OPEN: A clergyman walking down a country lane saw a young farmer struggling with a load of hay that had fallen off his cart. The boy was all hot and sweaty and looked very upset.
"You look hot, my son," said the preacher. "Why don’t you just rest a moment, and then I’ll give you a hand."
"No thanks," said the young man. "My father wouldn’t like it."
"Don’t be silly," the minister said. "Everyone is entitled to a break. Come and have a drink of water."
Again the young man refused saying that his father would be upset.
Losing his patience, the clergyman said, "Your father must be a real slave driver. Tell me where I can find him and I’ll give him a piece of my mind."
"Well," replied the young man, "he’s under the load of hay."
APPLY: That boy knew what he had to do. There was a sense of urgency and to his actions. He was driven and intent and no one could sway him from his goal.
But that didn’t stop somebody from trying.
That preacher had a faulty understanding of what was going on. And (convinced that HE was right) did everything he could to persuade the boy to stop what he was doing.
I. The church at Colossae (to whom Colossians was written) had a similar problem
They were a driven church.
They were a church that is seeking to please their Father
Paul commended them for their faith and love and hope…
But apparently, there was someone trying to convince them to stop what they are doing.
Paul warned the church members to "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ." Colossians 2:8
There were religious people trying to convince them to stop what they were doing. And so Paul urges the Colossians:
"Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions." Colossians 2:18
But why? Why did Paul feel it was necessary to warn the Colossians about this danger?
Because, apparently some had become convinced.
Some had been taken captive by this false thinking
Some had become disqualified for the prize
OR… at least they were in danger of doing so
AND SO, Paul warns them - be aware
Don’t be swayed by your thinking
Don’t stop doing what you’ve been doing
II. Now, Colossians is really an intriguing letter.
Many preachers Sunday School Teachers, and even Bible College Professors tend to look on Colossians as some kind of Theological treatise that was written solely to impart good doctrine. It’s as if they believed that the letter to the church at Colossae really had nothing to do with the needs of that specific church.
I have to admit that’s how I’ve always looked at it… until I started to prepare this sermon.
And there’s a good reason why this letter is viewed in this way.
Because, (the way Paul wrote this letter) if you didn’t know there was anything wrong at Colossae… you wouldn’t know there was anything wrong at Colossae
Look at what Paul writes in this the first few verses of the letter - Colossians 1:1-8
"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints — 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 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.
You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit."
You see, the first thing Paul does is tell them how proud he is of their faith and loyalty to Jesus
He marvels at how much Jesus has changed their lives, and how impressed he is
AND THEN (in the next few paragraphs) Paul launches into a long description of
What Jesus has done for us as Christians
Who Jesus is
And about the mystery of God’s love/ that He has been given to us thru Jesus
WHY? Why would Paul start a letter of warning about false teaching by focusing on Jesus?
Why focus on the changes Jesus had bro’t to their lives
And then focus on theology of who Jesus is & what He’s done?
Why? Because…
If you forget about WHO Jesus is
If you forget about WHAT Jesus has done
If you forget about the WONDER of the mystery of the love God displayed by giving His son
You’re always going to be an easy target
You’re always going to be in danger of being easily swayed from your faith
III. And so, Paul starts out his letter to the Colossians by having the Christians there see is WHAT God has done for us thru Jesus
Paul starts out by pointing out the change that has taken place in our lives
It’s almost like he’s saying - DO YOU REALIZE what Jesus has done in you?
He says, look at you: "we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints — 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" - Colossians 1:4-5
(Paul was saying) Your faith in Jesus has changed you
And it has so driven you we’ve even heard of the change in you
And then Paul says - just in case you’ve forgotten why this has happened to you let me remind you: "(God) has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:13-14
In other words… you’re the kind of people you are because God has moved you
You have the kind of hope and joy and love in your lives that you do because God has moved you out of the old neighborhood
He’s moved you out of your old world
And ALL the shame… and ALL the guilt - and ALL the darkness of life
They’re ALL gone
Why? BECAUSE - you and I have been "brought… into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins" Colossians 1:14
That changes our entire lifestyle. That changes our entire approach to living. As John Smithson once wrote:
"Before I came to Christ, I practiced sin and committed acts of righteousness. Now, I practice righteousness and commit acts of sin.
In other words, I have been moved to a new neighborhood
I used to do good things once in a while, but I lived as a sin filled man
Now, I do sinful things periodically… but I live as a man devoted to righteousness
I have been moved…
I have been changed…
I’m different, because Jesus has moved me/ Jesus has changed me.
IV. The danger for us is that we do forget (once in a while) what we have.
The newness wears off of our excitement in Christ and our attention drifts off.
