The Wandering Shepherd

When we lived in a village on the southern edge of Jerusalem, we had an olive wood stove that warmed us during the cold and rainy winter months. I loved that little stove! It sucked the dampness out of the air, and filled the whole house with a sweet smell that wafts from that oil-laden wood. Because trees in Israel are in short supply, I bought wood chips and refuse from the shops in Bethlehem that carved olive wood figurines for the pilgrims that came to learn about Jesus in that town. The spare parts of the wood were excellent for burning, and they could be purchased relatively cheaply. In the pile of throw away pieces were any figurines that were improperly cut or marred in the process of carving. Some were only half carved.

One day I asked my son to get me some of the wood chips from the bag, and he brought me a little Jesus figurine that was holding a lamb across His shoulders. Aaron asked me what it was, and I described it as a “little Jesus” from the “Good Shepherd” teaching of John’s Gospel. He giggled! He thought the idea of a “little Jesus” was one of the funniest things EVER. Though he grew up in Jerusalem, the Jesus he knew was a powerful and immense Savior – and while this figurine displayed gentleness, this little statue didn’t communicate any of that power he heard about – and it didn’t SEEM like Jesus to him. Yet the truth is that a tiny Jesus (in the lives of those who claim to follow Him) isn’t nearly as uncommon as you may think. MANY people, even many Christians, have a “tiny Jesus”. They recognize the baby in the manger, and they identify with the lifeless crucified form on a cross – but they don’t see Him as He is – the powerful and High King of Heaven –the Master of salvation. Lost in the Lamb, they cannot see the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

It is worth noting that marred view began shortly after the church spread from those who saw Jesus after the resurrection to other places in the Roman world. The message spread about His Resurrection, His power and His glory in the Heavens, but believers struggled, almost from the beginning, to see the Master more clearly than the earth and its powerfully tugging fleshly enticements. The Apostle Paul could see it clearly as he traveled and encountered the “tiny Jesus” problem. Too many believers were too fixated on this world – and the problem became clearer as visitors came describing the events of the first century churches to Paul in chains. He knew that believers needed to be encouraged to see the physical world properly – by seeing it through the “lens” of a powerful Savior. Here is a truth he taught to the believers at Colossae, a truth we touched on in the previous lesson…

Key Principle: When we see the Savior clearly (as He truly is!) we see life clearly. We must learn to see earth and its history in the perspective of its larger Heavenly context – or we won’t understand the story properly.

Let’s face it – life here doesn’t make sense without the record of our true origin from above – out of the mind and purposes of God. I am not saying there is no other posited explanation for humanity – I am saying that all explanations come down to the same thing. We are here. We exist. The material world is here – and it either got here from nothing and has no purpose or plan – or it got here by intelligent intention. I believe unapologetically that we who believe in the Bible as God’s proclamation and trust in God’s prophecy of the destiny of all things are not casting into a dark sea without solid evidence – quite the contrary.

Men and women, left to themselves, will use the modern conventions they are inventing to paint themselves into awkward corners and be quickly be reduced to absurdism. A story was related to me last week of a man who stood before a local council asking that he be granted “special minority status”, with all the privileges it entails for assistance to his business, because he feels as though he is African-American. There he stood – blonde hair, blue eyes, and boldly claimed if he could not be denied rights to a women’s restroom based on what he “felt about his own sexuality” then he should be able to claim “minority rights” provisions under the council if he felt himself to be a person of color. The council deliberated and could not find a way to deny him the special provisions without hindering their other accepted positions. Do you see where we are going? The absurdity of self-definition erases logical identity – and we have only begun to step off the precipice. Soon, anyone who feels like they are a horse will claim they should be given “stable privileges” – and there is little in the modern thought process to stop them from getting what they request. Reason dies – not with belief in God – but with the absence of God and His implanted moral definitions.

My point is simple: either there is a Creator or there is not. Either there is an objective definition of right and wrong that transcends popular vote and strong opinion, or there is not. That leads us to the Bible. So that you will grasp our approach, we are going to state up front that we believe we were created by a personal, loving and purposed God. We believe He both created earth and later came to earth. We believe He spoke and that He preserved His words. It is to those words we turn to learn from whence we have come, why we are here, and to what end we have been made.

With our Bibles open to Colossians 2, let me admit something. In our last lesson, we went too quickly (in my view) through something that is far too important for our time…so I want to re-visit a teaching of Paul from the second chapter of Colossians. For simplicity, if you reduce the chapter to its essential components, Paul related that there were essentially three problems the early believers in that time were facing that I believe we can still readily relate to:

• Some believers were confused by the circumstances and couldn’t figure out God’s direction based on what they observed in the daily news (2:1-7).

• Other believers were distracted by a focus on “their felt needs” that led them to desire something “more than Jesus” to fulfill their religious impulses (2:8-15). They weren’t satisfied with Jesus alone – and that was pushing them to act up.

• Still others were frustrated by seeking affirmation from other men and women, allowing others to dictate their practices in following Christ (2:16-3:1). They wanted to fit in, and that meant they sought the “like” button of their neighbors instead of the approval of Jesus above all.

If you look at these three issues, they have one root – where can the truth be found that will affirm us and guide our thinking? That is at the heart of this chapter – and it is worth more time and consideration. Consider these important questions:

• Do circumstances always reveal what God is doing? Paul addressed that is 2:1-7.

• Since life is relatively short and the end of it is certain (I have never met someone who is 212 years old), should I chase my inner hungers, feelings and desires to find purpose and truth – and then somehow hope I have “done enough good” to be recognized and accepted by God as I leave this life? Paul peeled that open in 2:8-15.

• Since the sea of life is so big and I feel my boat is so small – shall I simply lean on the wisdom of others and seek to follow a path that pleases them? Paul unpacked an answer in the balance of the chapter.

Paul simply addressed the answer to a HUGE question people face…How do I move through life with meaning, purpose and anticipation of an end that will offer me grace and not reward my true inner selfishness?

Distracted by the Circumstances (2:1-7)

As we open to the first seven verses of Colossians 2, don’t forget that Paul was under a “light chain” of arrest, awaiting a hearing before Nero. He waited two years, and that slowed his travel plans and made it difficult for him to be on the front line of spreading the Gospel. Add to that, some were making noises in the church that Paul was actually in hiding, or afraid to be bold during his incarceration – as if any of them could have done better. The cheap seats are often occupied by loud critics!

Paul knew that every believer could get distracted and lose a clear understanding of the work of Jesus in the pile of confusing circumstances. In fact, when we see life through the lens of this world alone – we lose HOPE, we lose PERSPECTIVE and we can even lose our grip on THE TRUTH. Mature believers CANNOT let circumstances shape their view of the world. Take a look…

Colossians 2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea, and for all those who have not personally seen my face, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and [attaining] to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, [resulting] in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, [that is], Christ [Himself], 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument. 5 For even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ. 6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, [so] walk in Him, 7 having been firmly rooted [and now] being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, [and] overflowing with gratitude.

Three truths are perfectly clear.

First, Paul was greatly struggling in 2:1a – that is what the text said. Did that mean the message he was preaching was unreliable, because he emotionally struggled? Not at all! On our best day, we who know and love Jesus are broken vessels carrying a whole and perfect truth.

