EXALT CHRIST WITH A NEW IMAGEEarly one morning a woman made a mad dash out of the house when she heard the garbage truck pulling away. She was still in her bathrobe. Her hair was wrapped in big curlers. Her face was covered w/some type of sticky cream. And she was wearing a chin-strap and a beat-up pair of slippers. She was a frightful picture. When she reached the sidewalk, she called out, "Am I too late for the garbage?" The reply "Nope, hop in".
It sounds like she needed a make over. Everybody is giving make-overs these days. They give them on the daytime talk shows. Computer programs offer a "Virtual Make-over". They will take a "plain Jane" woman backstage to make over her hair and clothes and make-up, and at the end of the show her "new look" is revealed. And no one can believe it! Why, is this the same woman we saw at the beginning of the show? It can't be! Is it really her?
What most of us need is a spiritual make-over. We need to get rid of the old man and take on the new. We need to cast sin out of our lives and allow the righteousness of Jesus Christ to enter in. We need to say goodbye to the past and hello to the future. What we need is not a face-lift, tummy tuck, or lippo - suction.
We need to have a personal revival. A new-found dedication to Christ empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Colossians 3:1-11 (NIV)
To get a new image we need:
1. A NEW LIFE
To have a new life, I must first experience death. I must die to my old life. Vs.3 Paul says, "For you died". I died when I gave myself to Christ. At salvation, I give myself completely over to Christ. I cast off the old man and begin the new nature that Christ bestows upon me.
Paul is speaking to those who have already died to self. They are living for Christ, but he tells us that we must continue this process of death. Some things in our lifestyle don't measure up to the new commitment we have made to Him. Vs.5 "put to death therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature".
Paul is saying, "You've given your lives to Christ, you've died to self and been raised w/Him to new life, now it's time to start cleaning up your act" Some think that they have to clean up their act and before they follow Christ. Christ will accept us the way we are.
I do not have the power to clean up my act. Only after I've turned myself over to Him do I have the ability to get rid of my old sinful habits. It is only through Him that I have the power. What we need to put to death in our lives once we've become Christians.
We need to get rid of improper desires. He lists: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires (vs.5). Paul says, "put these things to death! You're a Christian now. You belong to Christ, not to the flesh." We need to put Improper worship to death.
When we exhibit greed we are participating in idolatry. How is this so? Greed is the excessive desire for what we don't have. It focuses totally on satisfaction of self. Idolatry is worship of anything other than God. When we have greed in our lives it is self-worship.
We need to put to death Improper Temperament. These are listed in vs.8, "anger, rage, and malice". I have heard that if a rattlesnake is cornered, it can become so frenzied that it will accidentally bite itself with its deadly fangs. When a person has hatred and resentment in his heart, he is often hurt by the poison of his own hatred. He thinks he is injuring his enemies, but the real harm is inflicted deep within our own soul.
Remember that part of the fruit of the Spirit is self-control. We need to put to death Improper Communication. Slander, filthy language, lying. "Slander" is abuse with the mouth. It can be a put down, an insult, a rumor, or anything else that hurts someone. "Filthy language" A better translation would probably be "abusive language"
Speech that hurts someone else. Then we have "lying". In Boston a minister noticed a group of boys standing around a small, stray dog. "What are you doing boys", the minister asked. "Telling lies," said one of the boys, "the one who tells the biggest lie gets the dog." "Why, when I was your age," the minister said, "I never ever thought of telling a lie." The boys looked at one another, a little dejected. Finally one of them shrugged and said, "Well, I guess he gets the dog."
Have we not all lied? Have we not all "stretched the truth"? Have we not all, at some point in our lives, told something that was not true, thinking that we would benefit from it? Paul says, "don't do that anymore, you're a Christian now, time to clean up your act."
Paul uses death as the best illustration of the radical change that comes into our lives when we accept Christ. The changes are so great that only terms like "death" and "resurrection" can describe them. So to have a new image I must have a new life. To have a new life I must die.
2. A NEW FOCUS
Before becoming a Christian we are the type that says "Here I am". Because everything in our lives is focused on ourselves:We take care of our needs first and everyone else comes second. But in Christ we become people that point our lives toward Him. No longer are we self-centered; we are now Christ - centered. No longer do we try to please ourselves; everything we do should be done to please Him.
First, we should Focus on things above
In verse 1"set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God."
In verse 2 he makes a similar statement, "et your minds on things above, not on earthly things" When our lives our focused on Christ the mundane things of the world are no longer important to us. We have entered into the supernatural world. We have been given eternal truths to dwell upon by the very mouth of God.
The things that now consume my attention are the same things that draw the attention of Christ. My focus on Christ becomes a focus on His place in the world and my work on His behalf. As a Christian I must find myself having my mind transformed to the mind of Christ. To do that, I must focus all my energies upon Him.
Next, Focus on things within
Verse 3 says "For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God." How do I put to death these things? How do I get rid of improper sexual behavior, improper worship, improper temperament, and improper communication? I do it by focusing on Christ.
I become more aware of Christ and His workings in the world. I become confident that He is living with me. He is empowering me to live a victorious life in Him. My life is hidden with Christ in God. I know of no better company to keep than that.
We must Focus on Christ within others
Let's read verse 11 "Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all." In Christ there is no such thing as color, or financial status, or slavery, or freedom. Christ is all, and is in all.
When I look at a man who is a Christian, he is my brother regardless of the color of his skin. He is in no way of less value than me. He is not of a lesser intelligence than me. He is in no way less important to God. In Christ, all barriers are removed. There is no room for racism in the body of Christ. If your theology is too red-neck to accept that statement, you need to repent.
People today are on a search for a "color-blind" society -- the only place to find it is in Christ. "Christ is all, and is in all". To exalt Christ with a new image we need a new life, new focus.
3. We also need A NEW KNOWLEDGE
Paul says in vs. 10 "put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator."
In his book Folk Psalms of Faith, Ray Stedman tells a story of a woman who had been a school teacher for 25 years. When she heard about a job that would mean a promotion, she applied for the position. However, someone who had been teaching for only one year was hired instead. She went to the principal and asked why. The principal responded, "I'm sorry, but you haven't had 25 years of experience as you claim; you've had only one year's experience 25 times."
That teacher had not improved. Paul says that as we put on the new self. Christ is always be in the process of renewal. Our knowledge of Christ should be reflected by how long we have been Christian. Some of us have one year's knowledge 25 times.
How can we be renewed in knowledge? Two ways this word knowledge is to be taken here: First by gaining more head knowledge about Christ.
A presidents of one of our Bible Colleges went to a country church to preach one Sunday. A man approached him after the service and said, "Brother, God kin git along without all your learnin'." He replied, "Yes sir, God can. And he can also get along without your ignorance."
As Christians we gain knowledge of Christ in many ways: by attending church and Sunday School; by coming to prayer meeting; by reading the Bible; by reading good Christian books; by watching Christian videos. There is no limit to the resources we have available to us to learn more about Christ. The only limit to our knowledge is the one we place on ourselves.
The question is whether we will take advantage of them. We will, if we want to renew our knowledge in Christ. We are renewed by gaining personal knowledge of Christ.
If I want to know Christ better I need to walk with Him. I go with Him through the highways and byways of life. I need Him with me when things are going good and when they're going bad. His name must be on my lips when I pray and when I witness, and when I sing.
If I want to know someone better I must spend time with them. If I want to know Christ better He must be my companion in life. I can look out among a crowd and pick out a few who are in need of a make-over. Some probably look at me and thinking the same thing. All of us are in constant need of a spiritual make-over. We need to exalt Christ with a new image.