Summer Series: Colossians 3

Oh, good morning everyone.

I'm going to get started here.

This could go long, this could go short, I don't know.

Because when I think about my favorite, as we were challenged to pick a favorite verse or a favorite book, this would be the book that I would probably take with me.

If I could take one with me anywhere the desert island kind of theory I'd take Colossians.

I'll explain why.

As we go through this morning, I want to bring some things to your attention.

I want to kind of journey through the book, what it warns us against, what it challenges us to do and who it challenges us to do and who it challenges us to be, and why it was written.

So we're going to do some of that together this morning.

So I always like to.

I'm an old history guy, old history teacher.

I guess I can say I'm old now.

I'm in my 40s.

Does that qualify at this point?

Mom, I'm in my 40s.

If you see Natalie, she's in the last week of her 30s.

She might turn 40 on the 20th.

Maybe she's not in here, she doesn't know, unless you tell her.

We're going to celebrate that this week.

But as kind of the old history teacher, I always like to point out.

What are we talking about?

Where are we talking about?

Who are we talking about?

And so we are going to be talking Colossians as written to the church in Colossae, which you'll see in the middle in Asia Minor, which is today.

Anybody, what's Turkey today?

Yes, and you'll see kind of some of the other cities that are around there that you actually will read or hear about in scripture from time to time, like Thyatira, sardis, ephesus is there as well, laodicea Just important to kind of know where that is within the general realm.

If you want a bigger map of the area, the pointer doesn't point at the TV, but you can see Jerusalem down here in the lower right of the TV, but then as you kind of go up through, you can see where Colossae is, ephesus and then, of course, where Rome is.

Just to give you kind of an idea where this letter that Paul writes is addressed to is at this church at Colossae.

This letter comes at the request that there's a I believe it was Epaphras is the messenger between Paul and this church and is actually the person who starts this church in Colossae, which is very Roman influenced area, very much has a Greek and Roman culture, and you see Christ's church starting to develop there.

They also have a Jewish population there as well, and so you're actually going to see, within this letter, the conflict of different schools of thought.

You're going to see a Jewish school of thought that comes in.

You're going to see, within this letter, the conflict of different schools of thought.

You're going to see a Jewish school of thought that comes in.

You're going to see a Roman school of thought, a little bit of the Greek influence in there, going through this entire book.

If you were to read the book in whole and those cultures they go together pretty well.

Right, a little laughter back there.

They don't go well, it's like oil and water.

I mean, you're talking about a monotheistic, a polytheistic, you're talking about the belief in Christ coming into the area.

It's different and we'll talk a little bit about those differences, maybe as time goes on.

One of the reasons this is my favorite book.

It's one of the first ones that I read that brought me a little bit more understanding about what a Christian is and what a Christian is called to be, from a Gentile background into a faith-led background.

What does it mean to be a follower of Christ?

Just a little history of myself when I was seeking something better than man's way.

I did some church hopping.

I spent some time in a Catholic setting.

I spent some time in some other Protestant settings.

I spent some time specifically maybe the most awkward I ever felt was in a Judea Christian church that met on Saturdays, attempted and worked to follow the law, the Jewish law, while celebrating the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.

I didn't understand it so I didn't stay there long, but you know, having those experiences and then taking this book in and going, ah, I think this kind of points out what it's all about.

So, in order to get to my favorite chapter of a book in the Bible, which is Colossians chapter 3.

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

You have to look at word one, ron.

What's word one?

We're working on it, therefore.

Therefore, therefore, this thing will be dying on me.

I can, you is it.

Is it low?

Yeah, oh, we might find a battery at some point.

The first word chapter three, verse one, is therefore, and when I was thinking how am I going to teach chapter three, I realized that in order to get to chapter three, with the first word being therefore, it means we need to figure out, therefore, what, what happened prior to chapter 3, that sets this up, that sets this in motion.

So that's where we're going to start.

