The text;Colossians 3:1-4
If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Set your affection (mind) on things above, not on things on the earth.
For ye are dead (died), 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.
Introduction: The Apostle Paul writes to the Colossians. The Colossians were infiltrated with astrology, philosophy, human enlightment, ritual tradition and gnosticism. The doctrine of gnosticism taught that all matter was evil. Thus, it attacked the incarnation of Christ. They could not accept the fact that God came in the flesh. It caused the people to think that it was possible to have a pure soul and a sinful body. But Paul informs them that the whole man is required of God. The believer must with his entire being seek the higher life, which is in Christ Jesus. The higher life is the heavenly life. The heavenly life is the resurrection Life.
We are encouraged to rise to Christ with the wings of meditation and the chariots of our affection. Not only to seek heaven, but to think heaven. To think heaven is to think Christ. Christ is the magnet that draws our inward nature upward. We as believers must fix our minds on the higer life. Although we live on earth, heaven must occupy our thoughts. We must keep our focus on heaven. To be focus is to have a fixed point of concentration. To have a center of activity, attraction, or attention. A heavenly focus will dry our teary eyes. A heavenly focus will calm the raging winds of sickness. A heavenly focus will lessen the fears of death valley. A heavenly focus will keep us thinking about reuniting with our deceased love ones. A heavenly focus will keep us going when our candle of faith runs low.
Paul informs us that the key to real living is understanding the risen or the resurrection life. It is a life dead to this world. It is a life with a vibrant connectedness to the life of God’s Holy Spirit. The risen man is constantly on the ascent to heaven. The body as it ages leans forward towards the earth. But the inward man is slowly moving upward toward its maker. He has risen and is continously rising toward his Lord. The risen life empowers us in the following ways:
(It guarantees Christ’s Sonship)
(It saves and liberates us)
(It gives us power to live victoriously)
(It gives us a living hope)
(It assures us of our own resurrection)
First, The Resurrection Life (It concerns things above)
A. Christ above is our life
B. He is the object of our supreme affection
C. Christ is the center of the heavenly world
D. Christ’s coming is our ultimate hope
Second, The Dead Life (It concern the things on earth)
The sinful man seeks the stuff of the garden. But the saved man seeks the spirit of the Saviour. No amount of riches can satisfy the cravings of the soul. The rich man watches his riches. The poor man watches his scarcity. But the saved man watches his Lord supply his needs. The bible forbids the believer from striving for the things of this world. Too much stuff produces a man who love and trust in his stuff. Many people use God’s sunny days to wash the blessing rather than to worship the blesser. This kind of living produces a dead life. A soul without the mouth of praise. A heart without without the fire of worship. A mouth without the passion for witnessing. A person without the joy of the Lord. That’s the dead life!
Let us consider the detriment of worldy entanglement;
A. Unprofitable for the Spirit man
B. Unsatisfying
C. Filled with anxieties
D. Unnecessary to our happiness
E. Transient and uncertain
Third, The Object of the Resurrection Life
A. Vision of Christ
B. Contemplation of heaven
C. Constant pursuit of things above
D. Placing our thoughts on things above
Fourth, The Resurrection Life is Hidden in Christ
A. Hidden with Christ in God
B. Hidden in our heavenly mansion
C. Hidden in the manifestation of Christ
D. Hidden in the eternal presence of God
Fifth, The Revelation of the Resurrection Life
A. Illuminated by the Holy Spirit in the word
B. Revealed in the believer’s resurrection
C. Revealed at the rapture
D. Revealed at the Holy vision of Christ
E. Revealed when we received our glorious mansion
Conclusion: The glorious life is hidden at God’s right hand. But we can gain a glimpse of its splendor from the Holy word. My brother and sisters, the believer’s strength is in the Joy of the Lord. I submit to you today, that we must stay focus on things above. Two men sailing across the stormy seas. One whose home is beyond the sea. The other who’s simply crossing over. Whom do you think will hold on? The one with the home sees his home in the midst of the darkest clouds. He hears thunder the clapping. He sees the lightning flashing. But he keeps his focus on his home beyond the sea. But the other sees only the dark clouds. He hears only the thunder clapping. He sees only the lightning. He has no object of focus. He looses hope and gives up in the storm. But thank God we have a home to keep our focus on! My question to you today; "Do you have a home to focus on?" or Will you die in the midst of the raging seas of this life?
"May God Richly Bless and Keep You in His Love"
Pastor Rodney L. Johnson Sr.,
