THE WELLSPRING OF THE INDWELLING WORD

THE WELLSPRING OF THE INDWELLING WORD Colossians 3:16 April 7,2002 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introductory This morning our text, as last week, is a single verse, found in the highly instructive third chapter of Colossians. Verse 16 reads: "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God." The by-line in our Sunday bulletin each week is "WORSHIP and WORD". It's exactly our subject today. Gaylord Kambarami, the General Secretary of the Bible Society in Zimbabwe, tried to give a New Testament to a very belligerent man. The man insisted he would tear out the pages and use them to roll cigarettes. Mr. Kambarami said, "I understand that, but a least promise to read each page before you smoke it." The man agreed and the two went their separated ways. Fifteen years later, the two men met at a Methodist convention in Zimbabwe. The scripture-smoking pagan had found Christ and was now a full-time evangelist. He told the audience, "I smoked Matthew and I smoked Mark and I smoked Luke. But when I got to John 3:16, I couldn't smoke anymore. My life was changed from that moment." I'd say that African man found a novel approach to bringing the word of God into his heart (well, at least, into his lungs!). His story serves as a fitting metaphor for what Paul's urgent advice to the believers in Colossae was. He said, "Let the word (LOGOS - "message") of Christ dwell in you richly." Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul chose to use the word "dwell" to describe the importance of having the word of Christ in our lives. The word means to "move in and set up housekeeping". He adds the adverb "richly" to further stress how much "at home" the word ought to be in our hearts. Frankie, the cat, recently moved from our home, where his dander was creating allergy problems for Charlotte, to the home of my brother Ron. Ron and Chris already have two dogs and a dove, and we were a little concerned when the offer was extended. Knowing Frankie, though, we should have known better. No sooner did he move in but he laid claim to the entire basement and squatter's rights in Kasey's room overnight. He doesn't bother the caged dove-the two seem to have struck an immediate d?ente. And the two canines? Well, they are scared to death of this feline royalty, and give him any space he wants. That's what I call "dwelling richly"! What did the apostle Paul mean when he referred to the "word of Christ"? In one sense, it means the word from Christ; but it also means the word about Christ, which he and the other apostles were preaching and teaching. There was no New Testament at this time yet, in terms of the collective message being bound in a single book or scroll. Today, with the apostles long since gone, God has graciously provided the written "word" for our instruction. With that in mind, we should understand the "word of Christ" as the message from and about Christ as contained in the writings of the New Testament. The question naturally comes to mind, why does Paul encourage us to let the word of Christ "move in and set up housekeeping in our lives? The simple answer is we need it! We need the Word of Christ as our Source of Wisdom For us to live in agreement with God's will for our lives, we need His wisdom. We've all learned that our own knowledge is not only severely limited, but also flawed by our sinful condition. That's why Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." FROM THE READER'S DIGEST: My sister bought a new car that was loaded with high-tech options. The first time she drove the car in the rain, she turned a knob she thought would start the windshield wipers. Instead a message flashed across the dash: "Drive car in 360 degrees." She had no idea what that meant, and so when she got home she read the car manual. She learned that while trying to turn on the windshield wipers she had inadvertently turned off the internal compass, and the car had lost its sense of direction. To correct the problem, the car had to be driven in a full circle, and then pointed North in order to reset the compass. Each time we come to the Word of God, we are resetting our internal compass. We establish "true north" in our soul, remembering who God is and what His truth is. According to a study by the Barna Research Group: Eighty-two percent of regular Bible readers described themselves as "at peace" compared to 58 percent of those who said they never read the Bible. Seventy-eight percent of regular Bible readers said they felt "happy" all or most of the time compared to 67 percent of nonreaders. Sixty-eight percent of regular Bible readers said they were "full of joy" compared to 44 percent who said they never read the Bible. God's Word is our source of truth. When we believers come to God's Word, the Holy Spirit illumines our understanding and we receive what we need. Jesus promised this illumination, both to His apostles who would remember and record the Word, and to us, the rest of His followers, as we read the scriptures. It's all a matter of exposing ourselves to the Word every chance we get and listening, truly listening. Erik Weihenmayer is blind, yet on May 25, 2001 (Nepal time), he reached the peak of Mt. Everest. Suffering from a degenerative eye disease, he lost his sight when he was 13, but that didn't stop him. On