Where are We Going?

Hey everyone, and welcome to our last message in our Walk This Way series. I hope this series has helped you think about who Jesus is and what it means to walk with God.

***Superpower QR***

There is a superpower some people have. Some of you, even here today, have it…but a lot of you don’t.

Well, let me tell you: the superpower is a sense of direction.

Maybe you have met someone like this, someone who just has this inner compass of sorts.

They distinguish themselves when they say things like:

“I know we have to head that way.” Or “So that way is south [as they point in a random direction], so that means we need to start heading in this direction [they point in a seemingly unrelated direction].”

And they always just happen to be right.

IF this isn’t you, find one and make friends. Because if you want to get anywhere, it is important to know where you’re going.

This week, it’s time to talk about where we are going on this journey. It is to put the map in your head, just like those people with the superpower of direction. So that, when you need it most in your walk with God, you too can say, “uh… that way. That is where I am going.”

We need this map deep within our hearts, and we need to know the direction and the destination because, as we have talked about in this series, it is easy to get discouraged, distracted, confused, and tired.

The whole world needs to be reminded of where we are headed. We need to be redirected. So many around us, and even at times we might be also, following paths that lead to things that will never satisfy.

We need to be reminded of why we are here and where we are going. We need to relearn the story God has been telling. And only then can we begin to head in a different direction, towards the more beautiful world God calls us to create.

Today, as we get ready to finish this series, our key takeaway is that maturity in Christ is the path that leads you forward.

Col. 1: 24-29

In the final line of this chapter, we see a couple of things:

We see the destination of all our walks with God collectively.

We see the steps that Paul has taken and is instructing the Colossians to take.

What is the destination? What is the goal?

Colossians 1:28

For Paul, the goal of our walk with Christ is maturity.

What’s that mean?

Office jobs, paying bills, waiting in traffic, mumbling about what it was like in “my day,” being a little too into rugs and home décor?

That can’t be the end of the story that supposedly moves the world, right? A group of boring people living boring, monotonous, and separate lives. That cannot be what it means to be mature in Christ.

If the cumulative goal of Paul’s walk, and our walks, is to present everyone as mature in Christ, what does that entail? What does that mean? How does that shape the direction of our life and lay a map on our hearts?

Paul gives the Colossians and us the answers in subtle ways in this passage, and he does it in two parts, or really speaking, to two realities

There is the personal and the universal, the individual and the whole, the person and the people.

What we see in this passage is that Paul knew that maturity in Christ comes as the result of understanding two things:

Personal maturity & Communal maturity

Personal: Col. 1: 24-25

Who knows Paul’s story?

With Paul’s story in mind, how crazy is it that Paul ended up here?

Instead of causing suffering in the world to prove his point, he is now rejoicing in experiencing suffering for the sake of the world. Instead of taking from the world, he is pouring himself out for the world in love.

Remind you of anybody else? Jesus.

Paul’s own life is a testament to the fact that maturity in Christ comes from understanding the depth of the story God is telling in the world.

Paul’s relationship with God transformed the deepest parts of him. All of the things that made Paul, Paul. His fire, his passion, his conviction, his brilliance, all of it, down to the deepest part of his soul, was transformed and repurposed.

Instead of using those things to make the world look more like him, he started using those things to make the world look more like Jesus. In doing so, Paul, too, began to walk like Jesus walked.

In John 14, Jesus said that those who believed in Him would do the work that He did. Their lives would look like Jesus.

Feed hungry, bring in outcasts, love to orphans, care for earth,

They would make the world a more beautiful place for the people in it. The idea here is that if you are blessed, you are invited to be a blessing. If you have experienced the love of Christ, you are invited to share that love with those around you.

This is a transformation that will go all the way down to the deepest parts of us, and honestly, it may take a while.

But That is what the gospel is meant to do, designed to do: the gospel transforms us.

Communal: Col. 1:26-27

Just like we did with Paul the individual, to understand how profound a transformation in Paul the verses we just read were, we need to learn about Paul’s community:

Paul comes from a family that has a lot of names. Their oldest names, the Israelites. The Israelites were a people, a family chosen by God to join Him in making the world as it should be. And at the center of this world, God dwelt among these people.

Now, many in this family believed the story of redemption and closeness with God only included them. And those who were not in their family, the “gentiles,” would never get to fully experience the intimacy and redemption that God was offering. Paul, in his younger days, was one of the people who believed this. And then he had his encounter with Jesus, and everything changed.

Col. 1:26- “The mystery....of glory.”

Maturity in Christ comes from understanding the reach of the story of God.

The more we grow in Christ, the wider we realize the story is. God’s reach isn’t just to a certain group; it’s to the entire world. Wider and wider and wider until we can say the great mystery is Christ in those we would least expect alongside us.

In Ephesians 1:10, Paul wrote that God’s plan for the fullness of time was to unite all things to Himself.

That’s the reach of the story, the reach of the reconciliation, redemption, healing, love, hope: all things

Being transformed by these things does not happen overnight, but there are some things we can do to get the ball rolling.

Study the story.

You can’t live out a story you don’t know. Familiarize yourself with the story God is telling in the Bible. The easiest way to do that is by reading it and asking questions.

It’s unfortunate that so many who claim Jesus as Lord neglect the story and words He has given us.

We must be in touch with the Bible and the story of God.

When you do this, you begin to see the patterns and rhythms of how God moves in the Bible, which will help you to see those same things outside of the Bible in your everyday life.

Follow a mentor.

If you want to grow in your walk with God, find and follow someone who’s been where you want to go. Someone who can walk ahead of you and show you the way. Paul was a mentor to the Colossians. Finding someone to follow as a mentor is a huge help in our walk with God.

Look for God where you wouldn’t normally expect.

A key part of Paul’s transformation came when he saw God moving in a place he didn’t expect. It expanded his understanding of the story.

So, find the places you wouldn’t expect and challenge yourself to see how God is moving there.

Through this series, we have seen that there is simplicity behind the complexity. There is a God of love calling us to be a people of love. Which grows us into the story we were made to be a part of and creates the more beautiful world God has invited us to help form.

Where are you on your journey? Where are you headed? Don’t stop asking these questions, and don’t ask them in isolation.

Lean into this community you’re a part of, and let’s journey together toward maturity and great love for Jesus and His world.

Maturity in Christ is the path that leads you forward. That is what our walk with God is all about. Growing in Him, being mature in Him. Let’s pray.