Father, pour out your Holy Spirit upon us. Help us to engage with our minds what your Word has
to say to us this morning. Help us to engage with our hearts, Lord, that we would not be
apathetic to your truth, but that we would engage with it with our hearts, with our affections.
Lord, would you pour out your Holy Spirit upon us? We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated.
Amen. So some of you maybe are new today. We are going through a series called Meditating
on God's Word. And so what we're doing is taking small sections of the Bible that are
either memorable, they're really good to memorize and feed on as we study them and read them,
contemplate. And they generally have one idea. So it's like one, two verses. They have
one or two ideas. And today we're looking at Colossians chapter 1, verse 28, particularly
verse 28. So there's this one big idea, but there's also a big objection when we look at this verse.
And the big objection is that as Canadians, we want to foster respect for other people's beliefs and
would rather just live and let live. As Canadians, that's what we value. And when it comes to
Christianity, one of the big objections is that it works in the opposite direction. You kind of have
to adopt the whole Christian belief, and then you have to make other people believe it as well.
And it's your job that people would be overwhelmed by that faith, as if your faith was better than
somebody else's. That's really the core of it. And that's just not cool with Canadians. We just don't
go there. So instead of doing what our culture tends to do is critique from far away, we're going
to look at what the Bible has to say. So it would be helpful to me if you have your Bibles with you.
And we're going to look over this verse over and over again. So I'll read it again. Colossians chapter 1,
verse 28. It says,
Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom that we may present everyone
mature in Christ. So hearing words like this, alarm bells are probably setting off in our ears.
What do you mean, proclaim? Like, is your belief better than somebody else's? Like here it's commanding us
to proclaim the Christian faith. And as Canadians, we want to be agreeable. That's one of our highest
ethics. And it's what keeps, we believe that keeps us strong, is our unity. And we don't want to divide
things. So things like religion, we just have to see them as, you know, on the side. We have to put
them on the side and not have them as the center of our lives. So the Canadian claim would go something
like this. You can have Jesus, you can have Muhammad, you can have Buddha, you can have yourself if you're
a humanist, but we will all have to work together and unite and or find common ground in our humanity
because our humanity is what transcends all these different beliefs.
So that's probably the more positive way of thinking, isn't it? This is something we call pluralism.
And we see it in our workplaces, in our schools, we hear it on the radio, we see it on the TV,
in politics, in the arts, in our local coffee shop. It's everywhere in Canadian culture.
And it's the idea that all paths are equal. All paths are equal and not, there shouldn't be one path
that goes above another one and like all paths are equal. We don't want to assume that one is
better than the next. And that's the expected belief for Canadians. Several months ago, there was
a beautiful article written in the Huffington Post by Surjit Singh Flora that sort of hashed out this
Canadian ideal of pluralism, this goal that we have as a culture. He wrote,
Now, it's hard to disagree with this statement, isn't it? And as Christians, we find much common
ground when we hear something like this. And it's not only that we find common ground,
is that a list of virtues like this can be intimidating to Christians.
It's not because that, you know, it has something better to offer, but it's so agreeable to us that
there's so many things that, you know, our Christian faith compels us to do things like that, yet
it's not the same. So resisting it makes us look like a threat, a threat to something that on the
surface seems good. But here's the problem for our Canadian culture. The best that it can offer
is a list of good things to do, a list of good behaviors. And we all know that a list of good
behaviors is not really inspiring. It has its own limits. We know that when we tell a child to do
something, they often don't do it. And if we're honest, as adults, things don't really change all
the time. We also have that thing continuing in our lives. So being told to be a better human is
not very life-changing. So here's the first point, if we can have it. Martin, or Sana, thank you.
