Cracking the Character Code
(How I can Help My Church)
Colossians 3:12-17, NIV
Introduction
Our Vacation Bible School begins tomorrow. The setting is London and the theme is "Cracking the Character Code." It seems the coat of arms at Yorkshire Hall is supposed to represent the traits of Christian character for that family. However, some pieces of that coat of arms are missing. A local student makes it his term project to find the missing pieces, and he enlists family members to help him search. They’re looking for the character traits which once characterized the family. Our VBS children will join in the search to help crack the character code. They will meet each day to investigate the problem; then they’ll follow the clues to see where they lead. At the end of the day, they will meet again to examine the evidence they have discovered and find the missing pieces of the family’s coat of arms.
The VBS Scripture is Colossians 3:12-14, but I want us to read through verse 17. Please turn to Colossians 3 and stand for God’s Word as I read from the NIV.
A couple of weeks ago, one of our ladies’ Sunday School classes asked me to preach on what each member can do to strengthen our church. I appreciate their concern for our church to be strong. I originally started writing this sermon to introduce our Bible School theme, but I soon realized it could also tell us how we can help our church. However, there’s so much to tell that I can’t say it all in one sermon. Ladies, I need you to come back tonight and let me continue to remind us how each of us can help our church.
From my text I draw 4 points to strengthen our personal characters and our church. Paul is writing to the Church when he says in verse 12a...
I. Church: Remember Who We Are (v. 12a)
The King James says we are the elect of God, holy and beloved. The New International says we are God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved. In the Old Testament God’s chosen people was the nation of Israel. They entered into a covenant with God at Sinai to be his people, distinct from all other nations. In the New Testament, Jesus made a new covenant with his Church. His Church is made up of Jews and Gentiles, people from all nations, who become God’s people through faith in Jesus Christ.
Do you realize you are a part of the New Testament? That story is still being written. It started with the gospels and Acts; but Acts doesn’t end the story! Look at the last 2 verses in the book of Acts. Does that sound like the story has ended? No, it just pauses. It stops right in the middle of Paul’s life story! The New Testament epistles just record love letters to us, the Church. We have an interlude after Acts until the story picks up again in the future with the Book of Revelation, where Jesus gathers his Church to himself. In the meantime, you and I are the main characters of that continuing story. We are the New Testament being lived out today! The story of the Jews was written on earth for us to profit from their examples and learn from their mistakes. Our story is being written in Heaven today for all Creation to see our dedication to Jesus.
Just as the Jews were different from all other nations, holy and set apart for God’s purposes; we are his people today. We look at the Jews and see how they failed God and broke their covenant with him. But, God isn’t going to let us fail him! Jesus took all the requirements of our covenant on himself. We can’t fail because Jesus has already fulfilled our covenant for us!
Look at verse 12. We’re not striving to be holy; we’re already declared holy. We’re not trying to earn God’s love; we’re already his beloved. On the Cross he spread out his arms to show us how much he loved us and let them nail them permanently in that position. We are his Lover, his Bride. All God requires of us is that we honor our Groom and remain his faithful Bride.
Just as we study the Jews in the Old Testament, the world is studying us today to see if we act like God’s people. One thing you can do to help your church is be sure you are fulfilling the role of God’s Sweetheart, set apart and faithful to Jesus. Just like a husband and wife who are truly in love would never do anything to bring shame on their spouse, be so in love with Jesus that you never disappoint your Heavenly Companion. Paul continues in the last of verse 12 to say...
II. Church: Remember What We Wear (v. 12b)
One way we honor Jesus is by what we wear. In some very strict churches with dress codes, the pastor may tell a man how short his hair must be, or tell a woman how much makeup to wear and the length of her hemline. It’s true: Our appearance is important because we don’t want to dishonor our Groom. But, we change as styles and times change. We suppose Jesus had long hair because that was the norm for his day. We don’t dress like they did in Bible times, with robes and uncut hair, because that’s not the custom for our day. Christians should always be somewhere in the middle of current styles so we don’t draw attention to ourselves. We don’t want people to be drawn to us or be turned off by us; we want them to see Jesus in us!
But, our text isn’t talking about the clothes we wear. It’s talking about cracking the character code and learning how to dress our spirits properly. Since people can’t see our spirits, they look at our outward characters. But, how we clothe our characters is how our spirits will dress in Heaven. Our text says we should clothe our characters with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. By the way, these 5 qualities form the 5 pieces of the coat of arms our VBS will track down: one for each day.
The King James lists those 5 qualities as bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, and long suffering. When the Bible speaks of "bowels" it refers to the heart of our being. They knew that when something really gets to you, your stomach rumbles. So, they considered the seat of emotion to be in the bowels. Today, we say something has touched our heart. We don’t mean the physical organ that pumps blood, but the center of our thought-life. Paul says we ought to clothe our hearts with mercy or compassion. Mercy means pity in a good sense. It means feeling what someone else is feeling and empathizing, or reacting, along with them. We’re members of The Family. We cry when a sister cries; we laugh when a brother laughs. We’re Musketeers: "All for one and one for all." Think how that would bless our church if everyone stood up for each other, overlooked each other’s faults, and no one cut another person down!
Do you know what kindness means? It means "kindness!" I’ll say it like our daughter says to our grandchildren: "What part of kindness do you not understand?" We learned it as one of our earliest memory verses in Sunbeams: Ephesians 4:32, "Be ye kind, one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you." Kindness is a quality that’s not passive. Kindness refuses to sit back and be quiet. Kindness always looks for ways to do something nice for others. When I preach your funeral, or you attend mine, can it be said that we were kind persons? That’s certainly how you can help our church be what God wants us to be.
