SEEK FIRST HIS KINGDOM
Matthew 6:19-34 2009 DuPage/NIU Summer Bible Conference
Key Verse: 6:33 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 7-17-09
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you
as well.”
In this passage Jesus teaches his disciples, of all ages, a most important Biblical principle which they must practice in order to be his disciples. It is to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, entrusting their very lives in God who alone can provide for all their needs, both physically and spiritually. Through this passage may we all accept the Biblical principle into our hearts and live victoriously as Jesus’ disciples.
Part l: Seek First His Kingdom And His Righteousness (33)
In this passage, Jesus tells us, in verses 33 to, ““But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.” It sounds great like the lead to an epic novel, but what does Jesus mean? Well, to understand it, let’s break it down into its component parts. When we do, it doesn’t look so ominous?
First, “to seek first” To seek something “first” has to do with priorities. It means to seek, as of “first” importance. We all have priorities in our lives, but not everything can be top priority. Jesus understands all the things that demand our attention, but he wants something to be our top priority. What is it? Verse 33a, ““But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness…”
Next, “Seek first his kingdom.” Jeremiah 23:5 sheds light on this. It reads, “ ‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.’” This prophecy looks forward to Jesus. Jesus is a king. He is from the house and line of David. Jesus is Lord of heaven and earth, through his death and resurrection. He lives forever, ruling the hearts of his people. That is why the Bible says that the kingdom of God is within you. He also rules among his people for where two or three gather in Jesus’ name, there shall he be. Jesus is surely among us today, because fifty of us have gathered in Jesus’ name. Jesus is a “shepherd” king who rules his subjects with wisdom and justice. And Jesus’ kingdom is forcefully expanding all around the world. Jesus wants us to seek his kingdom as first priority, taking hold of it, by faith. (Mt 11:12)
Next, “Seek first his righteousness.” Think of it this way. The root of the word, “righteousness” is “right”. Being “righteous” before God, means that we have entered into a right relationship with God. Because of our sins we could only be declared guilty, separated from God and kept from entering his kingdom. How can we ever be made “right” before God? Abram was declared “righteous” by God, simply by believing God’s incredible promises. (Gen 15:6) Jesus is our righteousness. Jeremiah 23:6,“In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.” When we repent of our sins, believing that Jesus shed his precious blood so that we can be forgiven of all our sins, then we are forgiven by God. When we stand before God, he sees Jesus in us. We become part of God’s family and receive eternal life. John 17:3, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” To seek his righteousness is to seek to know Jesus through sincere Bible study and putting his words into practice.
Part ll: “God Does Not Understand My Situation”
Though Jesus gives us such a wonderful command, it is not easy to obey it. It seems that this world is opposed to seeking God’s kingdom and his righteousness. We are drawn from all quarters to chase after almost anything and everything else. What do people chase after? Look at verse 19, ““Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.” People chase after treasure which they store up for themselves. For most, their treasure is money. But Jesus tells us that any earthly treasure will decompose, decay or be stolen. Those who put their hope in earthly treasures will eventually have their hopes crushed.
People worry a lot instead of seeking Jesus. Look at verses 31 and 32, “So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them”. People worry about having enough food and shelter. Their fears sound legitimate. But the problem is our security fears never go away. The more you have the more you spend. The more you have the more you worry. People who run after these things never have enough room in their hearts to seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness.
Part lll: Jesus Gives Us Clear Direction
Jesus does not leave us directionless. Look at verses 19 & 20, “But store up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” He tells us to store up treasure in heaven. What are they? Treasure in heaven are eternal things of greatest value. They are things that we can only bring with us to heaven. They are things that we will receive praise from God when we see him face to face. The greatest treasure in heaven is eternal life in the kingdom of God. This is a treasure that we need more than anything. This treasure is easy to acquire because eternal life is a gift from God, freely given to anyone who believes. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” You can have the treasure of eternal life in Jesus today, all you have to do is repent of your sins and believe in Jesus.
Another treasure is a glorious, eternal dwelling place. In John 14:2, Jesus told his disciples, “In my Father’s house are many rooms...I am going there to prepare a place for you.” The word “rooms” means “mansions.” For those who have given their lives to Jesus, God has prepared a mansion of glory in the kingdom of heaven that can never be foreclosed upon. Some of us have envied the homes in the “Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous” ,but a room in the Father’s house will make even the choicest parcels of real estate seem like shacks.
Another treasure is our spiritual character. A truly rich person is one who has the spiritual character of our Lord Jesus Christ, hewn through many spiritual struggles. Though we may suffer a lot in this world, we are bearing the beautiful image of Christ. There are other treasures too. All those who have been misunderstood, persecuted, and rejected in this world, for Jesus’ name’s sake, will receive the crown of righteousness that never fades away. Also, people who lead other people to Jesus will shine like stars in the universe. Ultimately those who remain faithful to Jesus will receive a warm welcome by Christ himself, who will say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” Christians are truly rich with heavenly treasure.
How can we store up heavenly treasures? In the context of the Sermon on the Mount, we store up treasures in heaven by giving to the needy, like giving food to the hungry, shelter to the homeless, giving clothes to those whose clothes old and few, taking care of the sick, even those sick with sin, visiting people who are lonely, planting God’s hope in the heart of those who are weary of life. It includes prayer and fasting before God. (Matt25:35-40). Can you remember righteous acts that Christians have performed on you? Every righteous act is remembered and blessed by the Lord.
Jesus tells us these things because he cares about the condition of our hearts. Look at verse 21, ““For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” And also verses 21-22,“"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” If our treasures are on earth, then the eyes of our hearts focused on things that are perishing, spoiling and fading away. (1 Peter 1:3-4) The eyes become full of sadness and disappointment. Jesus does not want us living with “bad eyes.” He wants us to have good, bright eyes, eyes that are full of life and vitality and real hopes, eyes that are focused on Jesus and the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus tells us not to worry. Let’s read verse 25. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” Worrying seems to come too natural for some. But worrying is totally useless. Worry makes us waste our precious lives doing nothing. Worrying is the mother of all kinds of anxiety and stress related illnesses. Worry comes when we see our need without seeing our God.
To overcome worrying, Jesus teaches us to have faith in God. Look at verse 25 and 26. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” The fact is that God cares about all of his creation, even us. Our Creator God, continues to care for us as our loving Father. There are all kinds of evidences of God loving provision. Look at how he takes care of the birds, they look very happy and well fed. They fly around freely and sing all day long. We just have to acknowledge the facts and not worry by trusting God.
There are people who don’t worry about food and shelter. Who here is worrying about food and shelter? God has always provided…right? Jesus has a lesson for those concerned about clothes and outer beauty. Look at verse 28b-30a, “…See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, ..” Jesus understands our need for dignity, but he doesn’t want us to worry. Our God does a fantastic job clothing the lilies and the grasses. Mankind can never create such beauty. God will clothe us beautifully with inner beauty, by his grace. True beauty does not come from our clothes but from a quiet and gentle spirit, that is provided by God to those who seek heavenly treasure (1 Peter 3:3-4)
Part lll: “All These Things will Be Give to You as Well.”
Jesus gives each of us a great and wonderful promise in verse 33, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” People think that God will provide our food, clothing, shelter…the bare necessities. But the truth is that God knows and understands our every need and wants to provide all we need for life and ministry and spending eternity with our Lord Jesus. He provides everything we need in abundance. But there is only one prerequisite….we must determine to seek God’s kingdom and his righteousness as top priority in our lives.
I thank God, that he has helped me to live by the Biblical principle these past 23 years. My heart is drawn to the things of this world. On my own I could never seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness as top priority. I first came to know Jesus at the age of 22 while finishing my studies at a Community College. I had lived as a hedonistic student. While studying for my last exam, I was invited to Sunday Service by a Korean Missionary, Ruth Hwang. I thought, “if I get a job I will stay and study the Bible.” I applied for one job and got it. After one month of Bible study I attended the MSU Summer Bible Conference. There that I repented of my doubts and started to believe in Jesus. My first epiphany was that Jesus is real, there is a spiritual world, and that the Bible is the Word of God. Later, I accepted John 4:13-14 as my life key verse, “Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’” I was a Samaritan man, but Jesus quenched my thirsty heart. He saved me the emptiness of a meaningless, hedonistic life. Jesus helped me to make several quick decisions of faith. I accepted campus mission, moved into the common life with other Christians and began to grow as a student shepherd. Jesus was going to help me to seek his kingdom first in other crucial times. Let’s see.
Right from the beginning, I experienced God’s divine discipline. My parents were not Christians. They could not understand my changed life in Jesus. They were scared. They began to oppose my life of faith. This went on for five years. There was a lot of tears. I was tempted to ignore God’s call and avoid a lot trouble. But at this crucial moment God helped me. I accepted John 6:68-70, “Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” Every episode of opposion drew me closer to the word of God to find the truth.
God helped me to seek his kingdom in regards to my future marriage. When I studied about Isaac and Rebekah, in my 1:1 Bible study, my heart was so moved. The Bible says that when she was led to Isaac, “She took her veil and covered herself. Then the servant told Isaac all he had done. Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her…” I began to cry because of the beauty of their marriage. I thoughtI could never have such pure love. I could seek God’s kingdom by waiting on God’s time and in God’s way for a future marriage partner. And I waited for six years before led me to my God-given soul mate, Julie.
In 1991, I had another opportunity to seek God’s kingdom first. The missionaries had left to plant new churches in Toronto and Montreal. I was left in Winnipeg, with 8 Bible students. I was spiritually young, weak and poor. It was not easy to carry on the work of God. God saw my situation and he inspired Shp Teddy to invite me to Triton UBF. I could have ignored his invitation and stayed in Winnipeg, safe and secure. But when I prayed, I accepted Genesis 12: 1-2, “The Lord said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.’ I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you. I will make your name great and, and you will be a blessing.” With this word of God in my heart, I could have strength to make the 1,000 mile journey to Chicago and start seeking God’s kingdom at Triton UBF.
My career path was another hour of decision. I had no clear career goals. I was a pasta quality control person, a security guard, a muffin baker, a 7-11 clerk. I never thought about studying nursing. But when Pastor Teddy invited me to Triton UBF to study nursing I had a decision to make. I prayed about it and God helped me to realize that he could really use my job as a nurse in my shepherd life. The choice became clear. After five years of study, in 1996, I graduated with my Bachelors degree in nursing.
Another moment of decision came in 1992. Servants of God had been praying for my marriage. There was woman of faith who also praying for Russia (like I was) and was teaching the Bible in L.A. Her name was Julie Nugent. I highly respected her faith. The prospect of being engagement with Julie came up. What was I going to do? Was I going to depend on my own limited charm, or depend on God, seeking God’s kingdom in regards to my future family? God reminded me of the beautiful family of Isaac and Rebekah. Based on this I took Julie to be my wife. This year we are celebrating 17 years of marriage.
In 1998, the call to pioneer NIU UBF came. Our family was ready to go. But would we go? I was comfortable where I was. God gave us Isaiah 32:2, which reads, "Each man will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land." We prayed that gospel, and our house church, could be a refuge to thousands of thirsty NIU students. Based on these words, we pioneered NIU.
Pioneering affected our kids. Jenn was 6. Augustine was 3 1/2 and Sarah was 2 1/2. In this world people say, “Don’t push them too much”, “They will decide later in life to believe in Jesus and serve Jesus.” But as a new house church, we had only a few co-workers. We had no family to baby sit. The kids needed to co-operate. Was I going to shelter them from the difficulties of mission life or give them discipleship training from a young age? I remembered the words from Proverbs 22:6, “Train a child in the way he should go, and when his is old he will not turn from it.” Choosing to disciple our kids, was one way to seek first God’s kingdom. The kids were our singers, our musicians, our prayer servants, our testimony sharers, our Bible students. It was hard, but to us it is all worth it to see them grow strong in Christ and to co-work together in the work of God. And the kids feel the same way. They have been our faithful coworkers over the years and a source of joy and inspiration.
God has helped me to seek, Jesus, my righteousness. Over the years God has raised up Bible teachers for me, pastors who love me and teach me many spiritual things. Weekly testimony writing has been times where I can sit and reflect on my relationship with Jesus. Pioneering a new chapter has helped me to dig deep into the word of God each and every week. My wife pushes me read the Bible every day, even tossing the “One Year Bible” on my chest, just before I dose off to sleep. For six years now God has helped me to receive Bible study and discipleship training through our leaders at the main center. When I want to give up seeking God’s righteousness as top priority, God has and will continue.
Nowadays God is calling my house church to another moment of decision. We have been at NIU for 11 years now. Pioneering seems to slow going. Why not just join up with the local mega church filled with young families and vibrant youth groups? Why not be a small group leader? It is because God has called my family to build up the campus ministry through 1:1 Bible study and house church ministry in UBF. This is my personal calling. God reminds me that if I continue to live as a shepherd and Bible teacher that he will bless our lives and ministry abundantly. And so, now, Julie and I want to seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness by re-dedicating our house church lives as 1:1 shepherds for NIU students. Please pray for us.
Since God has been helping me seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, God has been blessing me more than most people I grew up with. I know because I see high school friends on Facebook. He has given me heavenly peace and heavenly sunshine knowing that my sins are completely forgiven. He has quenched my thirsty heart with his living water for the last 23 years. He has given me good eyes, enlivened by spiritual treasure and a living hope in the kingdom of God. He has led me to my wife Julie who is very beautiful and spiritual and a great co-worker. God has given us 5 children, who want to please God and who believe in Jesus. He has trained me to study the Bible under mature servants of God. I could preach at conferences like this. I have my health. God has helped me to be a nurse, a job that is flexible and recession proof and five minutes from home. He has helped me to pioneer a church and become a pastor for a collegiate ministry. He gave us a Bible house and great home in a nice community. He has shown me the world, including Korea, Russia, Germany, Holland, India and Kenya. He has given me vision for the pioneering of the western suburbs all the way to Rockford. I know that my spiritual influence will carry on after my death. One day I will see my Lord and Savior, face to face in the Kingdom of heaven. I am so richly blessed! It is all because Jesus helped me, at crucial moments in my life to decide to seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness.
Now is the time for each of us to decide. We have explored every avenue this world has to offer and it not delivered the meaning and fulfillment that we thought. We have sought to build up our own kingdom only to see the walls of our kingdom, crumbling down around us. We have been so busy trying to survive, that we have failed to discover God’s righteousness, Jesus Christ. For so many life is taking three steps forward and two steps back, or for some it is two steps forward and three steps back. They have no love of God, no forgiveness of God, and no hope in the kingdom of God. All they are left with are feelings of guilt, condemnation and regret, saying, “It might have been”. Their legacy will end with themselves, when they will have to stand before God. Is that they life we want? Jesus implores is to consider his direction and his promise. He says in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.” Let’s decide today. Let’s face our “moments of decision” that God brings. Be ready to carry through with your decision, by faith. It will not be easy. You will have to humble yourself to live according to God’s word and follow Jesus. There will be sacrifices for without a spirit of sacrifice no one can seek God’s kingdom as of top priority. (Lk 9:23) Indeed, there are times when you feel like you cannot carry on, but those are the times that Jesus wants us to cry out for strength to help you on your journey. He will surely bless you when you are faithful and do not give up. And maybe some of you have given up. Maybe you started to seek God’s kingdom, but somewhere along the way you have stopped making it your number one priority. There is hope, grace and strength in Jesus. Explain to him your situation. Tell him, you want to start again. His grace will help you to start to seek his kingdom and his righteousness right from where you are. He will bless your life with more than just food, clothes and a bed to sleep on. God will give you eternal hope, a meaningful mission, and lots of spiritual treasure. But there is a prerequisite. And you know what it is. Let’s say it all together. It is verse 33. “But seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.” May God bless you to make that all important decision today.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
Colossians 1:15-23
THE SUPREMACY OF JESUS CHRIST
Colossians 1:15–23 Lesson 3
Key Verse: 1:18 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 6-21-09
"And he is the head of the church; he is the beginning and the first born from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy."
There were three blind men who were asked to describe an elephant that was standing before them. One grasped a hairy, dry leg and said, “An elephant is like a huge tree.” Another grasped his tail and said, “An elephant is like a rope.” Another grabbed its trunk and said, “an elephant is like a fire hose.” All of them were right in some way, but the description is not complete. Their understanding of the elephant is limited. But if you put them all together, and if they communicated together, then you get a better picture. The same principle goes when sinners, lost in the darkness, attempt to describe who Jesus is. Everyone clings to their own impression and fails to see the complete picture. In this passage, Paul was writing to Gentile believers who were influenced heavily by Greek culture and philosophy. In the Colossian church there were several misconceptions about Christ and his gospel. They were in danger of eternally having the wrong concept of Jesus. That is why Paul wanted to teach them clearly about who Jesus is. Paul continued to bring the argument back to Christ. May you focus on Christ and have the correct image of Jesus in your heart.