Second, Paul made clear his concern that some had never seen him or met him face to face in 2:1b-3. Did that imply they would be unable to grow to full maturity in his absence? If you read the verses carefully, Paul recognized that his work among them would be encouraging, but was not necessary for them to be fully completed in Christ. No man provides what God can do without a man. His Spirit and His Word can bring us into completion – and the body of Christ will shape us in our gifts and service functions. We are blessed to have each other – and we do help each other grow – but the reality is that God is doing the work. Paul’s concern was that “their hearts may be encouraged” (that is that they would have full and positive HOPE), that they would join with the others in the body “having been knit together in love” and that they would grow into a full and intimate understanding of Jesus “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” They needed to see Jesus clearly, not Paul. Godly leaders know they have a function – but it is NOT to give you more of THEM. They are to point you to Jesus – because He is Who you need.

Paul had a third concern. His emotional struggle surfaced because some were being misled (2:4-5) by evil men who were trying to pervert the truth for their own purposes. Did that mean the Colossians would be lost to persuasive arguments and perversions of truth? Not necessarily! Without Paul’s presence, yet some were exhibiting “good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ.”

Here is the point: Men can mislead when troubles arise. Things aren’t what they seem to be – they are what God says they are. Close up, you cannot often see the truth – so God has revealed it in His Word.

The day that Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane – the devil danced and those who knew the One Who is truth incarnate were pushed aside and wept in hiding. The night Jesus was slapped about in the house of Annas and Caiaphas, He looked stripped, broken and weak while those men looked powerful in their colorful religious costumes. The early morning when they drove nails in the hands of the Savior as He cried out in excruciating pain, Rome looked powerful, and Jesus looked weak and broken… but things aren’t as they appear, they are as God declares them in His Word!

Rome was ridding itself of a nuisance. The High Priest was removing a public challenge and political distraction. Crowds spat and cursed to hurl insults upon another and hope they could feel better about themselves. Yet that wasn’t what was truly happening at its core. You see, in a place of filth God was saving mankind. It didn’t look like Jesus was King – but He was, and He is still.

Fast-forward to Paul’s time. He was under arrest. He couldn’t be with them, and others were preying upon young believers and confusing them. It looked like the Christian message was about to meet its end in Colossae – but it didn’t. Paul told them: “6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, [so] walk in Him, 7 having been firmly rooted [and now] being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, [and] overflowing with gratitude.”

He said: “In the same way you accepted by faith”, now they must daily walk in light of that faith.” They were told not to look at the circumstances – but to look more deeply at Jesus as God had revealed Him and live according to the knowledge that He is alive and at work changing them! “Just as roots grew in the tenderness of your heart”, Paul said, “so they should encourage those roots to grow deeper and stronger.” Just as they learned first steps in Christ, now they should allow each new lesson to take hold. They needed to add back the WONDER and the OVERWHELMING GRATITUDE they had when they first recognized Who Jesus is and what He did for them. Can we do any less?

Dear ones, we must not build our faith upon men – but on a deepening of our surrendered walk to Christ Himself. Don’t despair as God’s men lose their voice. Billy Graham’s voice is now all but silent – but Jesus is still speaking loudly to those who are lost and in need of a Savior. As you mature, more and more, walk on the solid words and teachings of Jesus – and spend your time listening to His voice from His Word. In Heaven you will have neither a Pastor nor a teacher – you will have Christ Himself. As you grow, get more and more used to the sound of His voice. You will find it in His revealed Word.

Discontented by Choices (2:8-15)

For some people, they matured past the point of looking at the circumstances. They were mature enough to know that whether it looked positive that day or not – God was very much at work. Yet there was still temptation to be drawn away from fullness in Christ. They weren’t distracted as much as discontented… and it was still rooted in their desire to be affirmed and accepted by others. Discontent was planted in them by men who desired to draw them away from Christ. Look at the words Paul wrote to them. As you do, notice the difference in the TONE from what we read in the first seven verses:

Colossians 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

Did you notice how much more DIRECTIVE the sound of Paul’s speech when he addressed this second problem. The first paragraph was tender and concerned – but this paragraph was more like a dictate than an encouragement. There is a good reason.

Truth isn’t something you can negotiate. You can’t add a little sewage to the water and still have a safe drink from that fountain. It takes more diligence, more tenacity to get to the truth and block the diseasing influences of the lies of the fallen world. Think of it as “spiritual hygiene”. Do you want your doctor to use clean tools in your surgery? If you do, then do you also want your teacher to use the cleanest moral tools in the training of your heart?

Paul cited specific traps that were set for them:

First, there were deliberate deceivers at work to trap them while appealing to “sensual tug points” in their still fallen hearts. Just because we love Jesus and trust Him for salvation does not mean we won’t still be tugged toward sinful practices – as though these will fulfill us. Paul warned: 2:8 “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.” The term “taken captive” implies a hunter is at work, and they are intentionally looking to ensnare your life. In truth, captivity necessitates a hunter, a plan and an ultimate goal.

Let me say it plainly: As a believer, you walk with a target on your back. The enemy of Christ is the enemy of Christ’s people – never forget that. The brutality of that enemy on Jesus during the passion is no more content today than two thousand years ago. He wants to destroy you, your family, your testimony, your nation – everything you treasure. He wants to frustrate you, make you impatient for God’s assistance, and push you toward doubting God’s goodness. If he cannot have your soul in eternal destruction (because you have trusted Jesus as Savior) he will work to cut your progress down, and punish your every disciplined step if he is able.

Don’t forget also that he has familiar agents. Some come in lab coats and professor’s robes. I had a fifth grade teacher who did all he could to persuade me the Bible was false, and I was just a child! Some have erudite speech and persuasive arguments – but they do not know where man came from, why man is here and where mankind is going. They are both smart and clueless, educated and ignorant. They offer the best the “tradition of men” can dispense – but without Christ they do not offer life. They have the ABC’s of the world – but lack even the first syllable of an eternal vocabulary.

Second, Paul made the point that some of the most profound traps are found in philosophical systems that are carefully constructed to compete with and even attempt to defeat a Biblical world view. These “air filled” systems are carefully constructed deceptions that offer a life devoid of any eternal values, push against any personal accountability to God, and even distort temporal value systems. We live in a time when “smart men” can argue wrong into being right, and right into being silly. We are spending millions to invent a morality without God, and an existence without a Creator. Modern philosophies of naturalism (hoisted over an obviously created world), hedonism (as if one can ever get enough pleasure to stop focusing more and more on SELF), and humanism (as if some new technology can take away our basic penchant for violence, hatred and injustice) – all these have been carefully placed in our path to replace God and His Word in our public square. Some of our most educated men and women act as if all that was created on this continent was done by godless men – when the opposite is the record they left behind for us to follow. They need only read of William Bradford’s commitment to Christ to recognize they are fabricating their own history.

Bradford completed a work on the “Plymouth Plantation” in 1651, some six years before his death, and told us why he did what he did: His driving force was “a great hope and inward zeal they had of laying some good foundation, or at least to make some way thereunto, for the propagating and advancing the gospel of the kingdom of Christ in those remote parts of the world–yea, though they should be but even stepping stones unto others for the performing of so great a work.” Find that in a modern text book. You won’t, because it doesn’t fit the pagan narrative re-written for the upcoming generations. Modern history books are far too often fashioned on cleverly devised mythical scenarios – but the truth lives in the quills of our founders – and that truth can be a stubborn thing.

