The Life-Changing Power of a Proper Perspective

 THE LIFE-CHANGING POWER OF A PROPER PERSPECTIVE Spring Valley Mennonite; June 14, 2020; Colossians 3:1-10 One morning this last week Alice asked me, "How are you this morning?" Instead of my usual non-committal "I'm fine," in a moment of transparency, I replied, "I'm troubled." As we had been discussing what is happening in our nation for several days, she understood. I had been reading posts on social media about the protests going on around the nation, and it reminded me of the protests of the late 60's and early 70's. Peaceful protests do give people an outlet for their cause, but they are often highjacked by those who have ulterior motives, which is currently happening. While I understand and sympathize with those protesting prejudice, the violence and looting and are only hurting those communities and the businesses of the very people who are protesting. Add to this the attempt to make everyone feel guilty over the sins of the few and over the way God made me makes me angry, and for a while I lost my perspective on the "Big Picture" of God's point of view. Like the view of the countryside from an airplane, seeing life from a Biblical perspective keeps such things in a proper perspective. There is incredible comfort and security in taking a step back from troubling circumstances. We need to once again look at ourselves and life as a Child of God, a redeemed and forgiven individual. This morning I want to explore the idea of developing and maintaining a God-honoring perspective on life. "Perspective" is one's point of view, how he views something. As believers in Jesus Christ, we are given the opportunity and the ability to view everything about life from a different perspective than those who have not yet met our Savior. Having a Biblical perspective on life gives one an incredible advantage in living! For example, think of David and Goliath and how David had a different perspective than everyone else in the army of Israel: they saw Goliath as "so big he couldn't be defeated"; David saw him as "so big that I can't miss him!" We all face Goliath-sized problems in life; a proper perspective cuts them down to manageable size. God wants us to see life from His point of view. One definition of wisdom is viewing life from God's point of view. A proper perspective is essential for living above our circumstances. I have found in counseling that if I can help people regain a Biblical perspective we are more than half-way to a solution of their particular problem. It is asking, "What does God say about the issue? And--what does God want me to do?" The first four verses of Colossians chapter 3 give us instruction on a foundational perspective on living; these verses speak of the incredible power of a proper perspective. Listen to these verses (read Colossians 3:1-4) The first thing which will lead to a life-changing and powerful perspective is to: I. UNDERSTAND WHO YOU ARE IN CHRIST Paul begins with a "therefore"; in light of who Christ is and what He has done, and in light of how the simple Gospel is completely adequate and needing no additions: "If then you have been raised with Christ": the "if" has the force of "since". "We have been raised with Christ." What exactly does this mean? We must understand that there are two parallel sets of reality in existence: the first is that of material or physical things, the things we can see; the second is the spiritual realm of existence. These two worlds exist side-by-side. But they look much different for believers in Jesus Christ, and those "not-yet believers"; in fact, most "not-yet believers" don't even acknowledge the existence of a spiritual world. That doesn't change the reality of its existence. This spiritual world is defined by two kingdoms, the Kingdom of man and the Kingdom of God. You see, everyone is born into the kingdom of man. We all inherit the rebellious nature of Adam which says to God, "I want to be the boss". The fundamental question of the universe is that of "who will be boss". Those still in the Kingdom of man dispute God's right as Creator to rule over them; this rebellion is called sin. As man cannot do anything about this sin issue by himself, he is destined to an eternity separated from God. And as Romans 6:23 tells us, "the wages of sin is death". Eternal death is the destiny of every citizen of the Kingdom of man. Understand that eternal death is not the cessation of existence, but eternal separation from God in eternal torment. But God, because of His great love for us, has provided entrance into the Kingdom of God. In Colossians chapter 2, verse 13, we read: "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins... God delivered up His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to pay the penalty for our rebellion. Through faith in Jesus Christ as our Sin-bearer, we are reconciled to God and our sins are forgiven. We are given the gift of eternal life. In John chapter 3, Jesus told Nicodemus that every man needs to be "born again". This is the new birth that we experience when we come into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Colossians 1:13: "For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son..." Our sins and our past mistakes do not define us. I am more than the sum of my past mistakes. God's Word tells us in Romans 6:3-4 that in a spiritual sense, as believers, we have been separated from the power of our old nature by having died and being buried with Christ: Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. This is simply saying that when we believe in Jesus Christ as Savior, we identify with His death and resurrection to the extent that, spiritually speaking, we die to the Kingdom of man and are raised to new life in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. This is what Paul is saying in this verse in Colossians 3-"since you have been raised..." This is the spiritual reality which is to rule our day-to-day lives. God considers