I. EXORDIUM:
Are you a slave of CHRIST?
Yes.
II. AUDIENCE PROFILE:
Believers/unbelievers
III. OBJECTIVES:
To show that we need to be a slave of CHRIST not of men for the LORD JESUS CHRIST is Both the Rewarder and the Reward.
IV. TEXT:
Colossians 3:24 (Amplified Bible)
Knowing [with all certainty] that it is from the Lord [and not from men] that you will receive the inheritance which is your [real] reward. [The One Whom] you are actually serving [is] the Lord Christ (the Messiah).
V. THESIS:
Praise, worship, glorify, adore, bless, honor, acknowledge and thank You very much LORD JESUS for You are my LORD and MASTER and I am Your insignificant slave and my Reward is in You.
VI. TITLE:
The LORD JESUS is my Rewarder and we are serving Him
VII. EXPLICATION: [Source: Thompson Chain - Bible Book Outlines]
A. Author: Apostle Paul
B. Date written: From A.D. 60 to A.D. 64
C. Purpose:
1. General, a message of good will to exhort and edify believers.
2. Special, to counteract doctrinal errors growing out of the mixture of Judaistic teaching combined with the vagaries of oriental and philosophic speculation. These heresies tended to obscure the divine glory of Christ.
D. To whom written: Church in Colosse
E. Main Themes:
The epistle resembles Ephesians, both in thought and language, yet has a distinct message of its own. In Ephesians Paul dwells on the thought of the church as the body of Christ, while in Colossians he emphasizes Christ as the head of the church. The warning against trusting in worldly wisdom that appears in 1 Corinthians reappears in Colossians.—Thompson Chain - Bible Book Outlines
F. Key words: CHRIST is the HEAD of all
Colossians 2:10 (Amplified Bible)
And you are in Him, made full and having come to fullness of life [in Christ you too are filled with the Godhead—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—and reach full spiritual stature]. And He is the Head of all rule and authority [of every angelic principality and power].
G. Key verses:
Colossians 2:9-10 (Amplified Bible)
For in Him the whole fullness of Deity (the Godhead) continues to dwell in bodily form [giving complete expression of the divine nature].
And you are in Him, made full and having come to fullness of life [in Christ you too are filled with the Godhead—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—and reach full spiritual stature]. And He is the Head of all rule and authority [of every angelic principality and power].
VIII. MAIN BODY:
Colossians 3:24 (Amplified Bible)
Knowing [with all certainty] that it is from the Lord [and not from men] that you will receive the inheritance which is your [real] reward. [The One Whom] you are actually serving [is] the Lord Christ (the Messiah).
Colossians 3:24 (New King James Version)
knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.
A. Knowing that the LORD JESUS CHRIST is the Rewarder of my inheritance and not men.
"Knowing [with all certainty] that it is from the Lord [and not from men] that you will receive the inheritance which is your [real] reward."
Colossians 2:18 (Amplified Bible)
Let no one defraud you by acting as an umpire and declaring you unworthy and disqualifying you for the prize, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, taking his stand on visions [he claims] he has seen, vainly puffed up by his sensuous notions and inflated by his unspiritual thoughts and fleshly conceit,
Genesis 15:1 (Amplified Bible)
AFTER THESE things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram, I am your Shield, your abundant compensation, and your reward shall be exceedingly great.
Ruth 2:12 (Amplified Bible)
The Lord recompense you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under Whose wings you have come to take refuge!
Proverbs 11:18 (Amplified Bible)
The wicked man earns deceitful wages, but he who sows righteousness (moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation) shall have a sure reward [permanent and satisfying].
Matthew 5:12 (Amplified Bible)
Be glad and supremely joyful, for your reward in heaven is great (strong and intense), for in this same way people persecuted the prophets who were before you.
All I receive here on earth are curses, and insults, no one credits me at all. I wanted to remain it that way for I suffer persecution, shame, disgrace, insults and blasphemies as well, they laughed at me when I preached. I wanted it that way since I have to answer to the LORD JESUS for their soul that in that day I have not reserved anything for me, but I have shared it to everyone, even to those who laughed at me that they needed the LORD JESUS CHRIST to be saved, just like anyone else. I continue to be insignificant in the eyes of men but not to the eyes of GOD for my Rewarder is the LORD JESUS CHRIST and not men.
Matthew 6:1-4 (Amplified Bible)
TAKE CARE not to do your good deeds publicly or before men, in order to be seen by them; otherwise you will have no reward [reserved for and awaiting you] with and from your Father Who is in heaven.