Part l: Jesus, The Creator Of All Things (15–17)
Who is Jesus? This is a very hard question to answer. In the Colossian church there were so many misconceptions about Jesus. Believing that matter is evil, false teachers argued that God would not have come to earth as a true human being in bodily form; they believed that God did not create the world because he would not have created evil; they said that Christ was not the unique Son of God, but rather one of many intermediaries between God and his people; they refused to see Christ as the source of salvation, insisting that people could find God only through special and secret knowledge. Speeding through time, to the present day, there is still much confusion as the identity of Christ. There is poster with about 300 names of Jesus. One person said that trying to know Jesus is like looking into a diamond. A diamond is full of light, it glistens and it changes in countless ways as you look at from different directions. Jesus is like a diamond. How can we even begin to describe Jesus? Some think that it is impossible to do so and think that we should not even try. But Paul thought it was very important to attempt to describe Jesus. It was because there were so many false ideas floating around, proclaiming quite boldly whom they thought Jesus was. Paul wanted the new Christians to understand who Jesus is, for having the right concept of God is crucial to how we relate to God and how we live out our lives. To know Jesus correctly is tantamount to having eternal life. (Jn 17:3)
Let’s see how Paul’s describes Jesus. We’ll call this, “Jesus 101”.
First, look at verse 1: 15a, “He is the image of the invisible God…”, According to Paul, Jesus is the image of the invisible God. Our immortal God is invisible. (1 Tim 1:17) He is spirit. (Jn 4:24) He is very real and very alive, but he is also very invisible. We can see glimpses of God in nature. (Romans 1:20) We can see him in answered prayer. We can feel him in our hearts, dwelling in us through his spirit and his word. We can see him though the loving acts of his people and the truth of his words. We can see him the noble deeds of his people. But we can not actually see him. If we did see God, in all of his glory I doubt if we could stand it, for he lives in unapproachable light. (1 Tim 6:16)
But God did not leave us groping in the darkness with no way to see his glorious image. He sent Jesus into this world. Jesus is not merely a prophet or a good teacher. He is the image of the invisible God, that is, he is the exact representation of God, not only reflecting God, but he reveals God completely to us. (Heb 1:3) John 1:18 reads, "No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known." Once, after following Jesus for three years, Philip was still confused about Jesus’ true identity. He asked Jesus to show them the Father and that would be enough for them. "Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? (Jn 14:9) When we see Jesus was see the exact image of our Father in heaven…nothing more, nothing less. Most people do not know who God is. But they are searching for God. They want to know God. They must look to Jesus. Verse 15a, says again, “He is the image of the invisible God…”, To know his image is essentially to know who God is. Where do we start? The Bible is the best place to start. Let’s commit ourselves to deep Bible study with the intention to see the image of God in Jesus.
Second, Jesus is the "… the firstborn over all creation." (1:15b) This is referring to Jesus in relation to creation. Jesus is not a created being, created by God, like the angels and all of us are. If Jesus was created then we are denying the deity of Jesus. John 1:1-2 reads, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning." Jesus is God and he existed before creation. The “First born” means that he was born before the creation of the heavens and the earth. Jesus is the eternal God. The “first born” also refers to the head. Jesus is the firstborn among many brothers. (Ro 8:29) God established Jesus’ authority over all who are born again into God’s family. In everything Jesus must have the supremacy over all creation.
Being the firstborn over all creation, also refers to the act that Jesus is the creator and the source of all things. In Colossae, there were angel worshippers who said that created angels were even superior to Christ. There are angel worshippers even today. At the U of Manitoba there was an angel workshop for $80 teaching you how to exploit angels. Angel worship was one of the different ideas that caused doubt that Jesus is the Supreme Creator God. But John 1:3 reads, “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” Jesus has supreme eminence over all creation, even angels, because he is the creator God.
Why did God create everything in the first place? When I study Genesis chapter 1 with students, I give them this simple formula, “This world was created for us and we were created for God.” But Colossians 1:16 teaches me something a little different, "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.” We like to think that God does everything for us, even creating the universe for us. We become so “me” focused, that we fail to be God focused. This makes “me” more important than God. But we learn here that God loves us for Jesus’ sake. God saved us for Jesus’ sake. It is all about Jesus and not all about us. In heaven it will not be about us, but about Him. Our center of life must be Jesus. If you can’t accept this now, you probably won’t enjoy heaven.
The living Jesus is continually involved in his creation, sustaining it. Look at verse 17 again. "He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." God is not only the Creator of the world, but he is also its Sustainer. He can be the Sustainer because he has the power to create. In Jesus, everything is held together, protected, and preserved from disintegrating into chaos. Jesus holds things all together. The weather works patterns work together to bring forth life. Gravity keeps us from flying off the plant the atmosphere from dissipating into space. God keeps our nation from falling into chaos. God keeps our families and fellowship together. He helps us to grow spiritually instead of stagnating and falling apart spiritually. You are held together because of the grace of Jesus. Because Christ is the Sustainer of all life, none of us is independent from him. We are dependent on Jesus. We are all his servants who must daily trust him and depend on him for protecting us, caring for us, and holding all things together for us.
Part ll: Jesus, The Head Of The Church (18,19)
Now that we have established Jesus’ true identity as the Creator God and the exact image of the Father, let us discover Jesus’ relation to the church? Let’s read verse 18 together. “And he is the head of the body, the church;” To understand this more fully, let’s read Ephesians 1:22-23, "And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way." Paul says that Jesus is the head of the church, the body. Let’s think of this anatomically. We really need our heads. We can not live without our heads. We can say that our head and body are inseparable. The head is the center of life and the center of the will. With the head, decisions are made. In that way also, Jesus is the head. Jesus and the church are inseparable. Jesus and the church have a life giving relationship. The body is the church. The church is not just a building. In fact, a church may not have a building. The church is group of people who are born again and redeemed by the blood of Jesus. There are members of the body of Christ in every congregation. There are members of the body of Christ in no congregation. Together they make up the body of Christ. If you accept Jesus as you Lord and Savior and have given your life over to him, by faith, then you are part of the body of Christ. The head of this NIU UBF body of Christ is not Kevin Jesmer. I have been appointed a servant of God’s word. Jesus is the head this church and every Christian church. Jesus paid a very high price in order to be the head of the church. It happened through his death and resurrection.
Let’s think more about the resurrected Jesus. Paul states, in verse 18 that Jesus is the “beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.” Jesus was raised from death, and his resurrection proves his lordship over all creation. Because of Christ's death on the cross, he has been exalted and elevated to the status that was rightly his. (see Php 2:5-11). Because Christ is spiritually supreme in the universe, surely we should give his first place in our thoughts and activities. This world is a full of dead heroes. But our supreme ruler is a living hero because he conquered the power of death and lives forever as our Lord and King.
There is more. Look at verse 18 again. “…the firstborn from among the dead ..” This refers to the fact that Jesus’ resurrection is the guarantee of our own resurrection. (Eph 1) All who trust in Christ will also defeat death and rise again to live eternally with Jesus. (1 Cor 15:20; 1 Thess 4:14). He is the first fruit and we are the second fruit. This frees us from the fear of death and fills our hearts with resurrection faith and victory.
The Father was very pleased to reveal his glory, power and majesty in Jesus. Colossians 1:19 reads, “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,” Jesus contains all of God’s fullness. In Jesus, we have all that we need, physically, spiritually… educationally, intellectually, emotionally. We have true and complete life in Jesus. People are all searching for a full and complete life. They want fulfillment. Most are looking in the wrong place and never taste that fulfillment. They try and try and then their short lives are over. With the things of this world, we feel that there is always something missing. But John 1:4 says, “In him was life and that life was the life of men.” Jesus is indeed enough. John 4 reveals that in Jesus we will never thirst. John 6 reveals that in Jesus we have the Bread of Life. Jesus is sufficient for us to discover God and know him and enter into a life giving relationship with God. If we are looking for fulfillment we need to begin our search in Jesus and not in the things of this world.
Part lll: Jesus, Our Reconciler (20–23)
God has accomplished great things through this Jesus. Colossians 1:20 reads “and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” Reconciling means to secure forgiveness. It means making peace through forgiveness. It means making friends. It means bringing back together to who have been torn apart. Nowadays people are knowing less and less what it means to be reconciled. People would rather remain in their bitterness and unforgiveness than to be reconciled to anyone, let alone God. If you try to reconcile to some people you had better be ready to dodge a few punches. It is because they do not know Jesus and the lengths that he took for us to be reconciled to himself. When we know that grace then we can forgive others.
Paul writes in verse 21, “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of[a] your evil behavior.” " Because we were alienated from God, we were living as "enemies" of God. The sin that mostly dwelt in our minds, through our thoughts and emotions and desires, spilling over to our behavior, had completely ruined our relationship with God. We were outside of Christ, with no hope in this world. We were like orphans and with no home and cut off from the family of God. It was not God’s fault. It was our fault because of the sin that we allowed to grow in our minds. We suffered a lot because of our broken relationship with God. But God had mercy on us.
It required a very heavy price for Jesus to be a reconciler. Look at verse 20b. “…by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” Everything is restored in Jesus Christ our Lord and through his shed blood on the cross. Christ's death provided a way for all people to come to God. It cleared away the sin that keeps us from having a right relationship with our Creator. We can have peace with God and be reconciled to him by accepting Christ, who died in our place. If there a distance between you and Jesus, be reconciled to God today. Come to him through Christ.
What did God do? Look at verse 22, “ But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— Paul explained that Jesus' physical body actually died. (this counteracted some of the claims of the false teacher that claimed Jesus was only spirit.) Jesus suffered death fully as a man, so that we could be assured that he died in our place. Jesus faced death, as God, so we can be assured that his sacrifice was complete and that he truly removed all of our sin. No one is good enough to save himself or herself. The only way to be free from sin is to trust in Jesus Christ to take it away. Think of it this way, when a judge, in a court of law, declares the defendant not guilty, the person has been acquitted of all the accusations or charges. Legally, it is as if he or she had never been accused. When God forgives our sins, our record is wiped clean. From his perspective, it is as though we had never sinned. God's solution is available to you right now. No matter what you have done or what you have been like, God's forgiveness is for you. If we want to live eternally with Christ, we must depend totally on God's grace. Let us come and accept the free gift.
Once you accept that free gift, we must realize that this is not the end but only the beginning of a new life in Christ. Look at verse 23, “if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.” We must remain "established and firm" in the truth of the gospel, putting our confidence in Jesus alone to forgive our sins, to make us right with God, and to empower us to live the way he desires. This requires more than an accumulation of some secret knowledge, as some of the mystery religions purported. It takes a life commitment with obedience to Christ’s commands. This is the only way to be established and firm.
Part lV: Conclusion
I hope, that through this passage, you can see more clearly who Jesus is. Paul continued to bring the argument back to Christ. Who is Jesus Christ? Christ is the image of – the exact likeness of – God. He is God himself and yet he died on the cross as a human being. Paul proclaimed that Jesus is Christ is the Creator of both heaven and the earth. Paul explained that Christ existed before anything else and is the firstborn of those to be resurrected. Paul proclaimed the way of salvation to be through Christ alone. Jesus is sufficient. He is the fullness of God, that is he is everything to everyone, even to you and to me. We don't need anything else. We must continue in gospel faith and hold on to this hope. May God grant you deep insight into the person of Jesus and grow in your personal relationship with him. Then you will taste his goodness and enter into eternal life.
Colossians 1:15–23 Lesson 3
Key Verse: 1:18 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 6-21-09
"And he is the head of the church; he is the beginning and the first born from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy."
There were three blind men who were asked to describe an elephant that was standing before them. One grasped a hairy, dry leg and said, “An elephant is like a huge tree.” Another grasped his tail and said, “An elephant is like a rope.” Another grabbed its trunk and said, “an elephant is like a fire hose.” All of them were right in some way, but the description is not complete. Their understanding of the elephant is limited. But if you put them all together, and if they communicated together, then you get a better picture. The same principle goes when sinners, lost in the darkness, attempt to describe who Jesus is. Everyone clings to their own impression and fails to see the complete picture. In this passage, Paul was writing to Gentile believers who were influenced heavily by Greek culture and philosophy. In the Colossian church there were several misconceptions about Christ and his gospel. They were in danger of eternally having the wrong concept of Jesus. That is why Paul wanted to teach them clearly about who Jesus is. Paul continued to bring the argument back to Christ. May you focus on Christ and have the correct image of Jesus in your heart.
Part l: Jesus, The Creator Of All Things (15–17)
Who is Jesus? This is a very hard question to answer. In the Colossian church there were so many misconceptions about Jesus. Believing that matter is evil, false teachers argued that God would not have come to earth as a true human being in bodily form; they believed that God did not create the world because he would not have created evil; they said that Christ was not the unique Son of God, but rather one of many intermediaries between God and his people; they refused to see Christ as the source of salvation, insisting that people could find God only through special and secret knowledge. Speeding through time, to the present day, there is still much confusion as the identity of Christ. There is poster with about 300 names of Jesus. One person said that trying to know Jesus is like looking into a diamond. A diamond is full of light, it glistens and it changes in countless ways as you look at from different directions. Jesus is like a diamond. How can we even begin to describe Jesus? Some think that it is impossible to do so and think that we should not even try. But Paul thought it was very important to attempt to describe Jesus. It was because there were so many false ideas floating around, proclaiming quite boldly whom they thought Jesus was. Paul wanted the new Christians to understand who Jesus is, for having the right concept of God is crucial to how we relate to God and how we live out our lives. To know Jesus correctly is tantamount to having eternal life. (Jn 17:3)
Let’s see how Paul’s describes Jesus. We’ll call this, “Jesus 101”.
First, look at verse 1: 15a, “He is the image of the invisible God…”, According to Paul, Jesus is the image of the invisible God. Our immortal God is invisible. (1 Tim 1:17) He is spirit. (Jn 4:24) He is very real and very alive, but he is also very invisible. We can see glimpses of God in nature. (Romans 1:20) We can see him in answered prayer. We can feel him in our hearts, dwelling in us through his spirit and his word. We can see him though the loving acts of his people and the truth of his words. We can see him the noble deeds of his people. But we can not actually see him. If we did see God, in all of his glory I doubt if we could stand it, for he lives in unapproachable light. (1 Tim 6:16)
But God did not leave us groping in the darkness with no way to see his glorious image. He sent Jesus into this world. Jesus is not merely a prophet or a good teacher. He is the image of the invisible God, that is, he is the exact representation of God, not only reflecting God, but he reveals God completely to us. (Heb 1:3) John 1:18 reads, "No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known." Once, after following Jesus for three years, Philip was still confused about Jesus’ true identity. He asked Jesus to show them the Father and that would be enough for them. "Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? (Jn 14:9) When we see Jesus was see the exact image of our Father in heaven…nothing more, nothing less. Most people do not know who God is. But they are searching for God. They want to know God. They must look to Jesus. Verse 15a, says again, “He is the image of the invisible God…”, To know his image is essentially to know who God is. Where do we start? The Bible is the best place to start. Let’s commit ourselves to deep Bible study with the intention to see the image of God in Jesus.
Second, Jesus is the "… the firstborn over all creation." (1:15b) This is referring to Jesus in relation to creation. Jesus is not a created being, created by God, like the angels and all of us are. If Jesus was created then we are denying the deity of Jesus. John 1:1-2 reads, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning." Jesus is God and he existed before creation. The “First born” means that he was born before the creation of the heavens and the earth. Jesus is the eternal God. The “first born” also refers to the head. Jesus is the firstborn among many brothers. (Ro 8:29) God established Jesus’ authority over all who are born again into God’s family. In everything Jesus must have the supremacy over all creation.
Being the firstborn over all creation, also refers to the act that Jesus is the creator and the source of all things. In Colossae, there were angel worshippers who said that created angels were even superior to Christ. There are angel worshippers even today. At the U of Manitoba there was an angel workshop for $80 teaching you how to exploit angels. Angel worship was one of the different ideas that caused doubt that Jesus is the Supreme Creator God. But John 1:3 reads, “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” Jesus has supreme eminence over all creation, even angels, because he is the creator God.
Why did God create everything in the first place? When I study Genesis chapter 1 with students, I give them this simple formula, “This world was created for us and we were created for God.” But Colossians 1:16 teaches me something a little different, "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.” We like to think that God does everything for us, even creating the universe for us. We become so “me” focused, that we fail to be God focused. This makes “me” more important than God. But we learn here that God loves us for Jesus’ sake. God saved us for Jesus’ sake. It is all about Jesus and not all about us. In heaven it will not be about us, but about Him. Our center of life must be Jesus. If you can’t accept this now, you probably won’t enjoy heaven.
The living Jesus is continually involved in his creation, sustaining it. Look at verse 17 again. "He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." God is not only the Creator of the world, but he is also its Sustainer. He can be the Sustainer because he has the power to create. In Jesus, everything is held together, protected, and preserved from disintegrating into chaos. Jesus holds things all together. The weather works patterns work together to bring forth life. Gravity keeps us from flying off the plant the atmosphere from dissipating into space. God keeps our nation from falling into chaos. God keeps our families and fellowship together. He helps us to grow spiritually instead of stagnating and falling apart spiritually. You are held together because of the grace of Jesus. Because Christ is the Sustainer of all life, none of us is independent from him. We are dependent on Jesus. We are all his servants who must daily trust him and depend on him for protecting us, caring for us, and holding all things together for us.
