Colossians 1:24-29 "All His Energy" part 3
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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
*Abi’s Prius was totaled after last weeks hard work!
Were felling pretty good about all the work & progress we made
Then accident changed all of that > TOTALED
Ever feel like you’re starting over again in your walk with Jesus?
After a great victory comes defeat
Spiritual highs quickly can become spiritual lows: returning to normal life from camp, retreat, a good morning devotion, church
Trials that turn your world upside down
Temptations that ambush you
Failures that knock you off your spiritual groove
If you want to MATURE IN CHRIST, you have to endure these sorts of things
3.0 ENERGY TO HELP BELIEVERS MATURE IN JESUS (1:28-29)
3.0 ENERGY TO HELP BELIEVERS MATURE IN JESUS (1:28-29)
3.1 THE GOAL OF DISCIPLESHIP IS MATURITY IN CHRIST (1:28)
3.1 THE GOAL OF DISCIPLESHIP IS MATURITY IN CHRIST (1:28)
28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
WE—Paul switches from “I” to “we”
Includes with him any fellow servants of the gospel
Excludes the false Gnostic teachers > taught perfection was obtained by KNOWLEDGE > and that knowledge was open to only a select few
Paul openly proclaims this mystery for all to know
Three activities to help people mature:
1. Him we proclaim—PROCLAMATION
Proclaim = καταγγέλλω kataggéllō v. to widely, plainly, and openly announce the good news for all to hear.
Paul didn’t preach himself, regulations, religious system, politics, or even his own opinions
Presented Jesus to as many people & in as many places as possible
Knowing Him & Making Him known
Jesus is the message! > HE saves us from our sins!
Ministry is about connecting people to a Person, JESUS CHRIST
We are saved by a person, we follow a person, we become like a person > Jesus
Can’t have maturity without becoming more like Jesus
We need to focus our eyes on Him and we need preachers that clearly reveal Him to us
2. Warning everyone—ADMONISHMENT
Warning = νουθετέω nouthetéō v. to advise someone concerning the dangerous consequences of certain actions or attitudes.
Primarily speaks of calling sinners to repentance in sharing Gospel > Turn to God
But, warning also gets backsliding Christians to return from going their own way
Admonishment or correction can be unpleasant
Better was a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice.
Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.
Confronting harmful attitudes & actions w/ the goal of change
Encouraging others to take the correct course of action
3. Teaching everyone—TEACHING
The orderly instruction of God’s Word > EXPOSITION > Whole counsel of God
If you want to grow, find a pastor or leader that teaches GOD’s WORD
Not just about KNOWING > It is also about OBEYING
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Some wrongly believe that knowledge is maturity > Like Gnostic false teaching
All wisdom—Any wisdom we have comes from God:
Paradox of wisdom—truly wise do not see themselves as wise
Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Wise humbly admit their wisdom doesn’t come from own cleverness, but FROM GOD
For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
Best place to find this wisdom is from the Word of God
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Present everyone—We seen an emphasis on this word in that it is repeated 3 X’s
False teachers, Gnostics, believed only a select few would be initiated into their secret knowledge and be saved
Jews believed only children of Abraham could be saved
Paul says salvation is open to everyone > It is God’s Heart
who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Gospel is available to everyone, especially outsiders! *Luke emphasizes this idea in His Gospel, that —always see Jesus reaching the outsiders of the institutional religious world
Mature in Christ—This is the goal for every believer > Every discipleship endeavor
Mature = τέλειος téleios adj. doesn’t mean sinless perfection, but completeness, a finished work, full maturity. > People that reach their maximum earthly potential
*Paul used this word to combat the self proclaimed elite Gnostics > boasted in their maturity of secret knowledge & levels of initiation
Maturity is open to every believer in Jesus Christ
Holy Spirit is faithful to produce this in everyone
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
Just as we participate in this growth by pursuing Jesus > Paul participates by presenting Jesus, warning, and teaching with all wisdom
Work was not finished when people accepted Jesus
Paul would not rest until everyone moved forward onto maturity
Maturity is God PLAN for you & It looks like JESUS
For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
Ultimate maturity is to be like Jesus in character & action
Not just information, but TRANSFORMATION
Paul desires to present Christians at Christ return as be full grown, complete, and perfectly instructed in Scripture, faith, and practice.
3.2 MATURITY IS A DIFFICULT JOURNEY WITH GREAT REWARDS (1:29)
3.2 MATURITY IS A DIFFICULT JOURNEY WITH GREAT REWARDS (1:29)
29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
*Have you ever tried to get a middle schooler to mature?
Come on dude, just man up!
I wish you weren’t so emotional?
You don’t look at a baby and say, “It’s about time you change your own diaper.”
Helping others mature takes patience, time, and energy
Jesus longs to see you mature > Leaders long to see you mature
Maturity in your like takes patience, time, and effort > A lot of energy!
Maturity takes God to do the WORK too!
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
We see a sense of urgency in Paul’s ministry that cases him to pour out every bit of time and energy into it!
There are two words to describe Paul’s focus on helping believers mature:
1. Toil = κοπιάω kopiáō v. to engage in hard work to the point of becoming tired & fatigued.
It means you are so weary it was as if the person had taken a beating
It denotes labor to exhaustion
Ministry is hard work > Afterward you are good and tired
*You know you did a good job at camp when you come home tired!
