Great “In-Flight” Service
Colossians 3:14-16
Introduction: We are one week away from finishing our series of messages on the importance of love and unity in the Church. We began back in July looking at the key to unity within the Body of Christ. What we discovered was that Paul offered a powerful challenge in Colossians 3:14—“Above all, put on love—the perfect bond of unity.” We put that key into practical terms by saying:
Love and Unity go “hand-in-hand” without Love there will be no Unity.
We have looked at 8 distinct qualities that can bring UNITY within the Church, and today when we read the next two verses of Colossians 3 we are going see that there are two more from this beautiful passage of scripture. We are going to focus on one today and then next week we will look at the final one and see how Paul brought all these qualities together.
I have chosen one final “airline” image to help us embrace these important qualities. Today I want to focus on: Great “In-Flight” Service. Can you imagine what the service would be like on an airplane if the flight attendants were fighting over control of that drink cart that comes down the aisle? One of them pushing…one of them pulling…one of them taking all the ice…and the other taking all the cups. The fact is if they weren’t working together, if they weren’t at peace the passengers would get lousy service, if they got any service at all! I want to challenge us today to be people who give “great” service for Jesus Christ, and I believe this quality we are going to look at today will have a great effect on whether we do or don’t.
Text: Colossians 3:14-16
The Results that Christ-like Qualities will bring
Our final two qualities in this study are really results more than character qualities. They are expressions that come from a life that has been surrendered to Christ and is committed to following Him on daily basis. When LOVE, COMPASSION, KINDNESS, HUMILITY, GENTLENESS, PATIENCE, ACCEPTANCE, & FORGIVENESS become practical realities, then we as Jesus’ disciples will experience PEACE & THANKFULNESS. Today we are going to look at peace.
PEACE
15…let the peace of the Messiah, to which you were also called in one body, control your hearts.
Peace at its most basic definition means, “the absence of conflict.” It can refer to “national peace” when people are not “at war” with one another, and it also is used to describe “inner peace” within an individual. That is how it is most often used in the NT. To understand peace as described by Paul we need to realize the importance of peace from a Jewish perspective.
You are probably familiar with the Jewish word for peace—Shalom—which was used as a traditional greeting in Jewish life. That is why you see it included so often in Paul’s opening words in his letters along with the word grace. This letter that we have been studying began with that familiar phrase:
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, and Timothy our brother: To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ in Colossae. Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
Colossians 1:1-2
The Jewish thought of peace included: “wholeness,” or, “well-being.” It pictured being in right relationship with God as a people and as a person. David spoke of this inner peace in the psalms:
I will both lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, LORD, make me live in safety.
Psalm 4:8
Psalm 119 is a challenge for God’s people to be obedient to His Word. Within that challenge we see that peace is a result of obedience:
Abundant peace belongs to those who love Your instruction; nothing makes them stumble.
Psalm 119:165
The Prophet Jeremiah gives us a picture of the fleeting nature of peace in his Lamentations—his tears for the disobedience of God’s people and the discipline that the Lord has brought:
My soul has been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is. Then I thought: My future is lost, as well as my hope from the LORD.
Lamentations 3:17-18
Because there is no peace within, Jeremiah begins to believe that there is no future and no hope. But that is not the end of the story, God wasn’t finished with His people, He still had a plan, and just a few verses later Jeremiah found God’s peace once again:
Because of the LORD’s faithful love we do not perish, for His mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness! I say: The LORD is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in Him.
Lamentations 3:22-24
Jeremiah found peace through the faithful mercy of God. Ultimately, only God can give us true peace. That is why it is one of the names that was given to the promised Messiah:
For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on His shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6
When the angels came an announced Messiah’s birth they proclaimed that peace had come:
Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people He favors!
Luke 2:13-14
When Jesus was presented in the Temple for when He was 8 days old the purpose and power of peace were seen in a righteous old man named Simeon who was waiting for God’s Peace to come:
Guided by the Spirit, he entered the temple complex. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform for Him what was customary under the law, Simeon took Him up in his arms, praised God, and said: Now, Master, You can dismiss Your slave in peace, according to Your word. For my eyes have seen Your salvation.
Luke 2:27-30
God’s peace is found in His Son Jesus Christ. It is tied to His salvation, and without it there can be no peace. The message proclaimed by angels was declared by men, women, and children alike as Jesus prepared to enter Jerusalem for the last time on the Sunday before His crucifixion the people cried out:
Now He came near the path down the Mount of Olives, and the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen: Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heaven! Some of the Pharisees from the crowd told Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if they were to keep silent, the stones would cry out!”
