Sermon Tone Analysis

The Apostle Paul was praying in his prison cell when Epaphras, Paul’s pupil who started the church in Colosse journeyed all the way to Rome, walks in, and gives him a big hug.

After a time of catching up on how things are going with them personally, Epaphras begins to give him an update as to what’s going on at the church in Colossae.

“Paul, my dear brother, false teachers are back at it and messing things up in the church.

Where do these guys come from?

And where do they come up with this stuff?”

Paul responds, “Is it the gnostic stuff?” “Kind of but, not really.”

“Is it more stoic or platonic?”

“Kind of but, not really.”

“Judaizers?” “Kind of, but not really.”

“Ok you peaked by interest… I’ll bite.

Tell me more.”

Epaphras tells Paul that they are teaching with a detailed and coherent system of hollow and deceptive philosophy.

Their false teaching rests on a tradition of men based on a more Jewish nature.

Their false teaching is dependent upon elemental spiritual forces in the world.

Their false teaching does not depend upon Christ.

The false teachers were advocating the observance of certain food restrictions and of certain Jewish “holy days”.

There were inordinate ascetic practices.

They were in a way worshipping angels.

They were practicing an overconfidence in their visions.

Their unspiritual minds puff them up with idle notions.

They did not assert the reality of Christ being the head of the church.

They are teaching worldly rules to bring about maturity.

Christ is being denigrated.

We are dealing with a kind of Jewish Mysticism.

We are dealing with syncretism of all kinds of cultural philosophy and religions.

The church is being affected by the surrounding culture and it is diminishing Christ and His sufficiency.

An after a time of further explanation, Paul thanks Epaphras for his visit and tells him to come back tomorrow for Paul’s address for the Colossian church.

Paul sits down with Timothy, gets his thoughts together and inspired by the Holy Spirit begins to speak and Timothy begins to write...

The grass withers the flower fades but the word of our God stands forever.

The Culture Collusion

The Sufficiency of Christ

The first thing we will look at today is primary purpose of why the letter was written and how it is vital for us today in our same struggle with culture collusion.

Second, we will see the wonderful reality that Christ is more than enough… he is more than sufficient.

Thesis: Though sin, the pattern of this world, and the influence of current culture may cause us to lose confidence in the sufficiency of Christ it is the power of the Holy Spirit and the truth of scripture like the book of Colossians that will remind us of the true reality of what Christ did, what He does, what He will do and He is more than enough for me and you.

I.

The Sufficiency of Christ

- Christ is all we need.

A. We can totally relate to this.

Our culture… its ideology, its philosophy, its pragmatism… it is having a real affect on the church in so many ways.

Was reading about a church looking for a biological male who identifies as a biological male to be our next pastor.

Now I know that we might feel secure her at Central… We got a leadership here doing all that we can to protect CBC and its members from the philosophy of the world.

But you gotta understand that this stuff is like the zombie movies.

They are out there trying to get into the church and we are totally vulnerable to get eaten when we walk out.

B. But Shane … man, another book of the Bible dealing with false teachers and judgement.

Should we not be focusing on positive stuff?

Positive thinking.

What some life coaching is teaching us today.

But who told us that we are supposed to think and say positive stuff in life only?

Another one of the cultures influence on the church today.

Positive thinking methodology can be traced back to Greek Philosopher Epictetus who wrote, "The thing that upsets people is not so much what happens, but what they think about what happens.”

C. Ralph Waldo Emerson, William James, Anthony Robbins, Nathaniel Brandon, and even Robert Sheuler.

They all contributed to the positive thinking and speaking movement.

But we do not get that from the Bible.

We think on what is true.

D. Nothing about what is positive.

Many times what is positive is not true.

Many times what is positive is not honorable.

Many times what is positive is not admirable.

The culture tells us to be true to yourself.

I hear it in the church.

Be authentic… be yourself.

Just be yourself.

This is not what the Bible tells us to do.

The Bible does not tell you to be yourself… It tells you to be like Christ.

Or more specifically, be imitators of Paul because He imitates Christ.

E. The culture teaches us to follow our hearts.

Let your heart be your guide.

When you have a hard decision to make… what does your heart tell you?

Is this what the Bible teaches us… NO.

What does the Bible tell us about our hearts?

F. What are we supposed to follow?

Christ.

G.

So you can see how the culture is affecting the teaching and the books we are buying in Christian book stores.

What we hear on tv and radio.

Its everywhere my friends everywhere.

And let me tell you the main reason why.

Foundationaly, we all believe that we are here and we have a purpose.

This is my life.

If you are gonna have a good and fulfilling life, you have to be the author of all that happens.

Existentialism and post-modernism teaches us that making choices and decisions and making goals for oneself is how you bring meaning to your life.

All of this comes from Nihilism.

And in the end many Christians in church go to church with their own hopes and dreams and where are here to find out how God is gonna help make our dreams come true.

H.

One popular teacher from California said that she thinks the Holy Spirit is like the sneaky blue genie from Alladin.

You got some power is your corner now so what’s your wish i really wanna know.

You ain’t never had a friend like me… cause I’m gonna help you get all that you want.

The core for many people in our churches is that God is here to help us accomplish our purpose.

This is why life coaching is popular, motivational speaker methods, business models are followed by churches, church consultants tell pastors to stop preaching the Bible… I come to hear of principles for my will to be done not thy will.

I.

But the Bible is very very clear on this.

It is not our will but thy will be done.

We do not live for our purposes but for the purposes of Christ.

J.

And we live for our purposes and our own goals that why in the proverbs we see the inevitable...

K.

If you were living only for the Lord and his purposes and will are our concern.

If his laws and his directives are what matter we would not be angry with the Lord when things in life do not work out.

Remember… it’s on Him then.

L. This is why we are naturally inclined to avoid the Word of God or are ok believing that we hold to the Word of God but we really don’t.