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Adult Sunday School Class
Above.
Now when you seek for something that that implies doesn't it an active pursuit I Mean if let's say for example What was it the other day, let's see. Our grandson Nico. What did he lose? He lost I think maybe one of his his cups.
You know drinking cups got these special cups. Where is it? It wasn't in his bag like it should have been. Where is that thing? He's looking all over the place. It's not here. It's not there. He's seeking his cup.
Seeking involves Active participation. It involves of some some measure of diligence and this is true Spiritually if we're going to seek the things that are above.
It's like.
The writer of Proverbs Talks about Seeking wisdom if you seek her as you seek hid treasure. What's involved in the seeking of hid treasure? You ever see these ever see these guys that have metal detectors.
You know, they're out. They're out. We've been to beach areas like in Florida and early in the morning. Some guys are a guy be out there with his metal detector. He's just going Up and down the beach.
Until he hears a ping ping ping ping ping and then he stops. And then what does he do? He has this little shovel with a sieve and he starts digging around. They're looking for whatever that piece of metal is, you know, probably a bottle cap or something like that.
But he's seeking and we are to be so actively engaged as a routine of life in in in the pursuit of seeking the things that are above and notice that the focus is Upward seek the things above where Christ is.
Sitting at the right hand of God now. What's the million-dollar question here? What is it? Seek the things that are above where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. What's the million-dollar question?
Well, what are we seeking what is it that's above that we are seeking and I think the answer to that question is what we are seeking is Cultivated holiness now that takes us back to last a couple weeks lessons in the in the cultivating of holiness.
What are we seeking to cultivate in the Christian life and we pointed out three basic things. We're seeking to imitate the character of God we're seeking to conform to the image of Christ and We're seeking to submit to the mind of the Spirit.
Okay, so so so think about those things where do we find out what the character of God is. Well, we find that out from above because we find out because God from above has revealed to us What he is like and what he likes.
All right. So seeking the things above doesn't doesn't mean that you you kind of sit around in a lotus Position with your eyes closed in your face looking upward and doing this kind of a thing. You seek the things that are above you seek what the character of God is.
What he is like and what he likes through his revelation. Through his revelation and we know from Psalm 19 that God has given us two forms of revelation. He's given us general revelation in creation. He's given a special revelation in his word in the scriptures.
So seeking the things that are above for example would be like, you know yesterday morning early in the morning. I went down to this the Sinissippi Park. You know Riverwalk thing, you know I go to the end of 16th Avenue and I hop on to the thing and I had I had.
East.
Over toward what is that Hoover Park on the east end of the other thing? Don't get all the way there, but I'm walking along and I'm looking out over the I'm looking out over the river. I'm looking at the birds as they're they're doing their thing, you know.
Looking for fish and I'm looking at the trees and all this kind of stuff and you can do that on a purely linear level. You know looking at all this stuff say boy. Those trees are cool. Look at look at how green the trees are look at those birds.
Aren't they funny? Whatever, you know and just simply looking at it from Mother nature as if creation is or the natural world is all there is kind of perspective or You can look at those same things. From the above perspective.
What do these things tell me about God? About the character of God about what he's like and what he liked and what he likes. Where do I learn about? The image of Christ. How do I find out what what Christ is like?
You know so that I can be conformed to the image of Christ. Well again, God's Word gives us the answer. We we we look in the mirror. We look in the scriptures. We look into the revelation of what Christ is like.
We can't see him walking around every day and therefore so we look in the scriptures and find out what he's like. And how do we know the mind of the Spirit? Again, it's not a matter of Lotus position guys closed mantra stuff.
We find the mind of the Spirit as the Spirit has revealed his mind to us in his word okay, so The short answer to what are the things above it's Cultivated holiness. It's what we've been talking about all along and that's going to be practically expanded on in verses 5 through 17 so one imperative Be seeking the things above.
The second imperative in verse 2 is he says set your mind on things above. Not on things on the earth. That words set your mind on I think in the King James is what is it? Set your affections on things above.
Yeah. Better translated set your mind on or you could even translate it this way. You could translate it concentrate on things above. Again, it's in the present tense. Which suggests a continual? Habitual process.
Now I want you to see something here.
This.
Concentrating on things above is both I think I have this on your handout is both an indicator and a predecessor. What do I mean by that? What I mean by that is this as an indicator as an indicator. The setting of your mind on things above Tells you who you really are.
