Date Written: October 1, 2006
Date Preached: October 1, 2006
Where Preached: OZHBC (PM)
Sermon Details:
Sermon Series: A Study in Colossians
Sermon Title: Thankful for the Church
Sermon Text:: Col 1:3-8
3 We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints ; 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven , of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel 6 which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing , even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth; 7 just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, 8 and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit. Col 1:3-8 (NASB)
Introduction:
In his book, The Power of Giving Thanks, Jeff Jacoby tells us that in a sense, gratitude is really an expression of modesty. The Hebrew word for gratitude is hoda’ah – and it is also the same word that is used for confession.
To offer thanks is to confess dependence, to acknowledgment that others have the power to benefit you, to admit that your life is better because of their efforts. That frame of mind is indispensable to civilized society.
When it comes to the circumstances of life and what happens to you each day, how do you respond? Do you respond with gratitude, grit, or grouch? And is your response determined by your circumstance or by your character? I want all of you to grab a pen and some paper for a short test… that should help you to find out just WHERE you are in this matter!
I just want you to answer a, b or c… nothing else!
Question 1: You are in the 20 item cash only line at Walmart with your 2 cans of green beans and 1 can of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup and a fresh $20 bill from your ATM machine in your hand.
But the person in front of you has 30 items and a checkbook in their back pocket. How do you respond?
A. With gratitude for the Green Bean Bake your family will enjoy when you get back home…or do you…
B. Grit your teeth and wonder if the guy ahead of you failed both math AND reading in school…or do you…
C. Yell at the cashier, “Checkout Line Violation -- 15 items! 15 items!”
Question 2: You receive a letter from the IRS, stating you will soon be receiving a $1,000 refund on your tax return, how do you respond?
A. With gratitude that you live in America, the land of the free and the home of the brave…or do you…
B. Grit your teeth about the other $10,000 you paid in taxes last year…or do you…
C. Rip the letter to shreds while demanding more!
Question 3: You are driving your children to school, and as you drop them off, the car in front of you decides to just park there, trapping you in the school parking lot. How do you respond?
A. Do you look out the window and give thanks for this time to stop and smell the roses and car fumes….or do you…
B. Grab the steering wheel tighter as steam comes out of your ears...or do you…
C. Honk your horn continuously until you have alerted every one in the school and your children run and hide…
Question 4: You are watching your football team play on Sunday, and they win by a touchdown in a close game. How do you respond?
A. Stand up and start singing “Oh When the Saints…”or do you…
B. Wring your hands in worry over the game next week... or do you…
C. Begin calling all the sports radio stations and complaining about how we should have won by 3 touchdowns…
• If you had all B’s for your answers, you need to take a breath, chill out and relax.
• If you had all C’s for your answers, you may need therapy.
• If you had all A’s, you need to teach this message.
If you had a mixture of A’s, B’s, and C’s, welcome to the club. I am not surprised when people are grateful when life goes right. I am surprised and a bit envious when life goes wrong, and people respond with a grateful heart.
I want to be able to respond to all of life with gratitude, not grit, and not grouch, but a grateful heart to God. What I have observed in such people and in rare moments for myself is that the gratitude God gives changes my perspective about life.
Tonight I want to speak with you about thanksgiving and sharing that thankful and grateful attitude with those around you in the faith. I believe a fellowship with grateful and thankful members is a fertile ground for growth and great things in the kingdom of God.
The great philosopher Cicero, of whom I cannot say that I agree with a great deal of the time… once said this… Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others… Which basically is saying that being thankful is the seed for the Christian life!
Tonight I want us to look at this passage and see just how thankful Paul was for this fellowship in Colosse and how he expressed that thankfulness to them in his letter…
1. Paul reveals his excitement about the fellowship (v.3-4)
3 We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints;
Now I want you to understand that this passage is not just a letter from Paul to the church at Colosse but it is a written prayer FOR the believers in Colosse.
Paul was so excited about this church. He was not excited about this church because it was one that he planted because Paul NEVER went to Colosse.
Paul was excited about this church because in spite of him not being able to come there, they had heard the message and they had responded in faith to Christ and they were growing and maturing in their faith. God’s hand was on this fellowship and this excited Paul a great deal!
I want us to think about what Paul is writing in v.3-4… Paul is excited about this fellowship! Pauli is excited and so very thankful about this particular church!
Now I want you to ask yourself a question, “Have you ever fell to your knees and thanked God for the fellowship of believers that you are a part of?”
All too often we complain and fuss about all that is wrong in our church. We focus on the negative and that leads to dissention and dysfunction in our body.
This is Satan’s goal for all churches… that we would fuss and fight so much among ourselves that we would NOT be effective witnesses in our community… that we would NOT be the Christians we were called to be!
But I want you to know that it is a great honor and a great privilege to know that those in our fellowship have placed their faith and trust in Christ Jesus and have professed Him as Lord of their life!
We gather together to celebrate what God has done for us, but we need to also celebrate what God has done for our fellow believers and what God is doing within the lives in our fellowship!
Paul was so excited that their faith was real and evident in their actions, but Paul was also greatly excited about their love for one another as well.
These believers were living by the commandment that God set forth in John 13:34-35 when Jesus said, “…34 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:34-35 (NASB)
Far too often we want to complain and criticize our fellowship and we miss out on the joy of a warm, friendly Christian fellowship [koininia] with the other members of our body! We need to be thankful that we are associated with those who love and exalt Jesus Christ and who love one another!
