Committed to Christ - Colossians 3:1-4

It's so great to be here together, to worship together, to express our common faith and love in our Lord Jesus. And it doesn't, as we were saying a minute ago when we were praying, it doesn't get any better than this.

This is just having the fellowship that we do even before the service, just the total of it is, it's encouraging to me and I know to many others. Not much in the way of announcements. We have quite a bit going on, but it's nothing in the next week or two that we need to announce.

I think you're all aware, getting in the groove of man's Bible study every Saturday at 3 .30, prayer meeting Sunday evenings at 6 o 'clock. And so it's all good and it's all to God's glory. And I guess there is one announcement.

It's Richard's birthday. So let's wish him a happy birthday, Richard. He lived another year, he says, so praise God for that, right?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Amen. Anyway, this week I was struck in one hand and I was saddened in another about how far the churches of America, in the United States of America, that is, have strayed and probably worldwide, have strayed away from the true gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Church's Drift from the True Gospel

And I want to read you a few statistics. Well, at the same time, I'm still thankful and the emphasis is I'm thankful for this church and it holding to the word and to the truth of God's word. This is like an oasis to us.

This is like a shelter in the midst of a spiritual storm. And I hope you see it like that because that's what I see it as. There was a study from the Arizona Christian University, and some may have heard it on the media.

It says there are an estimated 176 million American adults who identified as Christian. That's like two thirds of the population as Christian. But just 6 or about 15 million of them actually hold to a biblical worldview.

62 of self-identified born-again Christians contend that the Holy Spirit is not a real living being, but is merely a symbol of God's power, presence, or purity. Another 61 say that all religious faiths are of equal value.

And 60 believe that if a person is good enough or does good things, they can earn their way.

To heaven.

25 say that there is no absolute truth. 33 believe in karma. 42 believe that having faith matters more than which faith you pursue. And 52 argue that people are basically good. It's startling, really, but not surprising.

So how do we shine in a world, how can we be lights into this dark world? How do we live as ambassadors for Christ, reflecting his love, his life, his perfection? And I would say, and the scriptures say, by holding fast to the gospel, which is the word.

Of life.

Only by clinging to God's word and living by it can we receive the strength, the power, and direction to let God accomplish his work in us and through us, and keep us pure and steadfast until the end.

Hebrews 10 .23 says, let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And Hebrews 4 .14 says, therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus, the son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.

Let us do that this morning, okay, and for all of life. So would you join with me in prayer? Lord God, we thank you, Father, for gathering us together here this morning. Father, we pray for the folks that aren't here with us, that may be traveling or home, sick.

Father, we ask that your hand would be upon them and that you would bring your presence to mind, that they would consider your goodness and mercy and grace, Father, even where they're at today. God, we thank you that we can have your word, that we might hold fast to what you've given us in the Holy Scriptures, Father, for without that, we would be lost.

We would be adrift in sea, Father, and God, we thank you that we have an anchor, that we have a rock to stand on. God, we just pray this morning that our hearts would be right before you, that we would rejoice in your goodness, Father, that we would exalt your name with our voices, with our thoughts, with our words, and in our fellowship as well, Father.

So God, we thank you and give you praise, Father, for your goodness, and Lord, may you be pleased with our offerings this morning, Father. We worship you in all spirit and truth, and thank you, Father.

We pray this in Christ's name, amen.

Good morning, and we behold God's goodness to us each and every day, and let's stand and sing.

The scripture reading this morning is from Matthew 6, verses 28 through 34.

So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, and neither toil nor spend, and yet I say to you, that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these.

Now, if God so clothed the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or what shall.

We wear?

For after all these things, the Gentiles seek, for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things, but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. May the Lord have His blessing to read and hear His holy words.

Amen.

The Lord will rescue me from every evil work and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever.

Amen.

And Jesus lives, and so shall I.

Please turn with me to Colossians chapter 3, verses 1 through 4. Colossians chapter 3, verses 1 through 4. If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God.

Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

This is the word of the Lord. Let us pray. Father, we are so thankful that your word keeps on reminding us of our identity and our unity in your Son, Jesus. We're so thankful that we're not left alone ever when we're in Christ.

From the beginning of our faith to the end, when Jesus comes back, that He will be united with us, and we will also appear with Him. And Father, we pray that as we do so, as we wait for that day, we would continue to seek the things that are above, where Christ is.

In Jesus' name, amen. This is a quote. So this is not my view, nor is it my words. Some people are so heavenly-minded that they are of no earthly good. Some people are so heavenly-minded that they are of no earthly good.

