Is Jesus Making a Difference in Your Life?
Sunday AM – Lynn Haven – 01/20/08
FOCUS:
• Spiritual Authenticity
• Spiritual Litmus Test
FUNCTION:
• Letting Christians look in the mirror to examine their faithfulness
• Educating Christians what it takes to be more faithful
Credit to Jeffery Anselmi for his help.
Sizable portions of this manuscript were borrowed from his outline:
http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon.asp?SermonID=90953
A. Pleasantries
B. If there is one thing in our culture that is despised more than almost any other quality, it is hypocrisy, isn’t it?
1. Folks can’t stand it, can they?
a. I don’t know how often you’ve had a conversation with an unbeliever, and they say that what turns them off about religion or church is, “They’re just a bunch of hypocrites.”
b. Well, that’s partly an excuse, right?
1) That person is trying to provide an ethical reason for their own selfishness, right? And THAT’S a little hypocritical in and of itself.
2) And, also, when you think about it, where better for a hypocrite to be than in the church? At least they’re coming to the spiritual hospital to get better!
c. So that’s partly a hollow excuse, but it’s partly true, too, isn’t it?
2. There are many studies & surveys that have been conducted about Christian behavior vs. the behavior of unbelievers that are startling in their findings.
a. The Barna Research Group released the findings of a survey that said that “Divorce rates among conservative Christians were significantly higher than for other faith groups, and much higher than Atheists and Agnostics experience.”
1) And among the groups of believers he looked at – non-denominational (THAT’S US), Baptist, Mormons, Catholic, Lutheran – the group with the highest divorce rate were the more fundamentalist non-denominational folks like us!
2) How startling is that?
b. A recent study in 2006 concluded that believers have just as many abortions as unbelievers
c. And there are many more studies just like this, showing that when the going gets tough & it gets down to one’s behavior, there isn’t a whole lot of difference between a contemporary believer & an unbeliever.
3. So what makes us, who are here today, any different?
a. How can we know, would we know, if Jesus is making any difference in our life today?
b. Paul appears to have a litmus test, of sorts…
1) He speaks about it in 1 Corinthians 13…
2) He speaks about it in 1 Thessalonians 1…
c. And he also speaks about it here in Colossians 1.
READ COLOSSIANS 1:1-6
C. Paul is writing this letter to a church that is struggling with some false teachings that were prevalent at the time.
1. So Paul was writing this letter, in part, to encourage the readers not to go back to their former way of life
2. Paul wanted to direct the people’s attention to Jesus
3. So, looking at this text, we can ask ourselves a series of questions to determine if Jesus IS or IS NOT making a difference in our life…
I. Is JESUS the CENTER of your FAITH?
A. Paul says in verse 4, “We have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus.”
1. That’s a pretty impressive statement.
a. The faith of the Church at Colossae is so genuine that Paul heard about it in reports as he was in prison.
b. That’s an impressive report.
2. Notice, also, that their faith is in Jesus – HE is the center & basis of their faith.
a. Paul probably received this report from a fellow believer – but don’t you wonder what people said about this church as they lived in Colossae?
1) What were they known for?
2) What did people say when they spoke about this church?
b. It likely had something to do with their outward zeal, which was a result of their inward faith.
B. I wonder what people say about the Lynn Haven Church of Christ when the subject comes up?
1. What are we known for?
a. Now I’m not talking about OUR reputation as a corporate body, “the Churches of Christ,” in the 21st century
1) I’m not talking about how people talk about our non-instrumental worship
2) Or what people think about how we take the Lord’s Supper every week
3) I’m asking something else…
b. In your place of work… in your neighborhood… with your unbelieving friends, what are YOU known for?
1) Are you known for being that Bible pusher or Bible thumper?
2) Are you known for being that stickler for the rules?
3) Is your reputation tied more toward your faith, or is it more about your religiosity?
c. If Jesus is making a difference in our lives, wouldn’t we probably be known for our faith IN Jesus?
C. Paul talks about their “faith IN Christ Jesus” as if Jesus is the most central element of their faith
1. If we’re honest with ourselves, is Jesus the most central element of our faith?
2. Or is it something else? What is the reason that you call yourself a Christians & come together to worship? Is it Jesus, or are you substituting something else?
a. Is it family?
1) Perhaps you were raised in the church, and you’re expected to be here.
2) Or you’re here because your spouse wants you to be here.
3) Or you’re here because you want your children to have good influences.
