Sermon Central
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An Outpouring Of Thankfulness Series
Contributed by Dennis Davidson on Nov 28, 2017 (message contributor)
Summary: Paul’s prayer burst into an overflow of thankfulness & praise. This thankfulness was because their lives demonstrated that God was at work in them and in the church. The Gospel was bearing fruit in & through their lives.
The world has a flawed view of love… If you love me, I will love you.
As long as you love me, I will love you.
As long as you do not act unloving to me, I will love you.
As long as I do not decide not to love another, I will love you.
However the agapae love says, I will love you, because God loved me. As Max Anders said, “Love is not a feeling, it is an attitude and action.” I.E. we decide to love.
Agapae love is not reactive, but proactive. It is not based on what others do to you, but what God has done for you.
Their love for all the saints” stemmed from the indwelling Holy Spirit. Believers are in the Spirit and the Spirit is in them (Rom. 8:9).
CONCLUSION / CALL TO ACTION
So Colosians introduces us to God’s trilogy of virtue—faith, love, and hope. Faith is the soul looking upward to God; love looks outward to others; hope looks forward to the future. Faith rests on the past work of Christ; love works in the present; and hope anticipates the future. Beloved that’s what the church of the Living God should be: a body of believers known for our great faith, our great love and our great hope.
In many ways FBC embodies this Church at Colossae, but we haven’t completely arrived yet. There are still many who need to be touched by seeing our faith at work. There are still many who need to be experience the love of this body. There are still many who no nothing of the hope of heaven that we have.
So be concerned with your Christian growth, examine your fruit. The fruit is what one produces, and what one produces tells what they are. Allow God to use you to bear fruit. When you understand the truth of God and receive the grace of God it is a natural occurrence.
Allow the love of God to be evident in your life, and reach out to others. Do not be reactive in your love, but be proactive. Allow your love to be an expression of who and whose you are.
How is your growth? Do you need to begin your growth by accepting Christ? Do you need to further your growth by asking God to produce more fruit in your life? Maybe you need to ask Him to make you love proactive and not reactive. If so, would you, in His strength, make any decisions that need to be made?