This is a quote by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., a former Supreme Court justice, and he once said that. Is this statement true? Now if Justice Holmes is talking about those religious pricks who isolate themselves in a cave to look holy and look down upon anyone who does not do that, then yes, I agree with.

Him.

However, those people are not truly heavenly-minded at all, but focused on the legalistic standards and asceticism that they have placed on themselves, which God never talked about. Now how do the truly heavenly-minded people look like?

Now, the first major empire in the world to outlaw slavery was the British Empire. And it was done by people like William Wilberforce, who was so heavenly-minded that Wilberforce was driven by the fact that the African slaves in the empire were actually made in the image of God, and he wanted to treat them as thus.

He wanted to share the gospel with them. He spent a lot of money on missions, but not only that, he was driven by the gospel to change the law of the land as a parliament member, the British equivalence of Congress, a lawmaker.

He wanted to represent Christ not just on Sundays in the church, but on weekdays as an elected lawmaker. And it was precisely because his mind was on the heavenly things, he was fixated on the things of Christ, that he has accomplished something that shook the whole world and impacted the eternal souls of the former slaves who were freed.

They were able to hear the gospel, because before, many of them, their masters did not let them hear the gospel, go to church, sing hymns. It was precisely the so heavenly-minded minister George Miller who trusted God for every case of providence, and he ended up lovingly caring for 10 ,000 orphans in England without asking a penny, asking for a penny from a human being.

Those children were well-fed and well-dressed and were discipled in Christ, and every prayer that George Miller asked in order to take care of the children was answered. One time, they actually ran out of food, but George Miller gathered the kids together in the table, and they started, George Miller started thanking God for the food, for providing for the food, which wasn't there.

When the prayer ended, there was a knock. The milkman, milkman says, my cart just broke down, and it's going to spoil. Would there be anyone who would like milk in your household? And that wasn't the isolated case.

A baker. I was driven in the morning, in the early morning before the sunrise, with this instinct, this desire to bake goods for the orphans, and here they are. That's George Miller. He's so heavenly-minded.

He dare not ask for anything from human, because he thinks, he believed that God would provide for every need for his orphans. Of course, the most important impact done by George Miller was not the physical care, but the soul care for the abandoned orphans of England.

Every kid was taught scripture. Every kid who went through Miller's home was discipled of Jesus Christ. The older kids would not only take care of the younger kids physically, but they would teach them about Christ.

And those two are two great examples of so heavenly-minded people. But they've done more than just earthly good. Today, perhaps we're not seeing men and women like Wilberforce and George Miller, because the problem is the opposite of what Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. suspected.

Perhaps we're too earthly-minded to be any good. Doing good becomes a means to an end. How is that going to boost my reputation? How is that going to benefit me? The goals and perspectives are self-serving and only temporal at best.

How will it further my career in the next five years if I make this decision? How will this position embellish my resume for another job? This text, however, speaks of what Christians must do with their lives because they're united with Christ in His death and resurrection.

Because we are forever united with Christ in His life and death, we completely commit ourselves to Him. That includes setting our minds on the heavenly things. The word commit beautifully combines both seeking and setting our mind on things above.

Now, I did not think of this word, but when I was discussing this passage with Hezekiah, he shared with me that commit joins these two words together, seeking and setting one's mind on. Our commitment to Christ is not a means to an end, but comes out of our identity in Christ.

We do not commit all of ourselves to Christ, not because that's how we are saved, but we continuously seek and set our minds on the things above, things of Christ, because we are already united with Him.

What we do comes from who we are. What we do does not make us who we are. We're setting our minds, our goals on Christ because we're already united with Him. This is not a means of salvation. We commit to Christ because our identity is completely found in Him, because we're united with Him in His death and resurrection.

The main point is because we're forever united with Christ in His life and death, we completely commit ourselves to Him. The first point, because we're raised with Christ, we completely commit ourselves to Christ.

After warning us about the false teaching and why we must not submit to the legalistic regulations of do not eat, do not touch, Paul starts a new section for what it looks like for Christians to live.

While the previous section was about what to avoid, this section starts with what the church must pursue. While the previous section stressed our permanent separation from the old paganistic world, this section starts with our permanent unity to the new King.

Paul starts with two ways in which we commit ourselves to Christ, with whom we are united. First, if then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

The command here is conditional. We had a conditional statement in our psalm study today, too. If then you are raised with Christ, the condition depends on whether the person is raised with Christ or not.

