Sermon highlights from Relationship Reset Week 10. Sermon by Mike Adkins; notes compiled by Dan O’Toole.
Week 10 Main Scripture:
Colossians 3:23-24
Relationship Reset Series Recap:
It takes resetting ourselves to be able to fix the relationships that are in our lives. We tend to think it’s important to change everyone else around us, but we can’t do that. What we can do is make changes within ourselves.
Whatever You Do
When Paul calls Christians to work with all their heart in “Whatever you do,” that includes every context of engagement in your life. This means bringing your best on Sunday and all other days of the week, in the ordinary and mundane as well as the extraordinary moments.
How intentional are you about the presence of the Lord in your life? You can experience Christ’s presence in doing the dishes and mowing the lawn just as well as worshiping on Sunday morning. There’s nothing holy about the activities in themselves. They become holy when you invite the presence of the Lord into what you do.
Bringing All Parts of Yourself to Your Relationships
Psyche (Greek) – the term that describes “with all your heart”
“The soul, mind, spirit, breath, life, the invisible animating principle or entity which occupies and directs the physical body” – Online Etymology Dictionary
Showing up for others can feel like work because it’s not natural for some of us. Some of us may be more task-oriented than people-oriented. We can get so focused on getting things done that we miss the people around us.
In your relationships with others, working with all your heart looks like making space for people to feel honored with your intentionality and presence. People feel like they matter to you when you are more aware and present in the moment with them.
As we communicate who we are to the world with enthusiasm and passion, people see our God through that because we were created to reflect his image.
What Does God Want Me to Become?
Paul’s teaching in Colossians 3:23-24 is more about WHAT we are becoming than HOW we are becoming it.
Knowing WHAT to do is about Wisdom. Knowing HOW to do something is about Knowledge.
First, ask WHAT. Then, ask HOW.
Often, when we’re looking to make changes in our lives, we skip the WHAT questions and start by asking the HOW first:
- How do I become responsible?
- How do I make a lot of money?
- How do I get these kinds in line?
- How do I get into the right neighborhood?
- How do I find love?
Starting with questions of HOW undermines our ability to change.
First, ask, “What does God want me to become?” Knowing your identity allows all other questions to fall into place.
Wisdom, Understanding, and Knowledge in Proverbs 24:3-4
The “house” Proverbs refers to is more of a Name or Reputation rather than a physical structure.
Through Wisdom, you’re either:
- Building a Name
- Renovating a Name
To build a name, you must become wiser to be a blessing to the people around you. Build from the inside out. Starting from the outside in creates a structure that collapses under pressure.
Understanding establishes a reputation. This requires the ability to remain secure and to see through to the other side of a situation, knowing that God is on the other side of hardship.
Knowledge is essential. You have to have the correct information to know what you’re doing.
Working for the Lord, Not for Human Masters
The Bible doesn’t endorse slavery. Slavery of any and every kind is morally reprehensible and horrifying. Instead, the Bible acknowledges the context of the people, enslaved people in the Roman Empire, with the intention of giving them hope in a context that was not likely to change overnight at the time.
The situations we face may not change, but God provides a way to get through them.
Working for the Lord rather than our human bosses frees us from fearing our bosses or seeking to please them at the cost of our relationship with God.
Knowing our identity in Christ and who God wants us to become gives us clarity on what opportunities to say no to in order to honor and commit to our all in posture toward our relationship with God and others.
Catch up or rewatch the full messages from our Relationship Reset series here.
