SERIES: JESUS CHRIST IS LORD...SERIOUSLY!
SERMON: IS JESUS CHRIST LORD OF THIS CHURCH?
Colossians 1:1-8
INTRODUCTION:
This church will be what it ought to be when our members become what they should be.
I am beginning a new series of messages this morning from Paul’s letter to the church in Colosse. So, I would like to invite you to turn with me to that book–Colossians 1. I am calling this series "Jesus Christ is Lord!" That’s a pretty simple statement. As a matter of fact say it with me - Jesus Christ if Lord. The question that you and I need to answer this morning, however, is Jesus Christ really the Lord of our lives.
Several years ago someone came up with the statement which says, "If Jesus Christ is not Lord of all, then He is not Lord at all!" Here’s the thing–If Jesus Christ is not in control of your life then that means that something else is. It may be that you are controlled by...Your spouse, Your children, controlled by alcohol, pornography, or drugs, your job, your search for pleasure. Or it could mean that you’re living your life simply for yourself. You may only be concerned about what is best for you and whatever happens to everybody else–that’s their problem.
Over the next 6-8 weeks I want to challenge you to put Jesus Christ first in your life. Allow Him to truly be Lord and to take your faith in Him seriously! Jesus Christ is Lord...Seriously!
This morning I want us to think about the question, "Is Jesus Christ Lord of this Church?" READ: Colossians 1:1-8
In order for Jesus Christ to be Lord of this Church He must first be the Lord of our lives. Now in the passage we just read Paul says that in order for Jesus Christ to truly be Lord of this Church that we, the people, need to be multi-dimensional Christians, or 3-d Christians. I bet that you didn’t know that’s what Paul said. For the moment I am asking you to trust me on this one.
When I was a young kid I was introduced to the world of 3D by the popular Viewmaster (How many of you had one of these or at least have looked through something like this?) These were the neatest toys. You could stick a disk in there with pictures and it looked like you could jump right into the scene.
For those of you that have an interest in math you probably already understand that a line is a one dimensional object. It has no height nor depth–it simply goes from side to side–it has width and nothing else. A 2 dimensional object is something like a square or a rectangle. Not only does it have width--goes from side to side, but it also has height. When you add a third dimension to a square it becomes a cube. Now it has width, height, and depth.
In a similar fashion, Paul says that we need to be more than simply one dimensional Christians. Let’s take a closer look and see what Paul says about being 3 dimensional Christians
I> FAITH - VERTICAL
A. The first dimension of our Christian walk is faith
1. VS 3-4a
ILL> While listening to the radio this week I heard a brief thought by James Dobson. He said, "God has not called us to make His Church grow. God has called us to be faithful–to be obedient to His Word."
2. I had to think about that for a minute
a. "God has not called us to make His Church grow."
b. After I thought about it I had to agree–we cannot make His Church truly grow
c. We can do some things to make the attendance go up
d. We can have a lot of special events in order to make our averages go up
e. But, we cannot make His Church grow
3. Paul said the same thing
a. 1CO 3:6
"I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow."
B. But God has called us to be faithful–to put our faith and trust in Him
1. Faith causes you to do things that you may not want to do
a. You do it because of God’s nudging–you know it is His will–it’s what God expects
2. When you don’t do anything with your faith, then it’s not faith–it’s just a belief
a. James 2:14-17 (MSG)
14 Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? 15 For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved 16 and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? 17 Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?
b. Most of us are more familiar with the way the King James Bible translate it: James 2:17 (KJV) Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
C. I learned a long time ago that it is possible to have a faithless church–a church without God being a part of it.
1. More than that it’s possible to call yourself a Christian and not have Christ in your life
a. It’s possible to go to church, sing with all the gusto you can muster, raise your hands, tithe of your income and still not be one of God’s children
D. VS 2 - Paul calls them the "holy and faithful brothers"
1. They were genuine–real
a. They weren’t simply going through the motions of being God’s child
b. What they had was the real thing and it was evident in their lives.
ILL> My brothers and I were in a Hills department store several years ago. I’m not sure why, but we were in the toy section when we happen to come across a package of plastic shark teeth. Not really interesting, but the package did catch our eye because it said, "Genuine Imitation Shark Teeth." (If you’re going to buy imitation, you want to make sure you get the real thing) These aren’t your ordinary imitation shark teeth. These are the real imitation teeth.
2. Are we ever guilty of being genuine imitation Christians?
ILL> The great British preacher Charles h. Spurgeon said of faith,
"A little faith will take your soul to heaven; great faith will bring heaven to your soul."
II> LOVE - HORIZONTAL
A. The second dimension of our Christian walk is love
1. VS 4 - we have heard of the love you have for all the saints
2. What a great reputation for a church to have
a. I believe that we are a loving church
b. Several people have ministered to me and my family over the years
c. Sometimes when you’re going through tough times and difficult situations it’s nice to know that people care
3. Having said that, I also realize that there are some situations that fall through the cracks.
a. It’s something that we need to keep doing–always striving to do better, improving our serve
4. You see, Love is the badge of the Church
a. John 13:35 (NIV)
By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
b. Romans 13:9b-11 (NIV)
The commandments "are summed up in this one rule: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’...And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed."
QUOTE> Sermon by William Morris
Many people "have grown tired of the coldness and deadness of the average church. They are looking for a church that is alive in faith, alive in love and alive in hope. Unfortunately the average church today has lost sight of what it exists for. It has become a meeting place for the cold and indifferent. Even many of the so-called lively churches are just looking to expand their roles with people who are just like them. They aren’t like the church at Colossae, "loving all the saints."
ILL> I knew a woman that was diagnosed with cancer. Her husband couldn’t deal with it so he said, "See ya later!" That isn’t love.
