Maybe it’s been a while since you have experienced the joy of throwing rocks in a lake. But if you think back you will remember how fun it is. I know my sons and I can hardly walk by a lake without stopping to throw stones in it. And being boys, it quickly escalates to seeing who can find and throw the biggest rock possible.
One of the coolest things about throwing big rocks into a lake is watching the ripples that occur. You know what I’m talking about. You throw in a small rock and these little ripples move out from the spot it landed in the water. Then you heave a huge rock and ripples cascade in a circle from the spot the rock landed. And if the water is calm you can see the ripples that seem to go all the way across the lake. For us we love watching the ripples move across the water.
Today we are in week three of a seven-week series on Colossians. We are calling it Are You In? The reason for that is because Paul opens his book by throwing this huge rock into our world, which continues to have a ripple effect to this day. The rock Paul threw was the truth and reality that every person can be In Christ. The first week we discovered that God invites everyone to be in Christ. We also discovered that there are people in our world seeking to thwart and diminish the reality of Christ in us. Last week we learned that Christ is supreme in every way and that being in Christ means we have the fullness of Christ in us.
Today we are going to talk about one of the ripples that occurred as a result of the huge rock of Christ being thrown into our world. This morning we will look at 1:24 – 2:7. As you take out your message notes you will notice that I entitled this message In What: Christ’s Network – The Church. Let me show you what I want us to discover today.
Now we know that Christ has a mission to seek and save those who are lost and the church has a mission to be the hands and feet of Christ to people…to be Christ to others. (turn chairs away from table) Now my concern is for those who like being in Christ but who are not particularly excited about His church. Who can blame us? Everyone knows that the local church is not perfect. Disagreements can be common and often resolved poorly. Music styles can vary as much as the weather. Bureaucracy can be rampant. The church always asks for money. People act one way in this building and a different way outside this building. It is not difficult to conclude that choosing a life of being in Christ without being in His church is the better way. I fear people have lost hope in the church.
Yet what Paul is telling us today is that we cannot live in this dichotomy. The reality is that the church exists only in Christ. We cannot separate being in Christ and His church. The existence and mission of the church is subsumed in Christ. To be in Christ is to be in His church and to be a church is to be in Christ. To not do what Paul says means we are not really a church.
I love the church. I believe it is the hope of the world. It is the only place for find spiritual healing; to find acceptance and to discover hope for our lives. In the passage Paul expresses his personal passion, love and work in Christ’s church. And in doing so he describes what it means for the church to be in Christ and how the church expresses Christ. Let’s read what Paul says and discover five things about living in Christ’s network; the church.
1. Moved by love, we sacrifice for others.
1:24: “what was suffered for you”
1:29: “to this end I labor, struggling with all His energy”
2:1: “I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally”
Do you hear Paul’s love for people in these phrases? Do you hear and feel his compassion? Do you hear his willingness to pay the price so that others can know and follow Christ? Paul is so moved by his love for people that he is willing to labor, struggle and even suffer so that people can come to know Christ and learn how to follow Him. His love moves him to action. And he is willing to pay the price for that action.
Verse 24 can be a little tricky. Paul is not saying that the sufferings of Christ are insufficient. I believe what he is saying is that he is now suffering and receiving the persecutions Christ would have received if still on earth. We know that Christ suffered much and Jesus told us in John 15:20, “Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.” Paul would later write to Timothy that “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” 2 Timothy 3:12. Remember, Paul is writing this letter from a Roman cell. So what Paul is saying is that when Jesus was on planet earth He suffered. And since I am His follower I will suffer as well.
Making a difference in a person’s life is not always easy. Making a difference in our world is not easy either. Making a difference is determined by our love and labor; our compassion and willingness to work on someone else’s behalf. It’s both: love and labor. Making a difference can be costly.
This labor, sacrifice and suffering can take many expressions. Maybe our love for our wives and children leads us men to have family devotions. Perhaps it is sacrificing our time to serve the poor. You ever notice how meeting the needs of the poor and needy are never convenient. Maybe it is using vacation to go on a mission trip. Maybe it is saying no to some wants so that I can fund more of God’s kingdom work. I don’t know what Christ may be calling you to but I hope it will be big enough to demand your best labor and struggle.
