from your Bibles to Colossians chapter 3. This is our last week away from Ecclesiastes. I've enjoyed doing some different messages as we celebrate Thanksgiving and then Christmas and New Year's, but I am eager to get back into Ecclesiastes. I've been reacquainting my mind with that wonderful book and I'm excited for next week Let's read these verses and stand with me for the reading of God's word. Beginning in verse 12, it says, Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering, bearing with one another, and forgiving one another. If anyone has complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things, put on love, and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father. Well, we find ourselves yet again at the beginning of another year. If you're like me, you find this hard to believe because it seems like we just began 2025. In fact, if you were to ask me stuff that happened last January and say, how long ago was that? I'd probably say, oh, three or four months. But here we are again, you have the first Sunday of 52. 52 Sundays we get to gather. I think about New Year's and the first Sunday, and when it comes to New Year's, when I was younger, I didn't put a lot of emphasis on it, but as I've gotten older, the more grateful I am for the start of another year. For one thing, the start of each year is a reminder to me of God's continued faithfulness. And it's this reminder of God's faithfulness that causes me to be a little more contemplative. It's for this reason that, not just this year, the last several years, I've preached a message around the start of the new year that addresses this upcoming year as The start of the year is an opportunity to refocus and refresh. Oftentimes we think of it as life changes, but I like to think of it more particularly in your relationship with the Lord. That's why this morning we are looking at this passage of Colossians 3, 12 through 17, and I've titled this message, The New Look for the New Year, because as you start this year of 2026, I want you to see the course of this year in the context of who you now are in Christ. That if you're a believer in Christ, You are now a new person in Christ with a new look. Thus, the believer in Christ is to reflect this new identity. And that's the theme of this message this morning, that the believer in Christ must live in a way that reflects their new identity. Let me personalize it. If you are a believer in Christ or for the believer in Christ, you must live in a way that reflects your new identity. As we look at this passage, I want you to see two areas of change that typify who you now are in Christ, who this new person is. I want you to see the first area of change that typifies who this new person in Christ is as seen in verses 12 through 14 with what we could call the practice of the new person. Now as we look at this passage, it begins with the word therefore. If you know anything about language, that is a word that draws people back to the previous section, the previous paragraph. If you look at the previous paragraph, and maybe I should have read this in our scripture reading or in this morning meeting when I read this passage, you look at it and what Paul is dealing with in verses 5 through 11 is the conduct that is not consistent or does not fit with the believer's position with Christ. We look at these verses and it tells us that the believer, the follower of Christ has died to the elementary principles of the world. The believer in Christ has risen with Christ to walk in newness of life, as such, then, he says, you are to rid yourself from your life of the vices of, verse 5, fornication, uncleanness, passions, evil passions, evil desires, greediness, and, verse 8, anger, wrath, malice, slander, and fulfilling languages that these have no part in your life anymore. old person with his evil desires and is to put on the new man. They put on the new man and the new person is being renewed in knowledge. The new person is being renewed in the image of Christ. So when we think of it this way, if you are a new person in Christ, if you are a believer in Christ, this will impact your life. And I want you to see, as we think about our practice as believers in Christ, I want you to see that Paul grounds it first in the position of the new person in Christ. In the first part of verse 12, notice what he says, therefore, because this is no longer who you are, but he tells us who you now are. He says, as the elect of God, holy and beloved. Here he's dealing with the believer's position with Christ in the context of our union with Christ. that we are united with Christ in His death and resurrection. And the position of the believer is found in their identification as God's people, as the elect of God, holy and beloved. Now this language might draw the readers back to the terminology that was used in the Old Testament. It was a description of the Israelites. When we think about the Israelites, their existence is as God's own special people. We see that in Deuteronomy 14, 12. He calls them his own special people and the connection that he makes is as God's own special people. They are called to be holy and set apart. Not only that, we see that the Israelites, the nation of Israel is described as God's beloved. that he loved them, not because they were great and powerful, but because of his love for them. Notice Deuteronomy 7, 7 and 8, the Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other people, for you are the freest of all the peoples, but it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery. But as we look at this here, this might draw people to this understanding of the Old Testament, but