Sermon Tone Analysis

Compel

Attention (Why should they listen to you?)

Compel

When we become a follower of Jesus, do all of out troubles go away?

verbcom·​pel | \ kəm-ˈpel \compelled; compelling

In fact, they do not.

One pastor/friend of mine would warn people he was leading to Christ and say, “listen, if you trust Christ and become his follower, your life is going to get very difficult.

God is going to recreate you into someone different than you are.

And this new creation you will be will cause a great deal of turmoil in your life for one simply reason - you will grow to love Jesus more than anything or anyone else.”

And friends, loving Jesus more than anything or anyone else can cause trouble in this world.

Paul understood this perhaps better than any of us.

And because of this

Definition of compel

Title: The Gospel Comes with Chains

transitive verb

What is the Biblical Solution?

1: to drive or urge forcefully or irresistibly (Hunger compelled him to eat.

The general was compelled to surrender).

2: to cause to do or occur by overwhelming pressure Public opinion compelled her to sign the bill.

When Paul became a follower of Christ, he became a man who was compelled.

He was compelled to served Jesus with every ounce of his being!

Just read through his life and you will see the results of a life that is possessed by God!

He was compelled to make disciples!

It didn’t matter if this caused him suffering because his life was marked by grace upon grace.

And just as hunger compels one to eat, so the overwhelming power of God regenerating us into new creatures in Christ COMPELS us as well!

The Gospel should drive us forward into serving Christ, just as it did with the apostle Paul...

3archaic : to drive together

You need to understand that your life will dramatically change once Jesus came into your life!

Text:

This is it!

The last verse in our journey through this great letter!

And we have learned much!

But as Paul personally signs his letter and with this signature there are a few more things to learn...

Main Idea: The Gospel Compels Us to Invest, Suffer and Offer Grace

The Gospel Compels Us to Invest, Suffer and Offer Grace

Main Idea: The Gospel Compels Us to Invest, Suffer and Offer Grace

Take a look at the first one...

Transition:

1.

The Gospel Compels Us To Invest in Others (vs.

18a)

Lead in…Prior to salvation, I never really thought about pouring my life into the lives of other unless there was some benefit for me.

But afterwards, Christ turned my focus on its head.

This was especially true of Paul...

You might be thinking to yourself, how did you come a first point of “The Gospel Compels Us to Invest in Others?” Are you just making things up?

No, I don’t think I am, and I do think this is a legitimate point that needs to be made from this verse and regarding the ministry of Paul!

Why? Because, Paul wrote this greeting in his own hand.

Meaning...

Usually, Paul would dictate his letter to an amanuensis or a recording secretary and then at the end of his letters, he would write, with his own hand, the greeting portion.

For example...

And this leads to the point that I make with you this morning.

Paul is personally, genuinely vested in investing in people.

Remember the story - Epaphras, from Colossae, comes to Christ under the ministry of the Apostle Paul, goes back to Colossae and plants a church (that’s supposed to be a normal process, btw!).

The church starts, grows and flourishes but then, trouble comes and Epaphras needs some counsel and so he goes to the only one he can think of that will help - Paul.

And although Paul was incarcerated (for nothing bad, by the way - for simply preaching the Gospel), he was able to converse with Epaphras and get some counsel and encouragement.

Not only did he receive personal discipleship from Paul, he received an amazing letter of instruction (AKA the letter to Colossians).

That we are finishing today.

Paul desired to invest in people!

And with his investments, he was hoping for an amazing eternal return on their behalf.

This was Paul’s heartbeat !His purpose in life was to help each one of them grow and become fully mature followers of Christ.

Whether he dictated it or wrote it by hand, the point is this, his heart was to help each on of them grow and become fully mature followers of Christ.

Rememeber his words in...

Last week was prayer week and Angie and I got to visit with Homer and Rosemary Kohn.

Homer was telling us about his salvation after graduation and then going off to the military.

He said something that struck me.

The Drill Sargent would be tasked with taking a bunch of 18 year old kids who knew nothing of the military or the expectations or each other for that matter and teach them to become a single unit that would lay down their lives for one another.

The one thing they had in common was the Army!

And it was the Sargent’s duty to get them whipped into shape ASAP!

The Sargent was paid to get these Yahoos combat ready!

Now, you and I are in The Lord’s Army!

And the one thing we have in Common is Christ.

And while we don’t have a drill Sargent per se, we do have Jesus as our Captain and the Word of God as our military manual!

We are to be crack, trained soldiers for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

This is what Paul dedicated his life to!

PAUL INVESTED IN PEOPLE - and so should you.

Investing, mentoring, discipling - Speaking truth into someone’s life to cause them to grow.

Investing, mentoring, discipling - Speaking truth into someone’s life to cause them to grow.

This is our purpose - We glorify God by investing in others!

Paul leads Epaphras to Christ, disciples him, sends him home to plant a church and now is counseling him about a specific situation.

He then writes a letter to help his pastor/friend, and the church at Colossae.

Talk about an investment!

The point is this.

Paul was an INVESTOR!

Not in money, but in people!

NO investment is too small.

Start with an encouraging word.

Offer to pray with someone (yes, prayer is an investment).

Share a verse of scripture that has encouraged you.

Do a discipleship / bible study with someone who needs encouragement

There are so many simple ways we can invest in someone else.

You would be shocked.

(Bill Amstutz).

Review - The Gospel Compels Us to Invest, Suffer and Offer Grace

The Gospel Compels Us To Invest in Others

2. The Gospel Compels Us To Suffer for Jesus (vs.

18b)

Lead in…my friend, whenever he leads someone to Christ, first warns them that there life isn’t going to get easier.

In fact, it will be harder than they ever imagined!

Becoming a new Creature in Christ, brings new challenges that the unbeliever can’t imagine!

This is an apt description of Paul’s life...

“Remember my chains”