Pastor Slaughter
Pentecost 4
6-16-2-24
Text: Colossians 1:3-8
I thank God for the gospel bearing fruit in you…in the world
How might you expect a kingdom to grow? Having a strong military force not only to defend but to expand. Maybe you think about making all the right political moves, making those right alliances. Maybe you might think about having the right leaders in place or having a large population. While all those things may be true, how do you expect the kingdom of God to grow?
I think we know that the way the kingdom of God grows is the gospel, the good news about Jesus. I wonder if the temptation for us is that we want God’s kingdom to grow differently. Like if only we could make a law making everyone believe. Or by making more appealing to our culture by changing/hiding the truth of God’s word.
That isn’t how God chooses to make his kingdom grow. God uses the gospel. Jesus himself describes it as something that is initially unimpressive, a mustard seed, in the gospel reading. And what happens? It grows up and becomes something impressive a large garden plant with branches that birds can nest in it’s shade. This gospel is a seed that was planted in each of your hearts. Paul is thankful for that in our second lesson to the Colossians. He essentially thanks God for the gospel that is present with them. The gospel that is bearing fruit in them and the world. So today I thank God for the gospel bearing fruit in you and in the world.
Paul says in verse 6, “The gospel is bearing fruit and growing in the entire world, just as it also has been doing among you from the day you heard it and came to know the grace of God in truth.” Paul notices something and something that he is thankful for. The gospel has grown in their lives continues bearing fruit. He remembers where it all it all started, “…the day you heard it and came to the know the grace of God in truth.”
How did you come in contact with the gospel? Was it here, at the baptismal fount where God came to you in the water connected with the Word, to give to you saving faith? Maybe it was at the old church? Did the girl you were interested in marrying take you to church and you heard for the first time about grace of Jesus? Did that annoying pastor keep on hounding you until you took a Bible basics class? Did it start with an invitation from a friend?
Each of us probably has a different story we could tell about how we were exposed to God’s grace, his undeserved love for sinners. Our stories might be unique, but one thing is the same for every believer. They came in contact with the gospel, the good news about Jesus. It could have been God’s word connected to waters of baptism or the gospel shared with them.
The message is the same. Epaphras shared it with the Colossians. He shared with them “the grace of God in truth.” You have heard it. The Holy Spirit has convicted you of this truth. The truth that Jesus showed to us grace, God’s undeserved love for sinners. When we were spiritually dead, blind, unable to please God, in fact we did everything to push God away, he still loved us and sent his Son Jesus. Jesus loves knows no limits and he marched straight to a cross to die in our place.
This message of God’s grace produces hope. A sure an certain hope. A “hope that is stored up for you in heaven” because Jesus rose again. Hope knowing that your sins are forgiven. Hope in knowing that heaven is your home. Not because of all the good works you will do but because of the good work Jesus did for you. Not because of how holy you are but because of his grace given to you.
You have heard about this hope, you have been convicted of this hope by the Holy Spirit working through, the Word of truth. And I am thankful for that. I thank God that you were exposed to that truth. I thank God for the faith he has given you. And I thank God for that gospel bearing fruit in your lives.
Paul was thankful because he heard about the Colossians faith and “the love that you have for all the saints.” The gospel bore fruit in the lives of Colossians and it expressed itself in the love that they had for the family of believers. I thank God for your faith and the love you have for one another. I thank God when I see members greet the stranger that walks through the door. I thank God for you, when you are passionate about the upkeep of God’s house. I thank God for you when help your fellow member, weather it is making meals or visiting them. I thank God for your passion for children and having a school. I thank God for the kindness you show to my children. I thank God for you members of Trinity because I see evidence of your faith in loving concern for one another.
Brothers and sisters in Christ hold fast to the word of truth that seed that took root inside of you bearing fruit in your lives. It not only is bearing fruit in your life but as Paul said, “The Gospel is bearing fruit and growing in the entire world…”
Do you doubt that at times, that the gospel is growing in the world? It can be easy for us to do that when we think back on to when Trinity was in its heyday where you raised the funds to build this beautiful church and school, where we had a choir of over 50 members, where our school was well over 100 and every classroom was full. We might begin to doubt it when we try to share our faith, but it just doesn’t seem like the gospel is taking root among our family and friends. We might begin to doubt the gospel is spreading when we see persecution in our nation and across the world.
When we begin to doubt that the gospel is bearing fruit and growing in the world, do we begin to think that gospel is unimpressive? That the gospel needs some help to grow God’s kingdom? Has the thought crossed your mind that the gospel isn’t enough, if only we had better programs, then people will believe? If only we offered more parenting classes, more kid activities, then more people would believe. If only we had more money then we could grow.
Don’t get me wrong, I think programs and events are important. But they are important in so far as they provide an opportunity for the gospel to be heard. They do not make the gospel any more effective. When we think that the Gospel needs additional things in order to be effective, we are really lessoning the person and work of Jesus. We are essentially saying that Jesus isn’t enough to save us. We need Jesus but we also need this activity or thing. We just need to add to the gospel to make it more effective.
The gospel doesn’t need other things to make it more effective. It already has the Holy Spirit working in the message that it proclaims. We just need to share it. Plant that seed of the gospel and pray that God will cause it to grow.
WELS World Missions conducts and encourages gospel outreach in 46 countries and is exploring outreach opportunities in 19 prospective new mission fields. World Missions brings the light of God’s Word to the world through evangelism efforts, church planting, training national workers for ministry, and providing religious materials in foreign languages through Multi-Language Productions (MLP). there are 47 world missionaries partner with over 500 national pastors to conduct outreach and train more than 400 students for service in Christ’s kingdom.
I thank God for the missionaries he has sent to take the gospel to the ends of world. We don’t need fancy gimmicks or light shows. We just need to share the gospel, the message about Jesus with people and God will take care of the rest. If you are hesitant about telling others about Jesus, if you don’t know what to say, our evangelism team will be providing training and resources to help give you the confidence to share your faith with people….
My family in Christ, I thank God for you. I thank God for the Gospel that has taken seed inside of you. I thank God for the faith that grows inside each of you as you hear the truth of his Word. I thank God for the Gospel bearing fruit in you and in the world. Amen.