A New Playlist for the New Year
Colossians • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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How many of you have a PLAYLIST on your phone or tablet? Some people have a playlist for when they go walking, or exercise, when they travel, and some even have a playlist they use to go to sleep with. People will often listen to MUSIC to enhance certain moods or activities. This is just one example of the POWER of music.
Today I don’t want to just talk about music, although that will be a big part of the message today; I want to talk about the things YOU and I allow enter our minds through what we READ and what we LISTEN to and what we WATCH. What we read, what we listen to, and what we watch HAS A HUGE IMPACT UPON WHAT WE THINK ABOUT AND WHAT WE THINK ABOUT HAS A HUGE IMPACT UPON WHAT WE END UP DOING!
This may be one reason the Apostle Paul said this as he wrapped up his letter to the Philippians…He challenged them to MEDITATE (think about, ponder, reflect on) the following things...
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.
As we think about, ponder, and reflect upon these things we are creating a “play list” of sorts in our minds. This is important and in our text today, in Colossians 3 we are told some ways we can do that.
We Must Make the Word of Christ at Home in Our Heart
We Must Make the Word of Christ at Home in Our Heart
Notice what he says in Colossians 3:16
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
One of the first things that stands out to me in this passage is the word “DWELL.” This word literally means, “to inhabit, or live in.”
Our hearts should not be a “vacation spot” for the word of Christ. In other words it shouldn’t just show up a couple of times a year, but it should DWELL THERE!
Nor should it visit from time to time. Sometimes I go and “visit” someone at their house and they say, “make yourself at home” but they don’t really mean for me to examine every nook and cranny of their home. A visitor is different than someone who LIVES there.
The Word of God isn’t to be a weekly visitor in our lives, but is to DWELL in our lives!
How is the “word of Christ” going to INHABIT, OR LIVE IN, or DWELL IN us?
I think some obvious answers are:
We must KNOW Christ as our Lord and Savior
We must KNOW Christ as our Lord and Savior
Without KNOWING Christ as our Lord and Savior we do not have the person of the Holy Spirit abiding inside us, calling things to our remembrance, and leading us with the TRUTH.
We must READ and MEDITATE upon the Word of Christ.
We must READ and MEDITATE upon the Word of Christ.
Psalm 119 reminds us of so many truths regarding making the Word of God a part of our mind and thinking!
How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You.
Your testimonies also are my delight
And my counselors.
Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.
I rejoice at Your word
As one who finds great treasure.
My mind also goes to the passage that was read earlier... Psalm 1:1-3
Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
We need to learn to LIVE in the WORD so the WORD LIVES IN US!
Will Houghton said: “Lay hold of the Bible until the Bible lays hold of you
We are to let the word of Christ dwell in us RICHLY. This word means that it is to dwell there in AMPLE amounts.
If the word is going to MAKE ITSELF at HOME in our hearts then we need to learn to become
A “DOER” not Just a “HEARER”
A “DOER” not Just a “HEARER”
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
I recently read a quote that I loved. It said:
The goal of reading through the Bible is not to just get through it, but to let it get through you!
The goal of reading Scripture is not just for INFORMATION, but it is also for TRANSFORMATION!
Paul put it this way in Romans 12:2
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Not only do we need to develop a NEW PLAYLIST for our minds through letting the Word of Christ DWELL in us through READING, but also by
Listening to and Sharing God’s Truth Through Music
Listening to and Sharing God’s Truth Through Music
Notice Colossians 3:16 again
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
This is very similar to what Paul told the church at Ephesus. Note:
Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Paul says that we are to use the GIFT of MUSIC as a way to TEACH and ADMONISH one another!
The word “TEACH” means to “impart knowledge.”
The word “ADMONISH” means to “warn.”
Although we might assume those two things should or could be done through a sermon or a lesson, Paul says they can also be done through PSALMS (which are songs with musical accompaniment), HYMNS (which refer to songs of praise), SPIRITUAL SONGS (which are less formal in nature), and SINGING with GRACE (or thanksgiving).
The PLAYLIST that we use at church and in our own personal lives is important, because music has GREAT POWER! We need to not only meditate on the truth as we read God’s Word, but also as we listen to music!
We should NEVER separate the PRAISE of God from the WORD of God!
