InPerspective

Harry Reeder: If I was to come up to you and say, "What is your passion in life?" what would you tell me? If I was to come up to you and say, "What is your purpose?" In Acts 13:36, it says, "David, after he had served God's purpose in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid among his fathers." What is your purpose in life? Why are you here? What are you here to do?

If you could jump to the end of your life right now, what is your desire? How do you want to end up? What do you want the outcome to be?

Narrator: Putting life in biblical perspective with Dr. Harry L. Reeder. This is InPerspective, a radio and internet ministry of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. What is your purpose in life? What is your heart's passion and deepest desire?

The Apostle Paul revealed his passion, purpose, and desire to the Colossians: the glory of God, the proclamation of the gospel, and the spiritual well-being and Christian maturity of other believers. As we examine this letter, we realize that these should be our passion, purpose, and desire as well.

Stay with us now as Dr. Reeder continues our series, Christ is All and in All: Colossians in Biblical Perspective. Today, we turn to Colossians chapter 2 and verses 1 through 5, and the message, "Christianity: Designer Living."

Harry Reeder: Look with me, if you would, in Colossians chapter 2. Verses 1 through 5 is what we are covering today. Christianity: Designer Living. "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, 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, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. 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." Let me ask you to look in this Colossians 2 text and jot down three words: the word "passion," the word "purpose," and the word "desire." Passion, purpose, and desire.

What is your heart passion, your heart purpose, and your heart desire? Let me put it this way. If I was to come up to you and say, "May I ask you a question? What is your passion in life?" what would you tell me? If I was to come up to you and say, "What is your purpose?" In Acts 13:36, it says David, after he had served God's purpose in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid among his fathers.

What is your purpose in life? Why are you here? What are you here to do? Or if I could ask you, listen, if you could jump to the end of your life right now, what is the desired end of your life? What is your desire? How do you want to end up? What do you want the outcome to be? What is your passion, your purpose, your desire?

To get to this, can I tell you something that might be helpful? Go to some friends who love you enough to tell you the truth and ask them, "Sam or Sally, as you look at my life, what do you think is my passion? Sam, Sally, as you look at my life, what do you think is the purpose of my life? Where do you think I desire to end up my life? Just by looking at me, what I do, the way I live, the way I function, the values I exhibit with the choices I make, what would you say is my passion?"

To go and say to somebody, "Would you tell me what my passion is?" Well, Harry, I think your passion is—from looking at your life, I'd say your passion is what? From looking at your life, I'd say your purpose of existence is what? From looking at your life, I would say what you desire to get to the end, satisfied with no regrets, is what? Paul, a sinner saved by grace called into life and ministry, pulls the veil back for us to take a look at those three things in these five verses.

I remember in my life, the call to the ministry really brought out this thing of passion for me. I remember I was 21 years old when I became a Christian. Two weeks later, they made me the director of the youth group. I had no idea what I was doing. Malachi? Is that his name, Malachi? I had no idea what I was doing. It was because I'd played sports, they just made me the youth director.

These kids had been catechized, sanitized, sanctified, pasteurized, and everything, and they were so far ahead of me. I just had to get a Bible. I remember my granddaddy bought me a study Bible, and he said, "Go to work." I learned then that the teacher learns a lot more than the students, just by trying to stay a step ahead or catching up.

But the Lord blessed and it seemed as if the Lord was calling me into the ministry. I was really grappling with this call to the ministry thing. I was about ready to surrender to it. Being a youth director, I took the kids on a youth retreat up to The Wilds outside of Rosman, North Carolina. Two of the pastors of two of the sister churches were leading the youth retreat.

One pastor's name was Herman Mitschke. That week we called him "Herman the German." The other guy was Al Lutz. We called him "Al Lutz the Clutch." You can get away with that at a youth retreat. I went up to Al Lutz, who I'd really been drawn to, and I said to him—we walked out to the woods and we were talking—I said, "Can I ask you a question? Al, I believe the Lord has called me to the ministry. What would you say to that?"

He said, "Harry, if there's anything else you can do in life and be happy, do that." I thought he was going to say, "Hey man, the benefits are great, and we need guys like you. Come on and let's go." He's trying to talk me out of it. Of course, later on, I found out he was just quoting Charles Spurgeon in his book, *Lectures to My Students*, when he told them that.

