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Jesus is All You Need January 8, 2017 We tend to preach our way through a book of the Bible. Now there are several reasons why we do this too. Number one, it’ll make me preach on things that I wouldn’t naturally preach on. So it’ll create some authenticity in our relationship – me as the preacher, you as the listener – because it will force us to talk about things and teach about things that, in the end, maybe aren’t going to be popular and maybe are difficult to think through. But it’s true and it’ll still need to be said. And then two, it gives us an opportunity to see the complete picture of what God is doing as we work our way through an entire book, whether it be in the Old or New Testament. Now this past year (2016) has been a little bit different and it feels like to me that it’s been a long time since we’ve simply opened up a book of the Bible and preached our way through from the beginning to the end. For most of last year we were going through a series that was entitled “Behold Our God” where we spent considerable time looking at the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But before that we preached through the book Judges, and then before that we had spent quite some time in Matthew. Well, today were going to begin studying the book of Colossians. And I would say for me personally, this book is perhaps my favorite, in the entire Bible. It has become one of my personal favorites while I was working in a tool shop in Michigan. What I would do is bring in large portions of the book of Colossians on a sheet of paper and place it on my workbench in such a way that I could take glances at it throughout the day. The job I was doing didn’t require a whole lot of brainpower. Then when I had the opportunity I would meditate on portions of this letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to the Colossians. And as I studied through this book, Jesus just jumped off the page. The entire Bible points to Jesus Christ from the beginning to the end. But the book of Colossians stresses 1

Transcript of Jesus is All You Need - Web viewWe tend to preach our way through a book of the ... Ephesus was so...

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Jesus is All You Need

January 8, 2017

We tend to preach our way through a book of the Bible. Now there are several reasons why we do this too. Number one, it’ll make me preach on things that I wouldn’t naturally preach on. So it’ll create some authenticity in our relationship – me as the preacher, you as the listener – because it will force us to talk about things and teach about things that, in the end, maybe aren’t going to be popular and maybe are difficult to think through. But it’s true and it’ll still need to be said.

And then two, it gives us an opportunity to see the complete picture of what God is doing as we work our way through an entire book, whether it be in the Old or New Testament. Now this past year (2016) has been a little bit different and it feels like to me that it’s been a long time since we’ve simply opened up a book of the Bible and preached our way through from the beginning to the end. For most of last year we were going through a series that was entitled “Behold Our God” where we spent considerable time looking at the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But before that we preached through the book Judges, and then before that we had spent quite some time in Matthew.

Well, today were going to begin studying the book of Colossians. And I would say for me personally, this book is perhaps my favorite, in the entire Bible. It has become one of my personal favorites while I was working in a tool shop in Michigan. What I would do is bring in large portions of the book of Colossians on a sheet of paper and place it on my workbench in such a way that I could take glances at it throughout the day. The job I was doing didn’t require a whole lot of brainpower. Then when I had the opportunity I would meditate on portions of this letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to the Colossians.

And as I studied through this book, Jesus just jumped off the page. The entire Bible points to Jesus Christ from the beginning to the end. But the book of Colossians stresses the significance of Jesus in a very special way. And these four chapters that Paul wrote to the church in Colossae have impacted on my and I’m praying that it will have an impact on your life as well. In fact, one commentator that I read this past week said, "that revival would break out if all believers dared to live out what Colossians teaches."

This is a powerful little book that has the potential to impact our lives for the glory of God. So let’s go ahead and open up our Bibles and read the opening together.

Read Colossians 1:1-8

My whole message this morning can be boiled down to one long sentence that goes like this: You don't need something new because you have the gospel, and only the gospel will change the world. What I have for you this morning is not necessarily three different points, but I’m taking that long sentence and breaking it into three different portions and using those has headings to work our way through this opening of Paul’s letter. Now that first heading is,

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January 8, 2017

You Don’t Need Something New

There were new ideas that were creeping into the Colossian church. And I’ll tell you more about that in a minute. But first, let me give you some information about the background of this letter to the Colossian church. I think that you’ll have a better understanding of what’s said today as well as the coming months if you can get the big picture of why the letter was written in the first place.

