Christ Exalted (ch. 3)
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Introduction
Introduction
Mike rowe Story
Henry Phillips was a man who set his mind to something. Turns out, there are some things that we have to set our minds too as Christians. We can live our Christian lives very passively at times. We just expect to go to church, read our bibles, pray, and magically become more like Christ. And don’t get me wrong, that is a big part of it! But, I believe we need to be much more active in our pursuit of Christ. We can sit ideally by while the world is actively creeping into our lives.
Tonight I want to continue our study on the exaltation of Christ and I hope to stay pretty practical tonight. God gives us clear instruction on what we are to purse.
Tonights message is entitled Christ Lived Out.
God wants us to be conformed more and more to the image of His Son. He wants to sanctify us. Sanctify means to set apart or make holy. This is God’s design for His children.
Tonight, We will look at the first step of what it means to live godly
If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Status
Status
If you remember last week, We discussed our Identity in Christ. Our Identity in Christ is so important. The very fact that Christ died for our sins and that we are made righteous through His blood. We are Justified before God! We know longer have to fear judgement. God has forgiven us.
When we recieved Christ as Savior, when we got this New Identity, we received a new Nature. This new nature is sooo important.
Because we have this new nature, we should have a new lifestyle
Paul gives us the mindset that we are to have.
I. Seek
I. Seek
If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Some believers can interpret the Bible with “Do Nots” or “thou shalt nots.” The Bible actually doesn’t put the priority on these black/white actions. The foundation that the Bible lays out for us is love. It has to begin their. Specifically a love for God. If we don’t first love God and love others, there will be no desire to follow His instruction. That is why Jesus lists the greatest commandments as:
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Every biblical command comes back to these commnads: Love God, love your neighbor. That is really anyone you come into contact with. There are plenty of “thou shalt nots” in the bible, but they are not the priority. We can live as “pius” as we want to. But Jesus described these types of people as painted tombs.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.
The Pharisees lived a very religious lifestyles, but they were dead inside.
I want to get accross to you that if you focus on what you cannot do, you will fail the moment you leave this youth group. You will fail the momnent you face temptation. Christianity is a relationship. If we don’t love God, we will not walk with HIm.
Teens, I need this message just as much as you do, if not more. My heart, your heart has to be focused on the right thing.
So here, Paul starts with our hearts. He starts with what is most important
He says “Seek” Those things which are above.
What does “Seek” Mean?
Words that come to mind for me:
Pursue, search
It means to
look for; desire
Have you every come to the weekend, you have a night off, and you want to find a good movie to watch. You’ve been looking forward to a nice relaxing night. You start to flip through Netflix or Amazon prime, but you can’t find a movie that you just really want to watch. It can be a somewhat intense search. You go through comedy, drama, action, until you finally find that movie your heart desires. Its a desire that leads to a direct action.
What if we sought after God, the way we sought after ways to entertain ourselves. One if we looked for God’s will with the same amount of attention we look for the latest news story. Where would we be spiritually.
Most of our time is seeking to please ourselves weather or needs or our wants.
Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.
God commands us to seek His Kingdom even before our basic needs. Where do you think our wants and our entertainment place on that scale.
Just think about it. Does your priority list match up with Gods.
We must seek those Things above:
The will of God
The glory of God
heavenly reward
These are the things that please God.
And we’ve been talking about the exaltation of Christ, Paul brings Christ back into the picture. The Christ that is preeminent, Lord over all, who you are risen in, that’s who lives above. And where is He at?
Christ sits at the right had of the Father
But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
reference to the finish work of Christ. He sat down, the work is done. He now reigns above. This is who we seek after.
But Paul brings another instruction for believers.
III. Set
III. Set
Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
You notice the theme in these words, right? No, i’m not talking about the alliteration, Its that these words require active, and intentional action. We actively seek, and we actively set our affections on thinks above.
What does it meat to “Set”
key word
place
position
intentionally think
Set one’s mind to something.
This means that godly desires will not always come easily. We know the truth, so we must set our minds to that truth. Paul writes to the Romans,
For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
Paul even felt the pule towards sin at times. We are still in the flesh, so there will be temptation, but God gives us power over it.
This is why we must be in God’s word, and setting our affections on God’s truth. We must set our minds and our hearts on what God says. We must love what God loves and hate what God hates.
But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
We go to the Word of God, and conform to it. We set our minds to it. Are you determined to follow after God?
If you don’t love Him and seek him, you will get led astray by the world. Paul warns about this!
Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
We often set our affections on this world. A love for the world and a love for God cannot go together. The bible describes it as “emnity” It is a contradiction.
For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.
A love for the World will pull as away from the will of God. There is no getting away from it.
Some of you have taken small steps in following after the world. You don’t follow after God, you don’t love Him with all you heart mind and soul. You must determine to follow Him now, or the moment you leave this youth group or your home, you will fall into the world’s trap.
Can I get real with you? I’ve been burden about something since being back at Good News. Its the lack of people my age really seeking God. People I grew up with and that our my age have followed after the world. The live lifestyles that don’t honor God.
It really was a culture shock to me. I’ve spent the last 5 or 6 years of my life surrounded by people pursuing God. Whether that was at school or at camp, that was who was around me. I took that for granted.
I beg you, put your priority with God. I guarantee that God will satisfy.
Transition: When we follow after the world, we are not living like who we are...
IV. Status
IV. Status
Your flesh is dead, you are alive in Christ. That new nature is now their. Live like it.
One day we will be with Christ, and get to experience full glorification.
So will you seek after God, will you set your affections on Things above? Please start right now.