This past week our staff went to watch the movie Amazing Grace and I must tell you it touched my heart. To watch the life of William Wilberforce unfold as God calls him to take on the British political establishment to end slavery was inspiring. To watch his deep sacrifices and unbending commitment was humbling.
We live in a world where such injustice still exists. Dictators still abuse people. Women and children are still used as slaves. The people of Darfur are still starving and dying. There are still homelss people in DC and children suffering from neglect. William Wilberforce did not wipe out all injustice. This morning I want to believe that there is someone here today that God is calling to fight injustice in a profound way. To take up the cross of Christ and confront world injustice in the name of Christ. Maybe God is calling you and you need to obey. Maybe he will call you one day and you need to be ready.
Paul says that the sacrifice’s he makes for others is actually a source of great joy. Perhaps that sounds a little odd to you. It did to me at first. But think about it. In order to sacrifice for another we must be willing to humble ourselves. We must be willing to become servants. We must be willing to take the same attitude that Jesus Himself demonstrated. Now when I can set my selfishness aside I can see the needs of others and when I can set my ego aside I can serve them and when I can set my things aside I can sacrifice for them. And when I do that I am being like Christ and Christ was joyful when He sacrificed for others and so I will have joy as well. Now this type of life is possible only when our labor and struggle is in His power. This is not something we work up or just try harder to do. It is beyond our ability and will to do. We labor in His power and it is His energy that invigorates us. To impact the lives of others will demand labor, struggle and even sacrifice but it must be labor in Christ’s power not our own.
There is a scene in Amazing Grace in which the prime minister (William Pitt) and William Wilberforce are racing barefoot through a yard. After the race they are walking away when the prime minister steps on a thorn and says, “Why is it you only feel the thorns when you stop running.”
Being in Christ and His network, the church, means my love for Christ and people will move me to action. That love may even move me to sacrifice for others. To turn from that God ordained action will hurt even more. Life Question: “Am I willing to labor and even sacrifice so that others may know and follow Christ?”
2.We proclaim Christ to all people – 1:25-27
For most of us the word “mystery” communicates the idea of a “whodunit” type mystery or a puzzle that cannot be understood. Sometimes, in my more foolish moments, I even tell my wife that she is a mystery I will never figure out. But that’s another story.
A Hebrew would have understood the word “mystery” to mean something related to God’s purposes, which can only be understood by divine revelation. This is not something people can figure out but something God must reveal. And the mystery that was revealed in Christ is this…that through Christ, Jews and Gentiles could find God. Ephesians 3:6 says it this way.
The result of this mystery revealed is that a group of 100 that fit in one room and was of just one ethnic group has become a movement of hundreds of millions that encompasses almost every nation on earth. Jesus has a hopeful expectation rather than a defensive posture before a hostile world. So must we.
Christ in you and me. And in people in the Sudan. And in people in downtown DC. And in your neighbors. Being “IN” was not just a Jewish thing. Christ died for every person on planet earth. Saving Gentiles was not God’s plan “B” after being rejected by the Jews. Christ in us means there is hope for everyone.
Think about it. If Christ can save someone like you and me then He can change the life of anyone. I came to Christ at the end of my junior year in high school. Now I was not the worse kid in school outwardly but my heart was as hard as a rock. I learned later that several people had been praying for me for years. The amazing thing about this was that after becoming a follower of Christ other students starting coming to Christ and getting serious about following Christ. Word on the street was that if Christ could save Mark then He must be able to save anyone.
Life Question: “What is the next step I can help a person take to know Christ personally?” People who study these things tell us most people need five or six encounters with Christ before accepting Him as their savior. Think of a friend or family member who does not know Christ. Let’s you and I be one of those encounters for someone this week. And just imagine how much more powerful this will be when we proclaim Jesus’ message of good news from within a loving network at BCC.
3. We are to pursue maturity/perfection in Christ: 1:28
The word “perfect” could also be translated mature or complete. I don’t know about you but I’m glad there is another word. Perfection troubles me. But let’s not soften the power of this idea too much. The idea Paul wants us to think about is a life that has reached its purpose; that has grown up. Paul is not saying that we reach this point at death. He is saying that those who follow Christ must mature and must grow up now. Complete and mature is to be like Christ more and more right now. Our lives are to be more like Christ today than last week and when we meet together next Sunday our lives should be more like Christ than they are today.
