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Live Streaming Christ Through Family Life (Colossians 3:18-21)
29 Plays1 year ago
Colossians: The Preeminence of Christ
Sunday Message recorded 03 September 2023
by Pastor Victor Morrison
First Baptist Church -- Columbus TX
1700 Milam St.
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
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Transcript
Experiencing Christ's Presence in Worship
00:00:06
Speaker
Good morning. Thank you so much for just opening up your heart this morning to worship the Lord. You know, when visitors visit our church, you validate that Christ is alive when you worship like that. They know it's real. They know He's real. And so if you're visiting with us today, what you sensed there was God's people just saying, we love you, Lord. Thank you for loving us. And He loves you too. And we're glad you're here today.
Exploring Colossians: An Invitation
00:00:34
Speaker
I would like to invite you to turn with me to the New Testament letter of Colossians. Colossians is the book we're going through right now.
00:00:49
Speaker
As we read these verses in chapter three, what we're seeing is how we're supposed to live. You know, what we were doing just now by worshiping the Lord is how we're going to live in eternity in heaven. We're gonna be worshiping Him together, just like that, full throttle. Just loving Him, honoring Him, worshiping Him, glorifying Him.
Daily Living as Worship
00:01:10
Speaker
But you know, Romans 12, one and two says that we also worship God by the way we live.
00:01:16
Speaker
that every day as we present our bodies a living and holy sacrifice, which is acceptable to Him, it is our spiritual service of worship is what it says at the end of verse 1 in Romans 12. That's why I think that whenever we're living our life, let's say some of you students that are at school, or let's say some of you who are in the workplace,
00:01:43
Speaker
And when you're visiting with neighbors or relatives or friends, do you know that you can actually live stream Christ to those that are around you? They can see Jesus through your life. You know, 2 Corinthians 3, verses 1 through 4 talks about, 2 and 3 talks about that we are like living letters, living letters of Christ.
00:02:07
Speaker
And it says that those that are around us, they're going to know Him and they're going to know you. And you're going to validate what message you're sharing with them about Christ by the way you live. It says that your life is going to be read by all. That's why I want to use this whole term of live stream, live stream.
Focus on Heavenly, Not Earthly Matters
00:02:29
Speaker
You know, Josh gave us two inspiring messages from Colossians 3, verses 1 through 4, and Colossians 3, 5 through 17. The last couple of weeks, I appreciate so much his heart for God's Word, his heart for the Lord. And what he was trying to tell us was the importance of setting our minds on things above.
00:02:50
Speaker
not on things that are on the earth. It's a very practical message. But remember where he stopped in verse 17? Let me read that verse. Colossians 3, 17 says, and whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
00:03:14
Speaker
everything, everything you think, everything you say, everything you do, everything ought to live stream Jesus Christ to those that you're around, those in your family, those that are relatives. Everywhere you go, they are to say, you know what? There is an aroma of Jesus in this room because they're in this room. You see, we are called to live stream Christ to those that are around us, not just on Sunday mornings.
00:03:43
Speaker
No, every single day, every minute and every second of every day.
Submission to Christ's Lordship
00:03:49
Speaker
You see, in this letter to the Colossians, Colossians chapter one, Colossians chapter two, what we read about is all of creation is exalting the supremacy of Jesus Christ. He's over all the authorities. He's over everything. He made everything. Everything was made for him.
00:04:10
Speaker
But when we go into chapter three and chapter four, there's something different that takes place. We're not just talking about the sovereignty of Christ, the fact, the truth. Now we're talking about exhortation. And the exhortation is, since he is Lord of lords and King of kings,
00:04:29
Speaker
then submit to Him, live in submission to Him, yield your life and surrender to Him, to His Lordship. And so that's why it makes a difference in our attitudes as we go through the week, not just our attitude on Sunday morning, but all through the week. It makes a difference in our actions and our relationships.
00:04:49
Speaker
Because every day, we are constantly telling other people, get this, our life, my life, I'm either telling people the truth about Jesus in my life, through my life, or I'm telling them a lie about Jesus. So I have to stop and say, Lord, help my life to tell the truth about you and who you are.
00:05:12
Speaker
It's no wonder that John the Baptist said in John 3.30, he must increase. Talking about Jesus, Jesus must increase in my life is what John the Baptist said. But he said, I must decrease. It's where self has less and less control and Jesus has more and more control. Where people are seeing Christ in our lives and not just self.
