Goal #3 Become More Like Christ Every Day (Part 2)

If you got up one morning and it was 10 degrees outside and your six-year-old came out of his room dressed in shorts and a t-shirt and said, I'm ready to go to school, how would you respond?

Would you say something like, okay, but next time it's 10 degrees outside, don't wear summer clothes.

Wear what will make you warm.

You wouldn't do that, would you?

You would order that child to go back to their room, take off those summer clothes, put on some warm winter clothes, long pants, sweatshirt, coats, something like that.

And the reason you do that is because you want to make sure your child is dressed appropriately.

Well, in Colossians chapter 3, Paul is telling us how to live appropriately as God's children.

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

And he actually does it in a way like taking off certain things, putting on certain things.

Turn with me if you would to Colossians chapter 3.

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

And as you're turning, I want to remind you that we've already looked at the kinds of things that we're supposed to put off, take off.

He even says, put to death.

Things like sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

He also said to put off anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouths.

Do not lie to one another.

We looked at that for two weeks.

Last week, we started looking at the kinds of things we're supposed to put on.

Things that should be in us and come out of us as Christians.

Look at it.

Put on then as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.

Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other.

And above all these, put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

Before we go any further, I want to reemphasize.

This is not saying this is how we become a Christian.

I have tried to stress from the very beginning of this series,

Paul is not saying that we become a Christian by putting off certain sins

and putting on certain Christ-like character qualities.

Excuse me.

Salvation is something we can't earn.

We don't do anything to get it.

Salvation is by the grace of God that we receive through faith in Jesus Christ.

Probably the most well-known statement in the New Testament about that is Ephesians chapter 2.

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

Look at this.

For by grace you have been saved through faith.

And this is not your own doing.

It is the gift of God.

Not a result of works so that no one may boast.

In Colossians chapter 3, Paul is telling us that if we are truly united to Christ by faith,

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

if we are one with Him through faith, then we are accepted by God.

We are God's chosen ones, holy and beloved.

Now what He's going to, what He's, all the details of chapter 3,

He's telling us, if this is who we are, we need to live like it.

As God's people, we are responsible to live like the people that we are.

United to Christ.

Filled with His Spirit.

We don't do it by our own willpower.

As I've said, we do it because the Spirit of Christ lives in us.

And within us, He gives us the desire to put off sin.

To develop Christ-like character qualities.

He not only gives us the desire to do that, but He will help us.

He'll prompt us, encourage us, give us the ability to do these things.

But we've got to cooperate with Him.

Paul tells us in Colossians 3 how we cooperate with Him.

We're looking at it in terms of three goals that God has for us.

Goal number one, be mindful of who you are in Christ.

Goal number two, don't be who you are apart from Christ.

And goal number three, we began last week, become more like Christ every day.

We saw last week why we can do that.

Understand, this passage of Scripture is saying we can become more like Christ in terms of character development every day.

Look first, here's why.

We are God's special people.

We're God's chosen ones.

We looked at it in detail last week.

We're God's holy people.

We are beloved or dearly loved.

Now, let's look at how we actually become like Christ.

We started last week, point number two.

We can live like God's special people.

We can live like the special people that we are.

And love is the key.

Look at verse 14.

Let the love of Christ fill you.

And above all these, put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

Now, note that little phrase, all these.

It refers to the list of virtues found in verses 12 through 13.

Compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, or gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another, forgiving each other.

Those qualities are bound together like pages in a book on Christian love.

Each one of those qualities you see listed there.

That's some aspect of love.

Now, Paul says something similar to this in 1 Corinthians 13, where we have what we might consider the Bible's definition of love.

1 Corinthians 13.

I want you to look at it with me.

Paul includes most of these qualities we've been looking at by either name or description in these verses.

Note, love is patient and kind.

Love does not envy or boast.

It is not arrogant or rude.

It does not insist on its own way.

It is not irritable or resentful.

It does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Here's what Paul is trying to tell us in Colossians 3.

If we are filled with the love of Christ, we will seek to express in all of our relationships these kind of qualities.

And especially in our relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

We looked at one of the ways Christian love is expressed last week, and I just want to call attention to it now.

Love will motivate us to live in unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Look at verse 11.

Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free, but Christ is all and in all.

The idea is that all Christians are brothers and sisters in Christ.

We ought to live like it.

We ought to act like it.

Even though we're different.

And I said last week, if you've got more than one sibling or just one, you're all different.

You may not like everything about your brothers and sisters, but you love one another.

We're in spite of those differences, and that's how we're supposed to be as Christians in relationship with one another.

But we also looked at very briefly last week that we are members of one race, the human race.

And so we, as God's people, we must not let differences like we see in that list there,

differences in race, social classes, or cultures, we can't let that divide us.

We definitely can't let it divide us in the church.

But we need to demonstrate how, as being members of the human race,

we don't let such divisions divide us in our community at large.

Now, Paul is just getting started in the ways we ought to express love.

So let's move on and see that love will motivate us to be gracious with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

And these qualities listed in verse 12 are characteristics of graciousness.

Look at it.

As we look at each of these gracious expressions of love, keep in mind,

these are Christ-like character qualities that Paul describes in Galatians 5 as fruit of the Spirit.

What you see on the screen, what we're going to look at,

they are Spirit, Holy Spirit-produced qualities that will cause us to desire,

to desire them, to develop them,

and then put forth the effort to demonstrate them toward other people,

especially other Christians.

And here's what I want us to think about as we go through all this stuff.

I'm not going to say it over and over again.

But we're talking about, as Christians,

with the Spirit of God living within us,

we can develop these qualities in relationships with people.

Home and the church

is the practice field

where we develop these things.

Home.

Those people you live with.

The church here.

Church family.

This is where

we work on.

And sometimes through trial and error,

developing these qualities.

Let's look at them.

The first one is compassionate hearts.

It's often translated heartfelt compassion.

Or maybe even

tender-hearted mercy.

It means to feel deeply

for another person.

Now,

we may have a hard time doing that today

because

everybody's life

is busy.

You think about it.

Many people in this room,

you've got more on your plate

than you really want to be there.

You've got so much you've got to think about,

so much you've got to do

on a daily basis.

And so it could be that

just the routine of life,

the busyness of life,

not anything bad,

it so consumes you

that you don't really

notice

the people around you.

You don't notice what's going on

in other people's lives.

Think about it.

How closely

do you really pay attention

to what's going on

in your fellow Sunday school

class members' lives?

How much attention

do you give to them,

especially

if there's something going on

that

they're down,

they're discouraged?

What about the people

you live with?

The people under your roof?

Do you notice

when something's going on

in their life?

Do you notice

when their countenance

is different?

Do you notice

when the tone

of their voice

is just not

normal?

normal?

Do you notice

when

they're not

acting

as they typically do?

Do you notice

when they're down

what I'm getting at?

Your parents,

your children,

your spouse.

Do you notice

when something's

just not

quite

right?

And then

do you care

enough

about these

people in your life

that you really

do feel

deeply

for them

when you know

they're hurting?

Well,

Christian love

will compel us.

Paul is saying

Christian love

will compel us

not to overlook

the people around

about us

who are struggling.

We will be

compelled

to demonstrate

heartfelt

compassion

in the words

that we speak

and the things

that we do

for them.

It's a part

of being

gracious,

showing love,

compassionate hearts.

Number two,

kindness.

Jerry Bridges

doesn't really

describe it

or define it.

He more or less

describes it.

I want you

to look at this.

Apart from

God's grace,

most of us

naturally tend

to be concerned

about ourselves,

our responsibilities,

our problems,

our plans.

But the person

who has grown

in the grace

of kindness

has expanded

his thinking

outside of himself

and has developed

a genuine interest

in the happiness

and well-being

of those

around him.

I want you

to stop and think.

Do you have

a genuine interest

in the happiness

of the people

that you share

life with

in your home,

in your Sunday

school class,

those that

you are

close to?

Lisa told

me a story

a while back

about her

grandfather.

brother.

He told

this story

about when

he was a

teenager.

He was a

teenage boy,

had a brother

who was another

teenager,

and they

moved to a

new house

out in the

country.

And the house

that they moved

into,

the people who

moved out,

they had already

planted a garden.