We're actually going to go back a little bit to Colossians 2, and we're going to start in verse 8, and then we'll talk about verse 8 through 12.

Okay, so some things to point out.

He's coming back here.

I did that on purpose for Father's Day.

I gave him the dead mic.

Yeah, honor thy father.

Oops, no, I should have checked, I'm sorry.

Colossians 2.8 starts kind of the therefore phrase.

That's going to get us in the Colossians 3, which is see to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

Christ brought us freedom from law, freedom from the ways of the past, freedom to worship him and have a relationship with God, but in Colossae, they were still trying to hold on to things that actually restricted their faith and their worship, restricted them from having a relationship with Christ, but continued on in the traditions of men.

Hence the photo I chose.

Their hands were still tied Like, yes, we have all of this, but we still must do the following One of the things you see in there is the word circumcision.

We can get into a long conversation about it, but this idea that to still be in Christ, they were still pushing this idea.

Well, are you circumcised?

Are you following the 630-some-odd laws that need to be written there?

Are you following the 630 some odd laws that need to be written there?

Are you a Judeo-Christian?

Or, in some cases, you'll find in some of the writings that you had Jesus as part of the pantheon.

So you still had Apollo and you still had Zeus and you still had Ares, and we're just creating a statue and a place in our home for Jesus alongside of them.

And what?

What Paul's hinting at here is whoa?

Get rid of the deception, the philosophy, the traditions of men.

Christ came, christ is it.

Christ is one, christ is all.

You're going to see that theme.

Carry through this, and it's not about what we do as mankind or what we brought in.

It's something different, it's something new.

It's something that should untie our hands a little bit.

So then we look at Colossians.

So again, verses 8 through 12.

Don't be held captive through the philosophy and empty deception of men.

Let's talk about 2.13 through 19.

When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made you alive together with him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us which was hostile to us, and he has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

When he had disarmed the rulers and authorities, he made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through him.

Therefore, no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink, or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day, things which are mere shadow of what is to come.

But the substance belongs to Christ.

Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement in the worship of the angels, taking his stand on vision, as he's seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind and not holding fast to the head from whom the entire body being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments grows, with a growth which is from God.

What are the first four words?

When you were dead.

So who's the audience?

Who's this letter written to?

It's written to Christians.

It's written to those who have professed cerebrally when you were dead, meaning you're not dead anymore.

Why do you continue to do the things you did when you were dead?

You're not dead anymore.

You were dead in your transgressions.

You were dead in the uncircumcision of your flesh, but he made you alive again.

Christ made you alive again.

So, if you think back to the verses we just read, you're still doing these things, but he made you alive again.

Take the shackles off, step outside of the wisdom and the information of man, the traditions of man.

He made you alive.

He canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us, because we were dead when you were dead.

That's the other thing.

When you were dead means you were.

What, gary, in God's eyes, were you dead?

Therefore, 16, no one is to act as your judge in regard to food, drink, or in respect to festival, new moon, sabbath day, continuing to hold on to all these things that Christ has set us free from.

So, again, just setting up to chapter 3.

Setting up to the idea that we're not held captive to those things anymore.

Something different has come, something new has come.

Something new has come.

Any dentist in here, burke, where you at?

This is a good image.

I'll explain the image in a second.

I think we should read the verse first.

If you have died with Christ, to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees such as do not handle, do not taste, do not touch, which all refer to things destined to perish with use in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men?

These are matters which have to be sure the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement in the severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshy indulgence.

To give you an insight into how Clark's mind works.

When I typed in wisdom, this is what came up in images Impacted wisdom teeth.

And then I thought to myself what a great illustration for when we're talking about the wisdom of man, that sometimes the wisdom of man does lead to good things.

But I would say that sometimes the wisdom of man leads to impacted wisdom teeth, pain, sorrow, suffering, misunderstanding or the need for somebody to come in and rip it out and take it away and cause change or relief.

That's where my mind went.

There were other images, but this one is what stuck with me.