Part ll: Jesus, The Head Of The Church (18,19)
Now that we have established Jesus’ true identity as the Creator God and the exact image of the Father, let us discover Jesus’ relation to the church? Let’s read verse 18 together. “And he is the head of the body, the church;” To understand this more fully, let’s read Ephesians 1:22-23, "And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way." Paul says that Jesus is the head of the church, the body. Let’s think of this anatomically. We really need our heads. We can not live without our heads. We can say that our head and body are inseparable. The head is the center of life and the center of the will. With the head, decisions are made. In that way also, Jesus is the head. Jesus and the church are inseparable. Jesus and the church have a life giving relationship. The body is the church. The church is not just a building. In fact, a church may not have a building. The church is group of people who are born again and redeemed by the blood of Jesus. There are members of the body of Christ in every congregation. There are members of the body of Christ in no congregation. Together they make up the body of Christ. If you accept Jesus as you Lord and Savior and have given your life over to him, by faith, then you are part of the body of Christ. The head of this NIU UBF body of Christ is not Kevin Jesmer. I have been appointed a servant of God’s word. Jesus is the head this church and every Christian church. Jesus paid a very high price in order to be the head of the church. It happened through his death and resurrection.
Let’s think more about the resurrected Jesus. Paul states, in verse 18 that Jesus is the “beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.” Jesus was raised from death, and his resurrection proves his lordship over all creation. Because of Christ's death on the cross, he has been exalted and elevated to the status that was rightly his. (see Php 2:5-11). Because Christ is spiritually supreme in the universe, surely we should give his first place in our thoughts and activities. This world is a full of dead heroes. But our supreme ruler is a living hero because he conquered the power of death and lives forever as our Lord and King.
There is more. Look at verse 18 again. “…the firstborn from among the dead ..” This refers to the fact that Jesus’ resurrection is the guarantee of our own resurrection. (Eph 1) All who trust in Christ will also defeat death and rise again to live eternally with Jesus. (1 Cor 15:20; 1 Thess 4:14). He is the first fruit and we are the second fruit. This frees us from the fear of death and fills our hearts with resurrection faith and victory.
The Father was very pleased to reveal his glory, power and majesty in Jesus. Colossians 1:19 reads, “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,” Jesus contains all of God’s fullness. In Jesus, we have all that we need, physically, spiritually… educationally, intellectually, emotionally. We have true and complete life in Jesus. People are all searching for a full and complete life. They want fulfillment. Most are looking in the wrong place and never taste that fulfillment. They try and try and then their short lives are over. With the things of this world, we feel that there is always something missing. But John 1:4 says, “In him was life and that life was the life of men.” Jesus is indeed enough. John 4 reveals that in Jesus we will never thirst. John 6 reveals that in Jesus we have the Bread of Life. Jesus is sufficient for us to discover God and know him and enter into a life giving relationship with God. If we are looking for fulfillment we need to begin our search in Jesus and not in the things of this world.
Part lll: Jesus, Our Reconciler (20–23)
God has accomplished great things through this Jesus. Colossians 1:20 reads “and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” Reconciling means to secure forgiveness. It means making peace through forgiveness. It means making friends. It means bringing back together to who have been torn apart. Nowadays people are knowing less and less what it means to be reconciled. People would rather remain in their bitterness and unforgiveness than to be reconciled to anyone, let alone God. If you try to reconcile to some people you had better be ready to dodge a few punches. It is because they do not know Jesus and the lengths that he took for us to be reconciled to himself. When we know that grace then we can forgive others.
Paul writes in verse 21, “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of[a] your evil behavior.” " Because we were alienated from God, we were living as "enemies" of God. The sin that mostly dwelt in our minds, through our thoughts and emotions and desires, spilling over to our behavior, had completely ruined our relationship with God. We were outside of Christ, with no hope in this world. We were like orphans and with no home and cut off from the family of God. It was not God’s fault. It was our fault because of the sin that we allowed to grow in our minds. We suffered a lot because of our broken relationship with God. But God had mercy on us.
It required a very heavy price for Jesus to be a reconciler. Look at verse 20b. “…by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” Everything is restored in Jesus Christ our Lord and through his shed blood on the cross. Christ's death provided a way for all people to come to God. It cleared away the sin that keeps us from having a right relationship with our Creator. We can have peace with God and be reconciled to him by accepting Christ, who died in our place. If there a distance between you and Jesus, be reconciled to God today. Come to him through Christ.
What did God do? Look at verse 22, “ But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— Paul explained that Jesus' physical body actually died. (this counteracted some of the claims of the false teacher that claimed Jesus was only spirit.) Jesus suffered death fully as a man, so that we could be assured that he died in our place. Jesus faced death, as God, so we can be assured that his sacrifice was complete and that he truly removed all of our sin. No one is good enough to save himself or herself. The only way to be free from sin is to trust in Jesus Christ to take it away. Think of it this way, when a judge, in a court of law, declares the defendant not guilty, the person has been acquitted of all the accusations or charges. Legally, it is as if he or she had never been accused. When God forgives our sins, our record is wiped clean. From his perspective, it is as though we had never sinned. God's solution is available to you right now. No matter what you have done or what you have been like, God's forgiveness is for you. If we want to live eternally with Christ, we must depend totally on God's grace. Let us come and accept the free gift.
Once you accept that free gift, we must realize that this is not the end but only the beginning of a new life in Christ. Look at verse 23, “if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.” We must remain "established and firm" in the truth of the gospel, putting our confidence in Jesus alone to forgive our sins, to make us right with God, and to empower us to live the way he desires. This requires more than an accumulation of some secret knowledge, as some of the mystery religions purported. It takes a life commitment with obedience to Christ’s commands. This is the only way to be established and firm.
Part lV: Conclusion
I hope, that through this passage, you can see more clearly who Jesus is. Paul continued to bring the argument back to Christ. Who is Jesus Christ? Christ is the image of – the exact likeness of – God. He is God himself and yet he died on the cross as a human being. Paul proclaimed that Jesus is Christ is the Creator of both heaven and the earth. Paul explained that Christ existed before anything else and is the firstborn of those to be resurrected. Paul proclaimed the way of salvation to be through Christ alone. Jesus is sufficient. He is the fullness of God, that is he is everything to everyone, even to you and to me. We don't need anything else. We must continue in gospel faith and hold on to this hope. May God grant you deep insight into the person of Jesus and grow in your personal relationship with him. Then you will taste his goodness and enter into eternal life.
Colossians 1:1-14
HE HAS RESCUED US
Colossians 1:1-14 Lesson 2 Key Verses: 1:13,14 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 6-14-09
"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."
It feels good to get back into a book of the New Testament, for in studying this book we get to think more deeply about Jesus and what it means to have faith in Jesus. In this passage, Paul is in prison in Rome thinking a lot about Jesus and the world wide work of God. He encourages the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae. He thanks God because their faith is based on truth, their hope is in the heavenly kingdom, and their faith in Jesus and love for the saints spring from that hope. Paul prays for them to live lives that please God. There is a lot of stuff to focus on in this passage, but hopefully we can come away with one word of God to hold onto in our hearts.
Part l: Greetings And Thanksgiving (1–8)
Paul wrote this letter from Rome during his first imprisonment there (c. 60 AD). This prison was actually a house where Paul was kept under close guard at all times. He was in chains, (4:3) probably chained to a soldier. Though he was a prisoner, he did not live as a victim of his circumstances, wallowing in self pity. Look how Paul introduced himself in verse 1:1, "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother," Paul confidently identifies himself as an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God. Apostle means one who is chosen and sent by God as a missionary and an ambassador. “By the will of God”, means that he was appointed by God himself. God called him to spread the gospel. It was not his own idea or his own plan. It was God’s plan for his life. Paul knew it and he committed himself to God’s personal calling. When he had this clear calling God gave him spiritual confidence and divine authority to stand as an apostle. I think that a major crisis among our young people is an identity crisis. They lack person conviction of who they are before God. We need to ask ourselves, “Who am I before God?” and “What has God called me to do?” Personally, God has called me to be a life long campus shepherd, starting here at NIU. He wants me to preach the Gospel to students in the western suburbs of Chicago and the D.E.A.R. (DeKalb, Elgin, Aurora, Rockford) area. May God grant you a clear calling and identity in Jesus Christ.
Paul had vision for the Christians in Colossae. These people were not any different then any of us today. They were a fellowship of forgiven sinners, who were living in the darkness of sin before meeting Jesus. They were practically living as enemies of God. But by the grace of God, they were changed. The Corinthian Christians were changed in the same way. Paul says in 1 Cor 6:10-12, “10nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” The Colossians were also washed, sanctified and justified in the same way . Look at verse 2. "To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace and peace to you from God our Father,” They were transformed into holy and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ. They were blessed with the grace and peace of God, becoming members of God’s family. How could such a miracle have occurred? They, like all of us, are all holy and faithful brothers and sisters only through the blood of Jesus. Not only that, our standing as members in God’s family is maintained by the grace of Jesus.
There were all types of godless influences but God kept them holy. We need to thank God for making us holy and keeping us holy and faithful. I spent a day in Chicago with family. There are so many interesting things to do…free things...so much so, that we can spend most our time feverishly entertaining ourselves and eating out at restaurants. Several times my kids said, “I want to move here.” There are so many temptations also. How easy it would be for us to be swallowed up by the allure and the culture of the city life and no longer be faithful to Jesus and God’s calling in our lives. Without God’s grace we would surely fall away and become unholy and unfaithful to Jesus. We must thank God for helping us each day to follow him and live as his holy people.
Paul was especially thankful for the spiritual heritage that these Christians were laying down. Let’s read verses 3 and 4 together, "We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints-" Paul commended the Colossians for their faith, love, and hope – three main emphasis of Christianity (1 Corinthians 13:13). Paul had not visited the church, but they were well known to him because of their faith and their love. How could their faith and their love make them well known in Christian circles? Let’s think about each component.
First, “their faith in Christ Jesus.” What is Christian faith? Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (Heb 11:1) It involves having faith in Jesus and his word. It is not about what people can do, but it is all about what God can do and has done. It is faith in the person of Jesus. The first step in knowing Jesus personally is to have faith in Christ. To have faith in Jesus is to have a rich, dynamic, and growing relationship with Jesus. Faith is very dynamic. With faith we can do great works for the glory of God. So, let's have faith in God.
Second, “…your love for all the saints.” Faith and love are related. Without faith, we can not have love. What is different about Christians? Is it not their faith and their works of love? Faith is not static, it is dynamic. When we have faith in Jesus' love for us then we can love God and others. Galatians 5:6, "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself in love." Faith can express itself through love. Friends bring their friends to Jesus and they, in turn, can bring their friends. They can do this because of love and faith. Faith without action is not real faith for "Faith without deeds is dead." (James 2:26) The Bible speaks of faith expressing itself as an action and an attitude, not just an emotion. Love is a by-product of our new life in Christ (See Romans 5:5; 1 Corinthians 13) May God help us to come out of ourselves and learn to love others whom God has sent into our lives…by faith.
Faith and love can become manifest in our lives without another important ingredient, hope. Look at verse 5, "…the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel…" The hope that Paul speaks of is the hope in heaven. All selfish hopes are dead hopes and they fade away and die. (1Peter 1:2-3) They are earthbound hopes. The character of a heavenly hope is different. A heavenly hope is a living hope. We can have a living hope in our hearts and with this living hope we can overcome all kinds of trials and persecutions. A living hope in the Kingdom of God is our only true hope. Faith and love come from hope.
Where do you get this faith, love and hope? Look at verse 5 again. "…the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel…" Faith is grounded in the truth. True faith produces true love. When you hear this word of truth from the Gospels, then you get all these treasures. It is very simple. You simply need to hear the truth, the Gospel. (Romans 10:17)
Part ll: The Power of the Gospel (6-7)
These believers in Colossae were a testament to the life giving power that is found through faith in Jesus. Look at verses 6-7, "that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth. 7You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our[c] behalf, 8and who also told us of your love in the Spirit."
First, what is the gospel? Simply speaking, the gospel is the fact that Jesus died and rose again. In doing so he solved our sin and death problem. No one or nothing else can do this for us. The gospel has power to change anyone who has faith. Whenever people believed in the message that Paul spoke, they were changed. New believers received a changed purpose, life direction, attitude and heart (Ez 11:19). They are no longer seeking to serve themselves, but they are bearing fruit for God.
The gospel is constantly growing and bearing fruit. Look at verse 6a, “"that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing,..” God used Paul to plant churches in 40 cities during his lifetime. The entire Roman Empire eventually became Christian. It is spreading throughout and affecting the whole world today. It is universal. It is productive. It bears fruit and it grows. Because of their love for one another, Christians can have an impact that goes far beyond their neighborhoods and communities to the whole world. We recently saw this though Tom’s trip to Uganda where he and two co-workers could preach in Uganda and serve 1,000 people at their clinic.
Part lll: Paul’s Prayer (9-12a)
Let’s think a little more deeply about Paul’s prayer for these saints of God in Colossae. Look at verse 9. "For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding." Paul never prayed for them to get a new sports-chariot or to win the lottery or to be delivered from all of their bodily ailments. Nor did he pray that God may remove all of the false teachers that were proliferating among them. What was his first prayer topic? It was that they be filled with the knowledge of God's will. Paul wanted them to know the will of God.
What is the will of God…generally speaking? There is a will of God for each of us. God has given us his purpose. God loves us and the whole world and he wants us to carry out his purpose. So many people live their entire lives not grasping God’s will for them. They claim that it is difficult to know the will of God, too difficult to figure out. God’s will to them is vague. Some think that whatever they choose to do is the will of God. Sometimes they cannot differentiate what their will is and what God’s will is. But God does not make things that difficult. God is light. In him there is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5) Not knowing God’s will in your life is like waking in darkness. God will not let his precious children walk in the darkness. When we want to know the will of God then we can find the will of God. God will shed his light on our path. The secret is to commit yourself to living a holy and faithful life in Christ Jesus. Romans 12:2 reads, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will." The will of God is a personal matter. We must prayerfully accept it and pray for our Bible students to accept it. Then we will be blessed and walk in the light.
Let’s think of another aspect of prayer. Look at verse 10a, "And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way:…" Here Paul was exposing a heresy in the Colossian church that was similar to Gnosticism. Gnostics valued the accumulation of knowledge, but Paul pointed out that knowledge itself is empty. To be worth anything, knowledge must lead to a changed life and right living. God wants us to learn more about him, but he also wants us to put belief into practice by living a life worthy of the Lord and pleasing him in every way.
Listen to what Paul says about how to please God in verses 10b-12. "…bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light." This sounds exciting! We learn to please God in four ways.
First, “bearing fruit,” What fruit is Paul talking about? Galatians 5:22-23 read, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control.” When we are in Christ we bear the fruit of the spirit and the outer fruit of raising disciples of Jesus. The gospel works powerful changes in us. We change inwardly and begin to do good works, work that can only be done by the power of the Gospel.
Next, “growing in the knowledge of God.” As Christians we need to be growing. We can not be stagnant. It is not easy to grow in the knowledge of God. There are so many entertaining things to do. Those who give into a lifestyle of constantly entertaining themselves can never grow in the knowledge of God. They remain spiritually stagnant. The Bible implores us to always be adding to our faith. (2 Peter 1:5-8) We need to be like the tree in Psalm 1. Trees are always growing. We need to grow in our intimate relationship with Jesus. When our faith grows then naturally we can bear fruit, both inside and out. Paul says in Philippians 1:9,10; "And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ,"
Next, “being strengthened,” We can be strengthened when we have faith in God and exercise that faith. Why do we need to be strengthened? Look at verse again, “…so that you may have great endurance and patience.” We need inner strength to endure and have patience in adverse situations. This is possible when we receive power from God. Raising disciples, through campus evangelism requires patient endurance. Students’ hearts are so full of worldly hopes that they seldom want to consider Jesus. To keep a student ministry alive requires much FAITHFUL sacrifice on the part of a handful of people. To raise Christian leaders takes a lot of patience. But for those committed to the task of campus evangelism they know what it means to be strengthened by God. They know how to endure and be patient because God helps them.
And finally, “giving thanks” We need to joyfully give thanks to the Father, no matter what the circumstances and situation. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 reads, “give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” It is not easy to give thanks in all circumstances. But it possible when we know what God is trying to accomplish through us in the midst of hardships. I thank God for my family. On Saturday morning we were in Chicago. It was raining, windy and cold. We did not have the proper clothes, and no umbrellas. But we needed to walk from one end of Grant Park to Navy Pier. We were cold and drenched. We looked homeless. But we were smiling and laughing and happy. Why? I liked the exercise. Because mostly we knew that this was a God-given opportunity to reveal the love of God to Chris and Debbie’s family. And so we were very happy and thankful to embrace whatever sacrifices it took.
UBF is a missionary sending institute. We have World Mission Night to hear about missionaries and pray for them. Sometimes we wonder how to pray for them. Paul’s prayers teach us how to pray for others. We can request that they (1) understand God's will, (2) gain spiritual wisdom, (3) please and honor God, (4) bear good fruit, (5) grow in the knowledge of God, (6) be filled with God's strength, (7) have great endurance and patience (8) stay full of Christ's joy, and (9) give thanks in always. Actually all believers have the same basic needs. So when you don’t know how to pray for someone, use Paul's prayer pattern from this passage.
Part lll: Jesus Our Redeemer (12b–14)
Paul mentions a great privilege that all Christians have in verse 12b, "…who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light." Being qualified, means that you meet the proper standards and requirements for a position. It is always important to note that we are not qualified by ourselves or by our own effort. It is by God's grace alone. Initially we were just objects of God's wrath. We lived by our own desires without God and without hope. But God had mercy on us and qualified us to be his children. We became heirs and we share in his kingdom. It is a great privilege. When we take hold of our inheritance in Christ, we really have nothing to complain about. We have many thanks topics. Let's say it all together…"Thank God."