Christianity proclaims a person. Canada proclaims values. Christianity proclaims a person. Canada
proclaims values. British historian Tom Holland, who's an agnostic, said in a conversation that they
had with N.T. Wright, who's a Christian, he's a bishop of the American church, and he's a theologian
apologist. So in a conversation that they had, Tom Holland, an agnostic, said, compacted in this very
small amount of writing, Paul's writing he's referring to, is almost everything that explains the modern
Western world. And also how the West has gone to shape concepts like international law and human
rights. Ultimately, they don't go back to Greek philosophers. They don't go back to Roman imperialism.
They go back to Paul. Paul's letters, I think, along with the four gospels, are the most influential,
the most impactful, the most revolutionary writings that have emerged from the ancient world.
Now, I'm not bringing this out to say that, you know, Canadian culture is actually Christian.
I don't think that's the case, or I'm not trying to say that the Apostle Paul is a superior human
being, but rather to show that when we talk about tolerance and equality, human rights, and so forth,
they have a source. This idea comes from somewhere, which Tom Holland claims is the Christian gospel.
So what does this mean for Canadians living in Canada? Does it mean that we, since we have a
distant heritage of Christian values, that we should just concern ourselves with being good Canadians?
Would that not be enough? Can we have our second point, Sana?
The gospel is inspired by a savior, not just a better way of living. The gospel is inspired by a savior,
not just a better way of living. This is hugely important because, like every other worldview,
Canadian pluralism or Canadian values present us with a potentially better way of living. It could
work in the end. So it's really just a list of things to do, and that's the starting point. It gives us
the task, and it says, go for it. Be a better human so we can live together in harmony.
And on top of that, you can't, well, you can have your religion, the religion that you want,
as long as you're a good person, as long as you're tolerant in other beliefs, and that you don't push
your beliefs on other people. So pluralism is often explained in this analogy. So there are three blind
people that are walking around in a zoo, and they arrive at the elephant. And so the one person who
obviously is blind, they can't see the elephant, they start feeling the elephant, and they feel the leg,
and they say, wow, like the elephant is big and round, and it's like a tree. But then the other person
says, no, no, no, I'm touching something that's very flat, very soft, and that's what the elephant is like.
It's flat and soft, almost like a stingray or something. And then the third person is saying, no, no, no,
you have it wrong. The elephant feels like a snake. It's narrow, and it's like, and they're touching
the trunk, right? And so this is what, this is supposed to be compared, or supposed to be an
analogy for all the worldviews, that we only have a part of the truth, only a small portion of the
truth. But all together, everyone sees a little part of the truth. Now that sounds very, very humble,
very tolerant. But here's the thing. There aren't only three people in the zoo. There has to be a
fourth person to say, no, no, no, that's not what the elephant is like. That's only part of the
elephant. And the assumption is that this fourth person is not blind. This fourth person can see
perfectly the full image. They don't just see a portion of it, or they don't just feel a portion of
it. They see the whole thing. That's why they can say, what you're touching is a leg, not the full
elephant, or the trunk, not the full elephant. So we have a problem with this worldview, is that when
it says that all views are equal, it doesn't live up to its own standard. It self-implodes.
Tim Keller, in response to this analogy, wrote, how could you possibly know that no religion can see the
whole truth unless you yourself have the superior, comprehensive knowledge of spiritual reality?
You just claim that none of the religions have.
So there's a problem with this. It claims that all religions are equal, and then you have to live up
to this standard in order to live in harmony. But in contrast to this, the Christian worldview
has a different starting point. It says that the gospel, the sacrificial love of God, God so loved
the world that he gave his only son, so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal
life. That is the starting point of the gospel. And that's what we see in verse 28 here in the Bible.
That it says, him we proclaim. Him we proclaim. It's not saying values we proclaim. This is a better way of
living. These are the 10 steps for your, I don't know, freedom or whatever, how to lose weight or
whatever, right? It's saying him we proclaim. It's a person, that there's a person who inspires us,
a person who changes our life. And it's this love that Jesus had that led him to the cross.