a mountain where 90 percent of climbers never make it to the top-and 165 have died trying since 1953-Erik succeeded, in large measure because he listened well. He listened to the little bell tied to the back of the climber in front of him, so he would know what direction to go. He listened to the voice of teammates who would shout back to him, "Death fall two feet to your right!" so he'd know what direction not to go. On more than one occasion the Lord makes it clear that, left to ourselves we are little more than blind men in terms of finding the will of God. We do well to listen carefully to the Word of Christ for wisdom and direction. In her book, Learning to Live With Chronic Illness, Sefra Pitzele reports on her research proving that "more than half of all patients fail to follow their physician's instructions." If you think, "Wow, that's stupid to pay a doctor for his wise counsel and then ignore it," let me ask you when was the last time you walked away from the eternal word of Christ and ignored His counsel and direction? Maybe medical patients and Christians need a PRE-prescription that says, "Listen and Obey!" When you read God's Word, you must constantly be saying to yourself, "It is talking to me, and about me." --Soren Kierkegaard We need the Word of Christ as our Source of Salvation and Assurance The most important work of the Word is to bring us to faith in Christ, so we can enjoy restored fellowship with God. Salvation comes not by what we do for God, but by our faith in what He has done for us in Christ. For those who are not yet Christians, the Word of Christ is what you need to build your saving faith. "…faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word of Christ." (Romans 10:17) When Paul wrote to Timothy, his prot??in ministry, he reminded him to "…continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." (2 Timothy 3:14-15) By his own admission, Terry Anderson had little use for the Bible before being taken hostage in Lebanon. During this Middle East correspondent's captivity of nearly seven years, he found a new appreciation for God's Word. Since his release on December 4, 1991, Anderson has been praising the Bible's power. "Constantly over the years of captivity (March 16, 1985 - December 4, 1991) I found consolation and counsel in the Bible I was given. I read the Bible more than 50 times, cover to cover. It was an enormous help to me." The longest held American hostage in Lebanon survived for Biblically obvious reasons. 1 John 5:13 says, "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life." The Word also reminds us that we have forgiveness of our sins when we ask for it. The Word calms our anxieties, quiets our fears, builds our faith and encourages us in our Christian lives. The Word of Christ is absolutely indispensable to the believer. If your life is beset with anxiety, fear and faithlessness, Christian, you need more exposure to the Word of Christ. We need the Word of Christ as our Source of Direction and Help for Holy Living The patriarch David originally wrote the song we sang earlier, "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." (Psalm 119:105) We have everything we need to live holy lives before the Lord when we possess His Holy Spirit and allow His Word to dwell in us richly. "All scripture is God-breathed, and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." [webmasters note: 2 Timothy 3:16-17] Thomas Jefferson served as president of the Washington, D.C. school board during his tenure as president of the United States. One of his duties on the school board was to select the textbooks to be used by the students. He selected the Bible as the primary text with this rationale: "I have always said, and always will say, that the studious perusal of the sacred volume will make us better citizens." David writes that the Word of God dwelling in our hearts will keep us from sin. Psalm 119:11 says, "I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against you." The Word of Christ is our direction and help for living holy lives, but only when we are willing to let it come into our lives and dwell richly. Jawanza Kunjufu, in his book, Restoring the Village, writes: "When I was a 14-year-old high school freshman, school was dismissed early for a teachers' meeting. I conveniently neglected to tell my parents about the change and arranged to bring my girlfriend over to my house. We weren't planning to study. As we were going up the steps, my neighbor, Mrs. Nolan, poked her head out of a window and said, 'You're home awfully early, Jerome.' 'Yes, Ma'am'" I said, improvising a lame story about how we planned to review algebra problems. 'Does your mother know you're home this early,' Mrs. Nolan persisted, 'and do you want me to call her?' I gave up. 