Colossians Series # 3
Jesus the One and Only
Made Visible in Us
Colossians 3:1-17
Scripture Reading: Colossians 3:1-4
INTRODUCTION:
According to Colossians 3, Heaven is more than a destination for us. Colossians 3:3 says your life is now hidden with Christ in God. It’s a mysterious idea, isn’t it … even while we’re living here on Earth; our true life is already safe in Heaven with Jesus. That should give all of us a strong sense of security. In a very real way, our Eternal Life in Heaven has already started … even while we’re still living here on earth.
1. Look up
That’s why Paul can tell us to set our hearts on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Colossians 3:1 Our REAL life is with Christ in Heaven. That’s where our HEART and MIND ought to be living. To set your heart on things above means to change from an Earthly to a Heavenly way of looking at things. Have you ever gotten on one of those computer programs that shows a satellite image of earth? It’s possible to actually look down on your neighborhood as if you were zooming in from outer space.
(SLIDE of CHCC) On the screen you can see the building you’re sitting in right now. You can see the CHCC Worship Center, the old sanctuary, and the other buildings on our property. It shows a perspective we can never have from inside the building. Something similar happens when we set our thoughts on Heavenly things. We begin to get God’s point of view … and that will ALWAYS broaden our perspective.
(SLIDE of SAN ANTONIO) It’s that kind of perspective that causes me to have an interest in the Church of the City objectives. (Elaborate)
(SLIDE USA) Of course, God’s kingdom reaches far beyond our congregation, to the city, and to the nation. That’s why we give about 25% of our church’s budget to missions that reach the nation and the world.
(SLIDE globe) When we set our hearts on Christ in Heaven, we can’t help but care about the ones He cares about… not just here in our little community, but all across the world --- the world that He died to save. We may have our hearts set on heaven, but (in case you haven’t noticed) our BODIES are still here on earth. Our INvisible life is hidden with Christ in God. The question is, how will we live our VISIBLE life?
If you remember, in Chapter 1 of Colossians, Paul explained that Christ is the image of the invisible God. Have you ever thought of the fact that now WE are the image of the invisible Christ. Jesus is no longer walking the earth. He is not visible to us or to our friends. For many people WE may be the only image of Christ they will ever see. We REPRESENT Christ here on earth.
2. Throw off
In Colossians 3, Paul tells us how to be a proper Representative of Jesus Christ. Paul writes: Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Colossians 3:5
A few years back, I got to talking to a Mortician about his line of work. I asked him about the clothes they provide for the deceased. He explained that they do have burial clothes available, but the family usually provides a dress or suit. The Mortician said that --- in order to put the clothes on, and make them look right in the coffin --- they often slit the clothes open all the way down the back. The point is, since the dearly departed will never be up and about again, it won’t matter. But those clothes would never do for someone who was walking around!
According to scripture you and I were dead in our sins until Christ gave us new life. We were lying in that coffin, and it didn’t really matter what we were wearing. In Colossians 3, Paul is saying: Hey! You’re alive now! Take off those Corpse Clothes!
Maybe you’ve seen the TV show called “What Not to Wear.” It’s a show where a couple of fashion experts take charge of the Wardrobe for someone who obviously doesn’t know how to Dress for Success. The first thing they do on that show is go through the person’s closet and throw out the ugly clothes.
I want you to picture the Apostle Paul looking through your Spiritual Closet. He’s throwing things out left and right: “This has got to go! This will never do! Phe-u! Did something die in here?!” Look at this list of raggedy old nasty things we need to clean out.
• Sexual immorality – That’s a big category. It can include anything from promiscuity to homosexuality to pedophilia to adultery. Whether it’s actions or thoughts, sexual immorality is always ugly. It’s the kind of thing people try to hide. But no one who Represents Christ should try to hide immorality in the back of their closet. If it’s in there, throw it out!
