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Preacher: Pastor David Ball
Scripture: Colossians 1:1-14
Insecurity is a reality that plagues all of our hearts. It either manifests itself in weakness and self-doubt or overconfidence and pride. We either become vulnerable to every worldly claim about truth or are consumed with an insatiable need for everyone to know how knowledgeable we are. Colossae’s people were insecure, leading to problems in their community. The Apostle Paul wrote to them in love and concern that they would find their security in Christ alone. Jesus alone is the fullness of God, and in Him, by the free gift of His grace and mercy, we are beloved children of God. Living in that kind of security gives us freedom from false teachings and self-righteous pride that hinder our souls and the mission of Christ in the world.
Transcript
Well we’ve left behind now the the season of Christmas and uh and we’ve entered into the season of epiphany uh and in the church calendar Epiphany uh is the season where we celebrate Christ’s mission to the world and his call to the church to to be on Miss uh that Jesus didn’t come just for any one people uh he came for everyone he’s the good news of great joy that’s for all the people is the Angels declared and so we celebrate that during this this season of of epiphany the day of Epiphany January 6 uh is the coming of the wise men and beginning that these these foreigners who came to honor Jesus is Lord and King uh and so we as a church are reminded in this season of epiphany that we are a people on Mission we’re on a mission for Christ to share the good news with others Epiphany reminds us that it keeps that on in the Forefront of our mind as we live into the this season of the church year uh and so I’ve been wondering and as we think about what is it that hinders us from living into the mission you know it’s certainly not just for the season of epiphany right Epiphany is just the time that helps to to bring it to the four Forefront that we keep talking about it so that it becomes more a part of who we are of being uh people who are on mission for Jesus to share his grace and mercy with h with those who do not know him what’s it that keeps us from doing it you know I’m sure there’s fear you know there’s some anxiety involved right uh there’s uh there’s maybe some self-doubt uh some worry that uh that we don’t know enough or that we may offend someone uh all those things are going through our our our minds and and our hearts when we talk about sharing Christ with with the world uh but I think there’s something underneath all of that you know underneath the fear and the anxiety and the worry and all of that uh there’s something that’s Underneath It All and what’s underneath it all is a sense of insecurity it’s a sense of insecurity that uh no matter how much you might like to think that you’re the most secure person in the world you’re not um we all are insecure and we act out of our insecurity and it comes out in all kinds of of different ways uh insecurity can come out uh in one of two extremes really right uh it can either come out of uh and leave us kind of weak and and timid uh full of of self-doubt but believe it or not uh insecurity can do the opposite too it can go to the complete Other Extreme and leave us prideful and boastful in need of everyone else to know everything that we know right right uh it can leave us with this insatiable need for others to acknowledge us and just how great we are uh because we need it why do we need it because inside we’re desperately insecure uh otherwise it would it wouldn’t matter right uh so either we have you know the the kind of insecurity that leads to low self-esteem and anxiety and can even lead to depression and it’s real extreme cases um and can make us avoid other people avoid situations and conversations uh or it can go the other way just making us a people that just have to have external validation that other people have to affirm me other people have to have to like me other people have to know how great I really am uh you know but both cases it’s this it’s this under this seed this underlying heart of ours that’s just desperately insecure and in both cases it affects our ability to live on Miss our our ability to to really be Christ’s Witnesses in the world because either we’re too scared to do it uh and self-doubt uh and thinking less of ourselves than we should or we’re so prideful and Bo boastful that we just get in the way we actually push people away from Christ rather than welcoming them into a relationship because what we’re really more concerned about is building ourselves up and showing other people how much we know and who wants that people sniff that out they sniff both out right I mean who wants to follow a God who either leaves you full of self-doubt and fear and worry or has made you so prideful that uh that you’re just a pompus you know what would you want to I wouldn’t I wouldn’t insecurity it’s a it’s a major problem but it’s something that’s in all of us it’s in every single one of us and so during this season of epip we’re going to be kind of dealing with insecurity uh you know which is a lovely topic right uh um but in a positive way because uh we’re going to be looking and walking through together Paul’s letter to the Colossians and Paul’s letter to the Colossians is a direct answer I believe to an insecure heart I think Paul was writing to a people who were incredibly insecure in themselves and because of that he was worried about them and what might happen to them as he had received uh some messages from apais about what was going on in in the church there and we’ll get into that more the details of that as we uh in just a few minutes but so Paul in this letter uh it’s overwhelmingly positive talking about the fullness of Christ talking about what we really have our security in him what is ours in Christ he’s building them up in a beautiful way you know in most of the letters that Paul writes um you know some of them they’re sharp rebukes uh Philippians is one of the the one letters that uh that doesn’t have that that’s just all positive and encouragement that he’s giving well Colossians kind of comes in the same vein as Philippians there’s not a big issue that they’re guilty of that he’s got to correct them for uh it’s really an encouragement he’s trying to remind them of who they are and in reminding