Colossians, Part 1: Christ Over All
Type: Wednesday Evening Service
Series: Colossians
Sermon: Part 1: Christ Over All
🗣️ Speaker: Pastor Jeff Booth
God's purposes are fulfilled not through personal comfort or religious performance, but through a life rooted in the supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus Christ. A heart of genuine thanksgiving — practiced consistently, even in hardship — transforms perspective, invites God's presence, and prepares believers to endure any trial. When people shift their focus outward, serving and loving others with the grace they've received, they become fruitful disciples who carry hope into the world around them.
ℹ️ Tip: The video is set to start at the beginning of the sermon, but you can scrub the playhead to any part of the service. ℹ️
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Well, tonight I'm gonna try to do my best here to start a new series.
On the book of Colossians.
We're going to be in this for a while, probably over the next 10 weeks, and there are two First Wednesday worship. uh services in there.
But this will go to the end of May.
And it's a small book, but there's a lot to talk about.
There's a lot to share.
There's a lot to benefit from.
And I I pray that I pray that you will grow through this.
Colossians is kind of in a group of epistles that was written by Paul and along with Philippians, Ephesians, and Philemon.
And they were written by Paul when he was in prison, and many believe that he was in a Roman prison at this time.
I'm gonna give you a little background before I preach.
Can I do that?
I'm gonna set it up so I can say what I want to say.
An epistle, if you don't know, is simply a formal or a literary letter written by early Christians, Christian leaders to churches and individuals. for instruction, encouragement, correction, or teaching.
Everybody say instruction.
Say encouragement.
Correction. and teaching.
And though this was written a long, long time ago to a specific group of people, this word is alive and well.
It is inspired by the Holy Spirit.
And it is for us today that we would receive encouragement, teaching, instruction.
Hello, somebody, and correction if needed.
Look at your neighbor and say, you might need some of that tonight.
This specific letter that Paul has written uh focuses on Jesus Christ uh the person and work of Jesus Christ and that'll be our focus for the next several weeks.
The church load located in Colossi was a a result And it was birthed out of Paul's three-year ministry in Ephesus, even though Paul never physically went to see the church in Colossae.
He didn't make it there, but it was about a hundred miles away.
This church was birthed. out of his ministry.
It was pastored by an individual named Epiphras, and it is believed that, uh it appears, that they met for worship and teaching in the home of one called Philemon.
Epiphras expresses the need to the Apostle Paul for his help.
Somebody say help.
Help with the church in Colossae due to false teachings that are rising up.
A heresy that was somewhat uh a blend of pagan occultism, Jewish legalism, and Christianity that ultimately resembled an early form of Gnosticism. basically a teaching that Jesus was not fully God and was not fully man.
He he was merely some semi-divine being that bridged the chasm or the gap between God and all of us here on the earth.
What this meant Was the Gnostics said Christ did not have all the authority or the ability to meet the needs of the Colossians?
It moved into a works-based approach that diluted their faith.
Can I tell you we need to be aware of that?
Hello?
Works-based faith Kills every time.
It it destroys.
It does not build up your fate.
It dilutes it.
Paul is writing this epistle. uh to expose the heresy and he's writing to instruct the Colossians in truth.
Somebody say, Jesus is the way.
The truth and the life.
He's the truth.
So Paul, as we talked about at the beginning here, Paul is focusing on the person and work of Christ.
So he's turning their attention to Jesus.
Who is the way?
Who is the truth?
And that's what we can stand on as well today.
When we're kind of going off in air, we can return back to the truth of who Jesus is.
Amen.
He's warning them of returning to pagan or legalistic vices.
He's wanting to express his personal interest in the believers.
And finally, he wants to inspire them to promote mutual love and harmony amongst each other.
How many know that when there's little schisms in the body of Christ and there's teachings that are uh confusing that there can be division in the body.
Hello?
People can come in with a while.
I see this young man that needs to get a dose of the Holy Ghost that's running for office and he's He's teaching some weird stuff from the pulpit.