Here, Paul is addressing Christians, not the false teachers. He's addressing those who are saved. Note the passive voice of the verb, you are raised. The one who does the raising is not the person who is raised.

You were raised means someone else raised you from the dead. This is another example of the divine passive. This means God is the one who does the raising. You were raised with Christ, none other than by God himself.

You're united with Christ in his new life, a life free from burdensome regulations, a life free from your sins and your past records. Your salvation does not depend on your imperfect works, but God's impeccable work that he has done through Christ.

Your salvation does not depend on your goodness, but Christ's faithfulness and mercy shown on the cross. This means the command depends on the person's salvation, the person's union with Christ in his death and resurrection.

Anyone who is not united with Christ is not able to follow this command, seek those things which are above. In fact, it is impossible to seek the things that are above when you're not renewed by the Holy Spirit as a new creation.

Only because God has given us a new life and is regenerating us inside, we are able to finally seek the things that are above. Without being united to Christ, seeking the heavenly things is as impossible as a fish running the marathon.

It's just not in our nature without being saved. In order to know what seeking the things above means, we need to know where this above is. First, Paul tells us where it is, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.

Following Paul's argument of how Christ completely conquered the principalities and the powers, the fallen angels, on the cross, above means much higher than any of these false deities. It is the right hand of God.

It's the position of divine authority. As Psalm 110 .1 says, David depicts God speaking to the Messiah. The Lord says to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.

It is the position in which Jesus ascended to after the resurrection. It is the position of authority that is over all things, even those who oppose him. Above is much higher than any other positions known to mankind.

Above is the highest peak. Above is nothing less than Christ and his will. Let's go over what seeking those things which are above is not. Seeking the things above is not self-seeking. First Thessalonians 2 verses 6 -7 depicts a type of people who are not seeking the things of God.

I mean, First Thessalonians 2 verses 6 -7 depicts what the apostles are. Nor did we seek honor from people, either from you or from others, though we could have asserted our authority as apostles of Christ.

But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children. This makes it clear that the apostles' focus was not on making their names popular, or garnering power and authority over the church, but to proclaim Christ and to care for the brothers and sisters in Christ.

It is completely Christ-centered and other-oriented. Seeking those things which are above requires the changes in our desires and our goals. We no longer desire what we want, but we start to desire what Christ wants.

Under the old order, seeking self-fulfillment would have been second nature. We even see this in our life. You do you. Be who you want to be. Follow your heart. Not so when you're seeking the things above.

You desire and do what Christ wants, and which is written in Scripture. That's how we know what Christ wants. He reveals it to us. This is similar to the command like this, take up your own cross and follow me.

Sometimes following Christ will get hard, but it will be more than worth it. When we're united to Christ, we're not seeking what we want, but what Christ wants. Our desires are no longer focused on our comfort and our convenience, but our desires seek Jesus and His Word.

When we interact with non-believers, our desire aligns with Christ's desire to proclaim the gospel to them, so that they may believe in the loving Savior who died for their sin. Self-seeking desire would be that of annoyance.

Oh man, he doesn't get it. No, seeking the things above would be of love and of desire to share the gospel that this person may be saved, because that's what Christ wants. It is not just our desires that change when we seek the things that are above, but our goals as well.

It is no longer about my plans for my life, but God's plan for my life. It does not matter whether I want to live under a conservative governor in a red state that will leave my life alone, or to live in Hawaii by the beach.

If God does not want me there, I have no business planning that into my future. It is futile to fantasize that in my free time. This means we pursue Christ's best plan for us, even if we don't quite see it at the time.

We do not compromise nor settle with seeking less than what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. After telling us what we ought to be seeking, Paul tells us what we must fill our minds with.

Set your mind on the things above, not on things on the earth. In the end, what you fill your mind with has a direct impact on what you're seeking. After all, what you believe determines how you live.

Recall the illustration I borrowed from Pastor Lam a while ago. If you believe there is black ice on the parking lot, no matter how hot it is in Sacramento, you will inch forward slowly and carefully, no matter if it's 100 degrees or not.

If you truly believe there's black ice, as you're sweating, you will inch forward as if there is black ice. Because what you believe affects how you live. This means it is impossible to seek the things of God when your mind does not ponder on the wonders of God's kingdom.

The marvelous reality of living for and living with Jesus now. Our body and our will and our posture cannot face the heavenlies if we occupy our minds with the earthly things. It is impossible to seek the heavenly things when our minds are filled with earthly things.