'No, Ma'am. I'll go inside and call her while Kathy sits on the porch.' Mrs. Nolan saved our careers that day. If Kathy had gotten pregnant, she might not have become the doctor she is today. And my father had warned me that if I made a baby, the mutual fund he set up for me to go to college or start a business would have gone to the child. I'm glad Mrs. Nolan was at her window, looking out for me." The Holy Spirit, working through the Word of Christ, "watches out" for us. But the Word is of little use to us if we are not letting it come in and dwell richly. It is incumbent on the believer to let that happen. One of our favorite ways of not allowing it to happen in our lives is what psychologists call projection. We want to make sure all those other Christians are taking care of the business of holy living. That gets the attention off ourselves. "Good sermon! You sure preached to them today!" That's what one woman in a pastor's congregation told him every Sunday after worship. Just once he thought he would like to hear her say, "Good sermon, you sure preached to me today!" He thought he had his chance one Sunday when a severe ice storm kept everyone else from attending worship, except for him and this lady. Now, after the service was over she surely wouldn't make her usual remark. "Good sermon!" she said, "It's too bad they weren't all hear, because you sure preached to them today!" The Word of Christ is our source of Wisdom, Salvation and Assurance, and Direction for Holy Living. But, the second half of Colossians 3:16, clues us in to one more reason we need the Word of Christ . . . We need the Word of Christ as a Wellspring for Encouraging Ministry to Others A "wellspring" is the original source of a stream, "the source of continuing supply". When Paul tells us to let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly, it is for a reason. Read the rest of the verse if you want to know that reason: "…as you teach and admonish one another…" [webmasters note: Colossians 3:16] If you'll check back at Colossians 1:28 you will see these are the same terms Paul used to describe his own ministry. Here he says all believers have the ministry of being teachers and admonishers of each other. (Who are the ministers in this place?) We are all deputized by Christ to minister to one another. And anyone who does his best to teach and admonish others knows that the well can run dry very quickly. We need a continual supply of the Word of Christ in order to keep us sharp, alert and walking in the Spirit. Not long ago I stopped at a station for some very expensive gas. I followed the instructions, inserted the pump handle and squeezed the trigger, and nothing happened. The pump either wasn't working or they had just run out of gas and hadn't put a sign on the pump yet. Whatever the reason, I wasn't going to fill my tank at that pump. Unfortunately most of us know what it is like to try to help someone else in their walk when we are not filled up ourselves. But our obligation is both to let the Word dwell in us richly, and let that wellspring, then, pour out in ministry to others. Specifically, Paul says, when the Word is dwelling in you richly, you will teach and admonish one another, "…with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God." [webmasters note: Colossians 3:16] Notice again, the addendum of "gratitude" here. Paul repeatedly adds this mini-exhortation toward thankfulness. The fascinating thing is he uses the word CHARIS, "grace" which here is translated gratitude. We have here a picture of a worshiping community of Christians. Paul is picturing believers who are so richly indwelt with a wellspring of the Word, that they are "bubbling over." And what is bubbling out of them? Wisdom, psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. He sees a community of Christians continually sharing wisdom from the Word with one another as a matter of encouragement, and letting the Word pour forth out of them to one another. These believers are also pictured as being so full of the encouraging Word that they are always going around singing in their hearts. What are they singing? The Word! "Psalms" means they are singing the words of the book of Psalms, the most devotionally richly book in the Bible. Hymns as Paul uses the word here refers to the great, quotable sections of the apostles' teaching. Like John 3:16; 1 John 1:9; Philippians 2; Colossians 1:13-20. I've never been to Yellowstone to see the natural geysers-they are real wellsprings under considerable pressure. But I can imagine how refreshing it would be if you were hot and thirsty to walk through that area when all those geysers are gushing! I think of Old Faithful, as she waits for that predictable moment when she blasts the rocky surface with her spring waters. Conclusion That reminds me of church. Of course, the church is people-not a building or a program-people who let the Word of Christ dwell richly in them, and pray to be a rich blessing to others. Every Sunday at a predictable time, the brothers and sisters gather for worship and the Word, and I know when I go there I will find a bunch of well-springs, spiritual Word-geysers, ready, willing and able to bring out of their reserves wisdom and song to encourage me as I worship and interact with them. Cell meetings are that middle-of-the-week experience of wellspring fellowship, when we bring the Word of Christ and serve it to one another in close love and fellowship. What resources will you draw from the Word of Christ this week? What will the brothers and sisters get from you this week? Are you filled up with the Word of Christ? Have you been reading, meditating and singing in your heart? Or is your pump empty or out of order? Paul says, "Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly…" [webmasters note: Colossians 3:16] so you can serve others out of the wellspring of His supply in you.   [Back to Top]