7/11/21 Colossians 1:1-14 “Heirs to Everything!”

09 Jul 7/11/21 Colossians 1:1-14 “Heirs to Everything!”

7/11/21   Colossians 1:1-14         “Heirs to Everything!”

As I have mentioned before, one of the hard things in your faith life is to hang onto your faith during a crisis.  When you are in the middle of trouble of any sorts, it’s very hard to see and thank Jesus for anything.  I think that we all know this from experience.  Some of us may do a little better than others but it is always a struggle.  It was not quite seven months ago that you lost your pastor.  Pastor Steve was held in high esteem by many and he has been missed and will continue to be missed by many.  This is the way it should be as we never forget those who go home to Jesus who have been dear to our lives.  Now for some reason, Jesus sent me down here to help you through this struggle.  Now I will be the first to admit that I don’t know a lot about how to heal a family and congregation but I do know who does.  I relied a lot on Jesus Christ for these last months and I think that He has been helping you a lot.  I think that you are about ready to have me step aside and have a permanent pastor.  That is what Pastor Rob will be for you.  I have looked at a number of ways to pass the baton to Pastor Rob.  I decided to settle on this Scripture lesson that Paul wrote while he was in jail in Rome.  Paul has been having a very hard time also so I think that his words should help us to move forward.  Let’s see if we can find not only comfort from these words but also a direction to move.

Do you remember when the miners were trapped far below ground in Chile about 10 years ago?  They were trapped in the dark with very little food or water.  Their hope for the future was dim.  Rescuers held little hope until they detected signs of life.  They worked diligently to drill a shaft down to the miners.  Then they sent a capsule, which they named Phoenix, down to the depths of the trapped.  Then they were brought up one at a time until all 33 were rescued.  This took several days but every man was rescued alive and well.  Do you remember the story?  Well, Jesus works the same way in many respects.  We live in this world which is absolutely mired in the depths of sin.  We live in a blackened world with Satan in control of most of it.  But Jesus will not be stopped.  He has been rescuing us for 2000 years, one at a time, one at a time.  And He will continue until we are all saved who call out His name.  And really, this church was hit with a terrible blow last Christmas and Jesus has been trying to rescue you ever since.  And I think He has just the right pastor for you in Pastor Rob.

And just how do all these wonderful things from God come about?  Notice the first thing that Paul tells us in the book of Colossians.  He tells us to pray.  The people he was talking to were not that used to praying.  In many places, this would have been something rather new.  They definitely were not used to praying or talking to a God who understood and talked back to them.  They really weren’t used to trying to live a life worthy of the Lord.

As we look about our world today, I can’t help but think the same thing.  I know that many if not most people don’t pray.  As long as things are going along ok, what is the need to pray?  And worse yet are the poor people who think they know God but don’t.  They pray and God isn’t answering.  Then they have a fit about how God doesn’t really exist or some other foolishness because He doesn’t answer or answer in a way they want.  God is not a wish granting machine.  People, God is always there and He is always listening for and to your prayers.  However, if you don’t know God, then He probably won’t answer unless it fits in with a grander plan of His.

But I think that this church is very much involved with answered prayers.  In 6 months, I haven’t been able to get to know you very well.  I guess that’s ok but I hope that we can remain friends for life.  However, there is one thing that I have noticed here.  I don’t know this for certain but I feel like it is for certain.  This church is blessed with at least one, if not more, prayer warriors.  I have felt this from you.  You have had people praying for me, this church, Shirley and family and an unknown pastor, Pastor Rob.  When you have people like this it makes everything else so much easier.  I would like to say something to the prayer warriors out there today.  Don’t stop.  Don’t ever stop.  Pastor Rob and this church need your prayers more than ever.  You have helped me.  Now help your new pastor.

So now we have Pastor Rob praying for you people and you are praying for him and for each other.  When you do this, you will bear fruit.  Now I don’t know what that fruit will be but I do know for a fact that something good will happen.  Last week I talked of this very thing.  You probably will not know what Jesus is giving you until after the fact.  But you will know for sure that what He gives you will be what you need.

One of the fruits that you will bear as a result of following what Jesus says, is that you will grow in the knowledge of God.  We read this in our reading and it is so important.  You see, God only wants what is the very best for you and for this church.  And how is it that you can have this?  You pray unceasingly.  This will help you to understand our great maker a little better.

A couple of weeks back I preached on the first part of Romans 5 where we find the passage on suffering and how it effects our lives in Christ.  God has this wonderful way of putting things so that they are easier to understand.  I know that no one likes suffering but it is part of our lives.  Jesus takes our suffering and turns it into perseverance which in turn builds character and finally ends up giving us much hope.  He wasn’t quite done yet as He then poured out His love for you through the Holy Spirit who lives inside of you.  Jesus takes a whole chain of events that started with something not very good and He continues until it is something that is super good.  You will find that this is just what God does and it is found several times in the Bible.

