Introduction
I. Maybe you have recently read a book or article about so-called “near death” experiences.
A. I admit, I really haven’t read a complete book or even an article on the subject, but I know that there are many out there.
B. I have heard people relate their “experience” on shows like Oprah.
II. Typically, the folks tell us of some “life changing” message that this entity in the white light tells them to bring back to us.
A. Often during their stay in “near death land” they are told that “it’s not their time yet.
B. They are only a messenger.
III. So the messenger write a book, and their lives are forever changed.
IV. People are hungry to get answers about life.
V. People are even hungry for answers about the next life.
VI. Have you every wondered though.
A. Why is it that all these people that visit the next life visit this place of “white light, peace and goodness.”
B. Doesn’t anyone ever visit that place of no light, eternal unrest and badness?
VII. Now I am not saying that all these folks are charlatans, but consider this,
A. Why would God need a new messenger.
B. God sent Christ to offer his life “a ransom” for many, and to bring a message of life based on faith.
VIII. One thing we must do when we are tempted to believe a “new revelation;” we must be willing to compare it to what God has already said in His Word to us, and if it lines up, then maybe you can believe it.
IX. Believing new revelation is the primary problem in Collosea.
A. They had been saved through receiving the truth.
B. They had started out on the path to maturity with the truth,
C. They were looking forward to eternal life, based on faith,
D. Yet, new revelation from God was causing some to forsake the truth.
X. Whenever you hear any revelator, whether on TV, radio or in person say, “God has given me a fresh word for you today” be skeptical, be very skeptical.
XI. In our section of Colossians today, Paul says you started your walk well, now just continue the journey.
Four Steps To Continue The Journey
6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.
I. I am convinced of this fact, consistency in life is extremely important.
A. Inconsistency brings discomfort and loss of assurance, while,
B. Consistency brings comfort and confidence,
II. I am convinced of this fact as well,
A. Consistency in our walk with Christ is important,
B. Yet we often find ourselves inconsistent in that very walk.
III. Sometimes, walking with Christ is sometimes pretty easy, but sometimes not so easy.
A. When we get that new job; easy, but when we lose the old job; not so easy.
B. When we are healthy; easy, when we are not so healthy; not so easy.
C. When the bills are paid and our bellies are full; easy; but when the bill collector calls, and we just had beans and cornbread; not so easy.
IV. When the going is easy, we are consistent
A. When the going is not so easy, we are often consistently questioning of God, and His presence in our lives.
B. It is in these times of inconsistency that we are most vulnerable to “new” ideas about God, and “new” philosophies.
V. Paul is telling the Colossians that there are four steps in the “Continuing Journey with God.”
First, be firmly rooted:
6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.
I. “Firmly rooted,”
A. This is actually one word in the Greek, which means “to be established” or “grounded.”
B. The reason the word “firmly” is added in my New American Standard is because the word is in what is called the “perfect” tense.
II. A word in Perfect tense, means “an action that was completed in the past, that does not need to be redone.”
A. How many times have you prayed to receive Christ as your savior?
B. How many times have you asked for forgiveness for the same sin?
III. I know the truth of salvation, BUT, I can also say that I have asked God to save me more times than I care to remember, and I have probably asked Him to forgive some sin almost as often.
A. Paul is saying, when you first received Jesus as your savior, you were saved once and for all; nothing can change that, not even you.
B. You were rooted in soil that will not give you up.
IV. Another interesting component of those words “firmly rooted” is that they are in the Passive tense.
A. Passive means and action that happens to the subject rather than the subject being the initiator of the action.
B. It’s like this,
1. A pitcher throws a ball,
2. The ball hits the bat, and goes over the fence,
C. We would say the batter hit the ball over the fence, but in the passive tense, the ball hit the bat and went over the fence.
D. The batter was not the cause of the action, but rather the recipient of the action.
V. Here Paul says, “You have been firmly rooted” not you firmly rooted yourself
A. Stop worrying about it, it you have accepted Christ, Christ has rooted you in a place of safety, where you cannot be uprooted, no matter how hard the wind blows.
B. You were not the cause of the action, but rather you were the recipient of the action.
C. In Ephesians, he says it like this, “8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, that no one should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:8-10, NASB)
VI. Get it; you have been “firmly rooted” now “Continue The Journey.”
Second, be consistently built up:
6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.
