in scriputre it talked about abundance and overflow

Paul uses it to describe love, praying that believers’ love would “abound more and more” (Phil 1:9; 1 Thess 3:12). In Romans, he speaks of abounding in hope “by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom 15:13).

the term is most frequently used to describe God’s own attributes—particularly His “steadfast love and faithfulness.” Multiple psalms emphasize that God is “abounding in steadfast love,” portraying divine generosity as an overflowing, inexhaustible resource (Exod 34:6; Ps 86:5, 15; 103:8).

and i’ve enjoyed this so much. that the way we actually overflow with thanksgiving is by expiercing the abounding overflow of Gods steafast love and faithfulness to us

Life is often like Matthew 8 momements. We are told Jesus and his disicples are in a boat. A storm arose and they were swamped by waves. Their boat was overflowing

and then they wake Jesus up and he rebukes the winds and teh sea and thier is a great Calm

Shows his power, but also his steadfast love and faithfulness even though the boat was overflowing they were with the one who was utterly commimted to them

and that’s my hope for all of us this morning. No matter what is overflowing in our lives right now that we would expierence the abudance of Gods love and faithfulness this mroning that we could overflow with thanksgiving

another picture of what this might look like is from a childrens book in the Chronicles of Narian. the King is Aslan and we are told he has a table where their is a feast. But the amazing thing about this feast is it never ran out of food. It was overflowing with food

I Think this illustartes what Gods abudance looks like and when we expierence the feast that never runs out of food which is Jesus the living water and bread of life we can say for me to live is Christ and die is Gain

We can say I am crucified with Christ and I no longer live but Christ lives in me

As we expiernce Gods abudance and it overflows in our life we with overflow with thanksgiving!

2 Tables

so this week whne you gather around your thanksgiving table no matter how big or small be let it be a reminder there is a greater feast coming. Have that image of Aslans table and realise though that meal will end. And though you might take a nap after

there is a meal coming that will never end and a rest that is forever in the presence of Jesus

but today we will come to another meal. In a few moments we will come to the Lords supper and may with take it with joyful hearts. And thankful hearts. realize this is the meal we need to sustain our life. It’s a meal the Lord gives us to remember

Romans 5:8 ESV

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

In a moment we will stand and worship together but before we do I want to pray for you

Lord as we feast this week today on the Lords supper and later around thanksgiving tables we give thanks and ask

To gather joyfully is indeed a serious affair,for feasting and all enjoyments gratefully taken are, at their heart, acts of war.

In celebrating this feast we declare that evil and death, suffering and loss, sorrow and tears, will not have the final word.

Let us be reminding of your abouding Grace, Love and Mercy

In Jesus Name amen