So today we start out with something good, bearing fruit, and go to something better.  I think that we all want to bear fruit, especially good fruit.  One of the things on our minds today is getting this church back on track.  We have had people praying for this and it is happening.  As I just said, don’t stop because this bearing of fruit will lead to a growth in the knowledge of God.  There isn’t a person here today who has enough of the knowledge of God. You need at least some sort of working knowledge of how God works when He works for you or the church.  One of the great ways to help you along with this is to read your Bibles.  I think you all know that this is one of the things that I stress all the time.  Keep praying and reading your Bibles and you will know what God wants of you and you will act on it.  When all this starts to happen, you will notice that this church, the people of this church, will start to get back on their feet.

This is because, and I’m moving along here rapidly here, you will be gaining strength in all power so you that have endurance.  I mentioned your prayer warriors and how they have helped you get this far.  They were hit with this big setback just like all the rest of you but they kept praying.  They had the endurance to pray right through all this until we are where we are today.  And I’ve just a feeling that they won’t quit no matter what happens because they also have patience.  This is the patience to know that God knows exactly what He is doing.  No matter what you think, you do not have a better idea.  I hope as we go through this that you see that this applies to all your lives and not just the life of this church.

So, praying leads to bearing fruit which leads to knowledge of God which in turn strengthens you in all power so you have more endurance and patience.  Finally, after all this, you will have joyful thanksgiving.  If you are doing all these things, then you cannot help but be joyful.  You should also not help but be thankful.  Just look at all that has happened.  Then look into the future as to what can and will happen to the people of this church.  One of the great things to be thankful for is something that I just mentioned.  Be especially thankful that God is in charge and not you.  I know I feel this way after I have tried to run things and finally, due to my inadequacies, I have stepped aside and let God be God.  I am very thankful for that!

Then we come to one of the bottom lines for this passage and the whole Bible.  When you are following Jesus Christ, He qualifies you in His inheritance.  This whole reading has been building to a wonderful crescendo.  This is some of the best news you will ever get.  You will get to share in the inheritance of Jesus Christ.  In other words, you can have anything and everything that Jesus has.  We read about this several times in the Bible.

Notice some things from the Bible.  The disciples were able to cast out demons.  Unfortunately, today we don’t even believe in demons.  Therefore, one of our big problems is that we don’t even believe.  None of this stuff will work unless you believe and believe in Jesus 100%.   This is one of the areas where Satan has gotten the better of us.  He has gotten this whole denomination to believe that God only means what He says in certain parts of the Bible.  It is no wonder that the denomination is failing big time.  It tells us right here in black and white to believe.  If you believe 100%, then ask and it will be given to you.  If you don’t believe like this then you will miss out on many of the wonderful blessings that Jesus wants to bestow on you and this church.

And please remember that when I’m talking about the church, I’m talking about you.  You are the church and not the building or its programs.  It would be pretty silly to say that the church bell will have eternal life or that the sanctuary will be held in higher esteem than the people.  Jesus wants to bestow so many blessings on you people that it is really hard to imagine.  He loves you so much that you cannot even begin to comprehend it.  He also loves you and you and you and you and all of you like this.  He wants you to have everything that He has.  He is willing to give it all to you if you just believe.  People, I’ve run across some good deals in my lifetime but this one is the best ever.  Do I hear an ‘Amen!’

Jesus Christ has already done all the work.  He has rescued you from hell.  If He hasn’t done this yet, it’s because you don’t believe.  If you have never asked Jesus to live in your life as your Lord and Savior, then do so today.  This will be the last time I can say this to you.  Confess your sins to Jesus, repent and ask Him to be Lord and Savior of your life.  Let Him come into your life and rescue you from the darkness.  Let Him take you from darkness to the light, the kingdom light.  He is the only one in the world who can do this.

He can do this because Jesus is the only one in the world who has died and then brought back to life for the forgiveness of your sins.  Many people have died and brought back to life but there is only one who died for your sins.  That is quite a price to pay for someone like me and you.  But that is exactly what He did.

People, this passage is all about your life and how great it can be.  It’s all about the life of this church and how He can build it back and even beyond your wildest dreams.  But in order to do that you have to do what God tells you to do.  Begin with the two most important things you can do, pray and read your Bibles.  Then stand back and let God work through Pastor Rob as He did in Pastor Steve.

This reminds me of a story of a farmhand who had worked on this farm for several years.  The farm couple owners grew older and older and they couldn’t do as much as they used to do.  The farm was beginning to look run down.  The barn needed paint, the fences had holes, shingles were needed on buildings, and there were potholes in the road.  The farmhand notice this but thought that it wasn’t his farm so why should he care.

One day the farmer asked the hand to come for dinner with them.  They told him how much he meant to them.  They had no children to inherit the farm so they wanted to give it to him when they died.  A few days later the hand notice the barn needed paint and he painted it.  He fixed the fence and graveled the road.  It wasn’t long before the place looked pretty good.  So, what had happened to make him do all these things?  Well, he was no longer a farmhand but and heir to the farm.

This is exactly what God is telling you today.  You are not just members of this church but you are heirs to the kingdom of God.  Please go out and do the things that Jesus wants you to do.  And also, help out Pastor Rob as much as you can.  And thank you Jesus for first loving us.  Let’s pray.