We're going to consider tonight from Colossians chapter 3 verses 1 to 4, you can find that on page 1169 in the Pew Bibles, 1169, Colossians 3 verses 1 through 4, if then you have been raised with christ seek the things that are above where christ is seated at the right hand of god set your minds on the things that are above not on things that are on earth for you have died and your life is hidden with christ in god when christ who is your life appears then you also will appear with him in glory. Well, tonight we obviously move into chapter 3 of this great book of Colossians. And with this move into chapter 3, we move into a chapter that will focus us a bit more on the practical matters of living out the Christian life. You see, Paul, since verse 6 of chapter 2, has been trying to get to the practical call of living out the Christian life if you remember there in verse 6 or I'm sorry chapter verse 6 chapter 2 he says therefore as you received Christ Jesus the Lord so walk in him that phrase walk in him is a very practical phrase it refers to living out the Christian life living a certain way but you see Paul cannot speak of the practical living of the Christian life without first sufficiently explaining how we as Christians are able to live out that life. The false teachers at Colossae believe that being a Christian meant being a person who was religious, a person who lived a life of rituals and practices like abstaining from certain foods and celebrating and practicing certain religious festivals and celebration. That type of Christianity is what we called man-centered religion. And that type of Christianity or religion is all about do's and don'ts of men. As Paul says just a few verses prior to chapter 3, do not handle, do not taste, do not touch. And he says all of this is according to human precepts and teaching. But Christianity is not a man-centered religion. It's not about abstaining from certain foods and celebrating certain religious festivals, things which Paul says have no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. The Christian life is much more serious than that the christian life is about abstaining from indulging in the indulgences of the flesh so how do we do that how do we live that out how do we live out and abstain from what paul will go on to say in verse 6 abstain from sexual immorality and impurity evil desires covetousness and idolatry keeping ourselves from unrighteous anger wrath malice slander and obscene talk how do christians as paul will call them to in verse 12 practice holiness compassion kindness humility meekness patience forgiveness and love those do's and don'ts of the false teachers and colossi really have no value when it comes to things like that so how do we how do we live out the christian life well paul answers that in four ways in this text he answers how we live out the christian life first as new creations we live out the Christian life as new creations. Second, we live out the Christian life with new affections, new affections. Third, we do so with a new mentality, a new mentality. And fourth and finally, we do so with a new belonging, a new belonging. And so those serve as our points for us tonight as we go through this passage. New creation, new affections, new mentality, and a new belonging. Let's turn to our first point this evening. Everything hinges in the Christian life on being made new in Jesus Christ. Paul begins this chapter with an assumption. He says in verse 1, if then you have been raised with Christ. The Christian life begins with newness of life. It begins with being recreated anew. Why do Christians live a certain way? Why do they abstain from certain things? Why do they practice certain values and virtues? It's because they are new creations in Christ. Every true and genuine Christian has experienced a real and true transformation. We've been brought from death to life. We've been brought from darkness to light. We've been brought from bondage to sin to freedom in Christ. Paul puts it this way in Ephesians 2. You were dead in the trespasses and sin in which you once walked, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and mind, and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind. See, that's what we once were, dead, spiritually dead. And contrary to the movies and popular TV shows and maybe even some theologies today, dead people cannot on their own come back to life. And so Paul continues in Ephesians 2 and says, but God, but God being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead, made us alive with Christ. God made us alive. That's recreation, my friend. That's new creation. We were once dead, but we have now been made alive. And that's why Paul says in places like 2 Corinthians 5, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old is gone. The new has come. Everything begins in the Christian life with rebirth. Everything hinges on this transformational work of God. No rebirth, no regeneration, no ability to walk out the Christian life. Now this doesn't mean that Christians won't struggle with sin in their life. In fact, I would emphasize that Christians will struggle with sin. We will struggle against sin. Being made alive in Christ means that we can now fight against the sin that remains and indwells in us. Being made alive in Christ does not mean that sin has been completely obliterated in our lives. Sin still remains. There's still indwelling sin. But now we can fight against that sin. We can battle against it. We can fight against it. We can engage in mortification, killing sin. And that's a good way of thinking of our fight with sin. And that's why Paul says in verse 5, Put to death what is earthly in you. Put to death. As born-again Christians, as new creations in Christ, we engage in a life-and-death battle. We are striving to put to death sin in our lives. Now, just because that battle is difficult does not mean that we have not been made alive in Jesus Christ. I would say the fact that we do fight against sin is indication that we have been made alive in Jesus Christ. Those who are not alive in Christ do not fight and battle against sin. They do not engage in the fight of putting to death what is earthly in them. And that's why what Paul says here in verse 1 is indeed an assumption. When Paul says, if then you have been raised with Christ, he's not asking them a question. He's not asking if they have been made new in Christ. He's assuming that they have, that they have been raised to newness of life. And therefore, since they have been, they are free to live out that Christian life. as he goes on to say to seek the things