You have heard similar stories I am sure. This is a true story of a Pastor in Brazil who was loved, respected, and faithful to Christ in every way. But it hadn't always been that way. He came from a generation of alcoholics and was himself addicted to alcohol. He spent so much money on alcohol that his family often had no food.
One day his wife and children were invited to attend a local church and they soon became Christians. It was through their witness and influence that this man soon came to faith in Christ. He started attending a Bible study group. As he grew in Christ, he moved from sitting in a group to leading the group. He continued to grow as a Christian and his leadership in the church grew as well until he became the pastor of the entire church. Do you see what God can do if we let Him?
This man was growing more like Jesus every day. And I can tell you that God wants the same thing for you. You may not need to be freed from an addiction like this man, but the transforming work of God is the same in your life. It's no less powerful and certainly it's just as marvelous.
This is the last message in the series of discerning the voice of God. If the word we are hearing leads us to being more like Jesus, it is certainly God's voice as He speaks and calls you to be more and more like His Son. PRAYER
We will be using Paul's letter to the Colossians today chapter 3. The Apostle Paul was writing to the church of Colossae when he wrote that familiar phrase "raised with Christ." To be raised with Christ is to experience a spiritual new birth. What this means is that people have died to their old self and have been born again with a new nature that naturally wants the things of God. You have heard it preached before that when we come to Christ, we are given a new nature that seeks to honor God. Paul says it this way.
Colossians 3:1-4 – “So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
Paul is writing to get us to focus on what is meant by living a Christian life. When you accept Jesus as your personal Savior, your journey is not over. Your journey has just begun. From that moment on, we are expected to focus our minds on things above. And I know this is a challenge in today's world when we are bombarded with social media, TV shows, billboards, and magazines that do their best to get us to focus on worldly things.
Paul pleads with us to do whatever is necessary so that we don't bog ourselves down with thoughts that are worldly and flesh-like. He pleads with us and exhorts us to focus on God's will. And that's a choice that we will all make. If we fill our minds with TV shows and social media we will undoubtedly be consumed with worldly thoughts.
It's time for the Christian to break away from that by choosing to immerse ourselves in Scripture and exposing ourselves to uplifting, Christian literature and Christian thought. We will elevate our thinking to a level that glorifies God. Or do Christians today even care about bringing glory to God in who we are?
Paul wrote and explained it this way.
Romans 6:8 – “Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. . .”
When we gave our lives to Jesus, we died with Christ. And now our lives are closely linked with Christ. Before we were Christians, we had this sinful, fleshly nature, and we were in bondage to the passions of the world. But that nature died the minute we became Christian.
This doesn't mean that we will never sin again. But our basic nature is now driven by this desire to please and glorify God rather than to fit in with the world and be satisfied with the lusts of the flesh. Becoming like Christ is a lifelong pursuit. It's really nothing that ever ends while we are still here on earth. Each day we are supposed to grow more and more like Jesus. Just think about your life and the person you were before you knew Jesus. You should be able to say I have grown a lot since that day.
Paul explains that being raised with Christ is a sure condition for the one who trusts in Christ. Paul says "if" you have been raised with Christ. When we think of that word "if" we think that it is something that we hope is true. But in the original Greek language that the New Testament was written in, that word "if" carries the idea of "since" you have been raised. Not "if" but "since". Do you see the surety of that?
Since we have been raised with Christ, the focus of our lives, the desires of our hearts ought to be on heavenly things and not on worldly things.
Paul says seek the things above. Seek implies a continuing behavior. What that means to us is that Jesus doesn't simply give us a new life. Jesus is our life. When we learn to center our lives on Christ, we'll see that He meets every need we have. No longer do we need to depend upon the world to get what we feel we need. Knowing Jesus brings us everything that we need. Love, joy, and peace. He satisfies our deepest longings.
Do you remember a time before you knew Jesus that you thought you could never live up to what is expected of you from Jesus? You may be sitting there right now and thinking, "This Christian stuff is really involved." And yes, there is a lot to it. But you have your entire lifetime to work toward being more like Jesus every day. You might be thinking, "I don't think I will be able to do that." And if you think that, you are correct. You will not be able to do it by yourself.
But Jesus now sits at God's right hand which is a position of power and authority. Because your life as a believer is linked with Christ, His concerns should now be your priorities. Because Christ sits at God's right hand, He has the immense power and is perfectly capable of accomplishing His purpose in your life. What I am saying is that you are not in this alone. Jesus will be by your side every step of the way, giving you the power to overcome the things of this world. Again, Paul says:
Colossians 3:3-4 – “For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
That's victory my friends. Victory in Jesus.
