FOCUSED IN ON MINISTRY
Colossians 1:24-29
Greenmount and O’Leary Churches of Christ Nov 6, 2016
(Message 4 on the Book of Colossians)
Link to hear an MP3 recording of this message: http://chirb.it/kD6cLm
FOCUSED IN ON MINISTRY
Colossians 1:24-29
Greenmount and O’Leary Churches of Christ Nov 6, 2016
(Message 4 of __ on the Book of Colossians)
Link to hear an MP3 recording of this message: http://chirb.it/kD6cLm
INTRODUCTION:
1.) In our message last week we examined the Supremacy of Jesus Christ.
A.) The Apostle Paul was a man who had earlier rejected Jesus as the Christ, and had even persecuted those who would follow. Him.
B.) Jesus had to personally appear to Paul and completely defeat this great man, before Paul could come to see Jesus for who He really is.
2.) It was only after Jesus had proven himself to be Superior that Paul had come to glorify Him in every part of His life and ministry.
A.) Today as we come to the final part of Colossians 1 we will see the impact this had on Paul and his ministry.
I) THE PERSPECTIVE OF MINISTRY.
1.) He could rejoice in his sufferings if it meant the cause of Christ would be advanced.
A) The ultimate goal for the Apostle Paul was that the Gospel of Jesus Christ would be proclaimed to the entire world.
aa.) This became Paul’s goal wherever he would go.
ab.) In another of the New Testament Churches there were others preaching the message of Christ.
aaa.) From what is revealed to us in Scripture, those Philippian evangelists were preaching the truth.
aab.) Yet even though these men were proclaiming the truth their desire was not to spread the news of Christ, but to because they thought it would hurt Paul.
.01) Instead of being hurt, Paul rejoiced that the message of Christ was being proclaimed.
.02) Philippians 1:18
B) Paul’s perspective for ministry was to do whatever it would take to spread the news of Jesus Christ, and to advance the Gospel of Christ.
ba.) This perspective of ministry meant that many times he suffered for the name of Christ.
bb.) Many servants of Christ could have been disheartened by this, but not the Apostle Paul.
C) Each time Paul would suffer for Christ he would recall how much Christ had suffered for him.
ca.) Colossians 1:24-25
2.) He considered himself a Servant of Christ and of the church.
A.) Many times Paul refers to himself as a servant of Jesus Christ.
B.) Paul does not merely refer to himself as a servant, but even as a bond servant or slave.
ba.) These were not just idle words that Paul would use.
bb.) Paul spoke these words during a period of time when slavery was a common thing in the Roman Empire.
bba.) In Paul’s day people knew what it meant to be a slave.
.01) Some would have sold themselves into slavery because of poverty.
.02) Others would have become slaves as a result of being prisoners of war, or in some other set of circumstances beyond their control.
.03) Regardless of the circumstances that brought you there it was not an easy life.
001. It was certainly not a chosen pathway that anyone would want to walk or to live.
002. Once you became a slave you lost your own personal rights, and became the property of someone else.
003. Paul had his freedom in Christ, but had become so convicted by the greatness of the cost that Christ had paid\for him that he surrendered himself completely to Jesus Christ.
004. Paul was surrendered not only to Christ, but also to Christ’s Church.
C) Colossians 1:24-25
cb.) Paul saw the church as both the body and the bride of Christ.
cc) As such, he gave the Church a dedicated loyalty, love, honour, and respect because of the place the church held in the heart of Jesus.
cd.) Paul was so sold out to Jesus the Christ, that it was only natural that he would be so focussed on giving himself to the church and the ministry of the church as well.
II) THE PERSON OF OUR MINISTRY.
1) It’s all about Christ.
A.) When Jesus Christ is the focus of your life everything else will be determined by that reality.
aa.) The things of this life become secondary to our relationship with Christ.
2) It’s all about the commission of Christ.
A.) The Greatest part of knowing Jesus Christ is to have a relationship with Him.