Note that 2:8 makes a clear statement that the goal of worldly philosophies is singular – to reduce the world to THIS LIFE. The goal is to ERASE any real thought of a spiritual world – to relegate it to the “hocus pocus” of superstitious fools. Look at the prescription Paul left – the inoculation every believer can have that will gain them resistance against the virulent power of the lies… It is the Person, work and Word of Jesus Himself.

Paul made clear that Jesus was the agent of Creation – so in Him the answers about origin, purpose and destiny lie open in the book of the past. The point of Colossians 2:9 “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form…” is that He has all that we need to get to the truth – because the Truth is His very name.

He is enough – we need nothing more. Paul wrote in Colossians 2:10 “…and in Him you have been made complete…” there is nothing more, nothing better, no additional parts necessary. Jesus alone will bring you safely home to God when life’s journey is done.

He cannot be overruled – as Paul continued in Colossians 2:10b “…and He is the head over all rule and authority.” No other prophet, book or work needed to be completed for salvation to have its full effect. Buddha offered nothing more. Joseph Smith didn’t need another document to explain the contribution of Jesus. It was over when Jesus was done speaking His Word.

Note as well that He isn’t “part” of your sin solution – as Paul made clear in Colossians 2:11: “…and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; 12 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, 14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” There was no need to add practices, even good ones, to the payment Jesus made. He cancelled the full debt of our sin. He took the dead and gave them life.

Jesus triumphed over every spiritual authority – Paul made clear that we march in a triumphal procession because the war has been won. He wrote: “15 When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.” Jesus isn’t competing with the devil for the world – He patiently awaits the devil to play his last card. His Father will raise His hand from Heaven’s throne and in a mere hour the religious rebellion around the world will be stripped of power and splendor. When the Father speaks, the markets of the world-wide economy will be crushed in short order. Jesus has won, and in a day soon, every knee will bow –without exception. No one is powerful before the Creator. No one is His rival. No one else will win in the final day. It will be as He has promised. The text of 2:15 declares there is a public spectacle coming when the world will marvel that it followed the enemy after he has been broken by the Savior.

Let me get to the point: If you want more than Jesus, it is because you do not truly understand Who Jesus is. You only want something other than Jesus because you neglected truly grasping the Person of Jesus! The careful gaze upon Christ will quench the thirst of your heart. We must come to recognize the great prize of salvation is not Heaven – it is Christ Himself. When we DIE to self, we are raised in new life with Jesus. He becomes our life, our hope, our satisfaction. That brings us to the last concern… some were…

Derailed by Consensus (2:16-3:1)

We don’t get salvation from others accepting our way to doing things. We don’t get it from religious accolades and lists of rules that define us. We are defined by Christ, by love for Him and trust in His Person and work alone. That is why lists don’t replace relationship with Christ. That is why though we are called to love one another, and to respect one another – we must carefully follow what Jesus told us to do in His Word, and not to take our cues from those who cannot show us from Scripture the path we should take. He argued:

Colossians 2:16 “Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day—17 things which are a [mere] shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. The celebrations God called upon Israel to learn of Him were no replacement for the relationship with the Savior God gave to the Colossian believers. They were given to Israel to help them see Who God is – but they were not intended to replace God in them.

God wasn’t against the disciplines, rules and celebrations He instituted in the Law. He simply didn’t want people to think that by following them people cooperated in their own redemption. We don’t. You and I do NOTHING to make God happy with us but believe Him and trust the payment Jesus made on our behalf. The bottom line is that anything that tries to provide “something more” is a FRAUD. People who bind us into other things DEFRAUD us from the prize – having and trusting Jesus for our salvation. Paul said it this way:

Colossians 2:18 Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on [visions] he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, 19 and not holding fast to the head…20 If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, 21 “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” 22 (which all [refer] [to] things destined to perish with use) — in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? 23 These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, [but are] of no value against fleshly indulgence.”

Here is the issue:

• Some will offer a prescription of DENIALS – acceptance by NOT DOING a list.
• Others will offer a perversion of WORSHIP – seeking another in the place of Jesus.
• Still others offer a personalization of TRUTH – THEY ALONE saw and heard from God – and you need to trust THEM to get to HIM.

People often prefer to obey rules instead of seeking Christ. Why? Because some religious lists appear to offer wisdom and make us look humble and austere as we harshly treat ourselves in self-denial – thereby making an attempt to earn God’s favor. The truth is that ANYTHING WE DO THAT REPLACES CHRIST’S WORK IS SHEER IDOLATRY – no matter what it looks like. When we look at life – we need to see it through the lens of what God says is right – not what others say. Chapter two tells us WHY we need to see life through Jesus – because circumstances cannot lead us; because a choice for anything other than Jesus will lead astray; and because there is no other consensus we need to be affirmed by other than Christ Jesus.

Chapter three opens with two verses that are not about WHY, but rather about HOW! How do we see life properly? We look at here through the lens of there.

3:1 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.

That is the way to view life… I was sorely tempted to close this message with a cute story – because it has been heavy. I will tell you a story, but it isn’t cute – it was a real story.

Let me tell you of a man who made his living as a fisherman until he met Jesus one day. He followed Jesus, sometimes incredibly badly, but he kept at it. God used him mightily, though his flaws and weaknesses were ever obvious. He was with Jesus. He walked on water with the Savior. He saw Lazarus raised from the dead! He ate bread multiplied by the hands of Jesus Himself…and one day, he heard God’s voice over Jesus’s head, declaring Him to be God’s Son. Peter told the story until he was ready to die. His last letter made it clear:

2 Peter 1:12 “Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things…14 knowing that the laying aside of my [earthly] dwelling is imminent…16 For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased”—18 and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. 19 [So] we have the prophetic word [made] more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.”

Peter was dying, and he wasn’t lying. He knew Jesus was real, and that made everything else in life clear – including his life’s purpose. When we see the Savior clearly (as He truly is!) we see life clearly. We must learn to see earth and its history in the perspective of its larger Heavenly context – or we won’t understand the story properly.

Are you concerned about people who TEXT when they drive? Have you ever found yourself focused on something other than the road ahead WHILE you were driving? In this lesson, we want to look at the road ahead, and we want that road to have our full attention – undistracted.

If you are involved in training young people in the church, these are exciting days to live in! I believe a new wind is blowing in the church of the west, and God is raising up young people who are preparing to take a firm commitment to Jesus Christ into a world where even western culture has grown hostile to its historic roots. These young ones are not giving up, and we mustn’t give up on them. In the coming days you will see they are not moving into the world unarmed – but with the Spirit of God, a commitment to the Word of God and a renewed grasp of the scope of the battle they are pressing outward. The fog is lifting!

It appears many of us inadvertently allowed culture to slide into moral morass while our churches were distracted by side issues. Some churches worried about hymnals and drum sets while the world removed the “stigma of divorce” and redefined “sexuality and marriage” right under our noses. While the church thoughtfully attempted to preach a more relevant message blending Scripture with psychology and self-affirmation (in many cases trading Scripture to do so), the world redefined the story of the origin of the cosmos as a random and meaningless adventure going nowhere. Now, many of us are increasingly pleased to see a new and dynamic generation of young people who seem to see more clearly. We are approaching a new day, should the Lord permit – a time to send out God-loving, Word-grasping, Spirit-dependent youth is coming close. God isn’t done yet, and we mustn’t become weary in well doing.

Key Principle: The road ahead has obstacles that cause some to falter, but a focus on our incredible Savior and His purposes will keep us moving toward our goal.

