Put On pt 2

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. It is my great pleasure to share the Word of God with the saints of Durbin Memorial Baptist Church.

This morning we sang as a group, Hark! The Harold Angels Sing!. This is a very fun Christmas hymn that I love to sing each year. It was written by Charles Wesley in 1739. The song is basically Wesley’s description of what it would have been like on The hillside as the shepherds were greeted by the heavenly hosts.

I want to be honest this morning, and it may be a little embarrassing that it took me so long to do it, but this week I looked up the word Hark to finally look it up. That’s not a word that we use very commonly today. But Hark means, “HEY PAY ATTENTION!” It’s announcing that something big is about to go down or about to be said! Maybe we need to bring that back. Next year at Claude’s 4th of July celebration, Will can yell HARK, right as he does a sweet cannonball.

But back to Hark the Herald Angels sing, the Hark in the titled throughout the song is a declaration to the hearers to pay attention to what is being said. Throughout the song, it is really an invitation that is being given. It is being declared that God has brought the Savior, the Christ! So join the triumph, the victory of Jesus. Jesus Christ, the second person of the Triune God has laid aside the glory of heaven! Immanuel, God with us! Hail Him! Give Him all the glory. He was born to raise the Sons of earth. Christ came to give us second, spiritual birth.

Now there is some debate as to if the angels actually sang to the Shepherds on the hillside. If we’re looking at the text in Luke 2 carefully, there is no mention of singing. We really don’t know if the angels sang, but here’s what I do know. God has given us the gift of song, and we are to praise Him with music. “The Lord has bestowed blessings upon His people even holy angels have not received—namely salvation.” I am not so worried about if the angels did or did not sing, I am much more concerned about the message that they brought and even more concerned about sharing that message with others. We sing Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, not because of the marvelous nature of the angels, but because of the glory of Jesus! We sing it because contained in the lyrics are the gospel of Jesus Christ!

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, implicitly highlights a truth about the redeemed that is pertinent to our look at the book of Colossians this morning. That is the communal nature of being a believer. I mention this often, not just because I love the local church, but because I am convicted by the Word of God, being actively, consistently, and presently connected with a body of believers is vital to the flourishing of the Christian life. You are not called to live on an island of spiritual desertion nor a mountain top of spiritual superiority. If you know Jesus as your Savior, you are called to be a sheep among HIS FLOCK, grazing in His pasture.

This idea is littered all throughout Hark the Herald. “ALL ye NATIONS rise, JOIN the triumph of the skies, WITH angelic hosts proclaim.” We are singing about representatives from every group here on earth joining together with the hosts of heaven to proclaim Christ has come. Later it is highlighted that Jesus is called Emmanuel. That means God with us. God with US. Not just me! Then in the third verse, Born that MAN no more may die, to raise the SONS of earth, to give THEM second birth. This song highlights the corporate call to give glory to the newborn King.

Our faith is actualized on a personal level, that means that we come to faith on our own, no one can believe for us. So our faith is actualized on a personal level, however, our faith is practiced on a corporate level.

This year it is interesting because Christmas falls on a Sunday. Some view this as an inconvenience. They say that holding a church service will get in the way of the festivities they have planned. I am of the belief that there is not a better time or reason to gather together and proclaim the coming of the Messiah! The whole point of celebrating Christmas *ought* to be celebrating that Jesus came to give us new life. So if we understand that, why wouldn’t we want to do that by celebrating it with the people the Lord has given us to spur one another on in love in good works! I shared this on Sunday night, but I saw someone online last week say that not going to church on Christmas would be like telling someone you’re going not going to be able to go to their birthday party, but you’ll celebrate it by staying home and opening gifts for yourself. None of us would do that, at least I’d hope not.

I bring this us up for two reasons, first of all our text today will be addressing the communal nature of the believers life and I look forward to celebrating Christmas with the saints of Durbin Memorial Baptist Church. But I also bring this up because I know that it is likely some will be unable to join us next Sunday. I must implore you if you are able, join in with SOME congregation of fellow believers in the area you are in. If you’re going out of town and need help finding a church, let me know. I’ll help you find a good one to go to with your family. Make it a point to Join in with the angelic hosts and proclaim, Christ is born in Bethlehem!

With that said, open your Bibles to Colossians chapter 3.