Truthful Living About Jesus
00:05:36
Speaker
You know, I don't know about you, but I believe that two of the most important words in the English language are relationships and responsibilities. Relationships and responsibilities. Our number one relationship is our personal walk, our personal connection and relationship to Jesus Christ and to the Father through Christ. That's number one. So our number one responsibility related to that relationship
00:06:03
Speaker
would be I'm going to make time every day to seek him, to honor him, to pray to him, to listen to him, to open up his word and read his word. So that's why I encourage you to always spend time in God's word every single day.
00:06:19
Speaker
But I look at chapter three and I think, you know what? It goes beyond there. As I'm walking with Christ, as I'm filled with the Holy Spirit, as the Holy Spirit is putting the spotlight on Jesus, guess what happens? My relationships, my responsibilities are greatly influenced
00:06:38
Speaker
For example, in chapter 3, verses 1 through 17, where you looked with Josh, those are all about our relationships with one another, within the body of Christ, within the family of God. How do we treat one another? It should be like this right here. We should put on the grace clothes, is what some people talk about. You should take off those old clothes of the old man.
00:07:01
Speaker
But now when we go down into verse 18 to 21, we're gonna look at those four verses today. We're gonna look at another relationship, another responsibility, not just our responsibility, our relationship with Christ, not just our relationship, our responsibilities toward one another.
Reflecting Christ in Family Relationships
00:07:19
Speaker
But we're gonna talk about the relationship we have with our family. Does it make a difference to Jesus Christ, how I treat my wife, how I treat my daughters?
00:07:29
Speaker
I think it makes a great deal of difference. And I think that God has said things in His word related to it. Lord willing, next Sunday, we'll look at how can I as a Christian be a good influence where I work? So next week, Lord willing, we'll look at Colossians 3, 22 through chapter four, verse one, and talk about how can I live stream Jesus
00:07:52
Speaker
where I work on the job. Is there a way? I believe there is a way. I believe that God's word tells us how to do that. But then there's some people that they don't work with you. They're not in your family and they're not in our church. So why don't we for the just for
00:08:08
Speaker
So we all on the same page, let's call them outsiders. I don't mean that they're not welcome in, but they're outsiders. They're not in our family. They're not in our church. They're not at our work. And so, but we still see them. We see them at football games and soccer games. We see them when we go to Dairy Cone or when we go to HEB or Brookshire Brothers or another place, but we see them. So how do we relate? How do we
00:08:33
Speaker
live stream Christ among the outsiders. We'll see that in chapter four, verses two through six. But from seven of chapter four, all the way to the end of chapter four, I believe it's, how do we live stream to those who are on our team?
00:08:48
Speaker
Let's say your ministry team would be those that are serving with you. Let's say your Sunday School class, or let's say those that are in worship up here with Marsha, and those that are using their musical talents and abilities to honor the Lord, or deacons, or whatever it is, your Sunday School class. Anybody, who are you working with? How are you treating them? What's your attitude? What's your relationship? What are your responsibilities with them?
00:09:16
Speaker
So what I want us to do today is to look at four verses that are given to us right here in chapter three, verses 18 through 21. And I want us to focus on how can I show Jesus Christ, display Christ? How can Christ be revealed through my life when I'm around my family at home? So if you would, would you stand?
00:09:42
Speaker
I want us to look at how each member of the family has a unique opportunity to display Jesus Christ to the rest of the family.
Roles in the Christian Family
00:09:50
Speaker
We're going to look at Colossians 3, 18 through 21, four verses. Wives, submit to your husbands as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.
00:10:04
Speaker
children obey your parents in everything for this pleases the lord fathers do not provoke your children lest they become discouraged let's pray together lord thank you so much for how timeless your word is
00:10:20
Speaker
It was not trapped by that culture in which those lived who wrote it. Your word is eternal. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God lasts forever. And so I thank you that your word goes across cultures. Your word goes across generations. And so Lord, speak to us through your word today. If there's anything that we need clarification and help on today in our country, it's the family.
00:10:50
Speaker
And so please clarify some things. Help us, Lord. We're asking you for your guidance and for your wisdom. So bring us back to the standard, to the wisdom of your word. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Thank you, you may be seated.