4) In and of themselves, those aren’t bad things
a) But when times get tough & the rubber meets the road, having those reasons at the root of your faith isn’t going to help you life a more faithful life.
b) If Jesus isn’t central to your faith, you’ll crumble in the face of temptation as easily as the world does.
5) Perhaps you’re substituting “family” as the center of your faith instead of Jesus.
b. Perhaps a sense of duty…
1) For some intrinsic reason, you feel the need to be here even though your faith in Jesus is low.
a) “It’s important to go to church.”
b) “It’s important to not miss worship.”
c) Well, what happens when a crisis hits you that feels a little more important than your weekly duty to go to worship God?
2) You’ll probably crumble just like the rest of the world, won’t you, if you’re substituting a hollow sense of duty as the center of your faith over Jesus
c. Or perhaps you substitute the Bible ahead of Jesus…
1) “That’s silly, preacher! How could it be wrong to have THE BIBLE at the center of your life?”
2) Well, let’s listen to the Bible. John 5, vv. 39-40…
a) You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
b) It’s possible, it’s FRIGHTENING LIKELY, to put the Bible at the center of our faith & to push our faith in Christ to the periphery
3) So that when the temptations & philosophies of the world start to make more sense than the Bible does at a given point in time… when temptation happens, we crumble just like the rest of the world.
3. Is JESUS the CENTER of your FAITH?
a. If He’s not, He needs to be.
1) He needs to be the reason for everything you do.
a) Yes, it’s good to have other reasons
b) Like Family
c) Like Duty
d) Like Scripture
e) But when THEY are at the center, Satan has an easy target, because those things can be twisted & flawed.
f) Jesus can’t be.
2) Your rationale for living should have Jesus at the very root.
b. That’s what sustained the Thessalonians
c. It will sustain you, too.
II. Is your Love for the Saints Evident?
A. Paul also says in verse 4, “we have heard […] of the love you have for all the saints.”
B. If Jesus is making a difference in your life, it will be evident in the love, devotion, & compassion you have for your brothers and sisters in Christ.
1. IF you cannot love the most unlovely of us, then Jesus in not making a difference in your life.
2. Jesus loved Judas
a. Think about that.
b. Jesus knew Judas would betray Him.
c. He chose him as an Apostle anyway.
d. And Jesus loved Him.
e. JESUS LOVED JUDAS.
f. He had plenty of reasons not to, but He did.
3. What is your excuse?
a. How do you rationalize not loving those around you?
b. What excuses do you dole out for not loving the more unlovable.
C. We cannot ask lost people to come in and love those we will not love.
D. If Jesus is making a difference in your life, it will show by how you are able to love the brethren!
1. 1 John 2:9 - 11 (NASB) 9The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. 10The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
2. We can say how much we love Jesus all we want
a. We can sing about
b. We can pray about it
c. We can tell Him what a devoted disciple we have been
d. But if we do not love one another, they are just empty statements.
E. Is your love for the saints evident?
III. Does Your Faith Spring From Your Hope in Heaven?
A. Paul writes in verse 5, “the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel.”
B. If Jesus is making a difference in your life, it will be evident in what you hope for. And this will be evident in a number of ways…
1. If You have a proper perspective of hope, you will not want to get even or take vengeance on every injustice done to you.
a. Because you know that ultimate vengeance belongs to the Lord, and he will dole out justice on that Judgment Day
b. If you live in hope of that, then you probably don’t fret a whole lot over injustices or life not being fair
2. If you have a proper perspective of hope, you will probably have weathered the storms of life without losing your bearings.
a. When we have no hope of heaven, then we will not be able to persevere when we need to.
b. The things of the world will look too attractive to pass up if we don’t have a hope in something that far surpasses anything here on Earth.
C. If Jesus is making a difference in your life, the virtue of hope will pervade every area of your life.
1. You’ll have peace instead of anxiety.
2. You’ll have purpose instead of aimlessness.
3. You’ll have an expectation of a great future instead of a blind wish for something better.
CONCLUSION
A. Is Jesus making a difference in your life? One final litmus test…
B. Paul writes in verse 6, “All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth.”
1. Is the Gospel bearing fruit in your life?
2. Is there evidence of faith, hope, and love in the way you live?
3. Is Jesus making a difference in your life?
C. If you can’t answer yes, then you need to make that right.
1. We’re about to have an invitation… it’s an invitation to come forward & publicly make it right.
a. We can’t get this right on our own.
b. Lone Ranger Christians won’t make it.
2. Accept the help of your brothers and sisters