B.) The second greatest part of knowing Jesus Christ is to give others the opportunity to also have a relationship with Him.
ba.) Paul had the desire that everyone would come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.
baa.) 1 Corinthians 9:19-23
bb.) Paul’s love and concern for his own people was so great that one on occasion as he wrote to the Romans, that he would even be willing to go to hell himself if it meant that the Jewish people would come to Christ.
bba.) That is some kind of love.
bc.) When Paul was bound as a prisoner with limited freedom he made sure to tell the Roman soldiers guarding him about Jesus.
bd.) Paul appeared before kings, governors, and others.
bda.) Whether with the great and mighty, or the weak and common Paul told all the message of Christ.
be.) A few weeks ago we looked at The Great Commission.
bea.) It was the goal and ambition of the Apostle Paul to carry out this commandment of Christ.
beb.) If Paul would have lived long enough and had the opportunity, I believe Paul would have gone to the entire world with the Gospel message.
III) THE PERFORMANCE OF OUR MINISTRY.
1) The goal was the good of the church.
A.) Paul was more concerned about Christ and his church than about himself.
aa.) Certainly when we look at the Word of God it is obvious that Paul faced many hardships and great dangers because of his determination to spread the Gospel of Christ and to advance the Kingdom of God.
aaa.) 2 Corinthians 11:24-28
aab.) It is obvious the intensity of the love Paul had for Christ and the church to endure such difficulties for the sake of the Kingdom of God.
.01) Yet that was the reality of the Apostle Paul, a man totally surrendered to Jesus Christ.
2) The greatness is making known the mystery of God.
A.) Paul spoke of the mystery of the Gospel.
aa.) Colossians 1:26
ab.) The “Mystery of the Gospel” is not a phrase we are used to hearing today.
aca.) In fact, if we have come to Christ, we feel the message of the Gospel is pretty straight forward and simple.
.01) Simply put the message of the Gospel is that Jesus died, was buried, and raised again to life that through Him we could come to
salvation.
.02) On a personal level that Gospel is applied to our lives when through faith we die are buried in the waters of baptism, and raised
again to newness of life in Jesus Christ.
ac.) Yet if we had lived on this earth 2,000 years ago, and particularly if we had come from Jewish backgrounds we would likely have heard talk about the “Mystery of the Gospel.”
aca.) When Paul spoke of the mystery of the gospel, the mystery was not the what, but the who.
acb.) In Genesis 12, God had prophesied to Abram that the entire world would be blessed through him (or his descendant – the Christ).
.01) Many times through the pages of the New Testament the time was spoken of when all people would be blessed through this
coming Messiah.
.02) The mystery was how this promise could be extended beyond the Jewish people in order to go to the entire world.
.021) The answer to that question remained for centuries a mystery.
.022) It remained a mystery until Jesus the Christ came into this world, and through him extended the promise of salvation to both Jew and Gentile alike.
B.) The mystery of the Gospel is that Gentiles could receive the Gift of salvation just like the Jews.
ba.) The mystery was taken away when Christ made it possible for all of creation to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
C.) Colossians 1:26-27
3.) The Glory is that all men may be presented perfect in Christ.
A.) Colossians 1:28
B.) May present everyone perfect.
ba.) Paul’s desire was to preach to everyone so all could come to Christ.
bb.) Paul knew that it was only in and through Jesus Christ that anyone could stand perfect before God.
bba.) That perfection God requires will never be found in us alone, but in Christ it is already there.
bbb.) In Christ we have already been made perfect for we have been clothed with Jesus Christ.
CONCLUSION:
1.) As I close today, the Apostle Paul had become totally sold out on the reality that Jesus Christ is supreme.
2.) That reality changed the entire focus of who Paul was and the ministry he would conduct for Christ.
A.) It made him focussed in his perspective of ministry.
B.) It made him focus on the person of his ministry.
C.) It made him focussed on the performance of his ministry.
3.) May the supremacy of Jesus Christ do the same for us today.