that are above see paul here is simply reminding his audience of the foundational truth of living out the christian life it is by the power that comes from the new life that has been granted to us through christ by his spirit just as paul says in romans 8 if christ is in you although the body is dead because of sin the spirit is life because of righteousness. If the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit who dwells in you. This truth is something that we as Christians need to remind ourselves of often as we live and walk out the Christian life. Because living the Christian life can be tough. It can be difficult. It can be trying. There will be times when we experience victories, but there will also be times when we experience defeat. We will struggle, but we will fight, and we will continue to kill what is earthly in us. But as you do that, Christian, always remember, it is by the power of Christ that you do that. The newness of life that has been granted to you enables you to fight that fight. Don't allow that battle to discourage you. Keep fighting. Be encouraged. Something amazing has occurred in each and every Christian. Each and every Christian has been transferred from death to life. We are new creations. We've been free. Free to deny sin. Free to choose to walk righteously before our Lord. See, that's what being new creations is all about. Newness of life. Being taken from darkness. Brought into light. Being freed in Jesus Christ. If you're trusting in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, you indeed are a new creation. The old is gone. The new has come. that changes everything for us. We are no longer spiritually dead. We are no longer enslaved to sin. We're no longer enslaved to the curse nor the power of sin. Just as Jesus said, if the Son has set you free, you are free indeed. But you see, as Christians, I think we can still often think of ourselves as being enslaved to sin we can still think of ourselves as being bound to the habitual sins that can so easily ensnare us and that's why we must always remind ourselves of the newness of life that we have of the power that we have from that new life i have a friend who adopted a boy from africa him and his wife adopted this boy and when they adopted this boy he was severely malnourished this boy came from a family who was so poor that this boy really never knew when his next meal would ever come and because of that when they brought this boy into their home he would go at various times when no one was around he'd go into the kitchen into the refrigerator into the pantry and he would take food and he would hide it in various places in his bedroom and my friend told me it was so difficult for them to break him of this habit of this perspective they would tell him look at this food this is all available to you this is your food you don't have to take this and hide it away in your bedroom in various places and yet he continued to do so over and over and over i think we often can be like that boy even though we have experienced newness of life we've been made alive in jesus christ we have been recreated anew and yet we can still think and act and live as if we are enslaved to sin and that will affect our battle with sin because we functionally live as if we were still enslaved and sometimes we just throw our hands up and say I'm going to give in to sin because it's going to happen anyways that's not true spirit is in you spirit has renewed you you are a new creation in christ and that's why paul says in places like romans 6 consider yourselves dead to sin he doesn't say that because he wants us to simply just consider ourselves dead to sin but we're really not he says that because we are dead to sin and yet we can so often live as if we're still enslaved to it like that little boy who could not functionally acknowledge and accept that all the food in the house was available to him but the truth is we have indeed been transferred from death to life. And we can now engage in that battle against sin. We can deny sin. We can turn from it. It is no longer our master. And so the first way that we walk out the Christian life is by remembering that we are new creations in Christ. The second way that Paul says we live out the Christian life is by having new affections. Paul says in the second half of verse 1, seek the things that are above where christ is seated at the right hand of god in light of our new life in christ the natural result the natural consequence of that new life is that we have new affections if you have children you know that when raising children you try to instill upon them certain appreciations certain desires one of those desires that i've try to instill in my children is the desire and appreciation for spicy foods. I love spicy foods. Sadly, I cannot eat as much spicy food as I once could. But I certainly try to impress upon my kids the appreciation for spicy food. And so I talk to them about my joy and enjoyment of spicy food. and I introduce them to spicy food and I even force them to try spicy food even to their own dislike sometimes. Well, as Christians who have been recreated anew in Christ, our Lord desires for us to have new desires, new affections, new devotions. Desires, affections, devotions that are oriented towards Him. And that's why Paul says here, Seek the things that are above where Christ is. The term that Paul uses here, the term seek, means to devote serious effort towards in order to realize one's desire. Therefore, this word can be translated as strive for, aim at, Try to obtain, direct your desires towards. It's the same word that Jesus uses when Jesus says, Seek the kingdom of God, and everything else will be added unto you. See, as new creations, we have a new orientation on life. We no longer seek the things of this world. What are the things of this world? The Apostle John summarizes such things for us as the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, the pride of life. Those are the things of this world. Those are the earthly things that Paul describes of here. And he really contrasts here in our verse with what he says in verse 5. The things that are above with the things that are earthly. And notice how he spells this out more clearly in verse 2 when he says set your mind on things that are above not on things that are on earth he then repeats that language of earthly things as i said in verse 5 put to death therefore what is earthly in you you see earthly things are contrasted with heavenly things things that are above as those who have been recreated anew we have a new orientation on life on existence