Colossians 3:5-7 – “Therefore, put to death what belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, God’s wrath is coming upon the disobedient, 7 and you once walked in these things when you were living in them.”
Paul says put to death whatever it was from your sinful nature. In verses 5-8, Paul gives us two lists of five things. Let's look a little closer at this first list and how it all connects. Sexual immorality includes any improper sexual activity. Anything outside the confines of a marriage between one man and one woman.
Impurity results from this sexual immorality. Lust and evil desire are passions that have turned toward improper objects. This can also mean the selfish desire where people are viewed as objects to fulfill our desires rather than to simply be recipients of our love. The last item in Paul's list is greed, which he declared is idolatry. This may be because when we greedily desire something, we value it more highly than we value God. And then it becomes an idol.
Sin brings death and destruction to everything it touches, and that's why God hates sin and will express His wrath against it. I think most of us already know that, but some people claim to believe in God but still have difficulty obeying what He commands. These individuals are not going to be spared God's wrath because they merely professed that they believe in God. We are spared from God's wrath when we obey what He commands. Paul tells us to put all of these things to death.
Colossians 3:8-9 – “But now, put away all the following: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and filthy language from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices. . .”
Paul gives us the second list the we are to put to death. Anger, wrath, malice, slander, and filthy language.
As Christians, we are a new creation in Christ, but we need to continually put to death whatever remains in our lives that is ungodly. Look closely at that list. Do you see anything that you struggle with? If there is, don't feel like you can't control it. God doesn't tell you to put anything away from your life unless He also grants you the power to do so. God is greater than it all and gives us the power to overcome any of it.
Colossians 3:10-12a – “. . . and have put on the new self. You are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator. 11 In Christ there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all. 12 Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved…”
Essentially, Paul is telling us to remember who you are in Christ. We are prone to so easily forget who we are in Christ. Before calling us to live a certain way, Paul reminded us of who we are. And we need to be reminded from time to time.
Chosen ones. We were chosen before time began. And our chosen-ness continues to today. God appointed each Christian for a divine purpose. As a result, we must fulfill that call.
Holy. We have been set apart for a God-ordained purpose. Our lives are not our own. We belong to God.
Dearly loved. God chose us because he loves us.
Names are important. Especially last names. Last names represent the whole family. We hear things like, "Make your family proud," "Don't disgrace the family name." Names represent character, integrity, authority. Paul is saying, "If you are a Christian, live like who you are." It's as easy as that. OR maybe it’s as difficult as that.
If you struggle with any of these sins that Paul lists, and you're not sure you can overcome the one that haunts you, God says, "I will give you the power to overcome. I have chosen you, I have set you apart, you are holy, and you are dearly loved. Don't think it is impossible because with Me, all things are possible."
Colossians 3:12b-14 – “. . . put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive. 14 Above all, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.”
Notice that we are not only to put away or put to death the sins, but we are also to put on the new. We don't just put away old, soiled clothes. We put on new clothes. Just as Christians should put away sin practices, we should put on godly practices that reflect our new nature. This occurs as we become more and more like Jesus. As the Holy Spirit renews our minds, we're transformed to act like Jesus.
After all of this that Paul throws at us, he's now trying to encourage us as difficult as it might be. He tells us to put on compassion kindness, humility gentleness and patience. Just like we would put on a new shirt, we can choose to put on these new qualities.
You might be saying, "Well, I'm not naturally a gentle, humble, or patient person." That's okay because we're not expected to have to manufacture these traits in our own power. These qualities come from God and they are reflected in the Fruit of the Spirit. When you truly, when you authentically, when you really accept Christ into your life, God will put this newness into your nature.
But notice that on top of all of this, we are to put on love. You've heard it said and you're about to hear it again, love is not something we feel. Love is something we choose. It's love that brings together a bond of unity between slaves and free, Greeks and Jews, and brings them all into one family unified in Christ.
There are many false teachings that try to divide the church, but love for Christ and loving one another brings unity. The good news is that you don't have to stay the same person all your life. We can change. You can change. You have the power of the Holy Spirit to put away anything that dishonors Christ and to put on anything that brings Him glory.
For the past 6 weeks, we have looked closely into how to discern if what you are hearing or reading is God’s voice. Here are the questions we have answered:
- Is it in line with what the Bible says?
- Does it convict you?
- Does it strengthen your faith and you trust in God?
- Does is reveal God’s character?
- Does it bring honor to God?
- Does it lead you to want to be more like Jesus?
Let's allow God's s true voice to encourage us to be more like Jesus.
Devote yourself to putting away and putting on until there's nothing left in you, except what looks like Christ.
It’s then that we can be assured that what we are hearing is truly God’s voice.
