Well, good morning, church. It is a pleasure to be back with you. It was a year ago when I was here last.
For those of you who don't know me, my name is Sean Herrick. I am married to Roisin. I'm living in Douglas. My wife, unfortunately, cannot be here today.
So she sends her love and her apologies as well. Yeah, it's a pleasure to be back with you this morning and to share God's word.
And I want to share also greetings from Douglas Baptist Church. You guys are very much in our thoughts and our prayers.
Today's passage isn't from Revelation, don't worry, but we're going to be looking at Colossians.
So Colossians chapter 3, if you want to turn to your Bibles there. In the church Bible, I don't know what page that is, but Colossians chapter 3.
1, 1, 8, 4 in the church Bible. Thank you. And we're going to read verses 1 to 17.
Starting at verse 1, Colossians chapter 3.
Since then you have been raised with Christ. Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Set your minds on the things above, not on earthly things. For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ and God.
When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you will also appear with him in glory.
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature.
Sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.
Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.
You used to walk in these ways in the life you once lived.
But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these.
Anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy language from your lips.
Do not lie to each other since you have taken off your old self with its practices.
And have been put on the new self, which is being renewed in the knowledge and 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.
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience.
Bear with each other and forgive one another.
If any of you have a grievance against someone, forgive as the Lord forgave you.
And over all 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.
Let us pray and ask for the Lord's help.
Heavenly Father, I thank you for who you are.
Lord, I thank you for your faithfulness and your unfailing love.
Lord, we are weak and needy people.
Lord, we need you.
Lord, I ask that you would open our ears and soften our hearts to your word this morning.
May we be challenged and encouraged by your word.
Lord, show us your glory.
Show us the glory of Jesus this morning.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
Let me ask you a question.
How often do you forget things?
If you're like me, constantly.
And we are constantly being reminded of things.
I know when I was younger, my mom had to remind me constantly to clean my room.
And I used to sit there and go, I know, mom.
And I would go and do it.
Sometimes.
But there are some good reminders.
Let's say you have a schedule and you have things to do that day.
And my wife is very good at telling me, remember you have to do this?
And I was like, okay, yeah, thank you.
That's actually good.
They're good reminders.
One of the best reminders, my mom and dad always used to say to me before I leave the house, Sean, remember who you are.
And he used to drive me nuts.
I was like, I know, I know.
Remember who you are.
And that has still stuck to me till this day.
Well, here in this passage, Paul is reminding the believers of the church in Colossae of who they are.
He's saying, remember who you are and how they are changed in Christ, that they live in him and for him.
They no longer live like they used to.
It is easy to forget that, isn't it, as Christians.
Studying this passage this week, it has been so convicting and challenging, but also really encouraging.
And a great reminder of how Christ has made us new.
And I pray that if you are feeling weak and heavy and burdened as a Christian, I hope that you'll be encouraged today by this word.
I want to look at three different reminders this morning.
The first reminder, remember to set your heart and mind on the things above.
Look at verse one with me.
Ralph read this earlier.
Since then you have been raised with Christ.
Set your hearts on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
You see, Paul is summing up what he has just talked about.
So far he has talked about that you are free in Christ.
You are no longer bound by human traditions and rules.
But you are actually free to live in Christ.
And so he's emphasizing that point.
Since you have been raised with Christ.
So the question is, have you been raised with Christ this morning?
In chapter two, verse 20.
It says, since you have died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world.
So he's talking about you have died with Christ.
And now he's saying, since you have been raised with Christ.
So Paul is saying, so sorry, picking back up in verse one.
Since you have been raised with Christ.
We have a new perspective, don't we?
We have a new perspective in this life.
So Paul is saying to the believers to set their hearts on things above.
In other words, as Christians, we look ahead, don't we?
We look ahead to where our home is.
Our home is dwelling with Christ face to face.
Worshipping him.
That is our home to dwell with him.
In relationship with him.
This is what our hearts should long for.
And so Paul is saying, set your hearts on the things above.
If this is the case that you have been raised with Christ.
Let's look at verse two.
Set your minds on the things above, not on earthly things.
See, we shouldn't just set our hearts on things above, but our minds also.
But our minds not on the earthly things.
Now just to clarify, this doesn't mean that we don't care about things or things are important in our life.
There are many places in the Bible that talk about that we should enjoy this life and enjoy the gifts that God has given us.
Just read the book of Ecclesiastes.
So why should we not set our minds on earthly things?
There are two reasons.
First, the things on this earth are so temporary.
They are here one minute and gone the next.
The second, look with me in verse three.
