Colossians 1:1-8 Focus on the Truth

Colossians 1:1-8 Focused on the Truth! Colossians-A prison Epistle written about 62 AD while Paul was in prison. * Paul never visited the church * It was founded by Epaphras (Big Papi) and Philemon as an outgrowth of the church of Ephesus. o God does not need an apostle to start something great! * I am always amazed at what Paul writes from prison-here is a man locked up for simply sharing what he believed. * Getting beaten, tortured, insulted, dis-respected, slandered, abandoned-and yet we see no indication of self-pity, poor me, I am a victim; I have had a tough life-Etc. * But what we see is a man who fully understood Christ, understood what Christ has done and is doing and will do in his life-and that was all he needed to continue on the path that God had called Him to-with no complaints, with no regrets, with no self pity. * His focus was on one thing-Jesus Christ! * The purpose of Colossians is to teach about Jesus-who He was and what He did, and where you stand because of that. * And this is what kept Paul going and what brought him joy and what allowed him to write encouragement to others-even though he was the one in prison, getting beaten and tortured Etc. * He cared about one thing-Not his problems, not his past sufferings, not his bumps and bruises-but Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. * He never spoke negatively about His sufferings, His past, his, beatings, his torturing, his imprisonments-He always put everything in the context of Christ! * And it made all the difference. * There was a lot of false teaching going on about Jesus-so Paul wanted to write to them to teach them the truth about Jesus and who He is-and because of that truth, this is where we stand in Christ. * This is a micro doctrinal thesis about who Jesus is. * And as always, Paul will towards the end of this short letter, say because of who Jesus is, because we have a better understanding of His nature, His character, His purpose-we should, therefore, based on that-live like this!! * Paul's interest in writing this book is to proclaim the truth of Jesus Christ and who He is. * I say that because there are many people today whose only concern is to want to know how God wants them to live-and that's good. * But if you do not understand who Christ is and all that He has done for you-the motivation and the power to live it becomes exceedingly difficult. * You see there are many today who are not interested in doctrine, in teachings, and in understanding. * Because of this, many churches, many pastors have compromised on the substance of the Bible for style of ministry. * I read many magazines and books about ministry-and very few focus on the importance of doctrine, but rather on style and approach of ministry. * It is more about being a communicator rather than a scholar. * Consequently, people no longer want to engage the mind, grasp truth, chewing on the meat of the Word-but rather, orientating themselves to meeting temporal needs and how you feel. * Many parents today are bent on meeting the needs of their kids and so interested in how their kids feel. * It is not necessarily focused on teaching principles of right and wrong, but on how the child feels. * The education system seems to more interested in how the kids feel rather than on how smart they are. * We never want to say no to them because it will hurt their feelings; we cannot let them fail a test because it will make them feel bad * A lot of parenting and a lot of the educational system nowadays is geared more towards feelings rather than on substance. * It has now become the nature of the church too-concerned more about style than substance, and even truth. * Many small group studies are saturated with this question---how does this verse make you feel! o Many do not ask the question-what does this verse mean in context! * My job as a pastor is, yes, be sensitive to your feelings-but without compromising the truth-which is what I am called to teach. * It is to be more interested in the substance than the style-although style is not bad o Gayle Erwin is one of the funnies teachers I have ever listened to. o He had an incredibly unique style-I would be crying tears of laughter as I was crying tears of conviction. * I do not want to be more consumed with how people feel about our church-but rather knowing that you are getting the truth of the Word of God in our church * This mentality of ministry based on feelings and style rather than substance has led to what I refer to as the dumbing down of Christianity. * No longer is it tolerable to sit in and listen to a sermon for more than 30 minutes, to go to church more than once a week. * It has flooded our churches with what is referred to as sermonettes for Christianets by pasteretts! * No longer is it digging in the Word of God, studying it, wrestling with tough passages, discovering deep truth to figure out this is what I need to build my life on. o Rather, it is "make me feel good brother and if I feel good, I'll go away happy!" * Why did I say all that-because this is what we get from Jesus, and it is what we get from Paul. * They were primarily concerned with substance rather than style; they were concerned with truth more than feelings-Paul is going to deal with what they need! * It is not that feelings do not matter. o But Jesus realized that when presented with truth, feelings might get hurt. o John 6:61-63 When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, "Does this offend you? 62 What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. o Matthew 11:6 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me." * This implies that Jesus offended, or hurt, others feelings. o Matthew 15:10-14 When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear and understand: 11 Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man." 12 Then His disciples came and said to Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?" 