Luke 19:37-39
The people knew the right words, but they didn’t truly understand who Jesus the Prince of Peace was, or what He came to do. They were looking for a conquering king, a Messiah who would save them from the Romans and their own Religious Leaders, but Jesus came to save them from their sins. Jesus knew they didn’t understand, and that is why as He entered the city in the midst of that celebration, His heart was breaking:
As He approached and saw the city, He wept over it, saying, “If you knew this day what would bring peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.
Luke 19:41-42
So what was it that was “hidden” from their eyes that we need to “see” today? It was the fact that without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ there can be no peace.
Jesus told His disciples that on the night He was betrayed. As they gathered in the Upper Room for a final meal together, Jesus knew what was before Him, but the disciples still didn’t understand. Jesus knew that they would be tempted, and troubled, and that all of them would have doubts and fears. But Jesus also knew where they could find rest in the midst of their trials:
“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Your heart must not be troubled or fearful.
John 14:27
The world will never “be” at peace until Christ reigns in every heart, but that doesn’t mean you and I can’t experience peace in our lives, and in the life of our Church right now. When Jesus willingly gave His life on the cross He became our way to peace with God. Paul had already stated that fact in the 1st chapter of his letter to the Colossians:
For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile everything to Himself by making peace through the blood of His cross—whether things on earth or things in heaven.
Colossians 1:19-20
We can have peace, but it means that we must submit ourselves to the Lord fully; we accept His gift of grace by acknowledging that He is the only way for us to be saved. But it doesn’t end there.
While we find peace when we get “saved” maintaining that peace on a daily basis means that we must stop “fighting” His will for our lives if we want to know His peace. How do we do that? Paul gave a simple, straight-forward description in his letter to the Philippians:
Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7
Personal peace begins with accepting Jesus as our Savior, and it continues by staying in touch with Jesus on a day-to-day basis—by trusting Him with everything in our life. If you and I are still trying to “handle it” on our own that is why we have so much “worry” and it’s why there is no peace. We have to turn it over daily to the Lord—our prayers, our petitions, our requests, everything that is going on in us and around us we must surrender to Him and be “thankful” that He knows better than we do what we should do in every situation.
We began this whole series talking about UNITY within the Church and saw that the key to that is LOVE—without it, there can’t be UNITY! The quality of peace underscores that point. If we aren’t at peace with God—through submitting ourselves in LOVE to His Son Jesus—we cannot be at peace with one another. But we are called to be at peace. Listen to these challenges:
Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness—without it no one will see the Lord.
Hebrews 12:14
Finally, brothers, rejoice. Be restored, be encouraged, be of the same mind, be at peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.
2 Corinthians 13:11
Paul was specifically addressing the issue of food sacrificed to idols, but the principle applies to anything we do within the Body of Christ that we “know” will hurt or hinder another in their faith:
Therefore, let us no longer criticize one another, but instead decide not to put a stumbling block or pitfall in your brother’s way…for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever serves the Messiah in this way is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then, we must pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another.
Romans 14:13,17-19
Why is this so important? Because peace is at the very heart of who we are in Christ, and what we are called to do for Christ. Without peace with God we will never understand His will; without peace within the Church we will never accomplish His will. We are called to be people who give great “In-Flight Service” in the name of Jesus Christ, but without the peace of Christ that isn’t going to happen.
I offered you a challenge when I came here to preach the first time back in March. I asked you to consider how many people die and go to hell while the church sits in its pews debating what to do. I can tell you what to do—we need to be reaching lost people with the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ! I can also tell you why we don’t—because we spend way too much time trying to “keep the peace” instead to sharing the Prince of Peace.
You know what I see within the life of many churches today? I see Pastors who have become referees instead of coaches. They aren’t teaching and training people to play in the most important arena of life, they are simply trying to settle the disputes between people who argue about every call, and it is costing us the opportunity to fulfill Christ’s plan for His Church.
Conclusion: If you aren’t at peace with God today it may be because you are still at war with Him spiritually. If you have religion but not a relationship with Jesus Christ, you will never know peace. Today is the day to surrender to Him.
If you do know Christ as your Lord and Savior and you don’t have peace there are three common reasons:
SUMBISSION—Unwilling to submit to His will.
SIN—Unconfessed sin in your life.
SELFISHNESS—Unwilling to resolve conflict with others within the Body.
When it comes to Jesus being your Lord, you can’t be “in Christ” and “on your own” and have peace. It’s time to say “yes” to whatever it is He is asking you to do. Secondly, if there is sin that you are still hanging onto, you can’t have peace, it simply isn’t possible. So give it up and receive the forgiveness that Jesus died to give. Third, if you have issues with others within the Church you need to take care of them right now, today!
