“MAKING MUCH OF JESUS” Colossians 1:15-23
FBCF – 7/14/24
Jon Daniels
INTRO – Sermon today supposed to be entitled, “Our Eternal Savior” from Colossians 1:15-23.
- Overall theme of Colossians – The Superiority of Christ
- This passage puts the spotlight fully on Jesus Christ – on His superiority, His Supremacy, His divine nature, His eternal nature, God the Son who is coequal w/ God the Father & God the Spirit.
- These verses present Jesus Christ as Lord over all more clearly than any other passage in the NT.
- He’s the Supreme figure in history – the One by Whom “all things were created” (v. 16).
- He’s the Supreme Sustainer of creation b/c “in Him all things hold together” (v. 17).
- He is Supreme over the Church since “He is the Head of the Body, the Church” (v. 18).
- He is Sovereign over life & death as “firstborn from the dead” (v. 18), meaning that He was the first to be raised from the dead, promising that we who belong to Him will also be raised from the dead.
- He is the Sovereign King of kings & Lord of lords b/c “in Him ALL the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (v. 19). Love the MSG: “He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—He is supreme in the end. From beginning to end He’s there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is He, so expansive, that everything of God finds its proper place in Him without crowding.”
- He is the Supreme Savior of the world b/c “through Him” God reconciled us to Himself & gave us “peace by the blood of His cross” (v. 20).
- Warren Wiersbe – Man came to see him b/c of marital problems. Not a well-educated man – sometimes got words confused. Said, “Pastor, me & my wife need a recancellation.” Meant to say “reconciliation.” But “recancellation” not a bad choice. There can’t be peace & a reunion of those fighting w/ each other until sin has been cancelled. As sinners before a righteous God, we need a “recancellation.” Our sins were cancelled on the cross. (The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2, p. 119).
All of this to say Jesus is perfect, He is powerful, He is preeminent, He is personal, & our purpose is to make much of Him in our personal lives & in our life together as a Church. So, let’s talk about “Making Much of JESUS.”
APPLICATION – “Making Much of JESUS” must be our purpose as Christ-followers & as a Church.
“Making Much of JESUS” – Our MISSION
- Shortly after I became your Pastor in March 2020, our staff began thinking about & praying about our true mission as a church – Settled on this simple phrase: “Making Much of JESUS”
- Overarching purpose as a Church
- Must permeate everything we do in every area of the ministry of our church
Our MISSION flows into our VISION
- “God, give us Flora!”
- Share the Gospel w/ EVERY person in Flora, MS
- Had Brian Crigler put this statement on back of my business card: “Impact the world from Flora, MS”
Our VISION moves us to our VALUES – What do we truly VALUE as a Church? Posed this question Wed night REFRESH group:
- Word of God
- Prayer
- The Gospel
- Pastor & staff
- Family – children’s ministry/youth ministry
- All people, no matter age, race, socioeconomic status, education, or family background – WHY? B/c Jesus values all people!
So, if we are truly going to make much of JESUS, we must:
DO WHAT JESUS DID
WWJD bracelets – the original Christian bracelet
- “What would Jesus do?”
What DID He do that we should do? Open Bibles to Gospel of Matthew.
- Matthew 4:23 – How do we DO those things?
- “teaching” – didasko – provide instruction – How do we do this as a church? DISCIPLESHIP
o 2 Timothy 2:2
- “proclaiming” or “preaching” – keryso – proclaim w/ the goal to persuade; to urge, warn – EVANGELISM
- “healing” – therapeuo – cure, be healed/cured – I’m not a cessationist. Believe that all the gifts are still in operation – So how do we DO what Jesus did in the area of healing? – physical – emotional - spiritual
o James 5:13-16
SAY WHAT JESUS SAID
His first sermon – Matthew 4:17 – “Repent”
- Turn from your sin & yourself & turn to God
What else did Jesus say?
- Talked a lot about the K’dom of God/Heaven
- Called out sin/hypocrisy
- Taught/trained/equipped His disciples
BE WITH WHO HE WAS WITH
His disciples – People like Him who loved Him & were wanting to serve Him & live for Him.
- The Church – Other believers – Other Christ-followers – Other disciples – Encouraging, helping, challenging, teaching, discipling
Needy people – Matthew 8:1ff, 16, 28ff; Matthew 9:35-38
- v. 35 – See teaching, preaching, & healing again
Sinners/Spiritually sick people – Matthew 9:9-13
- People NOT like us
- People we may NOT want to be around & many not want to be around us
- People who are hard to be around
GO WHERE HE WENT
Desolate places – Matthew 14:13; Mark 1:35 – Need time w/ your Father just like He did.
Wherever people were – Matthew 14:14
Matthew 9:35a – “And Jesus went throughout ALL the cities & villages…” – Obviously you & I can’t literally go to ALL the cities & villages of the world. But there are some that we certainly CAN & SHOULD go to:
- Flora/Kearney Park
- Pocahontas
- Bentonia/Benton
- Yazoo City
- Madison/Ridgeland
- Clinton
- Canton
- Jackson
All over the world – Matthew 28:18-20 – “Impact the world from Flora, MS”
- IMB – Project 3000 – “Missionary Explorers”
- Praying that God will call out some “Missionary Explorers” from FBCF.
CONCLUSION – “Kids wanted to see the stockyards after supper.. we almost didn’t do it but the adults talked and ended up deciding to bring them.. God knew. Nanney shared the gospel with a man named Rick we met here for the past 25 minutes. The man’s friend came up and tried to discount it because he’s an active Muslim and was popping back at Nanney. But Rick said he really wanted to hear what Nanney had to say and was asking lots of questions and searching for “peace.” So his friend left. Nanney gave him a bracelet, a track he went through with him and prayed over him at the end. Rick big hugged him at the end and said thank you. He said he wants to make a decision but doesn’t think he is sure enough to do it right now. Pray for Rick.”
- There are “Ricks” everywhere!
Michael challenged students to witness at 6 Flags today: “We shouldn’t have any bracelets or tracts when we leave 6 Flags today.”
So what about it FBCF? I want to challenge you today to make or renew your commitment to our mission of “Making Much of JESUS!”
