Powerfully works within me

Minister Joaquin

Colossians 1:24-29

24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. 

Filling up what is lacking

What is lacking, then, needing to be “filled up,” are the tribulations that are inevitable and necessary as God’s kingdom faces the opposition of the “domain of darkness” (cf. v.13) As members of Christ’s own body, his people participate in the sufferings of Christ himself. 

For this I toil

The Greek verb behind “contend” referred originally to “competing” as an athlete and then developed into the more general sense “fight”- whether physical or mental. 

Matthew 18:10-13 Leaves the 99 to rescue the one

10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. 12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. 

Luke 10:25-37 Parable of the Good Samaritan 

25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” 

29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.” 

That he powerfully works within me

The ultimate aim is much the same: to balance human effort with the enabling grace of God in Christ. Paul can brag that “I worked harder than all of them” (1 Cor. 15:10), but at the same time what he accomplishes in ministry is always and only “through him who gives me strength” (Phil. 4:13)

Matthew 11:28-30

28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” 

Jesus model for being filled with God’s strength

Prayer

Luke 6:12-16

12 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. 13 And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles: 14 Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15 and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. 

Matthew 26:39

39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

Strength from Community

Jesus asks apostles to stay up with him because he needs their strength

Matthew 26:36-38

36 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” 37 And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” 

Matthew 26:40-41

40 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Stepped out in faith

Matthew 17:14-20

14 And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, 15 said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” 17 And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” 

You have to step first before you get the strength

David put on the armor and it was too big but still stepped towards Goliath

Daniel’s friends stepped into the fire after the guards were killed and waited for the strength

Peter had to step out of the boat to see if Jesus would give him the strength to walk

Peter and John preached until they went to jail to see gods strength get them out

Corrie ten boom snuggled people out before she got the strength to survive the concentration camps 

Moses had to tell the pharaoh to let the people go before he saw Gods strength 

Gideon had to blow the horns to wake up the enemy and possibly die on the battlefield before he saw God’s strength 

Esther had to summon the king before she saw God’s strength 

Rahab had to hide the spies while they searched her place before she would see Gods strength save her

Elijah had to stand in front of 500 evil prophets that would kill him before God showed his strength

Questions:

1.     How risk averse would you say you are from 1-10? How does that affect your ability to step out in faith?

2.     How much have you dedicated yourself to praying, seeking strength from community, and stepping out in faith while you are waiting for God’s strength? 

3.     Why do we expect all the work to be done by Jesus and don’t see the responsibility as ours?