ILLUS: How many of you remember the first time you moved into your house? (I asked for a show of hands). Do you remember how exciting it was. How pleased you were to have the extra room in your closets, the size of the garage, the cabinets in the kitchen? But then after a couple of years or so, the newness wore off. You began to notice things that you’d never seen before and you started to become disenchanted. The kitchen was no longer large enough, there was this musty smell in the basement you couldn’t get rid of. The light switches don’t work right. And on and on and on.
The newness wore off and so you got bored with what you had and even wished for something more than what the house offered. And that is how we get with our faith… if we forget what we have. If we forget what we have, we get distracted/ bored.
And we tend to drift back into the old ways of life.
We drift back into the old patterns
We’ll want to hang around the people we used to hang with
We’ll want to entertain ourselves the way we used to
We’ll want to start talking the way we used to talk
And after awhile, we can find ourselves living back in the old neighborhood.
We can find ourselves living our lives like sinful, selfish people… and doing good things once in while.
… we can find ourselves praying… just once in awhile
… we can find ourselves studying God’s Word… just once in awhile
… we can find ourselves going to church… just once in while
We can end live like we were back in sin, but practicing good deeds… just once in a while.
And that is what can happen to us if we take our eyes off of Jesus and forget what He has done for us.
ILLUS: Back in the Old Testament, we’re told of how God freed Israel from slavery in Egypt
They were an oppressed people
Their lives were miserable
They were beaten down and filled with despair
BUT THEN God sent a savior to Egypt and thru this savior, God did powerful things
And with a mighty hand, God led His people up out of Egypt and the slavery they had been forced to endure
And He supplied them with all of their needs: water, food, and with a marvelous bread that came straight out of heaven. It had a wondrous taste and a unique look. They had never seen anything like it before and so they called it Manna, which means "what is it?"
But the Israelites weren’t out in the desert more than a couple of months when we’re told
"The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, ’If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost— also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!’" Numbers 11:4-6
Were these people crazy? Were they daft?
Had they forgotten what life had been like as slaves in Egypt?
Had they forgotten the death and despair that they had endured?
Had they forgotten what God had done for them?
Yeah… they had.
They had forgotten
And because they forgot, they longed for the way life used to be when they were slaves
Back when they were in bondage
Back when there was no hope or joy or future to their lives
… they forgot…
And (because they’d forgotten) they were in danger of going back to the slavery they’d once known.
If we forget what Jesus has done for us, we can be in danger as well
CLOSE: In his book "Improving Your Serve" Charles Swindoll makes this observation:
Think of yourself as living in an apartment house. You live there under a landlord who has made your life miserable. He charges you exorbitant rent. When you can’t pay, he loans you money at a fearful rate of interest, to get you even further into his debt. He barges into your apartment at all hours of the day and night, wrecks and dirties the place up, then charges you extra for not maintaining the premises. Your life is miserable.
Then comes Someone who says, "I’ve taken over this apartment house. I’ve purchased it. You can live here as long as you like, free. The rent is paid up. I am going to be living here with you, in the manager’s apartment."
What a joy! You are saved! You are delivered out of the clutches of the old landlord! .
But what happens! You hardly have time to rejoice in your new-found freedom, when a knock comes at the door. And there he is-the old landlord! Mean, glowering, and demanding as ever. He has come for the rent, he says.
What do you do! Do you pay him! Of course, you don’t! Do you go out and pop him on the nose! No-he’s bigger than you are!
You confidently tell him, "You’ll have to take that up with the new Landlord." He may bellow, threaten, wheedle, and cajole. You just quietly tell him, "Take it up with the new Landlord." If he comes back a dozen times, with all sorts of threats and arguments, waving legal-looking documents in your face, you simply tell him yet once again, "Take it up with the new landlord." In the end he has to. He knows it, too. He just hopes that he can bluff and threaten and deceive you into doubting that the new Landlord will really take care of things.
Now this is the situation of a Christian. Once Christ has delivered you from the power of sin and the devil, you can depend on it: that old landlord will soon come back knocking at your door. And what is your defense! How do you keep him from getting the whip hand over you again! You send him to the new Landlord. You send him to Jesus.
SERMONS IN THIS SERIES
· Remembering What We Have - Colossians 1:1-1:14
· He Is Lord Because Of Who He Is - Colossians 1:15-1:23
· The Mystery - Colossians 1:21-1:29
· Jesus is Lord Because Of How He Rules - Colossians 2:1-2:23
· Feet On The Earth, Head In The Sky - Colossians 3:1-3:17
· Prescription for a Healthy Family - Colossians 3:17-3:21
· Working For Jesus - Colossians 3:22-4:1
· Thinking Like Jesus - Colossians 4:1-4:6
· Someone Else - Colossians 4:7-4:18
