Sermon Nuggets Mon Nov 30
Theme- Nurturing Your Nature
Verses- Col 3:1-11
Col 3:10 Put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
Nurturing Your Nature
There was an old story of an Indian converted to Christ. He explained there was a battle going on inside. He compared it to two dogs fighting. One represented the good, the other bad temptations.
He was asked, "Which one wins?"
He replied, "Whichever one I feed the most."
Last week we wrote about "Games Christian's play". Paul saw the Gnostics trying to force the new Colossian believers to play religious games of legalism. People love to judge one another by rules. They like to judge themselves by rules to see who is better. There were legalistic rules from the Old Testament that have nothing to do with righteousness. There were spiritual revelations that people had which Paul said were not from God. He warned them against the falsehood of emotional experiences that kept Jesus from being the center of our focus. There were also religious restrictions that folks liked to have to judge their performance. "Don't eat this", "don't do this on this day", and so forth."
God looks at the heart. But it is hard for us to look at the heart so we look at outward actions. But does that mean our actions do not matter?
Paul introduced the idea of two natures. There is confusion and a struggle that goes on in lives of believers. We are dead to sin in Christ, but we still sin. We know that Christ calls us to live a different life as a believer than we lived before. God does not judge us according to our deeds, but our faith. So what difference does it make how to live?
I was talking to someone who felt he had to give up all his sins before he could accept Jesus as his savior. Christ came for sinners to save them. If we did not sin we would not need a savior. All have sinned and all come short of the glory of God and the price of sin is death and separation from God. The Bible tells us that all our righteous acts are as filthy rags before God, but to “all who come unto me,” Jesus said, “I will in no wise cast out.”
It is grace that saves us through faith when our heart cry is, "Here I am, now you take over". We repent of our sins and desire for him to make us a new person. If we do not have that desire then God is not allowed to work in our lives.
When you open up your life to His Holy Spirit He does the changing. You then have been given a new nature. As II Cor 5:17 says, "Old things have passed away, behold all things become as new. Your old nature is dead. But we still feel the affects of sin and temptations and the draw upon our lives to go our own way instead of Christ way.
Jesus said that you must take up your cross daily and follow him. Like in the Indian parable this is a matter of which nature you are going to nourish. In Christ we have been made free. But in the flesh we think we are still in prison and not taking advantage of what is ours. In Christ we are given a new Nature, Which one are you nurturing?
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Tues Dec 1
Verses Col 3:1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Raise to Life your New Nature by Refocusing your Heart
Do not live according to the dictates of others people and do not be bound by the temptations of earthly sin. When the world saw Christians living a different standard in a godless society they took notice.
Recent reports of the birth of a 15 pound 6 ounce baby reminded me of another special birth. A few years ago Bobbi and Kenny McCaughey became parents to 7 babies. Their church provided an excellent witness of their faith in Christ. They were advised by various medical personnel to have an abortion, but fully convinced God was sovereign they refused. The threat even on the life of Bobbi was not a deterrent to their convictions. Even Time magazine article stated their faith was rewarded. "Repeated references to God and miracles by Doctors as well as relative may seem old fashioned, even corny but in the face of such passion and tenderness, it was hard for even the most cynical onlooker to remain unmoved."
As devout Baptists, Bobbi and Kenny feel that a relationship with God is central to ensuring that their eight offspring become caring adults. Now several years later they are active and healthy but some children experience neurological problems. Kenny states, "Right now our children attend church and believe in the Bible because we do….When all of that is actually theirs, it will hopefully have a positive effect on them during their teen years."
The real testimony of their love for God made a difference in their decisions, even when experts of the community gave different advice. They were and still are willing to leave the consequences up to the Lord, for ultimate we all belong to Him and it is all about Him.
Making Jesus Christ Lord of our lives makes a difference how we are to live, not according to man’s laws, but according to God's laws.
To live our new nature is to have a new love commitment. Where is your heart?
Interestingly Jesus taught, “Where your treasure is there is your heart also.” Although this is not a devotional on giving it is a good barometer on the love of our lives. Beyond the basics of food and housing needs what captures our heart? Entertainment? Glamour? Latest style of cars? Hobbies? Or does the Lord have our hearts first? How is your giving? Is it a act of faith or of guilt? What does it reveal about yourself?
How we live is really a love question. The greatest struggle for most is the love of self. The throne belongs to us and our wants and our decisions, and our priorities. Paul saw life differently when God captured his heart and passion. “For me to live is Christ. To die is gain.” He said. Phil 3:13-14 “.. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
His new nature was enlivened as he now had a new purpose and new love.
Jesus spoke often about the heart. In Matthew 15 he tells how the heart affects our speech. Good and evil come from the heart. IT not only affects our words but our actions, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.” Evil actions reveal the heart of a person.
He told his disciples that many are religious, but they cannot see the truth because of their “hardness of heart”. The heart is close to the will. It is the commitment that we control instead of giving that will over to the Lord. IT is only then He has our hearts.
