Introductory Comments
1. The Christmas season is an opportunity for the church to present Christ to the world. It is one time when people seem to be more open to listening to the good news of Jesus Christ. And so, as churches, we invite those beyond our walls to special services and concerts and programs. We want people to know who Christ is and why He came to earth in the first place. We want them to respond by placing their trust in Him as their Lord and Saviour. Christmas allows us to live out our church vision - "Knowing Christ - Making Him Known".
2. As those involved with the Sunday School program can tell us, Christmas is a lot of work. It takes effort to make Christ known. It takes commitment, time and energy. But it is worth it.
3. I do not to take anything away from our Christmas efforts to present Christ to the world. But there is another way by which we can present Christ to the world this Christmas season. This way is no easier, perhaps even more difficult. And yet I believe it is more effective.
4. This way of presenting Christ into the world is by showing that He is alive today and that He lives in us. As Tim Brown told the men at our men’s conference, the children of God ought to look different or better than the children of the world.
5. But often we do not. We blend in with the crowd and we are no different than those who are not the children of God.
6. We are going to spend a few Sunday mornings seeing how we are to be different. To see how we can present Christ to the world in the way we live.
Teaching
1. Paul has been writing to the Colossians to remind them that Christ is to be exalted. He reminds them who Christ is - the very image of God, the Creator, the fullness of God in bodily form.
2. He reminds them who they are and he reminds us who we are. He tells us we are no longer who we were. We have died to our old self. We have been raised with Christ.
3. He tells us: vs. 9-10 "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." Our new self is being renewed in knowledge in the image of Christ. We are changing, we are being changed by God into the likeness of Christ.
4. But we have role to play as well. And as we change, we present Christ to the world.
5. In the passage we will be looking at over the next few weeks, Paul tells us how we are to do present Christ. And as we do that, we will experience Christ in a much deeper relationship as well. As we live in Him, we come to know Him more. And so Paul tells us how we ought to live as believers
6. In vs. 12 he begins by presenting the reason why we ought to live differently than the children of the world live.
a. We are God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved. He does not say that we ought to become these things but that we are already are. We have talked a number of weeks about how God has chosen us to eternal salvation, but He has also chosen us to be His children and to live as His children ought.
b. We are holy. We have been given the righteousness of Christ and we have been set apart by God - to present Christ to the world and to bring glory to His name.
c. And we are loved by God. We are His dearly beloved. He has shown His love to us and continues to do so. When we think of what God has done for us, we want to live for Him and to reveal His glory to others.
7. This week we consider the first way in which we ought to live. And that is to clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience..
8. We are to clothe ourselves. To put these characteristics on. Paul says this in Romans 3:14:
Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
9. We are still sinners and the old self is still a part of us. In our old self, compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience are not natural to us.
10. And so we have to get dressed. There’s a saying - "The clothes make the man." By putting these clothes on we will become more and more like them. What we are saying is put on clothes even if they do not fit. Pretend to be someone we are not naturally until we get it right. Perhaps that sounds hypocritical, but it works.
11. Our actions affect our character. Maybe we are critical. If we go around criticizing people, that habit grows. If we make a sincere effort to put on a coat of encouragement and affirmation, we will some find that encouraging people becomes a habit. Like driving a car or any of the other things we have had to learn to do.
12. I remember that when I was a child, my mother would buy me some new clothes. She would always buy them a size larger than the size that would fit me well. Why? She said I would grow into them. So we, if we clothe ourselves with Christ and His righteousness, we will grow into Him.
13. One more point about this. What Paul is saying is that we can change. So many of us say "That’s the way I am. I cannot change. I’m to old to change." I have heard this from some of you. Friends, don’t short change God. The one who created the universe and who holds all things in His hands. The one who put a new heart in us, He can change us and He will. We need to work with Him rather than to fight Him in changing us. We can change - in Christ.
14. Let us look at these qualities we are to put on. These characteristics of Christ.
15. We are to cloth ourselves with compassion. Compassion is a deep feeling of love that expresses itself in action. Jesus was filled with compassion:
a. For a leper.
Mark 1:40-41 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!"
b. For the people in Galilee.
Mark 6:34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.