There is another reason to give thanks. Look at verses 13 and 14, "For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption,[e] the forgiveness of sins." Dominion is like kingdom. Darkness has it's own dominion. In the dominion of darkness, you can not trust anyone or anything. Fear rules our hearts. We can not get out of the kingdom of darkness on our own. Special, mysterious knowledge cannot get us out of this dominion. We need God's power. We need super power that is found in the gospel.
God has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the light. Jesus came to this world to redeem a helpless humanity. (Jn 8:34–36) How does Jesus set us free? 1 Peter 1:18-19 reads, " 18For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect." Jesus has indeed set us free and brought us from the dominion of darkness to the kingdom of love through his precious blood. He forgave all of our sins (Eph 1:7) and bought our freedom from sin and judgment (Heb 9:12) Thank God for what you have received in Christ. It is really God's love. It is given to all by his great power. Praise the Lord.
In conclusion, we learn three elements of Christian life, faith, love and hope. Paul's prayer topic for these Colossian believers has two dimensions: (1) that they might be filled with the knowledge of God's will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding, and (2) that they may bear good fruit through every good work, growing in the knowledge of God. How can we do this? (i) We must put our hope in heaven; (ii) we must joyfully give thanks in times of trial, and so grow in inner strength, in patience and endurance; (iii) we must remember the basic grace of God who rescued us from the power of darkness, forgave our sins, and brought us into his kingdom of light. May you hold onto the grace of Jesus and live a life that pleases Jesus sharing the liberating truth of God with others.
Colossians 1:1-14 Lesson 2 Key Verses: 1:13,14 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 6-14-09
"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."
It feels good to get back into a book of the New Testament, for in studying this book we get to think more deeply about Jesus and what it means to have faith in Jesus. In this passage, Paul is in prison in Rome thinking a lot about Jesus and the world wide work of God. He encourages the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae. He thanks God because their faith is based on truth, their hope is in the heavenly kingdom, and their faith in Jesus and love for the saints spring from that hope. Paul prays for them to live lives that please God. There is a lot of stuff to focus on in this passage, but hopefully we can come away with one word of God to hold onto in our hearts.
Part l: Greetings And Thanksgiving (1–8)
Paul wrote this letter from Rome during his first imprisonment there (c. 60 AD). This prison was actually a house where Paul was kept under close guard at all times. He was in chains, (4:3) probably chained to a soldier. Though he was a prisoner, he did not live as a victim of his circumstances, wallowing in self pity. Look how Paul introduced himself in verse 1:1, "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother," Paul confidently identifies himself as an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God. Apostle means one who is chosen and sent by God as a missionary and an ambassador. “By the will of God”, means that he was appointed by God himself. God called him to spread the gospel. It was not his own idea or his own plan. It was God’s plan for his life. Paul knew it and he committed himself to God’s personal calling. When he had this clear calling God gave him spiritual confidence and divine authority to stand as an apostle. I think that a major crisis among our young people is an identity crisis. They lack person conviction of who they are before God. We need to ask ourselves, “Who am I before God?” and “What has God called me to do?” Personally, God has called me to be a life long campus shepherd, starting here at NIU. He wants me to preach the Gospel to students in the western suburbs of Chicago and the D.E.A.R. (DeKalb, Elgin, Aurora, Rockford) area. May God grant you a clear calling and identity in Jesus Christ.
Paul had vision for the Christians in Colossae. These people were not any different then any of us today. They were a fellowship of forgiven sinners, who were living in the darkness of sin before meeting Jesus. They were practically living as enemies of God. But by the grace of God, they were changed. The Corinthian Christians were changed in the same way. Paul says in 1 Cor 6:10-12, “10nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” The Colossians were also washed, sanctified and justified in the same way . Look at verse 2. "To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace and peace to you from God our Father,” They were transformed into holy and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ. They were blessed with the grace and peace of God, becoming members of God’s family. How could such a miracle have occurred? They, like all of us, are all holy and faithful brothers and sisters only through the blood of Jesus. Not only that, our standing as members in God’s family is maintained by the grace of Jesus.
There were all types of godless influences but God kept them holy. We need to thank God for making us holy and keeping us holy and faithful. I spent a day in Chicago with family. There are so many interesting things to do…free things...so much so, that we can spend most our time feverishly entertaining ourselves and eating out at restaurants. Several times my kids said, “I want to move here.” There are so many temptations also. How easy it would be for us to be swallowed up by the allure and the culture of the city life and no longer be faithful to Jesus and God’s calling in our lives. Without God’s grace we would surely fall away and become unholy and unfaithful to Jesus. We must thank God for helping us each day to follow him and live as his holy people.
Paul was especially thankful for the spiritual heritage that these Christians were laying down. Let’s read verses 3 and 4 together, "We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints-" Paul commended the Colossians for their faith, love, and hope – three main emphasis of Christianity (1 Corinthians 13:13). Paul had not visited the church, but they were well known to him because of their faith and their love. How could their faith and their love make them well known in Christian circles? Let’s think about each component.
First, “their faith in Christ Jesus.” What is Christian faith? Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (Heb 11:1) It involves having faith in Jesus and his word. It is not about what people can do, but it is all about what God can do and has done. It is faith in the person of Jesus. The first step in knowing Jesus personally is to have faith in Christ. To have faith in Jesus is to have a rich, dynamic, and growing relationship with Jesus. Faith is very dynamic. With faith we can do great works for the glory of God. So, let's have faith in God.
Second, “…your love for all the saints.” Faith and love are related. Without faith, we can not have love. What is different about Christians? Is it not their faith and their works of love? Faith is not static, it is dynamic. When we have faith in Jesus' love for us then we can love God and others. Galatians 5:6, "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself in love." Faith can express itself through love. Friends bring their friends to Jesus and they, in turn, can bring their friends. They can do this because of love and faith. Faith without action is not real faith for "Faith without deeds is dead." (James 2:26) The Bible speaks of faith expressing itself as an action and an attitude, not just an emotion. Love is a by-product of our new life in Christ (See Romans 5:5; 1 Corinthians 13) May God help us to come out of ourselves and learn to love others whom God has sent into our lives…by faith.
Faith and love can become manifest in our lives without another important ingredient, hope. Look at verse 5, "…the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel…" The hope that Paul speaks of is the hope in heaven. All selfish hopes are dead hopes and they fade away and die. (1Peter 1:2-3) They are earthbound hopes. The character of a heavenly hope is different. A heavenly hope is a living hope. We can have a living hope in our hearts and with this living hope we can overcome all kinds of trials and persecutions. A living hope in the Kingdom of God is our only true hope. Faith and love come from hope.
Where do you get this faith, love and hope? Look at verse 5 again. "…the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel…" Faith is grounded in the truth. True faith produces true love. When you hear this word of truth from the Gospels, then you get all these treasures. It is very simple. You simply need to hear the truth, the Gospel. (Romans 10:17)
Part ll: The Power of the Gospel (6-7)
These believers in Colossae were a testament to the life giving power that is found through faith in Jesus. Look at verses 6-7, "that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth. 7You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our[c] behalf, 8and who also told us of your love in the Spirit."
First, what is the gospel? Simply speaking, the gospel is the fact that Jesus died and rose again. In doing so he solved our sin and death problem. No one or nothing else can do this for us. The gospel has power to change anyone who has faith. Whenever people believed in the message that Paul spoke, they were changed. New believers received a changed purpose, life direction, attitude and heart (Ez 11:19). They are no longer seeking to serve themselves, but they are bearing fruit for God.
The gospel is constantly growing and bearing fruit. Look at verse 6a, “"that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing,..” God used Paul to plant churches in 40 cities during his lifetime. The entire Roman Empire eventually became Christian. It is spreading throughout and affecting the whole world today. It is universal. It is productive. It bears fruit and it grows. Because of their love for one another, Christians can have an impact that goes far beyond their neighborhoods and communities to the whole world. We recently saw this though Tom’s trip to Uganda where he and two co-workers could preach in Uganda and serve 1,000 people at their clinic.
Part lll: Paul’s Prayer (9-12a)
Let’s think a little more deeply about Paul’s prayer for these saints of God in Colossae. Look at verse 9. "For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding." Paul never prayed for them to get a new sports-chariot or to win the lottery or to be delivered from all of their bodily ailments. Nor did he pray that God may remove all of the false teachers that were proliferating among them. What was his first prayer topic? It was that they be filled with the knowledge of God's will. Paul wanted them to know the will of God.
What is the will of God…generally speaking? There is a will of God for each of us. God has given us his purpose. God loves us and the whole world and he wants us to carry out his purpose. So many people live their entire lives not grasping God’s will for them. They claim that it is difficult to know the will of God, too difficult to figure out. God’s will to them is vague. Some think that whatever they choose to do is the will of God. Sometimes they cannot differentiate what their will is and what God’s will is. But God does not make things that difficult. God is light. In him there is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5) Not knowing God’s will in your life is like waking in darkness. God will not let his precious children walk in the darkness. When we want to know the will of God then we can find the will of God. God will shed his light on our path. The secret is to commit yourself to living a holy and faithful life in Christ Jesus. Romans 12:2 reads, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will." The will of God is a personal matter. We must prayerfully accept it and pray for our Bible students to accept it. Then we will be blessed and walk in the light.
Let’s think of another aspect of prayer. Look at verse 10a, "And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way:…" Here Paul was exposing a heresy in the Colossian church that was similar to Gnosticism. Gnostics valued the accumulation of knowledge, but Paul pointed out that knowledge itself is empty. To be worth anything, knowledge must lead to a changed life and right living. God wants us to learn more about him, but he also wants us to put belief into practice by living a life worthy of the Lord and pleasing him in every way.
Listen to what Paul says about how to please God in verses 10b-12. "…bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light." This sounds exciting! We learn to please God in four ways.
First, “bearing fruit,” What fruit is Paul talking about? Galatians 5:22-23 read, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control.” When we are in Christ we bear the fruit of the spirit and the outer fruit of raising disciples of Jesus. The gospel works powerful changes in us. We change inwardly and begin to do good works, work that can only be done by the power of the Gospel.
Next, “growing in the knowledge of God.” As Christians we need to be growing. We can not be stagnant. It is not easy to grow in the knowledge of God. There are so many entertaining things to do. Those who give into a lifestyle of constantly entertaining themselves can never grow in the knowledge of God. They remain spiritually stagnant. The Bible implores us to always be adding to our faith. (2 Peter 1:5-8) We need to be like the tree in Psalm 1. Trees are always growing. We need to grow in our intimate relationship with Jesus. When our faith grows then naturally we can bear fruit, both inside and out. Paul says in Philippians 1:9,10; "And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ,"
Next, “being strengthened,” We can be strengthened when we have faith in God and exercise that faith. Why do we need to be strengthened? Look at verse again, “…so that you may have great endurance and patience.” We need inner strength to endure and have patience in adverse situations. This is possible when we receive power from God. Raising disciples, through campus evangelism requires patient endurance. Students’ hearts are so full of worldly hopes that they seldom want to consider Jesus. To keep a student ministry alive requires much FAITHFUL sacrifice on the part of a handful of people. To raise Christian leaders takes a lot of patience. But for those committed to the task of campus evangelism they know what it means to be strengthened by God. They know how to endure and be patient because God helps them.
And finally, “giving thanks” We need to joyfully give thanks to the Father, no matter what the circumstances and situation. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 reads, “give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” It is not easy to give thanks in all circumstances. But it possible when we know what God is trying to accomplish through us in the midst of hardships. I thank God for my family. On Saturday morning we were in Chicago. It was raining, windy and cold. We did not have the proper clothes, and no umbrellas. But we needed to walk from one end of Grant Park to Navy Pier. We were cold and drenched. We looked homeless. But we were smiling and laughing and happy. Why? I liked the exercise. Because mostly we knew that this was a God-given opportunity to reveal the love of God to Chris and Debbie’s family. And so we were very happy and thankful to embrace whatever sacrifices it took.
UBF is a missionary sending institute. We have World Mission Night to hear about missionaries and pray for them. Sometimes we wonder how to pray for them. Paul’s prayers teach us how to pray for others. We can request that they (1) understand God's will, (2) gain spiritual wisdom, (3) please and honor God, (4) bear good fruit, (5) grow in the knowledge of God, (6) be filled with God's strength, (7) have great endurance and patience (8) stay full of Christ's joy, and (9) give thanks in always. Actually all believers have the same basic needs. So when you don’t know how to pray for someone, use Paul's prayer pattern from this passage.
Part lll: Jesus Our Redeemer (12b–14)
Paul mentions a great privilege that all Christians have in verse 12b, "…who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light." Being qualified, means that you meet the proper standards and requirements for a position. It is always important to note that we are not qualified by ourselves or by our own effort. It is by God's grace alone. Initially we were just objects of God's wrath. We lived by our own desires without God and without hope. But God had mercy on us and qualified us to be his children. We became heirs and we share in his kingdom. It is a great privilege. When we take hold of our inheritance in Christ, we really have nothing to complain about. We have many thanks topics. Let's say it all together…"Thank God."
There is another reason to give thanks. Look at verses 13 and 14, "For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption,[e] the forgiveness of sins." Dominion is like kingdom. Darkness has it's own dominion. In the dominion of darkness, you can not trust anyone or anything. Fear rules our hearts. We can not get out of the kingdom of darkness on our own. Special, mysterious knowledge cannot get us out of this dominion. We need God's power. We need super power that is found in the gospel.
God has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the light. Jesus came to this world to redeem a helpless humanity. (Jn 8:34–36) How does Jesus set us free? 1 Peter 1:18-19 reads, " 18For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect." Jesus has indeed set us free and brought us from the dominion of darkness to the kingdom of love through his precious blood. He forgave all of our sins (Eph 1:7) and bought our freedom from sin and judgment (Heb 9:12) Thank God for what you have received in Christ. It is really God's love. It is given to all by his great power. Praise the Lord.
In conclusion, we learn three elements of Christian life, faith, love and hope. Paul's prayer topic for these Colossian believers has two dimensions: (1) that they might be filled with the knowledge of God's will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding, and (2) that they may bear good fruit through every good work, growing in the knowledge of God. How can we do this? (i) We must put our hope in heaven; (ii) we must joyfully give thanks in times of trial, and so grow in inner strength, in patience and endurance; (iii) we must remember the basic grace of God who rescued us from the power of darkness, forgave our sins, and brought us into his kingdom of light. May you hold onto the grace of Jesus and live a life that pleases Jesus sharing the liberating truth of God with others.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Colossians Introductory Message
Christ Is All Sufficient: An Introduction to the Book Of Colossians.
Key verse: Colossians 2:9,10 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 6/5/09
“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.”
I thank God for our study of Jonah. Through our six week study, we have learned how God had grace on a reluctant prophet. We learned how God trained Jonah, through many hardships, in order to mold him into a servant of God who could deliver the message of salvation to a people in desperate need for the grace of God. We found meaning for all of our hardships of life and hope for ourselves to be used by God in our generation. Most of all we found direction for our summer ministry, to concern over the students of our great university, NIU. Now we want to get back into the New Testament. It is good to mix up our Bible study a little bit, with both the New and Old Testaments. It is good to learn more about Jesus. That is why we are going to study the Book of Colossians. Paul, in Colossians, proclaims that all the fullness of God dwells in Jesus. We can gain everything in Jesus. We can receive love, joy, peace and happiness and all the things that we are really searching for in Christ. It is a mystery, but through our study of Colossians may the desire to find in Jesus, your “all in all”, be kindled in your hearts. May we see Jesus and find him in the midst of today’s mixture of religions and philosophies.
Part l: The Church Of Colossae.
This book is a letter, by Paul, written to the church in a city called Colossae. Paul was in prison in Rome in A.D. 61-63. Colossians is one of the letters of Paul written during his stay there. Paul worked so hard to preach the gospel. Even prison could not stop him. His entire life was dedicated to spreading the good news of Jesus Christ and his salvation throughout the Mediterranean region. He spoke boldly to the Jews and Gentiles alike. His main work was visiting the churches and strengthening the disciples through preaching and teaching the gospel. When he was not able to go there personally, he sent his co-workers. When he could not send his co-workers to preach the gospel or to solve the problems of the churches, he sent letters. In time, these letters became vital parts of the New Testament and became an important part of spreading the gospel in early Christianity. The book of Colossians is closely associated with Philemon, because the church in Colossae met in Philemon’s home (Phm 3) and because a person named, Onesimus, mentioned in Colossians (4:9) was Philemon’s slave. (Phm 16) The followers of Christ have greatly benefited from Paul’s letters throughout the centuries. We are blessed because of Paul’s prison letters.
The prison was actually a house where Paul was kept under close guard at all times. He probably was chained to a Roman soldier. He was given certain rights and privileges not afforded to most prisoners. He was allowed to write letters and to see any vistors he wanted to see. Maybe Roman guards peeked over Paul’s shoulder to see what he was writing. Maybe Paul asked them to proof read his letters. Maybe when a guard was sick, Paul asked him how he was feeling and prayed fro him. In this way some Roman soldiers could have met Jesus personally.
