It’s a New Year: What You Seek Is What You’ll Get
Text: Colossians 3:1-2: “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek those things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not things that are of the earth.” (ESV)
Introduction:
We’re standing at the threshold of another New Year, and as I thought and prayed about what I wanted for myself for this New Year, I was drawn to these verses and this sermon I had preached in this pulpit, 5 years ago. I searched and sought and could find nothing better. So, I feel, with the Lord’s permission, I can deliver this enhanced and revised message to you for the New Year.
All Christians should want what God wants for us. Paul was saying to the Colossians and us: what you seek is what you’ll get. God is reminding us through these words to be hungry for the things of God. This is the resolution that all Christians should take for this coming year:” God, help me to seek the things that are above, because that’s where You are.”
But if we set our affections on things of the earth and seek only those things that the worldlings seek after: money, fame, prestige, power, influence, popularity, and getting more “stuff,” then we will get just what we seek. The Lord spoke through Paul in his letter to the Galatians these words of warning for Christians: “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked – for whatever a person sows that is what they will reap. For the one who sows to the flesh, will of the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit, will from the Spirit reap eternal life” (Gal. 6: 7, 8).
God wouldn’t have had His servant write these words unless He thought it was crucially important for His children learn to walk in the Spirit, to desire the things of the Spirit, and in all our ways, be led by the Spirit. (Gal. 5: 16-18). But we must remember that the strength to seek the things which are above comes from Him, because He is our life. We cannot do it in our own strength.
We must recall II Cor. Chap. 12. Paul had what he called “a thorn in the flesh; a messenger of saten sent to buffet me.” The word “messenger” is from the Greek word for angel. This angel was from saten, a demon afflicting Paul. He goes on to say that he prayed to Jesus three times for this thorn to be removed from him. Jesus heard his prayer, and He answered his prayer, with a big “NO!” Jesus said He was not going to remove this demonic being from Paul. He was going to leave it to continue to be a thorn in his flesh and continue to buffet him. He then gave Paul, and us, the reason. Jesus said, “My grace is sufficient for you: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” (II Cor. 12:9).
Paul went on to say” “I will glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong” (II Cor. 12:9, 10). As this new year unfolds, Jesus may allow trials in our life, to help us learn to turn to Him, admit our weakness, and say, “Lord, I agree with your words to Paul: Your grace is enough for me, and You’re allowing these tribulations, to help me grow in grace and Your knowledge and to learn to trust You more, so Your strength may be perfected in me.”
Earlier in this letter to the Colossians Paul encouraged them to be grounded and settled in the faith and not be moved away from the hope of the gospel (Chp. 1: 23). God knows that the tendency of the flesh is not to seek after the things of God and His will, so we need to be reminded of this, especially as this New Year dawns before us.
He said to “seek those things that are above.” Any good philosopher, or humanist, or even an atheist could say things like this: have high ideals; seek after pure and lofty things; be good, do good, be kind, be compassionate – but these are all very abstract and impersonal concepts to most people. The difference between Paul and philosophers --between Christians and those that seek to “do good,” is that for us, the goal is a personal one: the reason we are to seek those things that are not earthly, is because “above” is where Christ is seated. He is our Lord, our Master and our King. We can’t be satisfied with “things” however good they may seem.
For Christians, life isn’t wrapped up in seeking impersonal moral excellence and a better ethical code of life – for us, we are to seek Christ, in all His beauty and His glory. This should be our New Year’s Resolution. Remember that Jesus said: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled” (Matt. 5:6)
I. What will we Hunger For in 2019? James 1:14, 15, in the Amplified Bible says, “But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own lustful desires and passions. Then when the evil desire is conceived it gives birth to sin, and sin when it has fully matured brings forth death.”
A. The devel uses our desire for the things of the world against us and is continually working through the enticements the world offers to try and draw us away from a closer walk with God. But the things of this world can never truly satisfy the hunger that is in our soul.
B. The first and foremost thing the devel attacks is the Word of God. He knows if he can get people to doubt that the Bible is truly the Word of God, then they will not believe in the God who inspired the words of the book.
C. The whole purpose of God giving mankind this blessed book, The Holy Bible, is so that we can come to know Him. And by knowing Him, find eternal life. So, this coming year and beyond we must cling to the truths found in the Bible.
1. Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My Word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life” (John 5:24). To escape judgment and death, and have eternal life, we must hear His word.
2. Jesus said: “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed” (John 8:31). How can we abide in His Word if we don’t know it?
3. He said, “…if anyone keeps My Word he shall never see death” (John 8:51). How can we keep His word if we aren’t familiar with it? We must realize fully who HE is, and who WE Are IN HIM! And we do that through becoming thoroughly versed in His Word.
4. Only intimacy with Jesus can satisfy our soul’s hunger. Jesus said in John 6: 48-51: “I am the bread of life. Your Fathers ate manna in the wilderness and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” Let’s hunger for Him this year this coming year.
II. What Will We Thirst for in 2019? Exodus 17:3 tells about the Israelites after they had come out of Egypt and were being led in the wilderness by Moses. They were encamped at Riphidem, and we read that “…the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, ‘why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”
A. They couldn’t forget Egypt. In the Bible, Egypt is always representative of the old man, the old life, the flesh; the sin life. God brought Israel out of Egypt, but He had to get Egypt out of Israel. And we too, sometimes cannot forget the old life, so we try and quench our thirst at the watering trough of the world, drinking after the world-lings.
B. Oh, that we might be like the Psalmist who said, “As the deer pants after the water brooks, so does my soul pant for You, Oh God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?” (Psalm 42). The Psalmist is describing his deep desire for God’s presence.
C. He is recognizing and realizing what all Christians must learn: that the drink of this world cannot satisfy our thirst. Only Christ and intimate union with Him can satisfy our thirst.
D. I love the story of the woman at the well in John the 4th Chapter. Jesus and His disciples were going through Samaria. That in and of itself was unique, because to an orthodox Jew, Samaritans were the filth of the earth. They were to be avoided at all costs, but Jesus had scheduled a meeting with a Samaritan woman, unbeknownst to her, and He is never late. So, He sent His disciples away because He knew they were not yet spiritually mature enough to understand why He would be talking with a Samaritan, and more than that: a Samaritan WOMAN!
1. He knew she’d be alone too, so He sat on the well and waited for her to come at 12 noon. He asked her to give Him a drink of water from the well. She was amazed, because seeing He was a Jew, why would He be asking her to give Him a drink?
2. He said if you knew who it is that was asking you for a drink, you would have asked and would have been given living water. She asked Him where He would get what He called “living water,” and here was His answer: “Whoever drinks this water will get thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I will give, will NEVER thirst again, because the water I will give will be in them a well of water springing up to eternal life” (John 4:13, 14). She asked Him to give her that water, so she would never thirst again. Like her, let’s seek that Living Water this year, that only Jesus can give us
III. Only Christ Can Satisfy Our Hunger and Thirst!
A. In Isaiah 55:1, 2 the prophet wrote: “Come everyone who thirsts; come to the waters; and he who has no money come buy and eat. Come buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread; and why do labor that that which does not satisfy?” What was the water that satisfied that he was talking about, and what was the bread that he said would satisfy? He was talking about union with God by faith in Jesus Christ.
B. Many people who have been chosen by God and whose sins have been forgiven by Christ, and are only doing spiritual “busy work.” They minister in the outer court of the temple, but never seem to be able to come into the inner court and into the Holy of Holies where the Shekinah Glory of God is. The Shekinah glory denotes the divine presence of God that came down in the Tabernacle in the Wilderness and later in the Temple in Jerusalem.
C. That is why many times, for these people, the Christian life is hard, and not joyful; it is difficult to live, because they don’t look to Jesus to satisfy every hunger and every thirst.
D. The words Jesus spoke in Matt. 11:28-30 are applicable here. He said, “Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”
1. One reason life is sometimes so hard for some Christians, is that they’re hooked up in a double yoke and are trying to pull it by themselves.
2. When all the time, Christ is wanting us to learn that He is willing and ready to slip into that yoke with us, and make it “HIS” yoke, and pull with us, and in so doing, our souls will find rest in Him.
3. This is what we need to learn this coming new year. Not just learn, but DO: say, “Jesus, I’ve been pulling this heavy load by myself. Please get in this yoke with me and help me to rest in You as You work on my behalf.”
IV. If We Set our Affections on things above in 2019, we will be like Habakkuk, that prophet of the Old Testament.
A. He wrote these words: “Although the fig tree shall not blossom; neither shall fruit be in the vines, and there shall be no livestock in the stalls. Yet, I will still rejoice in the Lord; I will joy in the God of my salvation” (Hab. 3:17-19).
B. The same contentment that Habakkuk found 2,500 years ago was still good for a poor woman in London a few years back. An anonymous poet met this woman, who, though extremely poor, had found riches in her relationship with Jesus, and he penned these words about her:
In the heart of London city, ‘mid the dwellings of the poor, these bright golden words were uttered: I have Christ, what want I more?
Spoken by a lonely woman, dying on a garret floor, having not one earthly comfort: I have Christ, what want I more?
He who heard her went to fetch her - something from the world’s great store. It was needless, she died saying: I have Christ, what want I more?
But her words will live forever; I repeat them o’er and o’er. God delights to hear me saying: I have Christ, what want I more?
Look away from earth’s attractions; friend, those joys will soon be o’er. Rest not till your heart exclaimeth: I have Christ, what want I more?”
Closing: God wants all of us, more than He wants us to win all the world for Him. God wants all of us this year and for all the years of our life, and on into eternity. Working for Him and doing things for Him is wonderful, but what He wants more than anything else is for us to commune with Him at His heavenly table and eat and drink of Him. He told His disciples in Luke 22: “I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father has appointed unto me: that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom.” This year let’s resolve to seek an ever-growing revelation of the wonder of Jesus.
All the spiritual giants we read of in the Bible and in Church History didn’t pray for things, they prayed for a greater revelation of the glory of the Lord. Our time on earth is limited, and earth’s time is running out too. God is allowing the devel to have greater power over the minds of humanity. The devel is better known and less feared and more accepted today than ever, and his evil works are abounding more and more.
In this year of our Lord 2019, we need to ask the Holy Spirit to give us a clearer vision of who Christ is and who He wants to be to us. We can only know Him by spending time in His presence in prayer and praise and reading His Word; by going to His House to hear His Word preached and taught; and by being around God’s people. We need a clearer revelation of Christ. Let’s pray that our every move, and our very existence becomes totally wrapped up in Christ this year. Brothers and sisters, the whole world lies in darkness, and there are people all around us that are hurting spiritually, and don’t know how to be healed. Nothing but the light of Christ that shines in us will be able to dispel that darkness.
Good works and moral story-telling won’t dispel darkness. Darkness can only vanish in the Him who is the light of the world: Jesus Christ our Lord! Let’s resolve to study Christ in the secret closet. Let’s resolve to become a people of the book. I say: “away with success preaching and motivational preaching and how to improve your self-image preaching – we need JESUS PREACHING!” The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian Church: “For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
What we seek this year is what we will get, so let us seek those things that are above where Christ is at. Let’s ask Him to help us want Him more than gifts or blessings. Let’s ask Him this year to seat us at His heavenly table and for Him to be our only meat and drink.
