Now, my name is John. I do have the blessing
to give the message this morning. So we do like
to say, those of you in the sanctuary, if this
is your first time, welcome. And online, we would
like to welcome you as well. Yeah. You know,
I read an article the other day that says the
American church, that 32 % of young adults from
ages 23 to 30 are leaving the church because
of hypocrisy. You know, I'm sure you guys have
been told this too, but I've been told that Christians
are fake and they're judgmental and the church
is full of hypocrites. You know, unfortunately,
they see scandals, they see corruption, they
see the misuse of moral authority from pastors
and elders. There's actually one church, there
was a pastor in Florida that there was a lot
of things that he got caught for. Human trafficking.
had a massive mansion. Everything was just, he
was stealing money from the church. You know,
that's why people are leaving the church. They
see all these things, and a lot of people are
actually moving away from God because they say
that there's so much hypocrisy. But today, I
would like to show that we shouldn't be showing
the hypocrisy. We should be showing the holiness.
You know, the world sees Christians as actors,
right? They say that Christians pretend to be
good people. Unfortunately, there's some who
go home. They go home after Sunday. They're unchanged.
That Christ has never affected them, has never
touched their heart. They're not the new creation
in Christ. They say things like, I'm a blunt
person. I'm going to do whatever I want. That's
just how I am. Take it or leave it. And most
of the time, that's just an excuse. Actually,
I would say every single time, it's just an excuse.
that they say that. It's just an excuse to be
disrespectful. But Paul says in Colossians 3,
to put off the old man and to put on the new.
That means even our rudeness, our pride, our
disrespectfulness, even our that's just who I
am attitude must go. You know, I once heard a
pastor say, everyone on the stage of life is
acting a part, a salesman, a parent, a leader.
The question is, will you like the role you've
chosen when the curtain falls and the play is
over? You know, God's Word calls us to act a
different role, to do a different role. He calls
us not to be hypocrites, but to be Christ -likeness,
to show that. You know, Ephesians 4 .24 says,
put on the new self. the one created according
to God's likeness in righteousness and purity
of truth. Today we'll be talking about what putting
on the new man means, what to live out the character
of Christ in a world that desperately needs to
see Christ, what that means. The world sees that
there's so much immorality, but the world needs
to see the love of Christ in the midst of a sinful
world. We need to be the light of the world,
shining so bright that all darkness is exposed,
bringing those from darkness into light. And
that's what we're going to be talking about today.
But first, as we always do, we would like to
start with worship. And it's just going to be
another beautiful, blessed day that we're going
to have. So let's go ahead and pray before we
get into worship. Father, we just thank you so
much for this time that we can just... meet in
this place that you have provided for us, Lord.
We just thank you so much. Father God, we open
our hearts and we open our minds and we open
our hands to you, Lord. Please fill us with your
spirit and bless us. Lord, please bless us to
continue to know you more and more every day,
Lord. I just pray that we just follow your example
and to love everybody as you love us, Lord. We
thank you so much. It's in Jesus' name we pray.
Amen. Alright, if you guys would, if you don't
mind opening your Bibles to Colossians chapter
3. While you do that, I would like to give a
context, or give context to the letter to the
Colossians. So Paul speaks to the Colossian church,
which is a message that's still relevant today.
You know, there's many different denominations
who claim to be Christian that are so far from
the truth and so far from what the Bible teaches
that it's heartbreaking that we're compared to
them. You know, the Jehovah's Witnesses, the
J -dubs, they believe that Jesus is just an angel.
And when you talk to somebody... who doesn't
know Christianity or doesn't know anything, they
believe that they're the same as us who believe
that Jesus Christ is God in flesh. You know,
there's Christian science who believe, basically,
that you can heal yourself, but they use the
name Christian for what? Just for recognition.