Are you hearing me tonight?
Teaching stuff that is strictly not biblical is antichrist.
It is foolishness.
And people are buying it.
We need to expose that in love.
Hello?
But we need to be wary of it because we too can fall prey to false teaching if we are not careful.
We need to stick to Jesus, stick to his word.
Amen.
Paul exposes this false teaching and calls them the empty deceit of men, having the appearance of wisdom, but useless in fact.
He declares that the addition of such things dilutes rather than strengthens the faith.
You need to understand that Paul does more than just expose or unmask or even denounce. this false teaching, the best corrective is a firm grip on who Jesus Christ truly is and what he did for our salvation.
It's complete.
Look at your neighbor and say, it's complete.
Jesus paid it all.
As the false teachers in Colossi undercut the major doctrines of Christianity, such as the deity of Christ, absolute lordship.
Jesus and the sufficiency of Christ, Paul writes this letter to the Colossians to set forth Christ as a supreme Lord. in whose sufficiency the believers can find completeness.
We just sang it.
He is Lord.
He is risen from the dead.
He is Lord.
There's no one like our God.
Just a few more things before I start preaching because I feel a little bit of a preach tonight.
Christ's supremacy hinges upon his uniqueness as God's eternal beloved son and heir.
In Christ dwells the totality of divine attributes, essence, and power.
Jesus is the exact revelation and representation of the Father.
Somebody say amen.
And he has priority in time and in rank over all creation.
The sufficiency of Jesus depends upon his superiority and that he is king of kings and lord of lords.
So Paul declares Christ.
Lordship in three ways to defend the true gospel.
I wish that clock wasn't there because I'm gonna lose track of time.
And I I looked at the number of pages I have and I don't think I have enough minutes as I do pages First of all, Christ is Lord over all creation.
His creative authority encompasses the whole material and spiritual universe.
Since this includes angels and planets Christ deserves to be worshipped, not angels.
Hello, somebody.
And there is no reason for us to fear demonic spiritual powers No reason for us to fear the demonic powers of hell because Christ has neutralized their power on the cross.
He already took care of that and shares this triumphant resurrection power with all believers.
Hello, somebody.
We have the resurrection power of Christ working in us.
Ephesians 3.
20.
We need to operate in that.
We do not need to fear.
God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.
Second, Christ is preeminent in the church as its creator and savior.
He is its life.
He is our life and leader and the church.
We submit to the authority of Christ.
Paul is charging the Colossians to remain rooted in Christ rather than to become enchanted with empty speculation. traditions.
There's always these things going on with the internet, with YouTube and Apostle this and Prophet that.
And can I tell you just turn back to Jesus.
You've got the word of God.
Get into the word for yourself because the Bible tells us the Holy Spirit will teach you and lead you into all truth.
I'm not saying we don't need to hear from from leaders in the body of Christ.
God has given us those leaders, but all with a title ain't really operating in it.
Can I say it that way?
God's given you discernment.
Get in the word and let him speak to you.
Third and finally, Jesus Christ is supreme in salvation.
In Christ, All man-made distinctions fade and barriers fall.
I remember being raised in a pretty legalistic Pentecostal church where You had to dress a certain way and you had to have your hair a certain way and you couldn't do this and you couldn't do that.
You had to do this and you know this is gonna happen if you don't do that.
Hello somebody?
That's that's that's tradition of men.
That's bondage.
That's not freedom.
He has made all Christians into one family in which all members listen are equal in forgiveness. and adoption our brothers in Africa and our sisters in Africa, we are we are joint heirs with them.
Those in China and Russia and South America and Canada.
All parts of the earth we are all one body in Christ.
Hello?
No one has rank over the other.
It's quiet in this Baptocostal church here.
Because of this, and contrary to the Gnostic heresy, there are no special qualifications or requirements for experiencing God's favor.
Somebody shout amen to that.
Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.
Confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus.
Believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead and you will be saved.
Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.
