Hope in the Face of Trials
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Stephen Hawking was an astrophysicist at Cambridge University and perhaps the most intelligent man on earth. He had advanced the general theory of relativity farther than any person since Albert Einstein. Unfortunately, Hawking was afflicted with ALS Syndrome (Lou Gehrig's disease). It eventually took his life. He had been confined to a wheelchair for years, where he could do little more than sit and think. Hawking had lost the ability even to speak, and he communicated by means of a computer that was operated from the tiniest movement of his fingertips.
Quoting from an Omni magazine article: "He is too weak to write, feed himself, comb his hair, fix his classes--all this must be done for him. Yet this most dependent of all men has escaped invalid status. His personality shines through the messy details of his existence."
Hawking said that before he became ill, he had very little interest in life. He called it a "pointless existence" resulting from sheer boredom. He drank too much and did very little work. Then he learned he had ALS Syndrome and was not expected to live more than two years. The ultimate effect of that diagnosis, beyond its initial shock, was extremely positive. He claimed to have been happier after he was afflicted than before. How can that be understood? Hawking provided the answer.
"When one's expectations are reduced to zero," he said, "one really appreciates everything that one does have." Stated another way: contentment in life is determined in part by what a person anticipates from it. To a man like Hawking who thought he would soon die quickly, everything takes on meaning--a sunrise or a walk in a park or the laughter of children. Suddenly, each small pleasure becomes precious. By contrast, those who believe life owes them a free ride are often discontent with its finest gifts.
James Dobson, New Man, October, 1994, p. 36.
If you have your Bibles, turn with me to Colossians Chapter 1. The Title of our message today is “Hope in the Face of Trials”. Most of us would agree that each new day that passes is filled with new challenges and a certain level of uncertainty. One might even say that these challenges, may be better defined as struggles. but “That’s just how it is.” right? We’re told that suffering is just a part of life, and we just have to “deal with it.” Well, This morning I would like to submit to you a different point of view. What if, instead of “dealing” with these struggles or “getting over them”, What if we embraced them? I know that doesn’t make sense. But I believe that the scriptures will be clarity to this strange Idea. Let’s go to the text.
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I am completing in my flesh what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for his body, that is, the church.
25 I have become its servant, according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known,
26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints.
27 God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
28 We proclaim him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
29 I labor for this, striving with his strength that works powerfully in me.
Context
Context
The Book of Colossians as an epistle stands out from the rest. During his ministry, the Apostle Paul wrote 11 letters, or epistles, to churches across his area. If we were to quantify Paul’s impact, we would find that he is responsible for more than 1/3 of the New Testament.
The year is 61 A.D. Paul is currently imprisoned in Rome, and a man named Nero is currently the emperor. Nero’s 14 years as Roman emperor were considered a time of great technological advancement, and it was a time of peace. However, The political climate was starting to shift, because Nero was losing support from the upper class of society. These things, along with this sort of revolution of thought and intellect ,left no place for the Gospel. And thus many Christians would have been persecuted.
Colossae was about 100 miles east of Ephesus, and at one time had been a thriving trade hub. However, the trade route had been redirected, and thus the city was in steady decline.
I mentioned earlier that this epistle stands out, that is because Paul is writing to a church in which he’s never attended. Epaphras, The man who had started the church, had noticed that there were some problems going on in which he didn’t know how to handle, and thus he journeys to find Paul for counsel.
Leading up to our passage, Paul has already Praised the Church for its love of the Spirit and for how they are producing fruit! and starting in Vs. 24 we see him lay out the mission, purpose, and message in which God has given him.
Let’s revisit the text starting in Vs. 24
Paul knows that the “Big C” Church is a target, because Christ Himself was, and is, a target. So He begins by encouraging all of us to:
Rejoice in Suffering
Rejoice in Suffering
Life is hard. It doesn’t matter if you are a Christian or not, life is hard. Paul experienced more suffering than many of us will ever face, yet in that suffering he was able to find peace, and joy. How?
because he knew that
because he knew that
In suffering for Christ, we are made more like Christ.
Christ’s Life was full of suffering. If you look at His entire life you see that:
There was no place for Him when He was Born
7 Then she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped him tightly in cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
From His very first breathe Jesus was in conflict with the enemy
He was Tried by Satan in Desert
In Matthew 4 that right after His baptism, Jesus was led into the desert and tempted by Satan. For 40 days and 40 nights, Satan had free reign to tempt Jesus into Sin. Though He did not falter, we can only imagine how exhausting that must have been.
