For our Scripture reading tonight, let's turn together to Colossians. To Colossians, reading together beginning at chapter 2, verse 6 and reading through chapter 3, verse 17. The text for the sermon tonight is Colossians 3, the first four verses. But to gain the context, we begin at chapter 2, verse 6. Hear now the word of the Lord. So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the deity lives in bodily form and you have been given fullness in Christ who is the head over every power and authority. In Him you were also circumcised in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with the circumcision done by the hands of men, but with the circumcision done by Christ. Having been buried with Him in baptism and raised with Him through your faith in the power of God who raised Him from the dead. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code with its regulations that was against us and that stood opposed to us. He took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink or with regard to a religious festival a new moon celebration or a sabbath day these are a shadow of the things that were to come the reality however is found in Christ do not let anyone who delights in false humility and in the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. He has lost connection with the head from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow. Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules? Do not handle. Do not taste. Do not touch. These are all destined to perish with use because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom with their self-imposed worship, their false humility, and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence. Since then, you have been raised with Christ. Set your hearts on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things, for you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature, sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways in the life you once lived, but now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these, anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, Marthian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and is in all. Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity, Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. In the text, once again, chapter 3, the first four verses. Since then you have been raised with Christ. Set your hearts on things above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ. What is it that brings us together tonight for worship? Well, it's the remembrance and the celebration of a very important event, as we know. The ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ into heaven. Scripture testifies that Jesus Christ was actually, physically lifted from earth to heaven out of the sight of His disciples. Really somewhat unbelievable, especially to the world. After all, we know all about gravity. It's impossible. Yet this we believe because God Himself testifies to it. But just because Jesus Christ is out of sight physically does not mean He is to be out of mind, as seems to be the case for so many today. After all, they might say, His birth and His death and His resurrection were the really important events, right? There's no real significance to Christ's ascension, is there? He's just gone for a little while until it's time for Him to come back. Well, congregation, if you believe this, then you deny the saving work of Jesus. For His disciples, the ascension of Jesus was a visible demonstration of His victory by the very hand of God. And that ascension is visible to us today as well through the eye of faith. As God lifted our Lord up into that cloud, that cloud which was a symbol of the presence of God, He demonstrated that Christ's work on earth was done. That His saving sacrifice was complete, it was perfect, it was sufficient, and that it was acceptable to God the Father. And Jesus Christ was and remains exalted to His throne of glory at the right hand of His Father where He was given dominion and rule over all things. But now what does that mean for His body, the church? And especially the church militant which continues to fight on earth in His name. Does Christ's ascension change our lives? If so, how? Or are we just disconnected from Him for a time until He comes to take us to be with Him. Now, in the context of our text, we need to understand that in his letter to the Colossian church, Paul is defending the faith against what is called the Colossian heresy. There were those who were teaching that Christ was not all-sufficient. He was not preeminent, that is, the most excellent. They taught, as you might have gathered from the reading of Scripture, that faith in Christ was okay as far as it went. But it wasn't enough. It wasn't complete. There were rules and regulations which needed to be followed in order to have the fullness of salvation. A number of earthly standards had to be observed, like physical circumcision or ceremonialism with regard to certain foods and feast days, had to eat certain things, had to do certain things, observed certain things. In other words, all of those religious rites and ceremonies which were shadows that pointed to Christ but were fulfilled in Christ and therefore were no longer necessary, they were being pushed in this heresy as being necessary. As well, we can gather from the Scripture reading that angel worship was being promoted and so was asceticism, practicing strict self-denial to try to enhance your spiritual life. And the self-denial, in a sense, tortured the body by denying oneself of even the most basic necessities of life which are supposed to be seen as a blessing and the provision of God. It's in this context, with a wide variety of paganism, indulging in the lust of the flesh, heresy knocking at the door, That Paul writes to encourage the Colossian believers to stand firm in the truth. To build upon the foundation which had been laid for them, Jesus Christ. And he encouraged them by reminding them of the blessing of the believer's relationship to the Ascended Lord. That's exactly what they had. An intimate relationship with the Ascended Lord which indeed changed this life, but also canceled out all those things that the heresy was promoting. And that relationship, congregation, first of all, requires a heavenly focus. Secondly, it includes a new residence. And finally, it promises a glorious future. Verses 1 and 2 of the text again read, Since then you have been raised with Christ. Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Now, first of all, Paul gives a command here based on something that is real. Since then you have been raised with Christ. Not since you might one day be raised with Christ. It's not a hypothetical situation as if to say, if this, then that, but if not this, then not that. We could read this, because you have been raised up with Christ. Or since this is the truth of the situation, their resurrection with Christ, that is, the believer's resurrection with Christ, is a fact. It's a done deal. And because it is, the Christian is to have a different focus than before his regeneration. This resurrection with Christ requires a heavenly focus. Now, first of all, what does it mean to be raised up with Christ? Now, boys and girls, we know that Jesus died physically. and he was raised to life again physically. But Paul says that we have been, as Christians, we have been raised with Christ. But we haven't died physically. We haven't been raised physically. But we know that in order for there to be a resurrection, there must first be a death. In verse 20 of chapter 2, Paul begins, since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world. And in verse 13 of chapter 2, he begins, when you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature. On the one hand, they were dead in sin. On the other hand, they died to the basic principles of this world. In other words, beloved, before their regeneration and their conversion, these Christians, like all men, were dead in transgressions, which means that sin was very much alive. And sin was manifested by, for example, as chapter 3 says in verse 5, sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. And then down a bit. Anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips, and lying and so forth. But when our Lord died for His people, His people also died to sin. The spiritually dead old man was put to death. We know that that happened in principle for all of God's children in Christ's death. And each one of us personally has this actually in conversion. When we are born again through the power of the Holy Spirit and we are converted by the grace of God so that the old man of sin dies more and more and the new man comes to life more and more. Paul says in chapter 2, verse 12, having been buried with Him, that is Christ in baptism. You see, baptism signifies and seals the cleansing power of Christ's blood to wash away the old man with the result being new life. So that Paul could confidently say as well in chapter 2, verse 13, God made you alive with Christ. And Paul also says in Romans 6, verse 4, Therefore, we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. We are raised with Christ. And therefore, we have newness of life. And beloved, that newness of life requires a heavenly focus, unlike the heresy, a heavenly focus with a lifestyle of setting your hearts on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God and to set your mind on things above, not on earthly things. You see, congregation, Paul confirms to these believers that their position is in Christ. That they are now one with Christ. And they enjoy resurrection life in Him. By the grace of God, through the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit, they have been delivered from paganism. You see, it is believed that most of these Christians were Gentile converts. But even now, as they remained in this life, they were not to fall prey to those who teach that Colossian heresy with their focus for the fullness of salvation on, as chapter 2.16 says, what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a new moon celebration, or a Sabbath day. Because, as verse 23 says in chapter 2, such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom with their self-imposed worship, their false humility, and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence. In other words, beloved, we can add nothing to the fullness of our salvation in Jesus Christ. Instead, this resurrection union with Christ must transform the believer's entire life, the believer's heart, The believer's mind, the believer's will. With regard to the believer's mind, his thinking. With regard to the believer's heart, his feeling. With regard to the believer's will, his doing. That's the result of repentance and faith as well. A new way of thinking, feeling, and doing so that with all perseverance, God's people seek the things above. Christians are commanded to be devoted to the things above. That means that we are called to desire and to seek the fulfillment of that which is already ours in principle in this life through Christ, and that is salvation full and free. And beloved, that heavenly focus includes to live in the joy of that great ransom. Boys and girls, to ransom something means to buy it back. To get it back. We are to live in the joy of being ransomed, being bought by Christ. And to live in the joy of belonging to Christ. As well, that focus is to live in a way that reflects the forgiveness of sins. And that reflects restored fellowship with God. You see, these are the things above which belong to those who are saved by grace through faith. The things above are all that Christ as the head supplies to His body. To make His body grow with the growth of God. to grow in grace, to grow in faith, hope, and love. And evidence of seeking and setting your mind and heart on things above includes the exercise in this life of the spiritual values of Christ Himself. Not all of these things that the Colossian heresy was teaching, that you've got to eat certain foods, you've got to observe certain ceremonies and rituals for yourself, A selfish motivation in order for yourself to gain the fullness of salvation. But the spiritual values of Christ are other-directed toward the other. And the spiritual values of Christ are the things that Christ gives by His Spirit. Now Paul gives a whole litany of these things in chapter 3, beginning at verse 12. Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you, and over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. And then in verse 15, he also speaks about the peace of Christ ruling your hearts. He speaks about being thankful. And then in verse 16 and 17, he says, let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. And then if you read the rest of the chapter, Paul goes on to talk about Christian living in family relationships, in work relationships, and in overall conduct of life. All of these things are affected by seeking the things above. The Christian life with all of these qualities demonstrating obedience to God is evidence of seeking and possessing the things above the heavenly blessings of salvation. And beloved, that is to be the heavenly focus of those who serve the ascended Lord. And therefore it's clear that this seeking is not a vein chasing after the wind that makes one so heavenly-minded that he is of no earthly good. Because when all earthly things are properly subjected to the spiritual things of heaven, then God's people are truly the salt of the earth and the light of the world. When God's people truly seek the things above and their lives are transformed by those things, then they flavor their surroundings. then the world all around the believer benefits from the believer and his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. See, apart from Jesus Christ, one's mind is set on the things that are on earth. And that life below a congregation is characterized by a style of living which ignores God and which excludes God from everything. It is a life which focuses on creation and selfishly forgets the Creator. But those who are in Christ are to be oriented, pointed toward the things above. For the Christian, all of life is to be viewed from the perspective of God's rule through the ascended Lord Jesus Christ. And to set and to seek, to set your mind on things above and your heart on things above is to hunger and thirst for God. As the psalmist says, as the deer pants for the water brook, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. And to set and to seek your heart and your mind on things above is to hunger and thirst for His righteousness. Boys and girls, you know that when you're thirsty, when your mouth is dry and parched, when your lips are cracked, there's only one thing on your mind, and that's water. You want a drink of water. Nothing else matters. And that's how we are to set our mind on things above. That is to be our desire for God and His righteousness. And boys and girls, you also know what a compass is, don't you? A compass tells for one thing which way is north. The needle points to the north. No matter which way you turn that compass, no matter which way you spin it, the needle will point to the north. It must point to the north. And in the same way, the Christian's life must be turned toward Jesus Christ. It cannot be turned anywhere else. So congregation, where does our confidence come from as believers? The confidence of this newness of life. The confidence of seeking the things above. Where does our confidence come from? It comes from Christ's ascension, which is the crown of His redeeming work. Because He is the most excellent. In Him alone, we have the fullness of salvation. Our assurance of having Christ bestow upon us the things above is the fact that He is seated at the right hand of God. Now throughout Scripture, the right hand is a symbol of power. And we know from the testimony of Scripture that all power and all authority has been given to Jesus in heaven and on earth. And through His ascension, Our Lord presented His holy and acceptable sacrifice to God. And He reigns over and in His people through the Holy Spirit who witnesses to our spirit that we are children of God. Beloved, Christ's ascension is the fountain of blessing for His people. Apart from His ascension, His redeeming work is not complete. Apart from His ascension, we cannot have the things above. Apart from His ascension, we have no hope. His ascension is the fountain of blessing for His people from which springs forth the application of His saving sacrifice, which includes a new residence. Verse 3 of the text says, For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. Again, the old man of the believer, The man of this world, the man of the sinful flesh, has died with Christ. And therefore, in the spiritual sense, believers have been removed from this world, and with the resurrection life, we enjoy citizenship in another world. Where? With Christ in heaven, seated at the right hand of God. Peter calls God's people pilgrims. A pilgrim is one who is not at home. A pilgrim is one who is just passing through to a better place. God's people are pilgrims. Every night we pound our tent stakes in. We set up our tent, as it were. Every morning we pull those tent stakes out. We travel through another day of this life, through this world. And therefore we are not to pound our tent stakes in too deep, congregation, that you can't pull them out again. Because this world is not our home. But as Philippians 3 verse 20 says, our citizenship is in heaven. That's where the Christian's inheritance, eternal life is at. And this life, as we have been saying, is indeed the resurrection life with Christ. It's nothing other than eternal life. And that resurrection life then is to motivate this earthly life of setting our minds on things above. This life comes from and is nourished by Christ. The Christian confession is that it is no longer I who live, but Jesus Christ lives in me. And Jesus said in John 14, a little while longer and the world will see me no more, but you will see me because I live, you will live also. And this resurrection life is hidden with Christ. You see, Christ is hidden from the eyes of the wicked world. The living Christ, with His majesty and glory and victory and rule, which we see by faith, is still concealed to a world that claims their victory and claims that He was defeated. And also the blessing and the beauty of the believer's eternal life is also hidden with Christ. You see, congregation, that life is indeed hidden from the world. That life that you and I see by faith. That life that you and I enjoy by the grace of God. They can't see. That doesn't mean that we don't try to demonstrate it. We do. But all they see is a life in this world that the believers give up by the grace of God. All they see is that we give up the good life here on this earth of getting anything we can get our hands on. 1 Corinthians 2 verse 14 says, But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him. Nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But we must also confess that this resurrection life is also somewhat