Paul here is making a distinction from the Old Testament the Israelites, as he's speaking of people that are primarily from one nation. Now he's bringing it into a New Testament context where God's people are both Jews and Gentiles. It's not a national identity, but a spiritual one. And here he's applying this to the believers of Colossae, the Gentile believers. As he's saying here, that those who have been redeemed, those who have been raised with Christ, are now identified as God's people. They have personally experienced the love of God, and they are positionally holy before Him. So here Paul is saying, because you, for the believer, are set apart positionally, you are holy and beloved, you are to be this way practically. You are to live this out, that is in your practice. Not only that, if you are the elect of God, if you are God's chosen people, you are beloved by God, just like with Israel. It's not based on your great ability, but on God's love. So as he articulates this exhortation concerning the practice of the believer, he grounds it in the position of the believer. This is who you are. You are God's people. You are the elect of God. You are holy and beloved. And that as this is who you are, it should impact your practice, it should impact your actions. It will be reflected in how you live, because this is who you now are. You are His beloved, called to be holy and set apart. And we see really this grounding work itself out in verse, the second half of verse 12, as we see the characteristics of the new person. If you're positionally, if this is who you are positionally, if you are a child of God, it will be reflected in your behaviors. Notice what he says here. Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on. Again, this brings us back to this idea of put on or take off. Excuse me, I said that wrong again. Take off or put off, as well as put on. The idea there is that of a clothe yourself. you are to put off the old person, that's not who you are anymore, and you're put on to the new person. And here he describes this putting on of clothing yourself and he gives five characteristics here that describe this new person in Christ. The first characteristic is that of tender mercies. Might be translated or could be translated hearts of compassion. The word heart literally means entrails or inward parts. He uses the word compassion, and the compassion that Saul speaks of here is one that is deeply felt, a deep-seated compassion. And the idea there is that this is more than just a feeling. A lot of times we base things on feelings. And the problem with this is feelings can be fleeting. They come and go. But the idea of this deep-felt compassion is more than just the feelings, but it's a compassion that the believers have received from Christ. Say, how so? How does the believer experience compassion? Well, the believer recognizes they are a sinner and they recognize that misery comes from sin. And so for the believer, they've appealed to God. They've come to God and said, you are the only one that can save me from this misery. So the believer realizes the reality that as a sinner, you have received this undeserved compassion. As such, you will be a person of compassion. You will treat others as you have been treated by God. So again, we see this is not a feeling, but it's based on what God has done for you. The compassion you've received from God through Christ. The second characteristic, he says, is kindness. This again is based on the merciful kindness of God. That God has shown kindness through Christ. In fact, we see in Romans 2-4 where Paul writes that it is this kindness that leads to repentance. You've experienced the kindness of God, and God's kindness leads to repentance. So we see in this context we are to be people that are kind. It's a kindness that is displayed to others. The third characteristic, he says, is humility. Think about, at this time, this idea of humility was a trait that was viewed as negative. In fact, they viewed humility as a cowardice. But here, Paul takes us and turns us into something that is positive. And the idea here is that of putting others before yourself. The idea here of humility is the opposite of self-centered or self-focused. This isn't fake humility. But the humility that is exemplified in Christ, we see in Philippians 2, five through 11. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. And so again, we see we are, a third characteristic is that of humility. We are to be kind, we are to be people of compassion. If you've noticed so far, every single one of these are traits that are exemplified in Christ, and they're not based in just a feeling, but they're based in reality. They're based in what God has done The fourth attribute is that of meekness. Literally, this means the quality of not being overly impressed with one's self-importance. I like that translation. Oftentimes we view ourselves as more important, and so we are not meek. When you think about meek, it's the idea of gentleness. But it's such an important trait. You'll understand because some might view this as weakness. It's not. One pastor described it this way, it's the willingness to suffer injury rather than to inflict it. It's opposite of anger. It's marked by consideration for others, marked by the willingness to waive one's rights. The final attribute is patience. This is the opposite of resentment and revenge as one whose patience doesn't seek vengeance even in the face of exasperating situations or exasperating conduct. So we see here what we are to clothe ourselves in as believers in Christ. If you're a believer in Christ, Paul is saying, this is what you're to put