And the same thing with Scientology. Scientology,
they believe in, like, they have these weird
alien things that they believe in. They have
a whole story behind that. And again, they're
all considered Christians. You know, in chapter
3, verse 5 in Colossians, Paul commands believers
to put to death what belongs to their earthly
nature, sins of the flesh, and selfish desires.
So we see that Paul urges believers to seek the
things above. Seek the things that are above.
And to turn away from all these things, to turn
away from all these false things that go against
Christ, that go against God. You know, how we
live reflects who we truly worship. I'll say
that again. How we live reflects who we truly
worship. You know, Pastor Rick touched on this
a little bit last week. If we claim to worship
Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, but we chase
money, success, fame, compromising our integrity
and neglecting prayer, neglecting serving others,
our life will reveal who we truly worship. And
that is wealth, success, fame, and unfortunately
a lot of them is sex as well. And they turn away
from Christ and they don't worship Christ. And
so Paul talks about this to the Colossians there.
In chapters 1 and 2, Paul reminds the church
who they are in Christ. And this is who we are
as well in Christ. Paul says they and us are
redeemed, reconciled, and complete in Christ.
But Paul also addresses the false teachings that
were creeping in the churches. Paul addresses
legalism. That is the legal ordinances, the food
regulations, the Sabbath keeping, and the new
moon observances. This is all the Jewish legalism.
And then Paul talks about the mysticism that
was going on. That's worship of angels and visions.
And Paul goes against it. Talks about asceticism,
which is a Gnostic teaching that's harsh treatment
of the body. rigid self -denial. And if you guys
remember who the Gnostics were, or are because
they're still around today, the Gnostics are
those who believe that Christ was just spirit
and he wasn't actually body, didn't have physical
flesh. And so Paul goes and argues against that.
And then, of course, Paul talks about philosophy
and tradition. He goes against that and tells
them that The man -made thinking is not Christ
-centered, and that's what philosophy is. You
know, the Colossian church was being influenced
by a mixture of Jewish and pagan ideologies with
a hint of Christianity. There was a little bit
of Christianity that was put in there as well.
I would say the only thing that was Christianity
was Christ. But these heresies denied the sufficiency
of Christ's work. And Paul addresses each and
every one of these in the book of Colossians.
So Paul writes to remind the believers, and he
reminds us too, that Christ is enough. And those
who belong to him must live like that it's true,
because it is true. You know, if you're talking
to somebody and you share the gospel and they
say, oh yeah, we know who Christ is, and then
they start going on and say, Christ and, or Christ
but, you already know that. You're going to be
in for the long ride because they're going to
bring up some weird things. Because a lot of
the time when they talk about Christ and or Christ
but, it's Christ but you need to do this. Christ
but you can do what you want. No, that's not
what Christ died for. Christ died for all the
sins. Christ is enough. And so Paul talks about
that. So in our text here, we'll read from verses
12 to 17. If you'll follow along with me, if
you will. Verse 12, Which is the perfect bond
of unity. And let the peace of Christ, to which
you were also called in one body, rule in your
hearts. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ
dwell richly among you in all wisdom, teaching
and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns,
and spiritual songs, singing to God with gratitude
in your hearts. And whatever you do in word or
in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord
Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through
Him. So Paul mentions here first our identity
in Christ. Paul says, Now let's look at those
words. God's chosen ones. God's chosen ones,
that is, not by works, talents, or ability. You
know, if you're here today and you've confessed
Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, if you've
declared that he is the King of kings and the
Lord of lords, then hear this. You are not just
a number. You are not just another face in the
crowd. You are chosen by God. You've been called
out of darkness into the marvelous light. You
belong to him. I belong to him. Paul says this
to the church in Colossae, and this is us. We
are his chosen, his beloved, and his own special
children. That's who we are. Next one is holy.
What is holy? Set apart exclusively his. Though
we may fall short, though we may not pray constantly
or read God's word consistently or are loving
towards one another, God still calls us holy.
