OPEN: During a long and losing baseball game, the restless boys on the little league team began to question Ritchie, their assistant coach, about his attractive sister. How old was she? Was she going out with anyone...? Etc.
The head coach was beginning to get annoyed. Not only were they losing, but now he realized his boys didn’t have their head in the game. So he decided to put a stop to it. In his frustration he hollared at the boys: "When you’re in the dugout, you boys talk BASEBALL!"
There was silence for about a minute and 1/2... and then a voice from end of the bench called out, "So, Ritchie, does your sister play baseball?"
APPLY: Now that team may not have been motivated to win their baseball game... But they were motivated. Their minds were dominated by one tho’t... Richie’s sister.
That team had a passion that dominated their tho’ts and their conversations, and that passion - for Richies’ sister - gave life and excitement to an otherwise dull and depressing game. It made the difference between an experience that was dragging them down and one that would lift them up and make their lives worth living.
Paul tells us in Colossians - that we have a similar passion. A passion that makes our lives unique and exciting. And, it’s a passion that Paul says we must NEVER lose.
Colossians 2:6 "just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, CONTINUE to live in him...
Colossians 3:1 "Since... you have been raised with Christ, SET YOUR HEARTS on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God..."
Colossians 3:15 Let the peace of Christ RULE in your hearts..."
Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ DWELL in you richly..."
Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, DO IT ALL IN THE NAME of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."
Again, and again, and again, Paul tells us REMEMBER our relationship with Jesus. Remember that He is Lord of our lives.
I. But (pause) how can I tell if Jesus really is the Lord of my Life? How can I tell if my relationship with Jesus is the way I/ He want it to be?
ILLUS: A little girl was on the way home from church, turned to her mother and said, "Mommy, the Preacher’s sermon this morning confused me."
The mother said, "Oh! Why is that?”
The girl replied, "Well, he said that God is bigger than we are. Is that true?"
"Yes, that’s true," the mother replied.
"He also said that God lives within us. Is that true too?"
Again the mother replied, "Yes."
"Well," said the girl. "If God is bigger than us and He lives in us, wouldn’t He show through?"
He would, wouldn’t he? He would show through ... but how do I make it so that Jesus "shows thru?" The best way to do it is to begin to "think" like Jesus thinks. To be motivated by the same goals and objectives that drove Jesus.
* I want to get to the point where I think so much like Jesus that my behavior becomes like that of those young boys in the dugout
* Where I get to the point where I can’t talk about much of anything else... I can’t think about much of anything else - except that which is what JESUS THINKS. I want to become passionate about what Jesus is passionate about...
II. Well, what is Jesus passionate about?
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
Or, as Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 1:15 "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners..."
That was what motivated Jesus... That’s why He came. That’s why He died. And that’s why He rose from the dead...
And so, if I’m going to THINK like Jesus - I’ve got to think about the sinners around me. I’ve got to think about ways of introducing them to my Savior Because those people are the ones Jesus is so passionate about
III. So... where do we start? How do we begin to "think" like Jesus?
Paul tells us - we start with prayer...
Look at Colossians 4:2-4 = “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.”
Notice what Paul tells us to start out praying for: He asks for prayer for his team of missionaries. He asks for prayer to have
-opportunities to proclaim the mystery of Christ
- the ability to speak it clearly so they get results
But why start there? I mean, as I worked on this sermon, this was going to be the last of my points. BUT then I realized the wisdom of God in asking us pray for missionaries and preachers and other full time ministers of the Gospel.
You see, God wants us to focus on how other people witness about Christ. And when we focus on people like missionaries and preachers and youth workers. And we’re praying for their success in what they do… THEN we begin to pick up some of their traits… AND some of their passion for Christ
By praying for these people who have invested so much of their lives into sharing their faith in Christ... we can be effective in our sharing of Christ
SO... this morning, I want us to focus on praying for some people who are in full time work
(At this point I turned their attention to a bulletin insert that listed the missions that we support)
I want you to take this bulletin insert home. Place it on your refrigerator, on your bathroom mirror, on the dresser in your bedroom – anywhere you’ll be sure to encounter it and remember these missions in your prayers. Then, pray for them to have opportunities this week AND to have the ability to clearly present the mystery of Christ to others.
IV. Having set a pattern for us, NOW Paul focuses on how we can make Jesus shine thru our lives.
Look with me at Colossians 4:5-6
“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders…”
(Why? Because those are the ones Jesus cares about. The ones he thinks about)
“…make the most of every opportunity.”
(Why? Because that’s what Jesus would do)
“…Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone”
(Why? Because your answer may introduce them to Jesus)
Now... this isn’t rocket science. This is as simple as it gets. All Paul is telling us is - make sure people know that Jesus has changed you. If you want Jesus to shine thru, and you want to think like Jesus… you have got to think like you did when you were dating.
You remember back when you were dating? When you saw that cute guy or girl, you tried to be wise in how you acted and talked around them.
You tried to make the most of every opportunity.
You were very careful about the words you used.
AND - do you remember when you thought you’d said something stupid? Do you remember how bad you felt for days afterward? You’d messed up and you knew it
If you and I are trying to "think" like Jesus tho’t then we have to look at EVERYONE around us like we’re "courtin’ them" for Jesus.
So - every time we don’t act or speak wisely around them...
…every time we get angry, or curse, or treat someone badly - we should cringe.
We messed up
We may have pushed someone away from Jesus that Jesus loved... and we don’t want to do that!
CLOSE: There’s a story about a missionary in Africa who gave a Bible to an African man. When it was given to him, the man hugged it close and expressed great appreciation for the precious gift of God’s Word that the missionary had given him. But when the missionary saw him a few days later he noticed, much to his dismay, that the Bible looked like it was already falling apart, & that many of its pages were missing.
The missionary asked him, "What happened? What did you do to your Bible? When I gave it to you I thought you considered it to be a treasured possession."
The man replied. "Indeed, it is a very precious possession. It is the finest gift I have ever received. It is so precious that when I returned to my village I very carefully chose a page & tore it out & gave it to my mother. Then I tore out another page & gave it to my father. And I tore out another page & gave it to my wife. Finally, I gave a page of God’s Word to everybody who lives in my village."
SERMONS IN THIS SERIES
· Remembering What We Have - Colossians 1:1-1:14
· He Is Lord Because Of Who He Is - Colossians 1:15-1:23
· The Mystery - Colossians 1:21-1:29
· Jesus is Lord Because Of How He Rules - Colossians 2:1-2:23
· Feet On The Earth, Head In The Sky - Colossians 3:1-3:17
· Prescription for a Healthy Family - Colossians 3:17-3:21
· Working For Jesus - Colossians 3:22-4:1
· Thinking Like Jesus - Colossians 4:1-4:6
· Someone Else - Colossians 4:7-4:18