For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
So your life is not of this world anymore.
Your life is hidden with Christ.
And you are his.
Our life is his.
Look with me in verse four.
When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you will also appear with him in glory.
What an encouragement that is, brothers and sisters.
Christ, who is your life.
When Christ appears, we will appear with him in glory.
We long for that day where there is no more sin.
There is no more struggle.
There is no more death.
But just complete and utter joy in Christ.
And that was what Paul is reminding these believers.
And it is a great reminder to us.
That is an encouraging thought to set our minds on things above.
However, we don't just sit back and wait for that day and do nothing, do we?
We have been changed, radically changed by Christ.
So this should impact the way we live in this world.
The second reminder is remember to put on the new self.
Look with me in verse five.
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature.
Sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.
Paul is saying put to death everything in our earthly nature.
That means our earthly nature is sinful, isn't it?
Something we battle with every single day.
And these things lead to destruction and death.
But they also lead to something else.
Look with me in verse six.
Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.
The wrath of God is coming and he will judge sin once and for all.
This is what Jesus saved us from.
He took the wrath of God.
Jesus took the wrath of God on himself for us.
For those who have put their trust in him.
So why would we live on our old self?
We should put on the new self.
And Paul is saying even in verse seven that you used to walk in these ways in the life we once lived.
Isn't that amazing?
We used to live like this.
We still struggle with this.
But we used to live like this.
We were doomed to face God's wrath.
But yet Jesus took it on himself for us.
Graciously offering mercy to us.
We do not deserve that.
But let me ask you a question.
Do you struggle to put to death the old self?
Or does it rear its head from time to time?
Or all the time?
Do you struggle?
And in verse eight he says,
But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things.
Anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy language from your lips.
We are to rid ourselves of these things.
Do you hear that kind of undertone of like, we should hate these things.
We should, as Christians, sin.
We should hate our sin.
One thing I've been praying recently is, Lord, help me to hate my sin.
Help me to see it for what it is.
Wicked.
And sinful.
Help me to see it for what it is.
And Lord, help me to hate it.
Help me to run away from it.
Help me to cling to the new self.
We should rid ourselves of these things.
These are our old sinful selves.
All these things that Paul has listed so far,
do we see them in the world around us?
Absolutely.
That is why, as people who have been raised with Christ,
made a new creation and alive in Christ,
we should be radically different.
We should be radically different to the practices that we see in this world.
He says in verse nine,
Do not lie to each other,
since you have taken off your old self with its practices.
So all these things are of the old self,
the sinful self.
And we should hate these things.
And you'll see later on in verse 12,
what Paul lists that as people,
the holy people called by God,
what we should live like.
We have put on the new self.
Those who have been made alive in Christ.
Look with me in verse 10.
And have put on the new self,
which is being renewed in the knowledge,
in the image of its creator.
Man, that's an amazing verse.
It is nothing of ourselves,
but what Christ has done.
The new self is being renewed in the knowledge of its creator.
As we grow in Christ,
as we grow in Christ,
he sanctifies us through the work of the Holy Spirit,
who changes us to become more and more like Christ.
This is an ongoing thing,
this is an ongoing thing, though.
This isn't going to happen overnight.
Maybe some of you,
as I asked at the start,
are weary and faint and disheartened
at struggling with living in the old self
and to put it to death.
But may I urge you and encourage you
to cling to Christ and to his word.
He changes desires and gives you new ones.
The battle with the old self
is going to always be there
until we die
or until the Lord Jesus returns.
But what an encouragement that
we are being renewed in the image of our creator.
The ESV puts it,
being renewed in the knowledge
after the image of its creator.
But it is nothing of ourselves.
It is only through the work of the Holy Spirit in us.
One encouraging word that is for us
who struggle with sin,
that has really touched my heart this week,
that sometimes we can think
that we have to do it ourselves,
that I have to do these things
to put away this bad sin
or this sin that I'm struggling with.
I don't know what you're going through this morning.
But cling to Christ
because it is only through the work that he does
that the old self can be put to death.
The third reminder
is remember
that you are members of one body.
Look at me in verse 11.
Here there is no Gentile or Jew,
circumcised or uncircumcised,
barbarian,
Scythian,
slave or free,
but Christ is all
and is in all.
See, Paul is pointing out
that there is no division between each.
There shouldn't be separate groups
of people within the church.
Now,
obviously,
there are different roles
within the church.
Obviously,
you have your elders,
your deacons,
your members.
But even in those roles,
we are all one
in Christ.
From the new believer
to the believer
who has been a believer
for 50 years.
We are all one in Christ.
