There are a lot of busy people who are spinning their wheels but not accomplishing much of real value. Yes, they’re doing lots of ‘stuff’ but at the end of the day, they have been wasting their time on things that don’t matter. Most people fail in life because they major in minor things, and only minor in the major things. Simply put: there are things that matter and things that honestly are trivial. What is the important stuff that we should be doing?
The Main Thing
It’s all about Jesus – 1:12-20
You are to become like Jesus – 1:21-24
Christ in you is your only hope – 1:25-29
Dangerous Distractions
Secularism (2:8-10)
Legalism (2:11-17)
Mysticism (2:18-19)
Asceticism (2:20-23)
The Church is All About Jesus 2-3
Why does the church exist?
#1. To encourage the hearts of those who come.
#2 To bring friends together and to knit their hearts together in love.
#3 To gain the richness of full assurance of faith.
#4 To teach people the knowledge of the mystery of God –
The Danger is that We Might Neglect Jesus 4
Any attempt to get us to focus on something other than Jesus is deception.
The foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom. 1 Corinthians 1:20.
The Main Thing is to Focus on Jesus 5-6
#1 Be steadfast in your faith in Christ.
2. Walk, or live by faith in Christ.
3. Build a good foundation of faith on Jesus Christ.
If you don’t do anything else right in life, keep Jesus first in your life.
If you keep Christ first in your life, he’ll take care of the rest.
As a church, we don’t want to forget why we are here. Every treasured truth of spiritual wisdom and knowledge is found in Christ. Christ is the center. He is the source of comfort, the friend that is closer than a brother, He is the full assurance of faith and the wisdom of God. The church exists to point everyone to Jesus. At our church, we need to do the important stuff, and that is living for Jesus. Let’s keep the Main Thing the Main Thing
MESSAGE
Ask many people how they are doing and they’ll quickly tell you, “I’m Busy. Really busy.”
I mean, who isn’t right? Being busy has become synonymous with being of value. The busier you are, the more important you must be.
But the reality is that there are a lot of busy people who are spinning their wheels but not accomplishing much of real value. Yes, they’re doing lots of ‘stuff’ as they hastily make their way from one appointment to the next. But at the end of the day, when they have time to contemplate, if they are truly honest, they know that they have been wasting their time on things that don’t matter.
What is the important stuff that we should be doing? What are the most important relationships, truths and activities in your life?
Most people fail in life because they major in minor things, and only minor in the major things. Simply put: there are things that matter and things that honestly are trivial. If you don’t differentiate where you spend your time and resources, you may just fail miserably at life.
In our age of hyper-distraction, one of the biggest challenges we face is staying focused on what matters most. We must keep the first things first. But what are those important things?
Let me review what we’ve already learned from the book of Colossians to remind you what we said about the important things. In chapter 1:1-11, we were told that God has a plan for your life! What is it? We find that out in chapter 1:12-20, “It’s all about Jesus.” Jesus is the way to save your life, Jesus is the way to find God and Jesus is the way to fix your life. In 1:21-24, we said that you were saved so that you could become like Jesus. In 1:25-29 we were told that Christ in you is your only hope.
So do you get the idea that life is all about finding Jesus, becoming like Jesus, and living for Jesus? These are the important things. For many years now, some churches have turned aside from the way of Jesus and thus have lost their way.
Dr. David Jeremiah warns “Many U.S. churches today have ‘forgotten’ their purpose, becoming entertainment-driven social organizations eager to blend in with secular culture instead of focusing on biblical discipleship”[i]
At our church, we have a cross in front. Why? Because it reminds us that Jesus death for our sins is the main thing! At our church, at least once a month we celebrate the Lord’s Supper. Why? Because it reminds us that Jesus died for us, rose again and offers us forgiveness! And that is the main thing! At our church, we want to major on the important stuff.
We can be distracted away from the way of Jesus by several things. One of those is secular philosophy. Worldly ideology will lead you away from Jesus (2:8-10). Another distraction is legalism, or the insistence that we obey the OT law rather than develop a relationship with Jesus (2:11-17). A third distraction is the desire to have mystical spiritual experiences apart from Jesus. It doesn’t matter how many candles you light or how much you meditate or pray, unless Jesus is the center (2:18-19). And one other danger is a focus on Spiritually driven vegetarianism or other forms of religious self denial that don’t really draw you close to Jesus (2:20-23).
Jesus’ mission was to seek and save the lost. Ours should be the same.
And Paul, in verse one, let us know that he was willing to go to the wrestling mat for us in order to keep the main thing, the main thing. Paul’s Struggle for them
For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.
When Paul says he had a great conflict, he means that he is fighting for us, on our side, struggling in great agony to make sure that the important stuff stays the important stuff. There are some things that are worth standing for and defending with our life because they are that important! Do you have anything that important in your life?
Let me tell you, one of the main purposes of the church is to defend the faith, because it is that important!