And how do we do that? Paul says that we mature first by proclaiming Christ. To proclaim means to publicly declare a completed truth. It means that we proclaim Christ and Him alone. There is no other path to God. There is no other secret knowledge. There is no one else who can transform us into something good and better. There is Christ and Him alone. This was a direct affront to those Gnostic teachers who wanted a more pluralistic and syncretistic approach to life.
Second, we mature by admonishing one another. Admonishing means we encourage and instruct one another and when necessary confront one another. The word speaks to warning about sin and a misguided life. It means that we lovingly get in one another’s faces about sin, false doctrine and a complacent spirituality. It means that we love one another so much that we call one another to a higher standard and that we don’t let one another wallow in spiritual mediocrity and superficial living.
Third we mature by being taught truth from God’s word. I want you to know that this church will never tire of challenging us to be people who love God’s Word and people who love reading and meditating on God’s Word.
Life Question: “What is the next step I can take or that I can help another person take to become more like Jesus?” Remember the spiritual disciplines I handed out three weeks ago?
4.We live in a network with one another - Christ. 2:2-4
Men and women, we need to be people of hope and encouragement. We all know life is tough and everyone, and I mean everyone, is looking for someone who will paint a picture of hope and encouragement in their life. Let’s be people who encourage one another to be faithful to God; to obey His word; to resist the allures of the world; to love their families; to listen without giving answers: to enjoy life and to celebrate God all the time.
Now let me read 2:2 again from the ESV. “that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love.” The ESV does a better job of showing the connection between encouragement and love. What I saying is that being knit together in love is the means to encouraging one another. We love one another so much that we look for opportunities to encourage one another.
This strongly implies that we are involved in one another’s lives. It means that we have to let others into our life at more than a “how are you” level. Paul goes on to say that the result of encouragement in love is a more confident faith that can see through the deceptions of the world. We will have a confidence born of a knowledge and relationship with Christ in a community of people who love and encourage one another. We are involved with people who refuse to let me fake life with Christ; who refuse to let me believe lies.
Many of us are familiar with John Bunyan’s famous book Pilgrim’s Progress. The story tells of everyman who becomes Christian and journeys toward heaven. Along the way he meets people who help him on his journey and people who hinder his journey. He meets people like Mr. Worldly Wiseman who seeks to persuade Christian to choose a path that offers more pleasure. Then there is Talkitive who as his name implies is all talk and no action. And there is Atheist who along the journey mocks Christian and his beliefs. We too have people who are seeking to deface what God is doing in our lives.
But there is also Hopeful who travels with Christian for most of his journey. The two become great friends as they live the journey together. When Christian has lost faith and is contemplating suicide in the house of Giant Despair it is Hopeful who admonishes and speaks truth to Christian. And “With these words, Hopeful, at present did moderate the mind of his brother.” (page 101)
And near the end of the journey the two men are attempting to cross a river to make it to the Celestial City. As they enter the river Christian begins to sink and his fears begin to conquer him. In the midst the voice of Hopeful rings clearly, “Be of good cheer, my brother, I feel the bottom, and it is good.” Page 137.
Life Questions: “Am I connected to other Christ-followers who encourage and love me?”
“Do I have a Hopeful in my life?” Someone who knows how to encourage you.
5. We are to remain loyal to Christ and truth: 2:5-7
The Colossians, and you and I, have received Christ as Lord, we have found Him sufficient, we are in His network the church and we are growing in Christ. Therefore, Paul offers a word of encouragement and challenge.
“Keep at it” he is says in these verses. Continue in Christ; continue in His network and in His truth. He then describes what it means to “keep at it”. First, know that our salvation is rooted in Christ and Him alone. Since we are now rooted in Christ we need to draw nourishment from Him and His word so that we may be built up. As we grow we become stronger in our faith; able to discern good and evil; able to resist the winds of adversity and false doctrine; able to offer a shoulder for those struggling. Since we are now strong we overflow with gratitude to Christ for what He has done in our lives. Walk like that.
These chairs show how we often relate to one another. Different people sit in proximity to one another and to some degree we touch. We arrange our bodies in a circle but our souls are not connecting. In order for our lives to be transformed and for us to be a church we must turn our chairs around and see each other in Christ, through Christ and for Christ. If you are not in a life group would you please write life group on your connection card so we can help you find a group. If your group is not connecting at a soul level, would you write life group on your connection card so we can help your group do that.