13 But He answered and said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14 Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch." * Let me paraphrase Jesus-Oh Well! * The truth is what mattered to Jesus! * Paul is going to teach us the truth about Jesus-and to put it into perspective-when we get the truth about Jesus, when we understand the doctrine of Jesus, when we understand how to apply Jesus in our life---then guess what-you will feel good, and you will be happy! * Oh, how I pray that the church would understand this! 1. Truth Bomb One: The first priority of God is your salvation, then your calling. Vs 1 As an introduction * Apostle-one who is called out for a specific purpose. * That is to represent Jesus Christ. * By the will of God o It is so important to be in the place of your calling. o To be doing what God has called you to do because it is His will. o My philosophy is this: my job as a pastor is to make sure that people are where God wants them to be. o Not where I want them to be. o If you are part of this church or are contemplating becoming a part of this church-I want you to believe and know that God has called you here. o If you desire to do ministry-I want you to be there-by the will of God-not Robert. o Being in the place that God has called you is my greatest desire-and I must realize that God might have a calling for you somewhere else. o And I cannot take that personal. o Paul was doing what He was called to do and so was Timothy o But we all need to understand this-that the main will of God is that all men come to the knowledge of Jesus Christ. o 1 Timothy 2:3-4 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. o Some have this backwards-they are more interested in what they think is your calling. o Then if your serving in your calling then through that, you will get saved. o No-Salvation is the priority then calling because you do not get your calling until you get saved, o No matter what God has called you to-the priority is always to be a witness of Jesus Christ. o Which means to tell others about Jesus. o Share what we share with others. o Being in the will of God starts with salvation. Vs 2 Paul's standard greeting. * Notice he says saints-who are the saints-you and I. * As soon as one accepts Jesus, they are now considered saints! * Saints mean set apart-if you put your faith in Jesus Christ-you are a saint-you do not have to be voted in. * Saint Sheree, Saint Mary. 2. Truth Bomb Two: The second priority of God is how we act individually, but also collectively. Vs. 3-8 * Paul gives thanks to God always for what? * 5 things that should define us individually and collectively. o 1st Heard of their faith in Christ Jesus. * He was thankful for those who "past tense" put their faith in Jesus Christ. * I thank God for those of you who have put your faith in Jesus Christ. * For all those that have become saints o 2nd Your love for all the saints. * Present tense-man I thank God that those of you in the church at Colossi just love each other. * Paul had never been to this church, yet he heard how they loved each other-and he thanked God for it. * Nothing excites my heart more than to get a praise report of how you were just serving the Lord and loving on each other. * How will they know you are my disciples. * So much disunity in the church today * Theological, COVID-mask, vaccines, racially, politically. * No matter where you stand on any of these issues-your wrong and someone is mad at you! * * This community-I want them to know how much we love each other and how much we love this community-even if they do not come, may they be able to say this about us! o 3rd Because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven. * The future hope of being with Jesus for eternity-that is already laid up or accomplished for you. * Paul's giving thanks for that-and so should you and I * How did they get to this place-they heard it. o When-when someone shared the Word with them-the truth. o Right away Paul establishes-the truth-substance-not style. o You had the gospel preached to you and guess what-in all the world too. o The whole world is hearing the truth about this gospel-the good news of Jesus Christ. * 4th Because the gospel is being preached and people are responding to it, Paul gives thanks for the fruit. * You see when you are sharing the gospel-and people are responding, that is referred to as fruit-and so colossi is doing that, and Paul is giving thanks for that! * And how long are these four things that Paul is giving thanks for been going on-Vs 6-since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in Truth. * Once again Paul is focused on truth! * Since the day you knew! * Since the day that big Papi ministered to you-you have been on fire! * Big Papi was a faithful minister of Christ-sharing the truth of the gospel-and it was bearing fruit. * Notice Big Papi's motivation-on your behalf. o Big Papi isn't doing this to get his name on the side of the building, to go down in the Pastor's Hall of fame, To build a legacy, to not get on the Oprah book of the month club, not to become the featured speaker at the latest conference, not to get on staff--or to get the praise of men-but on your behalf. o You see, many people want the ministry for their benefit, for their glory, for their self-fulfillment-Big Papi wanted it for their benefit. o Many people want to be worship leaders, or youth leaders so they can look at me and what I am doing. o I can say this-because I sought the ministry for years for my benefit, for my fulfillment. o God has changed my heart-where what I do is because I know that I am called, and I know I am not doing it for my own benefit anymore-because if it was-I would have quit a long time ago. o Nothing excites my heart more than to see you grow, than to see you being used by God-than to see people's lives impacted-and I will do whatever I have to for that end-that you may benefit-on your behalf! * 5th Their Love in the Spirit. o We cannot individually or collectively do these things in and of ourselves o It can only be accomplished as we depend on and are filled with the Holy Spirit. * Can that be said of us-can this prayer be said of us? Can we give this kind of thanks? * Can the things that were said about this church-be said about us * That it can be said about you!? * That is my prayer. * What are the things that I want our church to be known for and you personally to be known for-Truth, Faith, love, hope, fruit of the truth of the gospel, and doing things on others behalf, and being Spirit filled. 2