What they're getting to is this: because of what it costs in the ministry, you endure treachery, you endure assault, you endure the evil one. You have so many things—Satan comes after you and the world will come after you—that if you don't know you're called and it's not your passion, there's no way. It's not a job, folks. It's a calling. It's got to be a passion. That was my first lesson on passion.

My second lesson on purpose came about four years later. I was about 25, 26 years old. I had finished Covenant College and was going to Westminster Seminary, but I had helped a little independent church get started. I was kind of a supply pastor and going part-time to seminary. The 17 people became 80, and then the 80 became 150, and 150 became 200.

So I put off going to where I wanted to go to seminary, went part-time to another seminary just to stay with this church for a while. I was preaching through one day on evangelism, and I just came under great conviction. This church was growing, but when I looked out there, I couldn't find any new Christians. I found a lot of sheep that were changing pasture, but I didn't find any new Christians.

Then I began to look at my own life. Who had I led to Christ in the last year? I couldn't think of anybody. Then I began to think, who had I led to Christ the last two years? I wasn't sure I could pick. So one day, I'm preaching on this thing on evangelism. I got under such conviction, I stood up that Sunday and I said to the congregation, "Anybody here that became a Christian in the last six months through the ministry of this church or somebody in it, would you stand up?"

Nobody stood up. And I said, "How about a year?" Nobody stood up. I said, "How about two years?" Nobody stood up. I said, "Folks, number one, I'm the chief of sinners in this. Number two, I need to repent. Number three, you need to repent, because something's wrong. Something is wrong. We've become an elitist church, but not a church where we were winning people to Christ, seeking to save the lost."

I was gone about six months later from that church. It had something to do with that Sunday. But I learned about purpose. You don't evangelize serendipity. You seek to save the lost. It's got to be a purpose in life. What's my purpose in life? What's my passion? What's my purpose? And what's my desire? Just jump to the end of your life—that's what I try to do.

Just jump to the end of my life. Where do I want to end up? Where do I want to be at the end of this thing? If I can see myself in a deathbed and I got 20 seconds to live, what is it that I desire to be present so that I don't have regrets? What's the desired outcome? Well, Paul kind of unfolds that for you here. Let me just kind of walk you through it right quick.

The first thing he says in verse 1, he gives you his passion. He says, "See how great a struggle I have for you who are at Colossae and who are at Laodicea." A great struggle. The Greek word there is the word we get—it's the second time he's used it in the book of Colossians. He used it previously back in chapter 1. In fact, look back there with me, if you would.

In the last verse of chapter 1, he says about this in the Christ that he served, "For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that powerfully works within me." He says, "Listen, I am struggling." Another translation is striving. The Greek word is *agonizomai*. We get the word "agonize" over it. I am struggling, I am agonizing in this call. This is my passion.

You've heard the movie, *The Passion of the Christ*. It's referring to the intense struggle to fulfill a calling of the Lord. That's where the name comes from. Paul says, "This is my passion. I intensely struggle: shipwrecks, stonings, whippings, lashings, imprisonment. I struggle, I greatly struggle. This is what God's called me to." It was his passion.

Notice, it wasn't simply his passion to lay it all on the line for people he knew and loved personally. He says, "I've never even been there to Colossae. I haven't been to Laodicea. But it's enough that you know the Lord. And if you know the Lord, where I desire you to be, I'm willing with my passion, with everything in my soul, I am willing to strenuously strive for you," even though there was no personal intimacy.

For the sake of the Lord, he was willing to do that. Salvation is free; discipleship costs; ministry costs even more. Salvation is free. When Jesus says to people, "Count the cost," he's not talking about are you willing to pay for your salvation. He will pay that cost completely and say, "It is finished."

But to follow him costs. And if you say, "I'm going to be a bearer of the gospel to my family, to my friends, to my neighborhood, I'm going to be a gospel minister to my brothers and sisters in Christ," it will cost. Satan won't leave you alone. He'll put you in the crosshairs. The world won't leave you alone. If they persecuted him, they'll persecute you.

That's the cup where he said in Colossians 1 that you fill up with sufferings is the sufferings of ministering for Christ. To minister for Christ costs. It costs you to be a gospel faithful person, pastor, friend, husband, father, mother. It costs to live for Christ and serve others. But he says, "I greatly, strenuously strive not only for you at Colossae, but also even those at Laodicea."