But first, he came to earth, took on human flesh, took on the human experience, and he became one
of us, lived a perfect life, and he went to the cross in order to save us, in order to save us from
this bondage that we have that is stuck, that has crippled us in our hearts and our souls.
So Christianity is about the person and work of Jesus. Can we have our next point? Christianity is
about the person and work of Jesus. Friends, this is how we ought to read the Bible. We read it in the
lens of Jesus. Whatever we read, we want to see Jesus. It talks about Jesus. This is how we grow
and spiritual maturity. We look to Jesus. We look to what Jesus has done, what he's accomplished,
who he is, the love that he has for us. And this is how we grow in joy. Our faith is completely
about the person and work of Jesus. So who is Jesus? And what did he do? This is a big question. We don't
have 10 hours to talk about this, but see, this is a good question. We were supposed to proclaim Jesus,
who is Jesus. The rest of chapter 1 in Colossians gives us a really, really good summary of that.
And I'm just going to condense it so that we can read it together. So if we can have the next point.
So let's read that together. This is basically a summary of what Colossians 1 says about who Jesus is.
So let's read it together. Jesus Christ is Lord over all creation. He entered history to reconcile
us with God through his death on the cross. His resurrection is victory over death, providing us
eternal life by faith. He will make all things new at his return. Amen. Now you might be thinking,
Jonathan, this is all great, but there's a catch. I can smell it. See, I can accept that Jesus did all
these things, but that's not all. Now the expectation is that I'm going to have to jump through all these
religious hoops to impress God and become like every other Christian. Is that true? Now let's read
again verse 28. So it says,
See, as Canadians, we love our personal comfort. And when we read words like warning and teaching,
again, the alarm bells, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, they go off. And we get uncomfortable by that
because as Christians, or it's trying to say that Christians only stay Christians because of fear
and brainwashing. So you get in, you get into the Christian faith, things are good, but then you have
to change your life. And then fear comes in and they try to fill you with fear so that you won't
leave. Is that really what's happening? No. Verse 28 is saying that when we are gripped by the gospel,
again, the first statement is so important. Him we proclaim so that when we are gripped by the gospel,
we in turn learn to live to God's glory. That is following Jesus' teaching not only in church
or at the Bible study, but at home, at work, on the road, etc. It's moving us to integrity.
So if we can have the video at this point. Last week, Daniel Avitan shared an illustration
from Seinfeld. And I was so inspired. I thought about it this week as I was studying this. I
thought another Seinfeld analogy. And so while Father George is away on vacation, we're opening
the big vault of Seinfeld analogies. And we're going to have a video this time. I'm trying to
outdo Daniel Avitan here. Okay, so what's happening here? George has two lives. And this
is what I will call the George Costanza syndrome, is that George has his relationship life, the
life where he goes dating with women. And I don't endorse the show because of a lot of the
things that are happening in the show. But he has this relationship, George, and the independent
George. And things are well when those two spheres never interact. They never intersect.
Now, this is a human problem. This is not just the George Costanza problem. And if we have
our next point, that would be great. There's the church me and the everything else me. I fear
losing control of my life if I merge the two. See, this is a common problem. We want to have
control of our lives. We want to keep our faith here and have everything else there. Have our faith
on Sundays and have everything else happening under our own authority. And in our hearts, in our heart of
hearts, we say, stay over there, Jesus. When it comes to things like our retirement goals, our investments,
our relationships, sexuality, leisure, work, ambition, etc. We want to have our own space.
And we want to tell Jesus where he can go into our lives.
And it's as if our faith, I'll give an illustration, it's as if our faith was like parsley. Parsley on a
plate. You go to the restaurant, you order a nice dish, you have a bit of parsley, and this parsley is
supposed to spice up your dish. It's supposed to make it livelier, it smells better, it looks better,
has a bit of a taste, but ultimately it's not the dish. Jesus is more than parsley on a plate. He's
not a decoration that adds a bit of oomph to your life, like most people would see spirituality in
religion. It's a bit hip to have this worldview or, you know, you can get into a circle of friends or
what not. Jesus is not like that. I mean, think about it. If Jesus defeated death on the cross
and invites us to share eternal life with him, how much should that change our lives?