us as having died to our old life, and born anew; just as Jesus was raised from the dead, so we are raised from spiritual death to spiritual life. And we are to agree with God and consider ourselves dead to our old sin natures, and risen to new life in Christ. This speaks of our unity with Jesus Christ: we are united with Him in death and united with Him through the resurrection to new life. We are not who we used to be! This is the perspective of who we really are; this is the spiritual reality for each one who has trusted Jesus Christ as Savior. This is called the Perspective of Position. Paul is telling us to understand who we are in Christ. I am alive in Christ and am no longer dead in my sins. Believer, you are forgiven! Your ticket to heaven has been punched! That is the first step to a Biblical perspective on life. The second step in gaining a proper perspective is to: II. CONCENTRATE ON WHAT IS TRULY IMPORTANT "Set your heart on THINGS ABOVE where Christ is seated at the right hand of God." The Greek verb translated "set" has the sense of "Keep seeking the things above", because it takes a continual effort to focus on the right things. Learning and applying this biblical perspective is a process. The Christian life is simple, but it is not easy! Progress is made an inch at a time. This is part of the growth process God has for each believer. How does God teach us to concentrate on what is lasting and truly important? Sometimes it is by allowing us to lose those things which we value. I am always impressed by the words of those who lose their homes and possessions from a fire or natural disaster: "We are all alive; that's what is really important." Sometimes God allows pain in our lives to help us concentrate on things above; C.S. Lewis said that "God shouts at us through our pain". It is so easy to have the wrong focus in life. Satan is a master at distracting us from what is most important, isn't he? We get distracted by the events we hear about in the news; we become occupied with the busyness of everyday life: with making a living, going to school, raising a family, keeping up the house and yard... It is also so easy to absorb and mimic the values of the world, to think just as our culture thinks. Romans 12:2 says, "Do not be conformed to the world" I like the translation which reads, "Don't let the world squeeze you into its mold." We can observe this happening in the current protests as so many are climbing on the bandwagon of protest because it is popular. We can find our mind filled with the garbage of the world, and consequently, our lives reflect such garbage values. We've lost a heavenly focus. And as we are thinking about the tactics of Satan, a Biblical perspective on sin and its effect on the world and people is essential to understanding how life works: as I have often said, "We live in a fallen world where Satan is the Prince." Although he rules only by God's permissive will and "greater is He who is in us than he that is in the world" Satan rules this world system of godlessness. This explains so much about why things go wrong and why bad things happen to good people. We are in a spiritual war against the forces of evil, and like Job, we often do not see this invisible war. Satan exists to oppose everything good and proper and righteous. Ephesians 6:12: "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places." One of the main things that can cause us to lose this heavenly focus is our possessions. Jesus knew of our tendency to focus on accumulating the possessions of this would when He said, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Where is your heart? What is it you treasure? What are the things that are eternal and last, what are the "things above"? They are such things as people, relationships, and the treasures we have built up in heaven. We build up treasures in heaven by investing in Kingdom work here on earth. As we serve others in Jesus' name, we build up treasure in heaven. As we disciple our children in the Lord, we build up treasure in heaven. As we spend time resisting evil in this world, we build up treasure in heaven. As we lead others closer to Jesus, we build up such treasure. As we invest in the work of the Body of Christ, we build up treasure. The Bible speaks much about rewards awaiting the faithful in heaven. And Jesus also promised that if we "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness", that all the things we need here on earth will be given to us as well. A proper perspective on what is truly important in life leads to contentment, but a life spent pursuing wealth and possessions, or prestige, or power and influence will always end up in disappointment. Again, this second step toward a life-changing perspective on life is learning to concentrate on what is truly important. The third thing we learn from these verses about a proper perspective is to: III. DEVELOP A HEAVENLY MINDSET Crucial to understanding what it means to be "setting our minds on things above, not on earthly things" is developing a heavenly mindset. Visualize all time, especially that relating to eternity, as a line that is a million miles long. Our life-span is like a dot on that line. Eternity is forever! A heavenly mindset realizes that life is short, but eternity is long. But the treasure we build up in heaven will stay with us forever. A Heavenly mindset takes a long-view of things. Whatever evil we face on earth will be gone in heaven. There will be no tears or sorrow, no prejudice or injustice, no arguments or disagreements. And, there will be no sin! We cannot imagine how freeing that will be! We are to live in joyful anticipation! Our new life, our new nature in Christ longs to be governed by such right thinking. And this right thinking is focused on finding and living in the will of God, living righteously according to God's standards. Discovering His purposes and His plans become the most important part of my life; pleasing the Lord Jesus becomes more