Now why was his passion—what was his purpose? What was he passionate about? Well, he gives you four things he wanted to see happen among those people that he was so passionate to serve. Look in verse 2. He says in verse 2, after saying he greatly strives, he says this: "that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love"—or if you've got an NAS, "being unified in love"—"to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."

He says, "Now what's my purpose?" He says, "I tell you what my purpose is for you at Colossae. I tell you what my purpose is for you at Laodicea. I tell you what his purpose was for every single church where he would greatly strive for their well-being." He said, "I've got a fourfold purpose. Number one is that your hearts will be encouraged. I want you to be encouraged in your heart.

Number two, I want you to know unity. You're all different people. You're male, you're female, you're old, you're young, you're black, you're white, you're this, you're that. You've got this amazing diversity. You've all got different spiritual gifts, but I want it to all come together in unity." And I like the English Standard Version's translation of that: I want you, all these threads, to be knit together in one cloth. I want you to be knit together in one cloth.

Number three, I want you to love. The instrument he'll use is love. Fruit of the Spirit is what? Love. The teaching of God's word brings what? Love. Remember 1 Timothy chapter 1? "The goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith." Where does the law of God take you? To love God and to love your neighbor as yourself.

Where does the fruit of the Spirit take you? To love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Jesus said what? "They will know you're my disciples by your love for one another." Jesus gives the world to make a judgment about our relationship with him on what criteria: do they love one another?

The greatest testimony we bear to a watching world that is broken and divided because of sin is the love of Christ that knits us together. Then the fourth thing he says: "I want them to be equipped. I want them to be equipped." And by the way, here comes—for the second time in less than two chapters, the second time he brings up those Proverbs statements. See them? Wisdom, knowledge, and understanding.

Here they come again. He says, "I want you to be equipped with wisdom. I want you to be equipped with knowledge. I want you to be equipped with understanding." And where do I get all wisdom, all knowledge, all understanding? The mystery that's been revealed: Jesus Christ. Now, folks, when you see that word "mystery," let me remind you.

The word "mystery" does not mean a riddle to solve in the Bible. Nor does it mean mystical. You know, Christianity's a mystery; it just kind of happens. No. The word "mystery" is a very technical term that Paul uses, and let me say it again. It means to pull back a veil to give knowledge of something you would never know unless God revealed it. It would remain a mystery. You couldn't know it unless God revealed it.

Let me give you an instance. Again, I think I've said this before, but let me say it again. When we look at the creation, it clearly proclaims a creator. The Bible says the fool says there is no God. To look at the creation and not believe there's a creator, you have to sophisticate yourself into stupidity. You just got to work at it.

But I would never know this God is one God in three persons unless the Bible pulled that back and told me that. And I would never know that the death of Christ 2,000 years ago—didn't two other guys die on the cross that day? What was that about? I would never know that death on the cross was an atoning death, a redeeming death, a ransoming death, a death that set me free unless the Bible told me that was the Son of God who had paid for all of my sins.

The mystery that would be hidden except for the truth of God's word that reveals it is that Jesus Christ is all wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. And in him are the riches of his grace.

Now what's the desired outcome? He says two things I desire. Look at the last two verses, verses 4 and 5. He says the two things that I desire as an outcome is this: "I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. 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."

He said, "Here's the two things I want as an outcome of this. Here's my passion, here's my purpose. You'll be encouraged, unified, you will love, you will be equipped in Jesus Christ. What is it I want to be the outcome? Two things. I want you to be equipped to think so that you're not fooled by false arguments, as plausible as they may be.

I want you to be able to think, take every thought captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ. When you become a Christian, it is not a leap in the dark, it is walking in the light. You don't check your brains out at the pulpit. You take every thought captive unto the obedience of Jesus Christ. You're equipped to think so that even the most persuasive plausible arguments can't turn your soul.

And you are equipped to stand firm in your faith in Christ Jesus. Equipped to stand firm in your faith in Christ Jesus. I believe that there are three things that I'd just like to pull out about what this tells you about God's design. First of all, God designed you to live your life on purpose. God designed you to live your life on purpose.

Now, if you've been catechized, you already know that, don't you? What is the chief purpose of man? It's to glorify God and enjoy him forever. Certainly we know that, certainly we're aware of that—that our purpose in life is to glorify God. But if we can take it just a step further. As you would glorify God and enjoy him forever, what does that mean in your life?