we've been reoriented towards the things above the things of christ and that's why we have that's why we do look to those things because that's where christ is that's where our lord is paul here is not just speaking of things above but he reminds his listeners of the one who dwells above Jesus Christ we long for the things above because that is where our Lord and Savior is Christ has lived and died for us but he did not remain in the grave did he he was resurrected and then he ascended to heaven and he rules right now at the right hand of God the Father. Let me ask you, do you long for your Savior? Do you long for Christ? Do you long to be with him? Do you long for the things of Christ? Do you long for the one who lived and suffered and died for you? Do you long for him as a deer may long for water as the psalmist says my soul thirsts for god or as he says elsewhere my soul longs yes even faints for the courts of the lord my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living god is that our desire is that our affection is that our devotion maybe you say yes yes it is but it's a weak desire pastor i desire to have a stronger desire for christ i want more desire for christ than the things of christ it's interesting but notice here how paul is calling christians to shape their desires to direct them towards christ we live in a day and age when many even Christians say that certain desires cannot be shaped they cannot be redirected or reoriented many believe that there are certain desires that are enduring meaning they cannot change that's not true Christian it's not true at all we're called to reorient our desires towards Christ well how do we do that how do we cultivate stronger desire for Christ our Lord how do we deny sinful desires of the flesh well we do so by developing a new mentality and that's the third way that Paul says we live out the Christian life developing a new mentality Paul says in verse 2 set your mind on the things that are above not on things that are on earth this verse sounds a lot like the second half of verse one doesn't it but there is a difference the seeking that paul speaks of in verse one refers to our affections our desires our devotions but here in verse two paul says set your minds on those things in verse two paul is referring to our minds here he he's referring to developing a new mentality he's referring to us having a new mentality about life about our existence about the things of life now this certainly relates to seeking the things above how do we cultivate more desire for christ we do so by setting our minds on the things of christ let me illustrate this for you at the end of this week my family is going on vacation we're going up to northern california for a wedding we're going to see some family and friends we also have some outings that we have planned and as you know it's a vacation right so it's exciting there's a lot of anticipation my kids are excited about this now when you're excited about a vacation you know how easy it is to set your mind to that which you are excited about you know how easy it is to dwell upon that vacation and the plans of that vacation and as you do that what you find is that excitement begins to build doesn't it anticipation begins to build desire begins to build the more you do it the more expectation the more desire builds in the case of a vacation you may even find yourself fixated on that vacation distracted from other things around you you still got a couple of weeks to work but you're distracted you're fixated on that which is to come you look up places to go in the area that you are going to be staying at you begin to scroll on the hotel room that you that you're staying in you look at the amenities the shops around the places to eat and so as i said if you're not careful begins to be something of a habit and this happens all the time with all kinds of various things that we desire and that's why paul says here it's important for us to set our minds on the things that are above and not on the things that are on earth paul knows he understands how easily we give ourselves to our desires and our thoughts to those things that can be earthly. We're surrounded by earthly things. We're surrounded by people who focus and fixate themselves and set their minds and seek out the things of the earth. And so it can be a big temptation for us. I heard some of you discuss that in certain stores today, you notice that christmas is coming right christmas is three months away and yet the stores are impressing upon us gifts and decor right and it's easy during christmas time to fixate ourselves on things that we desire things that we want i remember as a kid gluing myself to store catalogs during christmas time dreaming of the various things that i want and desire i caught one of my daughter's doing that very thing but it wasn't in a catalog because there aren't too many catalogs today. She was online looking at something, talking to herself and she was walking around with her mom's phone and I told her, dear, you need to be careful with that because we know how easily our hearts can turn to covet that which we desire. And that's why Paul lists covetousness in verse 6 under the category of earthly things you see this happens so easily we don't even have to be intentional about it so paul says don't set your minds on the things that are on the earth now one other thing that paul says here that we don't want to misunderstand paul's not calling us to be christian hermits or to reject the world outright or the people of this world in fact he explicitly says in first corinthians 6 not to do that and remember jesus in his high priestly prayer in john 17 didn't pray that we would be taken out of the world he said i do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one they are not of the world just as i am not of the world. And so as the Christian contemporary model goes today, we are in the world, but not of the world. And so Paul is not calling us here to be so heavenly minded that we are of no earthly good. In fact, he's calling us to be so heavenly minded that we may be of earthly good. Paul wants our thoughts, our desires to flow from the heavenly things that we set ourselves and our thoughts and our minds upon. And when that happens, we will naturally be the salt and light that we've been called to be. Paul is pointing out that Christians are people who ought to have a heavenly mentality, a heavenly mentality that affects every area of their life we do that by setting our minds not on the things of this earth but on the things above so paul tells us here seek the things