them of who they are he’s trying to tell them about the absolute Supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus Christ as the head of all of creation and the head of the church and he he’s wanting them to find their confidence he’s wanting them to find their identity and the sufficiency of Christ the fullness of Christ he’s trying to draw them upward to build up their security that they wouldn’t be an insecure people that that are left uh in such a way that they can’t be on Mission and so I think there’s a lot for us uh to be able to UNP Haack as we’re going going to work through this letter through together through this whole season uh this season of epiphany but before we can really jump into the verses themselves we need to talk a little bit about the context of it about uh the church and kalsi uh and what that church was all about well the the town of ksai by the time of the first century uh was really just a small town it had once enjoyed being really prosperous uh it was it was known thriving uh wool trade in uh in the years before the first century uh it had been a successful place but then two other cities uh leosia and hieropolis uh Greek cities had been built kind of close enough to their city that they kind of were impeding on this wool trade uh and it was no longer as Prosper as it had once been uh there these other two towns had grown up and were much more important uh and they were just kind of this small town kind of caught in between uh with the maybe a little bit of a a significance problem uh where people weren’t quite feeling that they were as important as everyone else uh and the colossian church came into being not by one of Paul’s direct missionary uh efforts he never went to colosi he was never there he never met the Colossians uh what happened was is that when Paul was in Ephesus and he spent his time preaching the gospel we’re told that he did it for so long and so many people heard about it and so many people came uh to hear his teaching about Jesus that they said all of Asia had heard the message of the gospel and out of that uh aais one of those who had heard the gospel and become converted uh he was the one who went back to colosi and he planted uh the church
there and the church was a able to grow but something had happened uh something was going on there that paus was uh concerned about uh Paul at the time was uh was in jail and aerus made a special journey to actually put himself in jail with Paul so we could spend time with them to talk about about what was going on in ksai and that’s where Paul took this opportunity while in prison to write this letter of encouragement and to remind them about the sufficiency of Christ in their lives and that he was all that they needed but it was through Paul’s Paul’s preaching in Ephesus that those uh the deais heard the gospel and he himself went off and shared with the people of kalsi but it’s important to keep in that context of that these people in ksai uh are not quite the city they used to be not quite as important as they used to be uh and and you know that they felt that and what’s happening now is that a group has come in uh a little different than some of the other letters that that Paul has written uh and some of the other letters Paul wrote there were these uh groups called judaizers who were more in the Jewish tradition that uh didn’t believe that the gospel was truly uh the free gift of God’s grace that they wanted uh the those who Gentiles who converted that they needed to uh take on more of the Jewish customs in order to truly be a part of the the the body of Christ uh but that’s not what was going on here in fact we don’t hear much about the Jewish community in ksai this is really a Greek Gentile group uh but there are others who are telling them you know what you’re not good enough Jesus isn’t sufficient for you you actually need something more and and what this group was was known as and and we don’t have all the details in fact there’s plenty of Scholars that are still trying to figure out because Paul doesn’t come come right out and tell you who he’s talking about you have to deduce it from the words that he’s saying of encouragement is to if he needed to encourage them that way what’s going on behind that and there’s a gnosticism that was being taught in the church uh and what that you know that we could go spend a whole time uh teaching talking about gnosticism but what gnostics uh believed was that they had a secret knowledge a secret knowledge of theur truth and in fact it became it was so secretive that there were secret words password but if you didn’t know the secret words and you didn’t do all the right stuff that they said then you were just a a lesser citizen you know in fact it kind of became known you know gnosticism it means to know it comes from that that Greek word and so they became the know-it-alls uh the the nostics were the know-it-alls and if you didn’t know what they knew then you were out you were outside the the club you couldn’t be a part of it and there seems to be a sense that the church was being infected with this and the people were being bombarded with this and Paul was concerned he was concerned because what he was hearing about is if they’re if they hear this and their their security is in themselves or they’re so insecure within themselves uh that that they can’t uh that they’re hearing this message and believing that there is something in this that there is something secret that’s more powerful and they need do all these things in order to be in the club and to truly be saved that it would be the undermining of the Gospel itself and so Paul writes this letter of encouragement mostly uh to them he encourages them of the sufficiency of Christ for them and how important it is for their mission in the world for Christ not only to know who they are but how that affects how they live amongst them amongst the community there uh neither in a weak and timid way that’s full of self-doubt nor in a way that’s full of Pride and self-righteousness but one that is truly in humility uh and and a confidence in Christ alone which gives us boldness to be able to share him with the world that so desperately needs him and so I want to begin with that knowing that background as we open this uh this letter together I encourage you uh to if you brought your your Bibles to open them to Colossians chapter 1 but you uh at