It's the idea that sometimes the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion or self-abasement, the severe treatment of the body.

There are religious sects that you can find out there, where they beat themselves into submission, their own selves.

Anybody know the name?

I forget the name of them.

What's that?

The flagellus.

It's literally like oh, I feel good today, Not flagellants, but again there are.

These things exist even in this time, this idea of beating the body down for having a more spiritual peace.

And Paul is writing whoa.

Christ brought something new.

He brought something different Self-made religion, self-abasement, the severe treatment of the body.

There's no value against selfly, or I should say, fleshly indulgence.

Why do you continue to do these things and not focus on the one thing that really matters?

What did Christ bring you?

What did Christ bring you?

What did Christ bring us?

What should we be doing through Christ?

So again, you think about Colossae.

It's a church.

It has a lot of different cultural influences.

Paul did not start it, Epaphras did.

He's done his best.

But now they're having a conversation about how do we get rid of the cultural pieces, man's tradition, and get to what really matters who Christ is and who Christ calls us to be.

So all that sets up chapter three, which starts with the word.

Therefore, you got to understand that there is a whole lot of things going on.

I don't think that people in Colossae are trying to be deceptive or trying to be disorganized or trying to.

I just think they don't know and they need to be taught.

I think that's why you find that Paul's letter is, for the most part, kind of positive, Like I'm glad you're here, I'm glad you're doing this, you need to fix these things, and so it's so.

Now another side note into the mind of Clark.

I want to introduce you to somebody I read a couple weeks ago.

His name is Harry Heine.

Anybody know the story of Harry Heine?

Probably not.

Relatively unknown, Lived 1797 to 1856.

You can read it all there.

German poet, writer, literary critic.

Some poetry, some philosophy, that's about it.

But when you look him up today you're going to find something that he wrote.

I'll read this one to you.

Christianity, and this is its greatest merit, has somewhat mitigated the brutal Germanic love of war, but it could not destroy it.

Should that subduing talisman, the cross, be shattered, the frenzied madness of the ancient warriors, that insane, berserk rage of which Nordic bards have spoken and sung so often, will once more burst into flame.

This talisman is fragile, and the day will come when it will collapse miserably.

Then the ancient, stony gods will rise from the forgotten debris and rub the dust of a thousand years from their eyes, and finally, Thor with his giant hammer will jump up and smash the Gothic cathedrals.

Do not smile at the visionary who anticipates the same revolution in the realm of the visible as has taken place in the spiritual.

Thought precedes action, as lightning precedes thunder.

German thunder is of true Germanic character.

It is not very nimble, but rumbles along ponderously.

Yet it will come, and when you hear a crashing such as never before has been heard in the world's history.

Then you know that the German thunderbolt has fallen at last.

At the uproar, the eagles of the air will drop dead and lions in the remotest deserts of Africa will hide in their royal dens.

A play will be performed in Germany which will make the French Revolution look like an innocent ideal, and this was written in 1834.

Why this stood out to me when I read it two weeks ago and I was thinking about Colossians was this this philosopher writes about the fragile talisman, this symbol that's fragile, but he doesn't write about his people.

He writes about Gothic cathedrals and how Christianity is seen in the area, but it's not experienced in the area.

The change of heart, the change of minds, the change of man, the change of attitudes, the change of spirit, all the things that you could throw in there.

And he's writing and saying we have all this stuff, but still there's this underlying thing that exists within us that we weren't really made new.

And about 100 years after he writes this, you see that German lightning start to strike and that last almost prophetic, but really just the idea of understanding the nature of people in an area or in a realm that a play will be performed in Germany which will make the French Revolution look like an innocent ideal.

I read that and I just went.

This is why Christianity and Christ calls us to change, because sometimes our nature on our own not good.

And then I had Arnold J Toynbee show up in some of my reading and this is when I kind of stick back to that.

Religion holds the solution to all problems of human relationship, whether they are between parents and children or nation and nation.

