JESUS CHRIST IS LORD: SERIOUSLY!
WHO¡¯S IN CHARGE AROUND HERE?
The Supremacy of Christ
Colossians 1:15-23
INTRODUCTION:
A. We are in week 3 of a series of messages I am calling Jesus Christ is Lord: Seriously!
i. This series is taking us through Paul¡¯s letter to the Christians in the town of Colosse, but his words are just as significant to the Church and to us today as they were then.
(1) I want to begin again with a question, ¡°Who¡¯s in charge around here anyway?¡±
ILL> A couple of weeks ago Kay Clark told me about a conversation that she had recently with her dad. Kay¡¯s dad has been living with her and Charles while he is waiting for his new house to be built.
I don¡¯t really know what the discussion was about, but her dad finally asked, ¡°Have you forgotten who the father is here and who the daughter is?¡±
(2) I told her then that that was going to make it into a sermon someday because I think that that is a pertinent question that all of us need to answer¨CHave you forgotten who the Father is?
(3) Have you forgotten who¡¯s suppose to be calling the shots?
(a) Have you forgotten who it is that you have promised to serve?
(4) I think it all boils down to a struggle between 2 words¨Cprominence and preeminence
(5) You see, a lot of Christians have given Jesus a prominent place in their lives, but they haven¡¯t given him preeminence
(a) They really haven¡¯t allowed God to be in control of everything
(b) They really haven¡¯t allowed Jesus Christ to be Lord
(6) We need to make Jesus Christ thee priority in our lives and we need to take our relationship with Him seriously.
(7) READ: Colossians 1:15-23
b. Images or symbols have always been important to mankind
i. Symbols go back to the early days of man as archeologists and anthropologists have discovered drawings of symbols on rocks and in caves
(1) Today businesses spend millions of dollars each year coming up with symbols and logos that will represent their company or some product in the hope that we will instantly associate them with the symbol
(a) ¨CAnd it works!
(2) Take for example the following logos...What do they following images represent?
(a) Nike
(b) Batman
(c) McDonalds
ILL> When April was just learning to talk (and she¡¯s learned well, BTW) one of the first things she learned to recognize was the McDonald¡¯s arches. Every time we would drive by she would say, ¡°Mc Mc Mc¡± hoping we would stop. If we didn¡¯t stop she would cry. It got so bad that we would drive a different way through town so we wouldn¡¯t have to go by McDonald¡¯s.
(d) Jaguar
(e) Superman
(f) Windows - Microsoft
(g) Apple Computers
(h) Starbucks
(3) We have been trained to the point where every time we see these images, we associate it with the product
(4) It says in a brief moment more than what a lot of words can express.
ii. Paul has a tough task at hand because he is trying to do just the opposite
(1) He has an image in his mind and he is trying to use words to describe that image to us.
(2) The image that he has is of Jesus Christ and he wants us to share this image with him so we can have a fuller understand of who Christ is!
(3) Once we understand who Christ is, then we will understand why He deserves to be in charge
I> JESUS CHRIST DESERVES TO BE IN CHARGE BECAUSE HE IS OVER ALL CREATION
A. VS 15 - He is the image of the invisible God
1. The key word here is image
ILL> I have a brother who has been a mold maker for more than 20 years. He makes the molds that are used to make glass bottles.
I had an uncle, however, that was a master mold maker. He is the one who would make the original mold out of cast iron which would be used to make exact replicas or an exact image of the original mold. Years ago Avon had a president series¨Che had made some of the molds for those bottles.
2. That¡¯s what the word ¡°image¡± means here
a. But, he¡¯s not just a replica of the real thing¨CHe actually is God
b. God in the flesh¨CGod incarnate.
ILL> As one student of God¡¯s Word pointed out, ¡°Jesus is God with skin on.¡±
c. He is God¨Cwho had a hand in the creation of all things
B. Jesus Christ is God¨Cthat statement is so simple that you might wonder why I even bring it up
1. It¡¯s so simple that we may overlook its significance
a. The fact is, however, that not all people believe that Jesus Christ is deity¨Cthat He is God
b. Not even all those who call themselves Christians believe that Jesus Christ is part of the triune God--the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
ILL> My first full-time ministry was in Bainbridge, Ohio. We lived in a parsonage next to the local cemetery. Right behind our house was the Kingdom Hall of the Jehovah¡¯s Witnesses.
One day I was taking a shower which was in the front of the house. I heard the doorbell ring and I wasn¡¯t sure what to do, so I opened the window that was there inside of the shower. There were a couple of guys standing there that I recognized right away from the Jehovah¡¯s Witnesses. We talked for a few minutes as the shower continued to run. They realized that I probably wasn¡¯t going to come to the door so they handed me a couple of papers and I was then able to finish my shower.
2. Now one thing that I have to admire about those belonging to the Jehovah¡¯s Witnesses is their persistence and their willingness to go door to door sharing their message
a. However, we need to understand that some of the things they teach are very different than what we find in God¡¯s Word
3. You see, the Jehovah¡¯s Witnesses do not teach that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh
a. But rather, they teach that Jesus was Michael, the archangel, who for a time came to earth as Jesus. Then after He ascended back into heaven He took on his role as Michael again
4. However, if Jesus Christ is not God then that changes the way we have to view Scripture
a. If He¡¯s not God, then that changes the importance of His ministry¨Cthat lessens the gift that God gave to the world
b. If Jesus is not God then that lessens the sacrifice that He made on the cross
c. If Jesus Christ is not God, then that would mean that Jesus is a liar because Jesus Himself said...
