All I Need, Colossians: Finding Meaning
What kind of vacation goer are you?
Some people are super chill, others want to squeeze every drop of experience out of the vacation.
You have a LIST of things to accomplish on this vacation. U R not messing around!
Because the thing is, for some of us if we don’t really go after it, we don’t feel like we got all we could out of it
We can feel diminished, incomplete, unsure, or unsatisfied.
And this isn’t just for vacations, let’s be honest its for many of us just in life in general
We live in an almost constant state of FOMO
OR maybe it is a overriding desire for accolades and success.
No not me, Andy, I am super spiritual and content actually…
OK, maybe your don’t want “materialistic” things, but admit that often it is difficult to just BE… at peace.
Problem: our desire to live the life we see as THE LIFE, for whatever reason… comparison, tv, sm,
can get in the way of what God actually has for us
AND what is best and healthiest for us.
The life we crave and covet can keep us from the life we have been graciously gifted by Jesus.
When we work and obsess to find meaning we become tired and restless.
There is a better way to find meaning, and we will look at it today.
Today I want to open our series in Colossians, looking at how its author found meaning.
He found meaning in the capable hands of Jesus, and and this week as we will see week after week
All we really need is Jesus. Let’s dive in.
GOD: Colossians 1:1-8
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters[a] in Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.[b] 3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— 5 the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel 6 that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. 7 You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant,[c] who is a faithful minister of Christ on our[d] behalf, 8 and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
Collosians 4:7-18 Final Greetings
7 Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant[a] in the Lord. 8 I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our[b] circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts. 9 He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here.
10 My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.) 11 Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews[c] among my co-workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me. 12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. 13 I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis. 14 Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings. 15 Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. 16 After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea. 17 Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.” 18 I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.
- I want to split this passage into three sections and then work on some application
1. Paul’s people
As you read through Acts and the letters of the NT you see that Paul has this amazing network of people
They co-labored with him in the work and spread of the gospel.
They would travel, set up in a city, preach, teach and train and churches would be planted, established, multi.
Then Paul and his team would appoint pastors or elders to lead the churches and move on to new places
They would follow up on all the churches to see how they were doing and provide support and guidance.
This was the work of the Apostle Paul and his Apostolic team.
Simply, Apostle means “sent one” who pioneers - builds, we might use the word Missions for Missionary today.
But when you look into the word Apostle more deeply, we can see why it was used, for gospel work.
Many might think apostolic means highly Pentecostal or charismatic or expressive in worship.
But there is much more to it than that. In fact, 2,000 years ago, Apostle was not a religious word at all
It was used of a Ruler sending out a team to advance the influence, cause, culture, reign of Kingdom/Nation.
Goal was to make the new territory just like their homeland.
The head leader or captain was called and Apostle.
The Apostle would take a whole diverse team of skilled tradesmen, teachers, architects, builder, soldiers, Drs.
That if king ever visited that new colony, he would immediately feel as though he had never left his capital city.
The way of life, culture, language, architecture, education and so on, was supposed to be just like it was in Rome.
I am not advocating for the way of Rome, or in more recent history, the European colonizers
Who used force and exploitation, often converting people at the end of the sword, or rifle.
The way of Jesus is to be a different way of influence.
Despite the negative association, the NT uses the term to describe Jesus sending the church into the world
The Apostle’s of Jesus sent from the Kingdom of God didn’t use force and exploitation like Rome did
They use what is listed here, faith, hope, love, in the Spirit.
Goal wasn’t to make the places they went look like Israel, or Rome, but to look like the Kingdom of God, Heaven.
To be the answer to Jesus’ Prayer: Your kingdom come your will be one on earth as in heaven.
This was an Apostolic Team of people of different races, Jews and Greeks, men and women, young and old, rich and poor, slave and free, from different nations, tribes, and languages, all called to work together co-laboring
Defined by faith, love, hope: in the Spirit.
Who suffered together, prayed together, solved tensions together
Jews/Greeks: had to work through issues as we will see later in the letter
V 10 Mark the cousin of Barnabas, Mark, Barnabas, Acts 15.
V 9 Onesimus, a runaway slave, more in Philemon, from Colossae, social structure
V 15 Nyphma, a woman, leader, challenging societal norms.
Some were highly trained, most were not, they came for all parts of society and backgrounds
None went to Bible School or seminary, but boy did they know Jesus.
They were always V 12 wrestling in prayer!
2. Paul’s purpose
V 6 The gospel is bearing fruit through out the whole world.
Paul didn’t care how large his bank account was, his SM profile likes, if he was trending on google, or largely what people thought of him.
Not fame for Paul, Fame for Jesus.
Paul worked as a tentmaker, invisible, forgotten.