I. He says, “you have been firmly rooted” and “NOW being built up.”
II. Man, how I need this word today; do you see it,
A. “Now being built up,” PRESENT tense.
B. What is God saying here?
1. You are now being built up.
a. What are you going through today; it is building you up!
b. What are you facing tomorrow; you are now being built up!
c. What is the world throwing at you, who do you think has forgotten about you, what is going on in your life; use it to “Continue the Journey” because you are now being built up.
III. You see what we have here is a Present, Passive tense.
A. Present tense, that means what is currently taking place in our lives is helping us to mature in Christ.
B. Continue the Journey, regardless of how
1. Appealing the alternative philosophy might be, or
2. How difficult the circumstances are that we find ourselves in.
C. Paul is saying,
1. Your were planted firmly in good soil, so now
2. Just continue to grow.
IV. The interesting part to me is that these words are again in the passive tense, meaning,
A. Our job in the situation is to trust God,
B. If we simply continue to trust, God will use EVEN this for your good.
V. So, what is taking place in your life that God is desiring to use for your spiritual growth?
A. The obvious answer is everything.
B. So maybe a better question is, what is taking place in your life, that you are finding difficult to trust God with?
1. Those are the things you need to be asking folks to pray for.
2. Those are the areas where you might need someone to come along side you on the journey.
VI. But whatever you do, “Continue the Journey.”
Third, Be established in your faith:
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.
I. The word established means, “to make firm” or even “confirm”
II. The King James actually has this part of the verse translated better.
A. The King James reads, “stablished in THE faith.”
B. What is the difference in “established in Your faith” and “established” or “firm in THE faith.”
III. It’s really this question, “Does it make a difference what you believe?”
A. The answer is most assuredly it does.
B. You can be confident in what you have placed your faith in, but if what you have placed your faith in is incorrect, you have a problem.
IV. Paul is speaking to Christians; he is saying
A. You have been rooted well,
B. You are being built up daily
C. Now, don’t listen to distracting voices, just remain faithful to the system of faith that you have been instructed in.
V. Walk closely with God, and other believers, and you won’t be tossed about by the distracting philosophies that seem to be growing strong around you.
A. In Ephesians, it is stated like this, - 11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ. 14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
B. The essence of this passage is that we all need each other in order to help each of us grow into the mature man that God intends.
VI. The message,
A. You began the journey well by being planted in the firm soil of Christ.
B. You are continuing to be built up by each step in the journey,
C. Don’t give up, don’t be swayed, and don’t be pulled away by convincing arguments to the contrary,
D. Just “Continue the Journey” and don’t forget the last step, “Be Overflowing With Gratitude.”
And fourth, Be Overflowing in Gratitude
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.
I. There are four verbs in this sentence,
A. You “have been rooted”
B. You “are being built up”
C. You “are being established”
II. The forth verb is “overflowing”
A. The first three words, the action is happening to us.
B. But this word is where we have a choice to make, according to Paul.
1. This word is in the “Active” tense.
2. That means the injunction is for us to be overflowing in gratitude to God.
III. What picture do you get when you hear the word “Overflowing”
A. For me a see a cup, sitting under the faucet and I forget to turn it off.
B. The water is running and running and it just keeps running over the side of the cup.
IV. That is the word picture for overflowing.
A. There is just no containing the gratitude that we have in every situation.
B. I say that is the word picture; that is the injunction from God; that is one of the four steps that allows us to continue the journey on the path to spiritual maturity.
V. I didn’t say it would always be easy.
A. It’s not easy to be joyful in times of uncertainty about what tomorrow might bring.
B. It’s not easy when things aren’t going the direction you thought and wished they would have gone.
VI. But I truly believe that when we can be joyful in times of uncertainty that our faith actually grows.
Closing
VII. Paul has been telling his readers that they must give Christ that place of priority in their lives, and not allow anyone or anything or any cool sounding logic to take His place.
A. He want’s his readers to “Continue the Journey” of their walk with God.
B. He has given four practical and irreplaceable steps to help them find the path.
VIII. Be firmly rooted in truth, trust what Christ has done for you.
IX. Be consistently and constantly built up, don’t grow tired of learning what God wants to say.
X. Be established in the whole faith, allow others to build into your life.
XI. And the most difficult of all, Always overflowing with gratitude for what Christ has done, and what He is doing in your life.
