Bearing Fruit Throughout The World
Bible Sunday
9.30am Sunday 15 July 2007
Readings: Luke 10:25-37;
Colossians 1:1-14
Today is
Bible Sunday and the reading the Bible Society has suggested as the focus for the
sermon is the passage we read from Colossians.
Like Paul's letter to the Ephesians, Colossians is a book that contains
many profound truths about the God whom we worship and the Gospel we
proclaim. It is a book worthy of our
study and so this morning's message will be the first in a series of messages
based on this letter that Paul wrote while in prison.
Before we begin it is helpful to have some background to the people for
whom this letter was written.
The
city of Colossae was located in the scenic Lycus valley, 180km along the great east-west trade route from Ephesus to the Euphrates
River. Located on
a defensible and well-watered
hill, it was a strategic place in ancient times. The historian, Xenophon
(c.430-c.354 BC), called it "a populous city, large and well off." Along with nearby
Hierapolis (12 miles northwest) and
Laodicea (12 miles west) it was a centre for a large and prosperous textile industry. Its dark
red wool, called Colossinum, was well known. The attraction of wealth and industry brought together a mix of Jews,
Phrygians, and Greek traders. This combination no doubt helps the modern reader
of Colossians account for the variety of philosophies addressed in Paul's
letter.
But in the first century AD Colossae had deteriorated to the status of a second-rate
market town when the main road was rerouted to the west through neighboring Laodicea. In 60 AD (during the reign of Nero and after Paul had written this
letter), an earthquake destroyed Colossae,
and it never recovered. About 800 AD it
was replaced by the new town of Chonae, modern
Honaz, three miles to the
south.
The gospel probably arrived in Colossae
when Paul was preaching in
Ephesus
on his third mission journey.
[1]
Epaphras, probably the Lycus Valley's own evangelist, heard Paul at Ephesus and returned with
the message. Paul wrote about this in this morning's reading. While it is impossible to know for sure, it
appears that Paul had not yet visited the church at Colossae at the time of writing this
Letter. Philemon, whose letter from Paul
we have in our New Testaments, and his slave Onesimus apparently were both
natives of Colossae. Epaphras visited Paul during his house
arrest, and brought news of the Lycus
Valley to Paul,
refreshing him during the imprisonment.
Paul wrote this letter because false teaching was taking hold there, not
because of its size.
Timothy is obviously with Paul when he
writes as he mentions him in the first verse.
Paul addresses it to
"God's holy people at Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters
in Christ."[2] His phrase,
"the faithful brothers and
sisters in Christ," tells of the people are the backbone of every
congregation. We are blessed with many
such people here at St David's in the Fields, people who willingly and
generously give of their time, talents and energy to nurture and further the
work of God's kingdom in this place. It
is those people who are loyal and committed, who hang in there even through the
tough times, who are such a blessing in every congregation.
Paul is grateful for such people at Colossae and thanks God
for them whenever he prays for the church.
He thanks God because their faith and love that springs from their hope
of heaven is real. It is evident in the
fruit their lives are producing, and has been so right from the time they first
heard and understood the good news of God's grace.
In verse six we pick up the theme for
Bible Sunday this year where Paul speaks of the gospel
"bearing fruit and
growing throughout the world..."
Paul then goes on to mention a number of things for which he prays
whenever he remembers the believers in Colossae. We can learn much from Paul's prayers, and
while we do not have the actual words he prayed, we know the content of his
prayer.
Paul's
Prayer
Paul
first prays that they will
1.
know God's WILL. He writes :
"We continually ask God to
fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and
understanding that the Spirit gives..."[3] In other words, he prays
that God will reveal his plan and purpose for the church. They needed something like '40 Days' of
Purpose' so that they knew what they needed to do to be the Church of Christ
in that place. This is vital if a church
is to have a meaningful role in its community.
It is something that the elders are constantly aware of for our own
congregation. Elsewhere Paul encourages
that we
"find out
what pleases the Lord," and
"understand what the Lord's
will is."[4] This is what the church is
here for, to accomplish the will of God.
For Jesus his food was to do the will of the Father who had sent him and
complete the work he had been given to do.
[5] We have been commissioned by the Lord to
continue the work he began, to disciple the nations. The Bible is a very important tool for this
work.
Paul next
prays that their lives will
2.
HONOUR God.
He writes,
"...so that you will live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in
every way."[6] Our lives are to commend the
Lord to others. The only Bible most
people read is the lives of Christians.
If people know you are a Christian, they will carefully observe how you
live, much more so than what you realise.
Any discrepancy or inconsistency with how they think a Christian should
live and act is noted. Jesus wants our
lives to exert a wholesome influence wherever we may be because this pleases
God, and leads others to worship him. Jesus
put it like this:
"Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good
deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."[7] And it is not only adults
who are watching. Children are,
too. But our primary motivation to live
well is to please God, for in this way we bring honour to him.