• Impurity – For most of us, our entertainments are probably our biggest repository for this one. What do you watch on TV? At the Movies? What DVD’s do you rent? What sites to do you visit on the Internet? Chances are the Holy Spirit has already been telling you to throw away some of those entertainments. We need to cast off anything that is IMPURE.
• Lust and evil desires – this includes sexual lust, but goes beyond that. Lust can be an obsession for anything that doesn’t rightfully belong to you.
• Greed which is Idolatry: Greed is a kind of unhealthy Obsession for something. We have to have it. And when we get it, we’re still not satisfied. We want more … and more … and more …to the point where we are actually bowing down to that thing.
Now, maybe you think the Sins on that list don’t apply to you. Paul seemed to know some people would look at his list and think; At least MY wardrobe looks better than the nasty clothes THOSE people are wearing. So Paul got more explicit: Now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other … Colossians 3:8-9
Take an honest look and see if you find any of THESE “Corpse Clothes” hiding in the back of your closet. Have you lost your temper lately? Are you holding a grudge against anyone? Do you secretly wish harm would come to that person? Have you given a bad report on anyone? Did you let a few bad words fly? … And if you said NO to all those questions --- are you LYING? (examples: Mel Gibson, Mike Richards)
Paul continues this way … you have taken off your old self with its practices, and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Colossians 3:9-10
Paul is saying, You have new life in Christ. So clean up your act! Off with the old …and on with the new.
3. Put On
How can you “Dress for Success” as a Christian? Here’s Paul’s best fashion advice: Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:12-14
You can tell a lot about someone by how they dress. Firefighters, Surgeons, Police Officers, Municipal Judges, and even Ronald McDonald … they all wear specialty clothing. Their clothing tells you what they do and who they represent. In a similar way, Paul tells us to put on the Uniform of a Christian. Paul describes the clothes that make Christ VISIBLE to the world.
Last time I preached, I wore a Suit for the first time in a while --- and I got a few favorable comments on the look. My favorite came from the person who said, “Hey, you look like a real preacher today.” (That person will remain nameless … but he IS on staff…) Well, as you can see, I wore a suit again … but not just so I could look like a real preacher.
Today my suit is actually an object lesson. We’re going to look at what Paul said to PUT ON, and compare each quality to an article of clothing. I hope this helps you remember how a Representative of Jesus Christ needs to dress. Picture yourself putting on these clothes every morning before you start your day.
• Shirt of Compassion – The translation from the original Greek is literally, “bowels of compassion.” The Greeks assumed that the deepest emotions were located in the intestinal area. We tend to think of emotion as coming from the heart. Either way, the SHIRT of COMPASSION covers both.
Christians should be known for their Compassion. The old saying is true: People don’t care what you know until they know that you care. It’s a tragedy when Christians are not seen as people of compassion.
Listen to this quote from Elton John in the Music Monthly Magazine. He said, "Religion promotes the hatred and spite against gays….From my point of view, I would ban religion completely. Organized religion … turns people into really hateful lemmings and it’s not really compassionate."
Now I don’t think Elton John was being fair to Christians. But I will say this. I HAVE seen Christians who don’t seem to know how to stand against Sin and show Compassion for the sinner at the same time.
Well, one thing is sure. If sinners don’t know we care about them, we are NOT following the example of Jesus. Sinners wanted to be around Jesus because they knew He cared about them. They also knew what Jesus stood for. They could sense His genuine Holiness. Somehow, just being around Jesus made sinners wanted to renounce their sin.
As representatives of Christ, we can have that same effect on the people around us --- IF we learn how to wear Compassion. That’s why we chose this statement as our Church motto: Compassion for people, and passion for Christ.
• Slacks of Kindness – The second item of clothing is Kindness. Compassion always leads to Kind actions. Unfortunately, we are sometimes the LEAST kind to the people we are closest to. We fail to show kindness to our own children, our spouse, our parents, and so on. When we fail to show simple courtesy at home, we prove that we have NOT put on Christ.
Kindness can be a way of life for all Christians. I love our Random acts of Kindness ministry here at CHCC. In fact, just last Saturday ... (elaborate).
