June 27, 2004

IT’S ALL ABOUT HIM

Text: Colossians 1:9 - 12

One afternoon I was sitting in the left turn lane, waiting for the green arrow. As I waited for the light to change, I noticed the car in front of me. Displayed on the back bumper was a bold canary yellow bumper sticker, announcing in bold black letters, IT’S ALL ABOUT ME. I silently mused, “What kind of conceited, arrogant, self-enamored person would it take to put such a sticker on the back of their car?”

A few days later I was driving over to Phoenix from Southern California on Interstate 10. Merging onto the freeway in front of me was an old, beat-up Chevy pick-up. The first thing I noticed was a bright yellow bumper sticker. Do you know what it said? IT’S ALL ABOUT ME.

Just a few weeks after that, my wife and I had a few days of vacation in Palm Springs. We were strolling down Palm Canyon Drive, looking in the windows of those repetitive gift shops. And there in the window stood a mannequin donning an attractive pastel T-shirt. Stitched across the front of the shirt, do you know what it said? IT’S ALL ABOUT ME. That mannequin was even wearing a ball cap and printed across the crown of that hat, guess what it said? IT’S ALL ABOUT ME.

Well, it’s okay to chuckle a minute about such a goofy, self-focused slogan that illustrates the values and views of many in our culture these days. But upon a deeper contemplation, for the sanctified, dedicated, committed, Spirit-filled Christian there erupts an internal YUCK! It’s not all about me; it’s all about Him.

I think that’s the flavor of Paul’s words to the new church at Colosse. At verse 9, Paul remarks that “since the day we heard about you we have not stopped praying for you, asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will.” Do you have any idea what God’s will is for your life? Some folks don’t even have a clue. And others who do have an awareness of God’s will for their life are not on schedule in implementing total obedience to His will.

You may wonder, “Well, how do you know His will anyway?” Here’s a promise for you! James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” If you are serious about living your all about Him and not all about you, this scripture promises wisdom. “To fill you with the knowledge of His will” (verse 9) means to soak, or saturate. We often think of “to fill” in the word picture of a glass filled with water. However, the flavor of Paul’s words here carry the word picture of a submerged sponge, totally soaked, saturated and drenched. Paul is saying that since the time he heard of them his prayers were that God would fill them like a soaked dripping sponge with the knowledge of God’s will.

He continues “through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.” At first look, those terms wisdom and understanding seem to be “twins.” But they’re not; they’re “first cousins”. The term translated “wisdom” refers to a divine enabling to mentally and intellectually grasp God’s will. The term translated “understanding” applies to taking appropriate actions according to what we know.

When I was a boy growing up in Pueblo, Colorado, there were times when my Mom would assign me a task or chore she wanted me to do. In my stubbornness and immaturity, I would procrastinate my obedience, which would be predictably followed with her turning up the volume with the words, “Did you understand what I said?” She was not questioning my audio receptivity. Implied in her words was, “Get up and do what I told you to do.” It’s similar to the words used in the Old Testament, “Now hear the word of the Lord.” It means more than listen with our ears; it includes obey with our action.

At verse 10 Paul continues, “And we pray this that you may live a life worthy of the Lord.” What does it mean to live a life worthy of the Lord? Well, I don’t have all the answers, but at least part of the answer is to acknowledge who Jesus is and what He’s done. It merits the full abandonment of my will, where I live no longer ALL ABOUT ME, but my life is all about Him.

Who is He? Jesus Christ, God’s Son, born of the Virgin Mary. He is the second person of the Trinity, Co-creator with the Father in eternity. Remember the description in John 1? “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:1-3).

To live a life worthy of the Lord acknowledges who he is, but also what He’s done: living 33 years on earth of sinlessness, ministry and miracles, going up on a hill outside Jerusalem, being nailed to a cross, where He suffered, bled and died, paying the price on Calvary for your sins and mine. He was buried in a borrowed tomb, but God had a better idea, and raised Him on the third day. There’s a term for that story: the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It’s called the Gospel and it means good news, and it’s the best news you’ll ever hear in your whole life.

