I had a wonderful time this evening going back to youth. It was, in a way, sad because it was our dear pastor's last wed. with us, but it was wonderful to be renewed and refreshed by his passionate preaching. Let me share with you a little.
Colossians Farewell by: Pastor G.
(He got through the WHOLE book! Recapping all the sermons that have been taught over the last two years... woot woot!)
Christ is Supreme and Sufficient
He is over all (supreme) and all in all (sufficient)
So the question he asked us was,
Are you satisfied with the one who is:
1. The Basis of our Hope for Heaven (col. 1:1-14)
A reminder that our hope is laid up for us. It is being protected and nothing, not even death, can take away our hope. There were a couple times when Pastor G. would say something without elaborating, and as I continued to think about it I would stumble into some really great thoughts. So one of those times was under this point. I don't remember what he said, but what I got was the fact that we are not only able to take part in the inheritance of the saints, but get this, we are actually qualified to do so. Trek with me a bit. It's like a race that has a great prize at the end. We are not the fastest runner, yet we are given the prize. But there is not just an exception made so that we can have the prize, but we are actually given the ability to run and win the race so that we are qualified to have the prize.
Now think about "qualified" for a sec. If we are qualified to have something, then that means that we deserve it. Of course we cannot deserve an eternal inheritance, right? Well, not of ourselves, but we are given the ability to become qualified so that we can deserve the reward. I think often in evangelical circles, we grow uncomfortable with the idea that we can actually DESERVE God's goodness, and yes, for good reason. We cannot
of ourselves, but we sometimes forget that we are deserving in Christ. We have the right through His sacrifice.
Are you satisfied with the one who is:
2. The Lord of Creation and the Church (col. 1:14-23)
Christ deserves first place in every single thing. He has won first in every race, every competition, and He is best at everything. Are you satisfied with the one who is above all the best? What else could we want? If anyone or anything else could claim first in anything, then we would be tempted to worship it, so I for one am glad that I have a perfect example to follow.
Are you satisfied with the one who is:
3. The Source and Summation of all Wisdom (col. 1:24-2:7)
"We preach Christ." This could be the summation of the book of Colossians. Is that the summation of your life? Is that what others see in you? Really think about this, is Christ EVERYTHING to you? Pastor G. explained that not only do we preach Christ, but He is our goal. We want to be like Him, so we preach Him. This was a different way to put it.
Are you satisfied with the one who is:
4. The Fullness of our Spiritual Completion (not sure about the wording) (col. 2:8-23)
We don't need Christ plus anything. It is Christ who completes us. Things that do not point you to Christ are worthless. That is a hard statement, but if you understand that Christ is ALL that we need, then it makes sense. Christ is at the top of the list, so if we have Him, then there is not anything else we need. Later in this section (vs20-23) Paul addresses those who, while being dead to the world, were living as if they were still alive to it. Pastor G. put it this way, "We still get ads for temptations in the mail, but we are no longer subscribers." These things have the appearance of wisdom, but are worthless in stopping the flesh. You cannot fight flesh with flesh. It just doesn't work that way.
Here is the second time my thoughts stayed on a phrase, y'all, this is really cool. We hear the term holiness and are familiar with it, but how are we to become Holy? Well, "Holiness is gained by your attention being given to Christ." You wanna be holy? Spend focused time or put your attention on Christ. Who do you pay attention to? Christ. Who do you think about? Christ. Yes, it means EVERYTHING. Kinda like Seth was praying after leading our worship. He prayed that we would live our lives with our eyes fixed on Christ. That we would always be focused on Him.
Are you satisfied with the one who is:
5. The Power behind your Spiritual Walk (col. 3:1-4:6)
We are not held by the power of sin. Praise the Lord for that today. We have been freed and He has given us this freedom!
Are you satisfied with the one who is:
6. The Center of all Meaningful Relationships (col. 4:7-18)
Every relationship, including those with non-believers are included in this. In conclusion, are we content with this person? Or maybe I should ask if we can be content with anything else. We are told not to rest on feelings, but to rest wholly on Jesus Christ. Everything, yes, I mean everything, else does not and cannot compare with the worth of knowing Christ and being known and found in Him.
One last moment as I have already described happened at the very end. Pastor G. was quoting someone or the other, but I cannot remember who. Anyway, he said something in there like, "we don't realize how full of love for the weak and needy God is." And it really struck me. Sometimes, I struggle with God really loving me as that weak and needy one, but what I must understand is that God is FULL of love for those people. Maybe I can't understand that very well because I am not like it, but it is true of God. He loves the weak and needy, He just does. I can't explain it, but I am thankful it is true.
Bless the Lord o my soul, and all that is within me bless His holy name. Bless the Lord o my soul, and forget not all His benefits. Psalm 103:1-2
~ A Song of Joy