I saw a Movie a while back about Mahatma Gandhi. In one scene he was meeting with a bunch of World Leaders. During the meeting, Gandhi suddenly got up and went to the counter. He picked up a Pitcher and started re-filling the glasses of all these Heads of State. He saw a need and simply took action to fill that need. This small act of Kindness spoke Volumes. Simple Kindness is always shown in small acts --- but small acts add up to a major impression.
• Socks of Humility – I’m sure you’ve noticed my (very stylish) shirt and slacks today --- but you probably haven’t paid any attention to my socks. In fact, a person can go through the whole day without anyone ever noticing their socks.
That’s the way Humility is. It’s is not a virtue that draws attention to itself. The culture of Paul’s day did not admire humility. Instead they admired pride and power. It’s not all that different today. But the truth is that Humility has nothing to do with low self esteem. Humility is having the proper estimate of yourself … in the will of God.
In VBS this year, the Children sang an old song (pepped up in a new way, of course.) It said, “There’s not a friend like the lowly Jesus. No not one. No not one.” You might wonder why it calls him the “lowly” Jesus. That word refers to His Humility. Christ was the highest example of this lowly quality.
• Shoes of Gentleness – Gentleness refers to the way we treat others. Shoes are a good representation of this, because shoes are usually thick and hard. If someone kicks you with his shoe on … it can hurt. If he’s wearing steel toed boots … it can do serious damage!
In some Bible versions, the word translated gentleness is translated as meekness. We need to understand that meekness is not weakness. This word can best be defined as power under control.
(SLIDE-Soldier and child) To my way of thinking, the picture on the screen is a good visual representation of Gentleness or Meekness. It is a picture of power under control. When strong men and women show this kind of gentleness, they give a visual representation of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the all-powerful Creator of the Universe --- and yet He reaches out with compassion and gentleness to every one of us.
• Jacket of Patience – Patience is also called “long suffering” which means literally having a “long temper.” Now, Patience has never been my favorite virtue to work on. But, like a suit coat, Patience is one of the most impressive of the virtues.
People really TAKE NOTE when someone has Patience under stress. Maybe it’s because the Virtue is so rare. I’ve heard Patience described as idling your motor when you feel like stripping your gears. We’re about to see a short video that illustrates the kind of backlash we can get when we are IMpatient. This is one of those little videos people sometimes send around in e-mail so maybe you’ve seen it. As you watch it, keep your eye on the man in the Mercedes…
VIDEO – Old Woman and Mercedes Benz
I’ve been waiting for a long time to find a sermon where I could use that Video. (I’m been waiting PATIENTLY of course!)
• Tie of Love –Paul finishes his fashion lesson with this advice: And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3:14 Just like the right Tie pulls the look together, Love makes everything else look right. Love ties all the other virtues together.
There’s one other thing a tie can do that some of you “neat and tidy” types out there might not have thought of. Have you ever looked down at your shirt and seen a stain? (with me it’s usually ketchup for some reason) Well, if you have a good, wide TIE, no one ever has to know!
I Peter 4:8 says, “Love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” You don’t have to be perfect to Represent Christ. If you have LOVE, it will help cover over your flaws … so that Christ can shine though your life.
CONCLUSION:
Let’s Dress for Success today. Let’s put on…
o The Shirt of Compassion
o The Slacks of Kindness
o The Socks of Humility
o The Shoes of Gentleness
o And the Jacket of Patience
That is the Uniform that makes Christ VISIBLE to the people around you. We need to remember WHO it is that we represent. Read with me the portrait of Christ that Paul gave us in Colossians chapter 1:
We believe in Jesus Christ ---
• The Image of the invisible God
• The Creator and Sustainer of everything
• The Head of His Church
• And the Savior of everyone who will place their faith in Him.
Jesus is all that and more. Representing HIM to the world is life’s greatest privilege. Let’s clean out our Spiritual Closets this week and Put On the clothes that give honor to Jesus Christ.
