INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• When you start to reflect on your faith, there is a very important question we need to always answer.
• Do you have a Life-Changing Faith? Or in other words, “Is Jesus making a difference in your life?”
• The answer to this question is important because the answer to this question will tell you where you are at with Jesus and just how important He really is to you.
• This message is not intended to beat anyone down; it is meant to challenge us to soar to greater heights with our great God.
• Individually, we must all decide how much we are going to let Jesus be our Lord, we all have to determine if we are going to totally give ourselves over to Him or are we just going to scratch the surface and be happy with that.
• Where we all are individually with Jesus will determine where we are as a church with Jesus.
• As we look at Colossians 1:3-8 this morning, I want us to examine five questions pertaining to our faith. The way we answer these simple questions will give us an idea as to if we have a Life-Changing faith.
• If we find we are struggling in that area, I hope examining the questions will help us to achieve the Life-Changing Faith I believe we all strive to have!
• Let us begin with verses 3-4
• SLIDE #2
• Colossians 1:3-4(ESV) 3We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints,
• The first question we want to examine is…
• SLIDE #3
SERMON
I. Is Jesus the foundation of your faith?
• I love the way this letter starts out. It starts with Paul in verse 2 saying that he is writing to the FAITHFUL brethren at Colossae. Then he moves to telling the readers he is thankful for them and that he is praying for them always.
• Then he moves to what he is thankful for.
• He is thankful that he has heard of their faith in Jesus.
• When you think about it, this is an impressive statement. The faith of the Church at Colossae is so great that it is known all around.
• Notice too that their faith is in Jesus; it is centered and based on Him.
• Their faith in Jesus made such an impact on the lives of those in the church that they gained a reputation for their faith.
• I wonder what people would say about the church as they walked around Colossae?
• I wonder what people say about the First Christian Church as people walk or drive by?
• If we have a life-changing faith, we will be known for our faith in Jesus.
• Jesus will make a significant difference in our lives when our faith is centered on Jesus.
• I have seen too many people over the years play the church game. We can get so caught up in things to the point that Jesus is not really the center of our faith. For many the center of their faith is the status quo, it is their jobs, family or entertainment.
• Paul was not thankful for the church at Colossae because they had a nice building? He was not faithful because they sang a certain type of music or had a certain order of service, he was thankful for them in part because of their faith in Jesus!
• Faith means in part to trust. Who do you trust? Whose hands do you really put your salvation? Who do you turn to in times of trouble? Who do you give the glory to when things go well?
• The way you answer these questions will tell you where your faith is centered.
• If Jesus is the center of your faith, your life will be different. I hope that our church is known for our faith. That will not ever happen unless two things happen.
• First, our faith has to be evident in our lives and secondly we need to be involved in the lives of other people so they can see our faith in action.
• This leads to our second question to ponder.
• SLIDE #4
II. Is your love for others growing?
• The second thing Paul is thankful for is the love the church had for the brethren and for all the Saints (Christians)!
• Do you have a life-changing faith? Is Jesus making a difference in your life?
• If Jesus is the center of your faith, it will manifest itself in how much love you have for your brothers and sisters in Christ. It will be evident by the love you have for people in general.
• We have talked a lot about love in the past and we will continue to do it in the future. This is an important issue.
• IF you cannot love the most unlovely of us, then Jesus in not making the difference in your life that He should.
• Jesus loved Judas? He had plenty of reasons not to, but He did? What is your excuse?
• We cannot ask lost people to come in and love those we will not love. If Jesus is making a difference in your life, it will show by how you are able to love the brethren!
• SLIDE #5
• 1 John 2:9-11(ESV) 9Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 10Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him£ there is no cause for stumbling. 11But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
• We can say how much we love Jesus all we want, we can tell Him how sold out we are to Him all we want, but if we do not love one another, they are just empty statements.
• Would you rather be around people who love you or those who tolerate you? I LOVE being a part of the FCC family in part because of the great love I have felt here along with the way that love is being shown to all who come here.
• Look at verse 5 with me.
• SLIDE #6
• Colossians 1:5(ESV) 5because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel,
• SLIDE #7
III. Does your faith rest in your hope in Heaven?
• What is it that motivated the folks in Colossae? It is where their hope was placed.
• This is what verse 5 tells us.
• Their hope was focused on what was laid out for them in heaven.