This is what unites us.
I know in our church in Douglas,
there are so many
different backgrounds.
And looking out at the church,
you're like,
how are all these people
from all different countries
in one room?
Christ.
That's what unites us.
In verse 12,
and this is where
Paul lists out
how a Christian should live life.
Therefore,
as God's chosen people,
holy and dearly loved,
clothe yourselves
with the compassion,
kindness,
humility,
gentleness,
and patience.
Let's just stop
and think about that.
Do you see yourself like that?
That you
are
God's chosen people,
that you are
holy and dearly loved?
Not in an arrogant way.
Not like,
oh, look at me.
God loves me.
Not like that.
But
with thankfulness
and with
utter awe
at the grace
and the mercy
of God.
That's an amazing thought,
that you are
dearly
loved,
even
struggling
with sin.
and because of that,
Paul says,
clothe yourselves.
Clothe yourselves
with compassion,
kindness,
humility,
gentleness,
and patience.
Do you see the difference
between
the old self
and the new self?
Drastically different.
But this is how
the Christian
should live.
Should live.
Now,
can I ask,
do we do this perfectly?
Nope.
I can put my hand
on,
I don't.
I fail at this
every day.
My job
that I recently
got two weeks ago,
I clamp
cars for a living.
Not the most
desirable job
and not the most
liked person
in the world.
But,
I have to learn
that I need
to be
kind
and gentle
and humble
and patient.
I don't always
do that.
The interactions
that I get
on a day-to-day
basis
are with a lot
of angry people.
But I need to be,
I need to work
on my patience.
That's something
I've been praying for
is Lord,
help me to work
on my kindness
and my gentleness
and my patience.
But Paul
is also saying
that
this will even
happen
with each other.
There's going
to be times,
even in interactions
with people,
brothers and sisters
in Christ,
in church,
where you are going
to sin
against one another.
That you are going
to clash
with each other.
Look what,
Paul has something
to say about this.
Because Paul
isn't,
Paul isn't
ignorant about this.
He knows
that we're still
sinful
and that people
will clash
with each other.
Verse 13,
bear with each other
and forgive one another
if any of you
has a grievance
against someone.
Forgive
as the Lord
forgave you.
we are to
bear with one another.
Not looking
to hold something
against someone
or picking on
every little thing
they do.
If someone
has a grievance,
we are to
forgive
just as the Lord
forgave you.
Now that
can be hard,
can't it?
That is not
to say that
if someone
does not ask
for forgiveness
though,
we can't have
that transaction
of forgiveness,
can we?
But,
we should have
a heart
to forgive.
That if they
come to us
and they ask
for forgiveness,
we should
forgive.
We should have
that genuine
heart to forgive
because the Lord
forgave
us.
But why?
Look at me
in verse
14.
All over
and all
over all
these virtues
put on love
which binds
them all
together
in perfect
unity.
All of these
characteristics
of a Christian,
what holds
them together?
Love
binds them
together.
This kind
of love
though
is that
only
comes
from Christ.
Someone
who has
been set
free,
forgiven
by Jesus
and living
in him
can love
the way
the Lord
loved us.
And we
need to love
each other
which isn't
always easy
is it?
But
Jesus loved
you.
He loves
you and he
gave his life
for you
even though
we didn't
deserve it.
So we
should forgive
even though
it seems
like the
person
shouldn't
deserve
forgiving
because
the
Lord
forgave
us.
God
will
be
to
be
thankful.
!
And the
peace
that
only
Christ
gives
to
his
people.
Look at me
in verse
15.
Let the
peace of
Christ
rule your
hearts
since as
members of
one body
you were
called
to peace
and be
thankful.
Let that
rule your
hearts
since we
are members
of one
body.
We are
called to
peace
and to
be thankful
for each
other
and to
be thankful
for Christ
and what
he has
done
for you.
Is that
always easy?
We don't
remember that
all the time
do we?
We need
to be
reminded
of this.
To
remind
to let
the peace
of Christ
rule
our hearts.
And there
is such
peace in
Christ.
If you
are not
a Christian
here,
the peace
that Christ
gives
is,
you can't,
it's hard
to describe.
That doesn't
mean life
is easy.
That doesn't
mean life
is,
yeah,
happy and,
you know,
you're getting
things all the
time.
No.
That's not
the case.
But even
in the bad
times,
even when
things are
not going
well in
a sinful
world,
the peace
of Christ
is with
you.
It's in
your heart.
Let that
rule your
heart over
everything.
And not
only that,
verse 16
says,
let the
message of
Christ dwell
among you
richly.