Sooner or later man has always had to decide whether he worships his own power or the power of God.

And so this is where I vault into Colossians, chapter 3.

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

We have to decide whether we worship our own power or the power of God.

The internal battle we've probably all faced at some point or another is say, do I continue on the path that I am on, or do I continue on a path of submission, a path of learning, a path of education, a path of faith?

So my favorite chapter is Colossians 3.

Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.

So we jump back a few verses and it says when you were dead.

And now you're looking at verse 3-1.

It says, therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, your call is to keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, where he's seated.

613, that was the number of commandments that the Jewish faith, that a Jew, had to commit to.

It's the mitzvah 613.

613 rules, laws, clean, unclean.

Eat this, don't eat that.

Wear this, don't wear that.

You were in the vicinity of this person at this time, so you need to go sit over there for this many days.

That 613, if you read the Torah and you take down every law, that's what they had to do, and Paul's coming in saying those were good for that time.

Christ has now created this.

Keep your mind centered on Christ.

He's at the right hand of God.

Set your mind on things that are above.

Stop setting your mind on the things that are of earth.

Message for us there, yes, message for the Romans, the Greeks and the Jews living in Colossae.

Absolutely, because everything was centered on worldly things.

The church brought about spiritual things.

Set your minds on the things of Christ, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ and God.

So the 613 commandments are gone.

You can still choose to follow them, but you're not going to be perfect in it.

They weren't bad, but Christ brought something new, something better, gave us a roadmap.

I think that's what Paul has actually kind of given us here, because we're going to get into these next verses, and maybe that's why I like a list.

Hey, what do I need to do?

Anybody else in here like a list, Like to put things down and say this is I do Right?

Well, I've seen your lists.

I guarantee I'm going to get a list in about two weeks that says here's what you're packing for Myrtle Beach.

Yep.

Yep, maybe that's where I get it from.

Yep, maybe that's where I get it from.

I've learned this I like a list.

It gives me things to accomplish, to write off.

So maybe that's why I like the book of Colossians so well, because I do read it a little bit.

Not a list of things I have to be perfect at, but a list of things that I'm called to do, I'm called to be better at.

I get a little bit of a roadmap and I can say, okay, I understand this, I've got to live my life like this.

I was dead and here I am.

Here I am, I've been raised in Christ.

I need to put the things of the earth beside the things of the world.

I need to step into what Christ has really called me to do.

So, paul, what do you got for me?

What's on the road map?

Help me out, paul.

So Paul gives a little bit of this.

Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immortality, impurity, passion, evil, desire and greed, which amounts to idolatry.

Stop there for a second.

Stop on five.

Therefore, immortality was good, we are mortal.

Immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire.

So the first four deal with this is how I read it.

They deal with the body a little bit Sexual immorality, things of the flesh, really.

You know the outward, very outward Immorality.

I'm immoral, I'm impure, my passions might be normal, I have evil desire.

And then you've got greed.

That's another one that just impacts other people so negatively, like focused on things of the world, things of it's idolatry.

Step away from that stuff is what Paul's saying.

So, all right, let's clean this up.

Think about morality, impurity, passion, evil desire, greed.

You got to nix that.

That's not the stuff of Christ.

Continue on with verse six.

For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, and in them.

You also once walked when you were living in them.

But now you also put them all aside anger, wrath, malice, slander and abuse speech from your mouth.

We'll stop there for a second there for a second.

I find this one hard on the list because have I been angry in the last week?

I have.

I think that's the good thing about repentance is I can say, whoa, I need to Now.

There might have been a time in my life where I would not have cared, that I was angry, but I can tell you that now I absolutely care and feel ashamed when I might lose a little bit of my temper.

Wrath, malice, slander, abusive speech, speaking about people with ill will, not lifting one another up but tearing people down that's kind of how I read that.

But there's all things in the mouth.

You think about it.

You can be angry.

But what do we typically do when we're angry?

We say things we don't want to say.