least have your bulletins with you you can follow along there uh as we work through these verses together uh for just a few minutes uh for the rest of our time together Paul an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God and Timothy our brother to the Saints and faithful brothers in Christ and colosi grace to you and peace from God our Father you know Paul right from the beginning uh has to state who he is which tells you that there is a little something going on that he’s being undermined uh there’s a group of people that are saying this isn’t enough uh we’ve got the true words and so Paul’s making it very clear from the beginning of his credentials about who he is he is an apostle of Jesus Christ uh right up there with the with the apostles that Jesus himself had chosen uh and that uh Paul had met met uh Jesus on the road to Damascus he himself the chief of Sinners who was going to persecute and Destroy uh the Christians there uh he was met by Jesus who struck him down and said Saul Saul why are you persecuting me and he transformed Saul’s life and called him to a service a special service uh of his as a missionary to the Gentiles that’s why Paul says it’s by the will of God I am I am an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God not just the will of man this is something that God has done a work that God has done in my life and a work that he has called me to uh and that’s why I’m speaking to you all now uh with that kind of authority to the Saints and the faithful brothers in Christ in kalsi he’s being incredibly encouraging Saints not in the uh those who are set apart for some sort of veneration but to those who are faithful following Christ uh those who have have given their lives who have died to themselves and have been raised with Christ in a new life with him he’s writing to the community there grace to you and peace from God our Father we always thank God the father of our Lord Jesus Christ when we pray for you since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have all have for the Saints because of the Hope laid up for you in heaven again right from the beginning he reminded them of where is your hope where is your hope these people are coming and telling you that you need to put hope back in yourself that you need to know all the secret knowledge uh in order to be able to to have any Assurance at all in your life and he’s saying no that’s not it at all the hope is laid up for you in heaven meaning it’s something that has been done for you hope isn’t found in what we do hope is found in what God has accomplished for us through his son Jesus Christ that’s the only way it’s hope at all if it’s if it’s dependent on us and what we do it’s not a hope it’s a wish and it’s a pretty weak one at that but the hope is in the security of what Jesus has done for us once and for all upon the cross and Paul is reminding of them them of this he goes of this you heard before and the word of Truth The Gospel this is the gospel message the finished work of Jesus Christ for you on the cross and through his resurrection and it’s come to you as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing he’s like he’s saying see it’s the message is going out this isn’t just for me this isn’t just a a good idea that I had and it’s not something that’s secret the message is going out and people all over are receiving it the gospel is growing the mission God’s on the Move he’s transforming Hearts it’s bearing fruit and increasing as it also does among you since the day that you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth what did they come to understand he’s having to remind them of it you know it’s so easy guys we forget the security that we have we can we can be secure is all get out here on Sunday morning as we worship God and are reminded of his word and tomorrow morning we wake up the same insecure people that we were before isn’t this why does that keep happening to us well God’s moving he’s working in our hearts he’s even using our insecurities to draw us back to him to remind us of the truth the Holy Spirit that’s is what the Holy Spirit does the holy spirit’s working in us to remind us in our own insecurity to point us back to Christ because it’s no more secure to find strength in our eles uh than than it is uh than it is to be
self-doubt the insecurities is driving us back to Christ as our only security our only hope he says the grace of God and Truth as you understood it the truth being when we open God’s word and what it says about us what God’s word says about us is one that he loves us that God so loved the world that he sent his one and only son into the world the same us but it also tells us that we all fall short of the glory of God the grace of God doesn’t have power it doesn’t even begin to work in our lives until we recognize in humility that we’re falling short that we can’t live up to God’s standard on our own in our own strength and that’s when God’s grace becomes good news the gospel actually becomes good news in our hearts and our minds and begins to transform everything in our lives he says just as you learned it from apais our beloved fellow servant he is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the spirit and so apaas has come to to Paul and he’s told him about the wonderful things that are going on in the church this wonderful community that has begun to grow and to be to be built up he’s he’s given them a cur encouraging report and so from the day we heard Paul says we have not ceased to pray for you asking that you will be filled with the knowledge of his will and all spiritual wisdom and understanding it’s not Secret in other words it’s not secret it’s not something that just one person has uh that you’ve got to know the right password or do the right things in order to possess that knowledge our prayer is that been the holy spirit will give it to you freely as the gift the spirit does that he would give you the knowledge that you need of God’s will of his will and all spiritual wisdom and understanding so that you so a so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord fully pleasing to him bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for all endurance and patience with joy giving thanks to the father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the Saints and light he has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son in whom