"The Heavenly-Minded Christian"

Our Father and our God, [We] Thank You again for our time together [here] at the church. To be in Your presence, where there is fullness of joy, and at Your right hand, there are pleasures forever. I pray that Your presence will remain and abide with us as we seek You with all our hearts and spend the remaining time in Your word. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen. Thank you, worship team, for blessing our hearts and ushering us into God’s presence. You may be seated.

TITHE and OFFERING

We will call on the ushers to pass around the [offering] plates so we can give our gifts to God. Remember, this church depends on your tithe and offering to do God’s work. So, we “Thank You” for your faithfulness and generosity. Please follow the instructions on the screen on how to give to the church. The worship team will lead us [again] with a song as we collect our tithes and offerings.

WELCOME

Welcome everyone to our Sunday Worship Service. Please stand up [everyone], greet some folks around you, and welcome them to worship [Service]. Our first-time visitors, please stand so we can see you. We also welcome all who join us online.

ANNOUNCEMENT

• CORPORATE PRAYER MEETING is the first Saturday of the month. The next Corporate Prayer Meeting is March 1st at 8:00 a.m. here at the church

• The Community Meal is Saturday, February 22nd, at 12:00 p.m. During this time, we serve the community and minister to them.

• Women’s Night is February 22nd at 7:00 p.m.

• Worship Night is Friday, February 28th at 7:00 p.m.

• Wednesday Night [Remember] is our Bible Study Connect at 7:00 p.m. Please join us on Wednesday night to STUDY THE WORD OF GOD. We are studying the Book of First Corinthians. All the weekly activities for the church are posted online on the church’s website.

DECLARATION of FAITH in GOD

Let us stand and say the Declaration of Faith in God together.

Please remain standing as we pray.

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

Let us pray.

Let’s be still before God. Let’s close our eyes, and let’s be still. In the silence of this room, our Father, we acknowledge Your presence. Our head, the Lord Jesus, watches over those of us who worship. His angels are on tiptoe, learning what worship on this earth is, which they do not participate in, having not been redeemed as we have been. But they serve You, [and they] learn from us, and we are still before You today, learning again that You are God. You are the God of our disappointments as much as [the God of] our dreams. You are the God of our successes as much as the [God of] our failures. You are the God of our gains as much as [the God] of our losses. The God of our laughter and the God of our grief. May our souls be still before You, our sovereign God. What a pleasure it is to give You our gifts. With them come our hearts and our lives. Give us the kind of determination to live for You. We worship You, Father, in the name of Christ, we pray. And everyone said Amen.

You may be seated.

SERMON INTRODUCTION

I am sure most of you are familiar with the adage, ‘The mind is a terrible thing to waste.’ You and I depend on thinking for our survival, [our] well-being, [our] progress, and [our] stability. Our ability to reason things is critical for our function. One of the [tremendous] debilitating illnesses of our day and [our time] is Alzheimer’s disease. It is where the brain, for some reason, no longer continues to function as it was designed to function. As the brain deteriorates and loses its capacity to function, the person loses their ability to function because there is no instruction from the head, and there is no functioning for life. And so, life becomes difficult for that person. Life becomes a challenge for that person and their family.

Life cannot move, walk, talk, and be about [its] business as it was designed to because the brain can no longer give instructions: What the brain is to the body, the mind is to the soul! The mind is that information center for the soul that tells the soul how it should act, what it should do, and how it should function. [And so], When the brain goes, the body becomes depleted of real life. When the mind goes, that means you are “you are out of your mind!” It means you are thinking crazy; you are not thinking right. Your mind is no longer functioning as [it was] designed to function and operate.

It is sad [unfortunate] today that many Christians are out of their minds. Our minds are not functioning right, and we [wonder] why our souls are not working. The mind is to the soul what the brain is to the body; it is the foundation [the centerpiece [if you will] of function. Your life, my life … as a Christian, is centered around our minds. That is why the Bible calls for the ‘renewing of the mind’ in Romans 12:2, because [Watch This] it is the mind that will determine your well-being, that is, the wellbeing of your soul and your life. Your body only carries out what your soul tells it to do. So, if you have a messed-up soul, you are going to have a messed-up body because your body functions based on the states of the soul.

SERMON EXPOSITION

In Colossians 3, Paul gives us [some] instructions about what I call The Heavenly-Minded Christian. “On earth as it is in heaven.” Since the mind is the key to collecting data for the soul, Paul wants you to understand that your mind will determine your well-being. [It is] your mind and how it is oriented and [positioned], how it collects data … that will determine your life.

