Rekindling the Flame #4 – Making Christ Pre-Eminent in the Church

Who’s got Colossians 3:16? Real quickly. Yes, sister. Audience: Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you with all wisdom.

Okay, wait. That’s what I’ve been saying. Now, listen to what follows it. Go ahead.

Audience: With all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

We’re not here just to be a choir, a people who sing, but to admonish one another with the songs we have. Now, we’re not playing. We really have something in a song, a psalm, a hymn, a spiritual song. We don’t fully know what a spiritual song is. We don’t fully know what a hymn is, but we do know what a psalm is. Any time Christ’s own word comes out of you, we are all enriched. Brothers in Atlanta, I ask you to sit down, discuss Colossians 3:16, and figure out how to practice, and not stop practicing, what is written here.

This is for the church…but it is also for you. This is more corporate than individual, no question about it, but brother and sister, there’s a message for you in this, too: we become a singing people. We are a singing people, and we are a people who, when we open our mouths, open our mouths full of Christ.

Now, I’m going to confess something here, not for me, but for you. I’ve watched the church start speaking a lot outside meetings, and it invariably dies. I’m going to tell you why: because of introverts. Not that they don’t do it. If they’ve got a little registration in them, that this is coming out as artificial. Can we not share? Can we not call one another holy ones? Can we not encourage one another? Last Sunday, did you watch Josh encourage me? You remember that? That was as genuine and as pure as it can get. It’s not artificial. That wasn’t a declaration; it was admonition and encouragement. And by the way, it admonished and encouraged me. I heard the Lord say something to that brother and me, and it was real.

Be so rich in Christ that these encouragements and these words come to us and they are real. I do not know if you’ve ever been part of…try to guess what group this is. I’ll not use it, and they say, “Lord Jesus.” It’s as artificial as a brass monkey. You know something? They never stop doing it. I think they’re better off than if you don’t say anything. Yeah, I know they do. At least they’re making noises about Christ, but it is a ritual. I don’t want it to be a ritual. I want Christ to dwell in you richly and come out of your mouth. Well, but Gene, I have Christ rich in me…and well…I don’t know it…unless it gets out to somebody’s ears.

We have songs for ourselves, we have songs for one another, and I’ve asked you to be sure and read the songs. And Atlanta, when I come see you, I’m going to talk to you about how we use songs. We…you…not we somebody else, but we, you. Read songs, and saints, you are the pastor of the church you belong to. You don’t have another pastor. You don’t have any other reverend but you. Either you’re admonishing, and you’re working at this business of Christ, or you’re not. And you’re going to have to do that 25 years after I’m dead, until you yourselves are ancient people.

You have to pastor the church. Now, I’m using a term I don’t even believe in, but it does communicate. If you sing at home, you’ll sing at a meeting. If you give thanks in the home, you’ll give thanks in the meeting. If you sing a duet with Sandi Patty, and you spend some time in Scripture throughout the week, you’ll have a verse or two or three to bring.

Now then, when I get back home to Jacksonville, we’re going to deal with one thing. That’s all. Jacksonville, you’re doing really well. It’s that insipid one-sentence prayer in the meeting. Let’s see, “Lord, we go up in the mountain and we dododo, and Lord, you’re the mountain.” What’s the matter, didn’t you have anything to say on your own? Brother, do you not have a prayer? A psalm? Of course you do. You work at it all week, then bring it to me because I had a hard week. I’m desperate. I’m waiting for you to give me the Lord, and I promise you I’ll give you the Lord.

There’s hardly anything here that’s corporate, but what it’s also individual. There’s very little here that’s individual, but what it can be made corporate. Don’t get drunk with wine, for that’s dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit. Isn’t that the other side of the coin of “Don’t quench the Spirit?” To be filled with the Spirit.

What do you do then? You speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your hearts to the Lord. Always give thanks for all things, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and give thanks to God.