The Second threat that Paul warned the Colossian Christians about are teachings that emphasize the authority of spiritual experiences. Paul tells them to be careful with people who delight in false humility and the worship of angels. It seems that these false teachers were going into great detail about their experiences with angels or spirits. These teachers were claiming their authority from these visions or experiences with angels. They were following angels and not the Head, Christ.

Threat To The Believer's Freedom in Christ II

PASTOR’S CORNER
This is the season for emphasis on the family. It began with the Mother’s Day on May 13; which was followed by Children’s Day on May 27; and Youth Sunday on June 3. It is usually rounded off by the Father’s Day, which, by the grace of God, will celebrated next Sunday, June 17. Matthew 19:1-12, our text for this morning, gives a strong message against divorce. But we are not here this morning to judge divorced people. Nobody knows the pain of divorce better than those who have been through it. We are here to look into the Word of God to find help for our family problems. And God wants to help us. In this strong passage against divorce, the Lord shows us five things to do. The first is to seek help from the Healer (Matt. 19:1-2). The people needed healing, and they did the best thing they possibly could have done -- they followed Jesus. Sometimes we need healing too, -- not just physical healing, but spiritual and emotional healing too. We need healing in our families. And nobody can heal like Jesus! Trust in the Lord as your Healer. Trust in the help of God. Sometimes our problems seem overwhelming, but the Lord can help us like no one else can. The second is to turn away from the hardness in your heart (Matt. 19:3). The biggest problem we see in these verses is hard hearts. First, we see hard hearts against Jesus. The Pharisees were there because their hearts were hardened against Jesus. They rejected the true Messiah and Savior of the world. Our world today is full of people like those self-righteous men. In vs. 4-8, we also see hard hearts against our mates. Whenever a couple gets divorced, at least one of them is making decisions with a hard heart, and they need to repent. The third is to let God set the standards for your home. When it came to God’s standards for divorce, Jesus simply took these men back to the beginning. He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning `made them male and female,’ and said, `For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.’’ The fourth is: do not be overwhelmed by the obstacles. Life can be overwhelming. But God does not want us to be overwhelmed! God wants us to follow His will in faith, -- even when the task seems impossible. In the fifth place, be ready to receive God’s plan for your life. Overwhelmed by the strict standards for divorce, the Lord’s disciples told Jesus, “If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” Notice the Lord’s response in vs. 11-12: “(Jesus) said to them, ‘All cannot accept (or receive) this saying, but only those to whom it has been given’: He who is able to accept it, let him accept it.” And there is something for all of us in that word “accept” or “receive.” The word picture is making space -- giving God room to work in your life. And that is what He wants us to do. God has a plan for each one of our lives, and we have to trust Him enough to fulfill it. Be ready to receive God’s plan for your life. Give God room to work. You can trust God to take care of you too. So give God room to work in your life. It is certainly one of the best things we can do to overcome our family problems.

Good News Baptist Church, Surulere