Do you love your church? In Col. 1:3 Paul always thanks God for the church at Colossae. Is it the building, or the people that you love? Elton Trueblood wrote a book about the church called, The Company of the Committed. What a beautiful name for a church. If every Christian church was known for the commitment of its members, this city would be changed.
Paul wrote to the church at Colossae to remind them of the supremacy and all-sufficiency of Christ. In his letter he talks about Jesus as God, Creator, Savior, and head of the Church. A summary is found at the end of 3:11, "Christ is all, and is in all.”
To be filled with God’s knowledge means to let God speak to you through the Bible. Wisdom is the ability to take this knowledge and to apply its teachings to your life. Understanding is the common sense to recognize that God’s Word contains all the believer needs to know about the will of God, and how to live the way God desires.
To know God’s will should be the goal of every Christian. This would please God very much—to know His will, and to do it. Do you want your life to count for something? Do God’s will! Your life will count for eternity.
How? By making Jesus Christ the standard for the how you live. Do you realize how much of our lives are lived to please or impress others? You can take care of that by becoming a Jesus pleaser rather than man pleaser. Imagine how freed your life would be if Jesus was your standard rather than the ways of the world. You could stop worrying about what others do or say.
When you are not bound to this world—when you don’t have to worry about being like everyone else or pleasing someone else, then you don’t have to do things anymore just because your friends do.
You don’t have to drink just because your friends think you should. You don’t have to do drugs. You can dress modestly rather than the way the world tells you to. You don’t have to go places you shouldn’t just because others are.
A 102 year old woman was asked the benefits of living to such an old age. She thought for a minute then said, “No peer pressure.” When you live just for Jesus it is tremendously freeing. Wouldn’t you like to be a part of the company of the committed?
Sometimes you get behind a truck that has a sign on it that says, “If I’m driving unsafely call 1-800-555-1212.” Suppose that God stamped across your forehead for all to see, “Watch me, I’m a Christian.” How would you live your life?
The Bible says, 1 John 2:5 (NIV), "But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him.”
If anyone obeys His word—His word is the Bible. Remember the three words: knowledge, wisdom, and understanding. It begins with getting knowledge from God which is found only in the Bible, then applying it to your life. This is the beginning of obedience, and when God’s love becomes evident in your life.
There are many Christians who think obedience is just coming to Sunday morning church, singing some hymns, and listening to the preacher. But throughout the week not much thought is given to the church or godly things.
Even Jesus said about himself in John 6:38 (NIV), “I have come not to do My will, but the will of Him who sent me.” Jesus came to do God the Father’s will. His desire was to be obedient to God the Father.
Obedience is living for Christ rather than yourself. Some Christians think obedience is to latch on to something—it might be Biblical inerrancy, or end-time prophecy. Some of you grab hold of being against something—homosexuality, women leaders in the church, and so one.
You get so hung up on certain things that you forget what it means to be like Jesus. You get mean if people don’t agree with you.
Stop worrying about what someone thinks about the inerrancy of the Bible, and start doing what it says. Stop worrying about prayer in school, and start praying. Stop fretting and fuming over what the Episcopals, Lutherans, Methodists, Catholics, or Southern Baptists are fussing about, and get busy serving in your church.
God doesn’t want bench warmers and worriers; He’s looking for players and do’ers. He doesn’t need armchair quarterbacks second guessing His instructions; He’s looking for obedient workers. Which are you? What are you doing for Christ through His church?
I heard this analogy one time: There are two kinds of people in the church – Pillars and Caterpillars. The Pillars hold up the church, and Caterpillars simply go in and out. It sounds like the Pillars are the good guys and the Caterpillars the bad guys.
But the more I thought about it the more I wonder. Pillars don’t change. Pillars are made of stone. Sometimes people become so intent in holding up the church, they become set in their ways. They support their church, but they forget about walking in a manner worthy of Jesus. They forget the church is all about Jesus
Caterpillars, on the other hand, are alive. Caterpillars are moving, changing, and becoming. As long as they keep coming in – to worship, praise, and pray, and going out to spread the Good News in the world – then this is what it is all about.