Let me begin by [laying some foundational truth about] the Book of Colossians, a small book with four chapters. In Chapters 1 and 2, Paul established a very firm Christology, and then in the final two Chapters of Colossians, Paul moved into the practical application. We have seen the preeminence of Christ in Chapters 1 and 2. We have seen Jesus as He is, a member of the Trinity. Jesus is a man, but He is also God. Jesus is preeminent in creation because He is the Creator. Jesus is preeminent in redemption, for He is the Redeemer. Jesus is preeminent in the church because He is the One who gave Himself for the church.

SERMON EXPLANATION 1

In the third chapter, Paul introduces us to the Heavenly Broadcast Network (For short, HBN)! This is an information center [That is] designed to give us the data we need for living.

Most people go to specific cable networks, such as Fox Network, CNN, NBC, or CBS, to get data that infuses or educates them about what is happening [in the world]. The Heavenly Broadcast Network is where believers receive their data for living. The problem is that many Christians change channels regularly. The problem is that many Christians change channels regularly.

Paul raises the thought, “Therefore,” in verse 1 of Colossians 3, “If you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above [The realities of heaven], not on the things of the earth.” In this verse, Paul appeals to our new identity in Christ; He says we have been raised with Christ and seated with Christ above. God identifies us with Christ in His death and resurrection. God considers us as having died and risen with Christ. We have been identified with Christ, and our faith in Christ has placed us in Christ. [And so], whatever Christ experienced, we experienced. When Christ arose from the dead, we arose with Him. The resurrection of Jesus means …

• We have risen with Him

• We have conquered death

• We are raised to a new life

• Our old life in this sinful world is over; it no longer has a claim upon us. We are raised to a newness of life

• We are walking in newness of life, living a life that is dead to sin but [alive] to God—alive to righteousness and holiness.

Paul suggests that [you and I] should gain [our] perspective from where Christ is located. In verse 2, he [makes the distinction between the things that are] above [that is, heaven] and earth. In other words, we are not [to gain] our perspective from Earth’s point of view. We are to gain our perspective from heaven’s point of view. We are not to [make our decision] based on Earth’s perspective; we are to gain our perspective based on Heaven’s point of view. Paul says, “If you are a Christian, you have been raised with Christ.” … Your identity is a Christian. He then says that identity and relationships should inform your choices and decision-making. In Philippians 3:20, Paul says, “Our citizenship is in heaven.” Paul is encouraging us to have a spiritual mindset [ to have a heavenly mindset] because our citizenship is in heaven.

SERMON QUOTE

I want to read you a quote that explains what it means to have a heavenly mindset [from] Dr. A. T. Robertson, a Southern Baptist preacher [and a Bible scholar] who focused on the New Testament:

“The baptized life means that the Christian is seeking heaven and is thinking of heaven. Their feet are upon the earth, but their head is with the stars. They are living like a citizen of heaven here on earth.”

SERMON ILLUSTRATION 1

Far too many of our souls are out of balance [out of alignment], if you will. Our lives are in turmoil because we have chosen to tune in to the wrong channel [The wrong network, the wrong frequency] rather than getting our data from the Heavenly Broadcast Network. We either tune in to the Earth Broadcast Network or [we] switch channels on a [regular basis].

SERMON EXPLANATION 2

You can change the radio band, going back and forth. You can go from AM to FM and from FM to AM…and [You can] go back and forth. Paul says, “Since you have been raised with Christ …” Since that is your new spiritual reality … You are here on earth [physically], but your reality spiritually is where Christ is. And he says in verse 1, “Christ is seated at the right hand of God.” Where you stand must be determined by where you are seated. He says Christ is [seated] at the [right hand of God, the Father]. The only way you will ever reach the world, the only way you will ever touch the world, is to ascend beyond the world into the presence of God, where Jesus is seated.

Now, [it is important] for you to know that Jesus is sitting down. When Jesus rose from the dead, [The Bible says in Acts 1:9-12] He ascended on a cloud and was seated at the Father’s right hand. Jesus was positioned at the right hand of God the Father. He sat down because He was finished. The work that Jesus came to do has been completed [It is finished], and that is why Paul can say, “You are complete in Christ!”

SERMON APPLICATION

What you are wrestling with and dealing [with]; Jesus is already finished [with it]. What you are struggling with, Jesus has already completed. Whatever your problems and circumstances are, my [problems] are, our problems are, Jesus is already done with them. The believer’s life is a life that seeks the things above, that is, the things that are in heaven where Christ is. Paul says, we are to pursue the things [that are] above [the things that are in heaven], where Jesus is, and we are to take our stand from where Jesus is seated.

