Let Christ's Peace Rule in our Hearts: Col 3:15

Good morning, and welcome to the Preaching Ministry of Dillingham Moravian Church.

My name is Pastor Simon, and we have the great joy to hear from God's Word today.

According to the NFL website, a referee oversees everything related to the officials

and maintains the pace of the game.

The referee verbally and visually

communicates all fouls, counts the offensive players on the field.

The referee determines first downs, where if a measurement is necessary,

and most importantly, the referee has the final authority on all disputed rulings.

The referee is basically the judge of the game, and when the referee rules on

a play, that is what the play will be recorded as, whether it is completely accurate or not.

The football referee is very similar to the baseball umpire, who has a similar job.

I share this illustration with you because Christ's peace is to be the ruling

factor and decider of all that happens in the believer's heart,

which then leads to right action. Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, we are so grateful that we get the privilege to be in your

presence, the privilege to hear from you, your very word, your communication to us.

May you speak to us, Lord. Lord, may you speak to us with your power,

with your Holy Spirit, and with full conviction,

so that we can be convicted of our sins, that we can be convicted of your truth,

and that we would live according to your ways. Thank you, Father.

May you work on us today. In your Son's precious name, Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.

Paul in Colossians 3 declared to the believers in Colossae that they were to

keep their hearts and minds focused on Christ who is in heaven,

seated at the right hand of God.

Paul also wrote that as Christians, they have died to their old self and are

now hidden in Christ with the Lord.

Christ is now their life, and

when He returns, Christians also will be revealed with Christ in glory.

However, to live in this reality that Christ is their life, Paul warned the

Christians that they were to actively put to death in themselves all that belonged

to the earthly or sinful nature, to put on their new self in Christ.

Paul explained this in Colossians 3, verse 12-14.

Colossians 3:12–14

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourself with

compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.

Forgive as the Lord has forgiven you. And over all these virtues,

put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

This leads us to where we're going to focus on today in Colossians 3, verse 15.

Colossians 3:15

Paul proclaimed, Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,

to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful.

There are three truths in this verse that I believe God is teaching us today.

The first truth is that as saints in Christ, we are to let Christ's peace rule

our hearts. I want you to bring.

To your attention. Two words that will transform how we view this passage from now on.

The first word I want to show you is peace.

The word for peace that Paul used literally was written, the peace brought by Christ.

This particular peace is not just a state of heart and mind that is free from

worry. It's something even more amazing.

Let me show you what Paul meant by this peace.

This word peace referred to an essential characteristic of the messianic kingdom

synonymous with messianic salvation, or to proclaim peace.

In order to understand this concept of peace, we need to go to Isaiah 9.7.

Isaiah prophesied about the Messiah or the Christ when he said,

of the increase of his government, and here's the word, and peace, there will be no end.

He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing it and holding

it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.

The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

The word for peace that Isaiah used in Isaiah 9, verse 7 is the Hebrew shalom.

Isaiah 9:7

Shalom is God's greatest good and God's perfect order for the universe.

Let's put this understanding back into Colossians chapter 3.

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

Let God's good and perfect order for all things, which is brought to you by

Christ, rule in your heart.

Now, this changes things, doesn't it? Let me show you another word,

and this is cool. Please listen to this.

Paul used the word for rule, which meant to literally sit as umpire.

Remember, like our illustration, the umpire or the referee is the judge of a

game. The umpire is the one who calls the shots or throws in baseball.

The umpire or referee decides whether to allow the points in the game based

on the actions of the player.

Now, please listen to this. What Paul was saying was that as Christians,

we are to surrender to Christ and let His greatest order, His will for us,

be the decider for how our hearts act.

We're not to give in to our emotions and our desires and let our emotions direct how we act.

Rather, we are to let Christ's perfect order, which we know from God's Word,

decide how we act at all times. Does that make sense?

One Bible commentator wrote, Let the peace of Christ act as umpire when anger

and envy and such passions arise, and restrain them.

Let not those passions give the award, so that you should be swayed by them,

but let Christ's peace be the decider of everything.

One day Christ will return to rule the world, and the entire universe will be

governed by God's shalom, His perfect order for everything.

And as we let our thoughts and our emotions be controlled by God and His perfect

will, we will then act according to what God wants.

And as we act as the entire Church of Christ according to God's perfect shalom,

then God will use our joyful obedience to expand His kingdom here on earth as

we wait for Christ's glorious return.

How can we apply this super important truth to our lives? By surrendering to

God's good and perfect will and letting God's will decide how we act and think.

No matter what culture we are in, as human beings, we too often let our emotions

and our desires drive how we think and act.

