Sermon Tone Analysis

Colossians 3:2-17

Good morning church!

It is a good morning, and God, the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth has moved Heaven and Earth to make it so you were here with us this morning…and God, the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth has moved Heaven and Earth to make it so the others in this room, and those in the nursery, those serving as greeters, in the cafe, in our children’s ministry, security,…and even that person in the room that bugs you the most, God brought them here this morning on the same day that He brought you.

And He did so with a purpose and a plan.

He chose you, elected you and me to gather.

He desires good things for us, great things for us.

If you are able, would you stand with me this morning to Honor God’s Word, as I read a portion of our passage in Colossians chapter 3? Our study this morning will begin with verse two, but let me read to you the latter half, let me read the ending, so we know where we are going…I’ll start with verse 12.

You may be seated, and lets pray together.

Father God, You are Holy, righteous, and merciful.

We acknowledge Your presence in this place, we ask for Your Spirit to move here today and that You would illuminate these words written long ago to bring new life into our heart today.

In the mighty name of Jesus we pray.

Amen.

Is there anyone here this morning that finds themselves feeling busy?

You don’t have to raise your hands, or respond in any public way, just think this through…ever feel like you’re too busy?

So people do, some don’t.

Some over estimate their level of business or productivity, as they are not the same thing.

When we are too busy, things go neglected.

Priorities are often shifted from where they should be, because we just don’t have time.

We have to place our focus on the balls we are juggling, so they stay in motion… now I was going to juggle for you this morning, but that would have just presented an example of chaos.

I’m going to show you an image here, I want you to notice where her focus is...

She is fixed on what she is juggling.

But she’s young, so maybe one of these balls is her family, another one her friends, maybe her school work, hopefully God fits in there somewhere, right?

Maybe one of these is her relationship with Jesus?

But when we are that age, life is relatively simple…what happens when you have a kid of your own, or kids of you own…, a job, a mortgage payment with rising interest rates?

Kids sports, birthday parties, deadlines maybe for work or school, firewood, commitments, jujitsu, Growth group homework, Growth Group meeting, and of course, our personal relationship with Jesus…man that sounds like a lot, but the truth is we are equipped to handle a lot, so our juggling just looks a little bit different from this young lady’s.

See, it can be done.

Of course the balls have been replaced with flaming torches, because the stakes are so much higher now if one of them gets dropped.

Our focus is no longer on just a few things, but it is now diluted, diluted…hum that’s a good word, our focus is now diluted among many things, and as you can see we are no longer standing on solid ground.

We are still doing it though, all the balls, or flames rather are still up in the air, but man if one thing doesn’t go right.

If someone gets sick, if the car breaks down, if my computer crashes, if someone, or something doesn’t meet my expectations… life quickly goes to feeling like this....

We are now on our knees, with all of the balls coming down, crashing all around us.

What ones do I try to grab on two, what can I salvage, what an over whelming mess.

The truth of it all, is that most people, regardless of their image or presentation, or social media presence, feel a whole lot more like this last photo.

There a bunch of things that can change our perspective.

Tragedy is one.

A great loss, a great pain, can take our focus off of all the balls and place it on that person or event, it can place our focus on us, or maybe the one be blame for our pain.

Perspective can also change from good things.

Nicole and I celebrated 30 years of marriage together this year, and as part of our celebration we planned a trip to Tennessee.

For weeks, really months before we went we shifted some of our focus on travel books, videos, we started researching this place that we were going, so we could be fully prepared and have the

best possible experience.

We’ve had several of you guys get married recently.

And when you’re doing that, you are juggling a lot of different things, but now you have a wedding coming up, and much of our focus is on the event.

And some of the balls get re-examined, the ones that aren’t as important as the other balls get dropped.

And that’s a good thing…I don’t think we do that enough, to stop and re-examine all of the things that we are juggling.

To give priority to some, and to discard others.

Back in chapter one, in speaking about Jesus, Paul wrote these words…Col 1:18

Preeminence meaning to have first place, or to be supreme.

All week, and I shared it with our Growth Group, I’ve been examining that… in light of the verse we left off with last Sunday.

We ended last week with verse 1 of chapter 3, and in that verse we read these words... seek those things which are above, where Christ is...

We talked about what it means to seek something, to really pursue it.

To give preeminence to Jesus in our lives.

God encourages us to seek Him, from Old Testament to the New.

Back in the book of Jeremiah the prophet records the Lord as saying… Jer 29:11-14

It was Jesus who said Matt 6:33

The first two chapters of this letter were an instruction manual or doctrine, these last two are application or what it should look like in our lives.

If Jesus has preeminence in our lives, they should look much more like this, than one of our jugglers we looked at earlier.

There’s a story in the Gospel of Luke where a woman named Martha invited Jesus into the home of her and her sister Mary…it says., Luke 10:39-42

It’s that good Part that Paul is telling us to focus on this morning.

Verse 2 in Colossians 3:2

There are all kinds of instructions in this chapter and they all have to do with taking action, putting it into practice, even the thinking part, is an instructional directive.

We are to set our minds on things above… what have you been setting your mind on?

I am not asking the question to condemn, or even to convict.

I’m asking to give you first perspective, and then freedom.

Paul says to set our minds on the things that are above, not on the things on the earth.

I’ll give you some perspective…this earth is temporary.

In fact, someday it will be destroyed and the Bible says there will be a new Heaven and a New Earth…he give us even greater perspective in verse 3. Col 3:3-4

Paul first brought this up back in chapter 2 when he wrote about baptism.

Practically speaking he is thinking of that as a water grave.

The old man died, ladies, I’m not talking about your husbands.

But our flesh, the old man, the old woman died, we were dead in our sins and then became dead to our sins.

Have you ever heard that expression, you are dead to me.

It’s a harsh statement isn’t it.

What does that mean?

If a father says that to his son, it is the severing of the relationship.

He is cut off, no longer a son.

Dead, no longer a part of his life.

That is how we are to be with our sinful flesh.

Verse 4 says When Christ who is our life.

How would you identify your life, or even yourself?

I’m always interested in that when I talk to people, especially for the first time.

How do they self identify, don’t go there.

I’m talking about by their career.

I’m a doctor, or lawyer, construction worker, police officer, or maybe a fireman that wishes they were a police officer.

I’m a mom, or a dad, my kids are my life, or music is my life.

I am an American, a republican, a democrat, independent.

Paul says Christ, who is our life…Paul was all about Jesus…Paul says you died, but now you live, and he is speaking to our identity in Jesus, all of those other labels will one day fade away and what will matter is who Jesus was to you.

Now understand Paul is writing to Christians here, that gets more and more important as our chapter goes on…but here he states that we will appear with Him in glory.

Matt 24:30

and who’s going to be with Him? Us!

The church!

In glory.

Let’s keep going, verse 5 Col 3:5-7

Vs. 5 We gone through the meanings of these things several times.

But quickly the word translated fornication comes from the Greek word porneia where we get our word pornography, or pictures of porneia.

Some describe it as any sexual intercourse outside of the Biblical covenant of marriage, but it is a broader term than that and would include all forms of sexuality or contacted outside of that relationship.

Paul continues with uncleanness, any that isn’t clean, something that is dirty, in the context it can be both sexual or non sexual such as dirty talk, or course jesting.

Passion, evil desire, covetousness - wanting or lusting after something or someone that does not belong to you or that you are not in that type of relationship with, and he calls that idolatry.

Vs. 6-7 That is a key term here.

Many new Christians get discouraged or question their salvation because they still sin.

When we come to God and ask Him to forgive us of our sins, based upon Jesus paying the penalty in our place, He does so.