• To have a life-changing faith, our faith needs to rest in our hope of heaven.
• Without this happening, we will be destroyed at every injustice in this life, we will become discouraged to the point of giving up at times.
• When your faith is resting in your hope in heaven, you will not want to get even or take vengeance on every injustice done to you.
• You will understand the big picture concerning life.
• Paul is thankful for their hope; faith and hope are always tied together. Faith is based in hope.
• SLIDE #8
• 1 Peter 1:4 (GWT) 4We have been born into a new life which has an inheritance that can’t be destroyed or corrupted and can’t fade away. That inheritance is kept in heaven for you,
• If we have no hope of heaven, then we will not be able to persevere when we need to. The things of the world will look too attractive to pass up if our faith does not rest in hope.
• One of the blessings of hope is it allows us to sacrifice the present on the altar of the future (John MacArthur Jr.)
• That concept is very contrary to what we are taught, we want what we want and we want it NOW!
• The Christian has a different perspective. He is willing to forsake the present glory, comfort, and satisfaction of this present world for the future glory that is his in Christ.
• In contrast to the “buy now—pay later” attitude prevalent in the world, the Christian is willing to pay now and receive it later. What makes Christians willing to make such sacrifices?
• Hope based on faith that the future holds something far better than the present.
• SLIDE #9
• Romans 8:18(ESV) 18For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
• When you have a life-changing faith, your hope will be fixed on heaven allowing you to endure the difficulties of life, and it will help you to keep your life in perspective.
• SLIDE #10
• Let us see what verse 6 tell us.
• Colossians 1:6(ESV) 6which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth,
• SLIDE #11
• Our forth question is…
IV. Is God’s Word penetrating your life?
• Where did they get this hope, faith, and love? Look at verse 5, they heard the word of truth, the gospel.
• They did not get their faith, hope, and love from a cereal box; they believed it because they heard the word of God!
• SLIDE #12
• Romans 10:17(ESV) 17So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
• CONSTANTLY BEARING FRUIT
• Where ever the gospel seed is sown, fruit grows. If the gospel has penetrated your life, your life will be fruitful for God. The fruit production will never stop.
• Robyn’s father loves strawberries, my mother-in-law used to plant the strawberry plants and Robyn said they would get so many strawberries off them throughout the season she would get sick of them.
• With the strawberry plant, there would come a season when it would quit producing fruit.
• For the one who has had the gospel penetrate their life, they will produce fruit in every season of life!
• Paul says for those at Colossae, that the word has been bearing fruit from the day they heard and understood the word!
• Maybe some are not producing fruit because they are do not understand the word. The more you read it, the more understandable it becomes! LIFE EXAMPLE. KJV
• CONSTANTLY INCREASING
• Not only will our lives produce fruit, but it will be in the increase all the time! As you grow and mature, you WILL produce more and more fruit for God!
• The spiritual growth of individuals will lead to new converts being won to Christ. That was the pattern of the early church.
• You do not need some fancy program in order to grow; you need Jesus to make a difference in the lives of each one of us in the church! We all need a life-changing faith!
• Part of the reason a church stops’ growing is because individuals within that church stop growing!
• If Jesus is making a difference in your life, the word of God will be penetrating your life and you will produce fruit for Him.
• Are you withering in the vine or are you feeding yourself with the Word daily?
• Let’s conclude with verses 7-8
• SLIDE #13
• Colossians 1:7-8(ESV) 7just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your£ behalf 8and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.
• Our final question is…
• SLIDE #14
V. Are you making a difference?
• We do not know a lot about Epaphras except for the couple of times Paul mentions him in the letter and once in Philemon.
• He is called a fellow-bondservant who is a faithful bondservant. He was most likely an evangelist.
• Notice in verse 7 we are told they learned the gospel from Epaphras! He was producing fruit. He was not going to leave it to someone else to teach people.
• You cannot teach what you do not know and you cannot know what you do not study!
• Epaphras had a life-changing faith that caused him to make a difference in the world around him.
• When you possess a life-changing faith, you too will make a difference in the world around you!
CONCLUSION
• Is Jesus making a difference in your life?
• Could you answer yes to all the questions we asked today? Maybe you could answer yes to some of them.
• Today can be the day that you get on the path to allowing your faith to be a life-changing faith!
