1. 2 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and
for all who have not seen me face to face, 2
that their hearts may be encouraged,
being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and
the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, 3
in whom are hidden all the treasures of
wisdom and knowledge. 4
I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible
arguments. 5
For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see
your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.
1. Striving prayer – emphasis on whatever paul is going to say next
2. The solution – Renew your love on his richness
3. – why ? He is worthy!
4. The problem – Don’t be decieved
5. Result – so that you will strive, shields up, holding the line, forsaking all other ground except him
1. Striving prayer
a. Ahg-own - Contest (2:1) harkening to a Greek Olympian
i. Hebrews 12:1
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a
cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which
doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race G73
that is set before us,
ii. 1 Tim 6:12
Fight the good fight G73 of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto
thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before
many witnesses.
b. What does striving prayer look like
i. Physical obstacles
1. Tiredness
2. Hunger
3. Pain
4. Pleasure
5. Environmental
6. Adversary
ii. Non-physical
1. Pride – inflated importance
2. Unrepentant
3. Despair
4. Control response
5. Futility
2. 6. Dismay
2. The only Vaccine worth a damn - Love of the preeminent Christ
a. reaching, attaining riches from the understanding / resulting in knowledge
of CHRIST (2:2)
b. Knit together in love
i. Love for who? Christ!
ii. Knit, held together (2:19) with CHRIST as the head
1. What are some other things that you could try to be knit
together in?
a. Power
b. Fame
c. Self-righteousness
d. Fortune
c. He is the chest carrying all the riches within himself (2:3)
i. Job 11:7 “Can you find out the deep things of God?
Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?
ii. His riches are unsearchable
1. What are they but eternal life
2. Promise of glory of being conformed to the image of his
likeness
3. Of our adoption as sons
d. Mystery
i. Meeting the adversary on their own turf – fighting fire with fire
ii. Mysteries of the supernatural were being peddled everywhere
iii. Paul is pointing to God’s preeminent mystery and it is infinitely
deep and its riches infinitely worthy.
e. Hebrews 12:2-3
looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy
that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is
seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so
that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
f. The inoculation!
i. Say this so no own can deceive you 2:4
ii. What makes your heart go astray?
1. Thanklessness
Psalm 13:1-7
3. 13 How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2
How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
3
Consider and answer me, O LORD my God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
4
lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.
5
But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
6
I will sing to the LORD,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.
3. Are you vaxxed?
a. Vaxxed against forgetfulness of Christ’s passion for you?
i. Are you driving your heart towards him?
ii. Are you spending time reflecting on his word which points to him?
iii. Are you thankful?
iv. Consider all that he has done for you
4. Hold the line
a. Maintain ranks
5. Application
a. Strive
i. Ignore the doubts
ii. Watch for the obstacles
b. Love Christ, the head of this body
i. Are you held together by love for him?
c. Renew your love for him by reaching all the riches of full assurance of
understanding – Consider him, look upon the chest of treasures infinitely
radiant, see him as he is
d. So that you will stand firm on the hope that is HIM
e. What is our hope?
1 Cor 15:51
4. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52
in a
moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound,
and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53
For this perishable
body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on
immortality. 54
When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on
immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55
“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
56
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57
But thanks be to God, who
gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the
work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Conclusion
f. In a world of solutions He is the only mystery worth knowing
g. Our unity in love for him is vital – this is not a social club
h. We must strive to keep him preeminent in our hearts – feed your joy with
thanksgiving
