Please e-mail me with any comments or if you use any part of this at your church at Mail4ChrisR@aol.com. I would love to hear about it. God Bless! - Chris
Series: “What To Do”
See also I Don’t Know What To Do; But I’m Disappointed; But I Just Can’t Win; What You Need, God Has)
Colossians 1:9-14
Outline:
Intro: Overall, Americans are “mostly” or “completely” satisfied with life despite having daily concerns. But sometimes life’s pressures burden us down. God wants us to know He is going to help us get back up.
I. Know God has a purpose for your life (v. 9)
A. Actions are mere motions if we don’t know why we do them
II. Know your actions demonstrate your faith (v. 10)
A. When you do something good for someone else your faith is alive
III. Know you have a place to go for strength (v. 11)
A. We will overcome our temporary problems with the everlasting power
IV. Know you have a divine resource for endurance (v. 11)
A. When you fall down, get back up (Proverbs 24:16)
"Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fall.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
V. Know you have a ready supply of patience (v. 11)
A. Because patience brings about maturity
Conclusion: Know that you have success in Christ (v. 12-14)
Sermon:
The Barna Organization is an independent marketing research firm that usually surveys Americans on spiritual issues. Well, Barna did a study back in March that asked a nationwide random sample of over 1,000 adults to describe the most pressing challenges and issues they face in their life today. Among the four out of five adults who could identify a problem in their life, the most common difficulties related to finances (listed by 28%), health (19%), career concerns (16%)and parenting struggles (11%). Smaller numbers identified problems with family relationships and accomplishing personal goals as areas of concern. One out of five adults said they have no such challenges. That must be a nice life to live.
It should be noted also that later in the study Barna points out that demographics played a role in which issues were most pressing. For example, overall men ranked career concerns high and women marked parenting high. Which I suppose is both good and bad. And I will watch what I say about that not wanting to get into any trouble.
These are all issues that bog down our lives. Most of us could identify with these issues can’t we? Some of our most common difficulties deal with finances, health, career, and parenting. And we may all choose something different ... something pressing in our lives that may not be pressing to others. But despite people’s choosing of one of these particular difficulties, we are a satisfied nation.
The survey also shows that nearly four out of five American adults (78%) are "completely" or "mostly" satisfied with their life these days. Terrorism, war, and economic recession notwithstanding, one out of four adults - equal to some 52 million adults - is "completely satisfied" with their life.
That’s great news. I think most of us too would mark that we are mostly or completely satisfied with life … especially if the telemarketer calls and asks on a good day right? I mean there are times when life just knocks us down. The difficulties burden us down. And often we start feeling depressed, discouraged, or despondent. Thankfully, for many of us this is a temporary feeling. When we get down we try to find a way to get back up. And God wants us to get back up.
Once, again Paul is the one that offers us some words of encouragement. Paul is writing to one of the churches that he helped create. Paul is writing because of two reasons. He know that life can become too hard, because his life had at times become too hard for him and He knows that the Colossian church needs encouragement when life become too hard for them.
Look at verse 9, Paul explains the purpose of his prayer for the people.
Paul begins by telling everyone that he desires that they have knowledge of God’s will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
First things first, we have to know. Knowing is the key action verb needed to overcome the hard times. I have heard lots of stories from lots of people who do and do and do. And doing is a good thing. Often it is advisable to get up and do something when we become depressed. Ever seen footage of a psychiatric hospital. The doctors are all the time having the patience do stuff. I mean they are painting or drawing or playing a game or stretching. Action will help you overcome. But knowing will make a world of difference for you and me. Our actions are mere motions if we don’t know why, if we don’t have a purpose for doing them.
So first we need to know God’s will and you know that through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. In other words, your knowledge of it comes from God. Now God may use other people, to affirm His will for your life, but ultimately it comes from God and you and God have to work out those things.
In verse 10, Paul says what I just said in the past couple minutes in one sentence. Let’s read verse 10.
First know that your actions demonstrate your faith. You see, you please God by doing his will and before you can do his will you have to know his will. And once you know his will, you do his will by bearing fruit in every good work. Now what does that mean? That simply means you do good things for others, like love one another, pray for one another, help one another, and in your good deeds something about Christ in you and in those around you will grow. This means you begin by living out your faith.
