Sermon on Colossians 3: 1 – 4 –Keep Looking Up!
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
This past week I had to step out of my comfort zone for our VacationBibleSchoolprogram to become “Tad Venture” soaring high in my hot air balloon to visit cool places around the world! Keeping with that theme I thought I would try stepping out of my comfort zone today as well. What I would like to do for you is balance a broomstick on my finger. Here goes. ( Try balancing broomstick on finger tip by looking down at hand.Express frustration when it doesn’t work. ) This doesn’t seem to be working. Maybe I should just give up.No, I’m not going to do that. I’m going to try one more time but this time instead of looking down, I’m going to try looking up. Let’s see if it works! ( Balance broomstick on finger tip by looking up. Express happiness when it works. ) Amazing! All that time and frustration looking down when I should have been looking up!
Isn’t that the way it is when it comes to so many things in our lives? The arguments among family and friends. The frustrations at work. The health issues that never seem to go away. The financial situations that never seem to get better. The days we take one step forwardonly to take two steps back. In our text for today, Paul gives us some words of advice when it comes to these things when he says,“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things…you have been raised with Christ… your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
In other words, don’t live your life as though this life was all that really mattered. But how often don’t we do just that? As though we gotta make the best of this life because we’re gonna be here for a while. Even though James tells us,“You do not know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while, and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’” If I see my life as a mist that is here today and could be gone tomorrow,it’s going to lead me to thank God for each new day of grace. It’s also going to change my perspective and my priorities when it comes to life and that’s exactly the point Paul is making in our text when he says,“set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.”
Don’t get me wrong, not all earthly things are harmful in and of themselves but they can become harmful if they take the place of God and His Word in your life. Making health and wealth, treasures and pleasures, home and hobbies, family and friends, vacations and vocations our top priorities in life keeps our eyes focused on earthly thingsand we shouldn’t be surprised when we experience the anger, frustration, worries, and disappointment that often go along with them when they aren’t exactly the way we would want them to be. Earthly things cannot provide us with the security we long for and need in life. That kind of security can only be found in Christ. That’s what our VacationBibleSchool kids learned this past week as they found themselves soaring high above the world and traveling to cool places! They learned that our true treasure in life is Jesus. They learned that we live in a beautiful world God created. They learned to look for ways to help people to say thanks to God. They learned that we can sing praises to God in any circumstance. They learned that we have a home in heaven far more beautiful than anything in this world.
God’s Word tells us that we are citizens of heaven which is why the hymn writer tells us, “I’m but a stranger here, heaven is my home.” In our text Paul tells us that our lives are,“hidden with Christ in God.” When the storms of life threaten to sweep you away, don’t look down, look up, and through the eyes of faith you’ll see Jesus and there with him you’ll see yourself, safely hidden in his protecting arms. “My life is hidden with Christ.” Say it with me: “My life is hidden with Christ.” And because our lives are hidden with Christ we can say along with the apostle Paul,“I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present or future, not any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Because our lives are hidden with Christ, we can place our trust and confidence in Jesus our Good Shepherd who tells us,“My sheep listen to my voice: I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.”
The hardships, the difficulties, the challenges we face in life will soon pass and along with them the houses, the cars, and the other toys we enjoy in life. These things will not last forever!Don’t make them your focus and priority as if they will. The day will come when they will be swept away in God’s judgment along with those who loved them more than God and His Word. If life finds you focusing more on earthly things rather than things above. If the guilt of your sins fills you with shame and regret, carry those sins to the foot of the cross and then look up and you’ll see the feet and hands of a Savior that were pierced for your transgressions. You’ll see a Savior drowning and dying in the seaof God’s wrath for your sins and the sins of the world. You’ll see a Savior who overcame death by rising victoriously from the grave to give you the assurance that, “when Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
The promise of appearing with him in glory is what ultimately keeps us looking up in life! Dear friends, Keep Looking Up! I. Don’t set your hearts and minds on earthly things. II. Set your hearts and minds on Christ and things above! Don’t live life as though your sins were merely swept under a carpet somewhere and some day God is going to pull back that carpet to say, “look what we have here…maybe all isn’t forgiven.” That’s never going to happen because as the Psalmist writes,“as far as the east is from the west so far as he removed our transgressions from us.”As the prophet Micah tells us, God has hurled“our iniquities into the depths of the sea.”As the prophet Jeremiah tells us, “I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” As Jesus himself tells us, “take heart…your sins are forgiven.”Out of sight, out of mind, forgiven, forgotten, forever! And when the devil, the world, and your own sinful flesh try to convince you otherwise, sweep them away with God’s Word, the declaration of Paul that,“there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!”Away with them! “My life is hidden with Christ.” Because our lives are hidden with Christ we set our minds on things above!
How do we set our minds on things above? It all boils down to attitude. What is your attitude regarding God’s Word? When it comes to church attendance, Bible class attendance, reading God’s Word at home? Something that is top priority no matter what direction my day takes or something that’s on my to do list if there’s time, if I feel like it? Time spent in God’s Word is the only thing that can prevent us from looking down and keep us looking up! Let me share with you an example of people who are setting their minds on things above. It comes from a missionary to China who writes that, “churches are growing at a rapid rate, some of which about 10 to 20 percent a year. At one church 400 baptisms took place in a year with about 4,000 people in attendance at church on a regular basis.One missionary showed up for the 8 AM service at 7 AM and there were no seats left. The pastor had to encourage people not to show up so early. Some people came to church at 4:30 AM for the 8 AM service!The people were encouraged not to come before 6 AM so that there was time to get the church set up properly.”
This past week found people waiting in line for hours to get free gas at a gas station on Weber Road. Gas that will be burned up in engines in a matter of days. Ever see traffic lined up for miles waiting to get into church? Ever have a rough Sunday morning commute because of all the people making their way to church? There’s too much looking down in the world in which we live. Dear friends, don’t look down. Keep looking up! And keep encouraging others to look up to Jesus their Savior. The message alone that can bring peace and security, joy and gladness to the heart! The message that my life is hidden with Christ here on earth and one day I will appear with him in glory in heaven for all eternity! With a message like that, who would want to look down? Good question!
Amen.