Paul and his team didn’t care who got the credit, whose church was bigger, or what their pay check was
Their highest goal was v 17 See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”
3. Paul’s pain.
Chains V 10, Paul has been imprisoned
His Apostolic ministry threatened the world powers so much, they had to try to stop him
That isn’t just pain, that is Apostolic pain.
That is pain the moves the cause of Christ forward. The changes lives for eternity.
That is pain like giving until it hurts because you prayed and God told you what to give
That is serving even when you don’t feel like it, all the times you sacrifice to serve kids, youth, adults, to play an instrument, sing, teach,
When you risk sharing your faith or inviting someone to church
When you don’t go along with the popular thing because it goes against God’s will for you and you stick out, maybe lose out, lose friends, lose a promotion, lose a job.
It’s keeping faith even when you are sick, things don’t go your way, your mental health is not at its best.
When you sacrifice to raise your family in a godly way.
That is what Paul and his people did, and we are called to as well.
Gods calls us to be an apostolic people, with an apostolic purpose, that endures apostolic pain.
This letter, is all about if we are to be that, how to usher in God’s kingdom on earth, your life, family, work, school
YOU:
- Let me ask you. How capable is Jesus to give you a fulfilling life on his terms instead of yours?
Are we trusting Jesus or are we a slave to THE LIST:
You know that list, we all have them: get married, make a million bucks, dream vacation all GOOD
But, problem, LIST, goes on and the thing is that list will never be satisfied and will never fully satisfy you
You see there is something we can’t buy with money Or experience with as many trophies or vacations…
That is what Paul talks about here: faith, hope, stored up, love IN THE SPIRIT
IN THE SPIRIT: lets drill down on that. IN THE SPIRIT: we are in the SPIRIT and the SPIRIT is in us.
Pool: you are in the Spirit you are in Christ, saved, Jesus baptizing you into His Spirit, Family, Kingdom.
Like jumping into a pool of water. You are saturated in it. Compare to: You are spiritually saved, identified with Christ-Heaven.
But there is more. You are not just to be in the Spirit but the Spirit also in you, working.
Some believe in Jesus, are in the pool, but it’s like we are holding our breath and not letting the water in
The Bible says be filled with the Spirit
It is like being in the pool and then letting the water in. Inside and out, overflowing,
It is not just to mentally agree that Jesus is God, died for me, rose, and be thankful for that, though that is good
The Bible says to receive the gift of the HS.
That is receiving into your very being, your heart, your mind, your body, your family, your circumstances
And we can limit what the HS wants to do in us when we chose not to value it.
Now I want to be clear, scripture says if you have faith in Jesus, believe in the work of Jesus for you, you have the Holy Spirit in you. But at times we sort ignore the influence, of the HS, push that off in the corner, when HS wants to lovingly take gentle influence over our entire life. But unlike much in the world around us that take control, HS won’t force it, we must seek it, and he must receive it and follow it.
Here is the secret: V 6
6 that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.
When we truly understand Gods Grace we don’t need the list anymore. And we are at peace.
What if we are supposed to be living more like Paul and his network that we really understand?
Well I am not, and many I am not really worried about that?
3 Things
See God’s Grace
How much do you V 6 “truly understand God’s grace”
When we work to find meaning we become tired and restless
When we receive meaning as a gift we can rest in the finished work of Jesus for us.
When we understand Grace we can truly say
I don’t need trophies, I just need Jesus.
I don’t need THAT LIST, I just need Jesus.
2. See the unseen. But I am not a big deal like Paul
Paul’s team was effective because they brought Jesus into the small, seemingly invisible, insignificant everyday.
They were not professionals, they more importantly were personal, purpose driven, powered by Spirit.
Doesn’t matter who you are what you do for a living, you are all called to a part of this team.
3. See the story not the stain
I had a rough past, or present, Jesus is looking at the story not the stain…
They brought Jesus everywhere, the dark corners of town, and the dark corner of the human soul.
Nowhere was off limits.
How to be Apostolic
Slow down, hurry keeps us from…
Prune down: remove some things…
Kneel down: pray, be in the spirit, humble, focused on God and what HS wants to do in and through you.
WE:
What does Paul say our life will look like if we do this?
V 12 They were “wrestling in prayer” that you may stand firm in the will of God, mature and fully assured.
Means, complete, confident, fulfilled, at rest.
Goal is to live like Jesus is all we need.
If we can live like Jesus is All we need then we will have faith, hope and love in the Spirit.
We will influence the world around us.
We will not be captive to the list, we will live a life the transcends the list
We might be less visible to the world, and have less trophies
But it will be fully visible and fully cherished by the God who rewards those you serve him with a humble heart.
ALTAR:
I need this assurance you talk about.
It comes when we understand God’s Grace
That starts with a commitment and a de-commitment.
Accepting God’s gift of grace through Jesus and commit to Jesus.
De-commit from finding your meaning, purpose, list it in other things, receive it from Jesus
Because he is really ALL YOU NEED!