Colossians 1:15-23 - Is Jesus Lord?
Canterbury quiz - There is a City Quiz which asks the question "Where is Jesus Lord?"
The answer is - " St Andrew's Church" ! - because we have JESUS IS LORD above our entrance facing the street. This got me thinking - Is Jesus Lord? - Of my life - Of the fellowship here
Recently a well know speaker told how during a time of worship in his home church he felt the Lord ask him " How much do you know Me?" this is a question which challenges us all.
We need to recapture the reality of who Jesus is and what he has done for us.
"Jesus didn't die on the cross to give us a Sunday hobby" - has our relationship with Jesus become a formality?
Let's never get used to how extra ordinary, how wonderful , how "other" Jesus is
Last week we heard about the state of the Colossian church and the atmosphere in which they existed - Heresies, Philosophies, Spiritual ideas. in this letter Paul's resounding answer is that Jesus is the answer to all this stuff.
He is the image of the invisible God (v15) - or as the Message puts it "God who cannot be seen".
A little boy looked into the sky and asked his mother, "Is God up there?" When she assured him that He was, the youngster replied, "Wouldn't it be nice if He would put His head out and let us see Him?"
Our assurance is that He has - In Jesus
He is creator - (v16) There are so many theories about creation and more and more is being revealed and discovered. But no scientist can explain why it came into being and how it holds together. We can have confidence that everything was planned and made by a good and loving God. it is held together by Him and for HIm. When things seem to be falling apart - Jesus holds all things together.
Head of the body (v.18) Jesus said "I will build my church" - So often we want to build our church and leave Him out. Is Jesus Lord of our church? Here's what an eminent preacher said recently about the state of the church in this country:
Jim Graham clip - Youtube: "The State of the church today"
Jesus crying for the Church to be the church
Supremacy in everything (V.18b) - What about us as individuals? Is Jesus asking us as he asked Brian Mills "How much do you know Me?" Do we know Him for real in our lives?
The spirit of the age is the same as in Colossae. they were saying that it was all right to have Jesus, but there were other things as well - something more - Astrology, new age, tarot, horoscopes, yoga.
Jesus said "No one comes to the Father but by Me."
Jesus is Lord - Pray that he may restore our first love - recognise who He is and what He has done
Col 1:13 - "For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of His dear Son, 14who purchased our freedom[a] and forgave our sins" (NIV) or
"God rescued us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons. He’s set us up in the kingdom of the Son He loves so much, the Son who got us out of the pit we were in, got rid of the sins we were doomed to keep repeating."(Message) Let's ask for a fresh experience of Him in reality. Recognise the importance of the fact that He has rescued us
Jesus is Lord - Has taken care of all things - Created, sustained, reconciled everything
We and the whole world are complete in Him .He is Saviour, Creator, Head and Lord Col 1:23 - You don’t walk away from a gift like that! (Message) - But we do
Jesus is Lord - May He be Lord of our lives and His Church