What does it mean for me to be a man of God, a husband, a father? What's my purpose as a Christian man, a Christian husband, a Christian member of the body of Christ? What does it mean to be an ambassador for Christ? What does it mean to be a soldier for Christ? What does it mean to be a missionary for Christ? What does it mean in God's calling in my life with the spiritual gifts that I've been given? I have been designed to live life on purpose.

Second thing, God has designed me to live in a nurturing community. God has designed me to live in a nurturing community. I've chosen the word carefully. The church is to be a nurturing community where people are born again. Life is coming. And they're encouraged. There's unity, not factions, not destruction.

I'm not talking about—I know there comes a time to stand for truth of God's word, but there is not personal agendas and preferences. It is unity, it is encouragement. There is unity, there is love, long-suffering, patience, kindness—all of those attributes of godly love. And it doesn't matter what I have. The Bible says if I have not love, I am nothing. I'm a zero.

It's a community where people are born again and they're encouraged and they're nurtured by encouragement and unity and love. And they are equipped as they become babes in Christ and young men and women in Christ and mature men and women in Christ. They're equipped to think and to stand.

And that means not only did God design you to live on purpose and God designed for you to live in a nurturing community called his church, but thirdly, God designed you to live with stability and discernment. With discernment: false doctrine and secular ideas don't turn your heart from the Savior. You're able to think clearly. And stability: it is well with my soul. My heart is secure in Jesus Christ.

Well, what would this mean practically for us? Let me just give you three things to think about, very practical takeaways here. Here's the first one. Could you do what I've done this week from this text? Could you ask yourself a question? Maybe you might get some help from your friends who take a look at your life from the outside and ask, "What is your life all about? What is your passion? What is your purpose? What is your desire?"

What is your heart passion, your heart purpose, your heart desire? I was reading missionary biographies and I went back and read again the biography of Jim Elliot. Oh, that wonderful moment when those missionaries were surrounded by their wives and got into that plane to fly and land among the Auca Indians, singing the hymn of absolute dependency and commitment to Christ: "Through Gates of Splendor, We Now Go."

Two years they had labored, trying to learn a language that they didn't know the Aucas would understand, but it was at least something to start. They had dropped leaflets, they had dropped gifts, they had dropped tracts. He had pulled together a great team with a pilot like Nate Saint and others who were so gifted.

Then came the day that they would even risk their lives in landing. I know it was a risk life; I've been right on the beach where they landed that day. The son of one of the men that killed them rode me out there. We went in a little canoe and I got there and I'd read it all and I just tried to go to the various places.

And I tried to stand where they had found the airplane, and I tried to stand where they had found the bodies. Where was Nate and where was Jim? Just found all the different guys. And I was thinking of those last moments that they've been able to piece together. They had a rifle; one shot had been fired, not at anyone, just up in the air.

When they found them, the arrows and spears had even been feathered with the tracts they had dropped. Here were men and women with great passion, great purpose. And what was the desired effect? Their desired effect was for Aucas to be saved. That's why they wouldn't even use a rifle to save themselves, but fire it in the air.

Can you imagine the fiendish laughter of hell as those missionaries fell under the onslaught of those natives? But today, 80% of the Aucas confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Today, the sons and daughters of those missionaries are serving the Lord. The very next year, missionary applications at Wycliffe Bible Translators tripled the very next year.

Passion and purpose—now you've got something that makes a difference. To end life with no regrets, but seeing the hand of the Lord working through sinners saved by grace for his own glory. What is your passion? What is your purpose? You say, "Well, Harry, I'm just not sure." Oh, listen, if you don't have a purpose, I'll promise you there are people out there that have a purpose and they're using you right now for their purposes.

It may be the products that they sell, it may be their -ism, it may be their philosophy—I don't know what it is, but they are using you. You either take every thought captive, you either put your life on purpose, or other people will grab you and use you for their purposes. My friend, make your purpose Jesus Christ.

The glory of God, yes, but what does it mean to know Christ as a man, as a husband, in every arena of my life? What does it mean? It wouldn't be a bad idea just to sit down and write a couple of sentences. This is my purpose as a man, as a husband, as a father, as a wife, as a mother, as a member of the body of Christ. This is my purpose in evangelism. Here is my purpose in life.

This is the constitution of the word of God that guides me in life. And Christ is my all, and it's the gospel of grace that keeps me. And when the gospel of grace keeps you, you find a maximum dependency upon God's grace. Did you hear the verse I read back at the end of chapter 1? It is his energy, it is his power within me.

