Tag Archives: faith

Target Testimony

The Targets of our Testimony

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Being in God’s Kingdom has both privileges and responsibilities. Many of Jesus’ parables were about our stewardship over these responsibilities.

First and primary among these regard our fellow Christians. This is not a secondary issue but a primary one!

Secondarily is our testimony before the world.

We are NOT here to feed only, but to be trained and equipped for kingdom work. It IS important that we mature spiritually, but the deception of the enemy is to believe that we are growing in Christ’s likeness when we never engage in Kingdom work.

Our coming together for encouragement, instruction, community and impartation and reception of grace through one another is to have the ultimate effect of maturing us into Christ’s image and mobilizing us in kingdom work!

The difference between the way this is typically encouraged in churches today and what I am calling on you to do are two major points.

1. I want you to invite them to Christ – NOT church.
2. I want those who follow you here, to have already met Christ!

Don’t bring them to church to have the pastor or others do you evangelistic work FOR you. You win the lost and they will follow you to where you get fed.

All of this can be accomplished by programs and pressure from your church or pastor, but what it produces are altars built to God, hewn by human tools.

The only way Christianity really works, is when it is real, living and an automatic overflow of your own walk with and hunger for God!

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Your Testimony

The word of Your Testimony

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Today we wrapped up Paul’s letter to the Colossians which springboarded us into a study on living out the great commission.

As you know I am beginning to really press you about going out and doing the work of the Kingdom!

We all have a sphere of influence and authority and it is IN that sphere that we are commanded to be lights and salt to the world. 

In order to be lights and salt requires that we FIRST have been and are continuing to be transformed into Christ’s likeness. Our daily encounters with Christ produces a transformed life which is itself a witness and it creates a platform upon which we extend to the world a life line into God’s kingdom!

James tells us that true worship of God is seen in control over your mouth and in extending yourself to those in need – offering orphans and widows as his token examples.

So this was the point upon which our teaching this week is pressing.

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Believer's commission

The believer’s commission

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Colossians 3:1-4 is Paul’s encouragement to these Colossian believers so that they might press on to maturity in their faith.

The baton passed from Christ to His church was one of doing the work of the kingdom until He returns. That work has to manifestations.

First is internally, where the believer is daily conformed, more and more into the image of Jesus Christ. This is done by following the lead of the Holy Spirit who encourages us to set our hearts upon Christ rather than on things here on earth.

The second manifestation is externally, where our lives make us light and salt to the world around us due to the transforming work within us. This is what makes us ‘Living Witnesses’ of Jesus on the earth.

All of this is laid down for us in some detail in Romans 8 which we worked through in order to better understand HOW to live out Colossians 3:1-4.

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Disqualify Colossians

Let no one Disqualify you!

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This week as we continue on in Chapter 2 of Colossians, we run into a word which requires a little bit of defining since it “can” be difficult to translate, especially if you allow your theological bias to influence your judgment.

The key Greek word is katabrabeuō and can be translated in various ways, the two primary ones being condemn, which carries the notion of someone passing judgment on you OR disqualifying.

Given the purpose and overall content of the letter, the context of the statement plus the fact that what was at stake was the continuation in faith of these believers in Jesus alone for salvation – the word cannot be concerned with the judgment of false teachers. No, the word MUST be disqualified. Paul is setting the metaphorical tone of a race or competition. As such, the “race” in question is something you could be disqualified from, and therefore lose your stake in the reward or prize.

But what could Paul be referring to, that these Colossians could be disqualified from, if they forsook Christ and embraced another Gospel, but their very relationship with the Father through Christ!

This is why Paul makes MUCH of the supremacy of Christ. Being IN Christ and the need to continue in their faith steadfast and not moved away from the hope of the Gospel until the end!

This lesson is a little more bogged down due to the need to focus on details in the text, but I hope it will aid you in your understanding of both Colossians and the Gospel of our Lord.

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