Jesus honored the prayer of the man with doubts when he prayed, “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.” He is asking for a new heart.
The greatest of the commands is to love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”
When He is the focus of our heart our lives will change. When Christ is only a portion of our life not much different will happen. We can try to change by our own efforts, but the heart of the matter is the heart of our attention.
We work for wages. He must attend to the needs of family, health, and protection. But how would your life be different if you took seriously the instruction of our Lord who said, “And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.”
Faith is first a refocusing of our heart. It enlivens our new nature.
Pastor Dale.
Sermon nuggets Tues Dec 2
Verses- Col 3:2-4
2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Raise to Life your New Nature by Renewing your Mind
In addition to refocusing one’s heart, Paul says “set your minds on things above..” Renew your minds on godly things not on earthly things.
Many people think that it is impossible to change our past. Not so with God, all things are possible.
I had an independent class in Seminary with a psychiatrist. I was able to visit his patients in the psych ward. One of the common problems with Christian was unresolved guilt. They would ask forgiveness but never felt forgiven. Or they feared they committed the unforgivable sin.
The good news is if you gave the Lord your life He had taken away all the sins you've every committed and treats you as if they never occurred. We no longer have any evil past which convicts us. It is one thing the resurrection does. You stand before God confessing all those horrible things that your memory won't let you forget. He opens the books and looks and says, "There isn't any record of that here. Oh there used to be such a person, but he is dead. You were born on that day you accepted Jesus Christ as your savior. My record of your life begins then. God gives you a new identity and new name that we need not be ashamed of the past because he has taken care of it.” Renewing our minds on the truth gives us freedom and forgiveness.
In baptism we symbolize what has already happened in our hearts. We are dead to sin and buried and now become alive in Jesus Christ. We identify with the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord. We have died to our old nature, and are raised to a new life in the Holy Spirit. Now let God dwell in your richly.
Our life is hidden with Christ in God. Because we have been raised with a new nature- Christ is in us living out His will through you and me.
Handly Page was a pioneer in aviation. Before take off one day, unknown to him a huge rat was attracted by the smell of food and managed to get instead his plane. After a while in the air Page heard the sickening sound of gnawing. He visualized the serious damage that could be done to a fragile mechanism that controlled the craft. He couldn't land. He realized this could be a dangerous situation.
Then the thought struck him, a rat cannot survive at high altitudes. So he pulled back on the stick, the airplane climbed higher and higher until Page found it difficult to breathe. He listened intently, and then sighed with relief. The gnawing had stopped. When he arrived at his destination he found the rat laying dead behind the cockpit.
Many of us are plagued by gnawing lusts of the flesh simply because we are living on a low spiritual level. As we keep our attention on Christ above, the allurement and danger of this world and its temptations lose their power. Like the hymn says, “the things of this world grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.”
I am excited when I see how Christ changes lives. But Satan keeps so many bound because their minds our on themselves, sin, and circumstances instead of concentrating on the truths from the Lord. We need to reset our thinking based on the Word of God not on our feelings.
Paul exhorts us to set our minds on things above because our life will be fully revealed when he comes again. There is ultimate victory at His return. This motivation is based upon what is promised for the future. I can sit with older folks at their death bed with a certain sense of peace and security because they know their future is not ending but beginning. There is hope.
Rom 12:2 “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-- his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
When we think differently we live differently. The closer we get to the Lord the more we change and enlivene our new nature.
Pastor Dale
Sermon nuggets Thurs Dec 3
Verses- Col 3: 5-7 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.
7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.
Put to Death your Old Nature by Identifying your Passions
Have you heard people excuse their behavior by saying, "After all its just human nature"? This excuse doesn't work any longer for the Christian. Christ is your new nature. The choice we have is whether or not to let Him reign in your life. The Bible says put to death this nature.
In addition to enliven your new nature in Christ there is also the command to identify your passions and temptations so they call be killed.
When the immigrants came to Minnesota they had the hard job of cutting down the trees and clearing the land of rocks in order to get some of the crops. A far more difficult job was clearing out the roots. If roots were not removed the grain would be quickly covered with a second growth of weeds.
There are roots of passion that once the tree has been removed, keep growing underneath that also needs to be identified. Paul knows the problem of our passions. God ordained sexuality as part of the plan for husband and wife to live together in the love and freedom to nurture children. We know the importance of commitment over emotional and sexual attractions for temptations abound around us.
The relationship between sexes is something so precious that indiscriminate use of it eventually destroys relationships. Our world follows a different morality. We see all around us, “If it feels good do it. If there is someone else who excites me then follow your lusts or new love.” What is seen on TV and movies and books and internet makes sexual passion an idol.
Advertisers know full well sex sells. People too often have their lusts control actions instead of commitment controlling lusts.