Jesus' Lord is the church's Earliest confession, and it needs to be our confession today.
Can we just say that?
Jesus is Lord.
One more time.
Jesus is Lord.
Let's say it big.
Jesus is Lord.
Amen.
Amen.
Christ is not only the head of the church, but he stands before all time and above every power and at the end of all history.
I want to pray and I'm going to share two things with you, and we're going to Go to stake and shake.
Father, in the name of Jesus, we thank you for your presence in this place.
I thank you for your word because it's anointed.
It's alive.
Lord, it cuts deep.
Lord, I just pray that you would speak to us tonight through your word.
Anoint these lips of clay.
Help me to say what you want to be said today.
May our lives be forever changed in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Colossians chapter 1, verses 1 to 3 says this: Paul and apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae.
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you.
I'm going to stop right there for a minute.
Paul has experienced shipwreck.
He has experienced beatings.
He has experienced being imprisoned.
He's in prison now.
He has experienced hardships that none of us really can understand or really can identify with.
He has been in some really tight places.
But as we read the scripture here, there's there's a couple things I want to give you, two simple things tonight that I hope you can take and apply to your life And you can work on, you can be intentional about, let the Holy Spirit help you in this.
And I believe it can and it can add to your life and help you in your walk with Christ.
If you look at Paul's example, in the midst of hardship, the thing that I get out of this right away is Paul had a heart of thanksgiving.
Look at your neighbor and say, thanksgiving.
Paul was thankful, he was thankful for the church in Colossae, even though they had trouble going on in the church Even though they had issues going on, he was thankful for those in the church.
He chose to be thankful.
Paul had reasons.
To complain, but he chose to be thankful.
He understood, listen, that you can't be hateful and thankful at the same time You can't be discouraged and be thankful at the same time.
You can't be bitter and be thankful at the same time.
It's impossible.
You can't be filled with a spirit of revenge and be thankful at the same time.
It's impossible.
You have to choose to be thankful.
We're encouraged.
I shared the scripture tonight Enter his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise.
We have instructions on how we enter into the very presence of God to spend time with him.
And it's through our intentional declaration of thanksgiving, a thankful heart for all that he's done. all that he's doing, all that he's going to do, and truly for all that he is that brings us into his presence.
See, God is great and greatly to be praised.
He's clothed with honor and majesty.
Great is the Lord our God because there is none higher than him.
No one can take his place.
No one will remove him from his throne because he is God all by himself.
See, it doesn't matter what difficulty you're going through.
There's nothing that God can't pull you out of and bring you through.
It doesn't matter what sickness your body has been struck with.
There's no sickness, no disease that God cannot heal even tonight in this room.
When you're watching online, he can heal you right in your home, in your car, wherever you are.
There's no mountain that God cannot heal God can't move out of your way or show you a way over it or show you a way around it, God will show you the way.
See He He gave us all to purchase my redemption, and I just want to thank him for that tonight.
See, because when I praise God, when I look at Paul's example and can I we shouldn't compare ourselves.
I see what he went through and I see what I'm living through right now.
I ha I can't complain.
I can't I can't give God a a grumble or or be angry with God because he's been just too good to me.
And when I praise God doubt leaves.
When I praise him, doubt leaves.
When I thank God, my faith rises because while I use Scripture to praise him, and when you use Scripture, You're edifying, you're building yourself up, and you're you are growing your faith when you begin to thank God using scripture.
When I praise him, I see my circumstances differently.
When I thank him, his presence surrounds me even when my circumstances don't change.
He gives me peace in the storm.
If we could learn from Paul tonight that a thankful heart changes everything.
It changes everything because we welcome the king into our situation.
It's so easy to complain.
It's easier to complain and blame somebody else or something else.
But Paul says, be thankful.
Look at your neighbor and say, you need to be thankful tonight.
Paul said he's thankful for the church of Colossae, even though they have problems.
I hope you love your brothers and sisters here at Oxford Assembly of God.
I hope you love one another, flaws and all.