Last week we looked at the positive adornments of the Christian life. These are the attitudes and behaviors that we both receive and strive for AFTER coming to faith in Jesus Christ. We are not saved by our ability to act in such a manner, but rather we act in such manners because we are saved. We looked at attitudes and behaviors like compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, putting up with one another, forgiving each other, and love as the bow that ties it all together. The list as whole has communal implications, it speaks to how we get along with others, but the last few are especially applied within the context of the local church. The local assembly is a blessing for our own growth and support. We should be so thankful that God would provide us with the gathering. Today we are going to see four attitudes and behaviors that we are to apply as we participate in the local assembly. Begin with me in verse 15.

Colossians 3:15 ESV

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

The first attitude that we are to have as we participate in the local church is peace. Paul writes, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.”

We should strive at all times to maintain Christ-centered peace in our lives but in particular, our congregation.

Now I think on a plain level, all of us would agree that this is a virtue we should aspire towards. Peace sounds like a good thing. But what are we particularly talking about when we read “the peace of Christ”. This peace in the greek is talking about binding together something that had been divided, thus making it one again. Peace is combining two things that were at odds. Then, the peace we are talking about this morning is expounded upon by being called the PEACE OF CHRIST. So this isn’t just a general combining of two things, it is something that comes from Christ! This is a peace the Christ alone has secured! What is this particular peace?

BLANK SLIDE

Allow me to illustrate what the peace of Christ is.

You may have heard the phrase, “In the Beginning GOD” *Write God on top*

This is the beginning of all of History. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. He made everything and called it good. Then He made man and woman. *Draw two stick figures*

He called man very good! And things were great. It was paradise. The relationship between God and Man was amazing! They walked together. But not only were things right between God and Man, but things were right between Adam and Eve. They had an unblemished relationship. *Make sure there are connection lines between the stick figures and God*

Then one day Adam and Eve sinned! They acted against God! Their sin broke their previously unfettered relationship with God! *scribble between God and Man lines.*

The God they once walked through the garden with now terrified them, they ran and hid from His presence.

But not only did their sin separate them from God, it also broke the relationship they had with each other. *scribble line between stick figures*

They stayed together as a couple by all accounts, but the interpersonal dynamics changed significantly. When God approached the couple about their sin, instead of protecting his beautiful bride, Adam was quick to throw her under the bus. They struggled in parenting and raised a murderer. There was now division between God and man as well as man and man. This is called the “fall”. We see this reality all around us today even thousands of years later. We see people set against God. We see people disjointed from one another.

While this is the reality of the fallen world, what has been described thus far is the exact opposite of the peace of Christ we saw in verse 15.

Praise the Lord that God knows the fallen state of this world and loves us enough to call us out of it! God loved us so much that He sent His Son Jesus! Jesus lived died and rose again. He paid the debt owed by our sin. He was the propitiation, meaning He took the wrath owed for our sin. Christ has secured peace for all those who believe in Him by His blood as our Mediator. Through faith in Christ we are restored to God *draw line back to God**

But not only are we restored to God, which would be more than we could ask for on its own, we are also reconciled to other believers! *Draw line between people.**

Christ has given all those who believe in Him peace! Because of Christ we sing:

PEACE on earth and mercy mild, GOD and SINNERS reconciled!

This is the peace of Christ! Reconciliation between God and Man and between His people! Look back to verse 15! *CLEAR SCREEN*

Colossians 3:15 ESV

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

So we have illustrated what the peace of Christ is and the great blessing that it is. Now I’d like us to focus on the words around it. “LET the peace of Christ RULE IN YOUR HEARTS.”

If we were to take this super literally, here is what is being said, “Have the peace of Christ act as the umpire giving you your prize in the core of your being.” What is rendered rule in English is the picture of an umpire in the greek. The one who decides the outcome and awards winners. We need to understand and seek to the Peace of Christ arbitrating, deciding in arguments, and thereby restraining the passions of the flesh that might threaten to disrupt peace within the body of the church.

As believers in Christ Jesus, He is our leader, and we share in His peace. We are called to be one body. Bodies work together. When you really think about it, the human body is a miracle. God has connected every cell, every vessel, every ligament, bone, and organ to work together. To provide life and movement. Something this complex does not happen by chance. Just each piece of the body works together, so too should the redeemed, particularly in our local context.

So we are to have the peace of Christ rule our hearts, we walk together in unity.