5. Loving Deeds
a. Go visit someone in the hospital
b. Seek out visitors
ILL> A lot of times Christians are guilty of walking into the sanctuary and sitting in the same old spot. We may even get a little uneasy if someone is sitting in "our seat." We take a look at the bulletin until its time for the service to start and then make a dash for the door as soon as the service is over.
6. Love will make you do things that you don’t necessarily want to do
a. Love will make you love the unlovely
b. Love will allow you to see beyond the exterior into a person’s heart
ILL> His Name is John
John had wild hair, wore a T-shirt with holes in it, jeans and no shoes. This was literally his wardrobe for his entire four years of college. He is brilliant, kind of esoteric, and very, very bright. He became a Christian while attending college. Across the street from the campus was a well-dressed, very conservative church. They want to develop a ministry to the college students, but are not sure how to go about it. One day John decides to go there. He walks in with no shoes, jeans, his T-shirt, and wild hair. The service has already started and so John starts down the aisle looking for a seat. The church is completely packed and he can’t find a seat. By now people are looking a bit uncomfortable, but no one says anything. John gets closer and closer and closer to the pulpit and when he realizes there are no seats, he just squats down right on the carpet. (Although perfectly acceptable behavior at a college fellowhwsip, trust me, this had never happened in this church before!)
By now the people are really uptight, and the tension in the air is thick. About this time, the minister realized that from way at the back of the church, a deacon is slowly making his way toward John. Now the deacon is in his eighties, has sliver-gray hair, a three-piece suit, and a pocket watch. A godly man, very elegant, very dignified, very courtly. He walks with a cane and as he starts walking toward the boy, everyone is saying to themselves, "You can’t blame him for what he’s going to do. How can you expect a man of his age and of his background to understand some college kid on the floor?"
It takes a long time for the man to reach the boy. The church is utterly silent except for the clicking of the man’s cane. All eyes are focused on him. You can’t even hear anyone breathing. The people are thinking "The Minister can’t even preach the sermon until the deacon does what he has to do." And now they see this elderly man drop his cane on the floor. With great difficulty he lowers himself and sits down next to John and worships with him so he won’t be alone. Everyone chokes up with emotion. When the minister gains control he says, "What I’m about to preach you will never remember. What you have just seen you will never forget."
III> THE SURE HOPE OF HEAVEN - LOOKING AHEAD
A. The third dimension of our Christian walk is our hope
1. VS 5 - we have heard of the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven
2. Do you have the hope of heaven?
a. Do you know without a doubt that when you die that you will spend eternity with the Lord?
3. Most of my life I was trying to earn my way into heaven
a. I thought that if I could attend enough church services, or prayer for a certain period of time each day, or read enough Scripture that I could earn my way into God’s good graces
b. But as long as we are trying to earn our way, we will never know for sure if we’ve done enough
c. But I know that a lot of us were taught like that–or at least that’s how it came across to us
d. So if someone asked, "Are you saved?" we’re a little uncomfortable
So we say things like, "I hope so" or "I think so."
Because there’s always that nagging question, "Have I done enough good things?"
e. Since you understood the truth about God’s grace the gospel has been bearing fruit in your lives
f. 1 John 5:13 (NIV)
13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
IV> CONCLUSION:
A. This church will be what it ought to be when our members become what they should be
ILL> Back in June our family had a very relaxing vacation at Myrtle Beach, SC. We stayed in a place on the beach where we could sit around the pool or we could walk just a few yards down to the ocean.
My brother Jim and Alan and I would get our boogie boards and go out a ways into the water and wait for the waves to come. I have to admit that a lot of time was spent waiting for just the right wave, but when we were in the right place at the right time we would jump on our boards, start paddling as hard as we could and it would nearly take us all the way to the shore. Then we would make our way back out into the deep water to do it all over again.
ILL> Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Church
The Church is like a wave.
"If you take a class on surfing, you’ll be taught everything you need to know about surfing: how to choose the right equipment; how to use it properly; how to recognize a "surfable" wave; how to catch a wave and ride it as long as possible; and, most important of all, how to get off a wave without wiping out. But you’ll never find a course that teaches "How to Build a Wave."
Surfing is the art of riding waves that God builds.
A lot of books and conferences on church growth fall into the "How to Build a Wave" category. They try to manufacture the wave of God’s Spirit, using gimmicks, programs, or marketing techniques to create growth. But growth cannot be produced by man! Only God makes the church grow. Only God can breathe new life into a valley of dry bones. Only God can create waves–waves of revival, waves of growth, and waves or spiritual receptivity.
B. So the Church is like a wave
1. In my 20 years of ministry I have found that to be true
a. Sometimes everything is going great, and at other times you find yourself standing between waves
b. But be assured of this–another wave is coming!
C. While on vacation Ashlee had a hard time getting out to where the waves were because there is a spot where the waves crash–sometimes it can be tough to get beyond that point.
1. The waves beat against–sometimes they knock you down
a. Sometimes it’s a lot of work to get past that spot.
b. So Ashlee would say, "Daddy, I want to ride the waves."
2. Sometimes I feel like as a church we are standing in that spot where the waves are crashing
a. We’ve left the safety of the shore
b. But we haven’t quite made it out to where we can catch a nice wave
D. I think that every single one of us here this morning needs to ask ourselves the question, "Is Jesus Christ really the Lord of my life?"
1. Am I taking God seriously?
a. Do I take my faith seriously? Or am I simply playing church?
2. I don’t know about you, but I’m kind of like Ashlee–I want to ride the waves
a. I want that to be our prayer this morning.
b. Daddy, help us ride the waves.