Colossae was a city in Phrygia. Some people from Phrygia were in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. (Acts 2:10) and may have accepted Jesus then. These people could have started a church in Colossae. Paul had passed through this region on both his second and third missionary journeys. (Acts 16:6; 18:23). The church was also the result of Paul’s work in Ephesus. (Acts 19:10), for Colossae was near the border of “Asia” about 100 miles east of Ephesus. Epaphras (1:7;l 4:12-13), is thought to have been the planter of the Colossae church. Paul stayed in Ephesus and had daily discussions, for two years, in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. Through this, “all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.” (Acts 19:10) During this time Epaphras and Philemon from Colossae, and Nympha from Laodicea also heard Paul’s message, returned to their homes and pioneered new churches. Epaphras could have visited Paul in prison and reported about the work of God in Colossae and the problems he encountered. Epaphras also pioneered churches in Laodicea and Hierapolis. (4:12,13)
In Colossae there were Greeks, Romans, Jews and immigrants from other parts of the Roman Empire. There were slaves and free people, rich and poor, educated uneducated. There were business people. It was truly cosmopolitan in nature. But one thing was for certain, a godless atmosphere pervaded over the entire city. Asia Minor, where Colossae was, had many kinds of religions. They worshipped various gods and goddesses and each city felt that its own god or goddess was superior to all others. Ephesus was home to Artemis, the huge female goddess whom they claim fell from heaven. Mystery religions were becoming especially popular. These religions did not focus so much on a god or a goddess, but on having some kind of mysterious knowledge, that if a person studied and understood it, they would have some fantastic spiritual experience. They involved some secret society with secretive initiations. Many of the meeting places of these mystery religions have been discovered by archeologists. Colossae was full of mystery religions.
Part ll: The Purpose Of The Letters
When the Apostle Paul was imprisoned, Epaphras visited him and told him how the church in Colossae was suffering from heretical threats from false teachers. Epaphras asked for Paul’s help. (1:8; 2;1,2; 4:12,13) For this reason Paul wrote Colossians, to protect the young Christian church from these heresies. He wanted to reveal who Jesus truly is and to let believers know that they have everything they could ever need in Christ. Paul makes his purpose clear in 2:1-3, where he writes, “I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those in Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” None of these mystery religions could hold a candle to the mystery of God, namely Christ, and Paul wanted them to know why.
The church had been infiltrated by religious relativism, with some believers attempting to combine elements of paganism and secular philosophy with Christian doctrine. As a young Christian community, they were attacked by the influence of many secular and religious groups. The Colossian heresy seems to have been a mixture of Greek, Jewish and Oriental religions, a sort of “higher thought” cult, masquerading itself in the name of “philosophy” (2:8), promoting the basic principles of this world. (2:8,20), calling for the worship of angels as intermediates between God and man. (2:18), and insisting on the observance of certain Jewish requirements almost to the point of asceticism. (2:16,21). The dangerous part was that they were including it as part of the Gospel of Christ. These false teachers were attacking the uniqueness and supremacy of Christ and making Christ relative, that is, just another choice among many choices. They were denying the truth that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation and that he alone is enough for salvation. Paul answered the various tenants of the Colossian controversy that threatened the church.
Listen closely as I explain deeper about each of these areas and see if you can see some of their influence on our own times. Let’s see.
First, hollow and deceptive philosophy. At the time philosophers traveled around to the different cities trying to prove their false teachings. They used many beautiful words and expressions, but they were nothing more than hollow and deceptive theories trying to take peoples’ hearts captive. Nowadays they may not travel from town to town, but they may use the internet and propagate their ideas through film, or books or television. Our universities are churning with many hollow and deceptive philosophies that take students’ hearts captive and lead them away from Christ. In fact 50% of Christian freshman leave their faith by the time they graduate. What do they leave their faith to? Is it not to hollow and deceptive philosophies of this age?
Second, the basic principles of this world. People followed a certain worldview, defined by certain principles. In ancient Colossae, they thought that the world was ruled by earth, wind, fire and water and by the signs of the zodiac. The Jews thought the world was ruled by angels and demons. Astrologers believed man’s happiness depended on the stars. Some worshipped and served the stars. Some thought they could change their future, that was determined by the stars, through mentioning some secret formulas. There were as many world views back then as there are today. What is your world view? What principles guide your life? I have heard that only 3% of those who say they are Christians actually have a Biblical world view. As the moral principles in our society move further and further from Biblical ones, the importance of world view looms ever larger. We need to formulate and live out a Christian world view according to the principles in the Bible and not of this world. Otherwise, “we may know our Bible well and even cite chapter and verse, but we will lack the broader framework that connects our moral and spiritual beliefs to the issues we face in a secular culture.” (Chuck Colson… http://www.equip.org/articles/apologetics-for-the-church-why-christians-are-losing-the-culture-war) Not only that, but we can never stand against competing philosophies of the world.
Third, Judaistic legalism. In 2:16, Paul mentions to “eat or drink.” He is referring to the Jewish laws of clean and unclean foods. “A religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day” refers to all the sacred days of the Jews. Religious festivals were held almost every month. Among them, Passover, Pentecost and Feast of Tabernacles were the major one. They believed they could please God by keeping religious rules meticulously. But these rules were only a shadow of the things to come. The reality was found in Christ. (2:17) After Christ had come, these things were voided. But some Jewish-Christian converts were twisting the Gospel, insisting that even Gentile Christians were to keep these rules, otherwise they could not be saved. Paul, on the other hand, had taught the young church that only believing in Jesus is enough. To subject new Gentile converts to these meticulous rules was too much for them to bear. A modern day example is when some Christians become very legalistic and claim that one needs Jesus, “plus” something else to be saved. This is not true. Jesus is all sufficient for salvation. Their lives of faith are reduced to trying to obey rule upon rule.
Fourth, worship of Angels. Those who worship angels claim that people could not approach God, who is holy and the Almighty Creator God on their own. They said that they people need angels as mediators. These people were nullifying Christ’s role as the mediator. (1 Tim 2:5) “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” It also nullifies what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross. For when Jesus died on the cross the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The way to the “Most Holy Place” was open wide to any who are forgiven by God through the blood of Jesus. (Mk 15:38) That is why we can pray directly to God and be heard. Jesus is our mediator. Those who worship angels and focus on angels more than Jesus seem to be humble, but they are actually very proud, holding onto their own ideas.
Fifth, asceticism. Ascetics made all kinds of rules and regulations to control their bodily desires, saying, “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!” (2:21) The rules they follow seem to be wise because they require strong devotion, humility and severe bodily discipline. People who followed them seemed to be very holy. But forcing your body to comply had no effect when it comes to conquering inner evil thoughts and desires. Asceticism is man-made attempt to make yourself holy and sanctified without simply trusting in the blood of Jesus and the grace of God. It is practiced today. There are people who bow their heads to the ground in repeated prayers until their heads look like a leathery camel’s knee cap. There are those who keep their arm raise in religious devotion until their arm fuses in place. There are Christians who punish themselves through endless self condemnation and seek redemption through paying penance etc. The list of ascetic practices goes on and on. Colossae was full of ascetics. To be certain, they were not fun people to hang out with.
We are living in a post-modern era. Post modernism is a philosophy that claims that there is no absolute truth, and it tries to make all belief systems relative. Post modernists cast off time honored traditions and what people claim as truth, and only trust their own thoughts and ideas. Each person, therefore, adopts his or her own truth and world view. To them, theirs is as good as any other. So today, many religious forms have become popular, including atheist religions like materialism and hedonism. Angel worship and demon worship exist. There is New Age religion and “Kabala”. Many people develop a kind of “smorgasbord” religion, taking ideas they like from here and there and call the end product their own “religion”. In this environment many young people are confused and wandering without clear life direction. Even Christian young people can not see how Jesus is the only way, truth and life…the only way to the Father. (Jn 14:6) They ask themselves “How can Jesus be the only way? It seems too boring to only believe in Jesus.” People want to be entertained. They want their own ideas honored even though they may be totally wrong. But Paul, in Colossians, proclaims that all the fullness of God dwells in Jesus. We can gain everything in him.
Throughout this letter, Paul showed his thanksgiving to God for the Colossians. He thanked God for their faith in Christ Jesus and the love they had for all the saints. Paul also shared with them his personal struggles and his sufferings for the sake of the church. He encouraged them to continue to live in Jesus, rooted and built up in Christ, strengthened in the faith, that they may be overflowing with thanksgiving and glorify Jesus in a confused world full of spiritual darkness.
Paul reminds Christians that they have been raised with Christ. They are those who have put to death their earthly selves and have put on new selves. He presented to the Colossians the lifestyle and principles of a new people who are raised with Christ. They are those who, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe themselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. They are those who are called to peace, to be thankful and to have the word of God dwell in them richly. Paul said that the new people of Jesus are those who, in whatever they do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Paul encouraged them to pray for him so that God might open a door for his message. Finally, he reminded them of his chains, which had hindered Paul’s travel, but had not hindered the gospel.
Part lll: Conclusion.
The Book of Colossians was written by Paul while in prison. He refutes false teachings that threatened the spiritual lives of the young church in Colossae. He counters the false teachings of mystery religions that taught hollow and deceptive philosophy, operated according to the basic principles of this world, contained elements of Judaistic legalism, the worship of Angels and asceticism. Paul wanted the Colossian Christians that everything they ever wanted and needed is found in Christ. “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form ….” May you discover this truth personally through our study of Colossians.
Key verse: Colossians 2:9,10 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 6/5/09
“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.”
I thank God for our study of Jonah. Through our six week study, we have learned how God had grace on a reluctant prophet. We learned how God trained Jonah, through many hardships, in order to mold him into a servant of God who could deliver the message of salvation to a people in desperate need for the grace of God. We found meaning for all of our hardships of life and hope for ourselves to be used by God in our generation. Most of all we found direction for our summer ministry, to concern over the students of our great university, NIU. Now we want to get back into the New Testament. It is good to mix up our Bible study a little bit, with both the New and Old Testaments. It is good to learn more about Jesus. That is why we are going to study the Book of Colossians. Paul, in Colossians, proclaims that all the fullness of God dwells in Jesus. We can gain everything in Jesus. We can receive love, joy, peace and happiness and all the things that we are really searching for in Christ. It is a mystery, but through our study of Colossians may the desire to find in Jesus, your “all in all”, be kindled in your hearts. May we see Jesus and find him in the midst of today’s mixture of religions and philosophies.
Part l: The Church Of Colossae.
This book is a letter, by Paul, written to the church in a city called Colossae. Paul was in prison in Rome in A.D. 61-63. Colossians is one of the letters of Paul written during his stay there. Paul worked so hard to preach the gospel. Even prison could not stop him. His entire life was dedicated to spreading the good news of Jesus Christ and his salvation throughout the Mediterranean region. He spoke boldly to the Jews and Gentiles alike. His main work was visiting the churches and strengthening the disciples through preaching and teaching the gospel. When he was not able to go there personally, he sent his co-workers. When he could not send his co-workers to preach the gospel or to solve the problems of the churches, he sent letters. In time, these letters became vital parts of the New Testament and became an important part of spreading the gospel in early Christianity. The book of Colossians is closely associated with Philemon, because the church in Colossae met in Philemon’s home (Phm 3) and because a person named, Onesimus, mentioned in Colossians (4:9) was Philemon’s slave. (Phm 16) The followers of Christ have greatly benefited from Paul’s letters throughout the centuries. We are blessed because of Paul’s prison letters.
The prison was actually a house where Paul was kept under close guard at all times. He probably was chained to a Roman soldier. He was given certain rights and privileges not afforded to most prisoners. He was allowed to write letters and to see any vistors he wanted to see. Maybe Roman guards peeked over Paul’s shoulder to see what he was writing. Maybe Paul asked them to proof read his letters. Maybe when a guard was sick, Paul asked him how he was feeling and prayed fro him. In this way some Roman soldiers could have met Jesus personally.
Colossae was a city in Phrygia. Some people from Phrygia were in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. (Acts 2:10) and may have accepted Jesus then. These people could have started a church in Colossae. Paul had passed through this region on both his second and third missionary journeys. (Acts 16:6; 18:23). The church was also the result of Paul’s work in Ephesus. (Acts 19:10), for Colossae was near the border of “Asia” about 100 miles east of Ephesus. Epaphras (1:7;l 4:12-13), is thought to have been the planter of the Colossae church. Paul stayed in Ephesus and had daily discussions, for two years, in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. Through this, “all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.” (Acts 19:10) During this time Epaphras and Philemon from Colossae, and Nympha from Laodicea also heard Paul’s message, returned to their homes and pioneered new churches. Epaphras could have visited Paul in prison and reported about the work of God in Colossae and the problems he encountered. Epaphras also pioneered churches in Laodicea and Hierapolis. (4:12,13)
In Colossae there were Greeks, Romans, Jews and immigrants from other parts of the Roman Empire. There were slaves and free people, rich and poor, educated uneducated. There were business people. It was truly cosmopolitan in nature. But one thing was for certain, a godless atmosphere pervaded over the entire city. Asia Minor, where Colossae was, had many kinds of religions. They worshipped various gods and goddesses and each city felt that its own god or goddess was superior to all others. Ephesus was home to Artemis, the huge female goddess whom they claim fell from heaven. Mystery religions were becoming especially popular. These religions did not focus so much on a god or a goddess, but on having some kind of mysterious knowledge, that if a person studied and understood it, they would have some fantastic spiritual experience. They involved some secret society with secretive initiations. Many of the meeting places of these mystery religions have been discovered by archeologists. Colossae was full of mystery religions.
Part ll: The Purpose Of The Letters
When the Apostle Paul was imprisoned, Epaphras visited him and told him how the church in Colossae was suffering from heretical threats from false teachers. Epaphras asked for Paul’s help. (1:8; 2;1,2; 4:12,13) For this reason Paul wrote Colossians, to protect the young Christian church from these heresies. He wanted to reveal who Jesus truly is and to let believers know that they have everything they could ever need in Christ. Paul makes his purpose clear in 2:1-3, where he writes, “I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those in Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” None of these mystery religions could hold a candle to the mystery of God, namely Christ, and Paul wanted them to know why.
The church had been infiltrated by religious relativism, with some believers attempting to combine elements of paganism and secular philosophy with Christian doctrine. As a young Christian community, they were attacked by the influence of many secular and religious groups. The Colossian heresy seems to have been a mixture of Greek, Jewish and Oriental religions, a sort of “higher thought” cult, masquerading itself in the name of “philosophy” (2:8), promoting the basic principles of this world. (2:8,20), calling for the worship of angels as intermediates between God and man. (2:18), and insisting on the observance of certain Jewish requirements almost to the point of asceticism. (2:16,21). The dangerous part was that they were including it as part of the Gospel of Christ. These false teachers were attacking the uniqueness and supremacy of Christ and making Christ relative, that is, just another choice among many choices. They were denying the truth that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation and that he alone is enough for salvation. Paul answered the various tenants of the Colossian controversy that threatened the church.
Listen closely as I explain deeper about each of these areas and see if you can see some of their influence on our own times. Let’s see.
First, hollow and deceptive philosophy. At the time philosophers traveled around to the different cities trying to prove their false teachings. They used many beautiful words and expressions, but they were nothing more than hollow and deceptive theories trying to take peoples’ hearts captive. Nowadays they may not travel from town to town, but they may use the internet and propagate their ideas through film, or books or television. Our universities are churning with many hollow and deceptive philosophies that take students’ hearts captive and lead them away from Christ. In fact 50% of Christian freshman leave their faith by the time they graduate. What do they leave their faith to? Is it not to hollow and deceptive philosophies of this age?
Second, the basic principles of this world. People followed a certain worldview, defined by certain principles. In ancient Colossae, they thought that the world was ruled by earth, wind, fire and water and by the signs of the zodiac. The Jews thought the world was ruled by angels and demons. Astrologers believed man’s happiness depended on the stars. Some worshipped and served the stars. Some thought they could change their future, that was determined by the stars, through mentioning some secret formulas. There were as many world views back then as there are today. What is your world view? What principles guide your life? I have heard that only 3% of those who say they are Christians actually have a Biblical world view. As the moral principles in our society move further and further from Biblical ones, the importance of world view looms ever larger. We need to formulate and live out a Christian world view according to the principles in the Bible and not of this world. Otherwise, “we may know our Bible well and even cite chapter and verse, but we will lack the broader framework that connects our moral and spiritual beliefs to the issues we face in a secular culture.” (Chuck Colson… http://www.equip.org/articles/apologetics-for-the-church-why-christians-are-losing-the-culture-war) Not only that, but we can never stand against competing philosophies of the world.
Third, Judaistic legalism. In 2:16, Paul mentions to “eat or drink.” He is referring to the Jewish laws of clean and unclean foods. “A religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day” refers to all the sacred days of the Jews. Religious festivals were held almost every month. Among them, Passover, Pentecost and Feast of Tabernacles were the major one. They believed they could please God by keeping religious rules meticulously. But these rules were only a shadow of the things to come. The reality was found in Christ. (2:17) After Christ had come, these things were voided. But some Jewish-Christian converts were twisting the Gospel, insisting that even Gentile Christians were to keep these rules, otherwise they could not be saved. Paul, on the other hand, had taught the young church that only believing in Jesus is enough. To subject new Gentile converts to these meticulous rules was too much for them to bear. A modern day example is when some Christians become very legalistic and claim that one needs Jesus, “plus” something else to be saved. This is not true. Jesus is all sufficient for salvation. Their lives of faith are reduced to trying to obey rule upon rule.