Impurity is another temptation. The word stands for uncleanness. It refers to that we would call perverted forms of lusts, homosexuality, child abuse, prostitution, pornography erotic passions are aroused and people feed their minds on illusions that like a vice gripe us into wanting more
Evil desires are closely associated with lust. It is mental impurity. It wants what is not yours. But it does not have to sexual. Evil desires can be inappropriate ways to get rich by cheating others, or exploiting, or underhanded business dealings. It can be manipulative ways to gain power or advancement through deceit. Greed is a good way to describe this. Greed wants more. Pretty soon our passions control us and we are led like a fish whose bit the bait. Satan has us hooks and we are the worse for it, suffering consequences that destroy character and witness.
Last night I heard testimony of the jury which convicted Tom Peters and his Ponzi schemes. It seemed like he started in an innocent manner and with good intensions and after a while got increasingly caught up in the lusts, deceit, lies and couldn’t get out of it.
Look at vs. 6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming.
Is God's Word directed to non Christians or to Christians? It is directed to Christians. God will judge evil. It is the way a Holy God reacts to a civilization or individual who turns his back on God's moral laws. You may think that nothing happens when you allow yourself to fall into immoral practices, but something is happening. God has not lost his power. He will allow it to have its day, but not without consequences. I think the horrible break up of our society begins by uncontrolled passions. Christ has a better idea.
Before you fall back into old habits identify your passions and lusts and give them to the Lord to weed out immediately. Follow a different path with the strength of others to help.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Fri Dec 4
Verses- Col 3: 8 But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
11 Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
Put to Death your Old Nature by Examining your Patterns
Old habits die hard. We have programmed ourselves to follow habits, some good and some bad. If a habit is eating a certain way with certain foods it is hard to break that pattern without more careful examination. If it is smoking, folks automatically reach for a cigarette without thinking about it. More time and attention needs to be given to changing our patterns of how we used to live and what we used to practice.
Now that someone has become a Christian he is no longer what he once was. Romans 6:14 "Sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law but under grace." You have a new resource, a new power, a new life. You can say No to old habits and patterns of living.
Pastor De Drew told of a man who said, "I have such an awful tempter, but I got it from my father. He had a very short fuse too, and I'm just like him." His pastor asked, "Have you been born again?
"Yes"
“Were you born of God?"
“Sure"
"Is God your Father?"
"Of Course"
"Well what kind of temper did you get when you were born again?"
He who is born of God would grow to be more like his Father and that is the nature potential in all of us who are born again. Anger and rage are uncontrolled emotions that are not from the Spirit.
As we continue to look at other habits, malice is an attitude of ill will toward another. We are sad when that person succeeds. Malice delights when something unfortunate happen to that individual. Malice is a seeking of revenge instead of seeking reconciliation. It is the desire to get back at someone instead of seeking peace.
Slander is like blasphemy. It tears others down others by the sins of one's tongue. Gossip can be part of this. If you have a deep seated ill will toward a person, you will use every opportunity to say something bad about her.
Filthy communication includes foul speech, coarse humor, obscene language and should not be part of a Christian's vocabulary. One fellow was sharing how he was converted. He used to have a foul mouth. Now he was convicted without ever being told that something wasn't right about the words he used.
I was working with street kids in New York while in College. I heard swearing all the time. Low and behold at the end of the summer I heard some of those words coming out of my mouth. When one nature was being nourished it affected me. When I concentrated on feeding the other nature, Christ was given the victory. Which nature are you nurturing?
He also mentions lying. Satan is the father of lies while the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. Any lie misrepresents the truth. Even if the words are accurate the tone of voice the look on the face, the gesture of the hand can alter the meaning of a sentence as is the motive of the heart. Lying involve the intent to deceive for the purpose of personal gain. Perhaps you secretly agree with the little boy who was asked what a lie was and replied, "A lie is an abomination to the Lord, but a very present help in time of trouble."
But we pay a worse price when lies come from our mouths. You lose trust and respect, and integrity.
Lastly our old patterns can include prejudice. But as we look at verse 11 " If you detached that form its context is sounds like a great statement of One of the body of Christ which of course is true. But in this context he is dealing with putting off the expressions of the old life and saying we can also no longer excuse wrong behavior based on class, race, or ethnic distinctions.
Prejudice is part of the old nature. We judge others based on education, race, wealth, degrees all of which is wrong in God's eyes. Maybe some people say, I am a Stubborn German, or Swede as if that is an excuse for misbehavior. Not to God. Maybe some will direct their prejudices toward others, saying such things as “what do you expect from Indians, blacks, Jews…”
As believers there are no national barriers, no cultural barriers, no social barriers, or racial barriers. We are of a new nature.
How do we change? There are two ways; First, starve them. Don't feed them with trash. Secondly crowd sin out with positive graces. Pour into your mind the Word of God and things good and right. Verse 10 is the key. The new nature is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its creator. That is how we nurture the nature. By knowing more and more of Jesus Christ so we can be like him. Looking, praying and gaining our strength from Christ. If we want, sincerely want Him to have control that whole question of living for Him opens us to new habits.
Pastor Dale
