Christ is Preeminent Over Our Witness

March 25, 2012

Colossians 4:2-18

Recap: The church should be watchmen: In our community, in Washington, in our homes, in our schools. We need to stand on the principles of God. Because we are not, sin is running rampant in the world. We don’t pray the Word of God or our lives are so shabby we don’t believe God will answer our prayers. So our prayers hit the ceiling and bounce off.

If you do not know how to live, how to walk you will be weak. Paul commends the church in Colossians for their faith but tells then that in order to remain strong you have to know what God’s Word is and then you have to receive it. Knowing what it means to live upright before God.

Christ is in control over the philosophies of the world. Christ has preeminence over the legalism and rules of the church. It is not about what we do but how we come before the Lord, with humbled hearts.  If what is said is does not line up with God’s Word it must be disregarded.

If what you think does not line up with what God says, it is wrong thinking. God has set the standard of right. It’s not about what we think but about what God knows. God must have preeminence in our personal lives and in our homes. We must instill God’s principles in our children. If Christ is not preeminent in our lives He will not be preeminent in our homes.

We are witnesses for God

Our lives should show who God is in our lives. We should not need an announcement that we, the Christian, has arrived. Jesus did not require an introduction yet he was a King. The testimony of His life was captured in what He did.

V2: It says to continue earnestly in prayer. We don’t take time to just talk to the Lord. We give Him the five minute quickie and then we are Gone. Let’s take prayer seriously. We need to be vigilant; Watchful, always aware and alert. We know the Lord, what he does and what he can do so we must always be watching. We are to be vigilant in prayer.

When we read the newspaper or watch the news we need to be praying, we need to take it to the Lord in prayer. As we hear things we need to watch and pray. We ask, what good is it going to do? We don’t know but that is what God tells us to do. So we need to be obedient and let God worry about the rest.

V2-5: We need to be praying for persecuted Christians, for injustices. We need our witness to be a light to others. We need to live a life that is right before God. It is NOT our place to argue anyone down to accept God’s Word. We are to share God’s Word; that is ALL. When someone gets belligerent with you just walk away. No one can change your faith and belief in the Lord Jesus Christ so you can’t change their mind about what they believe. You can’t beat people with God’s Word because you don’t want to be beat into believing something.

V6: Let your speech always be with grace. When you speak be it with favor that people will want to be in your presence. …seasoned with salt. When we speak what we say should preserve life.  … that you may know how you ought to answer each one. We don’t always have the answer and we don’t always need to have the answer but we need to be gracious and research and find the answer.

V7-15: Part of our witness is being able to fellowship with one another, being able to reconcile with one another, being able to grow with your brethren.

V16-18: Paul says, make sure this epistle is read. God’s Word is key and it must be read, it must be heard, it must be spoken. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). We grow no other way. It keeps our faith growing. Without faith we cannot please God. When persecution come what is going to keep us? The Word of God. This is what empowers us to live for the Lord. What is going to keep us when people try to take our freedoms away? The Word of God.

We need to be alert because times are changing. This is not to make you afraid but to be alert, to not be caught off guard. This is so that we as Christian can sound the alarm. We are the watchmen. If we sleep everyone else will be lost.

Christ MUST be preeminent in our lives. We are His testimony because we bear His Name.

Pastor Pete

Christ is Preeminent Over Me, Over You, Over My Family and Over Your Family

March 18, 2012

Colossians 3; 4:1

Paul is writing this letter of Colossians to those who know the Lord; believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.

In Chapter 1, Paul writes: God has preeminence over the philosophies of the world. If it is contrary to God’s Word throw it away.

In Chapter 2, Paul writes: God is preeminent over the Church. If what they say in the Church is contrary to God’s Word throw it away.

Now in Chapter 3, Paul writes: Christ must have preeminence over you.
V1: Seek God. In everything we do, in every aspect of our lives, in every decision we make we must seek God.

V2: Set our mind on things above. It means to focus, especially in a world that is busy. Set your mind, your affections, and your desires on God. You have to want to.

The theme of Colossians is your mind. Changing, renewing, setting your mind on God.

Paul wants us to understand what it means to serve God. He knows it’s not easy but it is possible. The reward is being able to live and fellowship with our Savior.

Paul says in v4, this is not the end; this world is not the end. But, if we set our mind on things above we can exist in a sinful world and still live for God. If we look at God’s Word He by His Spirit places in my heart the knowledge that He will take me through all that is going on with a promise of eternal victory.

V5-11: Paul shows us what our way is, the carnality and things that are not of God. Because we are of God Paul identifies those things that are sinful so that we can be dead to those things. We need to dig a hole, take our sins and bury them in the hole and put a tombstone on it.

God is about life and giving us life. Those things that do not bring us life, we need to put to death or they will kill us. God has freed us from these things. We need to not be a slave to sin. We need to recognize the signs and temptations that lead us to sin. When the world offers temptations we need to ask God for help.

V12-17: Christ must have preeminence over our lives. We need to give all our situations over to Him and let Him deal with it. We were just like all those who are not in Christ until God saved us. It doesn’t matter who you are. Therefore, our goal is to give God glory in everything we do.

V18-25: Christ is Preeminent in the Home. If God is not in charge of your life, forget about Him being in charge or being preeminent in your family. To the degree you allow the Lord into your life that is the degree to which you allow him to have input into your home and family.