His own Hometown was skeptical that He was God
Jesus went home to teach Nazareth and the people there said:
3 Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And aren’t his sisters here with us?” So they were offended by him.
He Never had a home or bed to call his own
20 Jesus told him, “Foxes have dens, and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
and ultimately He was Beat and Executed for Loving the World
This is the example that Paul sees and wishes to emulate in Jesus!
You may say, “Preacher, how am I supposed to live that type of life?” I would say that “You can’t”. Paul’s desire is to do everything that He can do to become more like Jesus! The point here is not that we put ourselves in the position to suffer, but that when suffering meets us we respond with Joy, knowing that we suffer because we are Children of the most High God!
Paul also knew that Your joy in the midst of suffering will bring others to Christ
Think back to a time when someone close to you went through a tragic event. They Lost their Job, Had a major health issue, Lost a spouse, child, or another loved one. In that moment, Everyone fully expects for those people to fall deeper into the darkness created by that event, but when they respond by trusting the Lord and growing closer to Him, they cast out the darkness from their lives! and in doing so give a testimony of the Lord’s faithfullness that will draw others to desire the Hope and peace that can only come through salvation!
Paul understood suffering, and He rejoiced in it! He also wanted us to:
Be thankful
Be thankful
Be thankful for what? Let’s go back to the text and see:
26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints.
27 God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
This mystery that Paul is talking about is that Salvation is available to EVERYONE who calls on the name of Jesus. This is more than enough to be thankful for, but let’s dig deeper.
We should be thankful because He Revealed the Hope of Salvation
Think about this, Many hadn’t heard this great news yet. This letter was written in 60 A.D. Mark is the first Gospel to be penned, and that was somewhere in the 50’s A.D. So that means that there has been a Maximum of ten years for people to actually get a written copy of the Gospel in their hands. The Gospel was still being told by word of mouth, so the fact that these people had heard the Gospel was something to be thankful for!
We should be thankful because He didn’t only reveal it to the Jews
This is big news for us!! WE ARE GENTILES! Anyone who is not a Jew is a Gentile! To this point, the push had been to convert the Jews. Most of the converted christians still had a little prejudice toward the gentiles. There was a sense of “Elitism” in the Culture of the day the even spread into the Church.
Paul’s life was a battle to ensure that EVERYONE knew that the Gospel was available to them! That is something to be thankful for!
We should be thankful because He lives in our innermost self
Christ in us
Many believe that there are Three levels of personality. Thought, Desire, and Will.
Thought (Outer Courts) can be described as the shallow, basic feelings and thoughts that we have in our everyday lives. There’s nothing overly deep about this level. It’s almost like the cruise control of our personality.
Desire (Holy Place) this is the part of us that houses our desires and our fears. There is depth here, but we’ll still allow certain people access to this place
Will (Holy of Holies) This is the deepest part of our being. The place where only we have the key.
Many believe that they have surrendered there lives to Jesus, but they have only allowed Him to enter into the first two levels of our being. In order for Christ to truly be the Lord of our life, He has to have control of our will! We have to invite Him into the deepest, and more than likely, the darkest part of ourselves in order to be cleaned!
Paul knew that for those who invite Christ into that most intimate and private place, They will receive Eternal life! That’s something to be thankful for!
Finally, Paul shows us that we are to:
Give the Gospel everything that we’ve got!
Give the Gospel everything that we’ve got!
Let’s make out way to the last portion of our text.
28 We proclaim him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
29 I labor for this, striving with his strength that works powerfully in me.
There is so much that we can apply to our lives from the Scripture! We find hope in the sufferings of Christ, a hope that helps us make it through each day. We find encouragement in the ministry of Paul. Someone who’s commitment to Jesus is unparalleled, and should be an example for all of us!
That’s why we are to give the Gospel Everything that We’ve got! Jesus wants everyone to Hear that they can be Saved! and He wants for you to be one of His messengers!
That is our purpose! To come to salvation in Christ, and to tell others the same great news that drew us to Him!
Closing
Closing
Paul’s message to the Colossians, is the same message that we need today.
This Life is Hard, but with Jesus the Joy is greater than the pain!
You can be rescued and saved from your sin, No matter where you’ve been, or what you’ve done. Jesus is waiting for you!
For those of us who have been saved. We should want for everyone to have the Hope that we do. So that means that We’ve got work to do!