We're not all at that level of sanctification that maybe people want us to be at, but we're growing in our faith.
Hello, somebody.
We're growing in our faith.
We need to be thankful for one another.
See, when I look at you, I thank God because I see God's grace in your life.
I see God's grace.
When I think of you, I'm reminded of the blood of Jesus that washes away all of our sins.
When I think of you, when I look at you, I'm reminded that someone is praying for me because many of you have told me that you're praying for me.
I know that many pray for the the pastors regularly.
That is encouraging.
See, I'm encouraged when I think of you and who you are in my life.
See, when I think of you, I think of the redeeming power of Christ that is work. and evident in your life as a testimony to the goodness of God.
I hope you're thankful for your family here at OAGC.
The church in Klosse had some big problems and people were doing some silly stuff and they were being led astray.
And I'm so glad that Jesus leads us back into truth when we stray.
And I'm so glad that I have people in my life that will Give me a little pat on the side and say, you need to get back over there.
What's going on?
Hello?
See, I grew up in the day as a teenager and in my twenties with a group of misfits that when one of them would stray and they would go do things they weren't supposed to do and be places they weren't supposed to be, they'd just go get them out of there Didn't matter if it was a bar.
Didn't matter where it was.
They weren't gonna let them with everything they had, they weren't gonna let them go back to that old lifestyle.
They were gonna help them walk out their faith, and sometimes it's hard Am I in the right church tonight?
See, we need to we need to be thankful for the people in our lives that help us keep our walk right with Jesus.
As a musician When we rehearse, there's a phrase that I'll use from time to time, and the phrase is simple and you may know it, but it's practice makes.
Makes what?
Oh, you're wrong.
Practice makes permanent.
Practice makes permanent.
Now I'm going to digress just for a minute because I have the pulpit tonight.
But our w this last weekend our son just completed his college basketball career and He ended up leading the nation in three pointers made per game.
He ended up setting a record for his conference for for for his school for Sanford University for The number of three-pointers made in a season, 121.
And he set a record for the most three-pointers made in the single game and 11 three-pointers made in a game.
He was awarded Player of the Year for his conference.
And he ended his college career with a total of 2,343 points. making 389 three-pointers in his college career, which is amazing.
But it didn't just happen.
I watched a video from him when he was 10 years old just this week and his little team was running plays and they hit him on the wing for a three-pointer at 10 years old and it was nothing but net.
He's just trucking down the court and we're going like, yeah.
When I took him as a freshman going into high school, took him to his first practice in the summertime And dropped him off, came back to pick him up, and the coach, one of the assistant coaches, is grabbed, he said, I gotta tell you, I gotta tell you, your son is gonna be a prolific scorer.
He finished this season as a number 14 scorer in all of Division I basketball in the country.
That's pretty good.
But this man said, your son is gonna be a prolific scorer.
I'm like, okay, whatever I don't know how you see that.
He said he made 80 out of 100 three-pointers today.
Nobody's ever come close to that.
Practice makes permanent.
When the game is on the line, what you practice when nobody when you're in the gym when nobody else is.
It's going to show in public.
When you're doing drills and everybody else is out doing their thing, partying and hanging out with friends, and you're just working on your craft. when the game is on the line, you're gonna have something that other people don't have.
It's the same way in our spiritual walk.
If we don't choose and if we don't practice being thankful of being thankful unto the Lord for people, for what God has done in our life, for his word, for his presence.
If we don't practice this heart and attitude of of of thanksgiving, of being thankful before the Lord.
When trouble comes our way, whatever is inside is what's going to spill out.
When you get in a tight place, whatever is inside is what's going to spill out.
And we need to know that we have thankful Thankful hearts that spill out.
1 Thessalonians 5. 18 says, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
It doesn't say to thank God for the pain or thank God for the trouble.
You can do that because I'll be honest with you, there's situations I've been in where I said, God, this does not feel good, but I do thank you for it because you are refining me.
You are shaping me.
