Text: Colossians 1:14-18

Title: Prominent – or Pre-Eminent?

Jesus Christ is a very prominent character in secular history. Most historians recognise that Jesus has had a profound effect on our world, and that He continues to do so today.

Jesus is also very prominent in many churches. He is important and influential. Jesus plays a major role in the church programs, services, ministries and messages.

Most Christians would agree that Jesus is very important to them – He is a prominent part of their day-to-day lives. Jesus impacts and influences them in a very real way.

That sounds good, doesn’t it? After all, Jesus should be an important part of our lives – right?

No. There is something very wrong with this picture.

You see, Jesus should not be prominent in your life – Jesus must be pre-eminent.

And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the pre-eminence.

To be pre-eminent simply means to come first. It means to be the greatest; to be chief; to surpass all others; to be above everything and everyone. Jesus does not want to be important to you – He wants to be everything to you. He wants to have first place in your heart. Jesus does not want some of you, or most of you – He wants all of you.

One man came to Jesus, and was called to follow Christ. This man said, “Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.” How did Jesus respond? After all, family is important, right? Jesus rebuked him: “Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead… go thou and preach the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 8:22; Luke 9:60). Jesus was not content to have second place in this man’s heart and life – Jesus wanted to be first and foremost. Jesus must be pre-eminent.

Friend, how about you? Is Jesus prominent in your heart and life – or is Jesus pre-eminent?

Christian, it is a sin to give God less than 100%. It is immoral to make Jesus prominent but not pre-eminent. To put self, things or others before God is to commit spiritual adultery.

May God help us to make Jesus pre-eminent in our church, our homes, and our lives!

And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the pre-eminence.

Text: Jeremiah 5:23-25

Jesus said that we shall face tribulation in this world – that is, troubles, trials, and terrors. Of this we can be sure! No one is immune to the burdens and battles of life in a sin-cursed world. All of us suffer because we have been born into a spiritual battlefield.

Satan, too, tempts and tries us. He is called the father of lies; the tempter; our adversary; and, the accuser of the brethren. Remember this warning: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” (1 Peter 5:8). Many of our problems might be traced back, partly at least, to the work of the Devil.

However, many of our struggles and difficulties are of our own doing. We often suffer from self-inflicted misery. Our heartache and pain is frequently a result of sin.

“Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you.”

How many blessings has God withheld because of our stubbornness? How many times have we troubled ourselves by our own disobedience? The love of God is entirely unconditional, that is true, for we live in this blessed day of grace. However, the father reserves His special blessings as a reward for the obedient child, and so it is with our heavenly Father. Earthly fathers chasten the wayward child; they do not reward rebellion. Our Father, too, will scourge His sons.

Sin, by the natural laws that God has set in place, will always produce pain, loss, heartache, and death. God might easily forgive us, but the consequences of sin must naturally occur. James put it this way, “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” (James 1:14-15). A loving father will forgive the stubborn child who burns himself through his own defiance, but the scars of that painful event will never be erased. Sin may be forgiven, and fellowship with God restored, but the consequences can last a lifetime.

We have liberty in Christ, for certain, but liberty does not equal license. Sin withholds the hand of God’s blessing, and might invoke the hand of His chastening. A love for God is the best motivation for obedience, but fear and duty can suffice to keep our stubborn wills in check.

Even a casual reading of the Word will reveal the pain and misery caused by sin. Study the lives of Lot, Adam, Samson, David, Solomon, to name but a few, and you will see this to be true. If you doubt the severity of God in this church age, consider the tragedy of Ananias and Sapphira, a powerful reminder of God’s correction that produced a holy fear in the first century church.

Christian, you are commanded to serve God “with reverence and godly fear.” When you indulge in sin, you bring misery and pain upon your self, and upon those you love. Heed the admonition of God: “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” (Proverbs 28:13). There is enough pain in this world as it is – don’t heap extra misery upon yourself through your own folly.

Job had it all.

Wealth. Health. A good name. Children. A prosperous business. Property. And, most importantly, Job walked with God; he was godly: “…that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.” Job had been greatly blessed by God.

No doubt, Job worked hard. We know he was an early riser. He was not a lazy bludger.

However, it is very clear that Job had what he did because God had given in to him. Satan said, “Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.” Job himself testified to this fact; he knew Who had blessed Him. Job knew that he was “God-made” and not “self-made.” He agreed with the testimony of David, who said, “for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.”

Then it all came crashing down – literally. Job lost his business, his employees, his children, his marriage, his friends, his reputation, his wealth, and his health. Job lost it all – and practically overnight. No one here can imagine how Job felt. He was devastated beyond our comprehension.

So, how did Job respond to this tragedy? Let us consider 2 statements that he made:

The scripture says in Job 1:22 that, “In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.” I wish this could be said of me, and of you, when we go through an awful trial. I hope that it might be said that, “In all this Mark sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.” When troubles enlarge; when tragedy strikes; when prayers are unanswered; when plans fail; when people hurt us; when money fails; when God is silent; in all of these things, I hope that we might respond in the godly way that Job did. How could Job respond in such a way? Why did Job not become bitter at God?

We can respond in a right way. We will hurt and weep, but we don’t have to become angry, disillusioned, resentful, and bitter.

How? The key is found in Job’s acknowledgement that God gave, and God could take away: “the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” When we understand that we are God’s, and everything we have comes from God, then we can condition our hearts and minds to respond rightly when troubles come. We will be thankful for God’s blessings, and we will trust God when those blessings are taken away.

Don’t forget, either, how God blessed Job at the end. 

Mark 7:32-37

“He hath done all things well”

It is easy to talk about the goodness of God when everything is going our way. We rejoice in the providence of God, and we thank Him for blessing us in so many ways. We know that he does all things well.

Such was the case with this story in Mark chapter seven. After seeing a deaf man miraculously healed, the crowd was astonished. They wanted to tell everybody about what Jesus had done! They said, “He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.”

However, when trials, troubles and tears come, when God brings painful and bitter things into our lives, then we struggle to believe and proclaim the goodness of God. After all, says our human wisdom, why would a loving God allow bad things happen to good people? Our faith in the intrinsic goodness and justice of God comes under attack; we question, doubt, complain, and even rebel.

As we contemplate the character of God and the sureness of His Word, we are reminded that the goodness and fairness of God are unquestionable and impeachable. In good times or bad, in feast or famine, in laughter or sorrow, He does all things well. Our human wisdom wrestles with this, but we have a higher and greater source of understanding, and it is this holy knowledge that strengthens our souls and comforts our hearts during times of dread and doubt.

Our God does all things well. When prayers remain unanswered, He does all things well. When sickness prevails, He does all things well. When troubles come, He does all things well. When money fails, He does all things well. When friends forsake, He does all things well. When tragedy strikes, He does all things well. When dreams are broken, He does all things well. When hopes are shattered, He does all things well. When life hurts, He does all things well.

If our hearts and minds are assailed with doubt and fear, let us respond as Job did during his time of bitter tragedy:

Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,

And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

Surely, our God does all things well.