16. Compassion is showing mercy to those who do not deserve it, as Christ did. Compassion is entering into the pain of another person. To show compassion you must feel with another. . . and not just for a few seconds. It means entering into the pain of another person and truly sharing that pain.
Despite his busy schedule during the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln often visited the hospitals to cheer the wounded. On one occasion he saw a young fellow who was near death. "Is there anything I can do for you?" asked the compassionate President. "Please write a letter to my mother," came the reply. Unrecognized by the soldier, the Chief Executive sat down and wrote as the youth told him what to say. The letter read, "My Dearest Mother, I was badly hurt while doing my duty, and I won't recover. Don't sorrow too much for me. May God bless you and Father. Kiss Mary and John for me." The young man was too weak to go on, so Lincoln signed the letter for him and then added this postscript: "Written for your son by Abraham Lincoln." Asking to see the note, the soldier was astonished to discover who had shown him such kindness. "Are you really our President?" he asked. "Yes," was the quiet answer. "Now, is there anything else I can do?" The lad feebly replied, "Will you please hold my hand? I think it would help to see me through to the end." The tall, gaunt man granted his request, offering warm words of encouragement until death stole in with the dawn.
Lincoln showed compassion. He entered into the pain of that soldier. It involves seeing things through the eyes of another. It means taking time.
17. Do you have the heart, the mercy, the time to be compassionate this season and to show Christ to those in need?
18. We are to clothe ourselves with kindness. That means treating others with respect and honour. Giving value and dignity to others. Not putting them down
A Christian worker went into a restaurant to buy an inexpensive meal. A waitress approached him and in a rather brusque voice demanded, "Can I help you?" "Yes, ma'am." "You want our special for the day?" "Yes, ma'am." "Coffee with your order?" "Yes, ma'am," he replied absent-mindedly, for his thoughts were occupied with some important spiritual matters. Suddenly the uncongenial waitress flared up, exclaiming sarcastically, "Is that all you can say?" Before he could catch himself, he once again replied, "Yes, ma'am!" With a curse she stamped away in disgust and anger. When the food was ready, she almost threw it on the table and showed contempt with every action. Although he did not have much money, he sacrificially laid a five-dollar bill on the table as he left. As he was paying the cashier, the discourteous waitress called, "Sir, you left this money on the table!" "Isn't that the usual place to leave a tip?" he replied, smiling at her warmly. The girl blushed and then began to make apologies for her hateful actions. The missionary said cordially, "I figured you must have some heavy burdens on your heart or you wouldn't have been so easily upset. I thought a good tip might encourage you." By this time the girl was brokenhearted, and she told him of the many problems facing her. Before he left the restaurant, he was able to lead that waitress to the Lord!
19. During Christmas there are many elderly who are lonely. We can be kind to them. Esther M. Walker tells us how to be kind to the elderly.
Blessed are they who understand
My faltering step and my palsied hand.
Blessed are they who know today
My ears must strain to catch what they say
Blessed are they who never say,
"You've told that story three times today."
Blessed are they who know the way
To bring back memories of yesterday.
Blessed are they with cheery smile
Who've stopped on their way to chat a while.
Blessed are they who ease the days
On my journey Home with loving ways.
20. The third piece of clothing is humility. Is this not the message of Christmas?
Phil 2:5-8 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!
21. It is not natural to be humble. We often see pride is us. We feel people should drive at the speed we want to travel at, not that which is posted. We become annoyed that people in front of us in line are taking too long (after all OUR time is valuable). We resent when others receive an honor we are sure we deserved more than they did.. We are upset that people don't seem to care about the things we feel strongly about. When we feel something is wrong because it is not done the way we would have done it.
22. In each of these cases you see that the point from which everything else is measured is "us." God wants us to see others not in terms of their relation to "us" but He wants us to see them as people He loves and cares about.
23. We are to be clothed with gentleness. The Greek original is meekness. It means we do not have to control others. That we would rather suffer injury than inflict injury on others. It means speaking with tact, not with a hurting bluntness. Speaking the truth in love
24. We are to be clothed with patience. Not demanding that others fit our timetables. Not saying that our time is more important than their’s. Being patient with one another’s shortcomings.
25 How are you going to be dressed for Christmas? Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. And as we do, w e will be presenting Christ.
