“CHRIST: THE HOME BUILDER” Col. 3:15-21
INTRO – Have you ever tried to play Jenga? Fun family game. Object: Remove blocks 1 at a time and place them back on top without knocking tower down. Starts off easy. Blocks come out quickly and easily. Lots to choose from.
But as game progresses, gets increasingly difficult. Tower leans, rocks, becomes unstable. When this happens, players must have the wisdom to make the right decision about which block to remove. Then must have the right touch to carefully remove the block and place it back on top again. And even then, sometimes the blocks come tumbling down.
What do you do then? Put them back together and start over again.
Why use a silly children’s game to introduce this message? B/c this evening as we look at “Christ: The Home Builder” we are going to look at some of the building blocks that must be in place to have a strong Christian home.
If we were to do an in-depth look at the book of Colossians, we would see that Christ is the connector that holds this book together. Ch. 1 shows us Christ as the head of the Church. Ch. 2 shows us that Christ is the treasure of our lives. Ch. 3 shows us that Christ should be the target of our lives. Ch. 4 gives us the understanding that He is the helper of the helpers. Christ truly is the Colossians Connection. He is pre-eminent in all things. He is the Supreme God. He is totally sufficient for salvation. Col. 3:11 – “Christ is all and is in all…” – theme of Colossians.
This evening we are going to turn our attention to the last portion of ch. 3. In this passage, we will see 3 BUILDING BLOCK RELATIONSHIPS that are critical in the construction of a strong, vibrant Christian home.
I. BLDG. BLOCK REL. #1 – CHRIST & YOU – v. 15-17
A. This is the foundation for our lives. Every other rel. in our lives should be built upon this one.
i. Matt. 7:24-27
B. If this foundational relationship is unstable or not even present in your life, all other relationships will in danger of collapse.
i. Family having picnic on sandbar. Did not realize that the river had eroded away the sand underneath them. Suddenly, sandbar gave way, plunging them into river.
ii. What are those things that you are allowing to slowly, silently erode away this foundational relationship?
C. Paul gives us some components of this relationship of Christ and you:
i. Peace – v. 15 – Only way to experience peace in your life is to know the Prince of Peace.
1. Bumper sticker – “No Jesus – No Peace. Know Jesus – Know Peace.”
2. So many homes, families, marriages, and relationship have no peace b/c Christ is not in that home.
a. Husband/Fathers
b. Wives/Mothers
c. No peace without the Prince of Peace present.
3. 2 artists asked to paint their depiction of “peace.” One painted serene, pastoral scene of a lake in midst of a field. Other painted thundering waterfall w/ a tiny bird holding onto branch stretching over waterfall.
a. When you know Jesus, you can have deep inner peace even in the midst of the thunderous world around you.
ii. The Word – v. 16a – Knowing Christ means that you have the potential of experiencing the Word of God at work in your life.
1. Owner’s manual in your car’s glove compartment.
2. Word of God is our Owner’s Manual for our life and for our home.
3. Must know it. No substitute for daily intake of the Word.
a. Read it.
b. Study it.
c. Memorize it.
d. Meditate on it.
e. Hear it taught and preached.
iii. Worship – v. 16b – Knowing Christ, having that first building block relationship in place means that worship takes on a new dimension for you.
1. Personal worship takes on a new dimension.
2. Corporate worship takes on a new dimension.
3. “Worship is extravagant love & extreme obedience.”
iv. Purpose in life – v. 17 – Knowing Christ means that you have real purpose for your life.
1. The On-Purpose Person – Author, Kevin McCarthy – “Purpose is energy. It’s the single most motivating force there is. Discover your purpose, be on-purpose, and you will have a life filled w/ meaning and significance. We need to be doing and living on-purpose.” (p. 30)
2. “To do everything in the name of Jesus is to act consistently with who He is and what He wants.” (MacArthur, Colossians and Philemon, p. 160)
D. If this foundational building block relationship of Christ and you is not in place this evening, or it is there but is unstable, then you now know the reason you are here tonight.
II. BLDG. BLOCK REL. #2 – HUSBAND & WIFE – v. 18-19
A. As critical as this relationship is, we all understand that sometimes it really seems one-sided.
i. You ladies will understand what I’m talking about. Ever heard any of these statements?
1. “Things men say”
B. Marriage and weddings are memorable events.
i. “The Ring Bear” - Little boy coming down aisle at church. Take a few steps, stop, and roar. A few more steps, stop, and roar. All the way down aisle. Everyone laughing. When he got to end of aisle, cried, and said, "I was just being the ring bear."
C. We may be able to laugh at some of these jokes, but what is happening to the marriage relationship and to the family today is no laughing matter.
i. As a pastor, I’m tired of seeing young couples come into my office for pre-marital counseling only to see them return in 6 months for marital counseling.
ii. Marriage has become a disposable commodity.
1. Prayer at opening of court. Waiting with judge in side room. Lawyer brought in young woman – early 20’s. She wants a divorce. Judge – “You want it? He wants it?” “Yes.” Signed paper. Marriage over.
iii. Billboard – “Loved the wedding. Invite me to the marriage. – God”
D. Whether you are single, married, or divorced, you need to hear what the Word of God says about this important building block relationship in building a home.
i. Single – may be married one day – need to know your God-given role and responsibilities in marriage relationship.
ii. Divorced – may be able to spot a deficiency in your relationship that will help you deal with your divorce, or keep it from happening again should you remarry.
iii. Married – must have a clear understanding of what God expects from you in your rel. with your spouse.