What I mean by that is this your mindset. Your mindset is a litmus test revealing Who what you really are? How do you look at this world? How do you look at what's going on in? In in governmental affairs, how do you look at what's going on in the news feeds that you get?
How do you how do you perceive those things? What's your mindset about those things? You can look at all this stuff. You can look at everything going on in the world and on a global scale. You can look at everything going on in your in your personal World your family your job and so forth.
You can look at all that stuff Strictly from a this life perspective. What that tells you is I mean if that's all you do That's all you ever do and you never even think about it from the standpoint of beyond and you think about it from God's.
That tells you you're not you're you are not spiritually minded. It could tell you that you are not a believer it could. But it's at least telling you that you are not spiritually minded. Why your your mindset is an indicator of What you really are what's going on in your heart?
It's an indicator. But it's also this exhortation concentrate on things above is a predecessor and What I mean by that is that thinking it's this principle that thinking is the first step to doing. It's a first step to doing right thinking produces right behavior.
So if my mindset isn't if I'm not thinking right, I'm not going to make right decisions. I'm not going to make wise decisions. If I'm not if I'm not thinking right, I'm not going to do the right things.
I'm not going to make wise choices so this concentrate on these above things on this cultivated holiness if you will is An indicator and a predecessor and a predecessor and then the third idea that I want to get across here is that This involves a controlled focused process and Go back to Philippians 4 verse 8 again Where you know Paul says whatever things are and he goes through the list whatever things are true honest just pure Lovely of good report virtuous praiseworthy think on these things and that the idea of thinking on is literally Meditate on these things.
So as I think I pointed out before on that, I think it was last week with that particular verse Paul is not saying you can't be aware of and know and even think about what's going on in the world. You know, what's what's what's happened?
What happened 20 years ago yesterday, you know What what happened a couple of weeks ago in Afghanistan? What's going on with our the current administration? Well, you know, we don't we don't bury our heads in us in the sand and not know what's happening in the world around us.
But the question is what do we meditate on? See, what is again our our Frame of thinking about these things our framework of thinking about these things. I Meditate on The things that are above I meditate on the things that are true honest just and so forth.
So I'm looking at this Mess in Washington and I'm I'm thinking okay. What is true about this? Not necessarily You know whether or not you know The the election was a fraud and all that kind of stuff, but what is true about it from God's perspective What does God have to say about this?
What is lovely about this? What is lovely about this? Okay. So for example, I mentioned earlier. Okay, if if my supposition my opinion is correct that The the current president is a usurper and If The judges nine what happened in judges nine follows into The current situation where God sends, you know dissension between the usurper and the usurped Then what's lovely about that maybe not the effects but the cause Isn't it lovely to know?
That.
Our God is not hamstrung his his hands aren't tied behind his back as Whatever's going on in this world. Isn't it lovely to know that? We serve a God who is sovereign over all of this stuff and that he knows The end of it from the beginning of it.
Isn't that isn't it lovely to know that I mean It's aggravating is all get out to watch the news. I don't care whether you're watching CNN or Fox. It doesn't matter. It's just as it's depressing. I Don't know if any of you ever watch Hannity, but I have the last For four months.
I mean maybe a year. I didn't even turn the news on any channel. I got so sick and tired of the all the kovat news and all that junk. I just shut it off. I just shut up wouldn't even look at it. But then when this mess with Afghanistan kicked up a couple weeks ago, I turned it on what in the world is going on here.
And I will not watch Communist News Network, I will not watch that so I turn on Fox and I mean, I don't I think it's better. So I watch Hannity and he gets under my skin a little bit just the way he is, you know I Like things he says but anyway.
But one thing I've noticed and if you've watched if you ever watch Hannity, you may have noticed this too. He's ended for the last Couple weeks that I've seen and I haven't watched every night. But he's ended frequently with he usually ends with let not your heart be troubled.
Right, if you've ever watched Hannity, he says let not your heart be troubled at the end of his broadcast the last couple weeks I heard him say many times. My heart is troubled. My heart is troubled. I Know it says let not your heart be troubled.
My heart is troubled. My heart is troubled Looking at the same things that Hannity reports on as you and I look at those things and we look at those things Concentrating on the things that are above. What about those things is is lovely you see what what's lovely?
What is just? There's a God that is just behind all this stuff. What is pure? There's a God who is pure who is not going to tolerate. It's not going to tolerate impurity and of and a an assault on his holiness and so on so there is there is a way of Thinking about the things of this earth.
That is really Thinking on things above. I guess that's that's the way I want to To frame that. All right, so meditate on the things above even even Sending the things of this world that we are inclined to meditate on send them through the sieve of Philippians 4a now there's wonderful prospect of the hidden life in verse 4.
So verse 3 tells us our life is hidden with God and and here's the wonderful prospect in verse 4. He says when Christ who is our life appears then you also will appear with him in glory your life as It really is in Christ is hidden in Christ right now.
But it won't remain hidden. It won't remain hidden. Your hidden life is going to be revealed. All right, so look if your life is hidden with Christ, where is Christ? He is right now seated at the right hand of the of the father.
He's on the throne in Heaven in glory is Christ here. Well spiritually, yes but is he Here in the sense of his Reign over all the earth and his millennial reign where everybody is bowing before him and every knee is bowing and every no Every tongue confessing that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God.
No, that's not that's not what's happening right now and So who you really are? Yes, your life is hid with Christ who is sitting at the right hand of God is going to be Revealed verse 4 says when Christ who is our life appears when he appears whenever that is.
Then you will appear with him in glory. That's a wonderful prospect for our hidden life. Barrett and Beaky put it this way. It's a quote. He said the prospect of that certain glory shared with Christ Puts all the stuff of time in its proper place.
Pre occupation with Christ is the secret to everything in the Christian life. So living out our faith means that we live now with a view to then. We live now with a view to then that is not always easy to do.
Is it it's not always easy to do. But this is this is the whole idea behind the imperatives that are That flow from the indicatives. Your life is your you have died. Your life is hidden and therefore.
Be.
Seeking those things that are above be seeking that cultivated holiness and set your mind on those things that are above. Concentrate on those things that are above not on the things of the earth. Live now in light of Then of you to then.
All right, so that's the principle of death and life. Both at the same time we are dead and we are alive but then Paul Moves to making this very practical in verses 5 through 17 talks about the practice of killing and Animating killing and animating going on at the same time.
Again Barrett writes this he says what is true on the inside? Will show itself on the outside. So he says although and get this although our union with Christ is hidden from view. The evidences of that union should be seen.
So there should be evidences in your life that you are a Christian. That you're dead that you've died and that you are alive. Your life is hidden with Christ. So question is What is that hidden life supposed to look like?
What's it supposed to look like? Well on the one hand, it's supposed to look like killing killing the old man killing the old man you see this in verses 5 through 11 and Notice in verse 5 how that death is our duty.
There's a therefore therefore So you died? Your life is hidden with Christ in God. Eventually, your hidden life is going to be manifested when Christ is manifested. Therefore as a consequence as a conclusion to this Put to death some things.
Put to death death is your duty. Now. What are you to kill? What are you to kill?
Paul.
Launches into a Couple of sin lists in these next several verses. Last part of verse 5. There's this sin list. Fornication uncleanness passion evil desire covetousness, which is idolatry. And. In verses 8 and 9 he provides us with another sin list.
Anger wrath malice blasphemy. Filthy language. Out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another. All right. So let's look at these two sin lists separately because I think they. They refer to two different kinds of killing that we have to engage in.
One is the first one in the last part of verse 5 is we have to kill. Self-centered indulgence. Kill self-centered indulgence. Notice how the sins that Paul itemizes in verse 5 progress from the list progresses from outward behaviors to inward.
Catalysts to those behaviors. Look at the list. What what are the things? What are the sins that are outward in that list you tell me? What's the first one? Fornication and which is any kind of sexual.
Any kind of sexual activity outside of marriage. Right. Fornication. Next. Uncleanness, which is again a a wide-ranging wide-ranging expressions of immorality. Okay, those are the two clearly.
Outward.
Sin actions the next one passion is. It refers to inward stuff, but it is always expressed outwardly. Someone is Passionate, how do you know. Someone is passionate about something. Not because of what's going on in their heart But because of how they behave what they're doing.
And he's talking about inordinate passion, obviously. Okay, and then notice how he moves to to to sins that are within Evil desire and Covetousness. And the thing about those two sins is. You don't you don't necessarily know whether somebody is is Sinning in these two ways at any given time.
