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He Reigns! Colossians 3:15 NLT- 12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults and, forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body, you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. 16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. These are good words to live by. Especially in our current social climate. There is a lot of rich content in these several verses to look at. 1. God chose you to be THE HOLY PEOPLE HE LOVES. HE CHOSE US! That ought to make you feel special. Eph. 1:4 TPT- And He chose us to be His very own, joining us to Himself EVEN BEFORE HE LAID THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE UNIVERSE! Because of His great love, He ordained us (Marked us with his love, or predestined us, set us apart), so that we would be seen as HOLY IN HIS EYES with an unstained innocence. 2. He has called us to change our clothes: clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. These are not natural human attributes. They are contrary to the fleshly desires or our SELF-LIFE. They are outward manifestations of the work of the Holy Spirit inside of us. (Gal. 5:22 ..the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. 2. Forgive:13 Make allowance for each other’s faults and, forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 3. LOVE ABOVE EVERTHING ELSE: 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. LOVE is the only thing that will sustain us as a body of believers. Ps. 133- It is good for brethren to dwell together in harmony… Now we get to the crust of the matter: 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. Rule: Greek- brabeuo: Describes an umpire who calls all the shots and makes all the decisions. So instead of being ruled by your emotions or your circumstances, the peace of God is calling the shots. Col. 3:16 KJV- Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. As we let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly: it’s like we roll out the red carpet of our minds and hearts to the Word and give special honor to it. When we do, God’s word produces a peace that causes us to have a great peace inside us no matter what is going on outside of us. Last week I made mention of a passage of Scripture found in Heb. 12:26-27 NLT When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: “Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also.” 27 This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain. 28 Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe.29 For our God is a devouring fire. I believe we are in such a time of “Shaking.” Many are shaken in their faith. But if we allow the Peace of Christ to reign our hearts we will never be shaken. Phil. 4:6-7 NLT is a passage of Scripture that most of us are very familiar with. 6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. But verse 8 is the glue that holds the preceding verses together. 8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. This is an example of what Paul is talking about in Col. 3:15- When we have our thoughts fixed on the right things then there is no room for fear or doubt. What is TRUE, HONORABLE, RIGHT, PURE, LOVELY, ADMIRABLE? God and His promises. Col. 3:1-2 3 TPT Christ’s resurrection is your resurrection too. This is why we are to yearn for all that is above, for that’s where Christ sits enthroned at the place of all power, honor, and authority! 2 Yes, feast on all the treasures of the heavenly realm and fill your thoughts with heavenly realities, and not with the distractions of the natural realm. I believe this message is totally relevant because of where we are on the prophetic eschatological timeline. 2 Thess. 2:2 KJV- That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Paul wrote to the Thessalonian believers to warn them about events that would occur just before the second coming of Christ. He wanted to prepare them so these events wouldn’t catch them off guard and throw them into a state of panic. Notice, he told them not to be “soon shaken.” Soon: Greek: tachus: quickly, suddenly, hastily. And Shaken: Greek: saleuo: to shake, to waver, totter, or to be moved. He specifically tells them not to be, “soon shaken in mind or spirit.” Paul was telling them to resist being easily shaken up by the events that will occur just before the coming of Jesus. Still applies! He said, “don’t be shaken in MIND: nous: describes everything that pertains to the realm of the intellect, including one’s will, emotions, and ability to think, reason and decide. Whatever or whatever controls a person’s mind ultimately has the power to dictate the affairs and outcomes of a person’s life. Therefore, if a person allows his mind to be doused with panic or fear, they are putting fear in charge of their life. Paul went on to say, “That you be not soon shaken in mind, or to be troubled. Troubled: throeo: an inward fright resulting from some terrible or catastrophic event. The event or evens would be so nerve-wracking they could cause a person to be devoured with fear, worry or anxiety. Paul is admonishing his readers not to allow ourselves to be shaken, moved, or traumatized by the events that we see or hear of. He tells to get a grip on our minds and refuse to allow fear to control our lives. This takes us back to Col. 3:15-16 NKJV- 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. There will certainly be times in your life when your very faith will be shaken. But IF you are shaken, just remember Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth.” If we are the salt of the earth, then we must be shaken so that the salt can be scattered. Things to do when you are shaken: 1. Be alert and prepared because times of testing will come. It’s not a matter of if, but when. 2. Be joyful: 1 Thess. 5:16 NLT Always be joyful. The Joy of the Lord is your strength Neh. 8:10 3. Be prayerful: Phil 4:6-7, 1 Thess. 5:17 NKJV- Pray without ceasing. TPT- Make your life a prayer. 4. Stay constantly in the Word: Again, this takes us back to Col. 3:16- Let the Word of God dwell in you richly… HE REIGNS!