Grow With Pastor Joe

We live in a consumeristic society. We the consumer dictate what businesses rise and fall. Businesses build their models and services on what the consumer is interested in, spending money on, and flows with the trends of the day. It is a society that is self-focused and self-gratifying. We live in a world of instant results, or so we think. We have Google in our pockets. Amazon offers same day delivery or nearly a guaranteed delivery within 24-48 hours. You can click a few buttons on your phone to have groceries or fast food delivered to your home or office. Our society calls this effectiveness. Let me ask you what is more efficient; a microwave or a crockpot? Both will heat your food but at different speeds, temperatures, and modes. However, rarely is something healthy that comes from a microwave. Rarely does it taste homemade. This leads us to the church. The average church from small towns like ours to big city churches with multiple services and locations have bought into the idea of what effectiveness is and isn’t. The average church has bought into the business model and consumer driven production. Churches resemble assembly lines of activity where mass quantities of poorly crafted products are sent out the door to be shipped and arrive the same day. Microwaved. It is Google Christianity. It is Amazon Prime Christianity. Is this really effective? Is it real growth?

            I believe that the Bible shows us that Christian living is a process of life. From the new birth until we leave this world behind, we are growing, maturing, and longing to be made new. Christian growth is the lifelong work of the gospel by the indwelling Holy Spirit in our life. It comes through growing in faith by the word, work, and will of God in our life. It is as Paul put it, “Christ in you, the hope of glory:” (Col. 1:27). Real Christian growth and effectiveness is not measured by charts. It can’t be measured by mere numbers or algorithms. Nor is it activity alone that is a sign of health. Bugs and snakes twitch a lot when they are dead. Christian growth is not measured by performance or results, but continual faithfulness to Christ and conformity to His image. Col. 1:24-29 says, “²⁴ Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church: ²⁵ Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; ²⁶ Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: ²⁷ To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: ²⁸ Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: ²⁹ Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.” Paul is closing out this first chapter of his letter by showing us the ministry, mystery, and today’s focus, the mission of the gospel. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ that is the declaration and demonstration of the supremacy and sufficiency, or preeminence of Christ. We have seen that the hope of the gospel and the hope of glory are found in the person and work of Christ who now indwells every believer by the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. True Christian living is Christ in and through us.

            What is the mission of the gospel? It is that we would not just be converted or see conversions, but that we would be consecrated and conformed to Christ. It is that His work in us would show up through us. It is that His work inside of us would grow us into maturity so that every believer would live on mission for Christ. We see this in today’s focus in Col. 1:28-29 where Paul tells us that the mission of the gospel is so that every believer would be presented “perfect in Christ.” The word “present” is the word “paristemi” which means to place at one’s disposal for service. The word was also used in being presented before a judge. Paul had previously used this word in explaining the fulness of our reconciliation in Col. 1:21-23. What does he mean by “perfect?” The word is “teleios” which means to be complete, mature, or fully developed. The gospel has never been just about keeping you out of Hell and getting you access into Heaven when you die. The gospel is for all of life. The supremacy and sufficiency of Christ displayed in the gospel is for every moment of life to bring us into maturity. The new birth (conversion) made us babies in Christ, but we are to grow up so that we can be living on mission with and for the gospel as mature believers who are able to see others come to know Christ. This is a theme in many parts of the New Testament including Heb. 5:12-13; 1 Pet. 2:2 and many more. I believe that the consumerist mindset in our churches that are activity and performance based have developed a lot of squash, but few oak trees. Psalm 1:1-3 says, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. ² But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. ³ And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” Squash can grow almost overnight and be ready to be picked, washed, sliced, and eaten. Oak trees take time, but as they grow, they produce more oak trees and shade for others for decades to come. Our mission at Victory Way Baptist is “To know Christ and to make Him known.” That’s not squash growing, that’s a forest of oak trees. I believe that each of us should be an oak tree for Christ that lives to fulfill the mission of our salvation which is to grow up in knowing Christ by growing in Christ (grace through faith) to then bring others to know Christ so that they could become another oak in the forest of faith. Today, in our study of Col. 1:28-29 we will focus on the mission of the gospel as seen in our message, methods, and means.

