God has an encouraging word for you and me today through the Bible-based preaching of Dr. Don Wilton and a little extra today.
Okay, he's not little anymore. Young Rob Wilton is now Dr. Rob Wilton, the son of Dr. Don Wilton. And today Dr. Don is inviting him to the pulpit to talk to us about responsibility, Christian responsibility. And in a moment Rob will take us to Colossians chapter 3. But first Dr. Don wants you to know we're here for you. We'd love to pray with you right now at 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673. Or let's connect online at tewonline.org.
That's tewonline.org. We're here for you 24 hours a day and have wonderful resources, including the one from Joni Eareckson Tada we'll talk about in just a few minutes. But now Dr. Don and Rob Wilton. Well, I've got a wonderful, wonderful thing to say to you today. Standing next to me is my oldest son, Rob. And to have Rob here with me today is an unsurpassed joy for me as a dad, for Karen as a mom, for our family. Rob and Annabeth are just deeply embedded in our hearts. But I am going to tell you there are four people with them that actually are on a little bit of a higher plane.
Their names are Bolt, Mack, Burke and McCall. So they are here as well and to have them with us for a couple of days is just an exceptional joy. My son, I don't know how to say this to you, but you know in life, and you're going to find this and I pray this for you, you bring up your sons and your daughters as mom and I did. And you grew up born and raised in New Orleans and then when you were 12 years old we moved to a place called Spartanburg. And you came with Greg and with Shelly and this is where you grew up amongst the most precious people in the world. But you accomplished so many great things. The greatest accomplishment was that you gave your life to Christ. And you know I watched Rob go off to college, accomplish great things, play ball at college, go on and get his master's degree and then get his doctorate.
I watched him meet and marry a most beautiful young lady, Annabeth, who is so precious to us. The greatest thing, Rob, is that you answered the call of God. And today here you are at your age as an adult, as a father, and I'm your dad and you teach me, my son.
You teach me every day. I listen to you and I watch you and I'm inspired by you. Rob served for many years in New Orleans. God called him back there and he and Annabeth planted Vintage Church in New Orleans, an incredible ministry today. Then God called them out to go and serve along the North American Mission Board up into Pittsburgh and to establish a new work there, Vintage Pit, one of our church plants that we are engaged in.
This is a reason why we give. Rob not only does that, but God has used him, he's risen up as a leader, preaching across the nation in pulpits from Prestonwood, 35,000 member congregation across the nation because God has given him a gift of proclaiming the gospel, preaching the word. It's a joy to have you home, my son, and I love you. And today I'm going to invite my son, Rob, to come and to preach the Word of God. And I told him a minute ago, I'm going to sit there and I will pray as he preaches that every word, which is God's word, will not return void because you and I need to do business with the Lord Jesus. God bless you, my son.
I love you. Well, let's open up our Bibles together to the book of Colossians, to the book of Colossians. What an amazing setting and what an opportunity for us this morning to preach the Word of God. It's always an extremely great blessing for me to be here back home. Man, I miss the beacon. I'll just be honest.
I'm going to have to go and throw down an aplenty sometime later this week, but love you guys so much. And to be honest, these outdoor settings, big chief, this is what we grew up in. Dad would rear back and pitch a fit in revivals all over the world. And I love getting to preach outside. Last week I had the privilege of tuning in with you, as I know so many do, through online and through the TV ministry here of The Encouraging Word. And I got to hear an amazing message that Dad preached from the book of Romans, where we considered a Christian's identity. Today I want to preach on a Christian's responsibility. Not just a Christian's identity, but a Christian's responsibility.
To whom much is given, much is required. We have a great responsibility today to exalt the name of Jesus Christ. Now we're going to look at Colossians chapter 3 verse 9 through 17.
So I want you to go ahead and get ready. That's going to be the core, the heart of our message today. But before we do that, I want to rewind in chapter 3 and talk real quickly about identity again. Because Colossians chapter 3 verse 1 through 4 is another great summary, like my dad preached last week from Romans 3 and Romans 6, about the identity that we have in Christ. We are Christians.