Fourth, worship of Angels. Those who worship angels claim that people could not approach God, who is holy and the Almighty Creator God on their own. They said that they people need angels as mediators. These people were nullifying Christ’s role as the mediator. (1 Tim 2:5) “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” It also nullifies what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross. For when Jesus died on the cross the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The way to the “Most Holy Place” was open wide to any who are forgiven by God through the blood of Jesus. (Mk 15:38) That is why we can pray directly to God and be heard. Jesus is our mediator. Those who worship angels and focus on angels more than Jesus seem to be humble, but they are actually very proud, holding onto their own ideas.
Fifth, asceticism. Ascetics made all kinds of rules and regulations to control their bodily desires, saying, “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!” (2:21) The rules they follow seem to be wise because they require strong devotion, humility and severe bodily discipline. People who followed them seemed to be very holy. But forcing your body to comply had no effect when it comes to conquering inner evil thoughts and desires. Asceticism is man-made attempt to make yourself holy and sanctified without simply trusting in the blood of Jesus and the grace of God. It is practiced today. There are people who bow their heads to the ground in repeated prayers until their heads look like a leathery camel’s knee cap. There are those who keep their arm raise in religious devotion until their arm fuses in place. There are Christians who punish themselves through endless self condemnation and seek redemption through paying penance etc. The list of ascetic practices goes on and on. Colossae was full of ascetics. To be certain, they were not fun people to hang out with.
We are living in a post-modern era. Post modernism is a philosophy that claims that there is no absolute truth, and it tries to make all belief systems relative. Post modernists cast off time honored traditions and what people claim as truth, and only trust their own thoughts and ideas. Each person, therefore, adopts his or her own truth and world view. To them, theirs is as good as any other. So today, many religious forms have become popular, including atheist religions like materialism and hedonism. Angel worship and demon worship exist. There is New Age religion and “Kabala”. Many people develop a kind of “smorgasbord” religion, taking ideas they like from here and there and call the end product their own “religion”. In this environment many young people are confused and wandering without clear life direction. Even Christian young people can not see how Jesus is the only way, truth and life…the only way to the Father. (Jn 14:6) They ask themselves “How can Jesus be the only way? It seems too boring to only believe in Jesus.” People want to be entertained. They want their own ideas honored even though they may be totally wrong. But Paul, in Colossians, proclaims that all the fullness of God dwells in Jesus. We can gain everything in him.
Throughout this letter, Paul showed his thanksgiving to God for the Colossians. He thanked God for their faith in Christ Jesus and the love they had for all the saints. Paul also shared with them his personal struggles and his sufferings for the sake of the church. He encouraged them to continue to live in Jesus, rooted and built up in Christ, strengthened in the faith, that they may be overflowing with thanksgiving and glorify Jesus in a confused world full of spiritual darkness.
Paul reminds Christians that they have been raised with Christ. They are those who have put to death their earthly selves and have put on new selves. He presented to the Colossians the lifestyle and principles of a new people who are raised with Christ. They are those who, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe themselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. They are those who are called to peace, to be thankful and to have the word of God dwell in them richly. Paul said that the new people of Jesus are those who, in whatever they do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Paul encouraged them to pray for him so that God might open a door for his message. Finally, he reminded them of his chains, which had hindered Paul’s travel, but had not hindered the gospel.
Part lll: Conclusion.
The Book of Colossians was written by Paul while in prison. He refutes false teachings that threatened the spiritual lives of the young church in Colossae. He counters the false teachings of mystery religions that taught hollow and deceptive philosophy, operated according to the basic principles of this world, contained elements of Judaistic legalism, the worship of Angels and asceticism. Paul wanted the Colossian Christians that everything they ever wanted and needed is found in Christ. “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form ….” May you discover this truth personally through our study of Colossians.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Jonah Overview/ Conclusion
The Book Of Jonah: The Grand Overview
The Entire Book Of Jonah In One Message
Key verse 4:11 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU 5/31/09
“But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?"
This week draws a conclusion to our six week study of the Book Jonah. Through the study we followed the transformation of Jonah from a rebellious prophet to an unhappy, reluctant, yet obedient prophet. We learned about God and how he trains his chosen servants until they can obey him and share in his heart to bring his salvation to all people of all nations. We also discovered the wideness of God’s mercy, the mercy that embraced Jonah in all of his rebelliousness and that embraced the Ninevites in all of their wickedness and that embraces all of us. We learned that God is a God who hears and responds to cries of repentance. Let’s see look back and take a glance at the book of Jonah and may one word of God be embossed on each of our hearts. Let’s see.
Part 1: Jonah Flees From The Lord (1:1-11)
In this chapter we meet the prophet Jonah. He preached to the people of Northern Israel under Jeraboam ll who reigned from 793-753 B.C. Jonah wrote this prophetic book around 780 B.C. Jonah was a man of God who had a personal relationship with God. God came to him and spoke his word to him. (1:1) Though Jonah was rebellious, he had some spiritual qualities to him. He had received years of training as a prophet, which probably included lots of Bible study and religious observances. He was sensitive enough to hear God’s call to mission and have some sort of response to that call. This means that he had an inner spiritual life. We too can have such an inner spiritual life, when we have an identity as a servant of God and determine to “tune our hearts” into God and his word.
God decided to use his prophet in his great redemptive history. He gave him a great mission to go and preach to the people of Nineveh. God said, “Go and preach to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because it’s wickedness has come up before me.” (1:2) Ninveveh was a very wicked city and a threat to the national security of Israel. They were not part of God’s chosen people, but God loved them anyways. He had mercy on them seeing that they did not know their left hand from their right. God also cared about their cows, which could mean that he cared about their local economy. God wanted to save them and the only way that could occur is if they repented before the word of God. For this reason God wanted Jonah to preach the message of salvation to them. What a blessing it is to be called to preach such a message! Romans 10: 14-15 read, “ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" Praise Jesus that chooses to work through us in is work of world salvation.
Jonah could do many things for God. He studied hard. He served at the temple. He taught thousands of his own people, but he could not do this particular mission. It was because Jonah despised the Ninevites. The last thing he wanted was to see was them saved. He knew the power of the word of God and that if he obeyed God and preached what God wanted to say, then they would indeed be saved. And so he made a great effort to run as far away from Nineveh as he could. Perhaps he thought that God would soon forget about him and choose another prophet to perform this very difficult mission. Jonah was the opposite of Jesus, who embraced his mission to suffer and die on the cross as the Lamb of God for the sins of the world, with crying out prayers. But God would not let Jonah escape so easily.
In the course of running away from the Lord, Jonah caused so much suffering for himself and to others around him. While escaping in a merchant vessel the Lord sent a great storm. The men of the ship were terrified. Each cried out to his own idol. They lost much cargo by throwing it overboard in a frenzied attempt to save themselves. All of this was happening because of Jonah’s sin. It is true. When we hear God’s call and avoid it, trying to run from Jesus and his will, we suffer and other people who are in our “life boat” suffer because of us. In contrast stands Jesus, who embraced his difficult mission, and became a source of eternal salvation to all who were in his life boat. (Heb 5:9) He led many to the Kingdom of God and showed everyone the way.
We could get some insight into Jonah’s inner character through his reaction to the storm. When everyone was fighting hard, Jonah was sleeping below deck. He did not lift a finger to help. He even knew what was required to stop the storm, the throwing of his own body overboard, (1:11) but he did not offer himself to stop the storm. He slept, not carrying about others’ loss and possible death. It was only after he was confronted by the sailors did he make the offer. How could a person’s heart turn so cold? It is possible when we spend our time running away from God, rather than embracing God and his good, perfect and pleasing will. (Rom 12:2) May we be like Jesus who prayed, “Not my will but yours be do.” (Lk 22:42) Then we can be compassionate to others and help them in their time of need, rather than sleeping and ignoring those in the throws of physical or spiritual death.
Part ll: “You Listened To My Cry” (1:12-2:10)
Jonah did not know it, but God was about the subject him to very tough divine discipline. Jonah, when confronted, finally gave in and told the sailors to pick him up and through him into the sea. (1:12a) When they did the sea became calm. Jonah had resigned himself to a certain death. But God had not led Jonah all of these years, training him as a prophet and giving him his word, only to see him die a miserable death, entangled in the kelp beds of the Mediterranean Sea. He would intervene in a very miraculous way in order to change Jonah’s rebellious heart and lead him to true greatness in the Lord.
As Jonah was sinking in the sea, he felt that all was over. He was about to give up his struggle and take that fatal last gasp of sea water. At this point of desperation, God revealed his saving grace to Jonah. “… the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.” (1:17) At the last moment…just when Jonah thought he was going to die, He was swallowed by a great fish, possibly a whale. It was a miracle! He was alive! But not much more. Can you imagine spending 72 hours in the stomach of a whale? It was like dying itself. But through it all God was going to teach many important spiritual lessons.
When most people would have cursed their fate and God, Jonah became more spiritual. In the midst of his intense suffering, Jonah turned his heart to God. He prayed God. He looked to heaven. He remembered the grace of God saying in verse 2:7, “when my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you in your holy temple.” Jonah was not embittered but full of the grace of God. He also got insight into why idol worship is so bad. He said, “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.” (2:8) Jonah, a true worshipper of God, discovered the grace of God personally. Perfect environments do not drive us closer to Jesus or teach us faith. Remember that it was through the storm that the sailors began to cry out to the God of the Jews and make vows to him. It was Jonah’s experience in the belly of the great fish that helped him to hold onto the grace of God. More often then not it is the difficult moments of life that teach the greatest lessons and reveal Christ to us. Let us be thankful for the hard times in life and grow spiritually through each one of them.
Part lll: Jonah Fulfills His Mission (3:1-10)
Through God’s divine training was very difficult, there was a time that the training was over. God saw that Jonah’ heart was changed. God never gives us more than we can bare. It was almost more than what Jonah could bear, but not quite. Again, at the last moment, “The Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry ground.” (2:10) 1 Corinthians 10:13 reads, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” Let us grow through God’s divine discipline to the end.
Jonah had learned many things. But there is one thing that he learned, that we should all learn, and that is we need to obey God sooner than later. Jonah had suffered a lot because of his rebellious spirit. But after much hard training he was not longer rebellious. He discovered the hard way, how useless and painful it is to run away from the Lord. If only he had submitted to God early. Our human reality is that we usually wait until some type of disaster comes up on us before we choose to obey Jesus. But God, who knows what is lying just around corner, urges us to turn from our course and follow Jesus…even today. 2 Corinthians 6:2 reads, “2For he says, ‘In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.’ I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation.”
God is so gracious. He came to Jonah and gave him a second chance. “Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time.” (3:1) Nobody would fault God if he let Jonah sink the bottom of the sea, never to be seen again. After all, it was Jonah’s fault. But God, in his grace rescued Jonah. He came to him a second time to answer his call. Praise the Lord, that our God is a God of second chances! We are all in need of second chances in life and ministry and God is more than willing to dole it out on us, when we repent of our sins and put all of our hope and trust in Jesus.
God told Jonah to preach the message that he would give him. “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” (3:2) Why? It is because God’s message was the only message that would lead the people of Nineveh to salvation. Jonah could not give his own message, full of his own ideas, in his own way. Such a message would not save anyone. He needed to obey God and preach the difficult message of repentance. We are tempted to preach messages that are not linked to the Bible. We are tempted to preach messages that bring some practical benefits to our lives, like how to manage our money or how to raise our families or how to get along in relationships. These are good things to think about. But we can never change the gospel message to satisfy what our “itching ears want to hear.” (2 Tim 4:3) We must stick the message of Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection. (1 Cor 15:2) We need to teach the world about repentance unto faith. (Acts 20:21) Then God will bless our Bible teaching with souls that are redeemed by the blood of Jesus.
We discover that Jonah obeyed, reluctantly, but he obeyed. 3:4 reads, “On the first day, Jonah started into the city, He proclaimed: ‘Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.’” Despite his unwillingness, God worked through this man. God can work through unwilling people, but he would much have willing volunteers among his people. In 1 Peter 5;2, Peter says, “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers – not because you must, but because you willing, as God wants you to be…” There are many conflicting desires, that wage war in our hearts, but when we submit them all to the authority of Christ, we can be willing shepherds of the flock of God and deliver the words that change hearts and bring eternal life.
When Jonah obeyed a miracle happened. “The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least put on sackcloth” (3:5) Wow! The greatest revival in history occurred. A whole city repented. Not only that…the king repented and led the entire populace to repentance and faith. Who would have thought that such a revival could be possible? But it was and still is. When servants of God deliver the Gospel message, just as it is, uncompromised, then God can do great things through it. We have before us a great campus filled with 25,000 students, 60% of which are freshmen. We may be intimidated to even begin preaching the gospel. We may think, “What is the use! People don’t want to listen anyways.” But we need to see things from God’s point of view. God can move hearts. God will do his part when we do our part. Indeed when we go fishing and teach the gospel, God will move the hearts of 12 students this summer. God will bring 15 people to our Summer Bible Conference from NIU. God will double our leaders and SWS attendants by 2010. Ask great things from God and expect great things from God. All things are possible for him, or her, who believes. (Mk 10:27)
God saw their repentance and he relented. 3:10 reads, “When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.” God is a God who responds to our repentance. When we choose to live in sin, God is patiently waiting and watching. He allows us to continue on our destructive course with a hope that we will change before destruction comes upon us. But there is great news! God is very sensitive to our repentance. With even one, faint word of repentance, loud speakers go off in heaven and God changes his course. He responds with compassion. Jeremiah 18:17-18 reads, “If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, 8 and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned.” Let’s grab hold of God’s grace and be forgiven. God may be saving you from a disaster that is just looming around the corner.
Part lV: The Wideness Of God’s Mercy. (4:1-11)
Before we get into God’s lesson to Jonah, we can see some more good things about Jonah. He prayed to God, even when he was angry. Most people can not do this. He also did not stew in his anger. He opened up to God and talked and confessed all that was on his heart. Have you considered how blessed it is that we can come directly to God and open up to him and confess all that is on our hearts. This is a gift and a privilege given to us by Jesus. For when he died on the cross the curtain of the temple was torn in two. The way to the Most Holy Place was opened to all who put their faith and trust in Jesus. We can now come before the throne of God in prayer and unload all of our burdens before him in prayer. And God answers. I would advice you all to do so because if you stew in our anger very dysfunctional things will happen to you inside. We need to also thank God for raising up shepherds in our lives, someone we can talk to and who will listen, someone who can lead us to Jesus.
Another good thing is that Jonah knew a lot about God’s character. Look at verse 2b, “…O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity” Most people know a little about God. They know vague things, like God is love and God is all powerful. This is good, but it is only scratching the surface about God. We must study the word of God and put it into practice until we know Jesus very personally, in detail. This comes from walking with Jesus.
Though Jonah knew God, Jonah was not so happy of the fact that God’s mercy was extended to the Ninevites. He was greatly displeased and angry. God called Jonah on this and reminded him that he had no right to be angry. And he taught him why through the lesson of the vine. Look at 4:5-11. The whole point of this lesson was to teach Jonah the wideness of God’s mercy. Jonah was concerned only about his own blessings. He liked receiving the blessings of God more than offering other people the blessings of God. He was self-centered and very small minded. God wanted him to grow to be a big hearted shepherd who can embrace the flock of God with the love of God. And what is the heart of God? Look at verse 4:11, “But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?" God’s heart is full of genuine concern. He is concerned about the Assyrians and all people of all nations, from generation to generation. He even wants his enemies to repent and be saved.
May God widen our own hearts to be filled with such a concern for others. May God free our hearts to obey him willingly. May we determine to be faithful to deliver the message of salvation to all people, starting at NIU. May we grow spiritually through all kinds of training, until we can realize many things about God and know him very personally. Then thousands of American young people will come to know Jesus through our lives of faith.
The Entire Book Of Jonah In One Message
Key verse 4:11 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU 5/31/09
“But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?"
This week draws a conclusion to our six week study of the Book Jonah. Through the study we followed the transformation of Jonah from a rebellious prophet to an unhappy, reluctant, yet obedient prophet. We learned about God and how he trains his chosen servants until they can obey him and share in his heart to bring his salvation to all people of all nations. We also discovered the wideness of God’s mercy, the mercy that embraced Jonah in all of his rebelliousness and that embraced the Ninevites in all of their wickedness and that embraces all of us. We learned that God is a God who hears and responds to cries of repentance. Let’s see look back and take a glance at the book of Jonah and may one word of God be embossed on each of our hearts. Let’s see.
Part 1: Jonah Flees From The Lord (1:1-11)
In this chapter we meet the prophet Jonah. He preached to the people of Northern Israel under Jeraboam ll who reigned from 793-753 B.C. Jonah wrote this prophetic book around 780 B.C. Jonah was a man of God who had a personal relationship with God. God came to him and spoke his word to him. (1:1) Though Jonah was rebellious, he had some spiritual qualities to him. He had received years of training as a prophet, which probably included lots of Bible study and religious observances. He was sensitive enough to hear God’s call to mission and have some sort of response to that call. This means that he had an inner spiritual life. We too can have such an inner spiritual life, when we have an identity as a servant of God and determine to “tune our hearts” into God and his word.