Paul wrote this letter, but he was not the one who planted this church nor had he even visited this group people in his entire life. But more than likely this church is an outgrowth of Paul’s ministry to the church in Ephesus, which was approximately 100 miles to the west of the city of Colossae. [show map] And the ministry that took place in Ephesus was so effect “that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.” (Acts 19:10)

The people of Ephesus had come in contact with the living God. Paul had shared the gospel with a group of people in Ephesus and spent several years in that city speaking boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. And through faith, many came to an understanding of how the blood of the Lamb had washed their sin away.

Lives were being changed in that city. The gospel was taking root deep within their lives as they placed all their hope/faith in Jesus. And now they couldn’t help but pass along the good news about Jesus to anyone who would listen. They were starting Bible studies in their neighbors; they were striking conversations with people as they walked from one place to the next.

The things that are truly important to you, you really don’t have a hard time bringing them into the conversations that you have with other people. We talk about our kids, we talk about our favorite sports teams, we talk about our jobs, and we talk about movies… This group of people had come to believe that Jesus was good news, so they talked about Him to anyone who would listen. And eventually the gospel (which literally means “good news”) made it’s way to the city of Colossae.

And through several different letters that Paul wrote, we can piece together how this church was founded. During Paul’s ministry in Ephesus, at least two men from the city of Colossae were brought to faith in Jesus Christ –a guy by the name of Philemon (we’ll talk a little about him toward the end of our series) and another man by the name of Epaphras. And as we saw in the opening verses of this letter, Epaphras was one of the key founders of this church. He had been changed by the gospel and then came back home and shared that good news with his friends and family there in the community.

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So, I hope you have a little bit of an idea of how the church began. But that doesn’t fully answer the question of why the letter was written. Well, at the time this letter is written, it’s estimated that the church is about 5 years. The gospel had taken root, lives were being changed, and people were bearing fruit in their service before God.

But there’s a problem. False teachers have shown up.

Epaphras has brought the gospel to that community, and he doesn’t know how to completely battle against them so he heads back to Paul, the man who introduced him to Jesus. And false teachers have crept into the church and are introducing new ideas that are opposed to the gospel. And these false teachers are pretty crafty. If you asked them about Jesus I’m positive that they would respond by saying, “Oh for sure, we love Jesus too.” But from there they would go on to promote a heresy suggesting that you could have closer connection/relationship with God if you just do a few more things.

And that sounds a lot like today, doesn’t it? You’ll find people all over the place going, “Yes, Jesus. Jesus is our main man. We believe in him and we love him. But, you know what? My next-door neighbor is a Muslim and, he prays so much than I do. And so I’m going to borrow a little bit of his stuff. Jesus is still my main guy, but I’m going to borrow a little bit of the Muslim faith here. And then my other neighbor, he’s a Mormon. And outside of some odd things they believe about the afterlife, he really loves his family well. So I’m going to borrow a little bit from this and little bit this, and with Jesus as my main man, I’m going to create this kind of new thing.” That’s a reality of what’s taking place right now; but it was happening back then too.

And Paul’s going to try to undermine and attack that throughout his letter to this church. Let me give you one example. Paul tell them in the second chapter, to

“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” (2:8)

People will come up with all sorts of great ideas to cope to with life, or to assist with getting through life. They’re going to pass these ideas down from generation to generation, but if it’s not founded on Christ, or if it’s adding something opposed to the gospel… turn from it, and don’t allow it capture your attention. Don’t entertain those thoughts. You don’t need something new. You don’t need something else added in. You have the most valuable treasure there is, for you have Jesus Christ Himself. And through faith in Jesus, we are welcomed you into the Kingdom of God.

Can a price tag be placed on that? No. Do we really need something else added in? By no means. The old hymn rings true; Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe. The Word of God affirms the fact that Jesus didn’t pay some; Jesus paid it all. Jesus is the answer

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to our deepest need. Jesus is the source of our greatest joy. Jesus is the One in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. And I could go on and on…

You don't need something new because you have the gospel. That takes us to the 2nd

phrase in our sentence; you have the gospel. The word gospel comes from the Greek work , which is literally translated “good message” or “good news. εὐαγγέλιον Paul celebrates that this group of people have come to an understanding of the good news of Jesus Christ. Let’s read again of how thankful he is for these people coming to Christ:

Read Colossians 1:3-5

Paul, in typical fashion, expresses his thankfulness for this particular group of believers. They’ve discovered their greatest need, which is their sinfulness. And they’ve discovered God’s greatest gift, which is Jesus: the Rescuer from their sin. For that reason you will find that most of Paul’s letters start with him rejoicing over a group of believers, because he is so thankful that they’ve come to know Jesus Christ. They’ve discovered the gospel.