You are molding me.
You are doing an interior work in me.
And God, the fire purifies.
Hello, somebody.
The fire will purify you.
So I thank you for this trial, Lord.
Even though it's painful, I thank you and give you praise because you know what's best for me.
No matter what you're going through, be thankful.
Remember the children of Israel complained?
They wanted to go back.
A whole generation died in the wilderness because they complained.
Can I just I don't get this very often to speak.
Some of you have shown a spirit of thankfulness of what God is doing even when you've found it hard to move in a new direction.
God honors your thankful heart.
He honors your thankful heart.
He will bless that.
It's the grumbling and complaining that God doesn't like.
And sometimes when we grumble and complain, We get crusty.
Pastor Daniel never heard that word before.
Like crusty saints.
He said, where did you get that word?
So it's hard sometimes to move into the new, but many of you have shown a heart of thanksgiving for what God is doing in our community, and there's more that God is going to do.
Do you remember when Paul and Silas were strapped in a prison cell?
And they decided at the midnight hour, the best thing to do was to worship God, to praise God?
in the midst of pain.
They weren't on a cruise ship.
It wasn't an American jail.
Hello?
Or maybe I should say a Japanese jail because they're actually kind of clean and neat and tidy and they take care of you and they treat you right.
Hello But they were in a bad place.
They were in pain.
It was nasty.
It's time to praise God It's time to lift up.
And what happened?
There was an earthquake that took place that shook the prison and all the cell doors opened up and people were released and set free.
Your praise Maybe this Sunday is not just for you.
Maybe your praise and heart of thanksgiving is for somebody around you to be set free.
It's to open the door for them in some way that God would do a miracle in their life.
Somebody say be thankful.
Secondly, only got two points really.
Second is I see Paul was outward focused.
He was thankful, but he's outward focused.
Colossians 1, 2, and 3 says, to the saints and faithful, we always thank God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ when we pray for you.
He was in jail, but he was thinking of them.
I don't know about you, but when I'm going through a rough time, I don't always think about you.
I think about the pain I'm in.
And God is saying, be outward focused.
Be outward focused.
Being outward focused reminds us of the character of Jesus who was beaten, tortured, and killed.
Yet in Jesus' most difficult situation here on this earth, he cried out, Father, forgive them.
They don't even know what they're doing.
Church, Paul is speaking loud and clear to us that if we're going to endure and receive a crown of life, we must lean into the character of Christ to be thankful and to be outward I don't know if you're familiar with this song, but there's an old song we used to sing 20 some years ago, 25, 30 years ago.
It's all about you.
Jesus.
I'm pulling on the Pastor Tom.
All this is for you, for your glory and your fame.
It's not about me.
As if you should do things my way.
You alone are God and I surrender.
Anybody know that song?
Two of us?
Well some used to sing it, it's all about me.
Jesus, all this is for me.
For my comfort and my pleasure.
You know what I'm saying?
Sometimes we just think about ourselves and Paul is reminding us, be outward focused.
There's blessing in being outward focused.
There's joy and life in being outward focused.
If you're in a most difficult time of your life, Find somebody to bless.
Find somebody to encourage.
Find somebody to serve.
Find somebody to go walk alongside of them and whatever they're doing.
Be a blessing to somebody.
Be outward.
Focus.
See, Paul has a heart for the church in Colossae to grow as disciples.
He has a heavy heart too because he knows there's a little bit of a schism going on.
There's some bad teaching going on, and he wants them to walk in truth.
Because if you walk in truth, you walk in the light.
Light.
If you walk in false teaching, you're in the darkness.
You stumble and you go places you're not supposed to go.
He wants them to walk in the light.
So he's trying to give them the truth.
In our church community, right here at Oxford, we have brothers and sisters who need our support, love, care, and help.
You know, I thank God that Oxford Assembly has a Benevolence program ministry.
Shouldn't say program ministry.
Sometimes people are in need.
We can help people.
But can I tell you who the real benevolence ministry is?