More than any other fight we may be engaged in today – our culture is fighting for its future; and it is a fight worth waging. Our “ships of state” appear heavy-laden with prophets of self-satisfaction, preaching “Do what feels good” to the masses. The infection has taken hold throughout our morally drifting university system, and has followed the blood lines all the way into the hallowed halls of our own national Congress. As a people, we seem to be making one decision after another without regard to the long-term future of our people. Here is the problem: Self-centered people think of their own satisfaction long before they carefully consider the impact of any decision on the generations who follow them.

There are observable symptoms to this problem. Such a culture will casually borrow the resources not yet earned to fund their current pleasures, loading a heavy debt on their children without much apparent concern. They consume natural resources at alarming rates without sufficient regard for how their children will make due. They make moral decisions based on what will satiate any immediate desires (no matter how destructive in the long term), without careful consideration of how their actions will harm the generations behind them. In truth, they are less interested in the “one day” than the “now”. If we carefully examine it, at the center of “selfishness” is a false urgency for complete and immediate happiness at the expense of all other values. Is there any doubt we are watching selfishness become a virtue in our day? No, but we are deliberate in our push back against it.

One thing you should be aware of – the struggle is not new to us, nor the strategy to wage war against it. The enemy has few new strategies, but replays the old – over and over. More than anything else, mature believers are called to deliberately work to leave behind those who are seeking to follow Jesus and lead others to Him no matter their social climate or culture. If that doesn’t happen our movement is finished here, no matter how big our buildings or famous our leaders – Christianity will die in our land – and God will raise it up in another place.

The Apostle Paul was well versed in that truth, and in our last lesson, we explored touch points of his mentoring and discipleship from the opening chapter of Colossians – particularly the spiritual form of growing people in Christ to spiritual maturity. Let’s remind ourselves of the setting of this essential writing on discipleship… You may recall that we left Paul stuck in Rome waiting for two years for his hearing before Emperor Nero in our story. During that long wait, he wrote letters, sent messengers and engaged young followers in Jesus. In the Colossian letter (written during that time), we spent a few moments looking at two realities from the first chapter:

First, God has stated goals for His children.

In Paul’s elegant prayer for the Colossians in 1:9-12, he shared some important GOALS of God for believers:

• He wanted young believers to be “dominated by a precise knowledge of God’s true desires.” Because God expressed what pleases Him we concluded that Christians must labor for a Biblical world view if we are to provide our communities with a true moral compass.

• God also expressed that believers would apply their knowledge and “10 …walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please [Him] in all respects…”

• We are called to conform our desires in every area to produce a life that shows the world Who God is and what He has said. When we are “…bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” we go through the buffet line of life choosing for our plate not according to our fallen taste buds, but anticipating what GOD wants on the plate – since it is FOR HIM. Let’s be clear: It simply ISN’T CHRISTIAN to live to please ourselves, but rather we live to please our Creator – and that brings to our life significance and impact.

• With pleasing God in mind, we must remember the goal is not simply WHAT WE DO as much as what we learn about God Himself. Our life will be a rich, growing experience when it is deepened by an intimate and thorough knowledge of God Himself! My life is a relationship with God, and when I know Him as He is, I will naturally adjust my appetites to things that please Him.

• Paul pointed to another important truth: God wanted to empower believers daily according to the measure of God’s great power so that they would be immoveable and patient in the process. He doesn’t want believers to “tough it out” in their own will power because His is an inexhaustible reserve of power to draw from! We are to gain the ability to remain under pressure and be able to endure trouble.

• Finally, we noted that God wants us to “get our smile back on” and (as Paul wrote it): Colossians 1:11b “…joyously 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.” We are to celebrate the fact that God saved us, and wants us for Himself! We must learn to be thankful – vocally thankful – for the gift He gave us to be inheritors of new life! (1:12).

Second, as our Creator, God has every right to “impose” His goals upon us.

God wasn’t asking TOO MUCH when He stated goals for us that included our surrender to Him. Paul argued that God could lay out His goals for us for two important reasons: what He did for us, and WHO He is.

Look for a moment at WHAT GOD DID FOR US (Colossians 1:13-14).

God orchestrated in Messiah three specific acts that are outlined by Paul in Colossians 1:13 “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

• God entered the prison of darkness in Satan’s dominion and set me free (1:13a).

• God relocated me to a new Kingdom that was part of the estate of His much loved Son (1:13b).

• God set aside my guilt by considering payment in full through the work of Messiah for me (1:14).

Not only did God DO great things, but His plan for me comes complete with a view of WHO OUR SAVIOR IS (1:15ff) – and intimate knowledge of Him changes EVERYTHING! It is clear that God has the right to ask me to surrender my will because I follow the Incomparable Christ.

Let me pause to remind you that just knowing the glory of Christ is an end in itself, not a means to something more. Christ is not glorious so that we get healthy, wealthy or famous – or even that His church is victorious. The glory of Jesus Christ is such that whether rich or poor, sick or sound, prosperous or persecuted – we are able to find total satisfaction in Him – and the Father Who sent Him. Let us be clear: Jesus is worthy of worship if He had never done any of the things the Gospels assure us He did. His is an intrinsic worth!

In Colossians 1, The Savior was described in remarkable terms. Colossians 1:15 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, [both] in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities– all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”

• The Master possesses the unique and privileged place of “oldest son” with all its rights and titles of the ancient family structure (1:15).

• He is the Creative agent of the Father (1:16a) who did His Father’s bidding in the creation of the world.

• He is the Owner of all things (1:16b). He has authority over creation because His Father has given Him ownership over all of it. He made it, but His Father said He could make it “for Himself!”

If that is true, then all things were made BY HIM and FOR HIM – PERIOD. I am made for Him. My life was initiated for His purpose. Knowledge of that truth gives my life meaning, purpose, focus and direction. God gave me life and then exposed my goals for living.

There it is. Paul argued effectively in Colossians 1 that God has goals for my life that are wrapped up in surrendering to Him and knowing His Word. He has the right to demand my life be lived to please Him, because He is my Creator.

Abraham knew it. David knew it Daniel and his three friends knew it. Jesus preached it: “Give your life to gain your life, hoard your life to lose it.”

Yet, sadly, somehow this has become the message UNCOMMON in the modern church. We are called to live for fulfillment and not Christ. We are called to give to multiply our riches, and not solely to delight our Father. We are told to think positive thoughts about our day, rather than set our affections on things above. Our voices must be re-tuned to Heaven’s anthem. The choir is set. The time is now…

Our message must be to communicate WHO JESUS IS, not simply rehearse, time and again, the benefits of salvation. John 3:16 isn’t our only theme, as wonderful as it is! Apart from a knowledge of WHO God is and what He is doing in history, “Heaven” and “salvation” have little context. Paul made it clear in Colossians 1:28 “He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.”

The goal is maturity, not a temporal and trouble-free life. The goal is to be “presentable to our Savior” not simply “pleased with ourselves”.

Look at the verbs, the action words of these verses: proclaim, admonish, teach, present. Here is a great message of Paul’s simple but powerful vision. What began with a simple announcement of the truth of Jesus’ life and work, became a warning that response to the gift of God MUST come. After that response, the acceptance of Jesus, there followed the need to teach men and women of a walk with God. All of this work – the preaching, the teaching, the warning – had a single goal – to present those reached as followers that delighted Jesus, and completed the work in them!

