"10 so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God. 11 May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience, with joy 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light. 13 He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves. 14 We have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, in Him."
Colossians 1:10-14
Good Morning Beloved,
Thank you all for joining us today
There is certainly no shortage of people in our culture today, who are yelling and shouting at one another. The world around us is broken and hurting. Emotions are at an all time high, everyone has a strong opinion, and everyone demands their voice be heard. People are shouting about racism, political parties, equal rights, gender equality, abortion, sexual harassment and abuse, Christianity and the church. The list goes on and on. Our world is in a state of chaos!
Today, among all the shouting, I'd like to introduce something else, that I believe we should add to that long list, of reasons to shout. I'd like to offer another reason to shout. In fact, I'd like to give you four of them!
Now, I know that initially, this might seem a little strange, especially coming from your pastor. With all the shouting taking place in our world, but I'd like to encourage you to hear me out, listen with an open mind, an open heart.
First, let us pray.
Heavenly Father,
Lord, we just thank You, for the mighty work that You have done in and through us. We thank You for delivering us, for rescuing us and all that entails. The mighty work of rescuing us from the fall, rescuing us from sin, rescuing us from the day of Your coming wrath, rescuing us from our enemies, rescuing us from the devastating grip of Satan.
You have qualified the unqualified. You have redeemed the irredeemable. You have forgiven the unforgivable. You have reconciled the irreconcilable. You have made the unrighteous the righteous. You have made the unholy holy. Father, we are so grateful, for You have rescued us indeed.
You have rescued us from the mundane, You've kept us from becoming lost in the things, that in the end will not really matter, thank You for helping to focus on things we know so well, the things we’ve heard and read many times, and see them in a different way.
Today, we assemble ourselves to worship You, and to offer our thanks and praise. For You alone are worthy. In this world of shouting, grant us the courage, the boldness to shout!
In Jesus' name we pray
Amen
Today's Message: A Reason To Shout
Those of us who hear and read this message, cannot except by the power of the Holy Spirit, live up to its title. Because it calls upon a claim beyond what is humanly possible. It invites us into the spiritual realm. Unless the Holy Spirit is at work in the hearts and minds of those who are open then our ears need hear no more nor our eyes read any further. For we shall not be moved by words that are vain but only by hearts controlled by the Holy Spirit.
Christians today are quick to claim to be unchangeable. They express a desire to be true to their heritage and traditions, regardless whether they are Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, Pentecostal, Church of God, Non-Denominational or whatever, it really makes no difference.
So, today, I'd like to encourage us to be true to our roots, the roots that run deep within us, the roots that I believe, will lead us all back unity, to the same foundation. To the church of Christ. For some, it is almost a forgotten time, a time when the presence of the Holy Spirit, was so incredibly powerful, so irresistible that it caused a Pentecost, a reformation, a great awakening, a renewal, a revival to break loose. That was so spontaneous, so uncontrollable, that the very foundation of the earth on which we stand was shaken.
It was a time characterized by jumping, jerking, shaking of the body, some even slain in the spirit were laid out on the ground or floor beyond human control yet still controlled by the Holy Spirit. Their voices were elevated, raised up in song, so great in fact, that during the singing people would walk the aisles and would clap and shake hands to further call upon the Lord. Their arms extended toward heaven, upward, reaching to hug one another, outward, all with the Holy Spirit and the love of Jesus. Their faces were streaming with tears of joy. Their tongues loosed with laughter. And some speaking in utterances and groaning, shouts that no man or woman could fake but was evidenced by the entire assembly as nothing less than Almighty God in their midst.
So today I am going to boldly introduce four words that should invoke a reason to shout! Or at the very least provoke spontaneous praise, a hallelujah, or an amen, to those whose souls are truly filled with the Spirit of the Lord.
The first of these four words, is found in today's text. Open with me your Bibles to Colossians, chapter 1, as we begin a closer look at verses 10 through 14. Colossians 1:14. Follow along if you would please, as I read.
"so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience, with joy giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light. He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves. We have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, in Him."
The first word, I would like to introduce, is rescued. He rescued us! We were rescued from the domain and control of darkness!