Do you all take the time to read the little quips Bonnie Mitchell posts on our board over here. Well, one of them could read, “Is faith a noun or a verb?” Your faith should be lived out and when you do something good for someone else your faith is alive. God will work through you and people will be able to see the reality of what faith is really all about. Faith is about living a life worthy of the Lord and pleasing him in every way.
So that when life becomes too hard, you can have the knowledge of your worth, not your self-worthy, a psychobabble buzz word that is contrary to everything I read in scripture. But instead of knowing your self-worth you will know your God-worth. Your life is worthy of living because you are doing God’s work, you are bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.
Next in verse 11 Paul suggests that we may be strengthened with all power. Know that you have a place to go for strength.
Charles Stanley explains this concept this way: “When the knowledge that you cannot live in your own strength makes its way from your brains to your heart, you will begin to depend on God for everything.” Knowing is only part of this equation. We have to trust and believe that God is going to give us the strength we need to survive the daily onslaught of difficulties and challenges. And God is not messing around. God is reassuring us that we can have all power.
The idea here is simply that we will overcome our temporary problems with the everlasting power of God. And this knowledge is how we let God begin to overcome our problems.
Paul goes on to say in verse 11 that we may be strengthen with all power according to his glorious might, for all endurance.
Proverbs 24:16 says “For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again.”
An often overlooked component of success in the Christian life is that of endurance. Endurance, persistence, perseverance, this the power that God gives us. We will have all power and the result will be for all endurance.
"Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fall,” a line from the gifted Ralph Waldo Emerson. And the great Norman Vincent Peale once stated that “Its always too early to quit.” These are men who endured. And so do their legacies.
So when life become too hard, know that you have a divine resource for endurance. Though you may fall seven times, get back up. God has all the power you need for all endurance.
Look again at verse 11. Paul says we can have strength for endurance but adds an important qualifier … and patience. Next you can know that you have a ready supply of patience.
I think patience is hard to come by now a days. We all know that everything is instant and we want everything instantly. My generation especially, which is a product of my parents generation, but we are a generation of instant gratification. We want what we want and we want it now.
We want power and we want to endure but along the way we need patience. Because patience brings about maturity.
Malcolm Forbes once said that "Diamonds are nothing more than chunks of coal that stuck to their jobs." Patience, endurance, power without these three at work we would all be wearing charcoal earrings and rings with black chucks of rock. Instead, because patience, endurance, and power do their thing with the coal, what we get is a beautiful diamond.
The same is true for life. When the pressures of life are bearing down on you, know that God has a purpose for your life, know that your actions will demonstrate your faith and know that God will supply you with the power and patience to endure the challenges of your daily life.
And in the end we will give praise and thanks to God for His help and protection and encouragement. Look at verse 12.
Max Lucado makes an interesting proposition in his book, “In the Grip of Grace.” He asks, if we ever wonder how long God’s love will endure? Not just on Easter Sunday when the shoes are shined and our hair is fixed … Not when you are peppy and positive and ready to tackle world hunger. Not then. We know how God feels about us then. Even we like ourselves then. But do you wonder how God feels about when you snap at anything that moves, when your thoughts are gutter-level, when your tongue is sharp enough to slice a rock. How does God feel about you then?
Romans 8:39 answers that question. It is the reassurance we need most when life become too hard. It says, “Nothing … in the whole world will ever be able to separate us from the love of God.”
Know that you have success in Christ. We share in a gift that our heavenly father sends to us. The gift of His son who died for us, the gift of the Holy spirit which comforts us and seals our future in heaven. You see no matter how hard life becomes. Whether our response to the question of what burdens your life is finances, parenting, career concerns, health or whatever. No matter how often we may cry out to God, “But Life is Too Hard!” God’s reply will always be the same. God has rescued us by his son.
And when know that and believe that not only in our brains but in our hearts, life will be satisfying. So when that telemarketer calls and asks about life .. we can answer confidently that life is completely satisfying, no matter what life may throw our way.
And for that we give all the glory, all the honor, and all the praise that is due to His name.
Let us pray.