Wrath, we say things we don't want to say.

That's what I'm most guilty of.

I say things we don't want to say.

That's what I'm most guilty of.

I say things I don't want to say and then I have to look and stand there and who do I say them to?

Typically?

Huh, people closest to me, which, in my house, is.

I have to look at her sometimes.

Poor Natalie, you're right, don't worry.

I have to look at her and I have to say at her sometimes I have to look Poor Natalie, you're right, don't worry.

I have to look at her and I have to say I am so sorry, I don't know where that came from.

I need to control that better Early in our marriage.

I will tell you that that was probably.

We learned a lot early in our marriage.

You know we're still learning, but it's amazing how quickly that can happen and how quickly, now that I'm a follower of Christ, I go whoa.

I'm so sorry.

That shouldn't have been what I said.

That should not have been my approach.

I think these are things we're always working on.

Like I said, I like to live.

Okay, what do I need to work on, god?

Oh, I need to control my anger, my wrath, my malice, my slander.

No abuse of speech.

I need to be kind.

I need to try kindness at all times.

I need to step away from these things because I am a follower of Christ.

Therefore, consider those parts of me as dead.

I need to follow Christ.

So a little bit of confession there that sometimes I do get a little angry.

Let's not talk politics.

Let's go to verse 10.

I'm sorry, verse 9.

We can't skip over.

I want to skip over verse 9, but let's read verse 9.

Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices and have put on the new self, who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the one who created him.

All right, let's pause there for a second.

Do not lie to one another.

So this was another one.

If you think about the things that we're probably into the most when we're young, we're adolescents, we're not paying attention.

I bet we do get into the habit of exaggerating.

We won't lie, exaggerating the truth or not always being honest.

But something that stands out to me in that one too, about changing who we are, is this Proverbs.

One of the things that maybe has changed me the most is in Proverbs it's written that there are six things God hates and seven that are an abomination to him, and one of the six things is lying or a lying tongue.

And right after that it says and those who bear false witness against one another.

So of the list that's in Proverbs, two of them have to deal with lying, being untruthful, not being true to who you are and what you know and what you understand.

So it just doesn't surprise me that it's listed here again.

It's listed in Scripture over and over again Be true to who you are, be true in your speech, verse 11.

are be true in your speech, verse 11.

A renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all and in all.

Perfect.

The word that's used here in the Greek is nekrosade when it refers to make dead, and I think there is an importance.

There's a gentleman named Wright who wrote there's an importance in listing and naming these sins as Paul does, because it's far easier to drift into a sin which one does not know by name than consciously to choose one whose very title should be repugnant to a Christian and never said, never talked about.

I think Paul's really good about that.

I think that sometimes we might stand up here as we're preaching and teaching, like well, I don't really want to say what it is.

I want to say I don't want to insult you, but I think it's important that Paul kind of highlights the immorality, the impurity, the passion, the evil desire, the greed, the idolatry, the lying tongues, the abuse of speech, the slander, the wrath, the malice, all the things that are very consistent patterns in their culture and their time amongst one another.

That's not Christ.

You've been made new, you've been renewed.

There is a renewal.

There's no distinction In Christ.

You are Christ, christ is one, christ is all.

So when you accept Christ in baptism, the differences are done.

So when you accept Christ in baptism, the differences are done.

We're going to see that a little bit later too.

We put on the new man, we're renewed.

Something new has come.

There's neither Greek nor Jew circumcised or uncircumcised.

This is probably incredibly countercultural to them.

Hierarchy matters in Roman society.

Hierarchy matters in Jewish society.

Hierarchy matters in Jewish society, hierarchy matters in most society.

You have all these things that are put in place, this order, this structure.

There's the master and his slave, there's the husband and his wife In Roman husbands and Roman wives.

It's a very different kind of relationship than maybe what we even know.

So there's no differences now, in a world where there were lots of differences, venture to guess, we still have lots of differences in ours, and we're still called to be unified.

