Sermon Tone Analysis

HBI: 1:9-14 – Because of who Jesus is, We must always strive to know Him more as we bear fruit in our lives showing that we love Him so that we may be strengthened in Him so we may endure till the end.

Intro

For the past little while we have been going through the book of Daniel, learning how we can have hope to remain faithful in spite of any hostilities, trials and persecutions that may come our way.

We can do this because in spite of present appearances our God is in control.

to do this though we need there are some things we need to know.

We need to Know God, we need to walk worthy of our relationship with Him and then we need to stand strong in Him.

The problem with this is with all the new teachings that the world is throwing at us it is getting harder and harder to do this.

There are so many beliefs out their that go against the word of God that it is easy to drift away if our we do not learn to Know God, if we do not bear fruit (walk worthy) and if we do not learn to stand strong in Him.

I used to own a boat; it was an old boat with an early 60’s Johnson outboard motor.

This old boat would run but it was stuck in one gear that was forward.

This wouldn’t have been a big deal except for the fact that it had a steering wheel in the front and you had to start the motor from the back of the boat.

There was also a bench seat in the middle.

To make matters a little more fun, being an older motor you had to start it at ¾ throttle in order for it to start.

So you pulled the rope and hang on.

This boat gave me nothing but troubles and one day we were out in the middle of the lake drifting and when I went to start the boat the recoil came off.

Recoil is the thing where you pull a rope and it turns the motor over to start it, kind of like a lawn mower.

All I had was my trusty knife, which worked to get the screws back in but then the motor wouldn’t start so we had to be pulled in by a friend who was watching from his lake house.

We were sitting drifting and I tried to row in on my own power but wasn’t getting very far as hard as I tried.

We are going to learn how to not drift along with every new belief and tradition that comes our way.

It is so much easier to just go with the flow and drift with every one else.

But the book of Colossians teaches that we know, walk and stand strong because Jesus is superior to all, it is the only option we have in light of who Jesus is and what He has done.

For the next few months we are going to take another practical look at what it could look like to put what we learned in Daniel into action.

History

But first we get a glimpse into what was going on at the time so we have a better idea on why Paul said what He did.

Colossians 1:1-2 gives us a glimpse into who and what was going on.

Colossians 1:1–2 (CSB) 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, and Timothy our brother: 2 To the saints in Christ at Colossae, who are faithful brothers and sisters.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

The book of Colossians was written by the apostle Paul when he was in Prison about the same time that He wrote the book of Ephesians.

Paul wrote the letter to the church in Colossae but it is interesting to know that He had never been there himself.

The city was located in Asia Minor in what is now Turkey.

It was located in the Lycus Valley at the base of a mountain.

It used to be along a major trade route but even then it wasn’t the most significant city.

Paul had spent a lot of time preaching the gospel in Asia Minor and there were a lot of people who came to know the Lord there through his ministry.

Epaphrus and Philemon where two people that came to know the Lord through the Ministry of Paul and then they went home and started to share the gospel with those in their community.

In its heyday before the letter was wrote the made their money by selling dyed wool.

Though this eventually died off.

History speaks of a great earthquake that struck probably shortly after Paul wrote this letter

Philemon, who Paul wrote to in the letter of Philemon, went back to Colossae and the church was formed.

book of Philemon we see that it was written by Paul but was also addressed to Apphia and Archippus.

Apphia was the Wife of Philemon and Archipus people say could have been their son, but that we do not know for sure.

It goes on to say that the church in Colossae met in the house of Philemon and Apphia and we know that their possible son Archipus later becomes the pastor of the church.It is a neat kind of circle that we can put together

Colossae was on a major trade route, people of many faiths that ended up going through.

due to this the city tended to be very animistic in their faith (many spirits that dictated what the people should do) and pluralistic, that is they believed in many gods as well.

There was a strong belief in spirits and powers.

I met this type of belief in India, and we see that here now as well.

The danger to drift away at the peer pressure from the world around us is strong, as it was back then.

