CAPITAL BIBLE CHURCH August 25, Colossians Series: Journey to Spiritual Maturity. The Clothes & Controls of Maturity. Colossians 3:12 17

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1 CAPITAL BIBLE CHURCH August 25, 2013 SERMON NOTES PASTOR BILL HAKEN Colossians Series: Journey to Spiritual Maturity The Clothes & Controls of Maturity Colossians 3:12 17 Intro: Last week we talked about our need to Concentrate on things above (uplifting things), Exterminate things below (downward pulling things) and the need to Imitate the life of Jesus if we want to live a life of victory as a Christian (chapter 3:1-11). Colossians 3:12 Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 You must make allowance for each other s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony. Today we continue by looking at the clothes we need to wear and the controls we need to have if we are going to be spiritually mature. Notice how verse 12 starts, Therefore in other words, in light of what I ve just said, and because you are God s: -Elect - Chosen ones -Holy separated or set apart from sin and dedicated to God. Becoming a Christian is a lot like getting married to get saved you have to commit yourself to Jesus Christ and say I do for it to take place. Just think how horrible it would be if at the end of a wedding, the bride ran off with the best man! In much the same way, it s terrible for one who has committed his life to Christ to become involved in sin. -Beloved that means dearly loved by God. Since we are all of these things Paul says we have some solemn duties or responsibilities to God. Put on the Clothes of Spiritual Maturity (3:12 14)

2 Colossians 3:12b...you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 You must make allowance for each other s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony. 1. Tender mercies KJV uses bowels of mercies because this refers to the internal organs, the place where emotions or feeling are felt inside a person. A good rendering is tenderhearted. The world of Paul s time was merciless and cruel. The maimed sick and elderly were discarded, and the mentally ill and children were treated inhumanely. However, Christianity brought compassion. Biblical scholar William Barclay wrote, It is not too much to say that everything that has been done for the aged, the sick, and the weak in body and mind, the animal, the child, the woman has been done under the inspiration of Christianity. Look at the founders of the compassionate enterprises of history - Salvation Army, Goodwill, YMCA, YWCA, Compassion International, Samaritan s Purse, ad infinitum all were started by committed Christians who were full of tender mercies. 2. Kindness this word means good, pleasant, gracious. Kindness means that we do not deal harshly with others even when they have wronged us. Kindness is simply put, love in action. One of the great examples of kindness in the Bible was David and Mephibosheth 2 Samuel 9:7 David said to him, Don t be afraid. I will be kind to you for your father Jonathan s sake. I will give you back all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table. 8 Mephibosheth bowed to David again and said, You are being very kind to me, your servant! Illus. about Kindness in today s world: Dorothy Pryse was listening to a Christian radio station as she drove to the grocery store one morning. A person was talking about kindness. Then he said, I wonder how many of you are listening to me on your car radio and thinking of how you can be kind while driving?"

3 Dorothy began thinking about what he was saying. A few blocks away, she saw a woman waiting in her car to come out of her driveway. Traffic was heavy; Dorothy knew this woman would have a hard time getting out. She slowed down to let her out. The woman smiled and waved at her. When she got to the grocery store she saw a parking space. As she started pulling in, another car on the opposite side also started pulling in. Dorothy backed out and found another parking spot. ~.-As they both got out of their cars, the driver of the other car said, "I can't believe what you just did. Anyone else would have made me back out." Dorothy explained what she had heard on the radio about showing love. The two women began talking. Dorothy discovered the woman had just moved into the area, didn't know anyone and was looking for a church. "I invited her to come to our church... Dorothy says, "and a strong friendship has blossomed from our chance meeting and a small act of kindness." A chance meeting changed Dorothy s life and a friendship blossomed in the process. This happened because Dorothy Pryse was seeking to live out her Christian faith. 3. Humility There was no word in the classical Greek for humility because they didn t believe in it they liked being proud and domineering as did the Romans. But the Gospel took a thing of contempt and turned it into a virtue. Notice what Paul says in his letter to the Philippian believers: Philippians 2:5 In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus. 6 Christ himself was like God in everything.but he did not think that being equal with God was something to be used for his own benefit. 7 But he gave up his place with God and made himself nothing. He was born to be a man and became like a servant. 8 And when he was living as a man, he humbled himself and was fully obedient to God, even though it meant dying a criminal s death on a cross. 4. Meekness Someone has said this is a willingness to suffer injury, rather than inflict it. Jesus spoke of himself as meek in Matthew 11:29. In biblical times the word was used to describe animals that were trained, as in a horse being obedient to reins. Harnessed power or strength under control is another way of saying it. Jesus at his crucifixion said

4 that He could have called on 12 legions of angels (a legion was 5,000 soldiers), 60,000 angels could have been called by Jesus to free Himself, but He did not. He was meek. 5. Longsuffering This just means suffering long, patience in the face of insult or injury. Proverbs 14:29 Those who control their anger have great understanding; but people with quick tempers show their foolishness. Proverbs 19:11 People with good sense restrain their anger; they earn esteem by overlooking wrongs. 6. Forbearance This is when we make allowance or room for someone else s faults. 1 Peter 2:21... Christ, who suffered for you, is your example. Follow in his steps. 23 He did not retaliate when he was insulted. When he suffered, he did not threaten to get even. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly. 7. Forgiveness It s not enough to just patiently endure and suffer mistreatment without retaliating. God says here we are to forgive, like He forgave us. Colossians 3:13 You must make allowance for each other s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Ephesians 5:32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. 8. Love Colossians 3:14 And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony. Love is the buttons, buttonholes, the zippers, the thread, the thing that stitches and holds together and even makes possible all these Clothes of Maturity. Accept the Controls of Spiritual Maturity (3:15 17) 1. Peace

5 Peace is that inner calm we have when we know we are doing God s will. It is not diminished by adversity or persecution or pressure to conform or even the pressures of life. Paul says this peace should rule this word in Greek brabeuo means to act as an umpire. When we have a decision to make, let the peace of God umpire and make the final call. Colossians 3:15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are all called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Gratitude is always the attitude of a person who has inner peace. 2. The Word of Christ Colossians 3:16 Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use his words to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. Dwell richly and live in your heart means the teachings of Jesus through the Scriptures are imbedded, implanted, deeply in your heart and mind. Same word is used in 1 Peter 3: Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to your wives. Treat her with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God s gift of new life. If you don t treat her as you should, your prayers will not be heard. 3. Do everything in the name of Jesus Christ Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving thanks through him to God the Father. Colossians 3:12 Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 You must make allowance for each other s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are all called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

6 16 Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use his words to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving thanks through him to God the Father.