So many of our people let their emotions of pain and sorrow and their desire

for pleasure and numbness drive them to alcohol and drugs.

As Christians, we can let our emotions of anger, jealousy, frustration,

pain, the desire to get our own way or to have control, cause us to gossip or

say hurtful things about others or do hurtful things towards others or even ourselves.

We can even let our emotions and desires for comfort, rest, enjoyment,

relaxation, direct us to spend way too much time watching television or video

games, possibly eating too much and eating the wrong things,

and many of us are guilty of that.

Our whole nation is addicted to buying and consuming food and material goods.

We're addicted to possessions. We're addicted to our recreations and to the

pleasures and lust of our eyes and hearts and bodies.

We are enslaved to financial debt, which stops us from giving and serving as God has designed us.

These choices that we make and more are destroying the church from the inside,

destroying our Christ-centered unity, and destroying our witness for Christ.

The headline in the article in Bloomberg last week read, if consumers are saviors,

upcoming retail earnings will show it.

Consumerism is the giving in to our desires to have and do what we want With

our consuming, we may affect the economy for a little while But the reality

is we're destroying ourselves, not saving ourselves.

The only solution is to surrender to Christ as our loving Lord and let His perfect

and good will control our choices so that we will act as true witnesses of Christ's

powerful love in the ever-expanding kingdom of God as we wait for Christ to return.

Not only did Paul call all Christians that we are to let Christ's shalom or

His good and perfect will rule over our hearts, but also that we are called in one body.

One of the wonderful foods that my family and I have really taken to living

in this part of Bush, Alaska, is agoutic.

Now, before the agoutic is made, the berries have to be picked and then cleaned.

Berries like salmon berries, cranberries, blackberries, blueberries.

By themselves, the berries are not connected. We can pick each one of them out

individually. But when they are mixed with the Crisco and sugar and the berries

start to melt some, the whole mix becomes something else entirely, right?

Becomes agudic. We can't really separate the berries out completely on their

own anymore because there's always some Crisco or some sugar or other berries connect to it somehow.

And this is similar to the unity or oneness that we as Christians have in Christ,

except this illustration and all illustrations can't fully explain the wonderful

depths of our togetherness in God.

Paul continued on in Colossians 3, verse 15.

Colossians 3:15

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.

I want you to see that Paul was equating the rule of Christ's perfect kingdom

order over our thoughts and emotions, to being called by God to belong in and

be part of one body in Christ.

It's very important that we understand that as each of us, as Christians,

trust and surrender to Christ's Word, and then let what God's Word commands

and teaches us control how we think and act,

then we will live in unity with one another in Christ's body.

Now, it's vital for us to have sound doctrine, which Paul calls our constant nourishment.

Yet it's our disunity in Christ's church that is the greatest hindrance to people

being saved, and Christ's kingdom expanding now on earth.

Let's turn to John 17, verse 20 to 23.

John 17:20–23

John chapter 17, verse 20 to 23. My prayer is not for them alone.

John 17:20–23

I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,

that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.

May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are

one, I in them and you in me.

May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me

and have loved them even as you have loved me.

There are two essential truths that are actually one main truth.

Christ prayed that his future church would stay or abide in Christ and in the

Father. And from this abiding relationship, the church is to be one in unity

with each other as Christ is with the Father.

The super strong implication is that if the church is not one as Christ is with

the Father, one in truth, love, and mission, then the world will not know that

Christ was sent by the Father.

If the world does not know that Christ was sent, then they cannot be saved.

Our unity based upon the truth of all who God is and who we are from His Word

and the truth that we are called to sacrificially love each other as Christ

has so sacrificially loved us.

Out of the love of God, we love others, and then we are compelled by the love

of Christ to go out into our villages, our region, our nature,

our nation, and our world to share the wonderful love of God.

This is what God's unity is.

This is what we as Christians are called to live in.

What can we learn from being called in one body? As we let God's perfect will

through His Bible, His Word, govern our thoughts and actions,

we will live in unity with one another in the body of Christ.

In saying this, I also wish to express that we cannot seek unity for the sake of unity.

There are essential doctrines in the Bible like the Holy Trinity,

Father, Son, Holy Spirit, the deity, humanity, the death and resurrection of Christ.

God's Word being without error and completely sufficient for a godly life,

the depravity or fallenness of humanity,

salvation by God's grace alone, through faith alone,

the understanding of what Christ's costly grace means for discipleship,

Christ's return and judgment of this world, heaven and hell,

the resurrection of the dead, and other core doctrines are essential doctrines of the Christian faith.