We must, at this moment in church history, ask the important question: “Do we really CARE if those in the body of Christ are getting ready to meet Him?” Do we even think – with our culture so thoroughly soaked in the “It’s nobody else’s business but mine what I do” that we SHOULD care about whether our brothers and sisters are becoming stronger in their ability to live and work for Jesus?

Individualism is the world’s way – body is the Bible’s way. Paul stood opposed to individualism that allowed people to name Jesus as their Savior without responsibility to the body of Christ in their daily walk. With so many churches – many built on the ego of men and women – people move about without any real accountability and think they have founded a new “individualist Christian way of life”. Paul would have clearly argued they were completely wrong. Only a believer who thinks himself or herself accountable comes under admonishing preaching and teaching – and checks each word in the text. The others ignore it, and live a half-surrendered, self-made version of the original Christian message.

Third, God made clear what was blocking the path to our maturity.

Paul made clear the issues that stood in the way of presenting them to Jesus fully mature.

For some, the issue was a distraction of the circumstances:

Some Colossian believers were unable to recognize the issues behind the struggles of Paul, and didn’t know him (2:1-5). They were tempted to listen to voices closer to home:

Colossians 2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea, and for all those who have not personally seen my face, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and [attaining] to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, [resulting] in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, [that is], Christ [Himself], 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 2:4 I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument. 5 For even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ.

It is obvious to me that Paul craved the personal touch in ministry, not a long-distance ministry aided by secondary methods. I think he would have used electronic ministry methods, but as a disciple maker, I think he would have disdained the impersonal nature of them. He used writing, because it was the best option available to him at the time.

His objective was clear: Paul did not want his temporary incarceration to distract people into believing he didn’t want to be with them. He wanted to be there sharing Jesus with them. He frustrated over distance and delay – just as we all would – but he recognized the work was getting done in God’s way.

Beyond distraction, Paul also knew there were powerful enticements that were pulling on people:

Enticement One: The Deception of Something More (2:6-15)

Colossians 2:6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, [so] walk in Him, 7 having been firmly rooted [and now] being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, [and] overflowing with gratitude.

Paul took the believers back to where they began. They were taught to live IN CHRIST. They were told to find their rooted security IN HIM – not is their self-importance, their bank account or their political freedoms. They were strengthened by HIS WORD and built up in HIS SPIRIT – not trained to draw their significance from their peers, their children or their church. It was a life dependent on the Word of God, and the WORK of God in them… and it popped out of their mouths in thankful words. If you are grousing and complaining all the time – you need TIME OUT in the corner with God. You need a cleansing of the inside that comes when you are again worked from the inside out by Jesus.

The truth is, many people don’t want that. They want something more IMMEDIATE, something that meets the demands of their FLESHLY DESIRES in the here and now. Paul wrote:

Colossians 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

In a world where Romans greeted their departed ancestors daily in the atrium of their house, where they prayed for their spirit guidance and looked for assistance from the long dead for matters ranging from crop planting to child-rearing, ancient Romans were always tempted to look back into their traditions for answers. Philosophies abounded on the street in the multi-cultural polytheism of the Roman city. The temptation to hear of “something new” and “something more” abounded everywhere.

The sad part is that two thousand years later, many a believer has fallen prey to the same type of speculation. Instead of carefully studying God’s infallible Word on the issues of life after death, they scoop up the books on the market shelf about people’s speculative ventures into Heaven from an operating table, and think they can now prove the truth from some “slice of life” biography. Woefully ignorant of the context of many passages of Scripture, they swallow false prophetic visions and gleefully claim promises God never gave them – when the promises God HAS made for them are marvelous and rich. We must never forget that religion is a cold imitation of a real and vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ. It is not WORK FOR HIM that we desperately need – it is Christ Himself, gently invited into our heart to share the pains, ponderings and plans of our life. Paul reminded them of all that Jesus truly is in the verses that followed (look at these words cut from the total paragraph):

• 2:9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,
• 2:10 and in Him you have been made complete,
• 2:13 When you were dead …He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,
• 2:14 “[HE] canceled out the certificate of debt … having nailed it to the cross.
• 2:15 When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.

When you read the words, the point is clear – Jesus paid your debt, and your account is clear.

• STOP living as though your need to impress people with your body is important – that is short lived nonsense.

• Stop living for the next party – that won’t satisfy.

• Stop moving from one hunger to purchase something to another – your addiction only satisfies the people making the JUNK you are buying. Stuff is just stuff.

Fortune, fame, power and pleasure in this life pale in comparison to following the call of God with your whole heart. WHAT a Christ you serve! Fully God! Fully Giving! Fully Satisfying – if we stop running around looking for another way to be made complete.

Enticement Two: The Defrauding of False Judgment (2:16-23)

Another enticement was the deception of living under the false judgment of controlling religionists:

Colossians 2:16 “Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day—17 things which are a [mere] shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. 2:18 Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize…”

Look at how quickly a walk with Jesus is torqued by some to become an issue of CONTROL. They want to tell you what to EAT, what to DRINK, when to CELEBRATE, how ANGELIC WORSHIP will bring you “good luck” or how some vision they have seen should change how YOU live! Keep reading, and it will come down to RULES: Don’t touch this! Don’t taste that! Paul said: “They look and sound wise!” but they will all be like a balloon suddenly popped. Don’t be distracted by those who are impressing rules on you that cannot be clearly and carefully shown from the Word of God itself

Don’t misunderstand me. There are rules to relationships, even those with the Lord Jesus. He didn’t save you to empower your sinful rebellion. The problem is that too many people want you to live by THEIR RULES, and not by the Spirit-affirmed, Scripturally-mandated truths of life. Eat what Jesus says you can. Drink what Jesus says you can. Celebrate what and how Jesus says you can. Let me say it clearly: Christianity is following Christ as He is revealed in His Word. If it isn’t what the Word says – seek the Spirit’s personal counsel to you and follow it uncompromisingly – and God will bless you.

I need you to make me a promise…Don’t believe me if you cannot what I am saying in the text of Scripture. Don’t take it from the book by the latest author or the lyric of your favorite singer. Get into the Word and check EVERYTHING by that – or keep walking on. Please Him. Please Him…. Not yourself… nor please those you wish to impress on this earth. Please Him!

Enticement Three: The Distraction of Temporary Values (3:1-4)

Colossians 3:1 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

Some are content with Jesus, and can discern the Scripture in a way that they are not led into the controlling hands of the legalist… but they are still distracted. The siren that captured their heart is the focus on the PHYSICAL WORLD.

• If you endlessly crave constant good feeling – move your eyes from LUST to Heaven.

• If you dream, day after day of the next shiny toy – move your eyes from GREED to Heaven.

• If you rage, day after day, over the latest shock from political world – move your eyes from POWER to Heaven.

Believers can be distracted to LIVE THE WRONG LIFE. They can easily love the wrong things, because they learn to crave the fleshly over the things from above.

Enticement Four: The Dirtying of Mud Pulls (3:5-11)

Colossians 3:5 Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. 6 For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, 7 and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, [and] abusive speech from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its [evil] practices, 10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him—11 [a renewal] in which there is no [distinction between] Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.

Paul offered word of yet one more distraction… the hunger to satiate the flesh. In a way, it is a more exaggerated form of the distraction of temporary values we just talked about. In another way, a very personal way, it is the deep and driving appetite that is for many an addiction. As a Pastor and Bible teacher, I am not unaware that some who are encountering this lesson have as recently as the last twenty-four hours found themselves hiding from others and indulging in pornography. Perhaps you listen to this lesson as some strange form of Bible penance. Here is the truth: Your desires CAN be put away by accessing the power of Jesus.