Thus, whenever you give to the poor, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites in the synagogues and in the streets like to do, that they may be recognized and honored and praised by men. Truly I tell you, they have their reward in full already.
But when you give to charity, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
So that your deeds of charity may be in secret; and your Father Who sees in secret will reward you openly.
We have an audience of ONE - the LORD JESUS CHRIST and in Heaven He applauded in our desire to please Him. He is the ONE that needs to see all our good works and no men neeeded to see and realize for our Reward will come from the LORD. Herein, the LORD JESUS CHRIST is revealed as the Rewarder and the Reward. It has to be secret or we will lose our reward.
B. I am a servant of the LORD JESUS CHRIST.
"[The One Whom] you are actually serving [is] the Lord Christ (the Messiah)."
John 12:26 (Amplified Bible)
If anyone serves Me, he must continue to follow Me [to cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying] and wherever I am, there will My servant be also. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.
The LORD JESUS CHRIST is in Heaven and of course as servants of the LORD JESUS CHRIST we will stay and reside in Heaven as well for we serve the LORD JESUS CHRIST as His slave, and not slaves of men.
Colossians 3:17 (Amplified Bible)
And whatever you do [no matter what it is] in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus and in [dependence upon] His Person, giving praise to God the Father through Him.
Colossians 3:23 (Amplified Bible)
Whatever may be your task, work at it heartily (from the soul), as [something done] for the Lord and not for men,
1 Corinthians 10:31 (Amplified Bible)
So then, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you may do, do all for the honor and glory of God.
1 Corinthians 7:23 (Amplified Bible)
You were bought with a price [purchased with a preciousness and paid for by Christ]; then do not yield yourselves up to become [in your own estimation] slaves to men [but consider yourselves slaves to Christ].
It is CHRIST that we are serving and pleasing and not men, His eyes can see us, His ears can hear us, the words and the deeds that we do for Him and in Him are not covered and hidden, He will expose them as well and we will be rewarded greatly with more of His Presence here on earth and in life to come completion of our eternal life.
Romans 1:1 (Amplified Bible)
FROM PAUL, a bond servant of Jesus Christ (the Messiah) called to be an apostle, (a special messenger) set apart to [preach] the Gospel (good news) of and from God,
Romans 14:17-18 (Amplified Bible)
[After all] the kingdom of God is not a matter of [getting the] food and drink [one likes], but instead it is righteousness (that state which makes a person acceptable to God) and [heart] peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
He who serves Christ in this way is acceptable and pleasing to God and is approved by men.
One spiritual leader says that we are serving the LORD JESUS from the heart, it's not so complete, but when we say we are serving the LORD JESUS CHRIST we are service Him in righteousness, with peace (heart) and joy in the HOLY SPIRIT not as if we have a dead relative that we can't forget and we're mourning for that relative, it will show on our faces, the joy in the HOLY SPIRIT.
1 Corinthians 7:22 (Amplified Bible)
For he who as a slave was summoned in [to union with] the Lord is a freedman of the Lord, just so he who was free when he was called is a bond servant of Christ (the Messiah).
We are both free and slave of the LORD JESUS CHRIST, serving the LORD made us a freed man from the world, sin and it's effects, now we turned as slaves of the LORD JESUS instead of this world. Our ideals and mentality are different from the world.
Romans 12:2 (Amplified Bible)
Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].
Galatians 1:10 (Amplified Bible)
Now am I trying to win the favor of men, or of God? Do I seek to please men? If I were still seeking popularity with men, I should not be a bond servant of Christ (the Messiah).
Ephesians 6:6 (Amplified Bible)
Not in the way of eye-service [as if they were watching you] and only to please men, but as servants (slaves) of Christ, doing the will of God heartily and with your whole soul;
2 Peter 1:1 (Amplified Bible)
SIMON PETER, a servant and apostle (special messenger) of Jesus Christ, to those who have received (obtained an equal privilege of) like precious faith with ourselves in and through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:
Jude 1:1 (Amplified Bible)
JUDE, A servant of Jesus Christ (the Messiah), and brother of James, [writes this letter] to those who are called (chosen), dearly loved by God the Father and separated (set apart) and kept for Jesus Christ:
These people Paul, Simon Peter and Jude, was turned from a nobody to a somebody by the LORD JESUS CHRIST, but still the highest title that they can confer to themselves is servant and slaves of the LORD JESUS CHRIST. I too, delight and am proud to be called insignificant slave of the LORD JESUS CHRIST.
IX. CONCLUSION:
Praise, worship, glorify, adore, bless, honor, acknowledge and thank You very much LORD JESUS for You are my LORD and MASTER and I am Your insignificant slave and my Reward is in You.
