Sermon Tone Analysis

Have You Really Tried Everything?

A young boy was doing his best to lift a rock that was too large for someone his size.

He grunted and puffed as he tried various methods for lifting the rock.

But, in spite of all his efforts, the rock wouldn’t budge.

His father walked by and, after watching his son’s struggle, asked if he was having trouble.

The boy answered, “Yes, I’ve tried everything, and it won’t move.”

The father replied, “Are you sure you have tried every possibility, that you have used every resource at your disposal?”

The boy looked up with frustration and exhaustion filling his face and grunted out a “Yes!”

With kindness, the father bent over and softly said, “No, my son, you haven’t.

You haven’t asked for my help.”

How often are we like the little boy, struggling with our problems but unable to solve them––because we have not asked for our Father’s help...

Green, Michael P., ed.

Illustrations for Biblical Preaching: Over 1500 Sermon Illustrations Arranged by Topic and Indexed Exhaustively.

Revised edition of: The expositor’s illustration file.

Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1989.

I ask you that question here this morning…are there things going in your life right now that are troublesome for you and you are searching for answers that just seem to elude you...

For example…have you been hurt by someone so deeply that the pain just doesn’t seem to go away?

It may have been from the hands of unbelievers…or even believers…you know what it is like to be hurt…to be crushed...

You come to me and pour out your heart and describe the hurt in great detail and my response to you is “you have to just let that go...”

You would probably want to punch me in the face and you say, you’ve got to be kidding me…just let it go…come on man, what kind of counsel is that…you just don’t understand how deeply I’ve been hurt, and you are just wanting me to bear it when all I want to do is get even...

and I say yes..

Your response at that moment reveals a cosmic problem…

Trying to face the darkness and pain of this world in our own strength reveals a heart that wants to do its own thing apart from God and without the help of the all sufficient Savior, Jesus Christ.

This has been the cosmic problem since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden…man attempting to live apart from God…obeying his own rules, setting his own priorities, relating to others his own way, trying to solve problems with his own understanding…in every way coming up short and not finding lasting hope or change...

Today we embark upon a new series in the book of Colossians and it addresses that cosmic problem...

Theme of Colossians — Sufficiency of Christ.

Key verse: …what does it mean to you that your sufficiency is found in Christ?…

Col

The NT book of Colossians was written by the Apostle Paul

The audience for the book was both the church at the town of Colossae and the church at Laodicea ().

Because it is preserved inspired scripture—we are the audience today!

Colossae is located in SW Cental’ish modern day Turkey

Colossae was a part of a tri-city community within about 30 minutes of one another in a Turkish valley—Colossae, Laodicea, and Hierapolis.

These cities are mentioned in and other NT passages.

Paul had not personally visited the NT believers in these places

He was writing to reinforce and exalt the cosmic solution to the cosmic problem—Christ Alone.

While the specific circumstances are difference, His letters to the Galatians, Ephesians, and Philippians share the same theme—Christ Alone.

Colossian Heresy

Colossian Heresy

It was a combination of Eastern philosophy and Jewish legalism, with elements of what Bible scholars call gnosticism (NOS-ti-cism).

This term comes from the Greek word gnosis (KNOW-sis) which means “to know.”

(An agnostic is one who does not know.)

The gnostics were the people who were “in the know” when it came to the deep things of God.

You will find Paul using the term knowledge and wisdom quite frequently in this book as a result.

Why Study Colossians?

This is a letter that is much needed today...

We live in a culture that is progressively seeking to unite all the world’s religions into one or eliminate religion all together...There continues to be a growing push towards the one-world church.

Protestantism, Catholicism, Islam, Hinduism and others are being considered as all serving the same God.

There is also a movement gaining momentum to remove God and any reference to God from all levels of society...

We also live in a culture that is progressively seeking to unite all the world’s religions into one.

There continues to be a growing push towards the one-world church.

Protestantism, Catholicism, Islam, Hinduism and others are being considered as all serving the same God.

It would be a body with no head.

Colossians tells us what God thinks about all that...().

We also live in a culture where truth is considered relative.

All religions and their traditions are of equal value.

To claim otherwise makes one a bigot and intolerant of others beliefs.

Jesus is just another man in a long list of religious leaders.

He is no more important than Moses, Muhammad, Confucius, etc.

Colossians reveals the true identity of Jesus Christ as fully God, not just a religious leader.

(; ) As God, His word is absolute authority.

We also live in a time of pragmatism.

People are not concerned about the truth claims as much as they are does it work.

What difference will this philosophy or religion make in my life?

Will Christianity make a difference?

Colossians provides answers to many of those types of questions.

He changes lives -- ...He provides stability, causing us to be thankful -- … He fulfills all our needs, so that we lack nothing -- :10...He radically transforms us --

We live in a time of relational struggles.

Many people do not know how to relate to their spouse, their children or even their employers.

Colossians speaks to this. and all deal with practical truths that will have a direct impact on relationships.

We also live closer to the end times than ever before.

Threats of war and environmental disasters loom over every generation.

People often wonder when will the world end and what is next.

Colossians addresses that issue.

The world will not end in a cosmic, nuclear blast.

This age ends with the glorious return of Christ in all his glory and every believer will share in that glory.

()

Finding Our Sufficiency In Christ Starts With God.

Finding Our Sufficiency In Christ Starts With God.

Before we can ever find solutions to all life’s problems, we must first go to the source of life itself.

Finding Our Sufficiency In Christ Requires Starting Well

Three approaches to God that will set the course for your journey of finding your sufficiency in Christ.

1. Praise God for the Provision of the Gospel (1:3-8).

Paul links faith, love and hope to the gospel in a marvelous way here...

The word gospel literally means good news and was used in classical Greek to express the good news of victory in a battle…the gospel is the good news of Christ’s victory over Satan, sin and death...

The very first step in finding solutions to all of life is to be properly related to the all sufficient Savior…

A. It Provides the Path to Faith.

Faith is the past tense of the gospel…it rests upon historical fact…the gospel declares this is what Jesus did for you and calls you to believe...God gave us the cross and asks us to look back and believe Him...

Biblical faith is not a blind faith…it is not a leap in the dark…it is believing God…it is taking God at His word and acting upon it...

1 Cor 15:1

B. It Provides the Presence of Hope.

Hope = confident expectation...

B. It Provides the Power to Love.

Faith is based on the past, love is for the present...

Love for all the saints…there are always going to be believers that will never see eye to eye with us on 100% of the issues…until Christ comes again, we will all struggle with our own imperfections and the imperfections of others…even if we consider someone our enemy, we are still to love them…the gospel calls us to a greater way of living this life right now!

Paul was thankful for their response to the gospel that taught them to love in this way.

The gospel makes agape love more of a mindset instead of a feeling…through the gospel we learn what agape love is and then once we have responded to the gospel, we now can love like Jesus loves...

Agape love puts the needs and interests of others above our own, even if it means we have to suffer hardship for the sake of others.

Love in the Spirit…there is not a great emphasis on the Holy Spirit in this letter, but Paul makes it perfectly clear they would not have been able to show this love without the ministry of the Holy Spirit in them...

C. It Provides the Platform of Hope

As a result of their belief in the gospel, they now were able to love others correctly.