Paul next prays that their lives will
3.
be FRUITFUL. He says,
"...bearing fruit in every
good work..."[8] We do this as we "abide" or
"remain" in Christ, or, as Paul describes it, as we "walk in the Spirit." Jesus takes the image of fruit bearing when
he refers to himself as the 'vine' and to us as 'the branches.' He said,
"If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much
fruit."
And a little further on in the same passage he says,
"I chose you and appointed
you so that you might go and bear fruit - fruit that will last..."[9] We do this primarily through
our showing love in practical ways.
Paul then
prays that they will
4.
GROW. He wants them,
"...growing in the knowledge of God..."[10] Jesus defines eternal life
as 'knowing' the only true God and his Son, Jesus Christ. This is why it is so important to be
continually
"...growing
in the knowledge of God...." God's desire is that
"...the earth will be filled
with the knowledge of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea."[11] This is how God says it will be at the end of time. How can we grow in the knowledge of God? One of the most helpful tools we have is his
Word, for it reveals the nature and character of God in Jesus. This is why Jesus wants us to
"learn" from him.
[12] There is never a time when we should not be
growing in our knowledge of him.
Paul further prays that they will
5.
be STRONG. He says,
"being strengthened with all power according to his glorious
might so that you may have great endurance and patience..."[13] Paul is seeking to capture something of the
extent of God's great power at work in those who follow Christ. In a similar letter written to the church in
Ephesus Paul describes God as the One
"who is able to
do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is
at work within us..."[14] When we recognise the awesome might of the
God whom we serve, a God for whom nothing is too difficult, a God with whom all
things are possible, a God who is omnipotent, then we can be truly strong, for
it is not in our own strength we stand, but in that of our mighty God. Paul proved this through all the hardships he
encountered as he went about his ministry, as have so many others. Many of you here this morning have known this
strength when you have endured difficult times.
On our own we are weak, but not so with Christ.
Finally Paul prays that they will
6.
be THANKFUL. "Giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified
you to share in the inheritance of his people in the kingdom of light."[15] We are to be eternally grateful for what God
has done. Through Jesus he
"qualifies" us for heaven, and thus gives us a future filled with
hope.
If
we are ever at a loss to know what to pray for when remembering other believers
in prayer, to pray that they will know God's will, that their lives will
commend God to others, that they will be fruitful, growing in their knowledge
of God, strong and thankful is a good place to start. You would appreciate people praying along those
lines for you?
Then in verses 13 and 14 Paul summarises
What God has done. "For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into
the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of
sins." Note
two things:
1.
He has RESCUED us. When we think of the word
'rescue' it brings to mind images of
a person who is
drowning. It is a life and death matter. Unless they get help before they go under for
the third time, it will be too late.
Outside of Christ we are in similar situation. The Bible tells us that
"the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."[16] We are in
danger of being eternally separated from God, for that is the kind of death
this verse is speaking about. What Paul
is saying here in Colossians is that there are forces at work in the world that
want to keep us ignorant of the truth that has been revealed in Jesus
Christ.
"The god of this age has blinded the minds of
unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the
glory of Christ, who is the image of God."[17] God has done something very
special in sending Jesus Christ into the world.
The writer to the Hebrews tells us that
"In the past God spoke ... through prophets at many
times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by
his Son..."[18] Note the words underlined:
God
"has spoken
to us.
"
Isn't that amazing! In the verse
immediately after our reading this morning Paul says that
Jesus "is the image of the
invisible God..."
It is crucial that we see the significance of this. This is unique in the history of
humankind. If God has spoken to us, then
it is vitally important that we listen to what he said. It is awesome to think that God once walked
this earth. And what did we human beings
do to him? We killed him!
The
second reason why a person drowning needs help is because that person
cannot save him or herself. Neither can we save ourselves. The Bible says,
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and
this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no
one can boast."[19] Unless God stepped into the situation we
would be completely lost, as there is nothing we can do to make ourselves right
with him.
This leads on to the second
thing that is significant in this summary of Paul's.
2.
He has REDEEMED us. "For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness
and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption,
the forgiveness of sins." God loves humankind too much to leave them
helpless and hopeless. He paid the price
to redeem us, to buy us back.
"God demonstrates his own
love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."[20] This is what the Good News
of the Gospel is all about, and it is
Good News for everyone on
earth. God intended it to be so from the
beginning. When he called Abraham to
leave his country and kindred he said,
"I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless
you... and you will be a blessing. ...all
peoples on earth will be blessed through you."[21] That blessing came through
Jesus Christ. And in the vision John was
given of the end time, he saw people from every nation, tribe, people and
language standing before the throne of God and his Christ.
[22] The blessing promised through Abraham is ours
as we obey the command of Jesus given at the beginning of his ministry on
earth,
"Repent
and believe the good news."[23] It is this Good News that is
"bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole
world."