And there is maximum effort. I struggle, I strive, I flee, I study, I witness, I pursue. It's completely devoted with passion. Pastor, is it Jesus I am resting, resting? Yes, it is. And it's Jesus I press on, I press on. That's why Jesus says, "I praise thee, Lord of heaven and earth, that you did hide these things from the wise and intelligent, you did reveal them to babes. For thus it was well-pleasing in thy sight. Come unto me, all of you that are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."

Next verse: "Now take my yoke upon you. Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart." What's a yoke for? To work. I rest and I work. By his grace, the passion of endeavor, the purpose of moving toward what he's called me to, the desire for the outcome for his glory, to enjoy him forever. And yet it's all of him and by him and for him.

I went home and I got my daddy's stuff after my daddy went to be with the Lord. I had three sisters and they didn't want any of those toiletries or anything, so they gave them all to me. I brought them back and daddy had all these little travel bags with all his stuff in. Right in there, I couldn't remember our arguments.

My daddy, he got so enamored with electric shavers. And I used to tell my daddy, "Daddy, you don't want an electric shaver. Get a razor. That's the way you shave, is with a razor." So we'd have these big discussions. So I got my daddy's electric razors. Now they're over there at my house. I'm still not using them, but I got them.

Now, that razor won't work if that motor isn't putting out an effort. That effort has got to be there in that motor. But that motor doesn't work unless it's plugged into an outlet. God uses your efforts, but you don't trust your own strength. You plug in and depend upon the Spirit of God. Then he will use you.

But yet plugging in does not mean passivity. The motor needs to run. Depending on him, devoted to him. The second thing is this: are we a nurturing community? We've got to ask ourselves that question. Do we encourage? Is there unity that people are drawn into? Is there love? And are people being equipped?

Are those marks here in the nurturing community? Is it an encouraging, unified, knitting together, loving, equipping community? Now, here's a way to answer that. Flip it around. It will never be that till Harry Reeder becomes an encourager. Until Harry Reeder loves. Until Harry Reeder equips.

Are you an encourager? Do you knit people together? Do you love? Do you equip others? Are we encouragers? Do we promote the unity of the body of Christ? Do we love? Do we equip? Do I think being a leader in the church is casting a vote at a table, or putting my life on somebody else's life? Is that what it's really—the joy of my passion—that people will be equipped to think and stand for Jesus Christ?

And here's the final takeaway. Now you need to make a decision: what's your treasure in life? What is your treasure in life? The Bible says right here that in Jesus Christ are all the riches. All the riches of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. What's your treasure? Because I tell you something, that's the key to the passion, the purpose, and the desire.

Because where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Can I ask you what's your treasure? Is it, "I'm going to get retired by the time I'm 55"? "I'm going to own that house"? "I'm going to get that title"? "I'm going to own that company"? Any of those things are not evil in and of themselves unless they become your passion instead of Christ and his calling.

What is your passion? To own, to acquire, to control, applause, self? I heard a great example of this, and I'll just end it with this. John Ortberg's book, in which Ortberg shares this story about his childhood. He had a grandmother that they used to play Monopoly all the time. And his grandmother would just beat him slap-silly. Just beat him slap-silly.

They played Monopoly all the time. She won every time. One year he went away to church camp. He was there all summer. He went to the game room, played Monopoly all summer. He finally learned how to play Monopoly. You know how to play Monopoly? Who knows how to play Monopoly? How do you win at Monopoly?

You buy everything. You put as many houses and hotels on it that you can. It's all about acquisition. I mean, even Marvin Gardens. You gotta get it. And then after you've got it all, you'll beat them. He got home, couldn't wait to play his grandmother. They opened up the box, they put the game out, they played.

And he beat his grandmother slap-silly that day. He looked at her and he said, "Grandma, let's play again." She said, "No, son. I've waited for this day a long time. Now you got everything you won. Now, here's your lesson: it all goes back in the box." There's coming a day all this stuff that you think's treasure is going to go back in the box. But there is a treasure that's eternal, and that is Jesus Christ. To know him and make him known.

Narrator: You are listening to InPerspective, featuring the teaching of Dr. Harry L. Reeder. For additional teaching by Dr. Reeder, visit inperspective.org. Parenting: it has never been easy. But in today's culture, with numerous challenges, we need as much help as we can get. Parenting with Purpose and Promise is a significant part of Dr. Reeder's series, Seven Essentials for the Christian Family.

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