I met a man that had a buliten board we found out had all his gods on it, including Jesus and Mariah Carey.

But when we tried to explain that Jesus was the only way is when he had a problem.

These where the problems being faced at the church at the time.

Why was the letter written?

Before we get into the main theme of the letter it is important to look into why it was written.

With all the animistic beliefs in the area it was no surprise that it could have been creeping into the church and causing people in the church to drift away from what Jesus taught.

we get a glimpse into what was going on at the time in Colossians 2:8

Colossians 2:8 (CSB 8 Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elements of the world, rather than Christ.

many different beliefs going around that where starting to likely affect the church, in response to that we get the letter of Colossians.

The encourager 1:3-7

As in the rest of the letters of Paul, the beginning of the letter has a prayer written out to the people.

In the prayer was usually a prayer of encouragement for the people.

Colossians 1:3 “3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,” We get a glimpse into the spiritual life of the church in Colossae.

They where not without there problems, we know that much, but Paul being an encourager encouraged them for what they where doing right.

Before he gets into what they may have been stumbling on he encourages them on what they where doing good on.

Colossians 1:4-6

Colossians 1:4–6 (CSB)4 for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints 5 because of the hope reserved for you in heaven.

You have already heard about this hope in the word of truth, the gospel 6 that has come to you.

It is bearing fruit and growing all over the world, just as it has among you since the day you heard it and came to truly appreciate God’s grace.

Paul had not seen them yet, but news of there faith in Jesus reached all the way to his prison cell in Rome.

They where encouraging each other with the great hope they had in heaven.

Sure yes sin is a part of the gospel message that we need to share but so is the great hope that we have in heaven.

They loved and encouraged each other it says.

This is a good reminder for us as well.

How can we become a people of encouragement as well.

Yes we need to help eachother grow and be willing to hold each other accountable but never at the expense of being an encouragement and happy for the things they are doing good.

Because of who Jesus is 1:9-23

This is where the main theme of the book comes in HBI: 1:9-14 – Because of who Jesus is, We must always strive to know Him more as we bear fruit in our lives showing that we love Him so that we may be strengthened in Him so we may endure till the end.The main idea being that we must Know Jesus, we must walk worthy of Jesus, We must stand strong in Jesus, and then the rest of the book of Colossians goes into why we need to do this.

So lets look into where this all comes from.

Colossians 1:9

Colossians 1:9 (CSB) 9 For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven’t stopped praying for you.

We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,

The first step is that we may know Jesus.

In our walk with God we must seek to Know who Jesus is what he taught, the way he lived, why he had to come to earth to die for our sins.

We must tell the story of Jesus from beginning to end.

You see we live in a world that is saying that what the bible says is wrong and we are told we are told that we must be filled with the knowledge of God, to know His will for our lives, to have understanding of spiritual things.

We must search the scriptures to see what this means.

we live in a world where there are even churches now a days telling their congregants that they must know that they can be financially secure, that they can know that as long and you believe your best days will lie ahead of you.

Yet the bible teaches that we must seek rather to Know God and His will for our lives and to seek His wisdom and ask for spiritual understanding.

Colossians 1:10

Colossians 1:10 (CSB) 10 so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God,

So because of who Jesus is and what He has done, we must seek to know Him more.

We must walk worthy of Him is the next step.

But what does this mean.

This is just to say that if we really say we know Jesus we must walk in a manner worthy of Him.

It is not enough to say that we are believers.

As a older kid and young teenager I would sometimes struggle with the thought, How do I know I am saved.

I would commit my life to Jesus every summer at Bible camp.

I would eventually go on to learn that we can have assurance of our salvation, and one of the ways that we know we are saved is that we walk in a manner worthy of Jesus, that we are bearing fruit.

This just means that we will be showing throw what we do the faith that we have.

If we claim to be a child of God but never show by the way that we live our lives then there is something wrong.

And this also means that we will be growing in our knowledge of Jesus.

Colossians 1:11-12

Colossians 1:11–12 (CSB) 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, so that you may have great endurance and patience, joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light.