So What’s Next?

Colossians 3:3-17                                                            September 5, 2004

         For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

         Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

         Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

         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.

CCI: If we have died to sin and Law, then our life is lived in gratitude to Christ.

Intro: Paul’s message in this letter has been, “You are dead to the Law, don’t let anyone pull you back into it’s clutches.” As verse 3 says, “You died and you life is now hidden with Christ.” That is wonderfully freeing, but it also raises the question, “So what is next? How do we live? What are the new standards?” And that is the question Paul answers in the rest of the letter.

         For eleven years a man named Merhan Nasseri was a man without a country. For eleven years he lived in a Paris airport. He had no passport. He had no citizenship. He had no papers that enabled him to leave the airport or fly to another country. He had been expelled from his native country of Iran. Then he was sent away from Paris, France, because he lacked documentation. He said his Belgian-issued refugee document had been stolen. He flew to England but was denied entry and sent back to Paris. When he was returned to the Paris airport in 1988, airport authorities allowed him to live in Terminal 1, and there he stayed for eleven years, writing in a diary, living off of handouts from airport employees, cleaning up in the airport bathroom.

         Then in September 1999 the situation reversed. French authorities presented Nasseri with an international travel card and a French residency permit. Suddenly he was free to go anywhere he wanted. But when airport officials handed him his walking papers, to everyone's surprise, he simply smiled, tucked the documents in his folder, and resumed writing in his diary. They found he was afraid to leave the bench and table that had been his home for eleven years. As the days passed and Nasseri refused to leave, airport officials said they would not throw him out of the airport, but they would have to gently and patiently coax him to find a new home. 

[PreachingToday.com Adapted from: Ray Moseley, "At Last, Airport 'Prisoner' Gets His Walking Papers," Chicago Tribune (9-21-99)]

         Isn’t that strange. The man had been living in prison. He had been a man without a country, a man who was dead to the rest of the world. And when he was given freedom, when he was given life, he refused to accept it. He was free to go where wished. He had papers that meant he could return to life. But he was so accustom to living in the airport that he was unable to leave.

         As a follower of Jesus “you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” Therefore, it is time to go to a new home and with a new identity and a new way of living.

         Regarding Henry tells the story of Henry Morris, a successful lawyer in New York City who has the world by the tail and little time for his family. Whatever it takes to win major court cases, Henry (played by Harrison Ford) will sell his soul for it. Ethical behavior matters less to him than climbing the corporate ladder and supporting his elaborate lifestyle.

         Henry's life changes drastically, though, when he stops at a convenience store late at night and becomes the victim of a robbery. The burglar shoots him in the chest and head. Doctors save his life, but Henry requires months of hospitalization and therapy. He has no memory of his wife, daughter, or colleagues. He enters into an intensive program to reclaim his identity, including wearing clothes he now finds too formal and eating eggs and steak he no longer has a taste for. The process of learning how to walk again is difficult, and so is recapturing his love for his family, who are strangers to him. Eventually he reclaims both.

         After resuming his life, Henry discovers some troubling things. He finds evidence that his wife had been unfaithful prior to the shooting. He is devastated by the news. But he finds out that he had been unfaithful to her as well. What is more, he discovers he withheld evidence in court that prevented a critically ill patient from obtaining a settlement from a hospital he was defending.

         Near the end of the film, we find that Henry returns home troubled by his past. His wife meets him at the door and breaks into tears.

         "I'm sorry," she says.

         "No, I'm sorry," he counters and then adds, "You were right. Things were different. I have something I need to tell you."

         "What is it?" she asks.

         "I don't like my clothes," he says, sounding childlike but sincere. "Maybe they used to be my favorite, but I don't feel comfortable in them anymore."

         "We'll get you new clothes," his wife says smiling. She reaches to embrace him.

         "I'm not done," Henry says, pulling away from her embrace. "Eggs. I don't like eggs, or steak. And Sarah, I hate being a lawyer. I quit, and I told Charlie goodbye."

         "Whatever you want is fine," Sarah assures him.

         "I want us to be a family for as long as we can, Sarah," Henry quietly whispers. "For as long as we can."

         "I love you," she offers.

         "I love you too," Henry says as they embrace.

(PreachingToday.com, "Regarding Henry": Starting a New Life)

         When Henry found a new identity, he did not need a new set of rules to instruct him. Instead he discovered that the old things and the old way of doing things simply did not fit any more. The clothes were uncomfortable, the food did not satisfy, the goals were empty, the job meaningless..

         So in this new life we have with Christ, Paul simply invites us to realize that the old things no longer fit. “Put to death therefore, ” Paul said,”whatever belongs to your earthly nature.” Whether it is lying or impurity, greed or lust, anger or immorality or evil desires or slander, it is time to take them off. If you are new in Christ, these things simply no longer fit.

         On Friday, I went to Sanford Lake with the family, and in the process, while wearing my jeans, I got very wet. I dried off all I could, but still the pants were uncomfortable and the water was making me irritable. So as soon as I got home, I took off the clothes that no longer fit me well. Then I put on some fresh clothes. And they felt great.

         Friends, God is offering us fresh clothes in place of the wet, dirty, stinky ones we are wearing now. The fresh clothes are made to show off our new identity. For so long have identified ourselves by our work, or by our race, or by our national identity. We identify ourselves as Baptists or teachers, or retired, or parents. However, those definitions no longer fit us. We have a new identity, we are God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved. So naturally, the clothes that we wore in our old life don’t fit any more.

         God has provided new clothes to compliment and make clear our new identity. They are clothes of “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” We have been given new clothes of forgiveness and peace and gratitude and joy. And over all of it and holding it all together is love.

         If you have been raised with Christ, you are a new creation. As a new creation, the old does not fit, in fact there is a longing in your heart for something new. Listen again to the New thing that God is offering: “as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

         “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.”

         This morning we have sung songs, and hymns and spiritual songs. We have expressed gratitude to God for His love. And in a few minutes we will be reminded once again of His sacrifice for us.

         If you have been struggling with the old things, then it is time to realize who you are in Christ. You are God’s chosen person, holy and dearly love. Embrace that identity and let him clothe you in a new life.

Let us pray.