“You must love with My Love, for I have no other to give you” - God (Colossians 1:24-29).Sunday October 18, 2026
Main idea: Because a life lived in the image of Christ with all its glorious blessings will only manifest from forced training, we must learn to rejoice in our sufferings.
Intro:
Left to ourselves, we will never rid our minds of the old me and embrace the new me. God plans the perfect amount of trial, pain, suffering in your life to push you towards a life characterized by His love and righteousness.
There is an old me and a new me: Col 3:9-10 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, 10 and have put on the new self …
Act 9:16 I will show him how much he must suffer for My name's sake
“I will show him” future of hupodeiknumi = to show secretly. Each of us has to see for ourselves what only suffering will show us.
“For My name’s sake,” the purpose of God. Decidedly not for you, but nevertheless, you are very involved.
Col 1:24-25 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions. 25 Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God,
Col 1:29 For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.
Our need of pain and suffering:
Paul suffers but rejoices in them because he can see what the sufferings are doing for him and his students.
What could have such an amazing quality that would make someone act like this?
When we ask why Paul had to suffer, we discover from him that without it he would not have known God’s strength (2Co 12).
2Co 12:7-10 Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me — to keep me from exalting myself! 8 Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. 9 And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast [glory] about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in [on] me. 10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak [trial, pain, suffering from others], then I am strong.
God’s strength is the heavy lifting of love.
Whether we’d like to admit it or not, we essentially prefer not to hold to God’s love and righteousness.
Eph 4:17 walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind
Religion is the only source or place where the pride of man and the grace of God move into tension.
Salvation faces you with choices you never dreamed of before.
What qualities in man does God desire? He loves you too much to ever quit on getting you to see them.
Mat 6:31-33 "Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' 32 "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Luk 12:28-34 "But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith! 29 "And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. 30 "For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. 31 "But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. 32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. [Jesus won’t let this remain cerebral]
33 "Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. 34 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Pride, self-interest must be destroyed (not momentarily swallowed).
Mar 7:20-23 "That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. 21 "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, 22 deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. 23 "All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man."
Self-sacrificial love comes natural to no one. Not even believers can count on living God’s love. Lay aside the old Col 3; Eph 4. Jam 1:2; Phi 3:8, 10 loss of all; fellowship of His sufferings.
You will not, nor cannot, wrench pride from your heart and fill it with grace without suffering. Left to yourself, you will choose comfort and self-satisfaction.
1Pe 4:10 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
Christ has left us no other options.
George MacDonald represents God as saying to men, “You must be strong with my strength and blessed with my blessedness, for I have no other to give you.”
The tension we enter when we enter Christianity does not guarantee the rejection of pride.
The person who chooses grace has propelled themselves into a divine world of training - your own tailor fit program of maturity.
Looking at the prayers in the prison epistles:
Col 1:9-12 For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.
Phi 1:9-11 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; 11 having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Eph 1:18-20 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might 20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead.
What is certain is that as you mature you are dealing with pain.
2 Cor 12:9 And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
The Lord learned obedience through the things He suffered. He was also a man of sorrows as He was heartbroken over the response of the people. He gave them perfect teachings, perfectly crafted lessons (He could never blame Himself), miracles and still they rejected Him.
As you mature, you find yourself more and more in the service of God, meaning, your life (marriage, family, home, work, self) all falls under your stewardship.
Col 1:25 Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God.
We all need self-fulfillment, affirmation, and a feeling of personal value. But there is only one way to get all of that and at the same time be capable of loving others.
We have to see love for what it truly is and I am confident that if we do, we will choose it above ourselves.
“Religion is not the place where the problem of man’s egotism is automatically solved. Rather, it is there that the ultimate battle between human pride and God’s grace takes place. Insofar as human pride may win the battle, religion can and does become one of the instruments of human sin. But insofar as there the self does meet God and so can surrender to something beyond its own self-interest, religion may provide the one possibility for a much needed and very rare release from our common self-concern.” - Langdon Gilkey, Shantung Compound.
Col 3:12-15 So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. 14 Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. |