The Bible is incredibly realistic about the coercive force and desolation of darkness. Many times, throughout the Scriptures, we find the disciples trapped at night in the grip of a fierce storm, the children of Israel in the middle of some battle, in which they are outnumbered by ten to one or one hundred to one or even a thousand to one. They faced odds that are so overwhelmingly stacked against them and yet God rescued them.
How often do we find ourselves in need of rescue? How often do we also find ourselves struggling against some angry force, some mob of violence or still yet some temptation that try as hard as we might, however, it appears that we are unable to make any headway? The wind is in our faces. The odds against us. The constraints so compelling that we feel stuck and unable to get out.
Have you ever found yourself in that place? Have you ever found yourself stuck in one of life's storms?
And no matter how hard you try, no matter what you do, it seems that you cannot make any headway?
Trapped in darkness. Trapped in some financial difficulty. Trapped by unemployment, trapped in a job you dislike. Trapped by addiction. Trapped in self-righteousness. Trapped in injustice, unhappiness and discontentment.
Jesus, comes to the rescue of those who are trapped!
Bartimeaus was rescued from his blindness when Jesus not only gave back his sight in physical healing but also rescued him spiritually from his sin.
Zacheaus was rescued from his greed. When no one else would have anything to do with him, Jesus went to dinner at his house and rescued him.
Lazarus was rescued from his tomb. For three days he was in darkness of the grave but Jesus rescued him and brought him back to life.
The demoniac at Gerasenes was rescued from the unclean spirits. When Jesus saw him he said unto the demons that possessed him and asked "What is your name?" The demons answered we are Legion for we are many. But Jesus rescued the demon possessed from the control of the unclean spirits and brought him back to his life.
Saul, was rescued from the darkness of traditions and legalism on the road to Damascus. Jesus rescued Saul and gave to him the new name of Paul and gave him a new purpose and a new life to go along with his new name.
Many young children are afraid of the dark, they need a night light, to give them some comfort, in order to bring them peace, to be able to rest. As we become adults, though we may no longer be "afraid of the dark," perhaps we should be. Not in the same way of course. But afraid of the darkness of the adversary, and his band of evil that surrounds us.
I’m not afraid of the dark. I am afraid of what might be in the darkness. The unseen forces of evil that I cannot escape, except for the rescuing power of the Holy Spirit. Because I have been delivered. I have been set free. I've been made loosed from sin.
So, as I see it, because I have been "Rescued," that is a reason to shout!
I am not the best swimmer, in fact, I can barely swim at all. There have been several times when I ventured a bit too far out into the ocean or in the deep end of a swimming pool, when I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it back to the shore or safety of the edge. There are certainly some people who don't make it. Someone had to jump in, swim out and rescue them.
I'm sure that there have been many times, in your life, like mine, you have had some problem, in your life, when you could not have made it without someone's help. Someone reach out to you, and give you a hand. Maybe it was through the words of encouragement. Perhaps, it was through those who faithful prayed prayers over you. The end result, is you were rescued.
There are people in this world today, who desperately need to be rescued.
There are people who need to be rescued from the flames of hell. Being rescued is a reason to shout.
Our next word, however, is not one that you might not normally associate with a reason to shout unless you understand it, in its proper context. That word is "Transferred."
This word, also comes from our text today, from the thirteenth verse, "transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves."
There are many other forms of transfers, which the secular world tends to understand, transfers that may make them shout. When one is transferred from one job position on the ground floor to the higher position of an office job, or position of authority. Then, there are sports fans that often shout when their favorite player is transferred onto their favorite team. And there are numerous other forms of transfers, that cause people to shout.
However, for those of us who know Jesus Christ, the word transferred should really give us a reason to shout! For we are transferred out of the control of darkness and transferred into the Kingdom of the Son who loves us! So transferred is a word that should give us a reason to shout!
Many of you may know the Chris Tomlin song, "Whom Shall I Fear, God of Angel Armies."
The lyrics are "I know who goes before me. I know who stands behind. The God of angel armies. Is always by my side. The one who reigns forever. He is a friend of mine. The God of angel armies. Is always by my side. And nothing formed against me shall stand. You hold the whole world in your hands. I'm holding on to your promises."