Because it's what's going on inside. They have an evil desire and they may not right now be acting on that evil desire or they may be Covetous and they may not now be Acting on that covetousness, but here's the thing Passion evil desire and covetousness are catalysts For the external behaviors the outward actions the outward sins.
In the first part of the verse fornication and uncleanness. You see. So in the first place he's talking about self-centered indulgence. All of that in that list is self-centered.
Indulgence.
Fornication uncleanness passion evil desire covetousness. It's all focusing on myself and indulging myself but the second list in verses 8 and 9 is a list that identifies some relationship destroying sins.
Relationship destroying sins and here in this list Paul flips he moves from inward catalysts to outward actions. You follow it look at the list. He says now you are to put off all these things. Anger, it's going on inside, right?
Wrath, it's going on inside malice and Now we're moving to the outside Blasphemy, which is any kind of you know, slandering of somebody. It's not necessarily geared only toward God. Filthy language and Lying to one another now, what are the effects of Slandering someone how does that help the relationship?
Yeah, it kind of tanks it doesn't it how does. How does the the filthy language? How does that foster a whole a wholesome healthy relationship? How about lying to one another? What does that do to a relationship?
Destroys them these these are these are relationship destroying expressions of sin now. In short Paul is telling us that it is our duty to kill these things our do it's our duty to kill any Kind of self-centered indulgence.
It's our duty to kill any kind of relationship destroying expressions and by the way, these lists are Representative and not exhaustive. Okay, it's just it's just okay. Here are some examples of self indulgent or self-centered indulgence here are some examples of relationship destroying Expressions or sins.
These are just examples. These are examples. It's our duty to kill them and That killing is possible. This is indicated in verse 7 when he says He says in verse 6 these the these things the wrath of God's coming on the sons of disobedience in which verse 7 You yourselves get this once walked When you lived in them.
So he's saying That he's writing to believers in the city of Colossae and the Church of Colossae and he's saying look Some of you Christians in Colossae. All of you Christians in Colossae lived in this way you lived in Self-centered Indulgence in expressing that in some way or another.
This is the way you lived. You walked in this in these things in the past. But not now you see what he's getting at is that the gospel in its power has enabled the transformation of life. Grace demands it the gospel the gospel enables it the power of the gospel enables transformation and and and Many of you here today could could give testimony to the fact that In a very very visible tangible evident way Once I was lost, but now I am found.
I Was a wretch that God graciously saved and look Now I'm not what I was. I'm not all I ought to be. I'm not all I want to be. I'm not all I will be. But I am NOT what I was that's that's the point here that that Paul is making.
You see because you see he says you once lived in these things. You once walked in these things. But he also says Put them to death. So they are your members that are on this. They are your members which are on the earth.
So he's acknowledging that every one of you Colossians every one of you who used to live in this way used to walk in this way you still have those members within you and you still have the capability the potential the possibility of.
Of.
Expressing self-centered indulgence you have that possibility. You still have the possibility within you of of lashing out in relationship destroying expressions of sin. And. You have done so and you can do so and Some of you might be doing so right now.
But put it to death is his point. Put it to death. And this killing let me just close with this. This killing is necessary for two reasons. It's necessary in the first place because that sin angers God.
It says because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience. So here's the deal if I'm no longer under God's wrath. And I'm not if I'm saved. Blood of Christ has delivered me from that wrath to come.
But if I'm not under that wrath, why would I do things that I know I anger him that would invite that wrath. And. The second reason killing is necessary in verses 9 through 11. Is that we have been restored to the image of God.
So he says in verse 10 you put on a new man who is renewed in knowledge. According to the image of him who created him. Barrett makes this point. Dress according to what you are. To be hidden in union with Christ demands death to sin because we have put off the old man and we put on the new.
Those who have trusted Christ. Here's the here's the here's the Aphorism. All right, those who have trusted Christ have changed clothes. So don't wear the clothing that.
Betrays what you aren't wear the clothing that communicates what you are. Father in heaven I pray today we're challenged to put to death these things that we would accept this challenge and father Help us to see that.
This is the this is the this is our joy to do this and I pray that we'd be blessed in it. We ask it in Jesus name. Amen. All right, well have a few minutes before the service begins so enjoy some fellowship together.