Let's Get It Right Series

Sunday Morning February 10, 2002 Bel Aire Baptist Church

Series: Who Is Jesus Christ [#1]

LET’S GET IT RIGHT!

Colossians 1:13-23

Introduction:

1. The Lord has burdened my heart that as your pastor I must stop a problem that has been going on for a long time.

2. Please don’t take this wrong, but I am not sure we understand what it is to worship and for those of us that do know I am not sure that we are doing it.

3. I am not talking about style. We can worship to a hymn just as easy as a chorus. We also have more components to worship than just singing. For example, we should be worshipping during the offering, not getting in one last conversation.

4. You are probably waiting for me to tell you that you have to close your eyes and raise your hands in order to worship. No, no, no!

5. That’s not it. If that is what you think, then you don’t get it. It is good if you shout amen. It is good if you raise your hands. It is good if you clap. But, doing those things for the sake of doing them or not doing them because it’s “taboo” to tradition is wrong. If you clap after the special, great; but you better make sure you know who you are clapping for. If it’s for Mark or me or anyone besides God, you better stop.

6. This morning we are going to sing our songs, take our offering, and baptize new believers all during the sermon. I want our service to have meaning. I want us to understand and be reminded of why we come here.

7. I also want the children to stay in here this morning. I want them to hear this also.

8. No more going through the motions. No more playing church. If the music is just going to be something we do because we are suppose to, then let’s not have music. It’s time to worship.

9. So why do we worship Jesus?

We Worship Jesus Because He Rescued Us

What’s Happening In The Church?

1. I am afraid that in our churches we no longer believe practically that Jesus is the Savior of the world. We believe that Jesus is a means to an end. We believe that Jesus is there to make us better husbands and better fathers. We believe that Jesus is there to make us better wives and better mothers. We believe that Jesus is there to make us better businessmen. We believe that Jesus is there to make us more respected in our community. We believe that Jesus is there for many things. We have forgotten that Jesus’ prime reason for coming to this earth was to seek and save that which was lost.

2. Turn with me in your copy of God’s Word to Colossians 1:13-23.

Guilt Of Man

1. I love that Paul starts here by showing the guilt of man. We don’t like than. We don’t like to be shown that we are sinners. Paul starts with guilt. Look in verse 13. “He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness.” That’s where we were, in darkness. “And brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,”. That’s where we were not. “In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” We had to be redeemed and forgiven from our sins. That had to happen because we are guilty before God.

2. There are some people who believe that man is basically good. Those people don’t have kids. My first kid taught me that we are all sinners. My second kid taught me that some people are bigger sinners than others. My third kid just confirmed all of the above. We are born in sin and shaped in iniquity.

3. Look at the words here in verse 13. “He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness…” That word “rescued” means “to come in and take out by force”. It’s like Rambo or Arnold Swartzinhager or somebody who comes in and kicks the door down and walks in, snatches us up, and drags us off somewhere. I didn’t do that on my own.

4. There is an illustration of salvation that used to be one of my favorites until God, through a sermon, showed me it doesn’t work. It is the illustration of the life raft. It is like man is drowning and we throw him a life preserver and man has to reach up and grab the life preserver and then he is pulled in. You know the only problem with that? According to Ephesians 2, I was dead in my sins. Dead men don’t grab life preservers. I did not help God save me. I was lost and dead in my sins. I was guilty before a holy God, a holy and just God who must punish sin. God has to deal with sin. How does He do that? The wages of sin is death. When we die in our sins, we die eternally separated from God. We are in terrible shape and until we realize that, we do not understand the significance of Christ as Savior of the world. Jesus did not come to make me better; He came to transform my life. People don’t need to be better dressed up sinners.