on. You put off all these other attributes or qualities or vices in verses five and eight, and you're to put on these characteristics, these virtues. And if you do so, what Paul is saying is, to do these things is to live in a way that is consistent with who you now are in Christ. do this is to live in a way that will benefit the Christian community, that will build and foster relationships in the body of Christ. But what Paul does here, I don't know if you've noticed he's building, we have the position, the position leads to what we could call the characteristics, and we look at these characteristics, and it builds to the responsibility now in verse 13 of the new person. Because if you're displaying these qualities and these virtues and these characteristics, it's going to build and foster relationships in the body. And he brings us to this responsibility in verse 13. And here at the center of it is within our relationships with one another. That we are part of a body. We have responsibilities towards one another as fellow believers. Notice what he says in verse 13, the first part. Bearing with one another. When we break this down syntactically, the statement bearing with one another is the means by which, how we put on the previous five characteristics of virtues. When it comes to bearing with one another, carries the idea of patience and tolerance and endurance in our interpersonal relationships. Understand we must recognize that bearing with one another is a necessary step in establishing life as believers in the Christian community. And understand, as we consider this, it draws out the reality within the body of Christ. You may find yourself in close proximity with somebody that is different than you. You might ask, what type of differences are there? Not my responses, you name it. A difference of background. Don't give me a hard time for being from California. Always gonna be my background. There's social standing. You're gonna have some that might have more standing in the social community or more wealth. There's a difference of experiences or even outlook or approach to life. Or the big one, personality. There's gonna be people that you might go, I would never be friends with them in life. But for the sake of Christ, for the sake of maintaining fellowship, in the body of Christ you may have to put up, and I put that in quotes, with people you may not normally choose to surround yourself with. The fact is, you're not gonna click with everyone. But this does not negate your responsibility to bear with one another. Now I know some might say, you don't understand how hard it is to deal with that person. They might say, well I just don't get along with them. Or they might even be brutally honest, which sometimes I'm grateful for, and they say, I just don't like them. But the reality is, when we say this, the same could be said about you. You say, well, I don't necessarily get along with them, but somebody could say that about you. It's possible that there's someone who can say, you're difficult to deal with. There's somebody that might say, you're not that likable either. But we think about it in our relationships, we want people to bear with us. You want people to be patient with you. We look at it from that perspective, but there's another perspective, another level. As we look about this bearing with one another, we can look at it that way and say, yeah, you know what, I might think somebody's difficult, but I can be difficult too. There's the personal level, but here we need to look at it at a different level. And if you're not willing to bear with others, if you're not willing to bear with the difficult people in life, you are treating them in a way that God doesn't treat you. Think about that. You say, well, I don't necessarily want to bear with them. Stop and consider, God bears with you. And let me say it another way, you're treating them in a way that God doesn't treat them. So you're treating them in a way that God doesn't treat you, and you're treating them in a way that God doesn't treat them. Ultimately, if God can bear with you, then you better bear with the others. Say it this way, there's no satisfactory excuse that will make not bearing with one another acceptable. Let me twist this a little more. Let me turn this positive, though. We're looking at this and saying, well, yeah, they're difficult. But there's a positive perspective that you can find in this. Because when you start to bear with one another, you may find that the person that you once found kind of intolerable is a blessing. They become an encouragement to you. And I may tear up because then you might find this person challenges you in a way that no one else can. You know, if I have everybody around me that I get along with, if I surround myself with yes-men, you know what I don't have? People that challenge me in a way that I need it. And so if you have people around you that maybe they don't see eye to eye with you, That person has the possibility to encourage you in a way that others can't. And you might start to go, I'm grateful for that person. I'm grateful for that person that I once thought, how am I going to tolerate them? And I come to the place where, boy, I'm glad they're here. I don't want them to be absent from here. But not only, Paul says, are you to bear with one another, Paul adds, that you are to forgive one another. And looking at forgiveness, there's several truths. God as an act of grace. That God forgives and it's because of His grace. It's not based on merit. But when you experience God's forgiveness, it's something that is undeserved. So for the believer in Christ, you've experienced this forgiveness of God, you've experienced it fully and freely. that I have etched into my brain is Ephesians 4.32. And the reason I have it etched into my brain is as a child, my mom and dad would make me write that verse, I don't know how many times, when I fought with my brothers. So parents, if you need verses to write when your children are fighting, Ephesians 4.32 is a great one. Sarah and I have our kids write it. I don't know if they've written it as much as my parents made me write it. And I need to be better about that. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another. And what is it? Grounded and even, as God, for the sake of Christ, has forgiven you. You forgive because God has forgiven you through Christ. And all of that, we see the extent of forgiveness. Forgiving one another, if anyone has complaint against one another, even as Christ forgave you, so also must you do. We have here an unceasing forgiveness. We're to forgive if anyone has complained against somebody. A hypothetical situation, and I think he's doing this hypothetically, because really, if anyone has a complaint against someone, a hypothetical situation is very general. He's drawing out the reality, there's always gonna be an occasion for issues to arise amongst the believers. There's always gonna be opportunities for complaints against a fellow believer. We all have our own foibles and issues and hang-ups. We're all sinful people. So Paul here, as he writes this extended forgiveness, he's making it clear that there's never a time that a believer should not desire to forgive or should withhold forgiveness. A believer should never be in a place where he says, I'm not willing to forgive that person, or nope, I'm gonna withhold forgiveness. A believer of Christ be a person of forgiveness at all times with all people in all situations. And we see the manner of forgiveness just as the Lord forgives you. Again, we come back to what Ephesians 4.32 says. We can look at this as the example of forgiveness, but it's deeper. The manner of forgiveness is as the Lord has forgiven you. You are to be a person of forgiveness because you have received forgiveness. The forgiveness that you receive as a sinner is of the highest order. So we see that when we understand it this way, it removes any opportunity you might have to withhold forgiveness, to not be a person of forgiveness. So for the believer in Christ, you are responsible to not only forgive, but to bear with one another. I'll say it this way. but I don't like them. We're gonna bear with one another, we're gonna forgive one another, we're gonna be grateful for each other. And so we see here, as we think about a believer's practice, it's grounded in our position, it will impact our characteristic, it will really, it will encourage us in this responsibility, in our relationships with one another, and we see the commitment of the new person in verse 14. Now as we look at verse 14 here, Paul's placing the emphasis on love. The love is the object that is commanded to be put on. Now as we just looked at, we saw in verse 12, the five characteristics that have the same verb, put on or clothe yourself. And as we look at what Paul's doing here in verse 14, he's not adding another thing to the list. Oh yeah, by the way, also you need to love. But I think what Paul is doing here, and I think the way this could be said is, but above, I think how my translation says it is good, but above all these things, put on love. He's describing love as really, you can kind of say the supreme virtue. Think about what we read in scripture reading this morning. Now this theological concept that love is more than just another virtue to be added to the list, but as we saw at the end of verse 13, the greatest disease is love. We consider the responsibility here of verse 13 to bear with one another and to forgive one another. We cannot deny the importance of love. Think about the importance of love. If there isn't love, all that is done will be cold and lifeless. We may bear with one another, we may forgive one another, but at the core will be just a bunch of people kind of going through the meaningless motions. If we're not a people of love, Christianity, that is all talk and there's no impact in our lives. But in the context of James, apart from love, we are only hearers of the word and not doers. Apart from love, to bring this back to verse 12, we will not be able to put on hearts of compassion, we will not be able to put on kindness, we will not be able to put on humility, we will not be able to put on gentleness nor patience. The reality is, apart from love, we are disobeying what God has commanded us to do. Apart from love, we won't be building up a body. So the commitment to love is clear. Notice we see what love does in the second half of verse 14, but the result is that it binds believers together in a united community. But on love, it's the bond of perfection. Make no mistake about it, apart from love, we will never be who God calls us to be. We will be stagnant, weak, ineffective, both individually and collectively. So that's why Paul says it binds us together. It's the adhesive that holds us. So as we look at this in verses 12-14, Paul deals with the practice of the new person in Christ. Your position before Him is as His child, holy and beloved. And if you have been changed positionally, then it will be reflected practically in your practice. You will recognize the importance of love. It will be reflected in your conduct. You will live out these five characteristics. So the first area of change that typifies the new person in Christ is the new person's practice. The second area of change, we can