00:11:05
Speaker
So I want us to look at how to livestream Christ through the wife, through the husband, through the children, and through the parents. And let's start where God's word starts, verse 18. Livestreaming Christ through a wife.
00:11:22
Speaker
What does it mean that she should be submissive to her husband? It says wives submit to your husbands as is fitting in the Lord. I want to say three things about submission and I hope it clarifies it. The first word is support. Support through submission. When he's calling a wife to submit to her husband, what is God saying?
00:11:43
Speaker
He's saying, I've appointed the husband and the father to be the head of the home. And so showing your support, showing that you are with him, that you're on his side, it's not about your worth, ladies. Your worth, the Bible says that your worth is like far above Ruby's. So just know that you're so valuable. You are so important. It's only about the responsibility.
00:12:10
Speaker
that your husband has, he will be held accountable to God for how he leads your family and your marriage, your relationship. And so show him that you're with him. Show him that you're willing to arrange your life, your attitude, so that you would say, I respect the authority. Maybe you would say,
00:12:30
Speaker
But that's not fair. It's like saying my husband is always right. No, I don't see that here. It's not saying that the husband is always right. God is saying wives submit to your husbands as is fitting in the Lord. And so it's all about the arrangement.
00:12:47
Speaker
Do you know that in 1 Corinthians 11, verse 3, it actually says that Jesus, the Son of God, do you know that He has a head? He respects God the Father. So it's all about respecting order.
00:13:05
Speaker
And so what I want you to do is to say, God, if this is what you call me to do, then it's not a burden to do this. 1 Timothy 2 verses 12 through 14 also says that God doesn't want a woman to have authority over a man. Why is that? Why not? What if the woman is more devoted to Christ? What if the woman is, well, in my case, in my marriage, what the woman is smarter than the
00:13:31
Speaker
What if all of these things, you could go on and on and on and God is saying, no, no, no, I'm just talking about responsibility. I've given the husband the responsibility to be the leader of the team.
00:13:43
Speaker
I guarantee you, wherever you work, they have a leader. Everyone knows who's the leader at work. When you have a football team, everybody knows who's the leader of the football team. It's important to establish and clarify who's the leader. So when a wife says, I realize that God has called you to be the leader of our marriage, the leader of our family, so I support you in that.
00:14:05
Speaker
I want to honor you in that. That's what it's saying. So it's support that flows through submission. And I believe it honors Christ. Others can see Jesus whenever that happens, because let's just face it. It's not popular today. You know, it's not popular to talk about a wife should be submissive to her husband, but it's just biblical.
00:14:26
Speaker
So let's go to the second thing we can learn about submission. That is the scope of submission. So when I'm talking about wives submit to your husbands like it says here in verse 18, am I asking every woman in this building to be submissive to me or to every other man? No, and that's not what God's asking either. God says wives submit
00:14:48
Speaker
to your husbands to your husbands see the husband is the leader of your team and so say to him i'm supportive i recognize that the scope of my submission is to include you
00:15:03
Speaker
I also wanted to bring out in verse 18 what is really clear, but sometimes we can get so caught up on the word submit that we miss what it's really all about. The spotlight for submission. It's the spotlight for submission on the husband. He's such a great guy that that's why I'm gonna be submissive to him. Well, it says here, wives, submit to your husbands as is fitting.
00:15:31
Speaker
in the Lord. So you see the spotlight for submission, it's not own your husband, it's own the Lord. And so it said, this is what God said is fitting. This is what the God who loves order and not chaos, this is what he says. And so the Lord is commanding the wife to be submissive
00:15:52
Speaker
to Him, to the Lord. And then out of her submission to Christ, she also is willing to say, you know what, I'm going to follow the lead of my husband. It's all about glorifying Christ through a marriage.
00:16:08
Speaker
One of the things that I miss that we used to do, I'd love to do it. If you're gonna do this, make sure you put me on speed dial, call me up. We used to play volleyball and it would be different age groups and so forth. We play volleyball in the gym. I love playing volleyball. I mean, I'd still be willing to mess up my knee, throw out my shoulder, whatever, playing volleyball today, but I would love to do it. But one of the things I remember about volleyball is very important that you play your position.
00:16:38
Speaker
Sometimes a guy gets really eager, and he means well. But let's say he's in the back corner, and over here, the ball is hit just over the net on the front line on the far side. Well, he'll run across everybody, maybe knock people down to get over there. And pretty soon, the opposing team, you know what they do? They notice that. So they say, next time, let's hit it over there. We'll draw him away from back there, because he's the best player on the team. And then we're going to spike it right over that corner where he should have been.