Let the
message of
the gospel
dwell richly
among you
and let
us remind
each other
of the
love and
the grace
and the
mercy of
our king,
our living
king and
savior.
That is the
basis of
our faith.
May it dwell
with you in
the teaching
of God's
word,
admonishing one
another as we
sing songs
together as we
just have.
We sing to
God, but we
also sing to
each other.
We encourage
one another
through
psalms,
hymns, and
songs from the
spirit singing
to God.
But do it
with a heart
of gratitude,
of gratefulness,
of gratefulness
to God.
I know that
in times when
life has hit you
hard,
life has
knocked you
down.
And you're
in church
and you're
like,
I literally,
I can barely
sing these
words because
you're just so
beaten down.
But to hear
others sing
the richness
of the gospel
to you,
oh, the
peace of
Christ,
let it rule
your heart.
It's an
amazing thing
to hear people
sing the
truths about
Christ.
in verse
17,
and 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.
Brothers and
sisters,
everything we
do,
whether it's
your job,
whether it's
at home,
whether it's
making tea
or coffee
in the back,
whether it's
doing creche
or Sunday
school,
or meeting
up with
friends or
anything.
Anything we
do, do it
all in the
name of the
Lord Jesus,
giving thanks
to him,
giving thanks
and glory
and honor
to God.
That is the
call of the
Christian life.
That has been
such an
encouragement to
me studying
this week,
and I hope
it was to
you.
But before
we close,
I just want
to try and
think,
what do
you take
away from
this?
Well,
first of
all,
if you
are here
and you
are not
a Christian,
remember
what it
says in
verse 6.
Because of
these things,
the wrath
of God
is coming.
You are
living in
the old
self,
and the
wrath of
God is
coming on
those who
are sinners,
who have
not turned
to Jesus.
Sin will
be judged
one day,
but there
is one
who came
down from
glory to
become
flesh,
human who
lived a
perfect life,
who showed
the compassion
and kindness,
humility,
gentleness,
and patience,
and showed
the greatest
love by
giving himself
for sinners,
paying the
price of
sin.
Your
sin.
Will you
put your
faith and
trust in
him for
the forgiveness
of your
sin?
For the
Christian,
it's a
great reminder
for us,
but let us
remember,
first of all,
verse 1,
you have been
raised with
Christ.
You have been
raised with
Christ.
We are new
creations in
him, all
because of
what he
has done,
nothing of
what we
have done.
Let the
old self
die.
Our sin
and the
old self,
brothers and
sisters,
that has been
nailed to
the cross.
Our sin
has been
nailed to
the cross.
So let's
live for
Christ.
Let us
bear with
one another
and let
the message
of Christ
dwell richly
among you.
And in
everything,
let us
give all
the glory
to God
in everything
we do.
Is your
life hidden
with Christ?
I want to
read to you
verse 3
again.
3 and
4.
For you
died and
your life
is now
hidden
with Christ
in God.
When
Christ,
who is
your life,
appears,
then you
will also
appear with
him in
glory.
Let's
pray together.
Heavenly
Father,
I thank
you,
Lord,
for your
word.
I thank
you for
the
encouragement
of this
passage,
Lord,
that we
have been
raised with
Christ.
Lord,
help us
to put
the old
self to
death.
Help us
to clothe
ourselves
with all
kindness and
gentleness and
humility and
compassion,
and that we
love each
other as the
same way as
you have
loved us.
And Lord,
we confess that
we do not
do this
perfectly,
but Lord,
keep strengthening
us day by
day by day.
Help us to
serve one
another,
but Lord,
help us not
to do it for
our own
pride,
but Lord,
help us to
do it for
your honor
and glory,
giving thanks
to God in
everything that
we do.
Lord,
help us to
be drastically
different from
the world we
see around
us.
Help us to
live for
you,
people who
are free
in Christ,
who can
live this
life with
the peace
that you
give.
Lord,
help us to
show people
that.
Help us
for people
to notice
those things
in our
lives.
And may
you draw
them close
to yourself.
Lord,
I pray that
if we have
family or
friends,
or even if
there's people
sitting here
who do not
know you,
Lord,
I pray that
you would
reveal yourself
to them.
Lord,
I pray that
they would
see Jesus
for all his
glory,
that they
would see
his ultimate
act of love
by giving
your life
for us
and raising
again to
give us
life undeserved,
all because of
your love and
mercy and
grace.
Lord,
be with us
now in
our days,
this day,
and our
week to
come.
May we do
everything for
the honor and
glory of
your Son,
Jesus Christ.
Amen.