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Jesus is greater than everything.
INTRO
Is Jesus greater?
Is he really more satisfying than sex outside of marriage?
Is he really more satisfying than drugs?
Is he really more to desire than pornography?
If you lose your job, but have Jesus, are you really better?
PAUL – church planter, preacher, former Christian killer
Timothy, a guy who is his young apprentice
QUICK SURVEY OF THIS background, including:
< SLIDE 2 – Ephesus Main street
< SLIDE 3 – Ephesus temple
< SLIDE 4 - Ampitheater
< SLIDE 5 – Library
< SLIDE 6 – Asia Map with Colossae arrow
How did the church here get started?
Acts 19:9 So Paul… took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.
10 This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.
From the vantage point of Ephesus, people would come hear the gospel and go back.
The gospel spread in such a great way that it was impacting the whole region. What is going on is so powerful, the movement of the Holy Spirit is so mighty, that 4-5 million dollars worth of magic books are burned publicly, that the trade associated with idol worship is
Wouldn’t it be incredible if the owners of porn stores, the drug dealers and the gang leaders of Oklahoma City and Clovis, NM got together and said “This church is killing our business?” Almost throughout all of Central Oklahoma and Eastern NM, that Bible Methodist Church, that Servant’s Heart Chapel has done the terrible deed of dampening our business! Let’s go after them!
All because some people came here and heard the Gospel. Then they went back home and said, “We need this where I come from.”
Epaphras – the guy who apparently started the church in Colosse. He’s gone back home from Ephesus to Colosse and planted churches there and in a couple nearby cities.
Paul is now all the way up in Rome and is in prison…
He is visited there in prison by some old friends, Epaphras and some other folks from Colosse, they bring him news.
It’s mostly good news, but Epaphras has some concerns that he wants Paul to write back to them about. He’s kind of going back to an expert in Christianity, and saying, “Look, I’m concerned about this and this… am I right? Do you mind writing back and giving them some advice about avoiding the mistake of losing their focus on Jesus?”
< SLIDE 7 - Scripture
Colossians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2 To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,
4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints—
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
6 that has come to you. 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.
When you believe the true Gospel, it bears fruit in your life.
The gospel is like a seed. It always bears fruit.
If you want the fruit of the Gospel in your life, make sure that the seed is the Gospel – God’s grace in ALL its truth.
So there are three natural questions we have to answer:
1. What is the Gospel, the seed?
<3 MINUTE SUMMATION OF THE GOSPEL
2. What results (fruit) should we be looking for?
Be careful here, because the answer isn’t better circumstances, sudden improvement in earning and income…
The fruit of the Gospel is not prosperity, it’s CHARACTER.
Romans 6:22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit (GREEK: FRUIT) you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.
3. What does it mean to believe?
3 elements of faith:
• Believe what God says.
• Commit to do what God requires.
• Rest on what God promises.
Hebrews 11:6 “Without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
7 You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf,
8 and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
What I’m Praying For You:
1. Let them ____know God’s will______.
9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
2. Let them _____please Jesus_____ in everything they do.
10 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
3. Let them be strong with ___God’s Strength____.
11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully
4. Let them be ___thankful_____ for their salvation.
12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.
13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,
14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
The Gospel is not YOU QUALIFYING ____YOURSELF________, it’s ____JESUS____ qualifying you.
HANDOUT:
Paul, a former killer of Christians, has been changed by Jesus. He went to the city of Ephesus and preached about Jesus. The Good News spread to a little town 100 miles away called Colosse by a man named Epaphras. Years pass. Paul is now all the way up in Rome and is in prison… He is visited there in prison by some old friends, Epaphras & others. He writes a letter back to the Colossians, to help keep their focus on Jesus:
Colossians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2 To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,
4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints—
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
6 that has come to you. 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.
When you __________________ the true ____________________, it bears _________________ in your life.
So there are three natural questions we have to answer:
1. What is the Gospel, the seed?
2. What results (fruit) should we be looking for?
Be careful here, because the answer isn’t better circumstances, sudden improvement in earning and income…
The fruit of the Gospel is not prosperity, it’s _______________________.
Romans 6:22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit (GREEK: FRUIT) you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.
Galatians 5:19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;
20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions
21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness and self-control.
3. What does it mean to believe? 3 elements of faith:
• Believe what God ____________________.
• Commit to __________________________________________.
• Rest on what God ___________________________.
Hebrews 11:6 “Without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
7 You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf,
8 and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
Then Paul launches into a great prayer for these Christians in Colosse:
What I’m Praying For You:
1. Let them _____________________________.
9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
2. Let them _________________ in everything they do.
10 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
3. Let them be strong with ________________________.
11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully
4. Let them be ___________________ for their salvation.
12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.
13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,
14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
The Gospel is not YOU QUALIFYING ___________________________, it’s _____________________ qualifying you.
