Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro: New Year’s Resolutions vs. Spirit-Filled Commitments

According to Offers.com,

here’s what people will make new years resolutions about this year (they track this to see if they can predict consumer spending based on their resolutions):

Exercise more/lose weight – 38%

Save money- 37%

Travel – 24%

Get a new job/hobby – 12%

Make new friends – 11%

Find love – 7%

Other – 3%

None of those things are necessarily bad… but that list leaves me feeling a little… empty.

Does it feel that way to you?

Like, these things have some earthly value… most of them will only last as long as your will-power allows… (and if you have some of these goals for 2019, don’t hear me discouraging you...)

(and if you have some of these goals for 2019, don’t hear me discouraging you...)

But I want to challenge you this morning to think beyond the typical resolutions… and consider some life commitments that are the Holy Spirit’s desires for you… commitments that he has promised to help you fulfill in his power if you seek him.

A lot of times, we pursue a commitments with a little bit of skepticism because in the past, we’ve failed at keeping our commitments.

But today is not about making vain resolutions that you will fail to keep.

Today is about prayerfully and dependently looking at God’s desire for every follower of Jesus Christ and then intentionally making some commitments that will help us grow.

Here’s what God wants for you this year:

Big Idea: Make intentional commitments to grow in maturity in Christ.

Read

Three Ongoing Steps to Grow Mature in Christ

Three Parts to Maturity in Christ

Ground maturity in the hope of Christ’s presence in his church.

Maturity’s goal is for EVERYONE to be fully established in Christ.

To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

If it sounds like we are jumping into the middle of a thought, it’s because we are!

So who is Paul talking about when he says, “them”?

And what is this rich and glorious “mystery” that he made known to the Gentiles?

Paul is in the middle of giving his purpose statement for his ministry: He’s saying, “I have suffered… I have given my life… for the sake of Christ’s body… the church.

He says, “I have considered myself a minister… really a slave or bondservant of the church.”

And here’s why:

Because I have been entrusted with an incredible stewardship from God for you.

He’s given me a job: to make the word of God FULLY KNOWN.”

To bring full understanding to the beautiful rich truths of God’s word.

You see, for thousands of years, when people would pick up their Old Testaments, there was this BIG mystery they were missing... they could not understand what Paul was about to reveal...

But NOW God had given Paul this special job to reveal this mystery… to make it FULLY known... specifically to the saints… to the church of Jesus Christ who have been made holy… set apart for God’s purposes.

That’s who “them” is in verse 27… the set apart church of Jesus Christ.

So what was this rich, glorious mystery?

Christ in you, the hope of glory.

“Them” is the “saints” (the set apart ones) who have now received the revelation of the glorious riches of Christ.

The mystery is also that these riches have been given to the Gentiles.

“Them” is “US”… Christ’s church!

…The mystery is that the glory of the Messiah is now present in his church… and that fact gives his church HOPE of a glorious eternity with God.

He makes this personal for the Colossian church, which was mostly filled with Gentiles who were being told that they didn’t belong to God… he says the mystery is “Christ in YOU is the hope of glory.”

Now the Gentiles are gathered into this new body called the church and get to experience the presence of God…

And Paul then makes this specific for the Colossian church… he says, “Christ in YOU is the hope of glory.”

The “you” there is plural… it’s the church… Jews and Gentiles now experiencing the glory of the risen Chrrist in their midst...

The certain expectation that God is going to finish his work and bring his people into his glory forever is that Christ is powerfully present among his church NOW.

And that’s our hope too… Our only hope for growing to maturity is that Christ is present in us TOGETHER as his church.

Our only hope for growing to maturity is that Christ is present in us TOGETHER as his church.

Yes, the Spirit indwells every believer individually… but God’s vision is to create a mature PEOPLE of all his saints together.

God at work in and through his church…

And yes, he indwells every believer by his Spirit individually… but God’s vision is to create a mature PEOPLE of all his saints together.

Maturity is grounded in the hope of Christ in you.

Maturity is grounded in the hope of Christ in you.

Growing to maturity is a corporate effort.

God doesn’t just have an individual vision for your life this year… he sees you as a part of a whole.

That understanding is ABSOLUTELY essential for making some commitments to growing in maturity this year.

You have to know that maturity is a corporate effort.

Ephesians chapter 4 says it this way:

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

We aren’t mature until we are ALL mature.

I was sick this past week… had a bad cold… and it was like my face was a faucet… but that didn’t just affect my face… I was so exhausted that on Thursday night I fell asleep on the couch at 7:15 in the evening.

When one part is sick… the whole body is sick.

And the church is a body… and that means your growth in maturity affects the person sitting beside you and theirs affects you.

That means your growth in maturity affects the person sitting beside you and theirs affects you.

We are a body… and that means your growth in maturity affects the person sitting beside you and theirs affects you.

That means my spiritual growth affects you, and yours affects me.

But this is also true: our potential is as great as the one who is our head.

God has designed us to grow together as a body in response to the proclamation of truth.

Jesus is described in this verse in Ephesians the head of the church… and we are all learning together how to respond as his body to the head.

According to the Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible, “Head” there refers to “the dynamic force that provides its direction and unity” (Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988).

Head.

In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (Vol. 1, p. 936).

Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.)

Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988).

Head.

In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (Vol. 1, p. 936).

Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

God has designed it so that the parts of the body to grow together in response to Jesus as his truth is spoken within the body.

See that there in the Ephesians passage?? Speaking the truth in LOVE we grow up in every way into him who is the head...

That’s exactly what Paul is saying to the Colossian church: we grow in maturity as Christ is present with us… controlling us together as his truth… and we grow in response to his truth proclaimed.

This is the second ongoing step toward maturity that I want you to see today:

Grow maturity through receiving the proclamation of Jesus.

Christ in you, the hope of glory.

28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

Paul says that everyone must be presented mature in Christ...

The picture there is of Paul showing Jesus the results of his stewardship on the day of final judgment.

Here’s the mature body… everyone is mature… every part is working properly.

And he says he is getting ready for that day by proclaiming Christ to EVERYONE (that’s how he’s going to present everyone mature) - he breaks that down into two parts: warning and teaching.

It’s like the difference between these two signs:

Proclaim - two parts: warning and teaching

Maturity’s goal is for EVERYONE to be fully established in Christ.

Sometimes we need the sign on the right… we need the sign that TEACHES us that there is a one way street and we need to know which way to go.

We need to be taught the way of Christ.

But sometimes, usually because we’ve missed the sign on the right... we need the sign on the left… we need warned: “WRONG WAY!” Sometimes we need a warning that we are headed the wrong way down the wrong way street.

We need someone to get our attention and help us see that the way to glory is a one way street and his name is Jesus.

Sometimes we need taught.

We need our eyes opened to see how Jesus is central to everything.