above where christ is set your mind upon those things cultivate desire for christ and his kingdom for christ and his rule and allow everything in your life to be affected by that desire allow that desire to be the sole and primary desire in life now all of this should come as no surprise for the christian just as we've been given new life and by that new life a new devotion and a new mentality so lastly paul here tells us that we live out the christian life by remembering that we have a new belonging and that's our fourth and final point tonight Moses in Psalm 90 says Lord you have been our dwelling place in all generations Paul agrees with Moses here the dwelling place of God's people is with him they belong to God and with God and so Paul says here something similar to Moses in verse 3 for you have died and your life is hidden with christ in god when christ who is your life appears then you also will appear with him in glory paul reminds the colossian christians that their primary place of belonging is not in this world but with christ we all know that having a place to belong is so important for people. People want to have a sense of belonging, a place where they know others and are being known by others. I recall an 80s sitcom that was about that very point. The theme of that show went like this. Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name and they're always glad you came. You want to be where you can see troubles are all the same. You want to be where everybody knows your name. That show was about people having a place to belong. Now that was a show from the 80s, but much hasn't changed today, has it? People still desire to belong to something. A place where they are known and are coming to know others. And we see this in various ways as people try to experience some form of community and connection, whether it's at a ball game or a political rally or some club that they're a part of. People need a sense of belonging. Where do Christians belong? Where do you belong? You belong to Christ. You belong with Christ. We may be here on earth, But our lives are hidden with Christ, and where Christ is, is where we belong. And that's where we are known and are coming to know Christ more and more. Paul speaks of this elsewhere in Philippians 3, under the category of citizenship. He says, our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. There in Philippians, Paul speaks of citizenship. Here, he speaks of a place of belonging. The point is the same. We belong to Christ. We belong with Christ. Given our union with Jesus, we don't belong to this earthly world. Again, we are in the world, but not of the world. See, our physical location doesn't determine where we belong. And as Christians, this is another truth that we need to cling to and hold on to and remind ourselves so that we don't get wrapped up with the things of this world. And I would point out, we know and experience this truth at different times, don't we? There are times when we are not comfortable in this world. And that's okay. Dr. Godfrey last year taught a Sunday school class on living in a post-Christian era. Do you know one good thing about living in a post-Christian era? We aren't allowed to get too comfortable in this world. In the 1950s, when Christianity was much more influential, Christians were easily tempted to be more comfortable in this world. This world seemed like a nice world. It seemed like a kind world, even a moral world. All the while, it rejected Christ. That's not where we belong. As Jesus said, we are not of this world just as he is not of this world. And yet we know, don't we, that this fact hasn't been fully realized yet. Paul says here that our lives are hidden in Christ. Why hidden? Why does he use the language of our lives being hidden with Christ? It's because our lives in Christ have not been fully realized yet. We are still here in this world. We still dwell in a day and age of sin and death. Our place of belonging may be with Christ, but that is, at this point, hidden. Today we see in a mirror dimly, but a time will come where we will see face to face. Today we know in part that a time will come where we will fully know even as we have been fully known. We are God's children now and what we will be has not yet appeared but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him because we shall see Him as He is. Today our lives are hidden in Christ but a day will come when they will no longer be hidden. When Christ, our life, will appear and we will also appear in glory with him no longer hidden what a wonderful wonderful day that will be for the christian and so this gives us here a great expectation a great hope a hope that encourages us in our christian walk and our battle against sin a hope that encourages us when we fail in the christian life we may get discouraged but we never lose hope do we because our lives although hidden are securely fastened in christ we are his he is ours and therefore we live out our christian life as those who belong to something much greater than this world our citizenship is in heaven with christ and we have a wonderful and glorious expectation to look forward to much better than a week vacation away we have the expectation of being with christ our lord the desire of our hearts and so christian live out your christian life and as you do strive to live according to the commands of the lord and do so remembering that you have been made a new creation you've been made alive in christ and you do so with power and strength because of that life by the spirit and you do so with new affections a new desire set on christ your lord and the things of your lord and you do so by developing a new mentality setting your mind and your thoughts on christ and you do so realizing that you have a place to belong much greater than this world or having to do with the things of this world we belong to christ and with christ let's pray lord we thank you for the wisdom that this text grants to us we do desire Lord to walk faithfully before you to walk in a manner that is worthy of the calling to which you have granted to us and yet Lord we know that we struggle we know our own hearts but we thank you for Christ we thank you that you have raised us up anew with Jesus Christ our Lord. And you've granted us your spirit, Lord, to grant to us new life and strength to fight and battle sin and to live, Lord, faithfully with you. And so, Father, we pray that as we strive to live out our Christian lives, we pray that you would arm us and equip us with thoughts and desires upon Christ. We pray this all in his name. Amen. Thank you.