God decided to use his prophet in his great redemptive history. He gave him a great mission to go and preach to the people of Nineveh. God said, “Go and preach to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because it’s wickedness has come up before me.” (1:2) Ninveveh was a very wicked city and a threat to the national security of Israel. They were not part of God’s chosen people, but God loved them anyways. He had mercy on them seeing that they did not know their left hand from their right. God also cared about their cows, which could mean that he cared about their local economy. God wanted to save them and the only way that could occur is if they repented before the word of God. For this reason God wanted Jonah to preach the message of salvation to them. What a blessing it is to be called to preach such a message! Romans 10: 14-15 read, “ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" Praise Jesus that chooses to work through us in is work of world salvation.
Jonah could do many things for God. He studied hard. He served at the temple. He taught thousands of his own people, but he could not do this particular mission. It was because Jonah despised the Ninevites. The last thing he wanted was to see was them saved. He knew the power of the word of God and that if he obeyed God and preached what God wanted to say, then they would indeed be saved. And so he made a great effort to run as far away from Nineveh as he could. Perhaps he thought that God would soon forget about him and choose another prophet to perform this very difficult mission. Jonah was the opposite of Jesus, who embraced his mission to suffer and die on the cross as the Lamb of God for the sins of the world, with crying out prayers. But God would not let Jonah escape so easily.
In the course of running away from the Lord, Jonah caused so much suffering for himself and to others around him. While escaping in a merchant vessel the Lord sent a great storm. The men of the ship were terrified. Each cried out to his own idol. They lost much cargo by throwing it overboard in a frenzied attempt to save themselves. All of this was happening because of Jonah’s sin. It is true. When we hear God’s call and avoid it, trying to run from Jesus and his will, we suffer and other people who are in our “life boat” suffer because of us. In contrast stands Jesus, who embraced his difficult mission, and became a source of eternal salvation to all who were in his life boat. (Heb 5:9) He led many to the Kingdom of God and showed everyone the way.
We could get some insight into Jonah’s inner character through his reaction to the storm. When everyone was fighting hard, Jonah was sleeping below deck. He did not lift a finger to help. He even knew what was required to stop the storm, the throwing of his own body overboard, (1:11) but he did not offer himself to stop the storm. He slept, not carrying about others’ loss and possible death. It was only after he was confronted by the sailors did he make the offer. How could a person’s heart turn so cold? It is possible when we spend our time running away from God, rather than embracing God and his good, perfect and pleasing will. (Rom 12:2) May we be like Jesus who prayed, “Not my will but yours be do.” (Lk 22:42) Then we can be compassionate to others and help them in their time of need, rather than sleeping and ignoring those in the throws of physical or spiritual death.
Part ll: “You Listened To My Cry” (1:12-2:10)
Jonah did not know it, but God was about the subject him to very tough divine discipline. Jonah, when confronted, finally gave in and told the sailors to pick him up and through him into the sea. (1:12a) When they did the sea became calm. Jonah had resigned himself to a certain death. But God had not led Jonah all of these years, training him as a prophet and giving him his word, only to see him die a miserable death, entangled in the kelp beds of the Mediterranean Sea. He would intervene in a very miraculous way in order to change Jonah’s rebellious heart and lead him to true greatness in the Lord.
As Jonah was sinking in the sea, he felt that all was over. He was about to give up his struggle and take that fatal last gasp of sea water. At this point of desperation, God revealed his saving grace to Jonah. “… the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.” (1:17) At the last moment…just when Jonah thought he was going to die, He was swallowed by a great fish, possibly a whale. It was a miracle! He was alive! But not much more. Can you imagine spending 72 hours in the stomach of a whale? It was like dying itself. But through it all God was going to teach many important spiritual lessons.
When most people would have cursed their fate and God, Jonah became more spiritual. In the midst of his intense suffering, Jonah turned his heart to God. He prayed God. He looked to heaven. He remembered the grace of God saying in verse 2:7, “when my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you in your holy temple.” Jonah was not embittered but full of the grace of God. He also got insight into why idol worship is so bad. He said, “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.” (2:8) Jonah, a true worshipper of God, discovered the grace of God personally. Perfect environments do not drive us closer to Jesus or teach us faith. Remember that it was through the storm that the sailors began to cry out to the God of the Jews and make vows to him. It was Jonah’s experience in the belly of the great fish that helped him to hold onto the grace of God. More often then not it is the difficult moments of life that teach the greatest lessons and reveal Christ to us. Let us be thankful for the hard times in life and grow spiritually through each one of them.
Part lll: Jonah Fulfills His Mission (3:1-10)
Through God’s divine training was very difficult, there was a time that the training was over. God saw that Jonah’ heart was changed. God never gives us more than we can bare. It was almost more than what Jonah could bear, but not quite. Again, at the last moment, “The Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry ground.” (2:10) 1 Corinthians 10:13 reads, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” Let us grow through God’s divine discipline to the end.
Jonah had learned many things. But there is one thing that he learned, that we should all learn, and that is we need to obey God sooner than later. Jonah had suffered a lot because of his rebellious spirit. But after much hard training he was not longer rebellious. He discovered the hard way, how useless and painful it is to run away from the Lord. If only he had submitted to God early. Our human reality is that we usually wait until some type of disaster comes up on us before we choose to obey Jesus. But God, who knows what is lying just around corner, urges us to turn from our course and follow Jesus…even today. 2 Corinthians 6:2 reads, “2For he says, ‘In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.’ I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation.”
God is so gracious. He came to Jonah and gave him a second chance. “Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time.” (3:1) Nobody would fault God if he let Jonah sink the bottom of the sea, never to be seen again. After all, it was Jonah’s fault. But God, in his grace rescued Jonah. He came to him a second time to answer his call. Praise the Lord, that our God is a God of second chances! We are all in need of second chances in life and ministry and God is more than willing to dole it out on us, when we repent of our sins and put all of our hope and trust in Jesus.
God told Jonah to preach the message that he would give him. “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” (3:2) Why? It is because God’s message was the only message that would lead the people of Nineveh to salvation. Jonah could not give his own message, full of his own ideas, in his own way. Such a message would not save anyone. He needed to obey God and preach the difficult message of repentance. We are tempted to preach messages that are not linked to the Bible. We are tempted to preach messages that bring some practical benefits to our lives, like how to manage our money or how to raise our families or how to get along in relationships. These are good things to think about. But we can never change the gospel message to satisfy what our “itching ears want to hear.” (2 Tim 4:3) We must stick the message of Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection. (1 Cor 15:2) We need to teach the world about repentance unto faith. (Acts 20:21) Then God will bless our Bible teaching with souls that are redeemed by the blood of Jesus.
We discover that Jonah obeyed, reluctantly, but he obeyed. 3:4 reads, “On the first day, Jonah started into the city, He proclaimed: ‘Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.’” Despite his unwillingness, God worked through this man. God can work through unwilling people, but he would much have willing volunteers among his people. In 1 Peter 5;2, Peter says, “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers – not because you must, but because you willing, as God wants you to be…” There are many conflicting desires, that wage war in our hearts, but when we submit them all to the authority of Christ, we can be willing shepherds of the flock of God and deliver the words that change hearts and bring eternal life.
When Jonah obeyed a miracle happened. “The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least put on sackcloth” (3:5) Wow! The greatest revival in history occurred. A whole city repented. Not only that…the king repented and led the entire populace to repentance and faith. Who would have thought that such a revival could be possible? But it was and still is. When servants of God deliver the Gospel message, just as it is, uncompromised, then God can do great things through it. We have before us a great campus filled with 25,000 students, 60% of which are freshmen. We may be intimidated to even begin preaching the gospel. We may think, “What is the use! People don’t want to listen anyways.” But we need to see things from God’s point of view. God can move hearts. God will do his part when we do our part. Indeed when we go fishing and teach the gospel, God will move the hearts of 12 students this summer. God will bring 15 people to our Summer Bible Conference from NIU. God will double our leaders and SWS attendants by 2010. Ask great things from God and expect great things from God. All things are possible for him, or her, who believes. (Mk 10:27)
God saw their repentance and he relented. 3:10 reads, “When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.” God is a God who responds to our repentance. When we choose to live in sin, God is patiently waiting and watching. He allows us to continue on our destructive course with a hope that we will change before destruction comes upon us. But there is great news! God is very sensitive to our repentance. With even one, faint word of repentance, loud speakers go off in heaven and God changes his course. He responds with compassion. Jeremiah 18:17-18 reads, “If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, 8 and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned.” Let’s grab hold of God’s grace and be forgiven. God may be saving you from a disaster that is just looming around the corner.
Part lV: The Wideness Of God’s Mercy. (4:1-11)
Before we get into God’s lesson to Jonah, we can see some more good things about Jonah. He prayed to God, even when he was angry. Most people can not do this. He also did not stew in his anger. He opened up to God and talked and confessed all that was on his heart. Have you considered how blessed it is that we can come directly to God and open up to him and confess all that is on our hearts. This is a gift and a privilege given to us by Jesus. For when he died on the cross the curtain of the temple was torn in two. The way to the Most Holy Place was opened to all who put their faith and trust in Jesus. We can now come before the throne of God in prayer and unload all of our burdens before him in prayer. And God answers. I would advice you all to do so because if you stew in our anger very dysfunctional things will happen to you inside. We need to also thank God for raising up shepherds in our lives, someone we can talk to and who will listen, someone who can lead us to Jesus.
Another good thing is that Jonah knew a lot about God’s character. Look at verse 2b, “…O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity” Most people know a little about God. They know vague things, like God is love and God is all powerful. This is good, but it is only scratching the surface about God. We must study the word of God and put it into practice until we know Jesus very personally, in detail. This comes from walking with Jesus.
Though Jonah knew God, Jonah was not so happy of the fact that God’s mercy was extended to the Ninevites. He was greatly displeased and angry. God called Jonah on this and reminded him that he had no right to be angry. And he taught him why through the lesson of the vine. Look at 4:5-11. The whole point of this lesson was to teach Jonah the wideness of God’s mercy. Jonah was concerned only about his own blessings. He liked receiving the blessings of God more than offering other people the blessings of God. He was self-centered and very small minded. God wanted him to grow to be a big hearted shepherd who can embrace the flock of God with the love of God. And what is the heart of God? Look at verse 4:11, “But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?" God’s heart is full of genuine concern. He is concerned about the Assyrians and all people of all nations, from generation to generation. He even wants his enemies to repent and be saved.
May God widen our own hearts to be filled with such a concern for others. May God free our hearts to obey him willingly. May we determine to be faithful to deliver the message of salvation to all people, starting at NIU. May we grow spiritually through all kinds of training, until we can realize many things about God and know him very personally. Then thousands of American young people will come to know Jesus through our lives of faith.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Jonah 4:1-11
The Wideness Of God’s Mercy
Jonah 4:1-11 Lesson 5
Key Verse: 4:11 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 5/23/09
“But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?"
Jonah's ministry in Nineveh was successful—but Jonah was angry. Jonah had not wanted to go to Nineveh in the first place because he was afraid that the Ninevites would repent and be saved. And that is just what happened. And so Jonah demonstrated. But God taught him a lesson, through a vine, a worm and a hot wind. The point of the lesson was that Jonah should not resent God's compassion for sinful people, for this was the same compassion which God had shown Jonah. Through this passage let us discover God wants all people to repent and be saved. Let us repent of our selfishness and learn the wideness of God’s mercy, holding unswervingly to the fact that God loves all people, reflecting that in our own lives practically.
Part 1: Jonah's Anger (1-3)
God had accomplished a great work of salvation. Jonah should have been ecstatic, but he was not happy. Look at verse 1. “But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. Verse 2 reveals why. “He prayed to the LORD, "O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity” Though Jonah's ministry in Nineveh was successful, he had not wanted to go to Nineveh in the first place because he was afraid that the Ninevites would repent, and that God would relent and not destroy them. He wanted God to judge the Ninevites and remove a people who he despised and who were also a military threat to the nation of Israel. Jonah did not understand that the God of Israel was also the God of the whole world, nor did he understand the heart of God. And so now he was angry and miserable. Are you surprised and even unhappy when “that certain” person turns to God? Is it possible that your view is as narrow as Jonah’s?
Despite of the narrowness of his heart, the man of God, Jonah knew how to pray. Look at verse 2a, “He prayed to the LORD,…” When most people become angry they usually loose all of their senses, especially their spiritual senses. They do not want of pray. I know that when I get mad, there are times when my wife says, “you have to get on your knees and pray to God right now.” I know that she is right. But the angry spirit within me stops me and I simply lay silently until the angry feelings subside. (sometimes taking 2-3 days.) Jonah’s pray may not have flowed naturally, but he prayed. The fact that Jonah came to God in pray in the midst of his anger is very significant and we should all take heed.
Through his prayer we discover something very important about God. Look at verse 2b, “…O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity” People in this world say many bad things about God. On atheist friend told me, “if God allows all the evil I this world then I don’t even want to know him.” But he has a terribly distorted perception of God. From this verse we know that God is a gracious and compassionate God. The facts speak for themselves. God spared the sailors when they pleaded for mercy. God saved Jonah when he prayed from inside the fish. God saved the people of Nineveh when they responded to Jonah’s preaching. Out of his compassionate heart, God answers the prayers of those who call upon him. God desires that everyone would come to him, trust in him, be saved. Those who respond in faith and obedience, will know that our God is very gracious and compassionate and they will receive his mercy. Do you believe this?
Jonah told God why he was angry. Most people, when they are angry, clam up and don’t reveal their true feelings to anyone. Do you do this? It is called, “stewing” in your anger. Though the prophet felt like this, like his heart was being torn in two, he had a deep and intimate relationship with God and this personal relationship led him to open up to God. Even if you feel that you have no one to share things with, you know that you can always open up your heart to Jesus in prayer. Actually we must be able to open our hearts to others and to Jesus. It is unhealthy to keep it all inside. I believe that is why Julie’s 1:1 ministry is so fruitful. She sits and listens to her Bible students. She allows them to talk and together, they bring everything to God in prayer. May we be shepherds who can listen and help the young people of America to open up to Jesus with all of their struggles of heart and life.
Working out our struggles in Jesus should help us to rise above the situation and find some resolution, clarity and direction. But when Jonah took his anger to God in prayer, he did not come to right conclusion. Look at verse 3, “Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live." His was a very fatalistic conclusion. Jonah did not repent of his lack of compassion towards the Ninevites. He felt so helpless to do anything about his anger. He could not run from God. And so his anger turned inward. He became despaired and depressed and wanted to God to end his life. We learn here that if we don’t come to God to resolve our anger in Christ, through repentance and faith, then we will deal with it in very, destructive and dysfunctional ways.
Part ll: The Lesson Of The Vine (4-11)
God did not abandon this embittered prophet. He came to Jonah with kind words of rebuke. Let’s read verse 4, “But the LORD replied, "Have you any right to be angry?" This reminds us of God who ministered to Cain in Genesis 4, saying “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door, it desires to have you but you must master it.” (Gen 4:6b-7) God ministered tenderly to Jonah just as he had done to Nineveh and to Israel, and just as he does for each of us. God could have destroyed Jonah for his defiant anger, but instead he gently taught to reflect on what was in his heart and learn a lesson. We also learn a teaching method of God here. So often he leads us to self reflection and helps us draw our own conclusions. Thank God that he comes to us again and again with kind, gentle and wise words of counsel. Let us take heed, early before we come to dysfunctional conclusions as Jonah did.
Jonah made some progress. He went from suicidal to grumpy. Look at verse 5, “ Jonah went out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city.” He sat down east of Nineveh and waited for God to destroy the city. Perhaps he expected to witness another spectacular judgment such as fell upon Sodom and Gomorrah, with fire and brimstone raining down. But we can see here that Jonah demonstrated. He pouted. He appears selfish, petty, temperamental, and even foolish. There are times when feel good about seeing someone we like fail, stumble and fall. And we wait for it. We are tempted to gloat. But we must be more like Jesus. God is more merciful than we can imagine. God feels compassion for the sinners we want judged and he devises plans to bring them to himself. As Christians we must hope and pray that even our enemies may come to Jesus and be blessed by God. Indeed, Jonah needed to somehow learn the compassionate heart of his God.
The Lord proceeded to help Jonah have an attitude adjustment. Look at verse 6, “6 Then the LORD God provided a vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the vine.” God revealed his personal compassion for Jonah by providing him with a shade plant that relieved the discomfort of the blistering sun. Last week Iris, our missionary in Sudan, stated that she is getting used to the hot weather. It was 120 degrees that day. Jonah did not deserve to have such a vine. It was purely provided by God's grace, for Jonah to receive with thanksgiving. Jonah was actually very happy with the vine. Why? Because he, himself was physically comfortable. Though it was selfish thanksgiving topic, Jonah was thankful to God for the personal grace given to him. But this was only the beginning of the lesson. God wanted Jonah to mature beyond being simply happy about his own personal benefits, to hoping that other people may be blessed.
