Let's Talk About Jesus: Jesus Leads the Way

Daniel R Tidmore

Colossians • Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago

0 ratings

· 501 views

Notes

Transcript

Sermon Tone Analysis

Emotion

Language

Social

View more →

Intro:

Colossians 4:1 NKJV

1 Masters, give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.

Tonight we will conclude our study in Colossians entitled [Let’s Talk About Jesus]. The subject of tonight’s message is, [Jesus Leads the Way].

We live in a day where there is a high premium on leadership. Books fill shelves in stores, libraries, or offices on leadership. I have a book titled, Leadership: Theories and Practices. The author describes over twelve types of ways people lead an organization.

It seems that everybody wants to be a leader:

Every four years we vote who will lead the nation

Congress fights over whose policies and platforms will lead the way

Parties want control so they can lead committees

But if one party is out of power, they are called minority leaders.

The idea of wanting to lead begins at school. I remember hoping my teacher would select me to have the great honor of being the “line leader.”

In the fifth grade, the two who scored highest on their history test got to be president and vice-president of the class for two weeks. I only made vice-president once.

I remember playing church with my friends when we were seven or eight years old. There was always a little bit of an argument on who would get to “lead the church” as pastor. Thankfully I always got voted in as pastor!

Thankfully I always got voted in as pastor!

From the outside looking in, leadership positions can seem lucrative. However, from the inside looking out, there are responsibilities to leading.

Many people have buckled under the pressures of leadership. However, in the body of Christ, we serve in leadership positions, but the pressure lightens knowing though we lead, we actually follow.

I know God called me to lead our church. However, I do not lead alone. I look to Him, and try my hardest to follow His lead. When I do it that way, life is a lot easier.

Problems arise when Christians stop following the Lord and start leading on their lives on their own, with their perceived wisdom, knowledge, or power.

In our text we have a wonderful picture of God, as leaders we are to treat those we lead with respect, knowing that we have a leader in heaven!

Isn’t it a freeing feeling to know that God is in charge of everything, He is the one running the show? He selects us to do His will, but we succeed as we follow His leadership!

When Paul wrote to the church in Colossae, he dealt with people who were genuine in their faith, but were threatened with the winds of false doctrine.

False teachers perpetuated the myth that Jesus did come to earth, but not as a human. They taught He was a spirit, whose life and death, while honorable, were not literal.

If they believed these lies, the would demote Jesus to a story that promoted good principles. Believing this changes everything, for Paul taught in Athens:

Acts 17:28 NKJV

28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’

Acts 17:28 NKJV

28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’

Acts 17:27–28 NKJV

27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’

Therefore, Paul established Jesus is Lord. He was 100% God and 100% Man. He was the only one capable of destroying the yoke of sin and providing everlasting life.

As Lord, He changes our lives in every way. Our old life is gone, we have new life in Him. To close out the book, Paul shows us that Jesus leads the way!

Therefore, we lead by following Him. Let’s look at three areas of Jesus’ leadership. [He Leads the Way in Warfare], [He Leads the Way in Wisdom], and [He Leads the Way in Works].

Let’s begin

1. He Leads the Way in Warfare

Colossians 4:2–4 NKJV

2 Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; 3 meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, 4 that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.

On vacation in September, God stirred my heart to pray like never before. On Tuesday night, we went to the Brooklyn Tabernacle for their Tuesday night prayer service. There were nearly 5,000 people praying and interceding.

Through prayer, we have a direct line to God. Paul understood this, therefore, he prompted the Colossians to pray. But he did not want them to pray casually, he called on them to pray earnestly.

Casual prayer rarely produces supernatural results. Casual prayer occurs either in times of crisis or conveniences. There are many people who call on God when something terrible happens.

Likewise, people will pray when their schedule allows them and when it is convenient. However, this is not the type of prayer God desires.

Should we pray in times of crisis? Yes.

Should we pray when our schedule allows? Yes

But this should ALWAYS occur after we consistently pray. Something happens when we make time to communicate with God on a daily basis.

Therefore, we must pray earnestly, and vigilantly.

Vigilantly is defined, keenly watchful to detect danger; wary: a vigilant sentry. ever awake and alert; sleeplessly watchful.

When I think of the word vigilantly I think of war. Soldiers who sleep on the battlefield are normally on the losing side. Therefore, in the spiritual battles that rage, we do not have time to get lazy or sleepy in our prayer life.

Jesus wants to help us in our spiritual battles, however, we must follow Him in prayer. Notice Paul’s desire, he asked the Colossians to pray for him, that God would open doors for him.

At the time of his request, Paul was under house arrest in Rome. Paul did not use this time as an excuse to rest, he wanted God to help him push back the kingdom of darkness.

Maybe Paul thought of the days when he worked overtime to stop the church by imprisoning Christians. Now, he is the Christian that is incarcerated, and he wants God to use Him.

Remember what he wrote in:

Ephesians 6:12 NKJV

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Satan is very powerful, but, his power cannot overtake or overcome the power Jesus provides! Therefore, we follow Him and He will lead the way in spiritual warfare.

How do we follow Him in battle? We develop a pray life. One that is built on convenience, not crisis or comfort.

2. He Leads the Way in Wisdom

Colossians 4:5–6 NKJV

5 Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. 6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

When we think of wisdom, we must move past the notion of what makes “normal” sense. With God there is supernatural wisdom. Jesus embodies God’s wisdom.