00:17:07
Speaker
You see, what am I saying? What I'm saying is on a volleyball team, every position is so strategic. Every position is so important. But if I'm out of position,
00:17:19
Speaker
And you know what? The opposing team is going to hit it right there because I'm not playing where I'm supposed to be. So wives just realize God's got a very important place for you to be when you're called to marry and to be in a marriage relationship. But I want to move on to live streaming Christ, not just through a wife, but how about through a husband?
Husbands' Role Modeled on Christ
00:17:42
Speaker
Well, how about through a husband? It says, husbands love your wives and do not be harsh with them. We need to talk about this. Verse 19. I want to say three things about this whole idea of how the husband is going to reveal Christ to those that are around. The first thing is this, the surrender of the husband to Christ.
00:18:05
Speaker
submission to him with a capital H. You see, the husband needs to realize, I'm going to give account to God myself. And so I'm under Christ's authority. As a matter of fact, do you know that whenever this word love is mentioned here, it's in the imperative. It's in the imperative. And so what he's saying is, husbands,
00:18:27
Speaker
I'm commanding you, you love your wives. He doesn't say, husbands, I'm commanding you to boss your wives around. I'm commanding you to be the dictator of your home. That's not it.
00:18:38
Speaker
He says, husbands, here's what I'm giving you the command to do. I'm giving you the command to love. So you know what, already, when a husband is yielding his life like you were singing about the lordship of Christ, hopefully yielding your heart, your life to the Lord, when a husband is yielding his heart to the Lord, you know what goes out the door? Stubbornness. Stubbornness leaves whenever you're saying, Jesus, you be in charge, not me.
00:19:04
Speaker
And so I just thought, you know what? Colossians is all about the supremacy of Christ. It's all about the lordship of Christ. It's about Jesus being Lord over my life, Jesus being Lord over my wife's life, every one of us individually.
00:19:19
Speaker
And so I'm thinking, thank you, Lord, for that, that whenever I yield myself to Christ, He helps me to obey this command. You know, Ephesians used a different way of looking at the same thing. When Christ is on the throne, what do we see?
00:19:35
Speaker
When Christ is on the throne making the decisions in my life, the Holy Spirit fills my life. And so he gives me the power that I don't have in the flesh. And so whenever Christ is where he should be, you know what? You're not gonna have trouble. Because if you're submitting to him, you know what you're gonna be willing to do? Sacrifice for her. That's the second thing I want you to notice. Sacrifice for her. I'm submitting to him, but now he helps me to be willing.
00:20:04
Speaker
to sacrifice for her. There were three Greek words that were used for this one word that we have in English, love. One of them referred to passion, romance. The other word referred to affection, like friendly type feelings.
00:20:21
Speaker
But the third word was really unique. It talks about devotion. It talks about commitment. It talks about sacrifice. It's kind of the kind of love that says, I'm going to love you, not just if you do this, I'm going to love you unconditionally. I'm going to love you unselfishly. I'm going to love you sacrificially. You may say, I've never seen that love in action. Oh, yeah, you have. Yes, you have.
00:20:47
Speaker
Ephesians chapter five verse 25 says, husbands love your wives as, not as your daddy did, husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. We have seen an example of unconditional sacrificial love. It was Christ loving each one of us. And so now I'm called to love my wife in that same way.
00:21:16
Speaker
You know what that gets rid of? It gets rid of selfishness. Whenever it's not just about me, but I'm thinking, how can I best serve her? How can I take care of her? How can I provide for her? So I'm thinking, okay, well, what's left in verse 19? Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them. Do not be harsh with them. Speaking about the way I talk with my wife, but also speaking about more than that, the attitude toward my wife.
00:21:45
Speaker
You know what I think will bring harmony more than anything else? Well, just why don't we rewind? Let's go back where Josh was last week in chapter three, verse 14. You'll see where harmony comes in. And above all, these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. Love binds everything together in perfect harmony.
00:22:10
Speaker
You know what? If we were to interview Marsha up here and ask her, what's the difference between singing in unison or singing in harmony? You know what I think she would say? When you sing in harmony, you're not all singing the same note. But the notes really blend together. And it's really sweet when you hear harmony. And it's just such a blessing. That's what he's asking us to do. But how do you get there?