And so when

Lisa's grandfather

and his brother

and family

moved in,

they had a garden

there ready,

waiting for them.

Well, one

morning of the

first week

they lived in

that house,

they heard a

knock at the

door very

early.

They opened the

door and it

was an angry

neighbor that

they had never

met.

And his first

words to his

new neighbors

were,

do you have

two cows?

Well, Ms.

Murphy said,

yes, we do.

Well, he

angrily informed

her,

that her

cows had gotten

out during a

thunderstorm that

night and had

trampled down a

good bit of his

garden.

And he,

before he gave

her time to say

a word,

he told her that

the damages

would amount

to $4.

This is a long

time ago.

Well, she

apologized,

didn't say a

word, apologized,

paid him the

$4 and sent her

two teenage boys

to get the cows

and repair the

fence.

And that was

it.

No more words

from that guy.

Well, several

weeks later,

another storm

came up at

night.

And the next

morning, the

Murphys looked

out and there

were two strange

cows in their

garden.

Ms.

Murphy told the

boys, put those

cows up, the

owner will be

looking for them,

probably come by

here before very

long.

And sure enough,

he did.

Later that

morning, that

neighbor who

had made her

pay $4 for

damages to his

garden came by,

asking if they

had seen his

cows.

He said that

the wind had

knocked down a

tree and the

tree had knocked

a hole in the

fence and they

had gotten out.

Well, Ms.

Murphy told him,

yes, your cows

have been here,

been in our

garden.

And we put them

in the barn,

waiting for

somebody to come

and get them.

Well, you know

how the man

felt.

He asked her,

what did he

owe her for

the damages?

Now, Lisa's

grandfather said

that when he

and his brother

heard this,

they couldn't

wait for their

mother to save

$4 and get

their money back.

But that's not

what she said.

She told that

man, you don't

owe us anything.

Things like that

happened.

And then she

told her boys,

help this man

get his cows

back home and

stay and help

him repair

his fence.

Well, those

boys were,

they were just

mad at what

their mother

had done.

But the

neighbor,

her grandfather

said, as a

teenage boy,

he noticed.

He was

obviously

humbled

by her

kindness.

And that

very night,

there came a

knock at the

door.

That neighbor

brought them

what he said

was the biggest

apple pie he

had ever seen.

And from that

day, he said

they were not

only good

neighbors, but

they were also

good friends.

He said

until they

moved, that

man could not

do enough to

help them

around their

farm.

I tell that

story, that is

one of the best

stories I've ever

heard to illustrate

what kindness

can do.

The power,

the power

of treating

someone kindly.

Not like they

have treated

you, but in

spite of how

they've treated

you.

Let's look at

the next one.

Humility refers

to an absence

of arrogance and

self-promotion.

It was not

considered a

virtue in the

ancient world.

It's not

considered a

virtue by many

people today

either, is it?

But Christianity

changed that.

And the way

Christianity

changed that

for Christians,

that is, it

was a quality

that Jesus

demonstrated when

he left the

glory of heaven.

Jesus has

always existed

as the Son

of God, always

in heaven with

the Father, the

Spirit, the

Trinity.

But Jesus

left the

glory of

heaven to

come into

this world

as a man

to die for

our sins on

the cross.

Paul explains

it, describes

Jesus doing

this like this.

He says that

Jesus emptied

himself by

taking the

form of a

servant and

that he

humbled himself

by becoming

obedient to

the point of

death, even

death on a

cross.

Now that's

humility.

humility.

This kind of

character quality

will lead us to

humble ourselves

in order to

serve the people

in our lives

that we see

have a need

and we know

we can meet

that need.

This kind of

humility goes

with these other

things.

We have

compassion.

There's kindness

within us.

There's something

within us.

It's the Spirit

of God working

that causes us

to humble

ourselves, to

put somebody

else first for

their benefit, to

meet their need.

The fourth one

is the word

meekness.

It's more often

than not

translated gentleness.

Probably the

most undesired

quality that we

could think of,

the idea of

being meek.

Because the

idea of being

meek sounds

weak, doesn't

it?

But in the

Bible it's

really talking

about strength

that is under

control.