Luke 11:31 NKJV

31 The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.

When we allow Jesus to lead the way, He will give us insight in what we should do and what we should not do. Notice, Paul does not say, give wisdom a try and if it does not work, you are exempt.

He plainly speaks, walk in wisdom toward those who are outside. As followers of Christ, we are to live in a way that is counterculture.

I read an article that was in the Pentecostal Evangel in 1973 this week:

1 Corinthians 1:27 NKJV

27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;

There are things we do as followers of Christ that does not always make sense:

Prayer, church attendance, worship, reading our bible, tithing and giving, are just a few examples. But when we commit to these spiritual disciplines, people will begin to notice a difference in our lives.

The difference? We have supernatural wisdom because Jesus leads the way. When we have this wisdom, we will do as Paul said, REDEEMING THE TIME!

We may look back and think, I have not been wise in every decision I have made. The Colossians understood this as they nearly believed false truths about the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ.

However, God made up for the lost time and enabled them to keep pressing forward in the plan He had for their church.

Furthermore, if we will follow Jesus’ lead, we will be wise in the way we speak to each other! God will give us grace to say the right things at the right time, to those within the church and outside of the church.

The wisdom God provides will season what we do with salt. The spiritual salt will enhance the flavor of what God wants to do in and through us!

I am thankful Jesus leads the way in warfare, in wisdom, and...

3. He Leads the Way in Works

Colossians 4:7–18 NKJV

7 Tychicus, a beloved brother, faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me. 8 I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that he may know your circumstances and comfort your hearts, 9 with Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will make known to you all things which are happening here. 10 Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, with Mark the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him), 11 and Jesus who is called Justus. These are my only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are of the circumcision; they have proved to be a comfort to me. 12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. 13 For I bear him witness that he has a great zeal for you, and those who are in Laodicea, and those in Hierapolis. 14 Luke the beloved physician and Demas greet you. 15 Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea, and Nymphas and the church that is in his house. 16 Now when this epistle is read among you, see that it is read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you likewise read the epistle from Laodicea. 17 And say to Archippus, “Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.” 18 This salutation by my own hand—Paul. Remember my chains. Grace be with you. Amen.

Colossians 4:7–18 NKJV

I just read a lot of scriptures, now let me explain them. In our walk with God, we are saved by faith; good works will not get us into heaven!

However, because of our faith, we will do good works. But I want us to notice something in all of these names: who knew everyone of them? Who knew the majority of them?

Truthfully, I did not either. I know I have read them, but let’s quickly describe what each of these people did:

Tychicus- he was a loyal and trusted worker with Paul. Paul used him more than once to take a letter to the intended church. For instance, he would bring Paul’s letter to the church in Colassae.

Onesimus- he was a slave who met Paul in Rome and accepted Christ as His Savior. Now, God used Onesimus to represent Paul in Colossi.

Aristarchus- air-is-star-cuss- followed Paul on his journey to Rome. He was present with Paul in the shipwreck, on the Island of Malta where God healed Paul of the snakebite, and now with him under house arrest.

Mark- we probably notice him, he wrote the second book of the New Testament. But he also deserted Paul early on in his ministry. However, they reconciled and now Mark did a great work for God.

Jesus (Justus)- nothing is known of his work for God, but we know he worked with Aristarchus and Mark in their work for the Kingdom.

Epaphras- was the one who told Paul about the problems in the Colossian church. He is the one who brought the gospel to Colossae, and God used him to pray for the Colossians.

Luke- a doctor and author of Luke and Acts. He worked with Paul in many ways.

Demas- another person we know little of, except he was a fellow worker with Paul. Eventually he deserted Paul and backslid ().

Nympha- was likely a lady of considerable wealth who opened her home for the church to meet in Laodicea.

Archippus- had a ministry God used and Paul encouraged him to let the Lord fulfill the ministry!

I went through these names for more than a history lesson. I wanted us to see something important: when Jesus leads the way, He will empower our works for Him!

Of the ten names, I immediately recognized two, the other eight I had to study to know their story. Likewise, in the Kingdom of God, it is less about popular leaders and more about faithful people who follow Jesus and do all He called us to do!

History may not remember our names, but praise God, heaven remembers what we do, and one day God will honor us for the hard work we did on earth!

When Jesus came to this earth, it was not with great fanfare. His was a humble birth, in humble stable. He never owned property or had material wealth. He died a sinner’s death and was buried in a borrowed tomb.

But when He comes the second time, He will come with great power and might!

Likewise, in this life, the work we do for Him may seem insignificant to some! But when Jesus returns, it will truly be worth it all!

Close:

Because Jesus is Lord, in our lives, we need to let Him lead the way, in warfare, wisdom, and works.

A couple of weeks ago, I went to Sabbath Rest, a ministry of Ed and Karen Shirrell for twenty-four hours to pray. It was a requirement for one of my classes.

At first it was awkward. I have never done anything like that. There was not cell service, internet, or cable TV. So I told the Lord, during this time together, I want to learn more about You and more about me.

Something the Lord helped me understand is how great it is following Him as the Leader of the Church. Yes God called me to lead Vulcan Assembly, but I will fail if I do not continue to follow Him!

Too often we will focus on what is seen, when we must remember, Jesus does not operate in the realm of what is seen, He works in the unseen.

Therefore, He will lead the way in everything we face, but we must pray continually and consistently!

He will lead the way by giving us wisdom, in our family, in our occupation, in our marriages, and in our finances.

James 1:5 NKJV

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

He will lead the way as we work for Him. We must always remember, our work on earth has eternal consequences and rewards!