Another good lesson.

So Colossians 3, 12 through 17.

So as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience we're going to go through these verses one at a time I feel like I'm doing an eye test just taking care of you.

That all right, just left eye.

This is where I, this is where I really like.

Again, we had one list and the one list, the one explanation was hey, here are the things you ought not do.

It's almost like a little bit of a self-test, like man, am I still in this cycle, do I?

I need to work on this.

Here are the things I'm told not to do and I'm still kind of in that cycle.

I'm in that struggle, man.

What could I do differently?

Oh, look, here's some things I could really work on, the counterparts.

So as to those who have been chosen, your holy and beloved, you need to put on a heart of compassion.

Instead of being angry about everything, maybe you need to find some compassion and some understanding.

It's amongst your brother.

You've got to figure this out.

Kindness Boy, we could use a lot more of that.

Humility Boy, we could use a lot more of that.

Gentleness, patience, ooh, gentleness, patience.

I want it done and I want it done now.

Somebody told me once that a wise old man don't pray for patience.

It will come, like you know, that understanding and that idea that we want things done now or again.

Just put on a heart that is compassionate, kind, humility, gentle, patient.

Patient with your kids, patient with your spouse, patient with your coworkers, patient with the people you cohabitate, with the people that live around you, your neighbors.

Just patient, kind, gentle.

Verse 13.

Bearing with one another and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone, just as the Lord forgave you.

Verse 13.

Alright, I can bear with you, I can hang out with you, I can do this.

Forgiving each other that seems to be a common theme in the Gospels and in Scripture as well.

A lot of talk about forgiveness.

Is it easy?

Yeah, definitely not easy.

Anybody know Charles Spurgeon, gary, you know Charles Spurgeon A little bit.

You know him or you don't know him.

Yeah, spurgeon, he wrote a lot of commentary and things on Scripture and he pops up every once in a while and I have this kind of tucked away about forgiveness that suppose that someone had grievously offended any one of you and that he asked your forgiveness.

That's fair.

Okay, I'm sorry, I hurt you, please forgive me.

Do you not think that you would probably say to him well, yes, I forgive you, but I cannot forget.

This is where Spurgeon pops and says I forgive you.

Ah, dear friends, that is a sort of forgiveness with one leg chopped off.

It's not full forgiveness.

I forgive you, but I'm going to hold on to this.

And when you start thinking about forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint, just like the Lord forgave us, and that's done.

This is what he saying.

Just as the Lord forgave you, you should also.

That's a tough one.

I circled that one in my Bible Because there are people where I still hold on to some things, where I'm like you did this to me, but I'm called to be forgiving, humble, patient, kind, and I think it all gets wrapped up in verse 14.

Beyond all these things, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.

Be loving.

If we truly love, like Christ loved, then we would be compassionate, kind, humble, gentle, patient, forget.

See how it all circles back Like this is what you need to do.

That's why I love this chapter.

It reminds me of who I need to be, because with all those things, we then get to verse 15 and following you can finish up the page.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart, to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful.

Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another, with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Whatever you do, in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God, the Father.

There's that one body statement again, by the way, gary, thank you for your class over the last two cycles, because there it is again, right, calling you to what One body, one Christ.

Christ is all.

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

The one body, be thankful.

Let the Word of Christ richly dwell within you, teaching and admonishing one body, be thankful.

Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, teaching and admonishing one another, building one another up with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.

That is something coming from Paul, who is writing this letter, from where Prison Now, prison in Roman times is pretty comfy, right.

So one of the things that Natalie and I were, I guess, blessed with being able to do is when we took our trip to Italy.

One of the places we stopped is this supposed prison of Paul.

Now, they say it was Paul's prison.

This is where he was interred during his time, but I mean, and it very well might have been All I know is when we got there and had to walk down these tiny, narrow stairs into what was best described as a cistern damp, dark, cold, wet, a little bit like a dungeon Damp, dark, cold and wet You're captive, you have no freedom and you're still and wet.

