Colossians: Hold On To Your Hope
Colossians 1:15-27
pathema means “that which befalls someone; affliction.”
You Have to Hold On to Your Hope.
Don’t run from Jesus.
2 Peter 5:10
Don’t hide from people who love you…especially those who are followers of Christ.
Galatians 6:2
Colossians: This is where hope begins
Colossians 1:1-23 (reference)
Biblical hope is the absolute assurance that God will do good to us now and for us in the future. It is the eager expectation of something sure.
Hope is THE CAUSE of faith and love within us.
“The problem is that professing Christians are spending ten minutes reading Scripture and then half their day making money and the other half loving and repairing what they spend it on.” ~John Piper
Colossians 1:5-6 “Of THIS you have heard before in the word of the truth, THE GOSPEL, which has come to you…”
Faith and love are THE EVIDENCE of hope within us.
THIS (the gospel) is where hope begins.
Raveled: peace and grace
Grace is undeserved kindness or unmerited favor. It’s when we get something good we don’t deserve.
Peace is a sense of tranquility and rest, wholeness and well-being. It stems from the word Shalom which refers to an inward sense of completeness or wholeness in all aspects of life.
2 Peter 1:2 May grace and peace be MULTIPLIED to you…
epiginosko = first-hand experiential knowledge of something.
We need to be growing in our knowledge of God.
We need to be growing in our knowledge of Jesus as Lord.
Matthew 7:21-23 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
What’s a next step you need to take to display grace, truth, love, mercy, or peace?
Raveled: Peace and Mercy
Mercy is God’s tenderhearted, loving compassion for his people in spite of what they have done. The Hebrew word for mercy, Racham – means “to love,” “to have compassion,” or “to show mercy.”
Peace is a sense of tranquility and rest, wholeness and well-being. It stems from the word Shalom which refers to an inward sense of completeness or wholeness in all aspects of life.
Safety consists not in the absence of danger but in the presence of God. The peace that Jesus gives is not the absence of trouble, but is rather the confidence that He is there with you always.” ~ Matthew Henry
Peace WITH God
Romans 5:1 “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Peace FROM God
Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Peace OF God
Philippians 4:5-7 The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Luke 7:36-50
Peace depends on mercy.
Raveled: Truth and Love
Truth – reality (the opposite of illusion). It’s not just what we think or believe to be true; it’s what actually is absolutely true.
Love – Agape is the kind of love God has shown to us that we’re supposed to express to others. It’s a benevolent, selfless, sacrificial (others-centered) love.
2 John 1:5-6
Mark 2:13-17
If you struggle to share truth:
Don’t leave out the truth.
Truth points us in the right direction.
If you struggle to show love:
Look for opportunities to show love.
Bank up as much love as you can, whenever you can.
The goal is to live out truth-filled love and love-filled truth.
Raveled: Grace and Truth
RAVEL can mean either “to untangle” and “to entangle”
Ravel also means “to undo the intricacies of something”
Grace – Undeserved kindness or unmerited favor. Grace is getting something good we don’t deserve.
Truth – reality (the opposite of illusion). It’s not just what we think or believe to be true; it’s what actually is absolutely true.
John 1:14, 16-17
Jesus embodied both grace and truth.
John 8:2-11
If you lean toward being a Truth Teller (Truth without Grace):
Remember grace comes first.
Don’t bury the lede.
If you lean toward being a Grace Givers (Grace without Truth):
Don’t leave out the truth.
Truth points us in the right direction.
The Greatest Show: A Million Dreams
God has dreams for the world….and he has a plan, too!
Matthew 28:18-20
The Instructions: MAKE DISCIPLES
Mark 16:15-16
The Impact: PEOPLE’S ETERNITY
John 20:21-22
The Impetus: THE HOLY SPIRIT
Luke 24:44-48
Acts 1:8
The Inclusiveness: THE WHOLE WORLD
Sharing Jesus with the WHOLE WORLD starts with sharing Jesus in OUR WORLD.
The Greatest Show (Easter Sunday)
Colossians 2:13-15 BSB 13When you were dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our trespasses, 14having canceled the debt ascribed to us in the decrees that stood against us. He took it [our debt] away, nailing it to the cross! 15And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Jesus’ death and resurrection was the greatest show ever.
It was the greatest show of MERCY
It was the greatest show of POWER
It was the greatest show of LOVE
Romans 5:8 “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”