important than pleasing myself or others. A heavenly mindset evaluates activities, relationships, what we think about, where we go, and what we value by how these things relate to what God desires for us. And a heavenly mindset realizes that our future is secure, and when Jesus returns to earth, we will be with Him. That is the meaning of verse 4: "When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory." Now you may say having this heavenly mindset on a continual basis is impossible, and you would be right-IF it means we have to do it on our own! If I am to try to live like this in my own effort by sheer determination, I will fail. But here is the good news: God has given us His Holy Spirit to enable us to move forward and grow more and more like Christ. Remember this is a life-long process. It begins with knowing the truth of who we are in Christ, and choosing to allow the Holy Spirit to rule in our lives. The Holy Spirit helps us gain this eternal, heavenly perspective as we meditate and study God's Word, and by obeying what we read. As we gather together to seek His will for ourselves and our church, the Holy Spirit changes our perspective. He works as we pursue personal holiness in our lives. As we share with one another how God is working, we encourage others toward this godly perspective. The only thing that stands in our way is our own willfulness. There are many practical benefits of a heavenly perspective: IV. THE PRACTICAL BENEFITS OF A HEAVENLY PERSPECTIVE Let me close with seven benefits of living with a heavenly mindset: 1. ( First), Improvement of lifestyle-you will be opening yourself up to the blessings of God. His best blessings are for those whose face is turned toward Him. 2. (Second), Peace with God, self and others-Romans 5:1 tells us that, having been set right through faith, we have peace with God. But daily peace is gained as we are governed by a heavenly mindset. And we also find our relationships with those around us improve. We find that we don't need to be in constant competition with others; rather we learn to find joy in serving them as Christ served us. 3. (Third), Hope and Optimism about the future-The world around us is broken because of the sin principle in operation. Many, if not most people are still part of the Kingdom of darkness. While God's common grace mediates the evil around us, life can be pretty discouraging. To know that our future is secure, that eternity stretches ahead of us in a perfect world without sin enables us to have a contagious optimism! This gives us winsomeness with others too. 4. (Fourth, A heavenly perspective gives us) Purpose and meaning in life-In our better moments, each one of us desires to live a life of significance, to make a difference, to leave the world a better place. God is building His Kingdom of Christ-followers, and we have the privilege of being part of His plan. Being part of something so positive and successful gives life purpose and meaning. You want to know the meaning of life? It is to know and follow Jesus Christ. 5. (Fifth), Contentment and satisfaction-related to purpose and meaning is personal contentment, satisfaction, and fulfillment. My daddy taught me a lesson in life which I tried to pass on to my children. It's a simple rule relating to tools, specifically stated in relation to a screwdriver. He taught me that a tool is made with a specific purpose in mind. A screwdriver is made to tighten or loosen screws. It is not to be thrown at a target like a knife, or used as a digging tool, or to be used as a chisel. So, if you want this tool to do what it was meant to do and do it well, don't misuse it. God has made each one of us for the purpose of reflecting His glory for all eternity. We are each trophies of His love, mercy and grace. There is incredible contentment and satisfaction in being what He has created us to be. Sin seeks to misdirect and misuse us, like using a screwdriver for a digging tool. But through Christ, God can restore a life to usefulness and purpose. 6. (Sixth, a heavenly perspective gives us) Joy in trials of life-As I said earlier, we live in a broken world. There is no avoiding the grief and pain that comes from living. People will do us wrong. Children may disappoint us. Pandemics cause economic challenges. The sin of others affect us. Natural disasters involve both the righteous and unrighteous. BUT a heavenly mindset enables us to weather the storms of life. As the song says, "I may be in the storm but the storm is not in me." 7. (And Seventh, it gives us) Wisdom and Confidence in decision-making-God promises to lead those who belong to Him. While all believers belong to Him and have the potential for this benefit and the others I have mentioned, God's best blessings and wisdom is reserved for those who are seeking to live a life pleasing to Him. What does such a life look like? It is a life of humble dependence on God's mercy and grace. We all sin, and God realizes we are so prone to do so. And ANY sin we allow creates a separation and distance from God. It is like a lamp shining in a dark room: the further you are from that lamp, the less you can see. When we sin and do not confess that sin, it is like taking a step away from the light. But He has made provision through repentance and confession. Confession means simple to agree with God that something is wrong. It is admitting we have sinned. Repentance is changing directions, turning away from that sin. Repentance restores our ability to live with a heavenly perspective. Since you have been raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things, for you have died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. There is great power in having a proper perspective on life. We are to set our minds on the things above rather than on earth, for because we have been joined with Christ, and because we are "in Christ", we are no longer only citizens of this world but citizens of the world to come. Let heaven fill your minds. 6