In Paul's

day this word

was used to

describe animals

that had been

tamed such as

a horse that

could be

controlled and

guided by the

reins in a

man's hand and

on the other

end of the

rein it was in

the horse's bit

in his mouth.

I want you to

think about how

the driver of

the Budweiser

wagon controls

those powerful

Clydesdale

horses with

the reins there

in his hands.

Those are

some of the

most powerful

horses you'll

ever see.

They could run

away with that

wagon if they

wanted to.

But those

Clydesdales,

their strength

is under

control.

And they

allow themselves

to go this

way or that

way according

to which way

the reins pull

them.

In Numbers

Numbers 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12,

one of the

best examples

you'll find in

the Bible of

somebody who

was called

meek but was

far from weak

is Moses.

In Numbers

12 and verse

3, he's

actually described

as the meekest

man on earth.

But a lot of

you know from

Bible stories

growing up,

some of you

know from

reading the

Bible, some

of you know

from the movie

the Ten

Commandments

that Moses

was one of

the most

powerful leaders

in the Bible.

He made

hard decisions.

He was tough

as nails on

people when

necessary.

There were

times that he

demonstrated

righteous anger.

Moses described

the most meek

or the most

humble man in

the Bible but

he was a man

who was powerful.

He was a true

leader.

He got things

done but his

strength most

of the time was

under control.

That's what God

calls us to do.

Look at one

more, patience.

Sometimes translated

long suffering.

This word means

more than just

staying calm or

not losing control

under stress

although it

applies that way

but refers to a

willingness to put

up with difficult

people or

situations for a

long period of

time without

retaliation or

bitterness.

This is a

spirit given

ability to not

let other people

or situations

dictate our

actions or our

response.

Here's what I'm

talking about.

things happen

sometimes in your

life.

Somebody does

something, you

get angry and

you say, he

made me mad.

Some situation

happens that just

ticked me off.

No.

People may do

something that

sets the stage or

tempts you to get

angry.

Some situations

happen and the

temptation arises for

you to lose

control, respond

inappropriately.

But we need to

just admit, accept

when we lose

control, we say

what we shouldn't

do, do what we

shouldn't do.

That's our choice

as Christians.

The spirit of God

lives within us.

We can resist any

temptation.

You control how

you respond to

everybody in your

life and every

situation in your

life.

Some are more

difficult.

Some are just

more emotionally

charged, but you

control how you

respond.

And what the

spirit of God will

help us do in this

kind of thing is, he

will help us to

learn to act rather

than react to the

people in situations

that sort of get us

emotionally charged

up.

You know, trusting

that God's in control

will help us be more

patient with people

and with situations.

Trusting that God

really is sovereign,

he's in control.

This morning I was

almost late to the

first service because

my truck wouldn't

crank.

Battery was dead.

And believe it or

not, I didn't just

say ugly words, throw

something around or do

something like that.

Because Lisa was

there and I was just

going, I just rode with

her.

That helped me out in

that situation.

But I want you to

think, there's a

reason why that

battery didn't start.

It may be that I

cleaned it yesterday and

I didn't tighten it

back.

But it may be that if

I had gotten that

truck this morning and

needed a crank and I

had come down here, I

would have been killed.

I don't know and I

don't have, I don't

worry, I don't spend

any time wondering

about what ifs because

we don't know what

these what ifs are.

But God is sovereign.

He's in control.

Even about whether a

battery starts or not.

And what we need to do,

what will help us, what

helps me, and I don't

always do this by any

means, but what helps me

when I do is to realize

God is in control.

There's a reason for

this.

I need to just act the

way I should and not

react, get all torn up

out of shape because

there's a purpose for

it.

I want you to look at

what Paul tells us.

We've looked at both of

these verses many times

over the years.

We've looked at one of

them every week in this

series.

We're going to look at

them two verses

together now.

Look at this.

And we know that in all

things God works for the

good of those who love

Him, who have been

called according to His

purpose, and for those

God foreknew He also

predestined to be

conformed to the image

of His Son.

God works in

everything, people,

situations, batteries,

not starting.

God works in every

situation to shape and

mold us to the person

He wants us to be, which

is ultimately like Jesus.

If the love of Christ

fills us, we will be

motivated to be gracious

by showing compassion,

kindness, humility,

gentleness, and patience

toward the people in our

lives, and especially

other Christians.

