The Phil Files

Last Updated 9/14/08

Colossians #6: Dominating the Dominion – 9/28/08

Key Passages: Colossians 1:13-14; 2:13-15; 3:1-4

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

We have been rescued and brought into safety! What does that mean?

1. Brought from death to live (resurrection of Jesus is important!)
2. Brought into the Kingdom
3. Given forgiveness
4. Had canceled the whole way of works righteousness
5. Disarmed the powers

Focus will be on Jesus disarming the powers against us – spiritual powers and the power of the Law (and all law) to condemn us. (John 12:31-32; cf. Eph 2:1-10)

Focus of Daybreak will be on the power of Jesus to defeat the dark forces of Satan that stand against us. The center of this is the cross.

A. Communion Focus on the Victory Power of the cross

That’s the Power of the Cross
In Christ Alone
Mighty is the Power of the Cross

B. Time in the Word Focuses on “the powers” and Jesus power for us (e.g., John 12:31-32; Ephesians 2:1; 6:10-18; 1 John 4:4; cf. Acts 26:18; )

Our fascination and yet denial of the powers in popular culture — books, art, movies

The incredible victory Jesus won over the powers (Ephesians) & systems of laws (Galatians) that bound us and condemned us

Our opportunity to participate in Jesus’ victory over the powers & systems of laws that bound us and condemned us

Focus at Refresh will be similar, but done by Curt Cloniger through drama. We could get a couple of pieces of Cross-focused backgrounds to use for our Communion Time interspersed with some Scripture references to contextualize them.

Sundown focuses on the meaning of salvation – what Jesus has done for us: rescued, transferred, redeemed, forgave, made alive, qualified … that we find in Colossians. What do these mean? Mark 5 could be used to remind us of Satan’s desire to harm us and God’s power at work in us.

LIFE Group Questions (supplement the above Scripture readings with Ephesians 6:10-19 and Acts 19:13-30 and Mark 5 for the following discussions)

Why do you think we are fascinated with spiritual powers, but seem so reluctant to discuss them and our response to them in our spiritual discussions at church?

Are these evil forces real, or are they products of our own mistakes and fears?

As believers in Jesus, what answers do we have to the threat of spiritual attack from evil forces? What resources do we have to fight these spiritual forces?

How is a reliance on keeping Law a destructive spiritual power without grace? (cf. Romans 7:14-25)

Should we fear the spiritual powers?

I’ve been a bit distracted working on a bunch of projects and trying to get ready to do the great Alaskan adventure. But more on that over the next week or so — pictures included!

Ministry is warfare. We don’t often recognize that. So much of it seems like a contest to see who can please the most folks and attract them to their Jesus theme park (aka church building), but behind the obvious facades of our worship experiences lies the netherworld of spiritual warfare. Don’t believe me? Go read Colossians and Ephesians — throw in Daniel and Revelation for added punch if you are in doubt!

My ministry partner reminded me again of this in a recent post on his blog called Friendly Fire. Click this link and read it. It’s worth your time. Even more, it’s worth your prayers. Despite their human giftedness and flaws, your church leaders are neck deep in spiritual warfare. They end up taking huge amounts of flak fire from hellish forces, and unfortunately, from friendly fire as well. Truth be known, you’re in the fight, too.

While humorous and precious, this little YouTube video reminds us that those who are closest to us, can actually be the ones to hurt us the worst, even when we’re just playing around. So often, Satan’s worst attacks come carefully disguised and friendly fun. That’s why words like “roaring lion,” “schemes,” “foothold,” “fighting against … evil rulers … mighty powers of darkness,” “steals away,” and “attacks

So let’s remember the reminder of our dear original Type A minister, the apostle Paul, and turn friendly fire into “I get by with a little help from my friends”:

Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them (Ephesians 4:29 NLT).