¡ñ John 14:9b (NIV)
Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
d. In John¡¯s gospel, he referred to Jesus as the Word and wrote...John 1:1 (NIV)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
e. The angel of the Lord that appeared to Joseph and said that this holy Child would be called..., Matthew 1:23 (NIV)
Immanuel"--which means, "God with us."
5. Jesus Christ is God¨CHe is in charge
a. He is Lord of creation and as Paul puts it, ¡°in him all things hold together¡±
b. That Jesus Christ is God is one of the building blocks of our faith¨Cfrom it we cannot waiver.
II> JESUS CHRIST DESERVES TO BE IN CHARGE BECAUSE HE IS THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH
A. VS 18 - he is the head of the body, the church
1. The key word here is head
2. Here is another image of Christ that Paul wants us to envision
a. He compares the church to our physical bodies
3. Of course, the head is that which controls the rest of the body
a. You can do without a lot of things, but a body is not much good without a head
b. I can get rid of many parts of my body and live
¡ñ leg or an arm
¡ñ an eye
¡ñ gallbladder, appendix, spleen, can all be removed
c. However, sever the head and everything else fails
ILL> When I was a kid I had a friend that raised chickens. I was never at his house when it was time to get a few chickens ready for the frying pan, but he would tell me what it was like.
A chicken with its head cut off acts very strangely. It does not simply quietly perish, but jumps and runs around, out of control for a minute or two, before it finally dies.
4. Churches can act the same way if they get away from the head
a. Churches that lose their awareness of the Head are like that---they too go out of control.
b. They may run around and make a lot of commotion, but if Jesus Christ isn¡¯t in charge then they aren¡¯t really accomplishing much
5. Which leads us to a serious question: Does Jesus simply hold a prominent place in this church? Or is He preeminent in this church?
a. We give Jesus a prominent place when we
¡ñ meet together, make decisions, and once the decisions are made we ask Him to bless the decision
¡ñ We give Jesus a prominent place when we mention Him in the things that we do, but aren¡¯t really following His lead
¡ñ I don¡¯t believe that He simply wants to be mentioned every now and then while we go about our business
b. Prominence is giving Him a high place, but not necessarily first place.
¡ñ He doesn¡¯t desire prominence¨CHe demands preeminence
¡ñ He deserves to be in charge of His Church
III> JESUS CHRIST DESERVES TO BE IN CHARGE BECAUSE HE HAS RECONCILED US TO GOD
A. VS 22-23 ¨Cthe key word here is reconciled
1. Reconcile - ¡°To reestablish a close relationship between--To settle or resolve.¡±
a. We understand that sin created a barrier between man and God
b. At the cross, Jesus broke through that barrier
c. He took away that which kept us from God¨Cour sin¨Cand made it possible to have a close and intimate relationship with God the Father
2. Here¡¯s the neat thing¨CHe has taken us who are unholy and is presenting us to God as holy
a. How is that possible? Because He has already paid the price for our sins
3. He is presenting us without blemish
a. Let¡¯s face it, life has left some marks
b. There are some things in our lives that we¡¯re not proud of
c. We¡¯ve got some scars because of the some of the trials that we have faced
d. There are some deep hurts that are still trying to heal
e. But we will be presented to God whole and without blemish
B. There is a word we read that should jump off the page
1. It¡¯s found in verse 23¨Cthe first word ¡°if¡±
a. Now I realize that there is a lot of disagreement about whether or not a person can lose his salvation once he has become a Christian
b. I don¡¯t really believe that a person can lose his salvation, but I do believe that a person can throw it away
c. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord we make an agreement with God that only we can break.
d. I believe that that is why we have that word ¡°if¡± there
2. However, we could spend an entire sermon and much more on this discussion, but I don¡¯t want to do that
a. But I do want to bring it to a point where we can all agree because I don¡¯t really think it should be a matter of contention for the church
3. I think it all comes down to those 2 words again¨CIs Jesus prominent or preeminent?
C. Why this should not be a matter of contention
1. Here are the things that are without question¨Cwhy it should not be an issue
a. God¡¯s desire is for all people to be in a saved relationship with Him through His Son Jesus Christ
b. The Bible repeatedly tells us to remain steadfast, stand firm, be strong, hold on, be faithful
¡ñ Revelation 2:10b (NIV)
Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.
c. Main Point - The idea of losing your salvation is only an issue for those who really don¡¯t want Jesus Christ to be in charge
¡ñ It¡¯s only a issue for those who ask, ¡°How little can I do and still get by?¡±
ILL> I was watching a television show this week called ¡°Two and a Half Men¡± which is about 2 brothers living together, one of which has a son.
The Dad was looking over his son¡¯s homework and asks, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you do this one.¡±
The boy said, ¡°Because it¡¯s extra credit.¡±
¡°So why didn¡¯t you do it.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t understand. It¡¯s extra credit. You don¡¯t have to do it!¡±
¡°But why don¡¯t you do it anyway.¡±
¡°Because it¡¯s extra!¡±
¡ñ Too many times a Christian will ask, ¡°How weak can I be in my commitment to God and still get to heaven?¡±
¡ñ If Jesus Christ is really Lord, we don¡¯t need to worry about the ¡°if¡±
D. When we are weak in our commitment or when our relationship with God seems to be a little sluggish, it¡¯s not really a matter of knowing what God expects
a. It¡¯s not a matter of not knowing enough of God¡¯s Word
b. It¡¯s a matter of who¡¯s in control¨CAND WE LIKE BEING IN CONTROL!
IV> CONCLUSION:
A. Let me ask you a question this morning¨CWho¡¯s in control of your life? Have you given control over to Jesus
1. Have you allowed Him to be Lord? Or are you still holding back?
a. You see, a lot of people want to give Jesus Christ a prominent place in their lives, but their don¡¯t want to give Him the preeminent place