call this the priorities of the new person. The priorities of the new person. In these verses Paul addresses the priorities that should govern the new person in Christ. that he is looking at what the believers should be concerned about, what it is that we focus on. Think about what we prioritize, it's reflected in how we live. Think about, you ask somebody about something, they say, well, I don't have time for that. In fact, if we were going to be accurate, if we were going to be totally honest, we would say, that isn't as important to me as other things. That's really worth saying. Well, I don't have time to do that. No, I'm prioritizing my time. And that's not necessarily wrong. We need to prioritize our time. We think about it, we need to be discerning, use good judgment in what we prioritize. But when it comes to being a new person in Christ, what we prioritize is of, it's a big deal. It's not of little consequence. Because the reality is that as God's at work in your life, as you grow in sanctification, as you're being renewed in the knowledge and the image of Christ, what you prioritize is important. Because what you're prioritizing, or we can say this too, your priorities are being transformed. But then on the priorities of the impersonal, Paul presents three. The first in verse 13 is the priority of the peace of Christ. Notice what he writes, let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. Look at the peace of Christ, one of the great blessings that you have in Christ is that from Christ you have been given peace. Think about the unbeliever in Christ, they do not have peace. The truth is when you have peace that comes from Christ, you've been given something that you previously did not have, that you could not obtain, that you are your. Think about it in an objective sense, there's the reality that you have peace with God through reconciliation. Romans 5.1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. That the hostilities with God are over. You have a right relationship with Him. You have been restored. Whereas you were once enemies with God, now because of Christ you have been reconciled to God. 510 tells us that when we were once enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son. What a great thought about that, that when we think about peace with God, that you're no longer at war with Him. You're at peace. Not just a cessation of hostilities, but a right relationship. put in place all over the world, but a genuine and a true relationship. Ah yes, we have peace with Christ. But notice as we look at what Paul is saying here about the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. Paul isn't just making a declaration saying you have peace with God. Notice what he's doing, he's giving the exhortation. to live in the reality of this peace you already have. That is, if you are a believer in Christ and you have this peace, live it out. That if you recognize you're at peace, it should have implications or application in life, in your daily life. Let it rule in your hearts, he says. What does it mean to let it rule in your heart? The word rule there originally was a word used the outcome of an athletic contest. Levi, you can think of it in the context of baseball. But as this word developed, it kind of came to develop a more general concept, to arbitrate or give a verdict, to rule or control or hold sway. You might ask, how can I live in this peace? How is it that the peace of Christ can rule, govern, or control me? Notice the answer, it says in your hearts. That is your innermost being. And the idea here that Paul's saying is in loving the peace of Christ, in your hearts, ruling your hearts, it is control your heart, it is something that helps you in decisions that you make. It is this peace that should be the arbiter of the competing concerns and interests in your life. where you stop and think, is this choice I'm making consistent with who I am in Christ? With my union with Him? Does the decision I'm making demonstrate a person who is at peace with God? So that's how we let it rule in our hearts. But as Paul deals with the peace of Christ here, he shows how this peace of Christ will impact your decision making. In the second half, verse 15, the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body and be thankful." Again here, Paul brings it back to the context of the believer's interaction with each other, to which you were called in one body. Now when we look at that word, you were called, it brings it back to verse 12, and our position with God as his people. As God's people, we're called to live a certain type of life. We're called to put off the old person and put on the new one. We are called to live in the reality of this peace that we have with God through Christ. But this calling to peace in the heart of each believer here, as Paul addresses this, is part of something bigger. As he adds, in one body. This is the idea that as believers, you have been drawn into our members of one body. And we come back to live in light of this calling, that you've been called to peace. That when you live in this reality, when you let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, it will impact us together as believers in Christ as the body. It will bring us to unity. Not only that, we see another aspect of this. It says, and be thankful. Now that might look like it's tacked on. But the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, which you also call in one body. And then there's two little words and be thankful. What are we all doing there? We see that the product of peace of Christ rule in your hearts is it leads to praise. That's what that command