At the heart of the problem is a single lie. You may be listening to the voice of the deceiver, who wants you to be these words: “YOU NEED THIS. YOU CANNOT STOP. YOU MUST HAVE THIS TO MAKE IT THROUGH THE DAY.” He is lying, and deep inside you know he is. If you were stuck on a desert island, you wouldn’t die from a lack of porn. The practices of the life lived for self-pleasures that bring enormous guilt must be put to death in Christ. One more thing: The “fifty shades of grey” are more darkness than anything else. Black dressed as grey fools no honest man. Paul applied that same word to bad mouthing, angry outbursts, and filthy speech. Stop saying that Jesus has the power to take away your sin, but hasn’t the power to help you stand against the lie that you need dirt to fulfill your life. You don’t. There is a way of escape – it is in Jesus. When you invite Him, He provides the power to stand. He won’t leave you withering if you ask Him to rescue you!

During World War I, two friends enlisted who were inseparable. They trained together and were shipped to the front together. They fought side-by-side in the trenches. During an assault, one of the men was critically and unable to crawl back to his trench. Blistering and constant enemy fire made it suicidal to reach him, but his friend decided to try. As he began, his sergeant yanked him back inside and ordered him not to go. “It’s too late! You can’t do him any good and you’ll only get yourself killed.” As the sergeant turned his back, the man scurried after his fallen friend. Moments later, he staggered back, mortally wounded, with his friend, now dead, in his arms. The sergeant was both angry and deeply moved. “What a waste,” he blurted out. “He’s dead and you’re dying. It just wasn’t worth it.” With almost his last breath, the dying man replied, “Oh, yes, it was, Sarge. When I got to him, the only thing he said was, ’I knew you’d come, Jim!” (Original source unknown).

Remember this: The road ahead has obstacles that cause some to falter, but a focus on our incredible Savior and His purposes will keep us moving toward our goal.

When a brand new baby is first placed into the arms of a new loving parent, a universe of dreams is ignited. This much I have seen: new parents handle the baby with such care, you can tell they believe the child is far more “breakable” than they really are – but that is fine. It is better that they learn to be gentle than they learn how resilient that little child truly is. The first days, new parents often share with me that their fears are NOT about the baby, but about their ability to be good parents. They want to do things the “right way”. Should their little boy be circumcised? The hospital asked and they never thought about that. In the coming months, should the child get vaccinations when the time is right? What is the safest car seat on the market? Are all the garments for the baby made from the right materials? Is the crib really put together properly and is it safe? The list goes on and on…

The first part of parental life is about protecting a child – and new parents are painfully aware of the pitfalls of neglecting in that stage. Yet, that isn’t all there is to parenting. The second task, the one that emerges as the child grows through the stages of development, is increasingly to prepare a child – to help them become a self-sufficient yet God-dependent individual. Part of that process is helping them understand the POINT of life. The real dream most parents have for their children is for the child to become a happy, fulfilled and positive contributor to society. To do that, they must come to understand what life is all about – they must learn the POINT of the whole human experience.

Money will help them on the journey, but money cannot be the object. Reputation is important, but they cannot make life all about “being known”. Becoming competent and empowered to care for self is very important, but life cannot become simply about how much you can do, what you can build or what you can create. Joyful experiences are wonderful, but life cannot become focused on a mere series of fun engagements without a balanced role of responsibilities that bring about the greater long-term goals. Teaching a young man or young woman the POINT of life is one of the greatest pursuits an older person can engage.

At this point we should entertain the notion of mentoring and discipleship – but our thoughts are not about physical parenting – rather we have in mind a spiritual form of growing people to maturity. In fact, the story of Paul’s life and journeys that we have been pursuing over these past lessons, is very much a story about mentoring and discipleship. We left off in our story with Paul stuck in Rome awaiting for two years for his hearing before Emperor Nero. During the long wait, he wrote letters, sent messengers and engaged young followers in Jesus. We have been following those letters – those we now call “Epistles” – t0 make one point very clear: The Bible is concerned with the POINT of life, and so is disciple making. Here is an important truth…

Key Principle: God gave us life and then exposed our goal for living. We must learn a practical love for Him that works its way into our daily life choices.

Let’s be honest: Even a lot of believers don’t seem to get the POINT of our Christian walk – and that becomes painfully obvious when you examine their lives. In fact, some who once could be found careening through the unmarked road of life with great zeal in the beginning of their walk, are now pulled over into the rest stop called “life compromise”, while others have clearly crashed into the guardrails of public sin and disgrace. Some have moved toward the goal, but many have not. Some have produced spiritual children and the fruits of righteousness. Others have run out of spiritual fuel and sit beside the road in well-dressed but concealed spiritual boredom, waving on the passers-by, as thought this were a mere “rest break” on their arduous journey. They are stuck and they know it. They have lost the clear direction. Some don’t get the POINT of this journey at all.

Paul was concerned about the young believers who felt they were praying only to the ceiling, weakly walking in the power of their flesh and feeling spiritually overwhelmed and depleted? That burden grew inside the Apostle, when he heard about the small community of believers following the teaching of Epaphras at Colossae. Because the letter offers such important words that can be confusing, we want to take a few lessons to untie what God used Paul to tell a church struggling to get back on track.

Before we study it together, it is worth recalling the first chapter of Colossians can be broken into two major ideas:

• The first idea is “What are God’s goals for His children?” The answers to this particularly question are obvious from Paul’s elegant prayer for the Colossians 1:9-12, where he shares the POINT of God’s work in and through a believer – one who has truly trusted Christ for salvation.

• The second idea is “Why God has a right to “impose” His goals on us?” The answers to this question are particularly found in 1:13-29, where God offered through Paul’s pen some basic reasons He has rights to us.

God unlocked, through the prayer of Paul for that small church by the Lycus River, some very practical goals for a believer we want to lay bare today. Before we do, let’s get there in a quick read of the beginning of the letter:

The letter reads:

Colossians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ [who are] at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. 3 We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints; 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel 6 which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as [it has been doing] in you also since the day you heard [of it] and understood the grace of God in truth; 7 just as you learned [it] from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, 8 and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit. 9 For this reason also, since the day we heard [of it], we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please [Him] in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.

Now squeeze the text to it’s essence. It may read something like this:

Paul and Tim to Colossian Saints (1,2):

We thank God for you in our prayers! We heard about your faith and your earnest expectation of Heaven that you accepted in the Gospel message. That message is growing and it is producing fruit in your lives. Epaphras shared that truth with you, and word of you with us. (3-8).

After he shared, we ceaselessly began praying for you:

• That you would be filled with knowledge of God’s will.
• That you would live according to that knowledge – pleasing Him in every way and bearing all the fruit that delights Him.
• That you would grow in strength by His power to become steady, patient and joyful givers of thanks.