But let me be clear. We should absolutely be peaceable people. We should stick together and be united. But within the framework of this verse we must also note that the peace we are talking about here is only real peace if it is the peace of Christ. By that I mean that if we are united together but our unity is based on a shared sin, we are actively working against the peace of Christ. Jonah was in active rebellion against the Lord and yet he was fully able to nap on the boat. Being at personal zen, does not mean you are in the peace of Christ. We must work together to make agreeable decisions that have been bathed in prayer and vetted by the Word of God to really be working together in the peace of Christ.

At the end of verse 15 we see the second virtue we are to adorn our lives and church with. It is simply two words.

“Be thankful.”

This is a very simple reminder for disposition of the Christian. We truly ought to be the most thankful people on the planet! Why is that so? Well think back to the diagram I drew a few moments ago! We ought to be thankful because we have be reconciled! Nothing about our positional reality before God should produce pride, its should produce thanksgiving! We were stuck in separation and isolation, completely unable to reach out to God. Unable to make true connection with others, but then God reached out to us! He restored us to Himself through the cross of Christ. He restored us to one another in our shared adoption. We are now united in the family of God and it only comes as the free gift of God!

The real question is how could we NOT be thankful if we understand this reality!?

As we are walking through this fallen world, awaiting glory, our sinful flesh is prone to wander. it is when we get distracted from the truth and peace of Christ that our thankfulness diminishes.

This phrase “Be thankful” in verse 15 is in the present imperative. It is a reminder that is saying, Dear Christian, keep on being thankful. We do this by constantly being reminded of the goodness of God. We do that by being His Word. I mentioned last week that every page of the Word of God cries out His glory. There is a reminder of the grandeur, the goodness, the giving, and the glory of the Lord in every stroke of every letter. Be reminded through the study of His Word just how thankful we ought to be.

When you are grumbling at your plain food, put this as a sandwich between your bread and butter, Be ye thankful.

When you are complaining of the East wind, just try if you cannot spell this little sentence, Be ye thankful.”

When you are murmuring about those sharp pains and that long sickness, this is the kind of tune for the little bird to whistle at your window, Be ye thankful.

We have all much for which we ought to be thankful, however sad we may think our lot to be. Look on the bright side, rejoice in God: Be ye thankful. CHARLES SPURGEON

In the next verse we see the third behavior of the believer within the context of the congregation:

Colossians 3:16 ESV

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

As individuals and as a body, we are to Let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly. Notice that both verse 15 and 16 begin with the word “Let”. This is telling the redeemed to desire these things, to have them take control. It is the willful desire to cast away sinful desire and distraction and sincerely seek the Lord’s direction in one’s life and church. We have already looked at what that means in the context of peace. Here we see it in the context of the Word of Christ.

As we discussed thankfulness, I talked about the importance of being in the Word of God. It should be noted that every bit of that good book points to the good Savior, Jesus Christ. He is the Word. In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. We’re going to look at that more next week, but for our purposes this morning, We must see the necessity of being in God’s Word.

The first step to dwelling in the word of Christ is simply being exposed to it regularly. We put out a daily reading plan reading through the New Testament. There are hundreds of different Bible reading plans. Some read through the bible in a year, others break down over many years. Others read a verse of the day. We must consistently and regularly be in the Word. But we should not just be familiar with the Word on an academic level. That is we study it for a time and let it pass out of our minds weeks later, as if we are studying for an exam.

We don’t just read the word as an academic exercise. Rather, we drink it in! We meditate upon it. It is the rich delicacy that warms our soul.

Spurgeon wrote: There is no book that knows us so well, there is no book that is so much at home with us, there is no book that. has so much power over us, if we will but give ourselves up to it; yet, often, we only let it look in at our window, or knock at our door, instead of inviting it to enter our very heart and soul, and therefore we miss its power.

The redeemed are called to have the Word of Christ dwell in them richly. To store it deeply. To remain in the Word.

Do you dwell in the Word, or do you simply pass through it. None of us would say that building inspector dwells in the house. Mark may very well enter the deepest places in a building and see everything down to the studs, but when the inspection is complete he rightly moves on to the next job. That is the right role of the inspector. We are not called to simply inspect the Bible, rather we are called to DWELL in the word of Christ!