00:22:37
Speaker
Some translations don't use the word, do not be harsh with them. It uses the word bitter. Don't make them bitter. KJV, New American standards, CSB. The word there is also used in Ephesians 4.31, where it says, you know what? I need to get bitterness out of my life. I need to go back to the forgiveness that I received from Christ, and then I need to push that forgiveness over toward my wife. She needs it.
00:23:05
Speaker
I wanna give you a verse about bitterness. If you're still bitter over something, you better get rid of that. Here's what happens in Hebrews 12.15. It says, we need to see to it that we do not fall short of the grace of God. And a root of bitterness grows, it sprouts, it comes through the ground. So the bitterness you thought could be contained in your heart, it's not gonna be contained. It will not be contained. It will come up. You know what else it does? Causes trouble.
00:23:34
Speaker
And then here's the last thing, it spreads. By it, many are defiled. That's exactly what Hebrews 12 verse 15. We're to be on our face before God and say, God, I don't wanna go through my life and be a bitter person. So please Lord, take the bitterness out of my life. You know, in a car, we sometimes have an indicator light that'll tell us like this morning. I had an indicator light that said, one of my tires is low.
00:24:03
Speaker
But what about for a husband? When a husband's unwilling to talk, it's an indicator light. When a husband takes a wife for granted, that's an indicator light. When a husband is not willing to value her input, he doesn't want to hear what she has to say, it's an indicator light. When a husband never adjusts ever, it's always his way or it's the highway. It's an indicator light.
00:24:27
Speaker
When a husband turns to other places for comfort rather than his wife, it's an indicator light. You see, for a wife, it's calling on her to be submissive to her husband as is fitting in the Lord. So the indicator lights for her is when she insists on her own way, whenever she disrespects her husband in public, whenever she nags her husband until he gives in, whenever she bosses her husband at home, whenever she nurses an independent defiant spirit,
00:24:56
Speaker
That's when you know I need to do something because I'm out of adjustment. I'm out of malignment.
Children and Authority
00:25:02
Speaker
But I want us to look beyond the marriage and also think about something else, to think about children. You know, there's nothing wrong with authority. As a matter of fact, the one who's in authority, that ought to be the lead servant.
00:25:19
Speaker
You know Jesus in John 13 verse three, he got ready to wash the disciples feet. And you know what the gospel of John says came to his mind? To Jesus' mind right before he just got down on his feet, on his knees, and he took a basin of water and a towel, and he washed the disciples feet. You know what it says right before he did that? Here's what it says. Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands.
00:25:47
Speaker
That's when he got down and washed their feet. Wow. That is some kind of authority.
00:25:56
Speaker
Livestreaming Christ, if you're a child, would mean that you obey your parents. That's what it says here, children obey your parents in everything for this pleases the Lord. You see, the mandate, it's not optional. He says, children obey your parents. Once again, it's an imperative. He's not saying, if you feel like it, why don't you obey them? No, he's saying, do this. And it should be constant. It's a present tense imperative, which means you keep on obeying over and over again.
00:26:25
Speaker
There's a mandate for a child's obedience, but there's also the measure of a child's obedience. What if the child says, you know what, I don't want to do that. I'll do this, but I won't do that. I won't do that. I'm okay with this. Is that the way it should be? Well, it says here, children obey your parents in everything, in everything.
00:26:46
Speaker
Of course he's not saying if a parent's asking you to sin, if a parent's asking you to do something ungodly, immoral, so forth. No, not that. But under most cases, a Christian mom or a Christian dad, they're not going to be asking you to sin. That's not what it's really all about.
00:27:03
Speaker
And so I've got to say to myself, okay, Lord, help me. And you know what's really happening? Why is it that God says obey your parents and everything? Because He's training you. He's training you so that you will respect authority. You know, in Ephesians 6, verses one through four, here's what it says. Not only should children obey their parents, but they should also honor their father and their mother. And then it says in verse four, so that it may go well with you.
00:27:32
Speaker
so that you will live a long life.
00:27:36
Speaker
So I'm thinking, God knows if you don't learn now to respect your authority that you have right now, you just have your mom and dad. That's the authority in your life. But if you don't learn to do that, you're not gonna respect a teacher. You're not going to respect a policeman. You're not gonna respect the law. You're not gonna respect a boss or a supervisor. And so you know what's gonna happen? It will not go well with you. It will not go well with you in your life.
