(You can listen to the audio of the sermon on my podcast at: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/697261.rss)
Intro:
• “Jesus and” memes.
o Not that Jesus cares if you love coffee or pumpkin spice, etc.
• The challenge is when we equate two things by using “and.”
o In our hearts we know that our hobby, etc aren’t truly equal to Jesus but language matters.
• When we’re navigating life, it’s very easy for us to find comfort, meaning, significance in our hobbies, other people, careers, just about anything.
• At times, the stress gets to the point that we’re counting on the “fill in the blank” to get us through. The problem is, nothing else can do what Jesus does for us.
• We turn into “Jesus and _______” people.
• Paul addresses this tendency in Colossians.
• Begins with prayer. It has several purposes:
o Intro Paul, remind them of who they are, introduce the subject he wants them to know and teach them what to pray for.
Being “Jesus Only” People
Colossians 1:1–2 This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy. 2 We are writing to God’s holy people in the city of Colosse, who are faithful brothers and sisters in Christ. May God our Father give you grace and peace.
• Paul is giving us a reputation to live up to.
• Holy - set apart by our faith in Christ. (Jesus only.)
• Already Paul is asking us to evaluate who we belong to, what are the fundamental qualities of life we seek?
o Is it grace (God’s favor and love) and peace (wholeness in relationship with God and others?)
• This is what Jesus only people look like.
Qualities of “Jesus Only” People
Colossians 1:3–5 We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, 5 which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News.
• Paul begins his encouragement to be Jesus only people with prayer.
• Gospel leads to hope (expectation of heaven) leads to loving one another. All based on faith in Christ. Hope for everything in eternity results in strengthened faith and expressions of love. Not in the abstract, but in word and deed.
o Gut check: In what have I sunk my faith?
o Gut check: does our love for one another and lost people demonstrate our knowledge of and acceptance of the gospel? That we were lost (literally) and needed salvation?
o Gut check: What is my hope based on? Where does it come from? If hope is only in here and now (Jesus and) we lose sight that we are already promised everything in heaven (hope).
• This is the basis for being “Jesus only” people.
Being Transformed
Colossians 1:6–8 This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace. 7 You learned about the Good News from Epaphras, our beloved co-worker. He is Christ’s faithful servant, and he is helping us on your behalf. 8 He has told us about the love for others that the Holy Spirit has given you.
• Word of truth has impacted not just the Colossians but the whole world.
• Epaphras serves as an example of the “Jesus only” model that Paul has in mind.
• Clearly, the gospel is supposed to transform us. “Jesus and” implies that there is something/someone else who can or should make a difference in our lives.
• The truth is, everything we’ve ever tried to give our lives eternal meaning and significance fails at some point. Christians have made a conscious decision to turn themselves over to Christ.
• Do we really want to fall back into “Jesus and”?
Living Transformed Lives
› What does Paul say that transformation looks like?
Colossians 1:9 So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.
• Knowledge = practical obedience
• Wisdom = mental excellence, having a correct orientation to reality as a whole – understanding how things work.
• Understanding = insight, ability to draw appropriate conclusions, the ability to apply wisdom appropriately to daily life.
o “Jesus and” becomes a problem when we can’t properly apply these qualities to our everyday life.
o We begin to drift when we’re not sure what to do or where to turn.
o How can we respond effectively to what’s going on in life if we don’t know God or what He wants for/from us?
Colossians 1:10 Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.
• Knowing God and His will has a direct impact on how we live (walk). We produce fruit and mature.
o Gut check is to ask whether my actions (prompted by mind and heart) are honorable and pleasing to God.
o Can I say that I am growing, maturing, in this walk? Paul reminds us that a “Jesus only” walk is the only walk that is worthy of God.
Staying Strong
› When we’ve been transformed by Jesus and live with and for him only, we can not only survive, but thrive.
Colossians 1:11–12 We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, 12 always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light.
• Have the strength to stick it out over the long haul – not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is the strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy. (Mess.)
• Paul wants us to recognize that the Christian life isn’t a sprint. It’s a marathon. But not a horrible, tortuous life. No matter what we experience, we can have joy.
o Endurance – ability to continue toward a goal regardless of the obstacles. (Heb. 12:1)
o Patience – stand firm against opposition without giving up. Also, self-restraint.
• This is a big part of “Jesus and” vs. “Jesus only.” We start looking for other ways to fill our lives with fun, joy, meaning besides Jesus.
o We need a direction for life – Jesus.
o We need to know that we’re doing right, headed right in spite of peer pressure, temptation, fatigue, etc.
• Enabled = authorized, qualified, made us competent or fit to some activity.
Headed Home
› Jesus Only people know where they’re headed...
Colossians 1:13–14 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.
Ephesians 5:8 For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!
1 Peter 2:9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
Conclusion:
• What’s the “and” in your life?