Many of us start ministry fatigued
Just get moving, that is the best solution > God fills you with energy!
Afterward, get some physical rest & be refilled spiritually
2. Struggling = ἀγωνίζομαι agōnízomai v. to fight, wrestle, or engage in a competition with the intention of experiencing victory; figuratively, to strive to do something with intense exertion.
Stronger than the term “toil”
We get our English word agony from this word
*Used of athletes who painfully pursued athletic glory
Olympic Trials—Runner’s World (8/91), told the story of Beth Anne DeCiantis’s attempt to qualify for the 1992 Olympic Trials marathon. A female runner must complete the 26-mile, 385-yard race in less than two hours, forty-five minutes to compete at the Olympic Trials. Beth started strong but began having trouble around mile 23. She reached the final straightaway with just two minutes left to qualify. Two hundred yards from the finish, she stumbled and fell. Dazed, she stayed down for twenty seconds. The crowd was ticking, less than a minute to go. Beth Anne staggered to her feet and began walking. Five yards short of the finish, with 10 seconds to go, she fell again. She began to crawl, the crowd cheering her on, and crossed the finish line on her hands and knees. Her time? Two hours, 44 minutes, 57 seconds. She had done it with only 3 seconds to spare!—Terry Fisher, San Mateo, California, quoted in Preaching Resources, Spring 1996. p. 69.
In his ministry Paul was like an athlete giving his all to reach the goal:
Paul struggled with his whole being in his ministry for the church
Not a half-hearted calling
He was not lazy, but Zealous
He didn’t go from place to place in his own personal helicopter.
He didn’t have a plush office to work from.
He didn’t sit back while his staff did all the hard work
Here is what his ministry actually looked like:
Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.
How is your effort in investing in the lives of those around you?
The sluggard does not plow in the autumn; he will seek at harvest and have nothing.
Before you know it, your kids are grown
Before you know it, Jesus will return & opportunities will be gone
Energy = ἐνέργεια enérgeia n. an active power that produces force and accomplishes work. Like the power that raised Jesus from the dead & accomplished signs & miracles
*Watching construction site yesterday > Much work gets done w/ machines!
Inner strength supplied by the Lord
We all have weaknesses, but with Christ’s power He can work through us
Christ’s energy to help others mature in their faith:
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.
It was for our good Jesus went away and sent the Holy Spirit to empower us!
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Jesus basically says, “Don’t even begin making disciples without the Holy Spirit!”
Jesus is RULING from Father’s Right Hand & Distributes this ENERGY to accomplish His Work:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
Promise of answered prayer is given in this context! > Making disciples
We see a combined effort between the believer and Christ.
Our will and Christ’s will must be in harmony.
It is ALL of Christ and ALL of me.
That’s where we see the power of God.
Tools in helping others mature > Holy Spirit, Prayer, Word of God
Jesus works in the lives of others through you
He loves through you
He speaks through you
He gives energy to those who serve Him & need it > He gives energy to those that use it!
We can only accomplish a spiritual work with His energy:
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
Abide, Rely, HE WILL PRODUCE THE FRUIT
If we observe Paul’s life from a worldly perspective, it appeared to be anything but powerful.
He was weak, mistreated, poor, and in prison
God used him to reach the Gentile nations!
So it may seem with us when we are doing Christ’s work.
But, God’s power is working behind the scenes, under the surface, in the heart
It goes unnoticed, until all of a sudden, you notice fruit.
CONCUSION
CONCUSION
This week I finally had my one year post transplant week of appointments
Fibrosis in bones is decreasing & no sign of cancer
Finally 100% B+ blood now > Immune system is 91% & 97% donor
Patience in growth as my body continues to heal and mature w/ donor cells
This week I also started my vaccinations > I’m just like a NEWBORN BABY
Starting over & relying upon energy God provides for you!
He is in the process of maturing you from the power within!
APPLICATION THREE
APPLICATION THREE
1. Pursue maturity in your life with Jesus.
1. Pursue maturity in your life with Jesus.
Starting again:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Times of refreshing ahead when you turn back to God
Find leaders that have this goal
Find peers that have this Goal
Becoming more like Jesus in CHARACTER & ACTION > Follow Jesus
Struggle with all HIS ENERGY > Abide in the Vine
Rely upon the Holy Spirit
Word, Prayer, Fruit
Love for Father, Love for Others, Humility, merciful, holy
* Maybe something might need to drastically change in your life > Hindering weight keeping you from running strong!
2. Pursue maturity in the lives of those around you.
2. Pursue maturity in the lives of those around you.
Another way we grow and mature as a disciple is to MAKE DISCIPLES!
And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”
Fisher of people > REMEMBER IT IS HIS ENERGY > Rely upon the Holy Spirit
Be able to say like Paul:
Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
Join the work of making disciples of the next spiritual generation
*Maybe something might drastically need to change in your life
FOUR GROWTH METRICS:
1) Be a disciple that obeys Jesus
2) Make disciples that obey Jesus
3) Make disciple makers
4) Mentor those that make disciple makers
There is a lifetime of growth opportunity!
Where are you now with fishing?
Moving forward to next stage