00:28:03
Speaker
You'll never be able to ever do anything in your life if you don't learn how to respond properly to those who are in authority. Am I saying authorities are always right? No, I'm not saying that. But all I'm saying is, generally speaking, I got to go in line with what God's word says. And His word clearly says here, children, obey your parents in everything. But here's the thing. What's the motive?
00:28:32
Speaker
Oh, there it is, for this pleases the Lord. So once again, any child, any student that understands Jesus is my Lord and Savior, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to obey my parents. I'm going to honor my parents because that's the way I honor him. Because God said that pleases him when I live that way.
Cultural Confusion on Authority and Identity
00:28:53
Speaker
And so I just thought to myself, there it is. So let's say that you're not going to honor your parents. Let's say that you're going to say, no, I'm not going to please them.
00:29:02
Speaker
So who are you going to please? Yourself? Are you going to please the crowd? Are you going to please the culture? You're going to be so confused. Our culture is so confused. We don't even understand what a woman is. And so I'm thinking, oh, God, help us. We're really getting tangled up here. So we've got to say, God, please help me to submit to you.
00:29:24
Speaker
because you have my best interests at heart. God loves you. God has a great plan for you. And when he says something, it's because he cares. Well, let me close with this last live streaming relationship within the family, and that is through parents.
00:29:41
Speaker
It uses the word fathers here, and I'm fine with that. I welcome this verse, 21, fathers do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. But I just want you to know that really in the Greek, it could be fathers, but it could also be parents. And we have another biblical example of that is when Moses' parents, it says in Hebrews 12, 23, they hid him whenever they want to destroy all the little babies.
00:30:11
Speaker
It says that his mom and his dad, his parents hid him, and it uses the same exact word. You see, 1 Timothy 3, 12 says that a husband who's being considered to be a deacon should manage his children and his own household well.
00:30:28
Speaker
But don't miss what it says in 1 Timothy 5.14. In 1 Timothy 5.14, it says, a younger widow should seek to marry. And once she marries, then it says she should manage her household, among other things. So all I'm saying is really parents, plural, are involved here. But there's two things in closing. One thing is do not provoke your children. The other thing is do not discourage your children.
00:30:58
Speaker
How do we provoke our kids when we have unreasonable demands, unrealistic expectations, when we humiliate them publicly, when we do not try to understand what they're saying, what they're going through? We don't even talk. We don't listen. It's like, I said it, that's the end of it. We're not talking. Or constant nagging. Or how about this one? Just plain old neglecting them.
00:31:22
Speaker
You're not gonna believe this study I read said that the average father spends seven, was it seven? No, 37, 37 seconds a day with his small children, 37 seconds a day. And then we wonder what's wrong with our country.
00:31:40
Speaker
Fatherlessness is huge. Dad needs to be engaged. I know we've got important things to do in our jobs. I know we've got other things we want our kids to be involved in, but nothing takes the place of you connecting with your kids, whether you're a dad or a mom.
00:31:59
Speaker
But what could discourage our kids? Well, I think inconsistency, because one day it's okay. The next day, you know, it's not okay. One day you're laughing about it. The next day you're upset about it. Well, that's confusing. This will really do it. Look in the scriptures in the Old Testament especially. Did comparing one child to their sibling, did that work out well for them? Man, favoritism is destructive. It'll discourage your kid.
00:32:27
Speaker
And you know what, once a child is discouraged, if he can't be charged up from mom and dad, you know what he does? He goes online. He's going to find somebody that's going to encourage him, somebody that's going to affirm him or her. So what we've got to say is you can come to me anytime, talk to me about anything. You can lay your burden down anytime with me. I love you so much.
00:32:53
Speaker
A discouraged child that's lacking affirmation is going to be sullen. They're going to be listless. They're going to have no desire whatsoever. So what we've got to do is we've got to spend time. We've got to spend time with our kids. We've got to have fun with our kids. We've got to listen and talk with them. We've got to pray with them. We've got to teach them God's word. And most importantly,
00:33:16
Speaker
We gotta live out God's word. We gotta live out God's word before them.
