INTRODUCTION:

A little girl in grade 3 was once asked to give a definition of an adult. She said: "An adult is someone who has stopped growing up and started growing out". Another little boy in grade 3 was heard to make this comment: "There is a good reason they make our desks so small. – it is so they won’t fit for long. You’re not supposed to stay in grade 3 forever".

I thought about that in terms of our Christian experience – and the sad thing that I find is that many Christians seem to stay in Grade 3. We just never seem to grow the way that God wants and expects us to.

One day Jesus went out teaching about the Kingdom of God. He spoke about the sower who went out to scatter some seed. He sacttered them all over the place. Some were scattered on the side of the road, some were scattered on some rocky soil, some were scattered amongst thorn bushes, and some was thrown into good soil. What happened was that some did not even have a chance to grow. Those seeds by the road were eaten up by birds. The seed on the rocky soil started to grow, but because there was no depth to the soil and roots could not develop, they soon shriveled up through the heat of the son, and died. Now the seeds among the thorns did start to grow up, but the thorns took over, and choked out the new growth. But then there was the seed that fell on good soil. And it did take root. It did grow.

That is such an accurate description of how it is with people. When Jesus explained that parable, he made it clear that the seed was the Word of God that gets planted in people’s lives. And sometimes it grows and sometimes it doesn’t. But whether it does or doesn’t has more to do with the soil than the seeds. The seed has within it the power to bring forth growth. The question is, will it find its way to soil where growth happens?

Little Ben went to the doctor one day who lifted his shirt and listened to his heart with a stethoscope.

"What are you doing?" asked Ben.

"I’m listening to your heart," was the reply.

"Jesus is in there," said Ben matter-of-factly

"I think I hear Him" said the doctor with a smile.

That little boy accepted without question that Jesus lived in his heart – and because of that, He was different. The doctor could almost hear Him! I think that the majority of us here today have at some stage invited Jesus to come into our hearts, to change us, and to enable us to grow into mature Christians. I wonder if today, people listening can hear or see Jesus through our lives?

This morning I want to encourage you to Live as the redeemed people of Jesus Christ. As such, there are certain things that Paul tells us that we have to do. Firstly,

1. PUT ON THE LOVE OF CHRIST:

Through this entire section, we find Paul writing in terms of putting off and putting on clothes. That suggests that this ought to be done every morning. As God’s chosen people, we need to put on daily

certain qualities that reflect the character of Jesus.

I wonder how you get up in the morning? Some have great difficulty. Some can leap out of bed bright eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to face the day immediately, but others drag along for a couple of hours, needing a cup of coffee to get them going. No matter what time you get started, though, Paul’s word to us is "clothe yourselves". When you get up, there are five virtues that you need to deliberately clothe yourself with, before putting on the overcoat of love. What are these 5 items of clothing that we need to put on first?

1. COMPASSION:

Psalm 145:9 says: "The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made". So note that this is a quality which God has. Jesus is said on numerous occasions to have "been moved with compassion". Whether it was the crowds who were like sheep without a shepherd, or whether it was someone sick or lame or in mourning, Jesus recognised those needs, and came alongside. Compassion is what we call a heart of pity. It is a sense of sympathy of empathy with someone. We cannot remain unmoved and uncaring about people round about us – let us make a definite effort to reach out to one another, and be compassionate and caring. Added to that item of clothing, we are next instructed to put on:

2. KINDNESS:

Another virtue possessed by God. Luke 6:35 speaks about the fact that the Most High is kind, even to the ungrateful and selfish. Kindness is action that reveals compassion, action that arises out of a sense of sympathy. It can take different forms – a smile, a kind word, a pat on the shoulder, an invitation to lunch, an offer of help. A little act of kindness can have such far-reaching effect, and it is a virtue not to be underestimated.

The third item of clothing is to be:

3. HUMILITY:

John Stott calls humility "the rarest and fairest of all Christian virtues." Humility is the opposite of pride, and we are told that God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. (James 4:6 and 1 Peter 5:5) The number of times that we as Christians are exhorted to be humble. The Apostle Paul puts it elsewhere that we are to "regard others as better then ourselves".