            First, we must see the mission of the gospel in our message. What is our message? Col 1:28 says, “Whom we preach.” Our message is not a what, but a whom. Whom do we preach? We preach Christ. Our message is the supremacy and sufficiency of Christ seen in the gospel. There is no greater message than Christ. He is the supreme message! There is no better message than Christ. He is the sufficient message! Nothing else makes, maintains, or matures Christians than the message of Christ. Our whole theological framework and worldview is Christo-centric. To be a Christian is to be Christ-centered, but many Christians lose sight of this with the consumer and business model of Christian living. Practical Christianity is through and in Christ alone. Christian progress comes from the preaching of the preeminence of Christ. Notice that Paul says, “whom we preach.” Who are the “we?” Immediately, Paul is referencing himself, Timothy, and Epraphas (a founding pastor/elder of Colosse). However, the “we” is all believers. How do we know? The word “preach” here is “kataggello” (kata – intensifier) which means to plainly, publicly, precisely proclaim. It is in the present tense stressing that this is the continual pattern of life and mission of life. This is not only referencing the act of preaching from a pastor behind a pulpit. This is a general term that is used throughout the New Testament (18 times). However, it is used 11 of the 18 times in the book of Acts showing that the church’s mission was to declare Christ from the life and lips of every believer. Every believer preaches Christ with their life and profession of being a Christian. What is your life preaching to others about your faith and who your faith is in? Furthermore, to preach Christ is to unashamedly proclaim Him in all that He is, in all of His glory and grace seen in the gospel. Preaching is primary. God’s program for Christianity is the preaching and proclaiming of the preeminence of Jesus Christ. Each Christian has the message of our mission which is Christ, our hope of glory. Paul writes about the preeminence of proclaiming and preaching Christ in 1 Cor. 1:18-2:5 where he also demonstrates that God has chosen this message and method of preaching to save sinners and sanctify saints. J. Vernon McGee writes, “The gospel is not what we preach but whom we preach. No man has ever preached the gospel who hasn’t preached Christ.” I would add that to preach Christ is to preach the gospel and to preach the gospel is to preach Christ. If the gospel is our message, then that is to say that the supremacy and sufficiency of the person and work of Christ is the gospel. Nothing more is supreme or sufficient. We preach Christ. Every believer must preach Christ to their heart, in their home, and proclaim Him in their community. Every believer has a mission to go with the message of Christ, the hope of glory!

            Second, we must see the mission of the gospel in our methods. Col 1:28 continues in saying, “Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.” There are some that say that methods don’t matter, only the message does. I would say that because our message is the supremacy and sufficiency of Christ, our methods do matter. Our methods are motivated by the message, and our methods must match our message. Therefore, if the message that Christ is supreme and sufficient then our methods had better declare the same thing. We see that preaching is God’s method for the message, but it is also seen in the words “warning” and “teaching” in “all wisdom.” The word “warning” is the word “nouthemeo” which means to place in the mind to warn beforehand. A simple illustration would be a sign on the road that says, “Road Work Ahead,” or “Lane Closure.” The point of warning is to influence the intellect and affections (will) so that a proper decision is made in light of the warning. Preaching without warning isn’t preaching. Preaching and warning is the method of getting our message across. Warning aims for the head and the heart. The word here brings the connotation of confrontation for conviction and action. It is like when the check engine light comes on. It is to grab your attention and call your affections to action and decision. It is not a cold warning, but a warm warning out of love and concern. Furthermore, we see that there is “teaching” which is the word “didasko” which means to impart instruction or expound truth or doctrine. This is for the shaping of the mind, morals, and motivation of life. This same word is used by Jesus in the command to go and teach to make disciples (Mt. 28:19-20). If warning is giving a disclosure, then teaching is the act of discipleship of building, shaping, and molding. We need both. Preaching should warn and teach. We always need warning from negative things and teaching in the positive things. Notice though that both warning and teaching are to be done “in all wisdom” which had been previously used in Col. 1:9. The word is “sophia” which is the right use or application of knowledge. Christ is our wisdom for all of life as seen in Col. 2:3 which says, “³ In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” The methods of the mission of the gospel are flowing from Christ, His life, His death, His resurrection, and His indwelling Spirit in the life of the believer. The methods of the mission of the gospel are also for “every man.” Paul uses that phrase three times in this single verse. It is purposeful to show us the universality of the gospel call and command to believe. It is not up to us to pick and choose who gets to hear the message. Our method is to take the message to all of mankind. All of humanity stands guilty before God and is responsible to repent and believe according to the gospel message. It is up to God in His sovereignty to bring salvation, but He does so by sending us out with the message of the gospel. Therefore, our message and method of the mission of the gospel is Christ-centric. We have the message for every man. We have the method for every man of warning and teaching in all wisdom. Each believer is called and equipped with the supreme and sufficient message and method of Jesus Christ for all the world. Charles Wesley put it this way, “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”