We are followers of Christ. And so look with me in Colossians chapter 3 verse 1 through 4, because this is another foundational biblical truth about what it means to be a Christian. It says, if then, notice those words, if then, I pray you know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior here today. I pray that if you have not received Christ as your Lord and Savior, that in just a few moments I want to invite you, would you receive Jesus Christ?
Would you surrender your life to Him today? I believe that He is here, that salvation is here. If then, in verse 1, you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth. For you have died, that picture of baptism, buried with Christ in death, but raised to walk in new life. Here it says, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, verse 4, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. I think especially today, as we go to elect a new president, especially when our country seems so divided, especially when a virus threatens our lives, I want you to know and be reminded today of what Colossians 3 speaks to us about, that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is in office.
He is the incumbent, and He is seated at the right hand of God. Amen? This is not about you and me. In fact, I want you to know that if you hear any preacher preach more about you and me than Jesus, they're not preaching the true gospel, for the true gospel actually starts with, you can't. I know that sounds real encouraging today. You can't do it, but that's the gospel. The gospel is you can't, but here's the good news, but Jesus did. And because Jesus did, now you can. See, He is the one who is seated at the right hand of the Father. Jesus makes it possible in our new identity for us to seek the things that are above in full confidence while we live on earth. You have died and your life is hidden with Christ.
Now, let's go to our main text, Colossians chapter 3. I've got a few points. You want to make sure you take some notes down, especially single guys here today. You want to take some notes down.
It will impress some of the ladies that you've hopefully come here with. When you take notes in church, it makes you look holier than your neighbor, and that's the point of church, so make sure you take some notes today. That's what we want to focus in on. So I'm going to give you four points in regards to our responsibility of what it means to follow Jesus Christ, because as the church, with our new identity, we have a mission on this earth. And in this passage, we find four incredible responsibilities of our identity in Christ. You're listening to The Encouraging Word with Dr. Don Wilton. Typically, today it's featuring Rob Wilton, his son, both men of God who take us straight to the Bible itself. That is our source of encouragement.
We take a pause here in the middle of the broadcast, though, because Dr. Don insists that we remind you this is not just a presentation, it's a conversation. And we love to pray with you and for you both online at www.tewonline.org. That's www.tewonline.org. Or this phone number, 866-899-WORD.
That's 866-899-9673. We'd love to connect with you. And many of you have asked how you can support us prayerfully and financially.
Well, it's by becoming an encourager. Our nation is in crisis. Our world is in crisis. Time is short for us to reach those around us with the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Will you join us in our endeavor to reach just one more? We need your support. Become an encourager today. Call us at 866-899-WORD to request an encourager brochure today. The encouraging word is a viewer and listener supported ministry. Thank you for listening today. Now back to today's message with Dr. Don's son, Rob Wilton, called Christian Responsibility.
We have a responsibility. Towards the end of high school, I had a few things going on. Dad just shared with you my resume and I always appreciate that. I wish I could take him with me around the country. He gives the best introduction and sets the bar way too high.
So everything from Dad's introduction is going to be a letdown from that moment. But I did have a few things going on in high school. I was here at Dorman High School, loved our youth group.
We were in the underground over in the main building. We weren't the hanger yet over there. But we were called the hanger and we hadn't had all these things that you guys have today.
But I had a few things going on. Trying to get good grades, trying to get that SAT score up, athletics, playing basketball at Dorman High School about 40 pounds ago. I was at the YMCA all the time playing ball and just hooping it up. Man, I miss those days because I would play basketball in the morning, go and eat three double cheeseburgers from Wendy's, and then I'd go back and ball again.
I can't do that anymore. I was FCA president at the school. I was headed to Boys State.
Man, we had tons of training from Mirror Image Choir Tour and Kentucky Missions. Man, I had all these things going on. On top of that, I had my dad's yard to keep clean. My brother had asthma, so he couldn't help me in the yard. I had to do all the yard work. Asthma is still his excuse when dad calls for yard work. And I'm telling you this. This is honest truth. My dad had a riding lawn mower, but he marked in the garage where he left the riding lawn mower parked because he didn't ever let me use the riding lawn mower.