It was Jesus Himself who said: "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and HUMBLE is heart, and you will find rest for your souls". (Matthew 11:29). As a follower of Jesus Christ, put away pride. Put away self-assertiveness. Put on humility. That is the attitude God requires of those whom He has chosen and loves.

The fourth item of clothing is:

4. GENTLENESS:

The King James version translates this word as meekness. Someone has said that meekness is not weakness, but strength under control. It is real strength, but it does not have to show off how strong it is. Another definition of meekness is "a willingness to waive one’s rights for a good cause". That is a difficult one. In our Spiritual Formation group on Thursday night we spoke about whether we are to be doormats as Christians or not, and came up with the answer that that is not what God expects us to be. But God does expect us to waive our rights. Do not demand that you be satisfied, but for the sake of a good cause be willing to suffer loss. Meekness or gentleness is the exact opposite of rudeness or abrasiveness.

Lastly, put on:

5. PATIENCE:

This is enduring someone else’s exasperating conduct without flying into a rage. Wow, don’t we all need this virtue? It is holding back, restraining yourself from becoming upset or speaking sharply to someone who might be causing you major irritation.

If we are clothed with these 5 virtues – compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience – not only will you bear with one another as Col 3:13 says we must do, but we will also forgive whatever anybody might have done against us. The reason why we can do all this is because as our overcoat, we have the love of Christ which hold all these virtues together. You see, compassion without love is a lie. Kindness without love is for show. Patience without love is impossible and so we can carry on. The overcoat of love which we are told to put on gives colour and depth to all these other virtues. If you look at Galatians 5:22 you will actually find that nearly all these 5 virtues mentioned this morning are part of the fruit of the Spirit – which is love. Paul goes on in Colossians 3 to tell us how these virtues need to be lived out within our congregation, within our families as he goes on to speak about husbands and wives, children and parents. God wants you to deliberately clothe yourself every day with these virtues wrapped up in love.

We also then told to:

1. BE RULED BY THE PEACE OF CHRIST

Vs 15 says: "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace". The Lord Jesus has brought about peace between us and God. There was emnity, now there is peace. And that peace which now exists between God and us needs to be reflected within our congregation, within our families. Instead of an attitude of quarreling and bitterness, there needs to be an attitude of peace.

The words "to rule" which Paul uses here means to act as an umpire or an arbitrator. When tensions and strife threaten to spring up amongst us, then the peace of Christ must rule. We must allow the peace of Christ to mediate, arbitrate or act as umpire. We will have differences of opinion – but it can all be worked out harmoniously if we claim to be ruled by the peace of Christ! A family, a church, a body will only be healthy when all the parts function together in peaceful harmony.

Lastly, we are to

2. BE INDWELT BY THE WORD OF CHRIST

"Let the Word of God dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God." (vs 16)

How do we let the Word of Christ dwell in us? By coming to His house faithfully to hear it being proclaimed. By studying his Word during our quiet time, with our families, by meeting together in homes, in small groups, and by applying it to our lives. If we had to really take the Word of God seriously, man, we would be living very different lives! And note what Paul says – we are to use the word of God to teach and admonish ONE ANOTHER! If you see someone going astray, the Word of God must be used as the yard stick to pull that person up. We have to be Bible based people, a Bible based church! Linked to this we are told to sing Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Psalms are those marvelous utterances found in the Bible, Hymns are human responses of praise to God, and spiritual songs are testimonies of people written to music that reflect all the good things that God has done. It all stems from the fact that the Word of God is part of us – it indwells us!

CONCLUSION:

My greatest desire in this congregation to see people grow spiritually, grow to spiritual maturity, get beyond Grade 3 as it were. But in order for that to happen, the soil of your life has to be right! The clothing you put on has to be done diligently each and every day. The peace of God has to rule your life and activities. The Word of God must indwell you. The onus seems to be on us quite heavily this morning!