Sermon Tone Analysis

Several years ago Royal Robbins, a professional mountain climber, wrote an article for Sports Illustrated which demonstrates the importance of seeing ourselves and life as we really are.

He wrote:

If we are keenly alert and aware of the rock and what we are doing on it, if we are honest with ourselves and our capabilities and weaknesses, if we avoid committing ourselves beyond what we know is safe, then we will climb safely.

For climbing is an exercise in reality.

He who sees it clearly is on safe ground, regardless of his experience or skill.

But he who sees reality as he would like it to be, may have his illusions rudely stripped from his eyes when the ground comes up fast.

Now more than ever it is important to be sober minded about who we are and what we believe.

There will be eternal consequences.

The problem with our culture is that self-deception is pervasive throughout.

When we say this is how it is, but in reality it is not.

Now more than ever we have got to be super honest with ourselves.

The consequences are eternal.

Are you sure that in the end you will not hear the dreaded “depart from me I never knew you”.

If you are sure do you know why you are sure?

You say Shane it is because I have faith… but as soon as trials and difficulty hit, you are disobedient and disappointed with God.

Trials and testing come and when you fail… it is showing you that you do not have faith.

Suffering, hardship, and trials are the things in life that test to see if your faith is real.

We say we believe, but it is these things in life that let you know whether you really do.

If you fail the test … you will be condemned.

The patterns of this world cause us to be delusional.

It causes us to be be deceived.

We walk in both ignorance and delusion.

We don’t know and we think we know.

There will be eternal consequences.

I remember one time there was a girl I was kinda interested in in college and she made it very clear from the beginning that there was no possibility that we would ever date.

She said I know this for a fact.

It will never happen.

We were dating a month later.

People get married and in the beginning there is no way they would ever part.

I know for sure that this is forever pastor Shane.

We will never break up we will never be divorced.

This is super serious.

If we are deluded in self-deception, the consequences will be eternal and unpleasant.

The glaring reality of this is…they think that they are Christians.

They were self-deceived.

They were delusional.

The scriptures tell us to examine ourselves.

The scriptures urge us to make sure our faith is real.

Why does it tell us this, if it is not a possibility to be delusional?

It is the ways of this world that cause us to be deceived.

The ways of the world trap and coerce us into apostacy.

The ways of the world blind us in the bliss of ignorance.

The ways of the world deceive us into thinking the lion is tame when it is not.

The ways of the world declare sure footing but in reality we are stepping on air.

The ways of the world cause us to believe there is peace when there is none.

They ways of the world cause us to find comfort in the arms of human wisdom even though our knowledge is that of school children.

The ways of the world are skewed mirrors.

The ways of the world is a drug.

It brings moments of escaping ecstacy, but reality will come like a huge morning crash.

We are addicted to lifestyle in our culture.

Addicted to the ways of the world.

The ways of the world cause us to walk a different path… one that is wide and broad.

The highway to hell.

But the apostle give us some insight into this.

How is a Christian to walk in the world.

Why are we in the world but not of the world?

How are we to walk in the light as He is in the Light.

How are we supposed to be the light of the World?

Let’s check it out today.

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

Dead in Christ

Unfading Good News

The first thing we will look at today is what it means for us to be dead in Christ and to the world and why we should not follow its fleeting directives.

Finally, we will rejoice in the unfleeting nature of the good news of Jesus, that which will remain forever.

Thesis: Though sin and the pattern of this world may cause us to fall into and into even deeper self-deception, it is the truth of the scriptures and the power of the Holy Spirit that will cause us to walk in the light and in the truth and in the joys of true genuine faith.

I. Dead in Christ

- Preoccupied with the ways of the world.

A. The Christians in Colossae we susceptible to the false teachings that were being dealt because they were preoccupied with the ways of the world.

They were so focused on the the world, loving the world, being like the world, listening to the world, that many of them were becoming sidetracked.

The were losing focus.

They were walking the wrong path.

B. Insightful here is a quote from the SBC’s own Dr.

Richard Melick and it will be helpful to us as we look at this passage...

“Paul’s teaching reveals that any preoccupation with this world and its ways sidetracks Christians.

Too often, Christians let the practical issues of the world become reference points for their spiritual development.

This may happen in two radically different ways.

Christians may become preoccupied with this world by indulging in its activities.

Lives of luxury, licentiousness, and lust destroy spiritual insight and growth.

Christians also easily become preoccupied with this world by measuring their Christian growth in terms of this world and its reference points.

Thus they look to their separation from the world as evidence of their Christian maturity.

In this, their spiritual road signs are the things of this world, rather than the things of Christ.

This latter situation was the problem at Colossae.

They were looking to worldly wisdom to measure spirituality.

When this occurs within the church, the church is misdirected and lives are powerless.”

C. In Colossae, they were following the worldly wisdom influenced by the philosophy of the day… gnosticism.

And because of this it is of no wonder that they were more prone to acetic behaviors and values.

The gnostics saw the material world as evil.

And it was the spiritual world that was of true value.

And along with this, the elementals of the spirit world, had power over them and they were those who would enforce the behavior to abstain.

In that time, it was the motivation of the people in that culture to try to live in harmony with the elemental spirits because of their fear of them.

D. This is why they were able to be deceived by false teaching.

They were following the ways of the world.

They were following teaching that would uphold the values and beliefs of the world.

They were following teaching that would keep them inline with the ways and values of the world while still acknowledging Christ as a part of it.

The markers of what it means to live a full life come not from the scriptures alone, but the markers and values of this world.

The world and the teachers say, do not handle, do not taste, do not touch.

We seek to be in harmony with the ways of the world.

E. If you all will continue on this path, you will ok.

You will find fullness in your life.

You will gain all that you hope for.