Humbleness of mind means an attitude of humility. Humility doesn’t mean walking around with stooped shoulders looking as if you were afraid to do anything because you might be beaten with a stick! Humility means thinking of others before yourself. It seeks the good of someone else and goes out of its way to help where there’s a need. It even looks for ways to be a blessing to others.
Meekness is gentleness, or quiet strength. It means strength under control. I can best explain it to our adults as Superman when he’s Clark Kent or to our kids as the Hulk when he’s David Banner, not raging with anger. It’s like Jesus who, as God, had the potential for great strength, but he only showed it when he cleansed the Temple in righteous indignation, or when he bore our cross up Calvary’s steep hill and endured the nails for us. His strength was not used until it was needed. Then, it was used for good to help others.
Long suffering is called, in the NIV, patience. But, it really means patience endurance or determination. It’s the ability to go the long haul. It’s our promise in our wedding vows when we pledge to remain together "until death do us part." As Christians, we’re married to Jesus; and as Church members we’re married to each other. Come what may, we will never forsake him or one another. When someone says "Blood is thicker than water" it means you take up for your kin folks no matter what they have done. Remember, we’re not each other’s enemies; we’re kin folks adopted into God’s family by the blood of Jesus
Did you notice that all these character qualities have something in common? Every quality we’re urged to put on is active. Not a one of them sits around in the background waiting to be called upon. None of them would say, "I didn’t serve because nobody ever asked me!" They all look for ways to make a church like Heaven on earth. That leads naturally to my next point from verses 13-16...
III. Church: Remember How We Act (vs. 13-16)
Our text says to bear with one another and forgive each other as the Lord forgave us. Let agape love bind us in perfect unity. Practice the peace of Christ, and be thankful; encourage one another in the Word as you jointly praise God with gratitude. That’s how we ought to act in church; that’s how we can make our church stronger. To bear with one another means that we think the best about each other. If someone does something that should offend us, we suppose that they didn’t really mean to do it or say it that way and we refuse to be offended. And, look how we are to forgive each other: as the Lord forgives us. How does God forgive us? He just keeps on forgiving and helping us to change our faults into strengths.
Then, love is presented as the belt that holds our wardrobe together. This is agape love, the kind of love God shows to us. When we were unlovely and unlovable God loved us anyhow, unconditionally! Do you know why we have a hard time loving our enemies? Because we think love must be earned. We love those who show love to us. If someone is hateful to us we don’t love them. But, God’s love saw our potential. When we were hateful to him, he bathed us in love until he melted our anger and turned us into his friends. That’s how we must love others, untiringly and unconditionally.
Verse 16 says to practice the peace of Christ. How do we do that? Read on: by being thankful. A grateful heart is at peace. A grateful heart is indebted to God and everyone else for their love toward us. That puts us at peace with others.
Then, notice the responsibility we have toward others: we are to encourage each other in the Word. How many of us do that? How many of us know the Bible well enough to quote it to others when they’re discouraged or making the wrong decision? We should help our brothers and sisters to claim all the promises God has given to us. And, notice what part of the Bible we use to encourage others: its psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. There’s nothing better to encourage someone else than to lead them to praise God with you. If you can get a person’s mind on his blessings, you’ve gotten his mind off his troubles! Finally...
IV. Church: Remember Whose We Are (v. 17)
We are to do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and give thanks to the Father through Jesus. I know of no better way to strengthen a church than for the whole church to ask "W.W.J.D.?" - "What would Jesus do?" That’s the premise of Charles Sheldon’s book, "In His Steps." He tells the story of a whole town where everyone took seriously the command to walk in the steps of Jesus. Each person asks "What would Jesus do?" before making any decision or doing anything. I can think of nothing better to strengthen our church than to imagine what kind of church member Jesus would be if he were in our church today and to pattern our lives in his steps. How faithful would each of us be to our church if we were as faithful as Jesus would be? How much would we put in the offering plate if we gave as Jesus would give? How many places of service would be left unfilled if we filled needs as Jesus would fill them? How many people would come out for visitation night if everyone had the compassion Christ had for the lost?
I read this week of a house fire in the middle east where a man ran back into his burning house to get his valuables, but he didn’t make it out. He was found in the ashes clutching an ivory idol. The headlines read, "Man dies trying to save his god." Two thousand years ago on a hill called Calvary, the Son of God hung bleeding and dying for a lost world. If there had been a Jerusalem Post back then, the headlines might have read, "God dies trying to save his man." How can we fail to live for such a God who gave his everything for us that we might have everything in him?
Conclusion
"Cracking the Character Code" is nothing more than taking on the character of Jesus. After all, if he’s really our Lord and Master, doesn’t that mean we are his bond-servants to act as he wishes. If each of us were faithful to be all that Jesus wants us to be, our church would be all God wants it to be. And, you know what would happen? Our church would grow strong in all ways!
Do you know what Acts 2:47 really means when it says God added to the Jerusalem Church those who were being saved? It means God will keep his promise to save those who truly seek him, because he promised Jeremiah that those who seek him with all their hearts shall ever surely find him. He will save them with or without our church! If we aren’t available, he’ll find a church that is. And he will grow the church that pleases him. He will bring people into the church that teaches them, by word and deed, to be like Jesus. "Cracking the Character Code" is not just for Bible school children; building your character to be like Jesus is the best thing you can do to strengthen your church.