God took the lesson a step further in verse 7. It reads, “But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine so that it withered.” Jonah was angry at the withering of the vine for now he was uncomfortable and inconvenienced. Then things went from bad to worse for Jonah in verse 8a, “When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah's head so that he grew faint….” These high temperatures tend to make even the mildest people irritable and ready to snap for no apparent reason. This made Jonah snap. Again he fell into his old habit of making death wishes upon himself. Verse 8b reads, “….He wanted to die, and said, ‘It would be better for me to die than to live.’” The conclusion to God’s training could be seen in verses 9-10, “ But God said to Jonah, ‘Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?’ ‘I do,’ he said. ‘I am angry enough to die.’ 10 But the LORD said, ‘You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight.’” God wanted to reveal Jonah’s great compassion on himself and his over concern about this vine, and his lack of compassion on others. That is why God dealt with him as any ordinary person, exposing him to pleasures and discomforts that everyone experiences and making him see that his personal “theology” was making him a cold hearted person.
Let’s think about this more deeply. Jonah was angry at the withering of the vine, but not over what could have happened to Nineveh. The people of Nineveh were withering in their sins and about to be gathered up and tossed in the fire and burned. (John 15:6) Jonah should not resent God's compassion for sinful people, for this was the same compassion which God had shown Jonah. Jonah’s condition is not just unique to Jonah. Most of us have cried at the death of a pet or when an object with sentimental value is broken, or when some personal blessing has been taken away form us. But have we cried over the fact that a friend or a classmate or a family member does not know God? How easy it is to be more sensitive to our own interests, and the loss of our own personal comforts than the spiritual needs of the people around us.
We should not cry over grace given and then taken away. God blesses our lives in so many ways. I have been blessed with family, career, ministry and security. I get great joy from these things. But I must hold loosely to them, lest they become idols in my heart. I must thank God for what he has provided, but also be ready to let go if God sees fit. I must love the blesser more than the blessings. Instead of becoming bitter, I should be thankful for what is given and learn and grow though what God is trying to teach me. Let us hold onto the words of Job in Job 1:21, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised."
We must always remember that God uses our circumstances to teach us many important lessons of life. God had provided a storm, a fish, a plant, a worm and a wind, all to teach Jonah some important lessons of life. God was manipulating Jonah's circumstances around to teach him life changing spiritual lessons. This is how God works. We need to stop, look around us in our lives and see what is happening. If we really believe that Jesus is living and that he is the Sovereign Lord, who is control of your lives, then take a serious assessment about what is happening around you. Figure out what God is trying to teach you. You may be surprised at the important lessons that you need to learn.
Verse 11 is a very clear portent into the very heart of God. Let’s read it together. “ But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?" Jonah's compassion extended only to a shade plant and his own physical comforts, but not to lost Assyrians. But God's compassion is much wider. It extended not only to plants, but to cattle to people. The expression "…who cannot tell their right hand from their left…" means that they were helpless and living in ignorance. The 120,000 people, that God upheld as special objects of His compassion, were probably the entire populace that did not know how to escape their troubles. God has compassion on the helpless. God also has compassion on animals, who suffer at the hands of their owners. Cattle are also beast of burden, used to help “beef up” the local economy, through their labor and their meat. Indeed God cares about the foundation of the local economy because this affects the well- being of the people themselves.
It is so hard to think about our own problems. We are so busy taking care of our own needs. How can we even begin to practice the compassion of Jesus on our friends, let alone a stranger who we may not like? We can not just wake up and look in the mirror and say over and over again, “I am going to be more compassionate today” Positive thinking only goes so far. It all begins when we realize the God first loved us. Jonah should have realized the depth of God’s love for him personally and then he could have deep love for others. 1 John 4:19 reads, “We love because he first loved us.” The first step is to recognize the grace of Jesus on our lives. If you have not done this then think about writing a long life testimony one day. I know people who have written 100 page life testimonies. Recently a friend wrote 1 13 page life testimony. When you take time to deeply reflect the grace of God will become clear to you. Then a miracle happens. Your life is changed. You heart of stone become a heart of flesh. (Eze 11:19) You can begin to practice the compassionate heart of Jesus.
In this passage we see the contrast between God's compassion (3:10) and Jonah's displeasure, and between God's turning from His anger (3:9-10) to Jonah's turning to anger. We learn that we need to overcome our selfishness and become more like God, by expanding the wideness of our compassion to others. May God teach us the wideness of his mercy. May we begin to love all people by taking hold of the grace of God in our lives and then reaching out and loving one person who God has brought near.
In so many ways the students of NIU don’t know their right hand from their left, spiritually speaking. May God widen our hearts to practice the compassion of Jesus on the student of Dekalb.
Part 1: Jonah's Anger (1-3)
1. Why was Jonah greatly displeased and angry? (1-2, 2:10) How did he respond to his anger?
(2a) What did Jonah know about God? (2b) What conclusion did he make through all of his
struggles? (3) Who else came to this conclusion? (1 Kings 19:4) What is wrong with this?
Part ll: The Lesson Of The Vine (4-11)
2. What was God’s rebuked to Jonah? (4) With what kind of attitude did Jonah sit down east of
the city? (5) What was he waiting to see?
3. What did God provide for Jonah? Why? (6) What did God do the next day? (7) How did
things get worse for Jonah? (8a) How did Jonah respond? (8b) What should have been his
response?
4. What lesson was God trying to teach Jonah? (9-10) What was God concerned about? (11)
How did he see the people of Nineveh? (11) How did God view the city of Nineveh? Contrast
God’s view point with Jonah’s?
5. What was God’s purpose for the nation of Israel? (Genesis 22:8; Ex 19:6) How were they to
carry out this mission? How did the Jews respond to their mission? (1 Thessalonians 2:14-16)
Why is our world view very important?
Jonah 4:1-11 Lesson 5
Key Verse: 4:11 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 5/23/09
“But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?"
Jonah's ministry in Nineveh was successful—but Jonah was angry. Jonah had not wanted to go to Nineveh in the first place because he was afraid that the Ninevites would repent and be saved. And that is just what happened. And so Jonah demonstrated. But God taught him a lesson, through a vine, a worm and a hot wind. The point of the lesson was that Jonah should not resent God's compassion for sinful people, for this was the same compassion which God had shown Jonah. Through this passage let us discover God wants all people to repent and be saved. Let us repent of our selfishness and learn the wideness of God’s mercy, holding unswervingly to the fact that God loves all people, reflecting that in our own lives practically.
Part 1: Jonah's Anger (1-3)
God had accomplished a great work of salvation. Jonah should have been ecstatic, but he was not happy. Look at verse 1. “But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. Verse 2 reveals why. “He prayed to the LORD, "O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity” Though Jonah's ministry in Nineveh was successful, he had not wanted to go to Nineveh in the first place because he was afraid that the Ninevites would repent, and that God would relent and not destroy them. He wanted God to judge the Ninevites and remove a people who he despised and who were also a military threat to the nation of Israel. Jonah did not understand that the God of Israel was also the God of the whole world, nor did he understand the heart of God. And so now he was angry and miserable. Are you surprised and even unhappy when “that certain” person turns to God? Is it possible that your view is as narrow as Jonah’s?
Despite of the narrowness of his heart, the man of God, Jonah knew how to pray. Look at verse 2a, “He prayed to the LORD,…” When most people become angry they usually loose all of their senses, especially their spiritual senses. They do not want of pray. I know that when I get mad, there are times when my wife says, “you have to get on your knees and pray to God right now.” I know that she is right. But the angry spirit within me stops me and I simply lay silently until the angry feelings subside. (sometimes taking 2-3 days.) Jonah’s pray may not have flowed naturally, but he prayed. The fact that Jonah came to God in pray in the midst of his anger is very significant and we should all take heed.
Through his prayer we discover something very important about God. Look at verse 2b, “…O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity” People in this world say many bad things about God. On atheist friend told me, “if God allows all the evil I this world then I don’t even want to know him.” But he has a terribly distorted perception of God. From this verse we know that God is a gracious and compassionate God. The facts speak for themselves. God spared the sailors when they pleaded for mercy. God saved Jonah when he prayed from inside the fish. God saved the people of Nineveh when they responded to Jonah’s preaching. Out of his compassionate heart, God answers the prayers of those who call upon him. God desires that everyone would come to him, trust in him, be saved. Those who respond in faith and obedience, will know that our God is very gracious and compassionate and they will receive his mercy. Do you believe this?
Jonah told God why he was angry. Most people, when they are angry, clam up and don’t reveal their true feelings to anyone. Do you do this? It is called, “stewing” in your anger. Though the prophet felt like this, like his heart was being torn in two, he had a deep and intimate relationship with God and this personal relationship led him to open up to God. Even if you feel that you have no one to share things with, you know that you can always open up your heart to Jesus in prayer. Actually we must be able to open our hearts to others and to Jesus. It is unhealthy to keep it all inside. I believe that is why Julie’s 1:1 ministry is so fruitful. She sits and listens to her Bible students. She allows them to talk and together, they bring everything to God in prayer. May we be shepherds who can listen and help the young people of America to open up to Jesus with all of their struggles of heart and life.
Working out our struggles in Jesus should help us to rise above the situation and find some resolution, clarity and direction. But when Jonah took his anger to God in prayer, he did not come to right conclusion. Look at verse 3, “Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live." His was a very fatalistic conclusion. Jonah did not repent of his lack of compassion towards the Ninevites. He felt so helpless to do anything about his anger. He could not run from God. And so his anger turned inward. He became despaired and depressed and wanted to God to end his life. We learn here that if we don’t come to God to resolve our anger in Christ, through repentance and faith, then we will deal with it in very, destructive and dysfunctional ways.
Part ll: The Lesson Of The Vine (4-11)
God did not abandon this embittered prophet. He came to Jonah with kind words of rebuke. Let’s read verse 4, “But the LORD replied, "Have you any right to be angry?" This reminds us of God who ministered to Cain in Genesis 4, saying “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door, it desires to have you but you must master it.” (Gen 4:6b-7) God ministered tenderly to Jonah just as he had done to Nineveh and to Israel, and just as he does for each of us. God could have destroyed Jonah for his defiant anger, but instead he gently taught to reflect on what was in his heart and learn a lesson. We also learn a teaching method of God here. So often he leads us to self reflection and helps us draw our own conclusions. Thank God that he comes to us again and again with kind, gentle and wise words of counsel. Let us take heed, early before we come to dysfunctional conclusions as Jonah did.
Jonah made some progress. He went from suicidal to grumpy. Look at verse 5, “ Jonah went out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city.” He sat down east of Nineveh and waited for God to destroy the city. Perhaps he expected to witness another spectacular judgment such as fell upon Sodom and Gomorrah, with fire and brimstone raining down. But we can see here that Jonah demonstrated. He pouted. He appears selfish, petty, temperamental, and even foolish. There are times when feel good about seeing someone we like fail, stumble and fall. And we wait for it. We are tempted to gloat. But we must be more like Jesus. God is more merciful than we can imagine. God feels compassion for the sinners we want judged and he devises plans to bring them to himself. As Christians we must hope and pray that even our enemies may come to Jesus and be blessed by God. Indeed, Jonah needed to somehow learn the compassionate heart of his God.
The Lord proceeded to help Jonah have an attitude adjustment. Look at verse 6, “6 Then the LORD God provided a vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the vine.” God revealed his personal compassion for Jonah by providing him with a shade plant that relieved the discomfort of the blistering sun. Last week Iris, our missionary in Sudan, stated that she is getting used to the hot weather. It was 120 degrees that day. Jonah did not deserve to have such a vine. It was purely provided by God's grace, for Jonah to receive with thanksgiving. Jonah was actually very happy with the vine. Why? Because he, himself was physically comfortable. Though it was selfish thanksgiving topic, Jonah was thankful to God for the personal grace given to him. But this was only the beginning of the lesson. God wanted Jonah to mature beyond being simply happy about his own personal benefits, to hoping that other people may be blessed.
God took the lesson a step further in verse 7. It reads, “But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine so that it withered.” Jonah was angry at the withering of the vine for now he was uncomfortable and inconvenienced. Then things went from bad to worse for Jonah in verse 8a, “When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah's head so that he grew faint….” These high temperatures tend to make even the mildest people irritable and ready to snap for no apparent reason. This made Jonah snap. Again he fell into his old habit of making death wishes upon himself. Verse 8b reads, “….He wanted to die, and said, ‘It would be better for me to die than to live.’” The conclusion to God’s training could be seen in verses 9-10, “ But God said to Jonah, ‘Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?’ ‘I do,’ he said. ‘I am angry enough to die.’ 10 But the LORD said, ‘You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight.’” God wanted to reveal Jonah’s great compassion on himself and his over concern about this vine, and his lack of compassion on others. That is why God dealt with him as any ordinary person, exposing him to pleasures and discomforts that everyone experiences and making him see that his personal “theology” was making him a cold hearted person.
Let’s think about this more deeply. Jonah was angry at the withering of the vine, but not over what could have happened to Nineveh. The people of Nineveh were withering in their sins and about to be gathered up and tossed in the fire and burned. (John 15:6) Jonah should not resent God's compassion for sinful people, for this was the same compassion which God had shown Jonah. Jonah’s condition is not just unique to Jonah. Most of us have cried at the death of a pet or when an object with sentimental value is broken, or when some personal blessing has been taken away form us. But have we cried over the fact that a friend or a classmate or a family member does not know God? How easy it is to be more sensitive to our own interests, and the loss of our own personal comforts than the spiritual needs of the people around us.
We should not cry over grace given and then taken away. God blesses our lives in so many ways. I have been blessed with family, career, ministry and security. I get great joy from these things. But I must hold loosely to them, lest they become idols in my heart. I must thank God for what he has provided, but also be ready to let go if God sees fit. I must love the blesser more than the blessings. Instead of becoming bitter, I should be thankful for what is given and learn and grow though what God is trying to teach me. Let us hold onto the words of Job in Job 1:21, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised."
We must always remember that God uses our circumstances to teach us many important lessons of life. God had provided a storm, a fish, a plant, a worm and a wind, all to teach Jonah some important lessons of life. God was manipulating Jonah's circumstances around to teach him life changing spiritual lessons. This is how God works. We need to stop, look around us in our lives and see what is happening. If we really believe that Jesus is living and that he is the Sovereign Lord, who is control of your lives, then take a serious assessment about what is happening around you. Figure out what God is trying to teach you. You may be surprised at the important lessons that you need to learn.
Verse 11 is a very clear portent into the very heart of God. Let’s read it together. “ But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?" Jonah's compassion extended only to a shade plant and his own physical comforts, but not to lost Assyrians. But God's compassion is much wider. It extended not only to plants, but to cattle to people. The expression "…who cannot tell their right hand from their left…" means that they were helpless and living in ignorance. The 120,000 people, that God upheld as special objects of His compassion, were probably the entire populace that did not know how to escape their troubles. God has compassion on the helpless. God also has compassion on animals, who suffer at the hands of their owners. Cattle are also beast of burden, used to help “beef up” the local economy, through their labor and their meat. Indeed God cares about the foundation of the local economy because this affects the well- being of the people themselves.
It is so hard to think about our own problems. We are so busy taking care of our own needs. How can we even begin to practice the compassion of Jesus on our friends, let alone a stranger who we may not like? We can not just wake up and look in the mirror and say over and over again, “I am going to be more compassionate today” Positive thinking only goes so far. It all begins when we realize the God first loved us. Jonah should have realized the depth of God’s love for him personally and then he could have deep love for others. 1 John 4:19 reads, “We love because he first loved us.” The first step is to recognize the grace of Jesus on our lives. If you have not done this then think about writing a long life testimony one day. I know people who have written 100 page life testimonies. Recently a friend wrote 1 13 page life testimony. When you take time to deeply reflect the grace of God will become clear to you. Then a miracle happens. Your life is changed. You heart of stone become a heart of flesh. (Eze 11:19) You can begin to practice the compassionate heart of Jesus.
In this passage we see the contrast between God's compassion (3:10) and Jonah's displeasure, and between God's turning from His anger (3:9-10) to Jonah's turning to anger. We learn that we need to overcome our selfishness and become more like God, by expanding the wideness of our compassion to others. May God teach us the wideness of his mercy. May we begin to love all people by taking hold of the grace of God in our lives and then reaching out and loving one person who God has brought near.
In so many ways the students of NIU don’t know their right hand from their left, spiritually speaking. May God widen our hearts to practice the compassion of Jesus on the student of Dekalb.
Part 1: Jonah's Anger (1-3)
1. Why was Jonah greatly displeased and angry? (1-2, 2:10) How did he respond to his anger?
(2a) What did Jonah know about God? (2b) What conclusion did he make through all of his
struggles? (3) Who else came to this conclusion? (1 Kings 19:4) What is wrong with this?
Part ll: The Lesson Of The Vine (4-11)
2. What was God’s rebuked to Jonah? (4) With what kind of attitude did Jonah sit down east of
the city? (5) What was he waiting to see?
3. What did God provide for Jonah? Why? (6) What did God do the next day? (7) How did
things get worse for Jonah? (8a) How did Jonah respond? (8b) What should have been his
response?
4. What lesson was God trying to teach Jonah? (9-10) What was God concerned about? (11)
How did he see the people of Nineveh? (11) How did God view the city of Nineveh? Contrast
God’s view point with Jonah’s?
5. What was God’s purpose for the nation of Israel? (Genesis 22:8; Ex 19:6) How were they to
carry out this mission? How did the Jews respond to their mission? (1 Thessalonians 2:14-16)
Why is our world view very important?
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