When our minds are set on the things above, Paul tells us what they're not set on. Not on things on the earth. What does it look like to fill our minds with earthly things? When Jesus foretells his suffering, death, and resurrection to his disciples, Peter sets aside Jesus and rebukes him.

Peter cannot accept the fact that his teacher, his master, will have to suffer and die by the hands of the rulers. What is Jesus' response? Thank you for your concerns, Peter. Good intentions, Peter, but this is my path?

No, it's more direct and sharp. But Jesus turned and said to Peter, get behind me, Satan. You are a stumbling block to me, for you're not setting your mind on God's purpose, but man's. To set our minds on the things of the earth is not trusting in God's way.

To set our minds on earthly things originates from our lack of confidence and faith in God. It is to believe that God does not have it all figured out, under control, sovereign. It is to believe that, actually, my way is better.

I want it my way. That is precisely what Peter was operating on. He believed by preventing Jesus from going on the cross would be better for him, would be better for the disciples. But Jesus set his mind on God's purpose for saving the world, because Jesus knew God's purpose was for him to give his life to save the sinners of this world.

It was nothing less than that. Because Jesus trusted his Father fully, his mind was set on God's purpose, not on the earthly things, not on what is expedient, not on what appears to look good, look better, not on what could deliver a short-term success.

Jesus chose to give away his life because he wanted to set his mind, and he has set his mind on the things above and God's purpose to redeem the world. Similarly, for those who are united with Christ in his death and resurrection, our minds ought to be fixated on the things above, not on earthly things.

We ponder on what honors Christ. We saturate on his characters, his merciful. When you come to him, he'll forgive you. How faithful he is. He has never abandoned you, and he will never abandon you now.

How gentle he is. You approach him in your brokenness and sinfulness because you do not have to get it together before coming to Christ. You go to him and he has, he will embrace you fully. We meditate on his word.

We delight in who Christ is and what he has done for us. And for Christians, it is easy to distract ourselves with earthly things. What kind of thoughts are we letting into our minds? What lies are we saturating on?

Perhaps it is a lie that you've heard a long time ago from someone who hurt you, someone you haven't seen in decades. You are worthless. You're stupid. Even though it was said only once, for years you have repeated to yourself over and over and over again.

You're worthless. You're stupid. However, is that your identity? When has God ever said those things to you? The answer is he has not. Whenever we revisit these painful lies, we're setting our minds on earthly things.

Things that are not true. Things that do not have eternal value. We're putting more weight on fallible, ignorant, sinful humans and how they think of us over what the creator of the universe has to say about us.

Things that are not of Christ. When we focus on what other people say of us or how they view us, we are setting our minds on things of the earth. What does it mean to set our mind on the things above?

We fill our minds with God's truth. God views you as worthy because you are made in the image of God. And this is true for every human being, whether believer or non-believer. They all reflect the image of God.

And by that, they're supreme over any animals or plants. That's the type of worthiness that the Bible speaks of, just because you're a human being. Not only that, those who are united with Christ, you're children of God.

You get to call God Father. You have a heavenly Father who is not going to abandon you, nor insult you, nor abuse you, but care for you and protect you and be faithful to you until the very end. That's your new identity.

So next time when your mind drifts to these lies, you have got to open up your Bible to a verse that speaks of your identity in God. One verse I like is Romans 8, 15, and you've got to read it out loud until your mind is set on the heavenly things, until the lies are flushed out from your head, until no longer it has any prick to it, where it doesn't stick in your mind, until the lies are silent.

You read it out loud. Romans 8, 15. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons and daughters by which we cry out, Abba, Father.

We ought to fill our minds with God's truth daily in order to flush out the earthly things and the demonic lies so that you may set your mind on the heavenly things. The more you set your mind on the heavenly things, the less you'll set your mind on the earthly things.

The antidote is to set your mind on the heavenly things. The antidote is God's truth, which can defeat any lies. Next, why can we pursue the things above where Christ is? Because we're united with Christ until the end, we can commit ourselves to the things above.

Because we're united with Christ until the end, we commit ourselves to the things above. For you died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. The reason why we can completely commit to Christ, again, Paul goes back to our identity.

That's who you are. We are dead to our old selves. We are dead to the old regulations on dietary restrictions to make us, quote unquote, holier. We're dead to the principalities and powers, the fallen angels who tried to control us through our sin and the records of sin.