Like seriously, if he really, really, really defeated death on the cross and opens up the door
of heaven so that we can have eternal life in the presence of God, how much should that change our
lives? Last year, some family members traveled to Spain, and I remember they were talking with my
wife over the phone, and they were learning Spanish, or they were sharing Spanish words that they were
learning, and they were learning about the culture, the different foods, and the sites that they were
going to go visit, and it was fun. It was great, and that's usually what we want to do, is that if we want
to profit the most from our vacation, we look forward to it, and so we're going to prepare for it.
And if we have our next point, Asana.
While some say that life is not about the destination, but about the journey,
the gospel says that the destination is so good that we journey in light of the glory that awaits us.
While some say that life is not about the destination,
but about the journey, the gospel says that the destination is so good that we journey in light of the glory
that awaits us. This is the core of the Christian faith, of Christian maturity,
is that we want to live in light of the glory
that is to come.
Our lives become interrupted by the gospel that Jesus
comes into our lives, and that the hope that we have, all these things,
really influence the way that we live
in our journey.
But the danger is
that we leave
this whole idea of Christian maturity
for other people.
Maybe you're more seasoned in age
than me,
at least, and you're thinking, well, this is
something for the younger generation.
They really need to hear something like this.
And if you're a teen,
you're probably thinking, I'm glad my parents are listening
because they're so stuck in 2005.
I don't know what that means.
But
maybe I'm just past that threshold.
But this text is not talking about the other person.
It's not calling the other person
to Christian maturity.
If we read it again,
verse 28,
we see,
warning everyone
and teaching everyone
with all wisdom
that we may present
everyone
mature in Christ
three times,
as Paul says,
everyone.
This is an invitation for all of us
to experience and taste
the glory of God
breaking through darkness
in this life,
in every area of our lives.
As a new Christian,
I thought that
when I was going to church
and was hearing the preaching,
I thought
I will have to abandon
my aspiration
of becoming a musician
and become a pastor.
And I was a bit bummed about that
because I love music.
I thought
that as a Christian,
the natural thing
that you should do
is become a pastor
or work for the church
or do some type
of ministry.
Is this what
Christian maturity
is all about?
And you might be wondering,
is this what,
is this,
like,
growing in Christian maturity
means that I have to
do these things
and
I don't see that
working with me
because I love science.
I love art.
I love,
I want to be a stay-at-home mom.
I love computers
and I want to go
into these things.
I feel like God's
calling me to that.
So what is Christian maturity?
I just don't know
if we can have
our next point, please.
Christian maturity
is bringing the goodness
and love of God
wherever we go.
See,
God has given us
gifts,
talents,
interests,
so that we should
go into those areas
and bring the gospel,
bring the light
of God's good news
into those areas
so that these areas
can be restored,
so these areas can,
so the people
in those places
can come to the saving
knowledge of Jesus Christ.
That is Christian maturity
is learning to
see
our vocation,
our place of influence
as important
to God
and to see
and to hear
God's calling
in that particular place.
This is why
we can be scientists
and engineers
and artists
and electricians
and politicians
and stay
or stay at home
moms or dads
and stay faithful
to Jesus
in that way.
Just a while back,
I met a friend
who had just recently
converted to Christianity
from Hinduism
and he told me
this story
about a friend
who's also
a friend in common.
I know this other person
and they were
at university.
They both live
in a residence,
in a Catholic residence
at UFT
and we all know
how university students
are filthy rich.
They just have
too much money,
right?
But anyway,
what happened
was that
a lot of the young men
in that house
were struggling
with pornography
and so this other friend,
the friend that we have
in common,
he thought,
you know what?
This is important.