Paul not only revealed his excitement about this fellowship, but we can also see that…
2. Paul reveals the true nature of his excitement
(v.5-6)
5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel 6 which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth;
Here we find Paul revealing the true nature of why he is so excited about this particular body of believers. He continues to share with them about the superb character of the salvation they had received…
Paul understood and shared with these believers about the incredible things that lay ahead for those who have professed faith and trust in Christ Jesus. Their hope is laid up in heaven because of Christ and because they had accepted the message of the Gospel.
So often we forget with just whom we come together with each Lord’s Day. We are gathering together with those whose hope is laid up in heaven because of their faith and trust in Christ Jesus! And that in and of itself is reason to shout to the top of our lungs and rejoice! We have a home in heaven together!
The fact that heaven awaits us should thrill our soul to no end, but it seems as if we have come to take that for granted and the joy of our salvation is muted and we do not seem to enter into His gates with thanksgiving and joy, but rather with apathy and criticism.
But I want us to look at another point Paul makes to this fellowship of believers. Paul tells them that their salvation was NOT fruitless, but it was instead growing and bearing fruit.
Here is another place where Paul is emphasizing that the church is to rejoice in this particular fact! They had a fruitful and growing faith that was bringing joy into their lives and into the heart of Paul!
Why did they have a fruitful and growing faith? I can tell you it was not because they simply came together on the Lord’s Day to worship, but it was because they were willing to be obedient to the call of Christ on their lives… in other words the joy they experienced in Christ was in direct correlation to their obedience to His commandments.
Do you want to have JOY in your heart? Do you want to live a victorious and joyful Christian life? Well I am here to tell you that it doesn’t just happen… and it is NOT going to happen if you are just coming to church on Sunday morning! It can and will happen when we learn to be fully obedient to God’s calling on our lives! Before He is going to bless us with joy and peace in our hearts we have to respond in obedience to His call!
Too many believers are sulking through their Christian walk and complaining about the fact that they do not or have not experienced the joy of salvation… and it is simply because they want God to bless them without any effort on their part!
We see so many believers who come into the fellowship who look like they are the most miserable people in the world… the reason is that their JOY is gone… or they have NEVER experienced the true JOY that only Christ can bring! And the reason they have not experienced that JOY is because they have NOT been submissive and obedient to God’s commandments!
Finally in this particular passage we see that Paul elaborates that the Gospel has changed the lives of those who have heard it! In other words, what Paul was saying was that the Gospel of Jesus Christ opened the spiritual eyes to the truth about Jesus… and His saving and merciful grace!
So often as believers we take for granted the salvation that we have and that our fellow believers experience. We simply have NO joy when it comes to sharing about our salvation… because we do NOT share with others about our salvation!
When we are disobedient to God’s call, our lives are going to be miserable. You cannot be a happy and well adjusted Christian and be disobedient to God’s call… they are NOT compatible!
Paul was thrilled to reveal his excitement about this fellowship and we also see that Paul was excited about revealing to them the nature of their fellowship in Christ, but we can also see…
3. Paul reveals his excitement over their pastor (v.7-8)
7 just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, 8 and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit…
Now understand that we do not know just who started this church, but what we do know is that a man by the name of Epaphras had surrendered to Christ under the teaching of Paul and it is this same Epaphrus that has brought the message of the gospel to the city of Colosse.
This man may not have started the church, but we find out that he was a man who was now leading that church. Paul describes him as a man who is a faithful minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ!
He is a fellow bond-servant or slave to Christ and he has surrendered all of who he is to serve Jesus! And their leader, he has sent this glowing report on the fellowship to Paul!
As a pastor, I have been guilty of doing things I should NEVER do! I am guilty of poor-mouthing to other pastors on what we are NOT doing in this area and that area….
I have spoken with family and friends and have had nothing to say but critical and cutting things about our church… why we aren’t doing this or that… and to tell you the truth it does NOT make me feel any better… it simply makes me feel more blue!
God has really disciplined me in this area and He has shown me that my job as pastor is NEVER to criticize or complain, but my job as pastor is to be like Epaphrus and exalt and edify the body of believers!
I never want to be guilty of ignoring the good points of our fellowship and encouraging those who are being obedient! BUT I cannot stop speaking to the areas in which we are failing and falling short! I simply must stop the criticizing and complaining and lead!
I see that Epaphras led by encouragement and the congregation was responding to Christ call. Paul lets us know that he loved his congregation and was spiritually proud of their maturing faith and love for one another!
I ask you to pray for me that I could be an Epaphras for this fellowship. That I would encourage you and lead by encouragement and that I would be blessed and spiritually proud because of your maturing faith and love for one another!
Conclusion:
Paul understood the fragile nature of the new church and he was doing all he could to see to it that they succeeded as a fellowship! Paul’s encouragement though his thankfulness expressed in this prayer went a long way to establishing this church as a great foundation in the 1st few centuries of the Christian falith!
Paul was thankful for this fellowship and for what had happened to them! He was thankful to God for their salvation and for their growing spiritual maturity! This was an encouragement and a spiritual boost for these believers!
And too often today we are NOT as thankful as we should be for our church and for those who are IN our church. We are kinda like that lady in that one church… you know the one I am speaking about…
This was the lady who complained about everything and everybody. Finally, her pastor found something that she couldn’t complain about. The lady’s crop of potatoes was the finest for miles around. He said to her, “For once you must be pleased. Everyone is saying how splendid your potatoes are this year.”
The lady glared at him and said, “THEY ARE NOT SO BAD, BUT WHERE ARE THE ROTTEN ONES FOR THE PIGS?”
Instead of being grateful, she was grouchy. Instead of realizing her great blessing, she took it for granted. It was as though she was saying, “So what? I always have good potatoes, but there should be more.”SOURCE: Steve Shepherd in "For Granted or Gratitude" on www.sermoncentral.com
We need to be thankful at all times, but especially within the fellowship of believers we are a part of…