Look at one more thing

real quick.

Such graciousness will

also lead us to bear

with others.

Look at this.

Love will motivate us to

bear with our brothers

and sisters in Christ.

Verse 13.

Bearing with one another

means to put up with

somebody in a positive

way.

Have you ever thought

about how much God

puts up with you?

I mean, if you have a

realistic understanding of

yourself, if you know who

God is and His holiness,

you know who you are as

the sinner you are, you

know God puts up with

you.

I'm thankful.

I'm thankful that He does,

that He's patient in spite

of my disobedience,

hard-heartedness,

selfishness, and those kind

of things.

We need to learn to bear

with each other just as

God bears with us.

When my boys were little,

there were times I used to

get mad, I used to get

frustrated at them doing

just foolish things, old

enough to know better,

trying my patience.

I used to get so frustrated

and do the same thing over

and over again.

But there were times

when it was,

I didn't hear it,

I never heard any kind

of voice, but there were

times it just occurred to

me, I think God put it in

my mind,

that's how I put up with

you.

That's how you are

to me.

Stupid things,

things you know not to do

repeatedly.

It always made me stop and

think how grateful I am

for God's grace

and how I need to turn

that grace

toward them.

That's what we need to do.

No one in this church,

your house,

or anywhere you go

is perfect.

Even the most faithful

Christian that you know

is still a working process.

Everyone in your life

needs for you

to bear with them.

Pray for them.

And help them by showing

compassion,

kindness,

humility,

gentleness,

patience.

That's love.

Now, let's wind it up.

Remember what I pointed out

at the very beginning.

Everything in this passage

is talking about

what a Christian

is

by virtue

of being united

to Christ

and filled

with His Spirit.

We can't make ourselves

more loving

just by trying harder.

But we can become

more loving

like we're seeing

in this passage

by being more sensitive

to the presence

of the Holy Spirit

within us

and then obedient

to His leadership.

It's the Spirit

who gives us

the desire

and the ability

to love like this.

But we're responsible

to follow through

on these desires.

We're responsible

to use the power

He gives us

to deny ourselves

to show this kind

of love.

An old farmer

once said,

what comes up

in the bucket

is usually

what's down

in the well.

What comes up

in our attitudes,

words,

and actions

is usually

what's down

in the well

of our heart.

What does that say

about what's

in your heart

right now?

Are you a true Christian

who is indwelled

by the Spirit of God

and while none

of these qualities

are fully developed,

there is such love

within you

to some degree?

Or,

are you just someone

with a heart

that is filled

mostly with sinful desires,

selfishness,

and love for yourself,

more than others?

Let's pray.

Dear God,

I pray that you'll

help each one of us

to see

the content

of our hearts

right now.

And Father,

if there's people

in this room

who,

they have to be honest,

there's really

no signs

of the kind of love

we've been looking at

within them.

But what is

within them

is just selfishness,

sinful desires,

little to no concern,

real concern

for other people.

Father,

if that's the content

of someone's heart,

help them to know

they cannot

be a Christian

because that shows

that the Spirit of God

is not within them.

Father,

I pray that you would

disturb them over that,

humble them,

cause them to admit

the truth,

to repent,

turn from,

change their minds

about such a life.

And dear God,

so work to enable them

to call upon Jesus

to save them now.

Father,

for all of us

who are Christians

in this room,

help us to see

just how strong

these qualities

are right now

within us.

Father,

show us

where we need

to confess

our selfishness,

where we fail

to look at

and take an interest

in people.

help us,

Father,

to see where

we just refuse

to be sensitive

to the Spirit's

presence

and act on

His leading.

Help us

to confess

our sins,

to seek

Your forgiveness.

Help us,

Father,

to make the commitment

and start spending

more time with You

to develop

a greater sensitivity

to Your Spirit

and demonstrate

true obedience

that results

in us

loving people

around us

the way we've

seen this morning.

Let's just

in an attitude

of prayer

respond to the Lord

as He speaks.

I'd be happy

to pray with you

during this time.

I'll be here

at the front.

But what is

the main thing

is to hear God

and just obey Him.

Let's just pray

and respond.

Amen.