hidden and secret from the believer, isn't it? 1 John 3, verse 2 tells us, Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be. But we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. That resurrection life is hidden from us in the sense that with the continued sin, sickness, death, tension, and failure that we face, we do not yet see the full beauty of this life. Yet our comfort is as Paul gives it that this life which is secret is also secure. It is hidden with God in Christ. The ultimate of sovereign security. Jesus said, He who has seen Me has seen the Father. And you believe in God, believe also in Me. In other words, I am God. And this means that the believer has the comfort of eternal security because as Paul says in Romans 8, if God is for us, who can be against us? And then he goes on to confirm this when he says, Nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. The believer's security for eternity is held safe in the powerful right hand of God. That right hand by which Christ Jesus is seated. And beloved, what a comfort. We have the comfort of that resurrection life that is indestructible. That is everlasting because as Peter says, that inheritance is incorruptible. It is undefiled. It does not fade away. It is reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. You see, Peter in that text supports Paul in giving the promise of a glorious future. Verse 4 of the text says, When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Now Paul says that Christ is the believer's life. He is the believer's source of life. He is the believer's pattern for life. And that relationship between Christ and His people is so intimate that as Jesus says, because I live, you will live also. And Philippians 1.21 says, for to me to live is Christ. We have this life, this resurrection life, Because Christ has ascended and because He has sent His Spirit to quicken us with this life. Again, the world with blinders on their eyes cannot see the closeness of this interrelationship between the believer and His Lord. And instead, the world despises or ignores the life of the Christian. The world hates the Christian life. They can't stand you and me. But one day when Jesus Christ comes again to judge the living and the dead when He reveals His glory and majesty as the one before whom every knee will bow, on that day He will also reveal His glorious relationship which He has for those for whom He died. And on that day, congregation, those who set their minds on the things that are on earth will see everything not built on the foundation of Jesus Christ destroyed. And they themselves will perish for eternity. On that day, the wicked world which persecutes and despises and tries to destroy God's people will see Jesus Christ vindicate Himself. They will see Him vindicate His people as His people are transformed to conform to His glorious body. And on that day, then we as believers will also understand Paul's words in Romans 8, verse 18 when he says, For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. One day, all of God's people will be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye as the Lord crowns them with the crown of righteousness for Jesus' sake. What is our comfort of Christ's ascension with a glorified body? Beloved, we have our flesh in heaven. We sang about that a few moments ago. We have our flesh in heaven as a guarantee that we shall also be raised and ascend in our flesh. The Christian's comfort in the ascended Lord is that His presence in heaven is a guarantee of His eternal victory. And it is a guarantee of the believer's eternal presence in heaven. Paul gives powerful incentives for the believer to seek the things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God and powerful incentive to set our mind on things above. And these incentives, beloved, are because of what Jesus has already given to us and because of what He guarantees through His ascension. We are called to have a heavenly focus because we already have been raised up with Christ. And that eternal life is ours today. We are called to have a heavenly focus because that's where our citizenship is already today. with that eternal life hidden securely with Christ in God. And we are called to have a heavenly focus because one day believers physically standing with our Lord will be the focus of the world when we are revealed with Christ in glory. You see, when the Jews thought that the Messiah would be the ruler of the world, Jesus Christ was crucified. He died. He was buried. He rose again and ascended into heaven because He is the ruler of the universe. What comfort for those who believe in the ascended Lord that in God's mercy and grace, their eternal life is secure even today as Jesus prepares a place for them where He is. And the Holy Spirit confirms that to the heart of the believer. I trust you have that assurance. Is your eye fixed on Jesus with the eye of faith? To those for whom Jesus is out of sight and therefore out of mind, one day they will see His glory. One day they will see the glory of His people, but they will not share in His glory. Those who fix their eyes only on the things that are on earth will one day share only in the wrath of God. Beloved, how does Christ's ascension change your life as a believer? It confirms His saving work and it graciously guarantees your life eternally. What a glorious hope. What a reason to gather together and rejoice in commemoration of this event. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, as we bow before You once again tonight, indeed, we give You thanksgiving and praise again for our ascended Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And we pray that we may truly be reminded that Jesus Christ may be physically out of our sight, but He is with us even until the end as He has promised through His Holy Spirit. And Father, may we truly understand that as we live in the joy of His saving sacrifice, that we can only do so because He rules and reigns today. Because He lives to make intercession for His people. And that because He rules, He alone had the authority to send His Holy Spirit to live in our hearts, to lead us and guide us throughout this life. O Father, may we indeed seek the things above where Christ is seated. And may our lives not conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Hear our prayer, O Lord, for Jesus' sake, and in His name, Amen.