SERMON ILLUSTRATION 2

We live in a day of teleconferencing, where you can attend a board meeting in New York City without ever leaving Cleveland. Through technology, teleconferencing, or webinars, you can attend a board meeting in Cleveland and never leave New York City. You can be [in] a conference there while [you are] seated here. In other words, you are operating in two places at one time. You are physically in one location but participating from another location.

Before all this technology was created, God had already set it up because, in the spiritual realm, God says you can be in heaven without ever leaving [earth] and operating from heaven while living here on earth.

SERMON EXPLANATION 3

Paul is saying that even though you and I are physically here, our minds, thinking, and perspective are to be governed “not from earth.” “Set your mind,” verse 2 says, “on the things above, not on the things of the earth.” If you set your mind, that is, if your thinking, perspective, worldview, and decisions are drawn from the earth, then [that means] you are not getting the benefits of heaven.

James 3:13-18 talks about the wisdom that is from above and the wisdom that is from earth. Verse 15 says, “And the wisdom [that is] from earth is demonic.” James says, “The human point of view is hell’s [point of view].” “The human point of view is the devil’s [point of view].” When the human point of view disagrees with God’s point of view, you have taken the devil’s point of view.

So many of us are helping the devil and never even plan to do so. That happened with Peter when Jesus said in Matthew 16:21, “I have to go to the cross to be killed.” In verse 22, “Peter took rebuked Jesus, saying, God forbid.” Jesus looked at him and said in verse 23, “That is because you are following the devil. You are following the devil, thinking you are helping Me out!” When you choose Earth, you choose hell. He says, “Keep seeking the things [that are] above—do not operate from the ground level, earth. You are [seated] with Jesus above because you have been raised with Him.

First, we must seek those things above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God. That is, seek heavenly things, the things of heaven. Second, we must set our affection and our mind on things above and not on things on the earth. The word “affection” means mind; to set and focus your mind constantly upon heavenly things, not upon earthly things. The things of Christ and heaven are to consume our life and [our] mind.

SERMON EXPLANATION 4

The problem with the heavenly-minded Christian is what the Bible calls [double-minded]. They are divided [they are between two worlds], and they are conflicted—they are part-time in the world and part-time Christians in the church. They have the divine perspective and [the human perspective], and they flip between the two. The Bible calls this double-minded.

[And this kind of thinking] – cancels out God’s activity. You cannot say, “God, do this.” And then you bring hell into the equation. We think that because we are part-time Christians, we will get full-time help from heaven. God says in James 1:7 that if you are a part-time Christian, you get no help from Heaven. “Let not that man think he will receive anything from the Lord.”

So many of us are canceling out divine response because we are wavering back and forth [we are between what the world says and what God says] rather than being single-minded. God is calling us to a heavenly and divinely oriented mindset. Many of us start on Sunday with the [right] word [that is, the Word of God], then on Monday, we turn left and start going our own way, and then we hear other people’s voices. Everybody is whispering in our ears, and the more they whisper, the farther we go. [And then], we discover later, we must go BACK to the written [Word of God].

See, many of us here have been through pain, failure, and struggle because we turned left. And what is worse [is that] we keep going left and farther away from where God wants us to be. Not arriving at life’s destination that God had in mind for us.

SERMON EXPLANATION 5

Paul says in verse 3, “For you have died, and your life is hidden with God in Christ.” He says your life is ‘hidden’ in Christ. “Hidden in Christ” means security and satisfaction. Our life is hidden with God in Christ, which means we have been taken out of the old Adam [the old you] by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. You have been taken out of Adam and placed into Christ. In other words, Jesus is to be the [sum] [total] of your [point of reference], hidden in Christ.

Our sphere of life is not this earth but heaven, and the things that attract and excite us belong to heaven, not earth. This does not mean that we should ignore our earthly responsibilities. It means that our motives and strength come from heaven, not earth. There are two answers to every question: God’s answer and everybody else’s. And everybody else is wrong! Romans 3:4 says, “Let God be true but every man a liar.” Your life is hidden in Christ; [Your life] is to be encroached upon in Christ. The Bible says that Jesus is ALL wisdom. In Christ, we have access to the spiritual realm. In Christ, we have access to the eternal realm.

