Sunday Worship Service Sermon (2-16-2025)
Christian
Living: Be Thankful in All Circumstances
(Colossians
3:15-17)
1.
This
year, our church has set the motto of our Christian life to be
‘living as believers who know that God is with us and who are thankful in all
circumstances’ with the earnest hope that our family of faith will ‘grow up
into Christ’. Today, I would like to share with you about how to ‘live as a
Christian who is thankful in all circumstances.’ This is because it is the
life of a Christian who has ‘been justified by Jesus Christ’.
Nothing
will make us live more joyfully and righteously than living in gratitude for
all that God has given us. The greatest wisdom of life is to live in gratitude
to God for everything. The life that God is most pleased with is a life in
which we are grateful to God in all circumstances. The life of a Christian is a
life in which we know that, by the grace of God, I am what I am and thank God
for everything. And it is to live a life
worthy of the grace and love that God has given us. Of course, there are
times when we face things that are difficult to handle. But regardless of the
challenges we face, Christians have many things that all of us can and should
thank Him for. In
fact, the word gratitude is a constant theme in the Bible, where it is
mentioned over 150 times and commanded over 33 times. Today’s text is one of
them.
2.
Today’s
text consists of three verses, and they have something unique in common. All
three verses end with the command to “be thankful.”
Let
me read Colossians 3:15-17 again: “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
word of Christ 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. 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.”
Verse
15 commands us to “be thankful,” and verse 16 commands us to “sing to
God with gratitude in your heart.” Also, Verse 17 commands us “whatever
you do, whether in word or deed, to give thanks to God the Father.” Because,
this is the “life of a saved Christian.”
So,
what kind of Christians live their lives giving thanks to God in all
circumstances?
First,
a person who knows that he now has peace with God because of what Jesus
Christ did on the cross always lives as a person who is thankful to God.
Christians
always live as people who are thankful to God, knowing that because of what
Jesus Christ did on the cross, they now have peace with God. Christians have
peace with God because the righteous Christ became a sacrifice on the cross for
the salvation of mankind who were destined for eternal death because of sin.
This is the greatest gift that God has given us. God, as our Father, gave new
hope to those who were without hope and without God in the world (Ephesians 2:12).
There is no greater gift (=grace) than this. Therefore, this is something that
Christians should be thankful to God for throughout their lives.
There
is a command from God to those who have come to enjoy peace with God in this
way. What is it? “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members
of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful” (Verse 15).
We
(=Christians) are to set our hearts on peace with one another. Peace is to be
the rule of Christian life. The rule of life for saved Christians should be
peace. Because Christians have peace with God through Jesus Christ, they also
are called to peace.
The
word here for “rule” means that just as Christ has made peace between you and
God, so also make it a rule to ‘be at peace with one another’ when dealing with
your brothers and sisters (or family, or church members, or friends). This
means 'make it a rule' to do for your brothers and sisters the same thing that
Christ has done for you.
Those
who always give thanks for and enjoy the peace with God that they have obtained
through Jesus Christ, always have the peace of Christ in their hearts and share
the peace of Christ with their families, church members, and neighbors. And the
devotion of the church members to make the peace of Christ overflow into their
households and churches protects the unity of the home and church.
God’s
command to Christians to “keep peace with one another” leads to the command
also to “be thankful.” Why? Because when God chose you and forgave you,
he gave you a new family that you never had before. Because when you joined the
church, you were forgiven through Christ and you gained a new family. Because
God made you and others who received the same grace one family (=one body) of
the kingdom of God. The people next to us are the family that God gave us when
we became Christians, and they are gifts from God. Therefore, Christians should
be thankful for this grace given by God, love each other, and live in harmony.
Being thankful for one another in this way becomes the wisdom that fills our
homes and churches with the peace of Christ.
Of
course, you may see things in our congregation and family that irritate you. If
you are fixating on them, our unity (=peace) will be destroyed. However, if we
focus on this wonderful grace that God has given us through the cross of
Christ, and if we live our lives in accordance with God’s command to “let the
peace of Christ rule in your hearts,” we will be united and at peace.
Christians
are people who are thankful that God has made peace between us and God through
the cross of Christ. A person who is thankful for this grace has the peace of
Christ always ruling in his heart, and he lives as a person who is always
thankful to God.
Second,
a person who has the message of Christ dwelling in his/her heart richly
lives in gratitude in all circumstances. Living as a Christian means abandoning the
life we used to live according to our own will and now live according to the message
of Jesus. Christians (=the church) are a group of people who live by the message
of God. Christians (=the church) are people whose hearts, thoughts, attitudes,
and speech are changed by the message of God, and whose lives are moved by
them. Therefore,
the first thing that saved Christians must do with all their heart and soul is
to let the word of Christ dwell richly in their hearts. Because the message of
Christ dwelling richly in our hearts has a great influence on the life of a
Christian.
So,
the church and households where the saints have the word of Christ richly
dwelling in their hearts are different. Today’s text shows the church and
households where the believers have the word of Christ richly dwelling in their
hearts. It says that such a church and family teach and admonish one another
with all wisdom, through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to
God with gratitude in your hearts (Verse 16).