be thankful is. It's drawing a reader, the believer to praise, be thankful, ongoing thankfulness. the believers in Christ are to be people that are characterized by thankfulness. And the reason I say that it leads to praise is because this thankfulness is more than just a disposition or outlook, but it is one that leads to the praise or thanksgiving to God. Thanksgiving to God because we have peace with God. Thanksgiving to God because He's called us into one body. So we praise God and we thank God for salvation. We thank God for His peace. We thank God that we can let it rule in our hearts. We thank God that this will impact us together as fellow believers. So we see the priority here is the peace of Christ. Let it rule in your hearts. Second priority is the priority of the word of Christ. Verse 16, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. As we look at this exhortation, one question needs to be answered. What does it mean for the Word of Christ to dwell in us? When we hear that word dwell, we might think of a dwelling place, a place of residence. The idea is more than just let the Word of Christ take up residence. It's not a chapter a day that keeps the devil away, but the idea of being operative Again we come back to it's the being doers of the word and not just hearers. We see that this is true because He says, let it dwell on you richly, deeply, fully, that the word of Christ, the gospel message, the scripture is to dwell fully and deeply in your life as a believer in Christ. This is more than just a but a penetrating and lifelong pursuit that brings transformation. Think about this, let it dwell in you deeply, that you're to be a person of the word, there's an individual application, that every believer in Christ is charged with this responsibility to know God's word, to love God's word, not just for a select few. dwelling richly. Every believer in Christ, this is an exhortation for. So there's individual application that you as an individual father of Christ are to be a person who lets it dwell in you richly, deeply, penetrating, transforming you. But again, we come back to us, we've looked at this passage, there's a corporate application. Think about our gathering together as a corporate body. The message of Christ. Reformation is that the preaching of the Word of God became central to the church service. That's why the Protestant Church's pulpits are in the center. The preaching of the Word of God is primary. So as we look at this both individually and collectively, everything we do, this is to be impactful. If we are to be scripturally minded people, We're to be people that are focused on the person and work of Jesus. We're to be united together around the gospel. This is important because we live in a world that, in the day and age, that diminishes the gospel, that diminishes the word of God. We live in a time when those who claim to be the church think scripture is not enough. Christ does not dwell richly in the lives of many believers or even many churches. Go to church growth seminars. The Word of Christ More than just a chicken soup for the soul. The Word of God is not given to be a book of inspirational tales. It's not given to encourage. It's not given to tell you to give it your best. Try harder, you'll get through. It's given to tell you who you are. It was given so you can know who God is. We saw that last week. So when we think about growth in our lives and growth in the church, how can we impact one another? We don't need some novel scheme. Seven steps. The better you walk with the Lord. We have nice Bible stories sprinkled in. You know what we need for growth? ideas from people. I'm gonna say it this way, you need less. You don't need me to give you a seven-step program or a 10-step program or, you know what, we're simple-minded people, let's just do three steps. You need more of the word of God. You don't need the gospel reinvented, you need the gospel proclaimed. It is the gospel that You see, the result of the Gospel, what it does is it results in teaching and instructing. When the Gospel, when the Word of Christ richly dwells, when the Scripture is given primary importance, it penetrates and transforms lives. And the result is teaching and instructing each other. He said, I want to make a difference in the lives of those around me. Be people of the Word. And as you do that, the result will be the teaching and instructing. words here. Teaching is really instruction in a formal or informal study. The word for instruction here is counsel of of of avoidance or cessation of bad activities. That is the the the the person who's who's who's in the word of Christ and letting it dwell in them richly. They understand what to do and what not to do. Well, what does this look like? Well, there's of course the public preaching of the word is to be of primary importance. When we think about the preaching of the word, that's for a select few. But there's also the personal interaction. A lot of people might say, I don't want to get up there and preach. There's the joke that people are more feared of public speaking than they are of death. And the joke is that people would rather be the person in the casket than the person above the casket speaking. So I don't want to get up there and preach. There's no, I'm not asking you to, but we think about the personal interaction. When you're letting the word of Christ dwell in you richly, you'll be able to interact with people and encourage them in the word. Notice as well, he adds in all wisdom. The more that you're in the word of God, the more wise you become. But not only that, it says that as you do this, there's the need to be