Also, there are very clear commands and instructions and principles from God's

Word that must be obeyed.

These cannot be compromised on.

There are many other more minor non-core doctrinal issues in the Bible that

are important, but not as central as these.

Non-core doctrinal issues in the Bible can be lovingly discussed as we try to

understand some of the Bible's very complicated issues together.

An example of this is end-times theology. There are differing views in the church

on when Christ's millennial kingdom has come or will come.

There are differing views on when the rapture and God's judgment will happen.

Now, I really respect many Bible teachers who hold other end-time views.

However, the Bible teaches clearly that Christ will return, He will rule,

God's judgment will happen, the rapture will happen, the resurrection of the dead will happen.

These truths are core truths that we are to cling to.

But as to when? We're allowed to have our views. But they're not core doctrines that cause division.

There are also traditions that every single congregation holds that are unique

to that area and time period.

These traditions can help in understanding and living out biblical truths,

but they're not worth dividing over.

However, most division happens when we're not letting God's truth,

His perfect order direct our feelings, our thoughts, and our actions.

This is where disunity comes from.

And I encourage each of us to trust God, to obey His Word, to stay in the love

of God so that we can love each other and reach out around us with the magnificent gospel of Jesus Christ.

The wonderful truth is that we cannot be in disunity when we're continually

living in gratitude for God and what He is doing in each other.

And that is why Paul commanded us in Colossians 3, verse 15, to be thankful.

Colossians 3:15

As believers, we're called to be thankful to God.

One practice that our family often does at mealtimes is to list what we are thankful to God for.

And as we go around the table, each person shares three things the Lord has

done that day that they're thankful for.

Sometimes our boys come up with some really creative answers for what they're

thankful for. But they have both grasped the concept enthusiastically.

What is so cool about this practice is that the boys can be arguing with each other.

Abigail and I can be starting to get stressed due to the boys and the busyness of our lives.

And then when we're starting to think about what we're grateful for and then

talk out loud about our thankfulness for God, the whole family mood changes.

We've become happier since we're seeing the situations in the light of God and

what He has done. We're less likely to squabble with each other when we're grateful

for what God is doing in the other.

In Colossians 3, verse 15, Paul wrote, Let the peace of Christ rule in your

Colossians 3:15

hearts, to which indeed you are called in one body. And here's where we are now.

And be thankful. Now, this may seem like the Apostle Paul just tacked this phrase

onto verse 15, and it doesn't matter much.

Yet remember that thankfulness is about seeing the great value and worth of

God and being grateful for all of who God is, what He has done,

is doing, and will do in the future.

And this is so important to controlling our emotions, our thoughts,

our actions, and living in the

unity of God, because if we are seeing the great value and worth of God,

then we also understand that God is constantly displaying His likeness and His works through others,

especially in the body of Christ.

And when we see and understand that God is working in and through other believers,

and we're truly grateful for God being magnified in, made larger in and through

that person, how can we be angry at them?

How can we be jealous of them or hate them when God is working in them to repent

and to trust Him more as God is working in us.

You see, what God is calling us to do is to focus so much on the value and greatness

of our Lord that we see Him working in every believer to be complete in Him.

And as we focus on the glory of God, we will be overwhelmed with the wondrous

mission to make disciples, to share Christ's glorious gospel with those who do not know Him.

What has God been teaching us today? The first truth

that we have learned is that we as Christians are called to surrender to Christ

as loving Lord and to let His perfect and good will control our choices so that

we will act as true witnesses of Christ's powerful love in the ever-expanding

kingdom of God as we wait for Christ to return.

Secondly, we as saints in Christ are to realize that we belong as one body in

Christ, and as we let Christ's shalom or His good and perfect order control and decide how we act,

then we will live in unity with one another in the church.

Lastly, we as Christ's disciples are called to live in gratitude for God and in God for each other.

And as we live in thanksgiving for the full greatness and beauty and love of

God, we will be grateful to God for each other and we will live in unity.

As we rely on Christ, I want to encourage us all to live according to God's perfect will.

And as we do so, God will grow His ever-expanding kingdom of God through us

and through all of His church. Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the wondrous privilege to be able to be here

in Your presence, to hear from You. you.

Lord, may your words to us today be planted in our heart and grow and bear fruit

for your kingdom here on earth and for eternal life. Lord, we thank you.

Use us, Lord. May we trust you and obey you always. In your precious name,

Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.

I'll leave you with this blessing from Ephesians chapter 3, verse 20 to 21.

Ephesians 3:20–21

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,

according to His power that is at work within us.

To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Have a wonderful Sunday. May the Lord bless you.