We
will have many words of instruction and admonition for our children. However,
many of them will have more to do with our own opinions and preferences than
with the Word of God. Then there will only be conflict and anger. That is why
God tells fathers to ‘bring them up in the training and instruction of the
Lord’ for the benefit of their children (Eph. 6:4).
Then
who can bring up children in the training and instruction of the Lord? Only
those fathers and mothers who have the Word of Christ richly dwelling in their hearts
can do this.
The
same is true when the saints fellowship. A church with saints who have the message
of Christ richly dwelling in their hearts can teach and admonish one another
with all wisdom. They can worship God by singing to God with gratitude in their
hearts.
The
church should be a group characterized by the message of Christ. It should not
be a group characterized by each person’s thoughts, each person’s claims, each
person’s stubbornness, each person’s experience. Therefore, when you come to
church, you should try to learn about Christ with a humble heart through
worship and try to learn about the Christian life.
The
most important thing that should dwell in the hearts of Christians is the ‘message
of Christ.’ This is a prerequisite for living a proper Christian life. For example, the message
of Christ must dwell richly in our hearts so that we can live in the clothes of
Jesus Christ (Colossians 3:12-17). The message of Christ must dwell richly in
us so that we can love one another as Jesus loved us, and we can forgive as He
forgave us. We can be patient, tolerant, peaceful, humble, and gentle—the message
of Christ changes us in this way. These things are possible when the word of
Christ dwells richly in us. In addition, today’s text tells us that when the
word of Christ dwells richly in us, we “sing songs from the Spirit, singing to
God with gratitude in our hearts” (Verse 16). Those who have the word of Christ
dwelling richly in them can praise God with thankful hearts and offer true
worship. As the message of Christ dwells richly among us, wise words of
teachings and admonishment can come out of us and words of thankfulness can
come out of us, as well.
The
words of gratitude, songs of gratitude, and worship with gratitude show that our
heart is renewed. When our heart is renewed by the word of Christ, gratitude
comes out, and we worship with gratitude and sing praises with gratitude. The old self's heart is
said to be full of 'anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy, and lying' (Verse 8).
However, the new heart teaches and admonishes one another with all wisdom
through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude
in your hearts (Verse 16). Letting
the message of Christ dwell in you richly is the way to give you a new heart.
It is the way to sing songs to God with thanksgiving. Remember this: until the
word of Christ dwells richly in you, you will live in anger, rage, malice,
lies, and slander. You will never sing songs of thanksgiving.
What
comes out of us has much more to do with what's dwelling in us than it does
with our circumstances. That is why Jesus said, 'out of the overflow of the
heart, the mouth speaks' (Luke 6:45). Jesus lived in far worse circumstances
than any of us, and saw far more pettiness in everyone he dealt with than we
do, yet he was supremely thankful rather than living a life filled with anger,
rage, malice, slander, and filthiness. It is only natural that Christians
should follow the example of Jesus, who lived such a life.
Each
of us must strive to have the message of Christ dwelling richly in our hearts.
This is a prerequisite for a complete Christian life. Those who have the
message of Christ dwelling richly in them give thanks to God in all
circumstances.
Third,
a person who knows the grace of God lives his life so that whatever he does,
whether in word or deed, through Jesus Christ gives thanks to God the Father in
all circumstances.
Let’s
read 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.”
The
Message Bible translates this verse as follows: “Let every
detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the
Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.”
Do
you know that everything I can do, speak, work, and walk is all by the grace of
God? Do you know that everything I enjoy is through Jesus? Do you know that God
has given you a family? Do you know that God has given you a job that can
support yourself and others? Do you know that God has given you your daily
bread? Do you know that God has given you the grace to study?
Among
the gospel songs that Korean Christians sing a lot these days, there is a song
called ‘Grace.’ The lyrics are as follows.
Everything
that I’ve enjoyed all my life/Every moment in my life I have spent/Every step I
took couldn’t be taken for granted/It’s all because of God’s loving grace for
me.
Every
rising of the sun and its setting/Spring’s Blossoms, abundant harvest in Fall /Every
season change couldn’t be taken for granted/It’s all because of God’s loving
grace for me.
From
my birth that I have lived on this earth/From my childhood I’ve lived until
this day/Breathing and dreaming couldn’t be taken for granted/It’s all because
of God’s loving grace for me.
Living
in this world as God’s precious child/Singing praises freely worshipping my
Lord/Sharing the Gospel couldn’t be taken for granted/It’s all because of God’s
loving grace for me.
It’s
all been by God’s grace, God’s grace/God’s grace, His amazing endless grace/Now
I confess there’s nothing in my life/that I could take for granted/It’s all
because of God’s grace, His grace for me.
We
do not take anything for granted. If it were not for God's kindness, we would
have nothing. Everything we enjoy, whether it is work or word, comes from God.
Those who know this, whatever they do, whether in word or work, do it for the
name of Jesus Christ. That is, they live for the glory of God. And they are
thankful in everything.
3.
Notice
how these three verses of today’s text end.
Verse
15, “Since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”
Verse 16, “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly, and songs from the
Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.” Verse 17, “Whatever you
do, whether in word or deed, give thanks to God the Father.”
In
short, it is that being full of Jesus Christ leads to thankfulness. It
is that a person who is happy through Christ is thankful in all circumstances.
May we all grow into such Christians this year. Amen!!