It's you and me.
Oh, now I got quiet.
Because it costs us to be like Jesus To be like Jesus will cost us our time, our money, our treasure, our talents.
It will cost us.
I was telling you someone before the service, I remember times in Terry and I our life, season we've gone through where we were struggling in different ways, we lost a job or uh different things were going on in our life.
I'm telling you, it wasn't the church benevolence ministry that came and took care of us.
It was people in our small group.
It was people who we had relationship with in a smaller setting within the large body of Christ.
We didn't ask them, they just did it.
Because that's what believers do.
To the one who has the ability to see a need and meet the need and doesn't do it, it's sin.
We need to be outward focused.
It's really quiet in here now.
It's kind of where the rubber meets the road to be like Jesus, serving others and helping others.
It will cost us.
And there is a joy.
I was telling these folks before, and we had some friends this weekend, a young young family have three children.
Their oldest son is probably six or seven years old, maybe And passed away this week needing a transplant of some kind, and they didn't get it in time.
And he passed away.
Families just devastated, as you would imagine.
This happened over the weekend.
I saw there was a like a GoFundMe for this, for medical bills.
Lost his father in the man of the household lost his father in December, lost his job late December, and lost his son this weekend.
That's when you need people to help you lift your hands and thank God that God's still on the throne, even though my world is totally demolished.
So they had a $70,000 goal to help this young family take care of these needs, medical needs.
Last night they had over $65,000.
And I I told my son, I said, son, scripture, scripture is true.
God's prom give and it will be given unto you.
Pressed down, shaken together, running over, shall men give unto your bosom.
Sometimes we need grace given to us.
Sometimes we sometimes we give finance.
Sometimes we give of our time.
We give of our gift.
We give of ourselves in different ways.
This young man has given himself for 20 years or so to families in a community.
He has given himself to young people.
And this is, I believe this is just Part of a return of God's blessing on him because he has given in such a way that people have freely given to him to help him in his time of need.
That wasn't a church doing that, it was individuals.
Are y'all with me?
We can impact people's lives.
We can't fix everything, but we can be outward focused to meet the needs of people.
You may know people within the body of Christ here that are going through a tough time.
Ask the Lord how you might be able to help.
There are times when we do as a body, we take care of that.
But what does God when God brings it to you?
This one, my pastor I grew up under, I go to him and say He's like, hey, I I I think this is what's going on.
He said, well take care of it, Jeff.
God put it on your heart.
I'm gonna need some help with that one.
Well, if you need help, we'll see what we can do.
But God put it on your heart.
That's the way I was trained.
Do something about it.
Do what you can do.
Somebody say amen.
Ah, I'll know this is good.
There's so many ways that we can be a blessing to those in our circle of influence here within the church and our body of believers.
But we have to get our eyes off of ourselves and onto others like Jesus did.
And there are people outside of our church family, thousands of people, young people, young and old, that need the hope that you and I have.
I know we are expecting at least 1,200 people to be here for Easter Sunday in our gatherings.
We're believing for at least 100 real conversions.
We're not talking about people just raising their hand and you never see them again.
We're talking about real conversions, people encountering Jesus.
They're going to encounter Jesus because you pray, because you pray, and because you invite.
They're gonna hear the gospel.
But I'm believing that there's gonna be a bunch of people that get saved before Easter because you've been talking to people throughout the weeks, the days ahead, even now. and they're getting saved before Easter, and Easter maybe they're just going to become a part of this body called Oxford Assembly of God.
Are y'all with me tonight?
He wants us to be a witness everywhere that we go.
Why not win one to the Lord tonight when you go out to eat after service tonight?
Why not win somebody to the Lord tomorrow?
Pray.
Ask God to set up some divine appointments for you to minister to people who need the hope that you have.
Why not share our faith in the marketplace and everywhere that we go?
These seats all around us represent souls and families and a harvest that is coming.
Can we do that right now?
See, Lord, there's a harvest coming.