Our holiness isn't based on our performances,
but on our position in Christ. And that's what
Paul wanted to remind the church. He also says
dearly loved. The church there as well as us
are dearly loved. We are called dearly loved.
God loves us so much that he sent his one and
only son, Jesus Christ, to die the death that
we deserve. He was crucified because of our sins.
He was buried in a tomb and three days later
he rose again. He did not stay there, defeating
death once and for all. Through his sacrifice,
our sins have been wiped clean. And now God calls
us chosen, holy, and dearly loved. That's our
motivation today. That's our motivation to live
with Christ and live for Christ. Every single
day, that should be our motivation. And Paul
gives this motivation to the church. And then
the second one that we have here is putting off
of the old self. So Paul says to put on the new
self, and we know our identity. But in verse
5 here, Paul says, So these sins are the internal
corruption that separates us from God. And so
it's our internal sins. The first one we have
is sexual immorality. That's pursuing self -pleasure
over holiness. Paul says to put to death, Impurity,
that is moral uncleanness, thoughts and motives
that defile. The next one is lust. Lust is uncontrolled
craving that dominates the mind. Next one is
evil desire, wicked longing for what God forbids.
And then finally, Paul says greed, which is idolatry.
It says worshiping the created instead of the
creator. Paul says to put these things to death.
He says don't feed them. We shouldn't be feeding
into our sins. Don't excuse them. We are to kill
all the sins before the sins kill us. If you
give an inch, sin will take a mile. And then
Paul goes on in verses 8 and 9 and talks about
the external sins. Now these sins are the outer
life. how inner sins manifest outwardly. And
so we see the first one is anger, deep resentment
or bitterness. Next one is wrath, that's explosive
outbursts of rage. Malice, which is desire to
harm others. Slander, that's speech that destroys
somebody's reputation. And finally, put away,
filthy language, that's obscene or abusive talk.
So, if we look at it this way, if the old self,
the old sinful nature represents dirty clothes,
take them off, put them away, put them to death,
and don't put them back on. When we take off
the old, we must replace it with something new,
something holy, something better. And Paul gives
us that list in verse 12. By putting on the new
self, he says, put on compassion. kindness, humility,
gentleness, and patience. This isn't a suggestion,
it's a command. We're all commanded to put on
these, which all of these represent Christ. So
like putting on clean clothes after a shower,
we must intentionally clothe ourselves in Christ's
characteristics. And again, these are all qualities
that reflect Christ. and who Christ is. And I
would like to go through those. Let's go through
those there. Comparison. The first one, feeling
the pain of others deeply. No better example
than Christ himself. In John 11, 33, we see Lazarus
lying dead for four days. We see his family crying
and weeping, wailing. And so Jesus finally arrives
and Mary sees Jesus and she's crying. She says,
Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn't
have died. And the shortest verse in the Bible
says Jesus wept. He was greatly moved. Not wailing
as Mary was, but he was moved. You know, it's
interesting because the term greatly moved or
he wept implies outrage or indignation. Maybe
Jesus was outraged, not with Mary, not by the
way she reacted, but because he was greatly moved
or outraged by death and sin itself. You know,
Jesus wept at the tomb. He was moved not by weakness,
but by love and outrage of sin's destruction.
You know, God is moved by our pain as well. You
know, if anybody's going through any type of...
pain and suffering, if they just suffered something.
God is moved. God feels your pain. I believe
that God weeps over everything that we suffer.
You know, sin has caused so much grief in my
life, and I'm sure he has with yours. You know,
I don't talk about this much, but 15 years ago,
my mom passed away. She had breast cancer, and
so she died of that. And so I just remember,
this was before I was saved. I was like, I don't
get it. I did not understand anything. I said,
well, if God is real, then why would God put
anybody through this? But now, knowing what I
know now, Christ was with me weeping, and he's
with you every single day when you're going through
something tough, those tough situations. He weeps.
He weeps over the destruction of sin. and death.