It goes both ways. The Pillars need to add Cater to their name and break out of their stony shells. Caterpillars need to remember their last name is Pillar, and they need to do their share of upholding so there will continue to be a church to go in and out of.
Another characteristic of the company of the committed is that we…
Jesus told us to love one another just as He loves us. This is the test, this is how friends and neighbors will know that our faith is real. Remember, you have “I am a Christian” stamped on your forehead.
Look back at verse 4. Paul is so impressed by their faith and the love they have for one another. Colossians 1:4 (NIV), 4because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints—
We all have a deep, innate longing to be loved and accepted. For most of us the first place this is felt is within our own families. But the family today isn’t the same as it was in earlier years. Popular TV depicts dysfunctional families, friends living together, children smarter than their parents, and so on.
But in the company of the committed, the church is family. Here we provide an environment of belonging. People can develop meaningful relationships and friends, and feel valuable, and that they are part of something important.
God has strategically placed us here. In the families around us there are shattered lives, marriages breaking up, children who have disappointed their parents, people who are smothered, angry, detached, and seduced, looking for a word of hope. The church should be a sanctuary of love and hope.
In the church we learn that God loves us, that we are important to Him, that we have worth because He said so, and His Son died for us because of it. We believe this. We know it. We accept God’s love. We offer it to others.
When we treat each other with love and respect, it spills into our community, and people want to know what’s so special. Our world will never understand hope until it sees love in action in the church.
Let me tell you how serious this matter of loving one another is. Loving relationships are the glue that keeps people connected to a church. Loving relationships are essential for spiritual growth. It is not optional. As a Christian you cannot choose to not to love.
Christians who are not connected in loving relationships with other believers are disobeying the “love one another” commands given in God’s Word. People can know we are Christians by how we treat each other.
The Apostle John wrote: 1 John 3:14 (NIV) 14We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. If we don’t love even our fellow church members, we ought to question our salvation.
Nothing is more important to the growth of our church than love and acceptance. People want a place where they’ll be loved and accepted. Develop friendships and relationships with others in the church—Christ expects this of you
Check your actions—besides your family, who sits with you and around you in the worship service? Do you dash out after services, getting out the door as quickly as possible? Do you give anyone a chance to try to be friendly to you? Do you try to meet and be friendly with others?
Here is a Dr. Myers prescription: Your witness to unbelievers begins with how you relate to believers. If you can’t relate to believers, the people you are going to spend eternity with, how in the world are you going to be able to share Jesus with un-believers?
First, we’ve got to learn to be obedient to our Lord. Secondly, we must begin sharing Christ’s love with each other and our community. Third, in the company of the committed we:
The Holy Spirit is God’s presence in every believer. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:19 (NIV), 19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you?
The Holy Spirit is God’s power for accomplishing God’s will. He gives purpose and guidance to us. To know the purpose of God, you have to know the Holy Spirit.
Without the Holy Spirit we are just another institution. To be quite honest, most church activities can be accomplished and explained in merely human terms. There is little supernatural life in the “business as usual” of the average church.
If we are to grow it will be because all of us have a broken heart before God, and yield and commit our lives to Him.
The Church—that’s the people—is to be Christ’s representatives in the world. We must learn to depend on the Spirit to lead us and do His work through us. Sometimes He is going to lead us in ways that seem risky and maybe even foolish.
But we must listen to the Spirit and do what He says even when it is risky and may appear foolish. We become a team of sold-out-to-Christ, united body of believers, absolutely committed to grow and mature in Christ, and to reach others for Christ.
Every worker, every Sunday School teacher, every pastor, every member, must commit themselves to the leadership of the Holy Spirit, and by so doing, commit ourselves to the growth of this church and reaching out to our neighbors.
Three things: Obedience, love, and the Holy Spirit. These are the key to a complete Christian life and enable us to become a Company of the Committed to Jesus Christ. If you feel your Christian life is incomplete, search your heart. Discover what is missing. Commit yourself completely to Christ.