We thank you that every one of these seats will be filled, Lord God, twice. twice, Lord God, on Easter Sunday.
We believe, Lord God, for every seat to be filled and we believe for true conversions to take place.
Lord, not a little patty cake, little say a prayer and leave and never change, but God, people who have encountered the living resurrected Christ and will be forever changed.
God, we believe you for it.
God, help lead us to those who are ready.
To give their lives to Jesus.
Somebody say amen.
Somebody say outward focused.
Paul remembered his brothers and sisters, and in his pain he praised God and he prayed for the church.
Next time you're in a pickle of some kind that you can't get out of, think of people at Oxford Assembly, begin to pray for them, begin to thank God for them, and watch your situation change.
Colossians chapter 1, verse 4 through 6, since we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel.
Verse 6, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing.
Also, And as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.
Paul's confidence in the Colossian believers was not just because of their faith, but because of their hope also.
He understood that God is fully committed to accomplish his promises for all believers.
And the Colossian Church held on to the real hope of eternity in the presence of God one day.
This Christian life is not easy.
It's hard, but Paul knew that hardships come with walking with Jesus in full surrender.
And the effectiveness of a believer's life is not measured in their ease of life, but in the fruit of their life.
I'm going to say that again.
I want to say it again.
The effectiveness of a believer's life is not measured in their ease of life, but in the fruit of their life.
Paul was pleased to see the fruit of their faith and hope and faithfulness in the midst of difficulties Just like a tree properly rooted and growing in good soil brings forth appropriate fruit, so it is with the Christian life.
I hope you speak in tongues.
I hope you pray in tongues.
I hope you prophesy.
I hope you lay hands on the sick and they recover.
And we go crazy rejoicing that people are dancing and shouting and just giving God glory for it.
But I pray that when you're out here on 301 and 466 and you get stopped at that light for four lights.
That love and joy and peace and contentment comes out.
The fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, gentleness.
Oh, my wife's looking at me now.
See, the fruit.
Are we bearing fruit?
Are we reproducing?
Are we a disciple who's making a disciple?
Who's making a disciple?
Church, that's work.
It's easy to come to a service and receive But to be like Jesus, he took twelve nitwits and spent This time with them in every way didn't give up on them I noticed some people that we just man I'm just done with them.
I've told them a thousand times, well do it a thousand one.
In love.
Because maybe it's taken a thousand two because it's not about them.
It's about the Lord wanting to see the fruit of his spirit in your life coming out.
Not frustration.
Am I in the right church tonight?
Can I say that?
Making disciples is work.
It's truly walking out life together.
That's the church in Colossae.
They're walking this out together.
And they're bearing one another's burdens.
They're loving one another.
They're caring for one another.
And when one falls, they restore them gently.
We were talking the other day in staff, and the the conversation went a direction that no we didn't plan.
And really start expressing, I just thank God, I am just a product of God's grace.
Plain and simple.
I shouldn't have made it out of our first church unscathed as I have.
I shouldn't.
There's so many families and individuals who are wrecked There are things that have happened in life that it's only, it's not anything I conjured up, not my hard work, not my effort, the simple grace of God.
In this room, everyone in this room has experienced the grace of God He's tolerated us when we are intolerable.
He's loved us when we've been religious and traditional and and we've been just kind of, you know, hard to be with.
Cantankerous believers.
God's wanting us to love people, to be outward focused, and to give grace to others that has been given to us.
What my wife and I have found over the last five or six years is that we thought we knew how to love.
And sometimes God will bring things into your life really close to you that you abhor, that you may even despise, you don't understand.
And it's not about the other person.
It's about you learning how to love what you deem at times unlovable, unreachable.
Not worthy of the grace of God.
I know I'm not the only one that's been guilty of that.
When we're outward focused and we're giving to others and we're around people who don't know Jesus and we're loving them and listening, listening, listening to them.
Walking things out.
God does a work in us.
It's more blessed to give than to receive.
We always use that when we talk about money.