Philemon's Family as a Model of Hospitality
00:33:20
Speaker
They're watching us. They're watching our attitudes, our words, our actions. I wanna close by just reminding you about a Colossae family, a Colossian family. There was a family that had a house church in Colossae, and maybe you've actually read the book that was addressed to the man who opened up his own. His name was Philemon, Philemon.
00:33:43
Speaker
Philemon opened his home in Colossae, he and his wife, Ephia.
00:33:49
Speaker
And they had a son named Archippus. Archippus is mentioned in Colossians 4 and verse 17. Archippus was former military, but at this time he had sort of transitioned into ministry. And that's why in Colossians 4, verse 17, the apostle Paul is saying, I want you to tell Archippus, see that you fulfill the ministry that you received in the Lord.
00:34:14
Speaker
But you see, this family said we want others to see Jesus in us. And so they wanted to livestream Christ to their community, to their neighbors, to their relatives, to their coworkers, whomever, and they would invite them in. One thing happened along the way.
00:34:33
Speaker
There was a guy that worked for Philemon named Onesimus. And Onesimus, one day, we don't know what he took. We don't know why he took it. But he stole from Philemon, Aephea, and Archippus. He stole something, and he ran. And you know what? The way that only God can do, he ran, and he went to see Paul, or he met Paul in prison in Rome.
00:34:57
Speaker
You know what happened?
Onesimus' Story of Redemption
00:34:59
Speaker
Paul led him to Christ. And so Paul writes the letter to Philemon and says Philemon Onesimus is a changed man.
00:35:07
Speaker
I want you to give him another chance. He's repented of his sin, and whatever he took, and however much he owes you, I want you to put that on my tab, because you see, Paul had one Philemon to Christ, too. So now, here he is in jail, and he leads this guy on this much to Christ, and he says, have you ever seen a Christian before?
00:35:28
Speaker
He said, yes, sir. He said, I used to work for a man named Fleeman. He had a house church in Klossé, and he and his wife and their son, they were so good to me. They were nice to me. I don't know why I stole from them. I don't know why I did it. And so what the Apostle Paul said was, now that you're Christian, you're going to have to go back and make it right. And he's like, no, no, no, no. He said, yeah, you're going to go back. And so he sent Onesimus back to Fleeman, and he writes Fleeman, and he says, Fleeman?
00:35:59
Speaker
This is your chance, buddy. You want to livestream Christ to the people of Colossae? This is your chance. Because Onesimus has repented. He's changed. He's different. He's living for Christ now. He knows he made a mistake. Will you forgive him? Maybe there's a rebel in your family.
00:36:22
Speaker
Maybe this is your moment to live stream the love of Christ, the forgiveness of Christ. Maybe the truth of Christ. You got to speak the truth, but speak it in love. But whatever it is, you need to say, Lord, be honored in my family.
00:36:39
Speaker
This is how we honor Christ in our families. Let's stand together. Maybe there's something that God has placed on your heart in terms of response today to this message. We were talking about the family, but maybe you would say, I don't have a family. That's okay. We want to be your family. The father, he wants you to be in his family. We're in his family. You'll have more brothers and sisters in this room than you'll know what to do with.
00:37:07
Speaker
Listen, we want to love you. We want to walk with you. We want you to be with us. We want you to be in heaven with us someday. And so it could be that when I was talking about the family, you were on that track, but remember, what are we talking about? Well, we're talking about live streaming Christ. And so maybe you'd say, I don't know him, but we, any of us would love to lead you to know Christ as your Lord and savior. Let's pray together, Lord.
00:37:35
Speaker
Thank you for this time to bow our hearts and our heads, and we want to pray for any in this room that do not yet have a personal relationship with Christ. Maybe that's why they've been through a lot of brokenness in their family. We are certainly not here to criticize or be judgmental of anyone's family background, anyone's
00:37:56
Speaker
family experiences, we actually want to do the opposite. We would like to share the love of Christ, the grace that can bring healing just like it did for Onesimus. And so Lord, I pray that you would help families in this church to just continue to grow. Lord, I know so many strong families, strong marriages, strong parents, strong students and kids that live for Christ.
00:38:22
Speaker
So all I'm saying is multiply us, multiply us so that all across Columbus there would be strong families that say our whole duty in life is to show others Jesus Christ. So help us Lord this week to walk with you, help us to know you, but right now we pray for those that need you. So God, as we go in this invitation in Jesus name, amen.
00:38:51
Speaker
This is a ministry of First Baptist Church, located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.