In verse 16, we are then given a three step “HOW-TO” for dwelling in the Word of Christ, all of these happening regularly in the context of the local congregation!

First we see teaching and admonishing. Teaching is giving positive direction and knowledge. It is the presentation of Christian truth. It is giving and hearing an exposition of God’s Word that makes you think, “wow! God is good! I didn’t know that!” Teaching is influencing the understanding of the one being taught with the goal of shaping the that person’s will and desires positively. Admonishing is correction and warning. This is teaching that tells the recipient what to do and what to avoid. Teaching and admonishing has been prevalent throughout our study of Colossians. The first two chapters on the supremacy of Jesus were heavy on teaching. This highly practical chapter three has been heavy in admonishment. Teaching and admonishment are insight and direction, respectively.

It is my hope that receive this every week through the ministry of this pulpit. You have also been given the opportunity to participate in Sunday School. I know of groups that gather throughout the week for continued teaching and admonishment. It is good to study AND teach the word of God. All of us should seek to have such understanding of the things of the Lord that we would be able to teach them to others. I don’t have time to dwell here this morning but be reminded that the Hebrew believers were told that they ought to be able to teach these things by now, but were not. We should seek to avoid the same traps and desire to grow in knowledge of the Lord.

The second way we dwell in the word of Christ is by singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. This refers to singing the literal psalms, which we have in our Bibles today but would have been a songbook to the Hebrews. It is more difficult to find the clear distinction between hymns and spiritual songs, but the point here is that we benefit by singing the Word of Christ. I try to make it a point when picking out music for the church that the songs we sing are congruent with the Word of God. Singing and music are special ways God has gifted us to be able to praise His name and remember His Word. Sing His Word! If you want some help finding music that is centered on the Word of God, let me know. I’d be happy to think through it with you.

Then the third way we dwell in word of Christ is by doing all of this singing with thankfulness in our hearts. As we read, dwell, teach, admonish, and sing the word of Christ, gratefulness for the goodness of God exudes from our hearts. We may not be leaders of the choir, but we should all appreciate lifting a tune of praise to the Lord.

Together, as a Congregation, we combine to make a symphony of praise, we join with the heavenly hosts proclaim, Christ is born in Bethlehem! Born to raise us from the earth, born to give us second birth! To God be the Glory!

There is one more attitude with which the redeemed are called to employ in their participation in the congregation:

Colossians 3:17 ESV

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

This is the attitude of general submission to the Lord. In word or deed, in lip or life, make no exceptions, submit all things to the will of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our whole life is to be consecrated to Him, seeking the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

You have heard me bring this verse up before. I like to think of this verse as the barometer for Christian decision making and discernment.

We all know that we have decisions in life that are hard to make. We have to make choices. We are called to make choices that honor the Lord. One way to do that is by simply asking yourself before making a decision, “Can I sincerely do this thing in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ?” Can I take this job in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ? Can I go to this party or celebration in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ? Can I eat this food in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ? In all of these scenarios seeking to give thanks to God the Father through Him.

If you can *SINCERELY* make that decision in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and give thanks to God the Father through Him, go for it.

But how do we know if we are sincerely doing it in the name of Jesus, or simply trying to baptize our own sinful desires? Well, unfortunately on this side of glory, we are never going to get it right 100% of the time, the flesh still rears its head and we make bad decisions. HOWEVER, if you are actively, joyfully having the peace of Christ rule your heart, if you are in a consistent posture of thankfulness to the Lord, if you are dwelling in the Word of Christ by giving and receiving teaching and admonishment, and singing scriptural songs with thankfulness, you can be assured that you will be well prepared to make decisions that honor the Lord in whatever you do.

This works on a personal and a corporate level. We are in this Christian life together. May we spur one another on in love and good works. May we seek as a whole that each every mission, song, class, business meeting and sermon of Durbin Memorial Baptist Church would be planned and executed in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

We do think because with great gratitude we recognize what the Lord has done for us. And the beautiful thing is that what Christ has done for us who know Him, He is still doing! He is still drawing sinners to know Him as Lord and Savior. He is still reconciling all those who believe in Him. If you are here today and do not know the Lord, it is not too late for you! You may very well be seeing your state today! I would love to talk to you more about what Christ has done for sinners like you and me. In just a moment were going to have a hymn of response. If you want to know more about this person of Christ, would you signify that by coming forward during that time?

Let’s pray.