By: Mark Engler, Mt. Vernon Christian Church, Mt. Vernon, MO
This Sermon is part outline and part full-text and adapted from a former sermon of mine.
Your Spiritual Game Plan
Col. 3:1-4
Prop: You can’t expect growth unless you plan for it.
INTRO:
Ø Talk about games plans for basketball, football, baseball
Ø Talk about game plans for life.
o Girls planning and dreaming about their wedding.
o When you have children you form some kind of plan in raising your children.
o In our jobs or careers we devise plans that will help us climb the ladder that will lead us to success.
o We sock away money so we’ll have a good nest egg when we retire.
§ Bill Weber’s idea about if a 18 year old had 8,000.00 when he was 18 and if he/she didn’t spend the money on a car or something like that and saved it in a retirement plan until he/she was ready to retire they would have over 1 million dollars to retire on.
Ø We devise all these plans. Plans to win ball games, plans to succeed in life, and for our children to succeed, and plans to live good when we retire.
Ø What about a plan that will help us grow spiritually? Do you have a spiritual game plan?
Ø What about a plan that will bring others into the saving knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?
Ø Why don’t we have plans for that? Why do we wander around aimlessly when it comes to maturity in Christ and when it comes to reaching the lost people of this community, state, country, and world?
Ø Where’s our plan?
Ø I hear of people saying that they are not growing spiritually. There has been at least one person leaving this church and there have been people leave churches all over the country because they say they are not growing spiritually.
Ø For some of that the church and church leaders are to blame, but I believe a major part of it is because people just don’t put any effort into their spiritual lives.
o They don’t go to Sunday school
o They don’t go to any Bible Studies
§ One reason I have heard in the past for not going to these things is because they are too boring.
§ Well, do you participate? Do you speak up? Do you ask questions when you have them?
§ Bible study and Sunday school is not so much what the teacher puts into them, as it is what the students put into them. The students are what really makes the class, not so much the teacher.
Ø Read Col. 3:1-3
Things To Do:
1. Set Your Hearts on Things Above, vs. 1
The first thing he says to do is “Set your hearts on things above.” I think what Paul is saying here is to seek the things above, matter of fact the NASB I believe says those very words. He’s saying seek what is above first, get what is really important in your lives in control then everything else will fall into place.
Mt. 6:33 says; “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness…” If our priorities are set in the right order we will be seeking God and His kingdom first.
Isaiah 55:6 says, “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is
near.” Acts 17:27 says; “….they should seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us” (NASB)
Ø What grope means “To feel about with or as with the hands, as in the dark; to look for uncertainly and blindly.” According to Webster’s Dictionary.
We should seek God with no regard to anything else, seeking Him blindly. He should be put on a pedestal so high in our life that nothing else comes before Him.
In Hebrews Paul talks about people putting other things before God and in Hebrews 10:24 & 25 he says this; “and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some…”
You see if we are seeking God, if you are groping for God, we will not forsake coming together in this church assembly. We will not forsake our meeting together for it is opportunity for us stimulate others, to encourage others and to get that ourselves. And it’s our set apart time to come and give praise, honor and glory to God the creator of heaven and earth.
Sub Point 2. Also in seeking God it is of the utmost importants that we are in God’s Word. How can a person be seeking God and becoming spiritually mature unless we are reading God’s instructions.
Illus. Maybe you heard about the man that wanted to parachute (jump) out of a plane. He was told that in order for him to be able to do that he would have to attend a series of classes on parachuting before he could actually get in the plane and jump. He thought there was no reason to do that and that he didn’t need those classes, how hard could it be to jump out of a plane and pull the ripcord. So the day came along that they would all get into the plane and jump. As they were getting higher and higher he was getting more, more nervous in anticipation for the jump, but he had the nerve to go ahead and do it. It finally came his time to jump. There were many jumping that day and he followed the person that jumped before him. But when he went to pull the ripcord the parachute didn’t come out. Now he was really nervous and he was frantically pulling on the cord to get the chute open and I’m sure wishing he had those classes. But as he is now heading toward the ground now at a terminal velocity he notices something. It looks like a man and he thinks and it looks like he’s coming toward me. As he gets closer he sees that it is a man and he is coming at him, as he’s speed to the ground. And as the men pass each other he yells, do you know anything about parachutes? No the other guy yells back, do you know anything about gas BBQ grills.
You see we must not neglect God’s Word. All this is too simple isn’t it? You know these things. I’m not here this morning so much to instruct you, but to encourage you.
2. Set your mind on things above, vs. 2
The second thing Paul says to do is to, “set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
It is very difficult to lead a Christian life day in and day out when we have the things of this earth on our minds all the time.
Set your mind on things above. Phil. 4:8 says; “…brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.”
Instead of dwelling on the things of this earth, we need to dwell on the things that can make this world better. Concentrating on how you can serve God, on how you can make him known to the world around you.
It comes back to priorities, to putting God 1st in everything we do. In order to for us to become strong spiritually it take commitment, it takes work, it takes effort, not just a little effort, it takes a lot of effort.
3. Keep Your Spiritual Fervor, Serving The Lord
Ø Move to Romans 12:9 & 10, it says, “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.”
Now the first part of our text gives us things to do and that is to, set your heats on things above and to set our minds on things above. Now the last of our text tells us why we should do those things.
Why:
I. Because you have died, vs. 3a
The first part of verse 3 says; “For you have died.” Because you have died is one reason you should live a Christian life. Now you may not like this when I say it, but I hope that I’m looking at a room full of dead people. Not that you are dead and no longer alive on this earth, but that you have died to your old self and are now living for Christ.
Because we have taken that plunge, because we have been baptized into Christ, we should be living a Christian live. In Romans 6 it is described to us as symbolizing Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. When we were baptized we died and because you have died, you live a Christian life.
II. Because your life is hidden with Christ in God, vs. 3b
Then verse 3 goes on to say; “your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Because your life is hidden with Christ, the wrath of God will not fall upon you. You see, when Jesus died on the cross His blood paid for our sins and His blood covers us and the only way we will ever make it to heaven is if we hid behind it.
In living a Christian life we want to be totally behind that couch that is Jesus Christ. Totally living for Him in everyway, everyday.
III. Because you will be revealed with Christ in glory, vs. 4
Now verse 4 says; “When Christ who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.” This is the best reason why we should develop a spiritual game plan, because one day we will be with Christ in glory and because others will be there too because of you.
Invitation:
