Colossians 3:1-4 - A Scene In Heaven

Good morning, everybody.

Good to see you all.

I thought that was plenty strong Matt. It's good song. Good. Good choices today. Very nice. We are in Colossians chapter 3 verses 1 through 4. We started with 3 and 4 and we're moving up to 1 and 2. I know that's backwards, but I wanted to emphasize 1 and 2 the most so I Kind of felt like 3 and 4 sort of the background for it and wanting to get into some really amazing things and Glad to have you with us today and and you guys at home as well.

Thankful always have our internet members with us and visitors as well. We got a home folk Crowd here today in the building and that's always fun. I like visitors, but I really like it when it's just us too.

It's just Sometimes we can take a little deeper dive and not have to worry about that so much. So, all right, we may do that today. Let's pray Lord. Thank you so much for The services already the Sunday school lessons the singing and Lord we ask you to bless the preaching.

And we know you will because it's your word. Amen. If you then be risen with Christ seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Colossians chapter 3 verse 1 verse 2 set your affection on things above not on things on the earth and Then three and four we covered the last two or three times for you are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God.

When Christ who is our life shall appear then shall ye also appear with him in glory. What better eternal security verse is there than that one and so We looked at several things here a lot of it you have to go up to the previous chapter to understand what it's even talking about really, but it's talking about victory over the flesh and victory over the law.

Which the two are connected. But we're gonna look at it mostly as victory over the flesh because as we get into this chapter it moves into that area it's interesting because Ben was teaching from Titus this morning in Sunday school and it was in that same area where Paul gave a list of sins of the flesh and.

So.

He's gonna do the same in this passage as we get to it. But first thing we looked at as far as our weapons that God gives us for dealing with the flesh. And by the way, you don't deal with you have three enemies the world the flesh and devil.

You deal with each one differently. If you get confused and you try to deal with one in the inappropriate way, it doesn't work for example the devil. It says stand against him and he'll flee. All right, but the flesh if you try to stand against the flesh you will be defeated.

You run from the flesh so like. Things that tempted you or sins that you did in your youth usually follow you the rest of your life unless the Lord removes it. Which some of them he will but some he won't for his purposes but Whatever they are the sins of the youth.

Don't stand against them get them out of your house. Don't have it around. So that's how you deal with the flesh and this is what we're gonna be talking about here. But then the world system, what do you do with it?

Well, you you be separate from it in the sense of philosophically and when you say the world by the way I like what Ben said in Sunday school about God didn't say that we're not supposed to enjoy the pleasures of this life and this Earth that God made but you never let him rule you now that would go with the flesh part, right?

I told you his Sunday school lesson fit right with the sermon today. But as far as the world system, it doesn't mean that the God's world is bad. The waterfalls the oceans. You know the mountains. It's talking about the world system and who is the little G God of that?

Satan it's talking about Satan's world system is is an enemy and. So we're supposed to be separate from that. So those are the three enemies but was with regard to the flesh. You flee the temptations of your youth is a great verse to remember, but this is going to give us even more ammunition and on a higher level and so we remember last couple of times what the first thing it talked about was Realize that you are the new man and you're but you're in this life in this time.

Our old man is still with us, isn't he? And so count him as if he's crucified already. That was the first point. The second point was to realize that our old man is crucified, but realize the new man.

Where is he? Where is his place? He is hid with Christ in God the Father. Where is Christ and God the Father well God the Father is outside of everything. But his she kind of glory is in the third heaven and Christ is seated at the right hand of that throne.

Or you might call it a mercy seat. It's also throne of God and so. That's where we are hid and that I think I really I really like that part of this lesson. It's also an eternal security Moment because it says when he appears we will be with him.

It doesn't say we might be. It's great. You know, it's a great eternal security passage and then. Last time the point in that sermon last Sunday was realize where you are. That you are risen with Christ and you dwell where he sits on the right hand of God.

Remember that remember where you are. So all that's reviewed Colossians 3 1 says for if you then be risen with Christ, where are you? You were risen with Christ seek those things which are above. Where are you?

You're above with Christ. Where's where Christ sits on the right hand of God. So, where are you? You're seated at the right hand of the Father. That near that you can look you can come in the presence of the she kind of glory which in the Old Testament Before Jesus his blood was sprinkled on that throne.

No, man could go in that presence but one and he could only do it once a year and it was the high priest and he better be right with God when He goes in there. And so Now all of us can come and be seated at the right hand of glory, which is quite amazing.

So we talked about where we are last time. You're not an earth dweller you're a heaven dweller. Remember that now today. The question is or the point is realize what you are to seek. All right. So we'll talk about that now.

Colossians 1 3 chapter 3 verse 1 says if you then be risen with Christ that says where you are. Seek those things which are above that tells you what to seek. So when you're walking around this earth in your body of flesh and that old man can come alive quickly can he not or she not and You can't let her control or him control though.

And so part of that is to realize what we are to be seeking while we're walking on this earthly plane as a Christian and so Verse 1 says seek those things which are above well in Romans chapter 6 verse 5 is some interesting information.

For if we have been planted together in the likeness of Jesus's death. We shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection and I remember brother Otis Teaching sitting right here teaching the Sunday school class about this and he pointed out That that particular verse even though there are verses that do say we're buried with him.

That one doesn't say that. It says we're planted with him and everybody's brain thinks it means buried. It doesn't mean buried. It means planted and it's different. It's a farming term. What do you plant?

Something that grows. Now so think about that. We have been planted together in the likeness of his death. We shall also be in the likeness of his resurrection. Now we know that a seed Jesus taught a seed Must die before you plant it or it won't never come up if you plant a green seed it will rot.

So you put it out in the Sun and you let it die then you plant it and it comes alive and that's a picture of our physical death, you know and and our resurrection and The new body that we get and all of those wonderful things, but this is kind of interesting to talk about being planted.

So even in the Greek, it's not the same word at all as buried. This word means something entirely different and Buried is soon top toe, but that's not the word here. It is in the Greek. It is some Food toss and it's a completely different word and it literally means grown along together with something.

Grown.

Along together are growing along together with something. It you know sometimes in in the Strong's. He will put an English word. And he has a great vocabulary. I often have to look them up he says it means to conate.

Who knows what that means. I Had to look it up. So it's a botany term botany means the study of plants right in. Not physics, but oh man, the brain is so bad at this age. Biology, it's the branch of biology where we study plants botany and so what the word means to conate is Parts of a plant that are united so as to form a single plant.

Isn't that interesting so picture you being planted with Christ and Then coming up with him to be a single plant that's connected. That is exactly what spirit filled means. It's when your spirit and the Spirit of Jesus in you becomes one spirit.

Not two but one a oneness there and you walk in that mode you don't sin you can't sin in that mode. So this is what this is talking about here be planted together with him and then to rise Together with him.

So the idea here is to literally that you and Christ are of the same wheat seed your wheat. You're not tears, right? You're the same wheat seed as Jesus. Planted together and springing up together. Springing up together to a fruitful abundant life is what it pictures now so much of dealing with the sins of the flesh.

As brother Otis taught so well is to not think about don't do those sins. It's to fill your life with the good things and you'll be so busy all day. You won't have time to do the sinful things and this is what this parts talking about be planted together with him.

You rise with him and you're part you're one so you're not going to sin in that mode. So as long as you stay in that mode during the day, you don't even have to think about these Fleshly things he names later and that you need to avoid because as soon as you try to avoid them in your own effort.

You will fail and Satan will remind you and even accuse you of not even being saved which is a lie, of course but. So that's one thing it's that's interesting to me there in Romans chapter 6 verse 5 is a way to deal with the flesh and To do the opposite now, the next thing is Realizing what we're supposed to seek.

The next point is to realize where your affections should be in other words. First you realize what you're supposed to seek those things which are above and then what are you supposed to love? In the world around you in this walk.

What where's your affection? Where's the stuff you love to do? Where should that be? And then the sixth thing is realize where your affections should not be. Okay, so that's kind of where this is headed now.

Colossians chapter 3 verse 2 says set your affection on the things above. It's the same thing as realizing where you are. But now it's saying love what's up there. Love what's up there not what's down here and I'm talking about the world system part don't love the world system.

Don't love the pleasures of this life. Don't be involved with the cares of this world. Don't be involved with the deceitfulness of riches coming in which choke the word your Bible study will cease if those three things grab Hold of you.

It's like it's like thorns and thistles wrapping around you even though you're in the good soil and you're fruitful and all the sudden you've got these vines growing around on you and eventually it Just chokes the word out of your life.

And then it's a problem getting back into it. You know, it's hard to come back when you leave same way with church attendance when you get used to staying home. It just feels really comfortable but the Bible says not forsaking the assembly of ourselves together as the manner of some is in other words some Christians don't come to church and Especially as you see the day what day is that?

Approaching right the coming of the Lord when you see that you're in those days. You especially need to come together. Why. Because we need to the encouragement we're getting beaten up by this society is a little bit of reprieve now that Trump's in there, but It'll swing back.

You know, you're gonna have your next Biden and a younger one, which would be more One that can actually think and do mean thing bad things to Christians will come again someday. So we need each other more and more and that we know.

Now Colossians 3 4 says when Christ who is our life shall appear then we will appear with him. But look at verse 5 this this fits in verse 5 fits right in with verses 1 2, which is what we're talking about.

Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth now what I want you to notice is the word therefore Mortify literally means to make something dead. So make row in Greek Means to make something dead to kill something.

So we're supposed to Mortify our Members that means our our carnal physical body. That can do good things or bad things, right? It's kind of neutral. It's not really neutral has a sin nature the old man, right?

It has a sin nature. But because you're a new man if you take control of your soul and your body then it can do things for God, which is remarkable, isn't it and That's the whole point. But in the midst of all that we are told to seek the things that are above set our affections on the things that are above to realize we are above in Christ and then to mortify.

The things that your body would do that are sinful the lusts of the flesh. Mortify the flesh so that it can't do those things count your flesh as dead. That was really the first point wasn't it you are crucified with Christ, that's the first point verse 5 is just Bringing it home again.

It's interesting that Paul started it with counting dead and ended it. We count the flip the old man did right? So that's big. It's it's like he's not being redundant. What he's doing is well, he is being redundant on purpose.

He's emphasizing how important that part is, but it starts with the word therefore. So that goes back up to verses 1 2. So because of verses 1 2 therefore you can mortar you can count the old man flesh if you're doing 1 2.

Which is set your affections on things above then you're able to count the old man is is dead and you know why because when you get in a mode as a saved person where you're Focused on the heavenlies and what's there and who is there?

You won't want to go out and be fleshly and sin. It's easy to mortify the old man. When you have the therefore there because you're doing verses 1 2 that came before verse 5. Does that make sense? So let's let's Let's delve into that a Little bit more about the setting your affection on things above and the main place I want to go to the rest of our time is Revelation chapter 5 verse 1.

But first I'm going to read a very familiar passage that Jesus said in Matthew 6.

33.

Starting with verse 31 though. Therefore Jesus said take no thought saying what are we going to eat? What are we going to drink? Wherewithal shall we be clothed now? Remember there's three or four things.

There's actually more than three. There's three things listed and it says and other things like it. So there's a bunch of things that can choke the word from you. And it's kind of creepy because in one of the Gospels it says it will choke the word.

But in.

In the other gospel, it says it'll choke you but in one of them It says it'll choke the word which what that means is when you go to your Bible study. You don't get much from it. We ever been in that mode like you're just doing it because you're supposed to and you're not getting much from it.

That's the scariest place to be in the realm of what we're talking about. Because what's the reason you're not getting anything from it is you are loving the world right now. You didn't mortify the flesh and you're loving the world and you're having to do your Bible study because you're a Christian that's legalistic.

That's not from the heart. That's from the brain and that's the old man. The brain is part of the old man now. You're your new man lives in it though and can control it and move it into God's realm right at any second any moment.

And keep it there, too. But if we're loving the world. Then the very world itself will choke the word out of your life where you don't want it. And it doesn't and the scariest part is in one of the two Gospels.

It implies that it is choked. The word is choked so that as you read it, it doesn't do anything for you. Imagine being in that place. I've been there before. I remember, you know when I was first saved at 24 and in those first few years I just felt like well, I'm supposed to read the Bible every day and pray for a whole hour every morning.

I bought this little book that cordoned off every 10 minutes and told you exactly what to do each 10 minutes and you do it that way every time and that's How you pray. I tried that for about two weeks and I said I This is like this isn't even me.

This isn't real. This is I'm just trying to please God by doing something. It's not meaningful and then eventually. At first the Bible study that was a long time because I was trying to stay up with the teenagers in the youth group I was teaching they knew way more than I did so I had to study the Bible but there was a time period in that first three years where all of a sudden it got.

Where.

Okay, I'm just doing this because I'm supposed to do it to be spiritual so the people at church will know I'm spiritual and that was really a dry period and. This is what you don't want to happen. Is the word to be choked.

Well, what does it say does that the cares of the world? The cares of the world. What is that stuff? Like you're worried about your paycheck and we do don't we you're worried about. Like inflation you can't afford even the food you could afford two years ago gasoline the car the payments the You know the debt we owe the cares of this world.

We'll look at Matthew 6 31 therefore. Take no thought Jesus said of the cares of the world. Isn't that interesting. But he didn't leave it there, of course because we do have to think about it. Don't we and we men are the worst about it?

Sometimes I guess women can do that too. But men certainly think oh, it's my job to bring home the bread well, that's kind of old-fashioned nowadays, but You can worry about it and you're not supposed to but it's kind of human but think about it.

That's your old man. That is the part of you that's attached to the earth to the world. I Don't know what that meant, but it says now look we just heard the trumpet. You're supposed to be thinking about the trumpet up there.

So Jesus says take no thought saying what are we gonna how we gonna deal with this now? Look at verse 32 in Matthew chapter 6. For after all these things do the Gentiles seek like the lost world seeks the food the shelter the same stuff we find ourselves worrying about or taking care of that means we're worrying about it and.

But your heavenly father knows that you have need of these things before you pray or anything. He knows you have needs of it. So why are we taking care? Why are we so worried about? Those things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

And all these things shall be added to you by whom by God by the Lord. Right, that is a promise, isn't it? But it's a conditional promise. What's the condition? The promise is all that stuff the shelter the food the necessities of life getting your bills paid.

All of that stuff will be taken care of by God is the promise. What is the condition that you have to do? Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. It's hard to do that without being in this. Right, you can't do that humanistically just from inside your brain and you know a lot of times that's what we do.

We'll walk around would be a little bit on the lazy side and we'll just start thinking about God and we think that's enough. We'll just think about the stuff. We already know, you know what? That's like that's like waking up in the morning as a Jew in the wilderness and You see the manna out there that God gave you which is a picture of this and You eat some you save some and try to hide it in your tent.

And then for the next three days, you don't want to go out there and have to scavenge the manna. You just try to keep eating that old man and guess what God did to it. He put worms in it by the next morning.

It would have worms and be rotten and that's how most Christians live in this country today. They're living off of the old manna that they read six months ago six years ago when they were a kid and they think they can just because of that knowledge they can just Walk with God and just talk to him and you know, everything's great and you're never letting him speak to you at all.

It's like he spoke to you three years ago and you're wanting all this stuff now and you're talking to him and you don't let Him talk at all because you don't go into this word. You are not seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness when you live that way you got to be in this book.

It's got to be new manna. Now if you Live the right way and you walk with God and you seek his kingdom and his righteousness. You don't have to take care. I mean you have to take care of it. Let me put it in a more modern way.

You don't have to worry about Shelter food your paycheck and all and getting the bills paid. You don't have to worry about it. You have to think about it, but you don't have to worry about it. God will take care of it if you do the condition your part is to seek him first.

Put him first keep your eyes on him. Keep your eyes on the heavenlies and all of these things that we're talking about in the book of Colossians verse 34 says take therefore. What why. Therefore because if you seek his kingdom and his righteousness first, he will take care of your problems so therefore.

Take no thought of tomorrow. All I'm worried about him. I still gonna have a good job tomorrow. See we're not supposed to think like that. Because Jesus said tomorrow we'll take care of the thought of the things of itself.

He said sufficient unto today is the evil of this day. You don't need to be thinking about evil bad stuff gonna happen tomorrow because what is the old saying? 90 of it never happens anyway, and you worried about it.

Well now I'm gonna worry about the 10 aren't you? Okay, here's where I want to go go to Revelation chapter 5 verse 1. Let's talk a little bit about seeking those things which are above. Do we even know what they are?

How can we seek him if we don't know what they are? Well, how do we find out we have to look at heaven and see what they are. How can we set our affection on something that we don't even know what it is?

So we're gonna look at that look at Revelation chapter 5 verse 1. We're gonna get a view of heaven. We're going to first behold the scene now. Remember you're seated at the right hand of God in Christ.

So look around let's look around a little bit. First of all, here's what we see. I see in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book.

Written.

Within and on the backside sealed with seven seals. Now first of all, this is God the Father and let me be quick to say that his right hand that is an anthropomorphism. It doesn't mean the father has hands.

It is us speaking of him as if he's like that and that happens a lot in in a scriptural Wording but we understand it by Comparing it to all the other scriptures about the father which says he is an invisible pure spirit being who is not even in Time and space so you like you're not gonna see his hand, okay.

But what you do see above this literal throne that is being looked at here by John When he was transported there to see it by the Holy Spirit is you see a literal throne with the she kind of glory. Hovering above it, which is such resplendent bright light you probably couldn't look square at it and it is a resemblance of just a Small resemblance of the father and I've always this is my theory.

This is okay. This is not in the Bible. This is my theory that throne is a portal that if you went through it. It's a wormhole only it's not even a wormhole because that just takes you theoretically to another part of the universe.

It's the thing if you went through it, you would end at a place. It's not a place and where there's no time and you would be obliterated. But that's where the father is and he lets a little bit of himself show through that portal.

You don't have to think of it as a portal. I don't know what it is, but I do know what the she kind of glory is. It's letting you see a little bit of the glory of the father. Who is not there because if he were time would cease and there's time in the third heaven now seated right next to that throne.

Though is the lamb who is that? Okay, so now we can kind of see what we what's there when we seek those things when we look up there and we're seated There and we're looking around. I think the first thing we would notice would be that bright light Above that throne and I think it would have a noise with it.

And I think it would be frightening the first time you were there and I think you would fall flat on your face. And so would I the first time we saw it? There's evidence. That's what these people do. And so let's keep looking at it here.

So look at this book that this Anthropomorphic hand holds. It's a book Written on the front and the back. Sealed with seven seals now as we look at biblical numerology. What is the number seven? Picture all throughout scripture.

Perfection or completion, right? So this is talking about the completed canon in our part of it. Anyway, it speaks of it's a picture of the completed canon because it says seven seals. But it's specifically talking about probably parts of the book of Revelation.

Perhaps. But it pictures or is symbolic of the whole perfect Bible and so think of that hand. It's not really a hand.

Is.

Handing that book From where he lives which is not aware it's not even a place and there's no time and the book comes from out of that into space and time and Here it is and everyone there can see it came out of that port.

I'm just gonna call it a portal because I like to think of it that way it comes out of that portal and out Of that shining light and there's a real book and it would be a scroll most likely. We don't know though.