In the Word of God we find God being praised in a variety of ways, including SINGING (Psalm 47:7), DANCING (Psalm 149:3), and with INSTRUMENTS (Psalm 144:9).
JANICE IS GOING TO COME UP
I want to illustrate the POWER of music. I’ve asked Janice to come forward and play a few notes from some songs you might recognize. If you do I want you to SHOUT OUT THE NAME OF THE SONG and a few of the LYRICS.
…DID YOU LEARN THAT AS A CHILD OR AN ADULT…How long has it been since you’ve heard it? THIS IS THE POWER OF MUSIC!
We’ve already established that music is powerful, but let me share with you a couple of more indications of it’s power…Think about the advertising industry. Many of the commercials you see on TV or hear on the radio are accompanied by a jingle…Why is that the case? Ernest Martin says it is because the advertising industry knows that
Setting words to music unquestionably enhances communication potential...Interest and retention are heightened with the addition of colorful music.
Someone else put it this way...
Wherever we turn, commercial jingles reach out for our pocketbooks. All of us have had the experience of not being able to get a silly pop tune out of our head; thus is the power of music. If advertisers know the power of melody and harmony, how much more important is music and singing when put into the worship of God?
People ask me what style of music do I prefer? Usually they mean, what kind of music is appropriate in church…hymns, choruses, contemporary, southern gospel, bluegrass, solemn and somber, or upbeat...
HOW ABOUT MUSIC THAT TEACHES THE TRUTH and MAGNIFIES our LORD AND SAVIOR!?
The style isn’t nearly as important as the MESSAGE!
Let me give you ONE more reason why listening to MUSIC that TEACHES and ADMONISHES is so important…
Because that might be ALL you retain of the Word of God when the rest of your mind is gone!
Listen to this research:
According to a study, individuals with dementia may hum or sing to themselves as a way to cope with memory loss and confusion…[Music] can help improve their mood, boost memory retention, and relieve anxiety and depression. Music can activate a part of the brain that influences memory, functioning as sort of a go-between for a person who has memory problems. Therefore, it is not uncommon for people with Alzheimer’s or dementia to remember music even when they have difficulty remembering other things.
There may come a day before you go to Heaven that the only thing you will be able to remember is what has been ingrained in your mind through MUSIC! You better believe it’s important what PLAYLIST you are listening to!
Paul said to incorporate the playlist of TRUTH and ADMONISHMENT in your mind through MUSIC!
The last thing we want to look at today, as we seek to put a new PLAYLIST in our minds is found in Colossians 3:17
And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Live a Grateful Life for His Glory
Live a Grateful Life for His Glory
So far, we’ve been challenged about what we THINK about and what we SING about. Verse 17 challenges us in relation to not only what we THINK about, but it also encourages us to examine our MOTIVES behind what we do.
First notice how it challenges our MOTIVES. Paul says that we are to DO whatever we DO, including the things He mentioned in verses 12-15 IN THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS!
Let’s review a little. Remember what we saw last week: Colossians 3:12-15
Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.
We are to do all these things IN THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS! I’m reminded of what Paul told the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 10:31
Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
N. T. Wright suggested asking this question...
Colossians and Philemon: An Introduction and Commentary iii. Do All in the Name of the Lord Jesus (3:12–17)
can I really do this, if I am representing the Lord Jesus?’
As we LIVE OUT Christianity, we do so in the name of Jesus, but we also do so while “GIVING THANKS TO GOD THE FATHER THROUGH HIM!”
The theme of BEING THANKFUL is found in both verse 15 & verse 17. I believe being thankful to God for WHO He is and for WHAT He’s done will help us be more motivated to treasure His Word, and to PRAISE Him through our singing and in our music!
As the Psalmist said in
I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
What kind of PLAYLIST have you been listening to? I’m not necessarily talking about what’s on your phone or electronic devices, although that can be very important as well.
I’m talking about
What kind of things are you thinking about throughout the day?
What are you feeding your mind?
What are you dwelling on?
Too often we let the enemy have space in our minds and in our thinking through the seeds of doubt, division, and discouragement. We must replace that STINKIN’ THINKING with with the TRUTH of God’s Word!
Today I close with Proverbs 12:25
Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression,
But a good word makes it glad.
Let me encourage you to meditate and dwell on the “GOOD WORD” each and every day!
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