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We are continuing to explore passages in which the New Testament writers give thanks for people or specific moments that have changed or made an impact on their lives. It is November after all, a time in which it is important to build a posture of giving thanks for the great things God has done, whom he has done it through, etc. This week, we are exploring Paul’s instructions to the church in Colossae, more specifically, His instructions to the church on how to live thankful lives for Christ in all they say and do. What were those instructions? Do they apply to us today? These are the questions we will explore.
But before we get into that, let’s visit briefly the creation of the Colossian church, and what prompted Paul to write these instructions in our text. Remember last week when Acts tells us “All of the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord?”-Acts 19:10 before the riot that started in Ephesus? Paul did not do all the preaching in the province of Asia himself. In Colossae, over 110 miles north of Ephesus, they were taught by a fellow servant Paul commissioned. In Colossians 1:7, we read about this evangelist that Paul commissioned to preach the word of the Lord in his hometown, a man named Epaphras. Like the Ephesian church last week, Paul has heard about the Colossian church’s love for God and His people (Colossians 1:4). Yet, the problem in this church is not having to withstand violent riots and building a church out of it like in Ephesus, it is having to withstand the feeling of feeling second class to the dominant culture. One commentary describes the situation in Colossae as “Some Jews in the local synagogue were advertising a more exotic spirituality that involved experiencing visions, participating in heavenly worship right along with the angels (2: 18), following dietary rules (2: 21), demonstrating impressive self-denial in how they treated their bodies (2: 23), ordering their lives by an ancient calendar (2: 16), and boasting in a visible mark (i.e., circumcision) that secured their membership among God’s chosen people (implied in 2: 11-13). The Colossian Christians were in danger of being lured into this “wisdom,” partly because of the way its advocates talked about what they were doing (2: 4, 23). In the modern vernacular, they were bragging about all they could do better than the Christians! The Colossian church felt like they would never grow spiritually or in numbers for Jesus because they could never compete with what was going on in their community. In today’s terms, that’s a church lamenting they can’t compete with a community that does so many things that distract from Sunday worship. Yet, Paul, in a word says let them brag! He encourages the church to remember, what the culture says about them and does differently than the church doesn’t change who they are: “You died, your life is hid with Christ in God.”-encourages them in Colossians 3: “You died, your life is hid with Christ in God.”-Colossians 3:3. Don’t you see? He is encouraging the church that yes things happen, yes some days appear hopeless in the face of a culture that doesn’t care, but fear not! Your life is with Christ now! Now do you see why Paul writes in Colossians 3:5 “Put to death what is earthly in you”? He is asking the Colossian Christians to compete with the community by holding fast to what’s true, and by being better than what the surrounding community was portraying. How can they do that? Paul writes that “whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”- Colossians 3:17.
Let’s visit about Paul’s instructions to the church in Colossae that encourage living a life that gives thanks to God. It is worth noting that Biblically, a synonym for thankfulness is joy. The prayer book of the Bible, the Psalms, would have been familiar to many Christians. The Psalms tells that a new day “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24, and a choice “ “I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.”- Psalm 9:2, are among the reasons why joy and thanksgiving in Christ are the same. That is why Paul comes off strong in our text. He wants that joy to continue! “Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and is in all.”-Colossians 3:9-11. Glory be to God, Paul’s instructions to living a joyful life can be summed up in being faithful to Jesus. The Greek word for renewal in verse 10 is the same word Paul uses in 2 Corinthians 4:16 when he describes renewal in Christ as something that happens to believers “day by day.” One of my favorite modern writers that I enjoy reading is a Pastor named John Mark Comer. He is a Pastor in Portland and has written several books about practicing the teachings of Jesus such as generosity, the sabbath, etc. He writes an answer on the importance of day-to-day renewal in a competitive culture in his book God Has a Name. He says “God is more concerned with your long-term character than your short-term happiness. And he’s more than willing to sacrifice the one to get to the other. Faithfulness is long obedience in the same direction in an age of instant gratification. You can’t microwave character.” Friends, I have to confess I have a hard time with this one. One of the problems my daughter Brooklyn and I have is we love to go out to eat. I will pick her up from dance and the first thing out of her mouth will be “Can we get tacos?” Or I will say “Hey, wanna blizzard?!” Who can blame us? Who wouldn’t want a good Blizzard from Dairy Queen, or Taco’s from Cowburner’s in Mineola, right?! Our son Evan will be the same way. I’ll pick him up on Friday from TSBVI, and he will be like “Dad, where is Brooklyn?” Once I tell him she’s at rehearsal, he will say “Dad, you know what that means? We can go get some white gravy and steak fingers” Where does this all come from? We want good food right now. Yet, my wife does a great job setting rules in our house. We eat out one day a week, two if my job demands it. I love Jesus, and my family, but waiting, especially on good food is not my strong suit. Yet you know what? I don’t want to be the old self that wasn’t taking care of myself. I want to be different for Jesus, but choosing to do so requires what the Bible calls being faithful. Being faithful is not easy, it is hard. But like those Colossian Christians, the more Christ is in all my decisions, the more joyful I become. Eating out may be quick and fun, but is it really necessary for my faith? You don’t microwave being faithful to God, you choose it, day by day.
Let’s take a look at what faithfulness looks like. Glory be to God, faithfulness to Christ looks like a changed life. In Colossians 3:12-16, over 11 verbs are used to describe how Christians should live. “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.” Paul instructs the Colossian church that what should follow actions such as humility, peace, forgiveness, and letting His Word dwell in us, is thankfulness (3:17). In the Psalms, thanksgiving to God is mentioned over 37 times. As we said earlier, in the Jewish world, followers of Yahweh knew, that a synonym for a thankful heart is also joy, “Because your love is greater than life, my lips shall praise you!”-Psalm 63:3. Paul, as a Roman citizen but well versed in Judaism, is simply passing on the mindset of the Psalms to the church in Colossae. If you don’t want to feel second-rate in your community, be thankful to Jesus in all you do.Paul’s text then, is good news! The good news is: that being joyful in Christ does not always change others, it should change us to live a life of thankfulness and joy.
Who are the people in you are life who choose to live a life of joy and thankfulness? They can be in church, but also at work, in your community, etc. For me, I was not always a Pastor. In my former career, I was a teacher and coached for the schools. The one person who always inspired me to come to school was Coach Mike Ellerbe. He had a deep Cajun accent, but when I moved to East Texas, he always had a smile on his face. I could go to him with problems in my class and the struggles of being a young husband at the time, and I always walked away feeling better about myself. I could listen to stories from Coach Ellerbe about anything in his own life, and he always had a way he working through it. I would make the long ride home from Palestine to Jacksonville where we lived at the time, and give thanks to God for every negative person, there are many people just like Mike who just showed up to work, and loved kids and the people he worked with. What about you? Who are the joyful people in your life who lift you up in work, your family, or your community? Whatever they did for you, may you praise God with thanksgiving for their joy. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.