One Reason To Be Thankful Colossians 1:3-1:6
We are less than 2 weeks away from Thanksgiving
• So with this in mind I thought it might be a good idea to kind of prime our brains
• Of somethings that we are thankful for
THINGS I’M THANKFUL FOR "...
• I’m Thankful for the mess that I have to clean up after a party because it means I have been surrounded by friends.
• / the taxes I pay because it means that I’m employed.
• The clothes that fit a little too snug because it means I have enough to eat
• I’m thankful for my shadow who watches me work because it means I am out in the sunshine.
• A lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a place to live.
• The spot I find at the far end of the parking lot because it means I am capable of walking.
• All the complaining I hear about our government because it means we have freedom of speech.
• My huge heating bill because it means I am warm.
• The person who sits behind me in church who sings off key because it means that I can hear.
• The alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because it means that I’m alive.
Finding reasons to be thankful in todays world can be hard
• It’s a matter of having the right mindset or perception.
• In some parts of Mexico, there are hot springs and cold springs side by side.
• There great for washing clothes!
• Because the women bring the clothes, boil in hot, and then they can rinse in cold.
• One Tourist who happened to be watching one day
• Said to the guide: "I’ll bet they’re pretty grateful to Mother Nature for these springs."
• And the Guide said : "No señor, there is much grumbling because she provides no soap!"
No doesn’t this sound like the response of the world today
• That our human tendency’s are to be “unthankful” and “ungrateful.”
• In the midst of the all the blessings that we receive in in this world,
• More often than not we have to remind ourselves to be thankful.
Now today we are going to look at Colosions 1:3-6
• These 3 verses remind me of one of the best reasons to be thankful.
• And That reason is Jesus Christ.
Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer
Col 1:3 We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Col 1:4 for we have heard that you trust in Christ Jesus and that you love all of God’s people.
Col 1:5 You do this because you are looking forward to the joys of heaven—as you have been ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News.
Col 1:6 This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is changing lives everywhere, just as it changed yours that very first day you heard and understood the truth about God’s great kindness to sinners.
But Sadly, we have heard this truth
• So much through out our lives
• That we have almost become amune to the concept.
• We’ve become numb to a lot of the basic principles
• But, we should be thankful / every day for Jesus
• Because His purpose is to change our lives
• Jesus is a life changer.
Now lets Consider for just a minute the term “Life Changer”.
• Now when it comes to life changers
• We can see them as events that change our lives
• Or we can see them as people who do the changing that goes on in our lives
• (ELAB on what can change in our lives)
But at the same time there are people behind some of these things
• Who motivate the changes in our lives
• (ELAB on someone who has changed our lives)
This is what Life changers are all about
• They can either be a traumatic event or a highly influential person
• I’m sure each on of us here today can think back in their past
• And think of their own personal Life Changers
• And what we see is that it becomes a defining moment
• A life-changing moment in life.
But even though each one of us here today comes from different backgrounds
• And each of those different backgrounds were made up of different Life Changers
• We all have one Life Changer in common
• And Jesus is that life changer.
So with this being said Let’s consider the three types of Life Changer that Jesus is
1. Jesus is a Professional Life Changer
• Have you ever really stopped and given this any thought?
• While we tend to think in our minds
• That “knowing Jesus” is a good idea and it’s personally helpful,
• Sometimes we lose the concept that having Jesus in our life really makes a difference.
When it comes to changing lives
• For Jesus it’s not a hobby, / an afterthought,
• It’s not even something He does for those who ‘think’ they need a life change.
The reason Jesus left Heaven,
• And came to earth was to bring about a dramatic change
• In the lives of His creation.
• And scripture is filled with this truth.
We are told that “If any man is in Christ, that man is a NEW creation.”
• This doesn’t mean the person has been Renovated / Remodeled / Redecorated
• It means he has been rebuilt from the inside out,
• Not from the outside in.
• Paul letter to the Romans tell us to be “not conformed to this world
• But to be transformed.”
• Transformation is not only reformation it is reconstruction.
• Think about the changes that Jesus brings into the life of the alcoholic
• Think about the changes that Jesus brings into the life of the former drug addict,
• Think about the changes that Jesus brings into the life of the former atheist.
• You want to Talk about one reason to be thankful?
• Jesus does this professionally!
2. Jesus is a Permanent Life Changer
• When Jesus changes a life,
• He doesn’t do it for the moment,
• He doesn’t do it for the hour, the day, the week,
• He doesn’t even do it or for a couple of months or years
• When Jesus changes a life it’s a permanent change.
One of the issues facing the church today
• Is just how easy that we have made it to join a church
• He have simplified “joining” the church
• And we’ve removed the comitment factor
It’s easier to join most Baptist churches than it is to join the Lions Club
• There are more rules and prerequesits to joining a Country Club
• Than there is to joining a Church.
Some people here today may wonder why this would be important
• But John the Baptist tells us that we are to
• Lk 3:8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance (Luke 3:8)
• Before Christianity became Christianity in 313ad,
• The Ekkleesia (that is, the assembly)
• Were considered rebels, / renegades, / sometimes criminals
• And because of this they had to be careful who they let in.
• Potencial members were held to the standard of producing works in accordance with repentance.
Here’s the Point
• When a life is changed by the power of God,
• The old things are Die, They passed away.
• This means our Old habits,
• This means our old wants and desires have become a thing of the past
• And now those things have been replaced with a new way of thinking
• Jesus changes us by releasing us from the bondage of sin, / death, / hell.
• He sets us free!
• Because The one who the SON sets free is FREE INDEED
• And their FREED FOREVER!
3. Finally Jesus is a Personal Life Changer
• You ask me how I know?
• I know because He’s changed my life.
• (ELAB)
When I think about my own life
• And the mindset that I carried for years
• Even inside the church
• I’m amazed to stand where I stand today.
• When I meditate on this calling that I do week in and week out,
• I find myself asking God
• If maybe He hasn’t made His first mistake in all eternity
• By calling me to be one of His preachers.
• Of all the people He could have called, why me?
• My question is often the same as a lot of other people’s questions
• “How can He use me?”
And when I get to the point of self-doubt about my calling,
• He always responds with some kind of word for my heart.
• It may be in the form of a new way of seeing a text that I’ve read a 100 times,
• Or maybe it’s a concept that He uses to change my heart
• Sometimes it can even be a new vision for us;
• But the truth is whatever the message is
• Isn’t as important as WHO speaks it.
• Today’s message is simple.
• If you need a reason to be thankful
• Be thankful that Jesus is the real life changer.
• Now, has He really “changed” your life? If not, will you let Him?