The remainder of verse 10 continues “and may please Him in every way”. Then Paul lists four holy pursuits that, when implemented in our behavior, have a net positive effect in “pleasing Him in every way.”

The first is “bearing fruit in every good work.” Are you a fruitful Christian? Well how do you be fruitful anyway? Just realize what Jesus said in John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains (abides, dwells, or lives) in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” Our fruitfulness is a direct end result of our abiding relationship with Jesus. So Paul says if we are serious about living a life worthy of the Lord and want to please Him in every way so that our life is not ALL ABOUT ME, but ALL ABOUT HIM, we will be a fruitful Christian.

He goes on to say be a growing Christian: “growing in the knowledge of God”. How well do you know God? You might wonder how you get to know Him. It’s the same way you got to know your best friend. Spend time together. Think for a moment, who is your best friend on earth? At one time that person was a total stranger. But sometime, somewhere you met, and a fondness formed. We even have verbiage that explains what happens. Have you ever heard anyone say: “Oh, we just hit it off?” I’ve often wondered “Hit what off, where?” Or sometimes folks express it: “Things just clicked between us.” Or, if you’re real hip and trendy, you’ll say, “The vibes were really cool”.

Your best friend in this world at one time was a total stranger. How did you get to know him or her? You spent time with the person. It’s the same way in “growing in the knowledge of God”. We must spend time with Him. Prayer, Bible study, worship, Christian literature and music, and a network of caring Christian friends all contribute to us getting to know Him. It’s a matter of deep desire and setting priorities.

The third encouragement from Paul that adds to pleasing “Him in every way” is noticed in verse 11: “being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience”. He’s saying be a strong Christian. These are days when Christians need to be strong, and not compromising. At the end of verse 11 there are another pair of terms set side by side that deserve highlight: Endurance is the ability to effectively cope with difficult circumstances. Patience refers more to the ability to effectively cope with difficult people.

The fourth encouragement from Paul that contributes to “pleasing Him in every way” (verse 10b) is “joyfully giving thanks to the Father”. We need to be a thankful Christian. Why don’t we admit that we often have a temptation to whine and complain? Let’s take the “high road” and “give thanks in all circumstances” (I Thessalonians 5:18). Perhaps one of the healthiest things you could do is to pause and bow and say, “Lord, I’m sorry for complaining, I trust you with my life and I give you thanks.”

The closing clause of verse 12 says “who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.” The term “qualified” was used in the banking industry. Have you ever heard of a cosigner? The one who guarantees the debt of another? That’s the term we have here.

When I was a freshman at Pasadena College I needed a car. I had little money, and zero credit. But a very loving and caring layman in the church I was attending had a soft spot in his heart for preacher boys. He took me to Whittier, to the Nazarene Credit Union, and sat me down and helped me fill out an auto loan application. There at the bottom of the page he signed his name next to mine, as my cosigner, guaranteeing the loan. Then he took me up to Pasadena on Colorado Boulevard to a used car lot. Man, did we ever find the cleanest ’62 Pontiac Catalina, 4-door hard top, boring beige, 389 cubic inch, V-8, two barrel carburetor with automatic on the column. It only had 26,000 miles on it. Do you know what happened? I drove that ’62 Pontiac back to the men’s’ dorm, and there was no way I could qualify by myself.

And that’s what Jesus did for us on the cross. “All we like sheep have gone astray. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And the wages of sin is death.” We deserved to die and go to hell forever, but God who is rich in mercy made us alive. There is no way we could qualify by ourselves to go to Heaven and “share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light”. But Jesus “cosigned our application” through His shed blood on the cross.

If we want to live a life all about Him we will seek to ”live a life worthy of the Lord,” wanting to please Him in every way, by being fruitful, growing, strong and thankful.