wise. Being wise in how you teach and instruct. You need to be teaching and instructing in practical and thoughtful ways. Knowing the person and the situation, but also rightly inviting the word of truth. That's why he says to teach and instruct in Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, that we can use different techniques and methods. Singing. That's the second result. using psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, that when you let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, it leads to singing. Singing praise to God. Think about it, when the word of Christ is dwelling in you richly, and it's penetrating deep and transforming you, it will impact your disposition. There will be joy in your heart and life. You'll sing praises to God. Singing with grace, the idea of gratitude there. When the person who lets the word of Christ dwell in them richly, they will become more aware of how they are recipients of God's amazing grace, and they will be grateful, and they will produce gratitude, and they will sing in their hearts. It will be an act of worship. We'll understand the words that are being sung, who it's being sung to. So we see here two priorities. priority is the priority in the name of the Lord Jesus. This is what could be called a universal exhortation. Everything that is done in the life of a believer is to be done in the name of the Lord. You say, well what does this mean? Does this mean I can do anything I want as long as I say in the name of the Lord? I'll say no. There's a story I heard of a man who Was it an adulterous relationship that every time they would commit, they would engage together in this adulterous activity, the man would lead the woman in prayer before. Oh yes, he's doing it in the name of the Lord. No, that's not what Paul is saying here. What Paul's saying is do everything in the name of the Lord is that you are to live in light of who you now are identified with. If I'm prioritizing doing things in the name of the Lord, I want to act consistently with who Christ is, with His character and nature. This is seen as anything that you do in word or deed is to be done in the name of the Lord, not saying I can do anything as long as I do it in the name of the Lord. I want to do everything that is consistent with His name. I don't want to do anything that's apart from who Christ is. I'm prioritizing this. And when that's my priority, it'll affect my decisions. Think about it in the context of the community of believers. It'll impact how you treat each other. I want to treat them in love. I want to treat them as somebody that Christ loves. The result of doing this is what leads to thankfulness. I don't know if you've caught it in the priorities. Every single one of these has this concept of thankfulness. When your priorities are right, The priorities of the new person leads to thankfulness. The new person in Christ is a person that is thankful. So as we look at this passage, we see two areas of change that defies the new person. As we begin the new year, I'm not going to say that you shouldn't make resolutions for this year. In fact, making decisions to better your life is a good thing. Somebody were to say to me, Pastor Tim, I've made a decision that I'm gonna watch less TV. I'm only gonna watch an hour of TV instead of three, and those other two hours I'm gonna spend reading. I'm gonna say that is a worthy goal. It is not something to say, no, you shouldn't do that. Reading is beneficial, it engages your mind. Somebody may come to me and say, Pastor Tim, I'm going to make a resolution to take care of my body. I'm going to exercise four times a day. and say amen, that's to be a good steward of the body that God gave you. But as we consider this, don't forget what Paul writes in 1 Timothy 4, that bodily exercise is of limited benefit, especially in light of godliness. In fact, godliness should be your primary pursuit. As we've seen in this passage, set the course of this year where you say, you know what, I'm gonna put off the old person, I'm gonna put on the new person. You see, two areas that typify the new person. Both the practice and the priorities reflect the new identity in Christ. So as you begin this year, especially if you're one that likes to make New Year's resolutions, set some identifiable goals for yourself that concern your relationship with Christ. Set the goal, say, you know what, I think I'm gonna read through the Bible this year. Say, you know what, I'm not that good of a reader, so I'm not gonna read through the Bible this year, but I'm gonna read one proverb a day. I'm gonna study one book, I'm gonna read through it once a week, I'm gonna read through a book of the Bible for a month, and I'm gonna go to another book. I wanna know God's word, I wanna be able to apply it to my life. Set some measurable goals for yourself as you do this. I've given you several. I'm gonna give more, I want you to think through this. If you want to talk through it with me, please do so. I know there's others I'd be happy to talk to and say, how can you set some measure to see some growth in your life? To be able to not just know the word of God, but to be able to apply it, to be doers of the word and not just hearers. Father, we thank you for the start of another year. It's always a joy to be at the beginning stages of a year. And Father, it's so easy to say I'd like to do something different. But Father, as many of us know, time goes by quickly. Before you know it, we'll be staring down 2027. to live out who we are as your children. Father, we have work in our hearts. Let us be disciplined and diligent in our Christian walk and our faith.