Sermon Tone Analysis

Outsourcing Your Faith!

Show video...Let’s face it—no one likes having their plans interrupted.

But sometimes, it’s God who’s doing the interrupting.

Often we’d rather leave those God-moments to the “professionals.”

But we weren’t called to hide behind a preacher beeper.

In fact, the

Sadly, that is often how today’s believers view ministry…it is someone else’s responsibility…when if we took the time to notice, we would recognize that ministry happens all around us...

One of the key factors to understanding ministry happens all around is making sure Jesus owns the rightful place in our life.

With that in mind, please turn to Colossians 1:24-29

Theme of Colossians is the Preeminence of Christ!

We are in our third week now of studying Colossians together and we need to remember the theme of the book is "The preeminence of Christ"…we understand what that means from our study last week…so every text we examine in this book contributes in some way to that theme...

Look also at…

Why Study Colossians?

we want to grow in our understanding of what it means to make our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ number one in our life… “that in everything he would come to have first place”.

we also want to know how we can display a lifestyle that is more Christ-centered as a result of that great truth.

Greatest implication from Col 1:15-23 is that the more we understand the preeminence of Christ and the truth that we are now reconciled to God in Him and because of Him, the more we will want to strive for personal holiness...

Regardless of what is happening in the world around us, the greatest need for God’s people is an increasing desire for personal holiness!

Far too often I hear believers bemoan the world in which we live as being filled with such evil and horrible practices (and there is no doubt it is like that)…but I hardly ever hear God’s people talking about their own need to be more holy!

If we have a growing appreciation for our reconciliation then we will have a growing desire to allow that to impact us on a practical level...

One of the ways our reconciliation and understanding of the preeminence of Christ ought to affect us is being able to look at our circumstances and see them as a means for ministry!

in these next verses--Paul is going to share with us how his own reconciliation impacted Him and the way it impacted how he viewed his circumstances...

Remember when Paul wrote this, he was in prison in Rome because of his work for Christ...

Paul faced constant ridicule and derision from false teachers claiming he was not an authority for the church and merely spoke his opinion…so Paul is going to defend his ministry to them...

Why would the Colossians need to hear this?

Paul wanted them to know what authentic ministry looked like so they would not become victims of the false teachers…(look at this more in depth next week)

look quickly at Col 2:1-4

Paul also wanted them to know they were also involved in ministry...

many of the facets of Paul’s ministry were also ministry opportunities that they had as well as simply being part of the church.

So it was a great benefit to them to hear Paul the apostle, (even though they had never personally met) tie the truth of the preeminence of Christ to his daily ministry responsibilities.

with those thoughts in mind, let's look at Colossians 1:24-29...

When He is First, Opportunity For Ministry Abounds!

Ministry was an important topic to Paul and frequently shows up in his letters…when he needed to establish his authority he would often talk about ministry…such is the case here...

Paul viewed his life as a constant opportunity for ministry because he had made Jesus a priority in his life...

How can we view life the way Paul did? How can we look at our circumstances as opportunities for ministry.

1. Ministry Opportunities Abound When We Have the Right View of Our Sufferings.

Joy is the second facet of the multi-faceted fruit of the Spirit in Gal 5:22-23 and is not dependent on external circumstances…Paul was in prison in Rome when he wrote this letter (Acts 28:16-30)…He never viewed himself as a prisoner of Rome…he always viewed himself as a prisoner of Christ.

A. We can rejoice in our sufferings when we view them as being a benefit for others.

notice in verse 24 he says “I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake”.

How in the world is it possible for believers to have joy in the midst of terrible circumstances?

joy is internal/independent of circumstances…it is a fruit of the Spirit…we have been given the joy of Christ...

Are you joyful in the ministry opportunities God has given you, even when there is some level of suffering involved?

or are you like Elijah, who said, "It is enough now, O Lord, take my life."

(I Kings 19:4)

or like Jonah--who responded to the ministry God placed before him with rebellion, bitterness, anger, and lack of faith.

"A Christian who has lost the joy of the ministry does not have bad circumstances, but bad connection.

You do not lose the joy of serving Christ unless your communion with Him breaks down."

— John MacArthur

Paul recognized that what he was going through was for the benefit of others…to encourage them, to embolden them, to build them up…he was able to do this because of how he handled them...

B. We can rejoice in suffering when we view it as a means of identification with Christ.

Think with me for just a moment on the clause "filling up that which is lacking in Christ's afflictions."

This is an important clause to consider because some people have tried to use this verse as a support of the doctrine of purgatory.

in other words, Christ's death, burial, and resurrection was not enough to deliver us to heaven--therefore we have to go somewhere for a period of time to "satisfy that which was lacking."