Paul turns his attention from the positive to the negative. Some Christians do not like the negative. “Give us positive preaching and sermons.” “Forget about the negative warnings and admonitions!” They fail to realize that negative warnings and commands emerge from positive Christian doctrine. And so, in verse 5, Paul says, “Then consider the members of your earthly bodies as dead.” First, it starts with “Put to death …” Paul then gave us a long list of actions that accompany what you should consider. In verse 5, you have sexual obsession and impurity; then you have materialism and greed. If you [move on down] to verse 8, you have “… anger, rage, malice, slander …” You have lying, dishonesty, and lack of integrity. If you go [all the way] down to verse 11, it looks like there are hints that there was class and race conflict within the church. Verse 11 says, “Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free …” and so on.

“Then consider the members of your earthly bodies as dead.” Count it to be so. When it says, ‘consider,’ it means to count what God says to be so for you. He says, ‘Count it, ‘the members of your earthly body.’ When you get the facts, it is a fact because God says so. It is a fact whether you feel it or not; it is a fact, and it is true because “There is truth in Jesus!” And so, he says, ‘count it’ or ‘consider it’ or ‘determine it’ to be true because God said it is true for me. Why is it [true] for me? Because I am seated with Jesus.

In verse 10, he says, “and have put on the new self [the new nature].” This is a function; when you put on something, you must do something … it is a function. This concept of putting on the new self … putting on … [has to do with] getting dressed. The Bible says, “Take off the old self; put on the new self!” The picture is of a person who has just taken a shower. When you [take a shower], you put on clean clothes to complement the cleansing you have just experienced.

He says, “Wash yourself, anoint yourself, and put on your best clothes.” Put on clothes and get dressed with the cleansing. You and I have been raised with a new glorified body; through this, we experience transformation. And then, what happens next? He tells us in verse 15, “Let the peace of God rule in your heart, to which indeed, you were called in one body and be thankful.”

He says when it comes to operating on the Heavenly Broadcast Network, the feeling has to be the result! In other words, this process will change how you feel. You wind up being peaceful and calm where you are worried. Why? Because you are now operating from a different point of view. You are operating from heaven, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God the Father.

FAITH APPEAL, CALL to ACTION and ALTAR CALL

If you and I want to function and live in an unpredictable world [a world that has long since lost its way], the only way to do that is to live and operate from the Heavenly Broadcast Network. God told Caleb in Numbers 14:24, “Because you have a different spirit and have followed Me, I will bring you into the Promised Land.” Caleb and Joshua had to wait [for] forty years because the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years. Caleb and Joshua had a promise from God.

All Caleb and Joshua had was a promise. God said, “Only you two from this generation … will enter the Promised Land.” How will you wait forty years when you see nothing but things going in circles? You are just wandering and going in circles. And there is only one way you can do that: They had to keep their mind centered on what God said, not what they were seeing because what they saw looked like it contradicted what God said. But when they focused on what God said, they [were] [able] to handle a delay because they believed God would keep His Word.

Caleb says, “Now I have followed the LORD these forty years …” [Watch This] He says, “I want my mountain, I want that piece of property God told me He had for me …” I don’t know what you are waiting for, [but] if you will keep your eyes on the right network while you are [waiting] on all this stuff to get right. All this stuff to get better, and all this stuff to change, God knows how to keep your mountain for you and to keep you for your mountain! And God knows how to hook them up at the right time. But you have to keep focusing on the right network! God bless you.

If you are here today and [You] have not accepted Christ into your heart], I encourage you by faith to [accept] Jesus and receive the [free] gift of eternal life. If that is you, please come [forward] so we can pray for you. Let us stand on our feet.

BENEDICTION [CLOSING PRAYER]

Let us pray.

Father, we know that all of this gets down to the practical area of whether we are controlled by Your Spirit or by our own spirit, the human spirit. Father, we would yield to the Holy Spirit. We would desire to dwell in the Word of God so that the Word of God crowds our minds, and there isn’t anything else that can fit in. Thank You for all You mean to us, for loving and dying for us. Thank You, Father, for giving us a way to change that is permanent, that is not superficial, that is not just a matter of willpower, that is not just a matter of emotional bursts that go away, that is not just a matter of moralistic and indifferent self-control, that changes and converts and melts and reshapes our identity and frees us from this world. Our life is hidden with Christ in God. There is too much of Your word for anger, resentment, and smoldering bitterness. Thank You for already winning the victory and helping us claim it. Thank You for the Cross and for giving us new life, and now, help us to learn what it is to commit to You [in a practical way] and put to death these things that we might live, as Paul said—righteously and godly in this present day. We thank You for giving us all this in the gospel through Jesus. In Christ’s holy name, I pray. And Everyone says, “Amen.”

God bless you. We will see you next week at 10:30 a.m.

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