Living the Life That's All About Jesus
Colossians: It's All About Jesus • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction
Introduction
What is the reason you live your life? Some live their lives in a way that they can be known. Some can live their lives in a way that will make them rich. Some live their lives in a way that will make them secluded, not bothering anyone.
What if you and I lived our lives in a way that was all about Jesus? In other words, what if we lived our lives in a way that in everything we did, others would see Jesus, what would that look like?
Our study in Colossians today, Paul shows us that God desires for us to do just that. In every area of our lives, we should live in a way that points others to Jesus.
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints— the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth. You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
In this passage, we will look at how Paul uses constant prayer to a consistent God that produces contagious living.
Constant Prayer
Constant Prayer
Paul indicates that he is continually praying for the church in Colosse and as he does, he is always thanking God. Does this mean that in all of his waking hours that he is praying? I believe that people in the bible were real and very human. As humans, we tend to exaggerate some and perhaps Paul is exaggerating with his use of the word “always.” He probably means during his prayer time which he prayed morning, noon and night. If you remember, Paul had prayers ingrained in him since his childhood and being the devout Jew that he was. However, since he has meant the risen Christ, his content would be much different. I am certain that Paul uses this phrase to demonstrate that we should have an attitude of prayer. In fact, he shares in his first letter to the Thessalonians the simple request to “pray continually.”
1 Thessalonians
pray continually;
There is much to study on prayer in the New Testament where we are instructed by Paul and Jesus Himself in the school of prayer.
Jesus
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.
The rest of that chapter tell us the story of the persistent widow and how her prayer was constant. As the early church was being developed, prayer was a foundational discipline for direction and purpose.
They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.
Paul mentions the necessity of prayer is several other places:
God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
And again in a passage we will study later in :
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
Paul tells us in our passage today that “we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ when we pray for you.” This is consistent with other passages that Paul wrote.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
As I read passages like these, I am reminded that thanksgiving ought to be a part of every prayer. When we are in constant prayer, we can’t help but reflect on the One to Whom we are praying and why we should be thankful. Paul specifies that we are praying and giving thanks to “God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” He is the object of our thanksgiving as we as the object of our prayer.
Colossians 1:
because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints— the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel
Notice in what the prayers that Paul mentions are giving thanks for:
The graces of God. What are the graces of God? They are Faith, Love and Hope. Paul reminds us also that FAITH is looking upward to God. LOVE is looking outward to others, HOPE looks forward to the future.
It is FAITH in Jesus that brought the people of Colosse to believe in Paul and the salvation he proclaimed. It is LOVE for which Paul gives thanks, specifically their love for all the saints. We show our true discipleship to Christ when we love.
Jesus says in
By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
As Christians, we are called to love:
1 Peter
Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.
It is HOPE we have that is stored up in heaven, the happiness of heaven that is promised to us.
while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,
What is stored up for us here is much, but what is stored up for us in heaven is much much more! speaks of this HOPE as truth from the beginning of time.
a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time,
The more we fix our HOPE on what is stored up in heaven, the freer we are in this world to do good.
The prayer is an act of worship and celebration of the goodness of our Lord.
Which leads to the second idea that we can see in this passage: We serve a CONSISTENT GOD.
Consistent God
Consistent God
There is so much in the phrase, “Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Throughout biblical history, God has always been consistent to provide humanity with redemption. In the creation, we learned that God created mankind in His image to fellowship with Him and exist as His people. When mankind allowed disobedience to God to take place, God devised a plan of restoration, where an atonement was provided, a sacrifice given, so full restoration could take place.
Have you ever noticed how consistent God is and has been throughout history? God models this in His Son and reminds us in Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Hebrews 13:8
It is not just this verse that gives us the consistency of God. The Bible has many more!
God is not a man, that he should lie,
nor a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
Does he promise and not fulfill?
to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.
Psaom
Numbers 23:19
God is consistent.
I will not violate my covenant
or alter what my lips have uttered.
Psalm 89:34
God is consistent.
But you remain the same,
and your years will never end.
Psalm 102:
God is consistent.
The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind:
“You are a priest forever,
in the order of Melchizedek.”
God is consistent. We can count on Him and trust His word. We can be assured of His faithfulness. God is true to His word. According to , when He speaks, He will not relent, He will not go back on what He says.
“I the Lord do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.
Therefore the earth will mourn
and the heavens above grow dark,
because I have spoken and will not relent,
I have decided and will not turn back.”
M
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
Our God is consistent.
When you have CONSTANT PRAYER to a CONSISTENT NEVER-CHANGING GOD, your life will become CONTAGIOUS. That’s what happened to the people of Colosse. Paul shows this in . Hearing about the Word of Truth leads to doing and being. Doing and being leads to bearing fruit. Bearing fruit leads to growth. The key to bearing fruit and growing spiritually is understanding God’s grace and all its truth. The Bible says that the people of Colosse learned this from one person. Epaphras who Paul calls as “our dear fellow servant” and “a faithful minister of Christ.” Epaphras lived contagiously!
Truth be known, we are all living a life that is contagious in one way or another. Either we are contagiously positive or contagiously negative. Paul is showing us here that positive contagious living in centered in a person. His name is Jesus Christ.
It is not centered in a doctrine, a vision, a philosophy or a religion. Contagious living centers in the person, Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Contagious living is from knowing and experiencing the Word of Truth. Jesus prays for you and I in that beautiful prayer found in John 17:
Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
This is reassurance that the TRUTH is from God and it can be trusted.
Contagious living is living out the message of God’s grace. Warren Weirsbe wrote “two words in the Christian vocabulary are often confused: grace and mercy. God is His grace gives me what I do not deserve. God in His mercy does not give me what I do deserve.” Aren’t you glad that God in His grace is willing to save all who are willing to trust Jesus?
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.
I recently read of Dr. Walter Wilson who was a medical doctor, a salesman, business man, and a preacher. It was said that he had a unique way of making old truths seem new and exciting. He once recited
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John
After reciting this familiar verse, he asked the group to which he was speaking, “If you were going to give a gift that would be suited to the whole world, what would you give?”
He listed several possibilities and showed how these gifts could not suit everybody:
Books wouldn’t work because not everybody could read.
Foods wouldn’t work because people eat different foods in different parts of the world.
Clothing wouldn’t work because of the different climates.
Money wouldn’t work because some cultures have no use for money.
The only suitable gift for the would work for the whole world was the gospel because its the gift of eternal life and is still suitable for the entire world.
Paul said that all over the the gospel is bearing fruit. The word of God is the only seed that can be planted and grow anywhere and still bear fruit. Constant prayer to a consistent God will produce contagious living. And in doing so, seeds will be planted to grow and bear fruit. Are you planting seeds?