E. Let’s take a look at the roles now:
i. Role of the wife – v. 18
ii. Role of the husband – v. 19
F. Steve Farrar, in book, Point Man, tells this story:
i. Continental Flight 1713 – 75 people on board – Snowy Dec. day in Denver. Forgot to check wings. Needed to be de-iced every 20 minutes. Instead, pilots were making sexual jokes about one of the flight attendants. Result? Plane crashed just seconds after takeoff. 28 people died.
1. Crash happened due to lack of teamwork.
ii. Flying the “Marriage 747” – Husband and wife have to work together to keep that big “plane” flying. Lights flashing – kid needs braces, son has the flu, daughter has a wreck, income taxes due, wife’s b’day coming up, boss puts more on you at work, preacher wants you to teach a SS class, son’s teacher wants a conference with you.
1. Marriage 747’s crash every day simply b/c husbands and wives have never understood who they are to operate and function as a team.
iii. Need to understand the “Montana-Rice” principle.
1. Joe M. has authority over Jerry R.
2. Jerry is to submit to Joe’s authority.
3. Joe makes the decision on the play. Jerry has input in the huddle. Can give important feedback based on what’s he’s experiencing out on the field. Joe would do well to listen to him.
iv. Going into fire with partner.
1. Man on nozzle is fighting fire. Backup man is watching for potential dangers. Both critical to successful firefighting. Both need to do their assigned jobs. Don’t try to do the others’ job. But it would be stupid not to listen to each other and work together.
G. Husband and wife must listen to each other and work together.
i. Yes, husband is given authority by God to be the leader of the home. But too many husbands are abdicating this responsibility.
ii. Yes, wives are to submit to husband’s leadership. But listen to what John Piper says about the wive’s submission:
1. “To the wife, it should be said that the form your submission takes will vary according to the quality of your husband’s leadership. If the husband is a godly man who has a biblical vision for his family and leads out in the things of the Spirit, a godly wife will rejoice in his leadership and support him in it. You will be no more squelched by this leadership than the disciples were squelched by the leadership of Jesus.”
III. BLDG. BLOCK REL. #3 – PARENT & CHILD – v. 20-21
A. The parent-child rel. can and will bring much joy into the home, but it also has the potential to bring much pain.
B. First – listen up children and teenagers. This part is specifically for you.
i. Reminds me of a story of a 6 year old boy who after restlessly listening to a long, tedious sermon, asked his dad what the preacher did the rest of the week. “Oh, he’s a very busy man. He takes care of church business, visits the sick, ministers to the poor…and then, you know, he has to have time to rest up. Talking in public isn’t an easy job, you know.” Little boy thought then said, “Well, listening ain’t easy either!”
C. May be difficult for you to listen to this, but it is extremely important for your rel. with your parents, but even more importantly, your rel. with Jesus.
D. Your obedience to your parents is the most important key in your relationship with Christ.
i. Submitting to parents’ authority is necessary for God’s protection.
1. They are His agents of authority and protection over you.
2. Umbrella illus.
E. Parents – here’s the word for us:
i. “Embitter” means “exasperate, to stir up, provoke, or irritate.”
ii. Several ways that you and I can embitter or exasperate our kids and cause them to be discouraged and lose heart:
1. Overprotection – Nothing child does earns our trust
2. Showing favoritism
3. Depreciating their worth – not listening to them says they are not a person of worth – TURN OFF TV!!
4. Setting unrealistic goals – athletics – Saw a dad take his elementary age son to a restroom at a baseball field and spank him b/c the boy was not striking out enough batters.
5. Failing to show affection – Dobson – Dads – hold your son’s hand as long as he’ll let you b/c there will come a day when that’s no longer acceptable.
a. Russ and Reese
6. Undercontrolling the child
7. Neglect – be involved in their lives –
a. Rachel’s first piano recital
8. Excessive criticism
9. Excessive discipline – how many of us thought that the appropriate punishment for the lady who was caught on a surveillance camera beating her daughter in the parking lot of that shopping center would have been to let us beat her???
F. Dorothy Nolte – “Children Learn what they live”
i. If a child lives w/…
1. criticism, he learns to condemn
2. hostility, he learns to fight
3. ridicule, he learns to be shy
4. shame, he learns to feel guilty
5. tolerance, he learns to be patient
6. encouragement, he learns confidence
7. praise, he learns to appreciate
8. fairness, he learns justice
9. security, he learns to have faith
10. approval, he learns to like himself
11. acceptance and friendship, he learns to find love in the world.
CONCLUSION – Back to Jenga game. Remember I said that when the tower falls, you the blocks back together and start over again? Maybe that’s how you feel right now in your life.
- Bldg. Block Rel. #1 – Christ and You has fallen apart
- Rel. #2 – Husband and wife has fallen apart
- Rel. #3 – Parent and child has fallen apart
Christ, the Homebuilder, is here to say to you, “Let me help you pick up the blocks and put them back together again. Let’s start afresh and anew tonight.”