I had to use the push mower. He kept me accountable. Commitment, responsibility. As Christians, as the church, now more than ever, we need to be reminded that as followers of Jesus Christ who have been saved by the gospel of Jesus Christ, we have been given so much incredible grace. We've been given so much incredible responsibility. And here in Colossians chapter 3, verse 9 through 17, I truly believe that the Lord Jesus Christ gives us a gut check message. If we are to raise the banner here at Barnett Park in the heart of Spartanburg, South Carolina for the name of Jesus Christ, what is our responsibility?
And what is our responsibility not just here in this moment right now for this hour, but what is our responsibility 24-7? Number one, if you're taking notes, we are called to remove. We are called to remove. In verse 9 of Colossians chapter 3 it says, Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices. One commentary shares this, as we are called to remove if we are in Christ. It shares that according to the Roman Empire custom, one punishment for someone who had committed unlawful murder was to be sentenced to carrying around the body of a person that they had murdered.
Eventually this becomes a death sentence due to sickness and disease that one would get from the dead body. The apostle Paul as he wrote these words might have had this in his mind. As followers of Christ, we are called to remove the old self. If you have been raised with Christ, live in Christ. Set your mind on things above.
Stop living like your old self. What is the old self? Go back deeper into Colossians chapter 3. Look with me in verse 5. Paul describes what the old ways are. If therefore anyone who is in Christ is a new creation, the old has passed, the new has come.
What is the old? Look at verse 5. Paul says, Put to death therefore what is earthly in you, sexual morality, impurity, passion, evil desire, covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these, the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, past tense, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away.
So friends, as I read these statements, what's on your Facebook feed right now? We are to put away anger, wrath, malice, slander, obscene talk from your mouth. This is the old self. And our responsibility in Christ, yes, Christ Jesus has done it for us. This is nothing that we can do outside of Christ, but in Christ Jesus, Scripture is very clear that our responsibility is to remove.
Everybody say remove. Number two, renew. When I say renew, check out verse 10. Not only are we to remove, but we're also to renew. Verse 10, Paul continues. He says, And have put on this fall. I'm going to preach through the armor of God in Pittsburgh.
Can't wait. We're called to put on the spiritual armor of God. Look at this. We are to put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Romans 12, one through two is another one of my favorite Scriptures that speaks to the responsibility of the Christian. In Romans chapter 12, verse 1, it says, I appeal to you, therefore brothers, by the mercies of God. I'm so thankful for God's mercy. I'm so thankful for God's mercy. I don't read these lists of the old self and walk around strutting in the presence of God.
I fail over and over and over, but yet God's mercy is far greater than my sin. I appeal to you, therefore brothers, by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world. Remove, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. We have to put on the new self. Remove the old self.
Renew. You can't live for Jesus, though, if you've not received Jesus. So once again, I invite you today, if you're here today within the sound of my voice in downtown Spartanburg, whether you're worshiping with us through the encouraging word online, I want to invite you today. Will you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? You see, he renews us through the gospel of Jesus Christ. We have a chance of removing the old self if Jesus hasn't removed it for us and justified us with his righteousness.
When was the moment that you gave your life to Christ? To be saved is to be renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. As Christians, we are called to be like him, be renewed.
Remove, renew. Number three, turn to your neighbor and say this really loud, rally, rally. Here, it's very clear that a Christian's responsibility is to rally. Verse 11, it says this. Here, there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free, but Christ is all and in all. What a message, especially in this day and age. Do you realize how amazing it is that we're united in this place?
If I pass a microphone around and I gave everyone an opportunity to share their opinion on any subject today, you know how many different opinions we would get? I think it's an amazing thing. It's a miracle of God. And the greater the diversity, when you find unity, the greater the miracle. And that's what Jesus Christ does for us.
He gives us the ability to rally. Paul wrote the church at Colossae. And as he wrote the church at Colossae, you can study historically, this was a time when the church was unfortunately pretty divided in many ways. The city was divided.
And the church seemed to stick with the city. We cannot do this, church. We cannot be cultural in this moment. It's time to be countercultural.