we have Redemption and the Forgiveness of sins do you hear the words of security in here do you hear the words of the sufficiency that we have in Christ alone he said that you’d be strengthened in all power according to his glor his glorious might what he has done for you in other words not secure in yourself not secure in your own how many quiet times you had this week uh not in how many times you went to church although I’m counting um you know that’s not what that’s not the your your strength your security is in his strength and might for you and it’s in that might that gives us endurance and patience with joy even to face the things that are difficult the suffering in our lives it allows us to even give thanks to the father who has qualified you again who qualified you he qualified you we didn’t qualify ourselves we couldn’t qualify ourselves we didn’t have to know some secret knowledge some uh some secret password or do all the right things and and all the right traditions and make all the right sacrifices and know all the right people the gospel is for all people that’s the message of the season of epiphany it’s for everyone it’s for all of us it allows us to give thanks to the father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the Saints and light in Jesus he’s reminding them you are a son and a daughter of God that’s your inheritance let no one talk any other way to you let no one talk any other way to you to tell you that you’re less than to tell you that you don’t have enough to tell you that you AR AR good enough in any way because he delivered us from the domain of darkness and has transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son and whom we have Redemption and the Forgiveness of sins it’s in him this passage is full of the work of God on our behalf so how does that transform that insecurity within us that is is such a hindrance to our living life on Mission our living life to as Witnesses for Christ in the world how does that knowledge of being truly rooted and the work of God on our behalf change it well for those of us who are are fearful and worried and anxiety ridden about sharing our faith with others he’s our strength we don’t have to have the strength you can be weary you can be afraid it’s okay you weren’t going to do it by your own strength anyway but he is he’s the one who’s at work he’s the one who goes before us he’s the one who’s working on the hearts if you’re talking to someone having a conversation about your relationship with the Lord in any way guess what that’s not the first time that that’s happened in their hearts the Lord’s already begun that conversation he’s doing it he’s welcomed you and me into the conversation with him that we might be his Witnesses in their lives knowing that he’s the one who’s at work and that he is sufficient and he is supreme overall we have nothing to fear we don’t have to even say the right words in fact you won’t say the right words you’ll probably say the wrong words and if you say the wrong words it may be even better because if you when you get called on it you can humbly ask for forgiveness or admit that you’re wrong that hey we Christians don’t get it right every time we mess it up and we ask for forgiveness and we humbly return to the Lord that’s what a life with Christ is all about it’s not about Perfection but how about on the other side the insecurity that uh that that makes itself known in the sense of being prideful and boastful and needing everyone to uh acknowledge how wonderful we are that’s equally as repellent to a non-believer how does this message of Christ work for us transform a prideful heart because we didn’t have anything to do with it stop taking pride in it stop stop believing that you’re the reason for your salvation that you’re the reason for the inheritance that you have it’s God’s love for you that he gave his one and only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life and when we really believe that when we know that not only does it give us security but it transforms our hearts we don’t need to be validated anymore we don’t have to be right gosh I wish that I could remember this always especially when I’m arguing over something really dumb with Gracie you know the real important stuff like who sang that song um you know because I’m the one who knows you don’t know I’m the you know I I know know the things that we take pride in whatever you know the things you really getting arguments are are usually the things that don’t matter at all and yet those are the ones that trigger something within us that insecurity that triggers something else and makes us just have to be validated and have to be right it’s the insecurity within that I don’t find my security in Christ I’m I don’t see him as being all sufficient for me and I daily have to repent and I daily have to return and little by little he’s at work in the Myster the mysterious work of the Holy Spirit he’s at work in US transforming us not making us better just transforming us because we’ve been given everything that we need in Christ our hearts just have to come to believe it have to come to really embrace it and know it to be true friends in this series that’s my prayer that’s my hope that as as we read Paul’s letter of this letter of encouragement that we are going to find Christ every single day to be the alls sufficient Supreme head of Our Lives who we can trust who we can be secure in who we can truly find Humble Hearts to love and serve those who so desperately need him so let me pray as we enter into this this series together Heavenly Father we thank you for your grace thank you for your mercy thank you that it is by your will you are the one you are the one who is at work and our Salvation you’ve graciously called us to yourself you’ve overcome our sinful hearts and desires and wills by the power of your Holy Spirit you’ve called us to yourself will you help us in our insecurity that we all fall into will you help us in those moments where to be aware of it to know and to see it and to repent and return to you and to recognize you Jesus as the Supreme suff efficient head of Our Lives that you are our gracious savior who loves us who gave his life for us that we might neither be timid nor be prideful but to be confident and humble and bold for your gospel sake to for a world that so desperately needs you and Jesus I pray this in your mighty name amen