So I'm going to ask
the house,
the people who run the house,
if they can get a filter
for the internet
and that way
these people will be able to,
these young men
will be able to fight
against pornography
and so he did that.
He asked and he said,
no, we can't do that.
It's too much money
and just couldn't believe it.
Like how,
like how is that?
So anyway,
this filthy rich
university student,
he's not rich at all,
by the way.
He's getting married
in a few months.
Money's tight.
He's doing his masters
and he decides
to take on
the $250
that it costs
to get the filter
for everyone in the house
and
this is,
this is what
I believe
Christian maturity
leads us to do
is when we're gripped
by the gospel
that we want to see
other people
be set free
to experience
the glory of God
in all of life.
At Church of the Messiah
we have this,
this,
I guess our motto
or vision statement
is that,
is to make disciples
of all nations
who are gripped
by the gospel
and learning to live
for God's glory
and that's really
the core of Christian maturity
is that God's love
for us in Jesus
propels us.
The beauty of eternity
that was revealed
in Jesus
in his life,
in his ministry,
in his death
on the cross
is what inspires us.
that's what makes us
want to change.
That's what makes us
want to experience
the truly beautiful
in life
which is the radiance
of God's glory.
It changes us
in the way we think
of our retirement goals
and our investments
in our relationships,
in our sexuality,
in our leisure,
in our work,
ambitions
so that we don't waste
our time pursuing
these things
but we see these things
in light of the gospel.
We see these things
in light of Jesus Christ
and we want to live
for what really matters
which is loving God
and loving others.
Now just to wrap up here,
maybe you're here
and you're realizing
that you've had Jesus
in your life
but he was over here
and you had the rest
of your life there.
What do I do?
Or maybe you've been
a Christian for quite some time
and you're realizing now
that you've loved
other things
above Jesus.
Is there hope?
Well, this text
implies that yes,
there is hope
that when we believe
in Jesus,
we start walking
toward him
in steps of faithfulness
then we'll be able
to grow
into a godly service.
Our affections
will start changing.
This idea
of being part of a church
is not just
to go there on Sunday
and leave right away.
We mingle with people.
We get to learn
from other people.
We get to share
with other people.
We get challenged
by other people
and we grow
in that way.
But first,
it starts with
crying out to Jesus
and maybe you've never
really done that.
Crying out
to Jesus
in humility,
saying,
Jesus,
I need you.
I need help.
I need the gospel.
And so,
here's the last point
and I think
this is good news.
This is really
the core message
of this text.
It says,
Jesus is my savior
before he is my teacher.
His salvation
teaches me
to live.
Now,
this next point,
I'm going to,
I'm going to put up
a prayer
so that we can pray
this together.
Maybe this is your
conversion prayer.
Maybe you've never
walked with Jesus before
and you want to have
Jesus,
have the promise
of eternal life
with Jesus
and be transformed
by his likeness
and by the Holy Spirit.
we can pray this prayer.
It's not about the words.
It's really about the heart.
And maybe
you've been wanting
to deepen your allegiance
with Jesus
and
so this is a good
first step.
So how about we stand
together
and we'll pray this.
Almighty God,
you entered
human nature
and experience
in the person
of your son,
Jesus Christ.
I did not spare him
from suffering
and death
but sent him
to die the death
we deserve
so we could have
the destiny he earned.
Deepen in us
the knowledge
of your salvation
and pour out
your Holy Spirit
that we may proclaim
Christ faithfully
and attain
godly maturity
to the glory
of your name.
Through Jesus Christ
our Lord.
Amen.
Father,
would you pour out
your Holy Spirit
upon us?
Lord,
as we
seek to
to have
a good life
here in Canada,
help us to
live in reality.
Help us to be
real about
who we are
and to be real
about who you are,
Lord.
Would you lead us
to that place
where we can
abandon ourselves
to you
and that we can
trust you
and love you,
Lord.
And then we can
love our neighbors.
We ask this in Jesus' name.
Amen.