Transferred: From the carnal and flesh to the spiritual, the future glory of the kingdom of heaven. Transferred: Out of the control of sin and darkness, into the God of angel armies, gives me a reason to shout! And, it should you too!
The next reason to shout, is a bit more clear in its meaning. The word, "Purchased."
Many today, become overjoyed with a reason to shout, when they purchase a new outfit, perhaps because they've lost a substantial amount of weight. Some feel they have a reason to shout because they have moved out from their parents house, into their own place. Some because they have purchased a new car or a new home.
For others, its maybe a new cell phone. Because, cell phones nowadays are very valuable, costing upwards of hundreds of dollars. Because of the way my mind works, I wonder what would happen if it was required that you become a member of a church, be baptized and attend church weekly, before you would be allowed to purchase a cell phone? Before you could own a cell phone?
I can see it now, beloved, I'm telling you this, I believe that every church would be filled to capacity! we would have to expand and build more churches, all because of something as simple as the purchase of a cell phone, because a simple as a cell phone, it viewed as a necessity, it gives them a reason to shout.
So, I ask you, if these other things can cause us to shout with excitement, then how much more should we have a reason to shout over the purchase of our salvation! How much more should we have a reason to shout, for those of us who have been "purchased by His blood," Beloved, we have a reason to shout!! Christ, purchased our freedom, with His own blood! And, if that's not a reason to shout, then I don't know what is! And we need to be shouting it into this world!
Because when we were caught, red handed, face to face with the devil, and now we are able to say, "Too bad, Satan, I have been purchased and set free by the blood of Jesus." So, as far as I believe, "Purchased," is a reason to shout!
Our last word, it one that is even more obvious, and we can find it in verse fourteen. That word is "Forgiven."
"We have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, in Him."
Bad habits: We all have them. One bad habit is letting people push your, what I like to call,"ugly button.” Hold on a minute, you can stop laughing any time now! Seriously, don’t laugh, because I would suggest that even you, have an "ugly button." You know, when someone gets on your nerves. They really get under your skin. They push your "ugly button!" Then, we end up saying or doing something that isn’t nice. It isn't Christ- like!
We can all become kind of ugly, when someone pushes that, "ugly button, and we finally run out of patience. So then we have to go to that person and apologize, one of the best things we can hear when we say, "I’m sorry," is for them to say, "I forgive you, you are forgiven." Isn't that true?
And when you hear that word, "Forgiven, " doesn’t that give you a reason to shout?
Mistakes: Yep, we've all made 'em. In fact, some peoples middle name is probably, mistakes. Some of them are unintentional. So when we realize those mistakes, go to God and asking Him for His forgiveness, He says the words, "You are forgiven." Doesn’t that give you a reason to shout?
Omission: There are times we know the right things to do, we know what are good things, the reality is, we don’t do them. Therefore, we have to ask forgiveness.
Disobedience: Then, what about the times when we absolutely know better, yet we are still disobedient. We just don't do what we're supposed to do, or in most cases, we go ahead and do what we are not supposed to do. That puts us under even more pressure, because, we have just been disobedient, we know we deserve punishment but instead God says the words "I forgive you." Uh, Hello? Doesn’t that word give you a reason to shout praise? Hallelujah! Amen!
Lost: The lost, the unchurched, those abandoned by the church. No one is left out of forgiveness. No one is cast out nor forgotten. Forgiveness is a reason to shout, is it not?
In Closing....
In this world of shout, I hope that I have been able to give you at least, four more reasons to shout!
Shout because you have been Rescued! Shout because you have been brought out from darkness and transferred into light, the Kingdom of Jesus! Shout because you have received the gift of Salvation! Shout because you've been purchased by the blood of the Lamb of God! Shout because you have been forgiven of your sins!
While all the world around us, is shouting, I invite you to lift your voices, shout about what Christ has accomplished in your life! Then, talk to someone about our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Invite those who remain in darkness to come into the light! To receive the gift of Salvation!
Let's get everybody shouting, about the for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus. Shouting about the work of Christ! Then, shout thanks be to God. This is not a time for us to be silent, this is time for God's people to SHOUT!
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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