How do we know this verse is not teaching us about the existence of purgatory?

contradicts the previous verses (He alone provided our reconciliation)

contradicts the theme of the book (Jesus is our ALL sufficient Savior)

contradicts many other passages of Scripture

The point that Paul is making here is that he recognizes he is experiencing suffering that was intended for Christ.

Since Christ has ascended--those who hate Him often direct their hatred at Christians (the next best thing to being there).

The truth is that because we have been identified with Christ we will experience an abundance of suffering....

What we learn from Paul here is that he viewed it a privilege to suffer for Christ.

The more we are impacted by the preeminence of Jesus Christ, the more able we are to handle our suffering as an opportunity to minister for Him.

Suffering is part and parcel of your identification with Christ...

For some of us, this means radical change…it means we are going to need to stop wallowing in the self-pity....it means taking the eyes of yourself and looking to the needs of others…it means we are going to shift our view from an internal perspective to an outward perspective and see that our present circumstances, both good and bad, are an opportunity to help someone else see their need for Christ...

This is radical because that is not the way we are accustomed to looking at our circumstances, our trials, our suffering....

That’s where the next verse comes in...

2. Ministry Opportunities Abound When We Have the Right View of Self.

A. We are servants.

This verse really speaks to the view we have of self…and this is critical if we are going to view our life as an abundance of ministry opportunities...

How does Paul view himself?

minister = diaknosis = servant, slave

Paul never viewed himself as a prisoner of Rome...over and over he referred to Himself as a prisoner of Christ, a bondslave of Christ, a servant of Jesus Christ...

that view of self became a critical component to the way he responded to difficulties.

slaves have no rights--slaves have no expectations--slaves simply carry out the will of their master.

Without a doubt, if you and I had a better handle on that--we'd be a lot better prepared to handle the challenges of ministry.

Just so we are all on the same page...We are not just talking about ministry in the church…your place of employment is a field ripe for ministry…your home is a place oozing with ministry opportunities…your neighborhood, (as summer winds down) your school, simply going to the grocery store is an opportunity for ministry...

think about the ministry opportunities the Lord gives you...

think about the times you get frustrated in the home, things that make you stomp your feet, kick the family pet, slam the doors, fume and fuss…how are you doing with those?

…they’re opportunities to minister for Christ...

think about those opportunities at work…that coworker that just has a bad attitude all day…that boss that no one likes because he/she just doesn’t deserve to be the boss… the unfair demands placed upon you, the list goes on…how are you doing with those?…they’re opportunities to minister for Christ...

your neighborhood, your school, your team, etc.

think about the opportunities here at church…are there things that happen here (or don’t happen here) that just gets your blood boiling…that frustrate the dickens out of you… “those parents never come pick up their kids after church and I’m hungry and want to go!” (Not saying I’ve heard anyone say this here),

As servants, do we recognize that He has the right to bring anything into our life that He wants to?

We do if we have been impacted by the preeminence of Christ…we do if we find our sufficiency in Christ.

Remember back in January when we said the focus of the year for us is that “He must increase, but I must decrease”…instead of more about me and less about Him, it ought to be more about Him and less about me.

a second part of Paul's "view of self" is...

B. We are stewards

the word "dispensation" in the KJV is the same word as "stewardship" in the NASB.

Paul's point is - he realizes God has trusted Him with something that is very, very precious...he's not about to let some difficulty or frustration get in the way of what God wants to accomplish with what he has entrusted to him.

Paul, like any good servant of Christ, longs to hear the words "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."

you were a good steward of what I entrusted to you.

Being a good steward requires faithfulness — 1 Cor.

4:2

Paul recognized ministry to others was something that God had called him to do and he would stop at nothing less than managing that ministry for God’s glory...

He was operating under the knowledge of this as a divine mandate and a great sense of stewardship…he recognized that God had called him to preach the gospel to the Gentiles and to serve the church...

Like Paul, God has called us all to steward the ministry (most of the time we think of stewardship in terms of money)…God gifted each of us to serve the body not ourselves…that spiritual gift you have is not to build you up…it is to build up those around you…if you are not using your gifts, you are not viewing yourself as a steward…if you are not contributing to the overall spiritual health of the church you are not being a faithful steward of what God has entrusted to you...

He recognized that the message of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection is a precious treasure that God entrusted to him…don’t be like the steward of Matt 25:24-25 who hid his talent…God expects you to be managing the use of your spiritual gifts so the body is blessed by it… “for your benefit”

How are you viewing yourself?

Is it as a minister of Jesus Christ?

…a steward...

Do you realize that the Lord may have a great ministry opportunity in store by allowing you to have that insensitive spouse?

...by having that demanding boss?…by having those challenging kids in class?