They could have had a could have had one of these up there, right? We don't know but it's probably a scroll and it comes out there and everyone sees it and John sees it. And of course, he's not from there yet.

You know, he's like really freaking out. He's not used to these sites and he starts to weep because no man is worthy to grab hold of that book and the father's hand is Just holding the book. I what I think you really see is Resplendent light with a book Flickering in it where someone needs to grab it and no one's doing it.

No one's worthy to do it and John weeps over that. Now that's how precious your Bible is by the way now so Look at verse 2. Verse 1 shows us the scene and then it shows us the perfect book. Verse 2 and I saw a strong angel Proclaiming with a loud voice who is worthy to open the book and to loose the seals thereof this Amazingly righteous angel who was one of the stronger angels was not even worthy to grab that book.

Think about that. He was not holy enough to grab the book. There's places in the Old Testament where it says that Even even the heavens are unclean to the father. That's why he's not in there. Just he lets a little of his light shine, but he's not in there.

It's not clean enough for him. Even with just angels there and saved people. Of course, there are times when the devil could come in there too, though, right? So he's not in there, but his resemblance is there and.

That.

Shekinah glory is there but this angel is not worthy to grab that book and.

So.

Look at verse 3 and no man now, that's not an angel there. What is that? That's a man or a woman and No man in heaven nor in earth. So how many men is that? That's all of them. Not one of a man. It are neither under the earth now.

That's all of them. That's the ones in hell too. Okay, so No man in heaven in earth or under the earth was able to open the book neither to look on it. Not even could look at it, what does that tell me and you I'm gonna tell you what it tells me.

I don't know what it would tell you but that tells me that humanism doesn't work. Humanism is everywhere in every seminary in every university and all the politics and everywhere in the world. It's where a man thinks that he can bring things in and of himself out of his mind that are new like Freud thought he could with psychology and Everything's based on him now.

It's stacked on top of him and he just made it up. It all has to do with your mama. And I can't say everything it has to do with but it's like almost everything. He says it has to do with you can't say in this congregation.

I Studied it in college. I was pre-med for two years. I took extra psychology. I took abnormal psychology book was that thick made an a-plus, you know why cuz I liked it I was interested in. I wasn't saved yet.

I was interested in it and I thought it was how everything worked fascinating stuff. Until I read this book Humanism listen scientists try to do that unless they're born again like dr. Ball, but if they're just a lost person.

Doing science, especially when they meddle into the origins. Which science will never tell you because the things that are not made by the things that are. They're invisible to these people they can't even look at it and they have this whole theory of evolution.

It's just straight out of the brain of another gentleman. I won't call him a gentleman another man.

Darwin.

Came right out of that human brain. Nothing from God just straight humanism. Humanism can never Approach or even look at this book. You know what that tells me this book was not written to the world. It's written to you.

It's written to us. This is written to God's people. This book is written to the elect. There are warnings in it for us to give to the world. There are warnings in it for us to share with lost people.

But it they're not going to pick this up and see anything in it always remember that. They they're blind. They're humanistic. They think everything comes in and of their mind out of their brain and This passage reminds me that humanism doesn't work at all with regard to knowing anything about origins or how things got created or where they came from or Where they go when they die, you can't know any of that Plato said that Socrates said it.

They even knew that those things only God knows those answers. You can't define it with science. You can't define it with history. You can't define it with any intellectual process. So no man in heaven earth or under the earth is able to open that book or even look on it look at verse 4 and I wept much because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book neither to look on it emphasizes that again and and so.

The Bible is not for the lost world of men. Look at verse 5 and one of the elders now that is a man that that's a person it was a pastor on the earth and now he's died and gone to heaven and One of the elders saith unto me weep not.

Behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah the root of David has prevailed. To open the book and to loose the seven seals thereof. Who is the Lion of Judah and the root of David? That's Jesus Christ the Lamb pictured as the Lamb at the right hand of the throne.