It's time for us to show rally, and not rally around each other, rally around the gospel of Jesus Christ. When Paul writes these things, he shares these different divisions. There are racial divisions, not Greek and Jew. There's religious divisions, circumcised, uncircumcised. There's cultural divisions, barbarian, Scythian. There's social divisions, slave and free men. And the church is not called to be cultural.
We're called to be countercultural. Think about the division that's in our world today. It's time for us, church, to focus on Christ, who is all and in all.
Normal human distinctions are overruled by one's union in Christ. This is our responsibility. Remove, renew, rally.
Now I really want you to nudge your neighbor and say this really loud. This is our last point. I'm going to land the plane here. Redeem. Everybody say redeem. Look at verse 12 through verse 17. In verse 12 through verse 17, the apostle Paul gives us what we are to put on. Put on then as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another. And if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other, as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive. And above all these, put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony, and let the peace of Christ ruin your hearts to which indeed you were called in one body and be thankful. Verse 16, this is what we're called to redeem. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, I've actually gone to seminary and gotten a doctorate, believe it or not, and in all those years of study, I've studied this word whatever. And you know what it means?
Whatever. That means everything. There's no such thing as putting on church, putting off church. There's no such thing as this is now, the holy hour in the rest of the week's mind. Whatever you do in word and deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. We have a mission as followers of Jesus. A lot of our time in our mission is rejection of things.
We've got to put off, we've got to remove, but a lot of it is the putting on of things. And I'm so thankful for the power of the gospel to redeem all things. Aren't you, amen? I know that that sin in your life is great, but Jesus is greater. And he's in the business of redeeming all things, and he's also in the business of taking those who are redeemed to go out as salt and light in this world to be a mission of reconciliation and redemption for the world. How many of you all believe that nothing is impossible for God to redeem?
Nothing. I know that he's done that for me. He can do the same for you here today. So as we respond to this message today and as we come to a close, I pray that we will not just be hearers of Colossians 3. I pray that we'll be doers of the word. I pray that this would be true in our lives, but here's how I want to close today.
Let's not think about these responsibilities today as a mission or as a burden. I want us to think about this as a relational joy. And this past year, I got a little knock on my office door, and in walks my princess. I have four kids, Bolt, Mac, and Burke are my boys. We gave them easy one-syllable yelling names. I knew I'd yell at them for most of their lives.
Bolt, Mac, Burke, here! But then I named my princess a long name. I enjoy her name way more. Her name's Carolina McCall. And Carolina McCall comes and knocks on the door. Daddy, would you take me to the daddy-daughter dance?
I said, I don't know, babe, I've got a lot of things going on, right? Of course, I'll take you to the daddy-daughter dance. Church, everybody look at me. Everybody listen to me. This word from Colossians 3 today is not a burden.
The responsibility I had, the joy that I had of being able to take my baby, my princess, to show her daddy's waltz moves, to show her love was an undescribable joy. And this responsibility that Jesus Christ has given to us because of his great love for us is an indescribable love and joy. Listen to me, church. Don't work to earn your love for God. Out of your love for God, do work. You show me someone that's struggling to do anything for anyone, and I'll show you someone with a heart problem. You do not need to call some sort of committee together to force me to do anything for that little girl.
I'm all in. And in the same way, Jesus Christ has demonstrated his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And he's called us by his grace to remove, to renew, to rally, and to redeem. And we pray that you will come out and every eye close as we close our time of worship today. Perhaps in your own heart you're beginning to close your eyes, bow your head, and say, Okay, God, I understand the need to renew, to rally, and redeem. We'd love to pray with you about what God's stirring your heart to do. Today's the day for a new decision, a fresh commitment, and perhaps even a course correction. Lord Jesus, I pray for friends that are listening right now to allow this moment of spirit leading to pass, but instead that we would all find ways to draw a line in the sand and say, No more, Lord. We are more focused for you. And for some, God, I thank you that are today saying yes to you, Jesus, as Savior and Lord, confessing that they believe that we believe that you are the Son of God and you died on the cross of Calvary to save us. Lord, rescue us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We'd love to discuss it more. Visit us online at tewonline.org or call 866-899-9673.
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