God tells wives submit to their husbands in the Lord. We have to pray for our husband and make sure our home is taken care of; always keeping God as our focus.

God tells husbands to love their wives. Love from a husband to a wife carries a sacrifice even to death.

God tells children to be obedient. The price of disobedience can be severe.

God then tells fathers not to provoke their children. A child must always know they are loved. We have to go to the Lord to find the balance for our children.

God tells bondservants to obey their masters. Bondservants are those who have chosen this master. For us, now it is our jobs that we have chosen. We need to pray for them but be obedient. We have to make sure our heart is right.

We are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ and our lives are a testimony for him. Whenever we are doing the wrong thing we need to stop, pause and repent. When the Holy Spirit shows me my wrong I need to pause and ask God to help me to honor him.

God then tells masters, be fair because you also have a master in heaven. God is our master. We expect Him to show us grace and mercy and fairness and we in turn should do the same.

Does Christ have preeminence over your personal life? He has come that we might have life and that more abundantly (John 10:10). He is not a kill joy but a joy giver.

Pastor Pete

Christ is Preeminent Over the World and the Church

March 11, 2012

Colossians 2:1-19

Paul outlines the philosophies of the world and he is talking to church folks. He says, don’t get tangled up in the philosophies of the world. The Church should not be a copy of the world. People should be able to look at us and see that there is a difference in us.

V2-4: Paul first says we must understand the things of God. We MUST know what God says. We may not understand all of it but we need to know what we can and cannot do. We know God as we read the Word of God and the Holy Spirit makes clear to us the things of God. The Word of God is a mystery to those who do not know God. God doesn’t want his Word to be mysterious to us so he makes provision so that we can understand the Word of God. God doesn’t want us to be deceived.

V6-7: Be rooted in God. We need to have a foundation in the Word of God. If my desire is to live for God then my foundation must be rooted in Him. No one wants to grow bent. WE want to grow straight. If you have a good foundation you will grow straight. If your foundation is wishy-washy you will not. Beware!

THE ONLY WAY WE CAN KNOW THAT WE ARE FOLLOWING THE WORD IS BY BEING IN THE WORD

Paul says beware of those who would cheat you or give empty promise. We can be deceived because we don’t know the principles of the Word. I can’t live for God and be breaking his Word.

V9-10: God is over all things. If we want to see success in our lives we have to know the savior.

V11-17: Christ is the head of the church and we MUST follow God’s Word. God is not concerned with the outward appearance but our HEARTS. People turn away from God because of so many rules (legalism) but we show our relationship with Christ through a change in our heart. The outward change is not as important as the inward change. We can live the Christian life through Jesus Christ.

It’s about RELATIONSHIP.

We want to be happy in our lives. We want peace in our lives. We want to know that everything is right between me and God.

V18: It’s NOT about religion. God says talk to me, directly to me. You don’t need an intermediary the way religion says. God must have preeminence in the church and over religion. Rules never get you close to God. It’s about obedience to a God who loves us.

The key is that it’s NOT about religion and making up things but about obedience to God. Religion never makes you do the right thing. The only one who changes our lives, in a way that we please God and ourselves, is God.

Christ must have preeminence (control) over everything. We must do it God’s way. When we do God makes sure that others see us. God wants us to be a standard in the world and not a copy.

Pastor Pete

Christ is Preeminent

March 4, 2012 

Colossians 1

Paul wants the Colossian church to grow in the Lord Jesus Christ.

He commends the Colossian church for not wavering in their faith in Jesus. He sees the result of this in their lives. If we have faith in Jesus we should see fruit in our lives. The test is living God’s Word. It is so easy to look and read the Word but it’s hard to live it. It starts with reading it though. We need to be filled with the knowledge of God. It’s not just about knowing God. It’s what you know about God and what you do with what you know that pushes you forward. You need to know so that you don’t make stuff up and know when things are being made up. As Christians we don’t need to be pioneers in the Word of God. It is right there for us.

V9: We need to be filled with the knowledge of God so that we might not sin against God. It’s a good thing when I want to follow God and its bad when I don’t. There is something about knowledge that if you follow it, it will help you and those with you especially when you are the driver. It can also be an awful spanking when you are doing the wrong thing and don’t want to follow God. That knowledge will rebuke you. When you have knowledge of God’s Word and choose to do something else it will get you into trouble.

V21: What God has put together has order yet we will study to prove God wrong. We have to prove He is wrong because if He is true we must follow Him. When you allow Jesus to be preeminent a lot of things change. Society says, it’s not what you know but who you know who gets you to where you want to go. The Bible says, it is what you know about God that will get you far.

V10: We need to walk worthy. We carry the name of Jesus. It is ALWAYS about Christ. It’s not what you know but what you do with what you know. We need to be a WORHTY WITNESS in all that we do. If He is in charge we need to live like He is in charge. We are to fully please him, being fruitful in every good work. We are to increase in the knowledge of God. We are like gas, we fill our tank and it gets depleted. All we have to do is spend time in the Word to fill up. As we grow in the Lord our value increases. It doesn’t depreciate. The more time we spend in obedience to God’s Word the more he gains preeminence in our lives. The answers God can give one who doesn’t know Christ is limited but as believers we have the pass key. KNOWLEDGE is power but OBEDIENCE brings life.

What we see about Jesus Christ is true. We are his friends, no longer his enemies. This happens when we allow Christ preeminence in our lives.

Pastor Pete