Stop there and consider more closely the prayer of Paul for these believers. What does the Apostle’s prayer reveal about God’s GOALS for a believer? I read several important words concerning these goals…

God wants us to know His desires

First, God expressed through Paul that these young believers ought to seek to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will. Note that he didn’t say “that you would know what God’s will is” – he said something far greater in Colossians 1:9. Let me offer a painfully literal but long sentence of what he said:

He prayed for “filling” (playrao) which is better translated “domination by” the knowledge (epi-gnosis) which is literally “to know around”, i.e. to ascertain the precise and correct knowledge of God’s will (theleyma) which is rightly God’s desires and pleasures with wisdom (sofia) or practical ability and understanding (sunesis) that which brings it all together. In plain words, Paul desired that the people would become “dominated by a precise knowledge of God’s true desires with an understanding of the truths that tie all things together.”

Let’s say it this way: God’s first goal is that He wants believers to be knowledgeable of what pleases Him and with that to work out practical ways to live that way. We weren’t made to fumble around about the will of God.

How exactly can we do that? It helps if we know His family well, but it is critical that we know the acts in His past that are found in His Word. Jesus said in John 17:17 “Set them apart by Your Truth; Your Word is Truth!”

The Savior identified that it is the Word of God that was to set apart believers – because they believed it, followed it and tried to make it their rule for faith and practice. Take a moment and consider how whole groups of Christians – denominations, churches and other groupings have so wildly changed their positions over the past few decades.

Let me encourage you: Christians must labor for a Biblical world view if we are to provide our communities with a true moral compass. Moral ideas formed apart from the revealed boundaries of God’s Word eventually lead to an “alternative” way of looking at the world – one that inevitably will oppose God’s ultimate goals. Let me draw a line:

There is a direct connection between churches, denominations and fellowships that lose a careful focus on clearly transmitting the Scriptures to and through their followers, and the “social justice” crowds that grow from that old Bible root but move forward in their own sense of “compassion” to tolerate and promote the opposite of God’s stated agenda. They began with the position that matched the text of Scripture, now they proudly stand against clear, black and white text, to show they are truly “loving”. How did they move so far, so fast?

Let me say clearly that they don’t do it because they are bad people, they do it because they honestly don’t know what God said about many things, because their circle hasn’t been teaching that for some time. After a while, they take their spotty knowledge of the text and “fill in the gaps” with their own sense of morality that was formed without keeping God’s specific cautions and directions in mind. This is how a church can move in one century from proclaiming one set of values from God’s Word to proclaiming “morality and justice” that is in direct opposition to the clear reading of the text some years later.

Here is what we must remember: We are not more compassionate than God. We do not have a greater sense of justice than He. We are not more knowledgeable of truth or equity than our Creator- and He wrote His Word. To form standards of justice, mercy or tolerance without a carefully fixed understanding of God’s Word is terribly dangerous – and that isn’t God’s goal for us. He wants a people who KNOW HIS DESIRES based on His revealed truths.

God wants our life to count

God has a second goal that was expressed in the first part of verse ten: “10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please [Him] in all respects…”

Look closer at those words. Literally it says that our walk (peripateo) lit. “about-tread” which refers to the “course of your life journey” is to be in a manner worthy (axios: “with proper weight”) of the Lord. In a word, God wants our life to be Impacting. He desires the course of our life to have the impact that He can bring to it!

Again, we should ask the timely question – how? How can God make my little life count for an eternal purpose? In essence, the method is for me to walk where He wants, be there when He wants, and act in that place how He wants. Let me explain:

Most of us probably haven’t heard of a woman named Henrietta Mears. Henrietta was an education director in a church in California. Through her influence many in her church, including two prominent Christian leaders were influenced for Christ. Henrietta was faithful in many small ways to God and God blessed her work. One of the men she influenced was Bill Bright. He was President and founder of a group called Campus Crusade for Christ. It is believed that that group is responsible for over 2 billion people hearing the gospel message. Another man was none other than Billy Graham. We all know who Billy Graham is. He’s probably witnessed to more people in more places than anyone alive. Who knows how many people Henrietta influenced over the years by her impact on those who men alone. She was faithful to the task God called her to and God used her in awesome ways. (Story taken from In Touch Magazine, “Our Circle of Impact”, November 2003, pgs.8-9)

Here is what Paul wanted the believers to know: Our walk should “please” the Lord, a term (areskeia) that means “to conform one’s desires to bring joy to another”. This term was used of musical slaves in the period. They were to play in such a way as to “soothe” or “please the ears” of the guests at the dinner party. We are to do this for God’s pleasure in all respects (pas), literally in every area. Let me say it plainly: If you and I live with a focus on God’s desires and joy through the deliberate obedience of our life – God will get a “soothing break” hanging out with us. Even clearer: You can live for your pleasure or you can live to bring God pleasure – but you cannot do both. If you focus on bringing Him delight – the byproduct is that He will offer you a depth of satisfaction you could NEVER find search apart from Him. Jesus said if we try to keep our own life, we will lose it.

God wants us to change our appetites

Because we have a relationship with God through Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf, you and I are called to conform our desires to His in every area of life (1:10b). The terms in Colossians 1:10b are: “…bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”

Let me make this plain. Did you ever go to a buffet and bring back a plate for someone else? The issue isn’t what YOU LIKE, but rather what THEY LIKE. Scripture teaches that we are to choose from the buffet of life as though we are bringing the plate back to the table for God’s enjoyment, not our own. How exactly are we to do that?

In well explored passages like Romans 12:2 we are reminded that we are not to be “conformed to this world…” In Colossians 1:10b, the believers were told to be busy bearing fruits (karpo-foreo) “deliberate outcomes” in every good work (ergon) performance or endeavor). We are to deliberately work toward things are productive. Let this be clear: God desires that your life produce something in each of your life endeavors (1:10b).

There are a number of ways we can do this. One that stands out is in the very famous “fruit bearing” passage found in John 15:4-8. Jesus presented a picture of a vine (Himself) and branches (His followers). He told them they could not produce fruit without “abiding” or “drawing life” from Him (15:4-5;8).

Look at the end of verse ten, where it says: “increasing in the knowledge of God.” Our life will be a rich, growing experience when it is increasing (auxano), literally “having a life deepened and augmented by” an intimate and thorough knowledge (epi-gnosis: lit. “to know around” precise and correct knowledge) of God Himself! When I know God, and I live to please His desires, I will naturally adjust my appetites to things that please Him.

God wants us to get stubborn about doing right

If you keep reading from Paul’s prayer in Colossian 1:11 he wrote…

Colossian 1:11 “…strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience…”

Paul wrote that God wanted their ability to be empowered (dunamoo) literally “strengthened or powered by” daily according to the measure of God’s great power (kratos: force), so that they would be immoveable and patient in the process. God doesn’t want believers to “tough it out” in their own will power. He has all the power we will ever need to accomplish a life that pleases Him. God’s desire is that we have an inexhaustible reserve of power drawn from Him! Our use of His power is specific: We are to become unmoved (hupomene) ability to remain under pressure) and able to endure trouble (makrothumeo: “long heat”). Our life will face pressures to buckle, but God desires to offer us a power that will help us endure and remain faithful.

I recently read an article that told this story, “The most sacred symbol in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is a tree: a sprawling, shade-bearing, 80-year-old American Elm. Tourists drive from miles around to see her. People pose for pictures beneath her. Arborists carefully protect her. She adorns posters and letterheads. Other trees grow larger, fuller — even greener. But not one is equally cherished. The city treasures the tree not because of her appearance, but her endurance. She endured the Oklahoma City bombing. Timothy McVeigh parked his death-laden truck only yards from her. His malice killed 168 people, wounded 850, destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, and buried the tree in rubble. No one expected it to survive. No one, in fact, gave any thought to the dusty, branch-stripped tree. But then she began to bud. Sprouts pressed through damaged bark; green leaves pushed away gray soot. Life was resurrected from an acre of death. People noticed. The tree modeled the resilience the victims desired. So they gave the elm a name: the Survivor Tree.”

