How To Survive When You Didn’t Win Immunity (Pt. 1)
Col. 3.1-2
May 22, 2005
Chester, Illinois Chester FBC Mike Fogerson, Speaker
Introduction:
A George Whitefield was witnessing to a man and asked him, "What do you believe?" I believe what my church believes. "What does your church believe?" My church believes what I believe. "What does you & your church believe?" We believe the same thing.
a We are not saved by having faith in faith; we are saved by having faith in Christ and that faith is seen in our commitment to Christ.
b In Paul’s time, pagan worshipers would go the temple, bow @ an idol, offer a sacrifice, and then go right back to their same old life of sin.
(No change, renewal, conversion.)
When a person came into a saving relationship w/ Jesus, they were to change.
What they believed was to influence their behavior.
Survivor’s can make it w/ immunity. Believers make it by setting their hearts & minds on things above.
B Today, we’ll begin a two week look at "How To Survive When You Didn’t Win Immunity."
a 1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Col 3:1-2 (NIV)
1 Since you were raised from the dead with Christ, aim at what is in heaven, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Think only about the things in heaven, not the things on earth. Col 3:1-2 (NCV)
b Paul instructed that a Christian’s belief should have influenced his/her behavior. (ETS)
C What we believe has a very definite connection with how we behave. (ESS)
a I want to give you some tools that can help you live out your faith in Jesus. (Objective)
b What tools are you currently using to allow your beliefs to shape your behaviors? (Probing Question)
T.S.: Let’s look at how two tools Paul gave to the Church of Colossae can help us keep Jesus in our daily lives.
I The first tool Paul gave the church of Colossae to help them keep Jesus in their daily lives was . . . A State of The Heart.
Since you were raised from the dead with Christ, aim at what is in heaven, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God
A Paul told the clumsy Colossaean Christian where to aim(set) their heart.
a "Right hand of God"
*Ps. 110.1; Acts 2. 32-36 (Print on screen, cite as ref. on listening guide)
*In Paul’s day, a person of high rank would put a person to their right, it was significant. This person at the right was given equal power, honor, and was recognized by the high ranking person as an equal.
*John 1.1 (Print in guide) (Jesus is as much as God as the Father/Holy Spt.)
*If the Christian at Colossae was aiming at Jesus, they were on target!!
b Their (Colossaeian believers) loyalties, allegiances, interests were to be on Jesus. Why? He was in a place of supremacy & control.
B Church, two questions: 1) Where is Jesus today? (At the right hand of God.) 2) What are we supposed to be doing? (Setting our hearts on things above.)
a Above? Does that mean angels, astrological chart, stars, yoga, transcendental meditation?
No way! You want to set your heart on things above, it doesn’t get any higher/heavenly than Jesus!
b NASB, NIV, KJV uses set/seek over aim. (Present Imperative in the Greek) which means it is an never ending, perpetual, repetitive action.
Keep seeking after Jesus!!!
*What if I sin today? Keep seeking Jesus.
*What if I mess up? Blow up? Keep seeking Jesus.
*Preacher, being a Christian is too tough. I’m going to back to the way I use to be. Look at v.1 again. You’ve been raised better than to give up!
*Saying "Yes" to Jesus is not a one time thing, it’s a 24/7 thing.
If your not aiming for Jesus’ seat, then your aiming for the wrong seat!
*Preacher, I’m still trying to find myself. Eph. 2.6 (If you find Jesus, you’ll find yourself.)
C The late Senator Hubert Humphrey was making a comment during a Senate committee hearing, he said, "You must remember that in politics, how you stand depends on where you sit."
a He was referring, of course, to the political party seating arrangement in the Senate, but I hear him talking about something else, to my position in Christ.
b How I stand–and walk–depends on where I sit; and I am seated with Christ at the right side of God!!! (Eph. 2.6)
T.S.: How do we "seek those things above"? The tool is found in the next verse.
II The second tool Paul gave the church of Colossae to help them keep Jesus in their daily lives was . . . A State of Mind.
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Col 3:1-2 (NIV)
A Paul told the Christian at Colossae to habitually set their minds on things above, not on the things of earth.
a Paul is telling them that God should have been taking up the lion’s share of their thoughts & will.
b He’s was not saying to ignore their families, work, church, or any other thing.
10 For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. 2 Thess 3:10 (KJV) WORK
Col. 3.18-20 FAMILY
24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. Heb 10:24-25 (NASB) CHURCH
There were lots of issues in their lives, but their greatest need was to get through to Christ.
B D.L. Moody said, "We (can) become so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good." (That’s not usually our problem though, is it? The opposite, maybe.)
a To set our mind on things above means that we look at everyday affairs from Heaven’s point of view.
Spouse, kids, co-workers, boss, teachers, students, church, etc.
Our feet must be on earth, but our minds must be in heaven. (Thoughts influence action: beliefs influence behavior)
b Paul is telling us that when we focus on Jesus, we’ll be able to see the value & role of earthly things more clearly from God’s perspective.
We’ll no longer live as if this world was all that mattered.
We’ll see our Spouse, kids, co-workers, boss, teachers, students, church, etc. against the backdrop of the large world of eternity.
C In the OT, when the nation Israel came to the border of the Promised Land, they refused to center; and , because of their stubborn unbelief, they had to wander in the wilderness for forty years. (The whole generation, starting w/ the 20 year olds, died in the wilderness, except for Caleb & Joshua, the only two spies who believed God.)
a The two guys were solid in their faith, yet they had to wander w/ the unfaithful. How do you think these guys got through it? (We hate getting behind somebody going 50 MPH on a 55 MPH road? Try it for 40 years!)
b Their minds and hearts were in Canann! In their minds, they were already home.
Conclusion:
Paul instructed that a Christian’s belief should have influenced his/her behavior. (ETS)
What we believe has a very definite connection with how we behave. (ESS)
A We’ve looked at how two tools Paul gave to the Church of Colossae can help us keep Jesus in our daily lives.
a Seating Chart
b A State of Mind
B I want to give you some tools that can help you live out your faith in Jesus. (Obj.)
a It all depends on which side you stand on that determines which side you sit on!
b On above, down below: All those cars/SUV/Jeep’s were all so proud of? Do you realize that one of these days every single one of the them are going to be in the salvage yard? Clothes? Rummage sale/salvation army/ county dump. ABOVE or BELOW
C What tools are you currently using to allow your beliefs to shape your behaviors? (Probing Question)
a In the summer of 2002 Tulsa Oklahoma had a burglary suspect that did something quite unusual. According to the KOTV television news, Edward McBride kicked in the door of a house, and grabbed a duffle bag full of electronic gear. As he left the house, a man working next door saw him and called 911. The police arrived as McBride was running toward The Arkansas River and he jumped in with the bag of loot.
Mike Branson was fishing in the river and saw officers go in after McBride. Mike said, "They were pulling their stuff off yelling at him to come back in but the guy just stayed out there. The officers got in the water he [the suspect] went down once or twice, he didn’t come back up." The suspect never would release the stolen items. The fire department recovered McBride’s body about thirty minutes later.
All of us born on this Earth are part of this story. We too have clutched onto the things of this world with relentless passion, completely guilty before the law. The Father in heaven pleads with us to leave the turbulent waters and come to safety. God is so concerned that he stripped himself of heavenly glory to jump into the waters with us and according to Philippians 2:7 "he made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness." May we all heed the call of God as he beckons us to grasp the hand of His Son, Jesus Christ, and be saved.
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Mike Fogerson