We are united with Christ in his death. When he was nailed on the cross, he took on our sin and he faced the wrath of God that we deserved. Although we're dead to the old order, we're not completely dead.

Paul tells us your life is hidden with Christ in God. This is a wonderful reality. God, when you, when Christ gave you your new life, he did not abandon you to live your new life by yourself, right? It wasn't like you go fishing, you catch a fish and just let it go, right?

That's not the part of the new life where God just abandoned you. You're on your own. Be safe. No, your new life is hidden with Christ. Your life is completely connected to Christ. It is hidden also means it is safe.

Your new life is secure with Christ. No one can take your new life away from you because it is hidden with Christ. Christ is the safest vault, safer than Credit Suisse, the Swiss bank. No one can dare to take you away from Christ lest they face Christ themselves.

The conquering king who has publicly shamed all the principalities and powers. Not only that, because Christ is in God, your life is also in God. How much more secure can it get? And what is the extent of this unity?

Until death do you apart?

No.

It is forever. Verse four, when Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory with him. Again, this appearing language applies to both Christ and to you. Those who are currently hidden in Christ.

When Christ appears, you will also appear with him. Your relationship with Christ is not temporary, like most of your social media friends. No, you will appear when Christ comes back the second time to judge the whole world.

It would be public and no one will deny Christ's authority. And by his side, you are with him. Notice Paul calls Christ our life because our unity with Christ is so deeply rooted to our new life that Paul identifies Christ as our life.

It is precisely because we're united with Christ in his death and resurrection that we will appear with him when he comes back to redeem the whole world from sin and death.

Forever.

What is the manner in which we will appear with Christ? In glory. Because we're with Christ, we too appear in his glory, not our glory. In his glory, not on your not on your good works and your merits on his.

That's far better. What a crazy thought that we will one day stand next to the king of the universe and appear publicly in glory. People who doubt you right now will see it. Our current unity with Christ is the guarantee that we will stand with Christ on the winning side.

This is a type of honor that makes the Super Bowl victory seem like a high school scrimmage.

Win.

This is a type of honor that makes the Nobel Prize seem like a participation trophy. Christ is pleased to appear with the ones who are united with him now, and that is all of you who believe in Christ.

Are you united with Christ now? That's the question. Do you know where you will be standing when Christ comes back? By his side or opposing him? If you're not sure, listen carefully. In order for you to be united with Christ, we have to ask the question, how can sinful men be united with someone as glorious as Christ?

Well, Christ himself had to deal with the sin that prevented us from being united with Christ. He came, became human, lived a perfect life that no one could have lived. Just impossible for sinful men to live sinlessly.

And he took on our sin, and on the cross, he faced the judgment that we deserved so that we would not have to face the judgment on our behalf. He took the judgment. He faced the full wrath of God himself, and he took care of our sin.

And on the third day, he rose from the dead. He defeated death forever. And for those who believe what Christ has done, they're united with Christ in death and resurrection. That's the beauty of the gospel.

You didn't have to do a thing. It wasn't you who were crucified. You were united with Christ because Christ took on the sin for you. And you just accept him, accept that with thanksgiving. Believe that, trust him, trusting him only for your salvation.

There's nothing good I can add to what Christ has done. Only thing I add is my own sin, and he's taken care of that. That's how we're united with Christ. And when we are united with Christ now, we will also be united with Christ in his second coming.

Now there may not seem like any glory. There's no earthly glory to be a Christian today, more so today than years ago. Now it pays to say, I'm not a Christian. But those who are hidden in Christ, united with Christ now, there's a future promise of more glory than this world can ever offer you.

And you get to stand next to him, and the world will see it. So I will end with a verse and a chorus from the hymn, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, which illustrates our reality of our unity with Christ and victory, beautifully.

Through death into life everlasting, he passed and we follow him there. O 'er us sin no more hath dominion, for more than conquerors we are. Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look fully in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.

Let us pray. Father, we come before you because what Christ has done, because we are united with him. And God, we are so grateful that once we're united with him, he does not abandon us. Once we're united with him, nothing can separate us because we're hidden in Christ.

And God, we pray that as we go out, we would live that way because that's our new identity. We seek the things that Christ desires. We seek the things of his kingdom rather than this dark kingdom. Father, we pray that your spirit would help us saturate our minds with the truth of the Bible daily, that we would not view it as a chore, but view it as an opportunity and a delight to spend time with our Father.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Well, let's stand for our closing song. May the mind of Christ my Savior.