Fall: A Season of Change Colossians 3:15-17

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1 Fall: A Season of Change Colossians 3:15-17 How should we approach this season of change in order to really remain sane, sanctified and successful? Living For His Peace 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. John 14:27 - Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. Philippians 4:7 - And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. The peace of God is not the same as peace with God. It's this peace within us by way of obedience that causes us to be thankful. Living For His Presence 16 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. John 15:3 - Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Romans 10:17 - So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

2 Colossians 1:28 - Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. Dwell is a big word here. Christians cannot, ABSOLUTELY cannot grow without feeding constantly on the Word of God. To dwell (enoikeo ) means to permeate or to live in. If we go to God's Word first in our decision making process, we are sure to make wiser choices. Living For His Purpose 17 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. 1 Corinthians 10:31 - So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. There is no separation for God here (word or deed) This kind of thing can only be accomplished in and through Jesus and his power. In the name of Jesus is what allows you to have and live out of His purpose. Because of what Christ has done for His people- giving them a new hope, a new life and a new love, we can be thankful, in all seasons. Thankfulness is the vehicle reaching unity in love. Being thankful are the hands that put on love. So where are you on the thankfulness scale? Stage 1 - Smooth Sailing Are you thankful for a smooth, pothole free life? Do you thank Jesus for leading you anywhere but the valley? *You will be hard-pressed to claim Him as Deliverer, if your soul has not felt despair. *You will miss the joy of calling upon your shepherd if you are too focused on avoiding the step paths and ledges to which He may be leading you. You are living a life of thankfulness for comfort.

3 *This will lead you to live defensively - constantly shrinking back from people or opportunities that would threaten the safety of your routine life. You will live with walls up toward others, seeking only to maintain the lull of worldly security rather than the invigorating challenge and joy of loving and serving those around you. Stage 2 - Justice For All *You are genuinely grateful for God s deliverance from your dark valley, but.you may be entertaining bitterness and blame in your heart. You may be inwardly pointing an accusatory finger toward a friend or foe for bringing the dark season upon you. *You are thankful to the God of justice, who saw your plight and brought you through your time of suffering. You feel perhaps vindicated toward those who may have sought to hurt you. Yet you may also still find yourself wishing He would have pulled those proverbial weeds" out of your life earlier. You may silently blame your trials on the failures of others, and wish that God would somehow have chosen to save you from the pain you endured. *You are thankful to Jesus - to a point. Your life verse would read something more like Rejoice when good things happen, pray when they don t, giving thanks in the things that go according to your wishes. Stage 3 - The Turning Point *You are thankful for your wise and loving Father, but may have nagging questions about whether or not you like the idea of a God that would both wound and heal his children. *You are thankful for El Roi, the God Who Sees, but you have to wonder.if you truly saw what was happening to me Lord, why didn t you intervene? Why would you allow this? Why would you BRING this upon me? You saw my tears, but you let them remain. You felt my broken heart, but you brought it on with your own hand. *This is a turning point on your journey. You will either accept this layer of God s sovereign character, and believe that it is only in His ultimate wisdom and love that He allowed your painful season to persist, or you will push away from God -

4 unwilling to stay in communion with a God that would take responsibility for your season of suffering. You will need to choose whether giving thanks in ALL THINGS is a risk you are willing to take, or whether you re content to remain giving thanks in ALL THINGS that I understand and agree with. Stage 4 - Attitude of Gratitude James 1:2-4 "Count it all JOY, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know the testing of your faith leads to steadfastness that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. You have been on this earth long enough to know trials and troubles are a normal part of life on earth. You are able to accept that sometimes we bring on our own pain, and sometimes we don t. You are willing to trust that your Father only brings you trials that will mold your heart to look like His, and shape your character to reflect His own. You know that His best for you may very well be the worst you could have imagined. Trials, hardship, pain.they all lead you to Jesus, and in that we can all say you make all things work together for my good. Knowing God is good. Trusting God is good. Leaning on God is good. Seeing him with our eyes is good. *You consistently strive to face each day with a heart of gratitude for ALL things. That means you thank God for your challenging teenager in your home, who tests the fruit of the Spirit in you to see if any may be found. You thank Him for the family member or friend that continually tests your willingness to love like Jesus, with endless unconditional acceptance and compassion. *You no longer seek to place blame for your difficult seasons. You realize all things are ultimately from the hand of God, and serve only to bring Him the most glory possible. You thank Him for loving you enough to test your heart (Prov 17:3). He loves you enough to challenge your actions to line up with your words. He tests you to see if you mean what you say in all those prayers, and what you sing in all those songs. Are they for real? Or is it all lip service? He longs for pure hearts of praise, and He deserves our very best. *Your thankfulness moves you to action. Like James, you choose to bring joy to whatever the season may be, know that all seasons are being used to strengthen your trust, your faith, and your character. Like the widow, your heart moves you to great generosity out of sheer gratitude for a God who sees you, knows you and

5 loves you completely. Like Joseph, you allow God to use your greatest heartache for His purposes - to move you to compassion to save the lives of many. Like Job, you accept both good and bad from the Lord, come what may. You realize it is only He that gives and takes away, and at the end of the day, it is always your opportunity to say blessed be the name of the Lord.in ALL things. No matter where you are in your journey in thankfulness, remember this: Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, giving thanks in ALL THINGS, for this IS God s will for you in Christ Jesus. Want to know God s will for your life? A life lived in thankfulness. In all things. And may you find His Joy in the journey!