You're captive, you have no freedom, and you're still writing and teaching things like this, like writing things like whatever you do and where to do it, all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God, the Father, like what?

What do I have to complain about?

Having seen that, have experienced that and now thinking about, here is somebody who is probably where he doesn't want to be, but he knows he's where God needs him to be and he's okay with that.

Am I okay with that?

Am I okay with where I am, what I need to be?

So that's Colossians 3, 12 through 17 in a nutshell, and then some other things that Paul feels is important and continues on with why I think this is important to understand and I'll wrap it up pretty quickly.

But, dad, can you read these?

Wives be subject to your husbands as fitting in the Lord.

Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them.

Children be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord.

Fathers, do not exasperate your children so that they will not lose heart.

Lots of conversation have occurred around these verses over the history of the church, so this is all I'm going to say.

Paul is writing a letter to people who have no concept of what a healthy family unit looks like.

In fact, in Rome, the father, the Roman patriarchy, the father actually had the ability the dad, the husband to send his wife to death should she be unfaithful or any number of things.

It was a concept that says okay, wives be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

We got to be careful with the word subject, because if you actually go back and look, it just says in the hierarchy.

Subject, because if you actually go back and look, it just says in the hierarchy.

It doesn't say wives be subject to other men.

It says wives be subject to your husband.

Is this fitting to the Lord?

But it says husbands, lord this over your wife.

It's a choice that needs to be made.

Husbands, love your wives.

This is the word that's actually in the text is agape Sacrifice yourself for the betterment of your family and do not be embittered against them.

Meaning don't send your wife off to death.

Like you think of that cultural connection at that time, but also for us, I get angry.

Sometimes I say not nice, oh, I gotta be again.

Children, be obedient to your parents, heidi.

There was a time we needed to learn this a little bit better, because it's well-pleasing to the Lord and fathers, do not exasperate your children so they will not lose heart.

Something I read again.

I'm going to kind of.

I know I've got to close this down here soon, but I've got to tell you.

I read this week that 49.5% of all adolescents have been diagnosed with a mental illness Some sort of mental diagnosis anxiety, adhd, depression.

49.5% that, I heard, is terrible.

That's alarming.

My question is what are we doing?

Why is that the case?

I sometimes wonder if we've taken out of order what God has put in order and we've actually created some issues that we're going to have to deal with as time goes on.

But this is why I like Colossians, chapter 3, because it says look, here it is.

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

Here are the things you need to do.

This is what Christ has brought to you.

This is what Christ has created for you.

Wives, husbands, children, fathers you all play an incredibly important role in the Christian home.

Slaves in all things.

Obey those who are your masters on earth.

Whoa, obey, obey.

This is what Christ would have you do, whatever you do verse 23,.

Do your work heartily as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive your reward of the inheritance, and it is Lord Christ whom you serve, for he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong for which he has done, and that without partiality.

We do what we do because we serve Christ, in whatever station we're in.

Wherever we are in our existence, wherever we are in our walk, we serve Christ, even in these difficult ones.

And masters, grant your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you too have a master in heaven.

Treat all people with gentleness, kindness, humility, and so all I will say this is going back to verse 3.

It's not about the talisman, it's not about the cross.

I think it's about who we are, who we become and what we shine for Christ, how we live our lives for Christ.

That talisman never gets broken.

If we do not change who we are and value our relationship with Christ more than our relationship with architecture, traditions, earthly wisdom, law, etc.

Then I think we're doomed to deal with some of the things we might even be dealing with now.

We need to be Christ-like people.

So, therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

Set your mind on things above, not on the things that are on earth, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

So why do I like Colossians 3?

Because I think it really hits the message home about who we are to be, who we are to become, how we are to treat one another, how are we to walk in this world, and the things we should really think about.

Thank you, appreciate your time.

1018.

All right, and if you ever really want to watch a video, there's a video on Colossians, but I'm not going to do that to you.