Here within this group of verses, I want you to take notice of three different things that are highlighted; you can call this a triad of God’s grace. All three of these are brought about through the gospel.

First, is faith. Paul says that they’ve been praying for the Colossian church ever since they heard that the Colossians had faith. And Paul didn’t end the sentence after he said the word “faith.” Because your faith is only as good as what you place your faith into.

You will hear people say all the time to day, “Well, you just have to have faith.” OK, but faith in what? You have to have faith in faith? Well, that doesn’t make sense. The only faith that makes a difference, is a faith that completely dependent on Jesus. And because Jesus is dependable, and He’s worthy of our faith, Paul is so thankful that they’ve come to trust in Him.

But then Paul is also thankful for their love.

Second, is love. For Paul, the sure sign of grace at work was the fact of a loving community created nothing. It’s easier for you to love the people with whom you have a natural connection. It’s easier to get along with the people who have the same likes that you have, have the personality that blends well with your own, that dislikes the things that you dislike… but to have a love that extends to all the saints… now that is truly remarkable.

And that faith that they have in Christ and the love that they have for their fellow believers holds together because of this third part… Hope.

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Third, is hope. Paul says there in verse 5, “because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.”

Hope urges us on through life. When life is difficult or when there are obstacles in the way, hope is what gives us the motivation to push on ahead. For instance, I really enjoy playing basketball, and over the past several months I’ve started getting back into the sport that I haven’t played in a long time. But there are a few obstacles for me play. First, it’s somewhat early in the morning. If I’m going to make it on time, I need to get up at 5:30. Second, it’s in Chardon. I’ve got to get up early and make the 20 minute drive to get over there. Third, there’s a little bit of pain involved; my back gets sore, my muscles tend to ache… And I know these aren’t huge obstacles, but because of the confidence I have that I will enjoy my time playing this game, I will get up early, I will drive the distance, I will endure the pain in order to play a little bit of basketball a couple of times a week.

Hope pushes me forward, and it gets me going. Paul reminds the Colossians of the hope that is laid up for them in heaven. In fact, he will talk about this again later on his letter when tells them to,

“seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Our confidence in heaven propels us forward when we feel like giving up. We’ve been given the gospel and it completely transforms our way of life and the way that we look at life. Within our lives we are going to experience a number of ups and downs. Things will go well, and things will fall apart. But regardless of whatever life brings, hope in eternity spent in heaven with Jesus, that anchors our soul, and urges us to move forward with confidence.

You don't need something new because you all of this is offered to us within the gospel. Faith, love and hope are freely given to us through Jesus. I’m so thankful that Jesus stepped into my life. That through faith in Him I have been given an opportunity to love the other members of the body of Christ, as well to be loved by other Christians. That through faith in Christ I have been given hope for tomorrow, I’ve been given hope for eternity. That although I may have day/weeks that are rotten, that just don’t go my way, that there will come a day that I will stand in the presence of God, that I will be in a place where I will literally walk and talk with Jesus

Because, in the word of the truth, the gospel, I am confident of these things. And this leads us to the last phrase in our long sentence…

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“…only the gospel will change the world.”

Read Colossians 1:6-8

The gospel had been planted into the lives of the people of that city. The gospel is a seed that can be planted anywhere. It can reach deep into the jungles of Africa; it can be carried to the deserts of the Middle East; it can go into the cities of Cambodia; and it thrive in the rural towns that stretch across the United States. | And if people are going to be reached with the gospel of Jesus Christ… someone who is saved is going to have to carry that message into the world so that the lost can hear.

Epaphras was that person in the city of Colossae. He faithfully brought the word of the truth into that community and people’s lives were being changed.

