INTRODUCTION
• When I was younger, I used to struggle with opening up to people. I was always afraid of what they would think of me if I let them in my “inner circle”.
• I was afraid to open myself up to being vulnerable to those around me because if you open up, you risk getting hurt.
• I think the real issue once again is trust. Those you trust, you tend to open your self up to.
• What about you, do you have trouble opening up?
• There are risks involved in opening up, but there are also great rewards.
• I want us to consider our relationship with Jesus for a little bit.
• Have you been afraid to open yourself up to Him? Are you afraid He will not love you or accept you? Are you afraid He would be ashamed of you?
• I used to really struggle with being able to accept God’s love for me even after I gave my life to Christ.
• Over time I learned I could trust Him enough to open myself up to Him, to allow Him to lead my life and to allow Him to work in my life.
• SLIDE #1
• It is time for us to open up to Jesus. It is time for us to allow Him to really work in our lives. We need to drop our “wall of protection” and allow Him to work in us and through us.
• There are great blessing in store for us when we open ourselves up to Jesus.
• I would like us to look at Colossians 3:15-17 this morning as we look at some areas we need to open ourselves up to Jesus.
• SLIDE #2 & #3
• READ COLOSSIANS 3:15-17
• SLIDE #4
SERMON
We need to open up to:
I. THE PEACE OF CHRIST (15)
• How many of us are stressed out with lives that seem to be in turmoil all the time. Does it seem that EVERY time we turn around that we are in the midst of some crisis?
• Do you feel tension around you all the time? Are you stressed out by you children, your spouse and your job?
• In the context of our passage it would seem like there were some issues in the church that was causing problems. There were people complaining against one another (verse 13) and it was causing problems.
• What is it that gets your blood boiling? Where do you lose your patience? For me it us a stop lights and in the long lines at the stores. Those situations seem to set something off in me if I am not careful. I really have to guard against getting all worked up over nothing.
• Why does this happen to us?
• It is because we have not opened ourselves up to the peace of Christ. We are trying to live life on our own power.
• Do you think that Jesus wants us to live in turmoil, chaos and crisis? NO
• God has a solution for you!
• SLIDE #5
• John 14:27 (NASB) 27“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.
• Peace is an inner state of tranquility that comes from knowing that you are right with God. We are able to have this inner state of tranquility because we feel secure in our position with God. We feel safe in Christ.
• Jesus wants us to have this inner tranquility.
• When we are at war with God, we will not have the inner peace He desires us to have because we do not feel secure in our salvation.
• If we realize who we are and what we are in Christ, then we will be able to deal with whatever the world throws at us because we know who we are in Christ.
• When we put on Christ, one of the blessings is peace.
• We are not called to be at peace at ANY price. Having peace means to be under God’s control as we make courageous moral decisions for the truth.
• This peace that God offers to us has a purpose. The purpose is that the peace is to rule our hearts.
• This word translated “rule” means to umpire or referee.
• It was used to describe the activity of an umpire in deciding the outcome of an athletic contest. The peace of Christ guides believers in making decisions.
• We have to make sure what we do is in line with being at peace with God and being at peace with one another.
• Can you imagine playing a major league baseball game or an NFL game without referees and umpires?
• The games would be chaos.
• A life without the peace of God ruling the heart will be a life on chaos also.
• Not only is our peace to be subjective, but it is to be objective. We are called to be at peace with one another. We are called into one body!
• Being thankful helps us to maintain the peace we have been given by God.
• SLIDE #6
We need to open up to:
II. THE WORD OF CHRIST (16)
• We need to allow the Word of Christ to dwell within us.
• We are told to let the Word of Christ RICHLY dwell within us.
• How do you think this happens? It only happens when we allow the Word to penetrate our lives.
• When we know and understand God’s word, it fills our hearts, it moulds our thoughts and feelings, and it guides our lives.
• Notice that God does not just want you to have a little of His Word. He does not sit in heaven and stop you when you have too much of His word in your life.
• God wants His Word to RICHLY dwell in you. This tells us He wants it to reside in you in abundant quantities.
• To dwell means to permanently reside. When we study God’s word, it resides within us forever!
• Our lives should be the place where God’s Word resides, it should be a home for God’s Word.
• SLIDE #7
• Psalms 119:11 (NASB) 11Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.
• Do you want to win the battle of temptation in your life? SPEND TIME IN THE WORD.
• When the Word of God dwells within us, we will be able to help other people when they are struggling.
• WE can then truly offer teaching that has some wisdom behind it. Teaching is the impartation of positive truth.
• When the word of God is within us we will also be able to admonish people when needed.
• Admonishing is the negative side of teaching. It means to warn people of the consequences of their behavior. Both are the result of a life overflowing with the Word of Christ. (John McArthur Jr.)
• SLIDE #8
We need to open up to:
III. THE NAME OF CHRIST (17)
• Earlier Paul listed a few vices and virtues to give the Colossian believers an idea of what was expected of them in their attitudes toward one another, but he did not want to regulate every area of life with a list of rules.
• That would be like reverting to Pharisaism. So Paul gave this general command to cover every area of life. (MacArthur Jr)
• Everything the believers said and everything they did should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, realizing his constant presence and bringing honor and glory to him in every aspect and activity of daily living.
• When we give our lives to Christ that is when we are to excel in all we do. Christians should be the hardest working, most reliable employees a company has.
• When we serve, we are to do it as if we are directly serving Jesus.
• We are to give God our best, not the leftovers.
• I want you to think for a moment about your service to God’s church.
• Are you giving it your best?
• Now, if Jesus Himself were standing here today, what would He think about how you are serving Him?
• If Jesus were standing next to you as you served, would you do it different, with a different attitude and with different energy?
• I know there are some members here who have NO ministry in the church. If Jesus were standing next to you would that motivate you to serve?
• Guess what? Jesus is with you, He does know what you are doing or not doing for Him.
• When we do something in the name of Christ, we are to do it as if Jesus Himself were doing it.
• We are to do things in such a way that we bring glory and honor to Him.
• What impression do people have of Christ when they see or talk with you? What changes would you make in your life in order to honor Christ?
• I would like you to take note of something in verses 15,16,17.
• In each of these verses you see a thought that is woven in each passage. It is a key for us to understand.
• SLIDE #9
• Verse 15- and be thankful
• Verse 16- singing with thankfulness in your hearts
• Verse 17- giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
• I believe the key to opening up to Jesus and allowing Him to work in us is being thankful to Him for what He has done for us. This is all an issue of trust, but it is also an issue of being thankful!
• SLIDE #10
• 1 Corinthians 10:31 (NASB) 31Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
CONCLUSION
• The question for you today is this: “Are you going to allow yourself to open up to God?”
• I am going to challenge you to try it this week. I want to challenge you to open your heart to God’s peace. I want to challenge you to let the Word of Christ richly dwell within you. This means you will actually need to spend some time this week in the word of God.
• I am asking EVERYONE who is serious about their faith and those who are interested in exploring their faith to take 15 minutes out of your day each day and spend it reading your Bible. Start in the Gospel of John if you would like. See what allowing God’s word to dwell in you can do for you.
• I further want to challenge you this week to do everything you do in the name of Jesus. DO whatever you do as if you were doing it for Jesus Himself.
• Can you imagine what kind of Church we would have if we all would truly open up to God. Can you catch a vision of what we can do together for Him and the impact we could have on this community?
• SLIDE #11
• Step up to the plate and swing away!