So Paul reminds the church here in Colossae and
reminds us today that we are to put on compassion
because that's what Christ put on and that's
what he endured. The second one is kindness.
Compassion in action. That's what kindness is.
Doing good when it's undeserved. Again, the greatest
example. Jesus healed. Jesus fed. Jesus forgave.
And Jesus blessed those who wronged Him, who
did Him wrong. It was Jesus who was on the cross
right before His Spirit went up, or before He
released His Spirit, on the cross and said, Father,
forgive them for they know not what they do.
It was Christ. And that's kindness. That's the
kindness that we should be showing to others
too. If there's somebody that is putting you
through some sort of stress, harm, It's hard
to say, but show kindness towards them. You guys
heard the saying, kill them with kindness? It
works. It really does work. Because Christ is
kindness. Put on kindness. The next one is humility.
That's not self -exalting, but Christ -exalting.
You know, in John 13, we see the greatest example
of humility. It says, Jesus got up from supper,
laid aside his outer clothing. took a towel and
he tied it around himself. Next, he poured water
into a basin and began to wash his disciples'
feet and to dry them with the towel tied around
him. Notice, Jesus didn't just wash their disciples'
feet. He actually dried them as well. He wiped
them clean as he wiped us clean from all of our
sins. Now, let me ask you guys something. Could
you guys wash your enemy's feet? Somebody who
has hurt you, can you wash their feet? This is
something I've been asking for a few months now,
asking people, because I ask myself, would I
be willing to? And I don't know. I don't know
if I could. I'd say yes now, but tomorrow could
be different. But, you know, Jesus washed the
disciples' feet. And notice this too, he even
washed Judas' feet. The man who was to betray
Jesus. He betrayed him just a few verses later.
You know, Jesus said, I did not come to be served,
but to serve. And those are humbling words. Are
we above serving others today? Are we above Christ
for not serving anybody? You know, in the Greco
-Roman world, humility was considered weakness.
But in Jesus, but in Christianity, because of
Jesus, what he has done, humility is strength
under submission. True humility is strength under
submission. And Christ showed true humility,
and that's what we should follow. Next one is
gentleness. That's strength under control, offering
correction with grace, not condemnation. You
guys remember the story with the adulterous woman
in John 8? It says, So what do you say? They
asked this to trap him in order that they might
have evidence to accuse him. Jesus stooped down
and started writing on the ground with his finger.
When they persisted in questioning him, he stood
up and said to them, The one without sin among
you should be the first to throw a stone at her.
Then he stooped down again and continued writing
on the ground. When they heard this, they left
one by one, starting with the older men. Only
he was left with the woman in the center. When
Jesus stood up, he said to her, Woman, where
are they? Has no one condemned you? No one, Lord,
she answered. Neither do I condemn you, Jesus
said. Go and from now on do not sin anymore.
You see, Jesus showed true grace and mercy. He
removed her condemnation before he told her to
start living right, to live a better way. Jesus
didn't endorse or promote sin, but he showed
grace and mercy, which is designed to produce
gratitude and holiness. That's what we see in
Romans 6. Christ didn't want to condemn her for
anything that she did, because that was already
done. The scribes and Pharisees and everybody
were treating her that way. So he treated her
with gentleness, with love, with compassion.
It's grace first and transformation next. So
then Paul goes on and writes to them about patience.
That's long -suffering with others. Jesus showed
much patience with Peter. Jesus knew Peter would
deny him, and Peter denied him. We are like Peter,
aren't we? Sometimes we say, Lord, we leave everything
in your hands. Lord, you take this situation
from me, and I'm better. Fifteen, twenty minutes
later, we think about it again. I don't know
why we start getting frustrated again. Lord,
why do we have to wait? Why do we have to go
through this? But it's patience. Jesus shows
us patience. Maybe that's another reason why
in 2 Peter 3 .9, Peter wrote, the Lord does not
delay his promises as some understand delay,
but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish,
but all to come to repentance. Yes, we know that
that's not what the meaning is, but there's patience.