It is more blessed to give when we're giving the love of Jesus away, the grace of God.
We're taking the time to have compassion for people that in our natural man we got none.
We got a big donut.
It's not there.
It's only the love of Christ in us that allows us to love others.
Am I talking to anybody tonight?
Jesus is full of grace and truth.
I'm all about revival.
I'm all about shake, rattle, roll, baby.
But if you fall down and you get up and you ain't walking right, then that fall meant nothing.
Okay?
How you get up and walk it out is what matters.
Are you full of the grace of Christ?
Are you walking in the truth of his word?
Are you hanging on to traditions and things that people say and religious statements?
We got to shake that stuff off.
Jesus is full of grace and truth, and the very essence of God is the perfect combination of grace and truth.
And this is what Paul sees in the believers in Colossae.
Worship team come up.
Maybe.
Maybe he is Lord or whatever, just pick a song.
So many times as believers, we just want to be right.
Political issues, cultural issues, just want to be right And sometimes just wanting to be right keeps us from really loving people.
And gives us gives us a bad name Let's choose to live radical lives of grace that reaches into every corner of our society, every nook and cranny.
That we begin to radically love people, begin to be radically outward focused.
Pastor Thomas said this many times.
Jesus left the 99.
For one.
He's always about that next one.
He's always looking for that next one who's lost their way.
My prayer for you and for me is that we have.
Some new spiritual eyesight that everywhere we go, our favorite restaurant, the menu isn't appealing anymore.
You just see somebody that needs what you have, and you can't help.
But go tell them about the love of Jesus.
Hello, somebody.
This is awesome that we're here tonight.
The battlefield's out there.
The one is out there.
And God has given us a responsibility, a mandate to go into the highways and byways, compel people not to come to church, but come meet Jesus.
Let me tell you about the man that changed my life forever.
And he can do the same for you.
Would you stand with me?
Is the gospel producing fruit in you?
Or are you just filled with religious activity?
Have you lost your thankful heart?
David would tell himself, he would say, Soul, bless the Lord.
Oh my soul, and all that is within me, bless his name.
Sometimes you gotta tell yourself, I want to complain, I want to file a complaint right now.
But self, you need to put that aside, and Jeff, you need to just praise God in the midst of it.
Can we just close our eyes and lift our hands heavenward?
And can you just begin to Thank God and praise God for his word tonight.
Can you begin to thank God and praise God that he has saved you and that he has called you to be a carrier of the good news of Jesus that sets people free?
Would you just begin to Thank God that He has anointed you for such a time as this to be His witnesses throughout this community to your family, to your friends, to your neighbors, to your enemies.
Would you just thank God that this is your season to be a soul winner and a disciple maker.
Begin to thank God that He's assigned somebody to you that you can pour your life into, that you can teach them the ways of the Lord as someone has taught you the ways of the Lord.
Begin to thank God that He still has purpose and assignment for your life, whether you're young or whether you're old, that God is ready for you to be engaged in this end-time harvest, making disciples that will make disciples.
That will make disciples.
God, we thank you.
We praise you.
Why so downcast, oh my soul?
Put your hope in God.
Come on, just thank Him.
Just thank Him.
Have you become too inward focused?
Matthew 6, 33 says, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.
And all these things will be added unto you.
Seek Him.
Seek him while he may be found.
He has commissioned us, Matthew 28, to go out and train everyone you meet far and near.
In this way of life of Jesus, marking them by baptism in the threefold name Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and instruct them in the practice of all that Jesus has commanded.
Jesus said, That he'll be with us day after day after day after day, right up until the end of the age.
If you need prayer tonight, I want some of our prayer team to come.
If you need prayer ton Just step out, make your way to the front, and we're gonna pray for you.
If you need to go, this will be our our time to send you out to be His witnesses everywhere that you go.
We're gonna worship.
If you want to stay a while, you can do that.
But if you need to Go.
You can do that at this time.
You need prayer.
We welcome you to come to the altar and let us pray for you at this time.
God bless you.