The Church is all about Jesus 2-3
2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
This verse is all about the church. Why does the church exist? Why bother with the church? It turns out that the church was Jesus idea. If you want to get rid of the church, you need to get rid of Jesus. And in these verses, there are four reasons why the church exists.
#1. To encourage the hearts of those that come. The word encourage is παρακαλέω parakaleo which is a word picture of someone at church with their comforting arm around the shoulders of a weeping friend. The church is a place where encouragement is passed around.
#2 To bring friends together and to knit their hearts together in love. The church is the best place in the world to make friends… because church friends have the same noble purpose of living for Jesus.
#3 To gain the richness of full assurance of faith. One of the great reasons the church exists is to help people cast off their insecurities and find full assurance and confidence because of their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Once you come to the realization that Jesus is your helper, and that he will never leave you nor forsake you, you begin to gain a boldness you’ve never had before.
#4 To teach people the knowledge of the mystery of God – which is Christ in you! Once you place your faith in Christ, Jesus lives within.
But notice that all of this Is summed up by one important point: every treasured truth of spiritual wisdom and knowledge is found, hidden in Christ. Christ is the center. He is the source of comfort, the friend that is closer than a brother, He is the full assurance of faith and the wisdom of God. The church exists to point everyone to Jesus. It’s all about Jesus. And…
The Danger is that we might neglect Jesus 4
4 Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words.
Any attempt to get us to focus on something other than Jesus is deception.
Some people are very persuasive. There are some atheists out there who are incredibly intelligent. They could talk circles around me! The good news is that you don’t have to worry about that. In the grand scheme of things I don’t really count. All you really have to do is listen to God.
And here’s what I know about God: The foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. 1 Corinthians 1:20.
They may be smarter than I am, but their wisdom pales in comparison to God’s. So no matter how smart they are, don’t listen to them. Don’t let them draw you away from Jesus. Jesus is the main thing. It’s a danger to disregard Jesus. But the safe thing,
The Main Thing is to Focus on Jesus 5-6
5 For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. 6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
Here’s how you can Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing.
#1 Be steadfast in your faith in Christ. That means to hang in their through the storms of life. Don’t let anything destroy your faith.
2. Walk, or Live by faith in Christ. Jesus isn’t just for beginners, He’s for everyone. You were saved by faith in Christ, and you are to live your life by faith in Christ. The main thing is to focus on Jesus!
3. Build a good foundation of faith on Jesus Christ. Be rooted in Jesus. Build your life on the principles of Jesus. Let Jesus establish his ways in your life. Just as we are teaching you today, you must continue to grow by leaps and bounds with gratitude and thanksgiving in Jesus!
This is the main thing. If you don’t do anything else right in life, do this right: keep Jesus first in your life. And if you keep Christ first in your life, he’ll take care of the rest.
Some years ago the London Transit Authority was receiving a lot of complaints because their buses were driving past customers who were standing at the bus stops. The Transit Authority put out this infamous explanation in the newspaper. The explanation said, “It is impossible for us to maintain our schedule if we are always having to stop and pick up passengers.” Clearly, that bus company had forgotten its purpose.[ii]
Of the five thousand new companies that are started each year, only one thousand remain two years later. After five years, only two hundred are left. Corporate consultants say that the common denominator among all those failed companies is that they have no clear purpose; they lack a specific goal and direction.
As a church, we don’t want to forget why we are here. Or we could end up like the church of God grill in Atlanta Georgia. A visiting preacher saw an advertisement of the Church of God Grill. It had five stars. Curious he called it and a cheery man answered, “Hello, Church of God Grill!”
The preacher asked how the restaurant had been given such an unusual name, and the man said: “Well, we had a little mission down here, and we started selling chicken dinners after church on Sunday to help pay the bills. Well, people liked the chicken, and we did such a good business, and eventually we cut back on church, until after a while we just closed down the church altogether and kept on serving chicken dinners. We kept the name Church of God Grill.”
Jesus is the main thing. If you don’t do anything else right in life, do this right: keep Jesus first in your life. And if you keep Christ first in your life, he’ll take care of the rest.
Every treasured truth of spiritual wisdom and knowledge is found, hidden in Christ. Christ is the center. He is the source of comfort, the friend that is closer than a brother, He is the full assurance of faith and the wisdom of God. The church exists to point everyone to Jesus. It’s all about Jesus.
Most people fail in life because they major in minor things, and only minor in the major things. At our church, we need to do the important stuff, and that is living for Jesus. Let’s keep the Main Thing the Main Thing
[i] https://thepreachersword.com/2019/07/23/the-modern-church-has-lost-its-purpose/
[ii]https://www.uu.edu/centers/rglee/fellows/fall03/weekley.htm#:~:text=Some%20years%20ago%20the%20London,infamous%20with%20public%20relations%20departments.
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