Patience is there. God is patient, therefore
we should be patient. Peter understood patience.
Christ was patient with him, and he is also patient
with us. We are to put on these qualities. These
are Christ -like qualities. We are to put them
on like new clothes. Now, these are not natural.
This Christ -like character is not natural to
us. They are spiritual clothing that must be
intentionally worn each and every day. It's very
hard to want to put on love and compassion, especially
when you're getting cut off in traffic. Don't
get me started on that, but, you know. But then
the next one is putting on love, verses 13 and
14. Bearing with one another and forgiving one
another, if anyone has a grievance against another,
just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are
also to forgive. Above all, put on love, which
is the perfect bond of unity. So, forgiveness.
How many of us are forgiving? Easily forgiving.
Forgiveness isn't dependent on how you feel or
if you want to do it. Rather, it's a command.
We're commanded to forgive. God forgave us, although
we still sin against Him. God forgave us when
we still turn from Him and live according to
our flesh. We can't forgive someone who slandered.
That's what we say. We can't forgive somebody
who's hurt me. We can't forgive somebody who's
spread lies about me. But forgiveness is not
an option. It's not optional. Forgiveness is
a command. You know, I'm sure you guys have heard
of Corrie ten Boom. Now, Corrie ten Boom and
her family, she lived in the Netherlands, and
she, during World War II, was hiding Jews and
were eventually imprisoned in a concentration
camp. Years later, a former Nazi guard who was
mistreating her and her family, he actually went
up to her and asked Corrie ten Boom for forgiveness.
It was hard, but she chose to forgive him in
Christ's strength. Now, this is what Corrie ten
Boom said. Somebody who went and saw the sufferings
and the pain going through the concentration
camp, she said this. She was a believer, by the
way. She said, Forgiveness is the key that unlocks
the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hatred.
It is power that breaks the chain of bitterness
and the shackles of selfishness. She was tortured
and she was hurt and she saw her family, but
she still forgave because that's what Christ
did. Christ forgives. Forgiveness is the foundation
of a Christian life. So we should be forgiving.
And then, of course, Paul talks about love. Love
is the overcoat that ties all virtues together.
It's the glue of unity, the crown of a Christian
character. That's what love is. Without love,
the rest falls apart. You know, it was Paul who
wrote 1 Corinthians, and 1 Corinthians 13 is
considered the love chapter. Paul talks about
love throughout the whole chapter. Paul says
this. He says, Without love, we have nothing.
It's pointless. It's all pointless if we don't
have love. If we say, I'm a compassionate person,
and you don't show love, that's not compassion.
Paul goes on later in chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians
and says, Love is patient. Love is kind. Love
does not envy. Love is not boastful, is not arrogant,
is not rude, is not self -seeking, is not irritable,
and does not keep a record of wrongs. Love finds
no joy in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the
truth. It bears all things, it believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things. Love never
ends. Love is the glue of unity. It's the crown
of a Christian character. If we don't have love,
then we don't have Christ in our hearts. So without
love, the next one is... We can't do anything
if we don't have love. But the next one here
is let Christ rule your hearts. Verse 15. And
let the peace of Christ to which you are also
called in one body rule your hearts and be thankful.
So Paul tells the church in Colossae to let Christ
rule your heart. And he tells us this today.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.
You know the word rule here. It means to act
as an umpire or to call the shots. Let Christ's
peace be the referee of our hearts. Let Christ's
peace be the decision maker when life feels uncertain.
When we walk closer with Christ, his peace confirms
or redirects our choices and major decisions.