Verse 6 tells us two things that are happening:

First, they were bearing fruit. This means that the actions of their lives were changing. Paul would say later on this chapter, that before they came to know Jesus, they “were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds.” That is what characterized their life. They were dead in their sins! They were not free to follow after Jesus, but they were enslaved to their own sin. But now, since coming to an understanding of their Savior, they have the freedom to bear fruit. They have the ability to follow after the Holy Spirit and to live a life that is fully pleasing to the Lord.

The gospel is the only way that a life is going to change. These people didn’t just undergo a behavior modification process. They came in contact with the living God where He removed their heart of stone, gave them true life, and began a work in them for true-life change. Through the power of the gospel, the patterns of their life were set on a different course.

And the second thing that was happening was they were increasing. They were growing in number. Epaphras came home from Ephesus excited to share the good news that had changed his life. A number of people heard it and understood they grace of God in truth, and then shared it with the people in their life.

So you’ve got this one person who goes to a group of people with the gospel. They embrace it and share it with others. That group then shares it within the circles they travel in… little bit by little bit that group grows. It gets bigger and bigger.

And that all happened because God had opened the eyes of Epaphras and he was willing to do his part in bringing the only news that actually has the power of salvation, the news of the only Person that can change truly change a person’s life. Epaphras was willing and excited to talk about the salvation that is only found in Jesus.

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Are you willing to do that? Are you excited to talk about Jesus with your family, or with your coworkers, or with a friend? Jesus is their only hope for salvation. Jesus is the only way to God. Without Jesus, their life now, and their life for eternity, is heading towards destruction. The good news of the gospel is thee only thing that is going to change their life, and the only thing that is going to change the world! Are you willing to go share Jesus with the world?

By God’s grace, I’m confident, that some of you are. That there are people, within this church, that are actively sharing their faith and talking about Jesus throughout their week. But I’m also not naïve. I know that there are plenty of us, that when the conversation comes up about sharing our faith, or about evangelism, we hang our head. We go, “oh man, I know I’m supposed to be doing that. God’s called me to do that, but it’s really tough. That’s kind of an awkward conversation. It makes me uncomfortable. I don’t even know where to start.”

Do you know where you could start? You can start in prayer, asking God that your love for Him would develop into a true love for people; because there is a direct connection between a love for God, and a love for people. Jesus was once asked what the greatest commandment is, and responded by saying that you should “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” And then He went to say right after that, that the second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself.

So you can ask yourself: do you truly love people? Does your love for God overflow into a genuine concern for people here in Middlefield, in Burton, in Chardon and in other parts of the world? I think that if we’re ever going to become more effective in sharing the gospel, we have to begin by truly caring about people. We have to care about those who haven’t come to faith in Christ.

To investigate a little further on your concern for the lost, can I ask you how often you pray for those who aren’t saved? For instance, if God amazingly answered your prayers today for all of the unsaved individuals that you prayed for last week, how many people would come to Christ today? If God answered your prayer today for every unsaved individual that you were praying for in 2016… how many more people would be added to the kingdom of God right now?

My hope would be that we could stand back and go “Wow! Look at God’s answer to our prayer!!!” But my guess is that there are plenty of us here going, “Ouch! I’m not sure how much of a concern I really have.”

What would it look like if the people Cornerstone Bible Church developed a greater passion for the lost in our community? What would it look like if within your small group, you came together to not just meet your own needs but you also intentionally looked to meet the needs of people in our community? What if you prayerfully and

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purposefully sought to build relationships with the lost in order to bring the gospel to world?

The gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. We cannot stay silent about this! We cannot simply live a good life and hope that people catch on that there’s something different about us. We have the gospel, and only the gospel will change the world, so let’s be faithful in sharing it.

This little community, the city of Colossae, came to Christ because a guy by the name of Epaphras gave his life over to God. God then sent that man back home to deliver the news of faith, love and hope that is found in Jesus Christ. And now it’s our turn. We’ve been given the gospel, we’ve been given the good news of Jesus, and we’ve been given the call to go share the news that will change the world.

I want to leave you this morning with a video that stresses the significance of our call to go live on mission with the gospel of Jesus Christ. I pray for our church. I pray that we would be a body of believers that has such an immense love for our Savior, and such an enormous compassion for the lost, that we would seriously and wholeheartedly carry out the call that God has placed on our life.

Play Video

Closing Prayer

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