A Great-full Church
Colossians 1:3-8
I have a method to my madness. My message title of
A Great-full church. English teachers please know, I can spell.
First of all when I think of the word grateful, I think of an attitude. A way of living that we are grateful for our salvation, grateful that Jesus Christ would die for me.
But what does it mean to be grateful? Dictionary.com says
To be grateful is:
1. warmly or deeply appreciative of kindness or benefits received; thankful: I am grateful to you for your help.
2. expressing or actuated by gratitude: a grateful letter.
3. pleasing to the mind or senses; agreeable or welcome; refreshing: a grateful breeze.
Listen a grateful attitude affects us and others. What about a church? How can you tell the difference between a grateful church and ungrateful church?
In his book, When God Builds A Church, pastor Bob Russell makes the following observation. “Many churches in America are dead. They aren’t evangelizing, they’ve quit sending missionaries to the field, and they’re having financial problems. Their leaders aren’t humble people with vision and a desire to change, the congregation doesn’t get along, they don’t worship God, they don’t give generously, they don’t care about evangelism, they don’t do things with excellence, or God’s truth isn’t being spoken from the pulpit.” (pg.10)
He then outlines ten principles for a Growing Dynamic Church. As much as I agree with his assessment I believe the Apostle Paul who wrote this letter to the church at Colossae determined that a Great church is one that is built on 4 pillars and a purpose.
**Colossians 1:3-5**
I. The Pillars of a Great church (v.3-5)
Paul speaking to the church says that we give thanks to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ for you church. You are a great church and then he he lists the four pillars this great church was built upon.
A. Prayer (v.3) They prayed for each other. It wasn’t something they did every now and then they prayed continually. The Bible says in 1Thessalonians 5:18, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” The Bible also tells us to, “Pray without ceasing.”
It’s an attitude of continual prayer and church family the ministers of the church need your prayers.
There have been times as a pastor that I wanted to just quit. The enemy had me right where he wanted me and then some dear saint reminds me in church, or sends me a card, or calls me just to tell me they are praying for me. We must always remember to pray for one another.
B. Faith (v.4a) their faith was known. Paul heard about their faith from prison. Folks when a church is Great for God people hear about it in the community. The community will see great things form this kind of church because the church has placed it’s faith in Christ alone for its every need.
The preacher’s outline Bible says it this way, “Faith in Christ is like a sphere, an area, a territory, a world in which the
believer lives. He believes in Christ Jesus; therefore, he lives within the sphere or world of that belief. He governs his life by Christ. He does nothing that his faith in Christ forbids. He has accepted the sphere and area and territory of Christ as the world in which he is to live. Therefore, the believer lives and moves and has his being in that world, in the faith of Christ. Again, his faith in Christ becomes his very world, the great pillar of his life.”
The church that lives within this sphere of faith does great things for God. When that church accepts its assignment in the kingdom it can touch the world from wherever it exists in the world.
C. Love (v.4b) They had great love for one another. They loved the saints and their love spilled over into the community. The reputation of the church is a church of brotherly love.
The Apostle Peter described Christian growth, spiritual maturity with seven virtues in 2 Peter 1:5-7. Listen to v.7, “And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.”
Add to our godliness, brotherly kindness, literally in the Greek, Philadelphia, brotherly love, and add to that love, the agape love of Christ. That is how the church is to love one another.
When we honor others we find out what it takes to make them feel loved...Lost people in the community, need to know the church cares more about them, then just getting them in church.
The church gets the honor of being a blessing to other churches and the community. The Bible says, Romans 12:10, “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.” Romans 12:10
That’s a great church. Devoted to one another and honoring another above ourselves. When a church is devoted to Christ and to each other the community feels loved also.
D. Hope (v.5) A great church knows their hope is secure. What is the churches hope? It is awaiting us in heaven. Jesus said He would go and prepare a place for us, that where He is we will be. Heaven is my home in the not so distant future.
But it’s also the old hymn, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness, I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly, lean on Jesus name.” Our hope is not in the house of Representatives, white house, a farm house, a lake house, a retirement house or an out house, our hope is in Christ alone.
**V.6-8**
I. The Pillars of a Great Church
II. The Purpose of a Great Church (v.6-8) Many churches have mission statements and there is nothing wrong with that. Many others define their mission with the Great commission that Jesus gave us. However, Paul says in one word what the purpose of the church is and then he describes a blessing of that purpose.
A. To Bear Fruit (v.6) A church just like a Christian is called to bear fruit for the kingdom of God. We are called to serve our Lord in whatever capacity He has for us this week to live in such a way that all will see and know who we belong to. We are to bring forth fruit.
In his book, The Simple Church, Thom Rainer describes the fruit of a great church.
1) Increased morale—the morale of the church is positive and they are excited.
2) Urgency—there is a sense of urgency to see people get closer to God.
3) Spiritual growth—they see believers grow in their commitment to Christ.
4) Conversions—people are being saved in a Great church.
5) Stewardship—the finances improve dramatically and ministries are effective.
6) Unity—the overall unity of the church is strengthened.
That is the fruit we bear. Notice the blessing of the
purpose:
B. To Birth Faithful Ministers (v.7-8)
Paul trained young Timothy, who was probably barely 30 when he began to pastor his first church. The church of
Ephesus. He followed the Apostle Paul as preacher.
Paul would evangelize an area train young preacher boys and leave them there to pastor. That’s how the gospel spread and how the Gospel got to us. It was passed on through generations.
Here he mentions Epaphras. He is mentioned only a few times in the Bible. Called a faithful minister and bondslave of Christ. Epaphras must have been something special because Paul only used the term bondslave to describe himself and this young man.
If a church is truly great for God, God will entrust that church with faithful ministers and God will call out faithful ministers from that church. God will not call and entrust ministers to a dead church.
If a church is really going to be great for God they will see how important it is when someone walks the aisle and says, “God is calling me into the ministry.” It is our purpose church family to continually send out ministers and missionaries from the local body of Christ. A denomination doesn’t send out...the church is the launching pad for them to go from.
Conclusion: Okay I told you about the Word grateful and what it means to be a great church but before you think I didn’t know what I was doing let’s end with the word FULL.
…...That’s’ usually how we feel when we end our eating so it is a great place…...
The most satanic word, in my opinion, a church can use is the word full. We don’t need to reach out because we have enough people sorry sir we’re full.
Once a church feels that way, it takes years for them to get past that. Often times the church begins to lose people and die because they quit welcoming the new people God sends them.
May we never feel—FULL...PRAY