You know, some of us may be facing big challenges,
like should I take this job, that job? Should
we move out of state, stay in state? Should I
divorce my spouse or should I stay and fight
for my marriage? There's three things I believe
that we need to consider before we try to make
any decision, the wrong decision. The first one
is pray before anything. Never rush a decision,
especially if you're not sure about it. Sit with
God and ask for wisdom. Ask for his peace. If
peace fades and confusion grows, then maybe the
Spirit is telling you something. Maybe he's telling
you to wait. Number two is align our will with
God's will. God's peace will never lead us to
disobey his word. It never will. But if it does,
then we know it's the enemy. The enemy is the
one that's telling us lies. If anything goes
against God's word. And then the next one is
to follow the spirit where peace is remaining.
If we're in prayer and worshiping the Lord, we,
in a sense, should have that calm assurance.
Even the decision is easier to make when we're
having the peace of Christ in our hearts. God
may be saying to act on this. But if anxiety
lingers, Just pause and just wait for the Lord,
because the Lord may be telling you to wait.
That's how to have the peace of Christ in our
hearts. That's what we should do. Like an umpire
calls the shots in a game, right? The peace of
Christ should make the calls in our hearts. When
we feel His peace, we know we are safe to move
forward. But when peace is missing, we know that
the Lord is trying to warn us from something.
You can't have Christ's peace without Christ's
love, though. Peace comes when He's in control,
not when our hearts and our feelings are. And
I think it's one of those things. It's to stay
close and true with Christ, to walk with Christ.
Next one, he says, let the word of Christ dwell
richly among you. in all wisdom, teaching, admonishing
one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual
songs, singing to God with gratitude. You know,
it's one of those things where if we're not truly
worshiping the Lord, if we're not having the
Lord move us, then we're just moving unrighteously.
Our decision should be first. The Lord dwell
in our hearts. Dwell richly. What is that? Not
just to visit occasionally, but to live abundantly.
The word of God must be at home in our hearts,
leading to teaching and admonishing and worshiping.
You know, the teaching here refers to the instruction
of sound doctrine, the truth that's rooted in
God's word and God's gospel, the gospel truth.
It's how we learn who Christ is and what he has
done for us. It's how we are to live as Christ
followers. Why is teaching important? Well, I
mentioned the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Christian
science early. If we don't know what the truth
is, then we fall into the traps of the enemy
very easy. We remember that false teaching was
going here, going along in the Colossian church,
and Paul was going against it. We must remember
one thing here. When we're reading this, Paul
never rebukes the Colossian church. He actually
encouraged them. Paul rebuked some in Corinthians,
or the church in Corinth. Paul rejected them
for the things that they were doing, the sexual
immorality. They were doing all those things,
and Paul rebuked them. But here in Colossians,
he doesn't rebuke them, he corrects them. He's
correcting them to stay away from legalism, mysticism,
philosophy, the Gnostic teaching. Because without
the word of Christ, without the word of God,
we are risking being guided by just opinions.
or traditions. That's like what the Jehovah's
Witnesses, that was their opinion. It was Charles
Taze Russell, the founder, who, it was his opinion.
The reason why he stopped believing in hell is
because, well, I don't want to believe in it.
I just don't want to believe it, therefore it's
not real. That was his opinion, and he took it
and said, hell is not real. We should stay true
with what the word says. What does the gospel
say? We need the truth to combat the false teachings.
And that's what Paul is trying to tell them,
and what he's telling us today, too. We must
stay anchored in God's Word, and that's through
teaching. And admonishing is also important,
because admonishing is to lovingly correct, warn,
or counsel someone when they're drifting away,
when they're straying away from the truth. That
means confronting an error without judgment,
confronting someone. who is in error without
judgment. But we do this with a heart that seeks
restoration and growth, and that's with compassion,
love, kindness, gentleness. That's how we are
to do it. This is important because we all need
correction sometimes. But when the word of Christ
dwells in us richly, we are equipped not to only
recognize that we are in error, but to recognize
that we lovingly need to stay away from it. and
to go back to Christ. That's what Paul says we
are to do. If we see somebody who is in error,
who is walking away from the truth, that's what
we are to do. Correct them lovingly and to turn
them back to Christ. Because most of the time
they're just walking away. But Paul sees here
how teaching and admonishing can keep us grounded
with Christ. We should follow this example. You
know, through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs,
our worship teaches truth and encourages one
another. Is our heart at home with God's word?