            Third, we must see the mission of the gospel in our means. Col. 1:29 says, “Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.” To see the means of how this mission is accomplished of maturing believers through the message and method of the gospel we must see the broader passage. Connect the dots with me. We see the indwelling of Christ which is our hope of glory through the hope of the gospel. This indwelling leads to our enabling to live out the Christian life through His work in and through us. Now, Paul then shows that our means of the mission is through laboring and striving which can’t happen without His indwelling and enabling work within us. The work for Christ that happens through our lives only happens because of Christ’s work in our lives. Paul uses the word “labor” which is the word “kopiao” which means to toil until weariness and exhaustion (See Mt. 11:28; 1 Tim. 5:17). This implies great difficulty and opposition. Paul knew all about difficulty and opposition, but he kept laboring in the entirety of his life for the Lord. Working for the Lord is hard work, but it is humbling that He calls us to work with and for Him and it is an honoring work that the Lord will reward. Our labor is not in vain (See Gal. 6:9-10). We must ask ourselves though, are we laboring in our power or His? Our strength fades, His continues. We give out and give up. We must labor in His sustaining strengthening work in and through our lives. A great example of this is seen the life of Peter catching fish in Lk. 5:1-11. Our labor is not in vain when our labor is in His strength and through His work in us. Furthermore, Paul describes that the means of the mission is through “striving” which is the word “agonizomai” which means to give great intensity, with purpose, and extreme diligent effort. The word was used for athletes in competition, wrestling, and straining for the goal or finish line. Striving is a directional word that immediately brings to mind a forward progress. To strive is to be directed forward by discipline and dedication. Faithfulness is forwardness. Paul describes that the means is through human participation, but then adds that it is “according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.” Man must put in the effort, but it is God that makes it effective. Christ in us who is our hope of glory is the infinite inexhaustible supply of strength to strive toward our mission of seeing souls saved and led to maturity in Christ. His indwelling is our enabling. His sustaining strengthening Spirit is how I can be striving by faith. C.H. Spurgeon said, “There will never be any mighty work come from us unless there be first a mighty work in us, no man truly labors for souls unless the Holy Ghost has first wrought mightily in him.”

            As we bring this to a close, we must ask, who is responsible for this making and maturing believers in Christ?  Is God? Is it us? Yes. God has sovereignly chosen to save us and send us with the message of Christ’s supremacy and sufficiency with the method of preaching through wisely warning and teaching every man with the means of His strengthening in our striving. Our responsibility is to be submitted to His supremacy and satisfied in His sufficiency. Our responsibility is to forsake our consumeristic, self-centric, business-minded, results driven way of life. True Christian effectiveness is to simply be faithful in dependence upon God to do a work in you and through you so that as you proclaim Christ with your life and lips He would do a work for others to bring them into the family of God. I want to close with a passage that helps to sum up our mission and how God works in us to work through us for our good and His glory. Eph. 3:14-20 says, “¹⁴ For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵ Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, ¹⁶ That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; ¹⁷ That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; ¹⁹ And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. ²⁰ Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, ²¹ Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” May we be focused on the mission of the gospel which is to be brought into maturity in Christ and to build up others into maturity in Christ. The means is Christ in and through us. The method is preaching the message of Christ alone warning and teaching every man. Come and be a part of God’s mission for your life, the church, and your community. The world needs us to be on mission!