God gave that tree more stability than that blast could take away – and He wants to do that to your life as well. Jesus rose from the rubble, brimming with life. He walked out of a graveyard a whole new man – because the Father possesses the power to do that to a lifeless body. God wants that power to be in your life.

God wants us to get our smile back on

Look at the end of the prayer…

Colossians 1:11b “…joyously 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.”

Note that He wants to see us rejoice in all things, praising (eucharisto) saying thank you to the Father. He wants believers to learn to be thankful – vocally thankful – for the gift He gave us to be inheritors of new life! (1:12).

Cecil Conrad was a farm boy, tired of waking up at the crack of dawn to clean up after cows. He lied about his age, joined the Army and helped free Asia from the Axis. But it was in the next war, battling Communists in Korea, that Conrad might truly have regretted his change of career. In a too-shallow foxhole, somewhere north of Seoul, the 188th Airborne Division soldier held his gun close to his head, trying to shield himself from fast-flying ordinance that “whistled through the air like birds tweeting,” he said. Then the world exploded in his face. “It was like being smacked with a baseball bat. It knocked me backwards,” Conrad said. Dirt hit him, a chunk of sod flung up by a shell, Conrad thought, as he gradually accepted the fact that he was still alive. Then he touched his helmet, and felt the hole that a shell had torn out of the steel. “I knew a piece of sod couldn’t do that,” he said. By the laws of nature, that big bullet ought to have kept on going, making a fatal journey through his skull and brain. Instead, it struck the steel at such an angle that it cut through the metal and then deflected away. He had a bruise and a headache, but he lived to tell the story. Conrad still has that old helmet, with its tell-tale furrow in the brow. He is one Korean vet thankful for the helmet that saved his life. SOURCE: From “Korean Vet Thankful For The Helmet That Saved His Life” by Cliff Davis.

Here is the funny thing. Long after the engagement was over, he couldn’t put the dirty thing down! He CLUNG the helmet, because it saved him from certain death. I wonder if that isn’t what Paul had in mind when the Spirit nudged him to write how we would joy over the Father that gave us the one thing that saved us. We could never have breached the gulf of unrighteousness. We would surely have been lost.

Let me offer these simple words… God didn’t say life would be easy. That teaching isn’t growing spiritual people that press toward God’s real goals!

In the foreword of his book, Inside Out, Larry Crabb wrote: “Modern Christianity, in dramatic reversal of its biblical form, promises to relieve the pain of living in a fallen world. The message… is too often the same: The promise of bliss is for NOW! Complete satisfaction can be ours this side of heaven….. We are told, sometimes explicitly but more often by example, that it’s simply not necessary to feel the impact of family tensions, frightening possibilities, or discouraging news. [We are told that] life may have its rough spots, but the reality of Christ’s presence and blessing can so thrill our soul that pain is virtually unfelt. It simply isn’t necessary to wrestle with internal struggle and disorder. Just trust, surrender, persevere, obey. “The effect of such teaching,” continues Crabb, “is to blunt the painful reality of what it’s like to live as part of an imperfect, and sometimes evil, community. We learn to pretend that we feel now what we cannot feel until Heaven. But not all of us are good at playing the game. Those whose integrity makes such pretense difficult sometimes worry over their apparent lack of faith. “Why don’t I feel as happy and together as others? Something must be wrong with my spiritual life.” To make matters worse, these people of integrity often appear less mature and their lives less inviting than folks more skilled at denial. And churches tend to reward their members who more convincingly create the illusion of intactness by parading them as examples of what every Christian should be. [But] beneath the surface of everyone’s life, especially the more mature, is an ache that will not go away. It can be ignored, disguised, mislabeled, or submerged by a torrent of activity, but it will not disappear. And for good reason. We were designed to enjoy a better world than this. And until that better world comes along, we will groan for what we do not have. An aching soul is evidence not of neurosis or spiritual immaturity, but of realism.

It seems like so few get to the place that God desires, a place of fulfillment in Him and productivity in their spiritual walk. Yet the goals that Paul shared with Colossae so long ago tell us that the battleground is the WILL. We can shed our condemning past, trim off the expectations of those about us in the present and starve out the inner lusts that trip us up. Yet we can do NOTHING without allowing God to work in our WILL!

Paul argued that God could lay out His goals for us because of WHAT GOD DID FOR US (1:13-14). God orchestrated in Messiah three specific acts that are outlined by Paul:

Colossians 1:13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

• God entered the prison of darkness in Satan’s dominion and set me free (1:13a).

• God relocated me to a new Kingdom that was part of the estate of His much loved Son (1:13b).

• God set aside my guilt by considering payment in full through the work of Messiah for me (1:14).

Beyond what God did for us, a second reason is given to explain why God cold expect me to follow His plan for me: WHO OUR SAVIOR IS (1:15ff).

It is clear that God has the right to ask me to surrender my will because I follow the Incomparable Christ.

He is at the center of our worship – and that is as it should be. As we mature, we must recognize one of the greatest truths concerning the study of the Bible is this: Knowing the glory of Christ is an end in itself, not a means to something more. Christ is not glorious so that we get healthy, wealthy or famous – or even that His church is victorious. The glory of Jesus Christ is such that whether rich or poor, sick or sound, prosperous or persecuted – we are able to find total satisfaction in Him – and the Father Who sent Him. Let us be clear: Jesus is worthy of worship if He had never done any of the things the Gospels assure us He did.

In Colossians 1, Jesus is described in remarkable terms. Though not an exhaustive list of qualifications and qualities, it is an impressive list that should lead us to understand God’s right to our submission of will. That is the point of Paul’s sharing it!

Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, [both] in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities– all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

Jesus possesses the privileged place of “first born” with all its rights and titles (1:15), He is the Creative agent of the Father (1:16a) who did His Father’s bidding in the creation of the world. He is the Owner of all things (1:16b). He has authority over creation because His Father has given Him ownership over all of it. He made it, but His Father said He could make it “for Himself!” If that is true, then I am made for Him. My life was initiated for His purpose. Knowing that gives my life meaning, purpose, focus and direction. God gave me life and then exposed my goals for living.

One of the greatest scientists of our time was Albert Einstein. He was a man who was so focused on his scientific theories. He was so focused, he often neglected even the simplest things of life, such as personal appearance (as evidenced by his hair). One time, Albert Einstein was taking a train out of town for a speaking engagement. As he sat in his seat engrossed in his work, the conductor stopped by to punch his ticket. Looking up in shock, Einstein realized he didn’t know what he had done with his ticket. Frantically, he began to search his coat pockets, and then his briefcase. Gently, the conductor said, “We all know who you are, Dr. Einstein. I’m sure you bought ticket. Don’t worry about it.” But, as the conductor moved along, he looked back to see Einstein on his hands and knees searching under the seats for his ticket. The conductor walked back, “Dr. Einstein, please, don’t worry about it. I know who you are.” Exasperated, Einstein looked up and said, “I, too, know who I am. What I don’t know is where I’m going.“

Though Dr. Einstein was unsure, I am not – and you don’t have to be either. You can know why you are here, and where eternity will take you – because of Jesus.