Is God's word dwelling richly among us? Is Christ
dwelling in you today? Our psalms, our hymns,
our spiritual songs should always be directed
to God. We worship our Lord and we also teach
the truth, the biblical truth to one another.
That's what Paul says here. A Christ -filled
heart sings truth to God and to his people. But
here's the best part, the end of it. Verse 17,
Paul ends with an amazing statement. Everything
is to be done under Christ's authority and his
glory. for His glory. It says this, 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. Everything we do, public
or private, should bring glory to Jesus. That
means when we're at work, work with integrity,
even when no one is watching. Avoid gossip regardless
of how juicy the gossip is. Treat co -workers
with respect. When you're on social media, don't
spread hate or negativity. Spread the uplifting
truth of the gospel. Be encouraging to one another.
When we're at the grocery store, Lord knows there's
a lot of people at the grocery store that want
to hear the gospel. That's true. The reason why
I say that is because I hate shopping. So I know
that there's gospel there. But whatever we're
doing, if we're leading a Bible study, if we're
cleaning our home, hanging out with friends,
hanging out with family, be sure to do this with
love, with integrity, and a heart to honor Christ.
It brings Him glory, and that's what we should
be doing. But Paul also ends this section by
repeating a key theme here. And that's thankfulness.
Be thankful, he says, with gratitude, giving
thanks. Thankfulness is the atmosphere of a new
life in Christ. Being thankful. What I'd like
to say here in closing is, in Christ, we have
a new way of life. We are to take off the old,
filthy, dirty, sinful garments, the old clothes.
and we are to put on the new clothes, the new
man, which is in Christ, and that's Christ's
character, has compassion, kindness, gentleness,
humility, love, patience. That's what we're to
clothe ourselves in. This is new, right? This
is new. Yeah. That was messed up. But this new
life is not just personal. It's relational. It
affects how we treat others, how we forgive,
how we love, how we live as one body in Christ.
And that means here today in the church. Paul
reminds us in Colossians 3, four main things
we'd like to take home with us. We are rooted
in our identity, chosen, holy, and beloved. dearly
loved. We are clothed with Christ -like virtues,
Christ -like qualities. We are to put those on.
We are guided by peace and shaped by His Word.
We live for the glory of Jesus in all things.
That's what we should do. So church, let's put
off the old flesh, put on Christ, and wear Christ
so the world no longer sees hypocrites, but They
see Christ through us all. Amen? Let's pray.
Father, we thank you so much for the love that
you have showed us. Father, thank you so much
for the example in Christ that we have to live
by. Father, we thank you that Christ lived as
an earthly example, showing us compassion, kindness,
humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness,
and love. Lord, we praise you because you are
so good to us. Lord, you call us chosen, holy,
and loved, not because we did anything to gain
it, not by any of the works, but because you
love us. Jesus, thank you for loving us so much
that you took on the punishment that we deserve,
wiping us clean from all unrighteousness and
cleaning us from sin. Thank you, Jesus, for telling
us how we can turn from the evil ways of the
world, how we are to put away, put to death,
sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires,
and greed, and how we are to put away the external
sins, Lord. I pray that as one body in Christ
that we can be unified and not divided. We have
your love, which is the glue that holds all of
us together. And Father, I also pray for Pastor
Nathan as he is out there giving the gospel to
another nation, doing what you commanded all
of us to do, Lord. We thank you for an opportunity
for him to be able to do this, Lord. Father,
I pray that you continue to bless the church.
Bless each and every one of us, Lord. Fill us
with your spirit and guide us. Lord, we love
you so much. It's in Jesus' precious name we
pray. Amen. God bless you guys.