Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.If then you were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God.If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.If then ye were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God.
12 sermons cite this verse
… constantly brings to us that polarization. Paul does it with frequency. In Colossians 3, since you have been raised with Christ, you seek those things which are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Then he says, put off all that is of your earthly nature. And then he lists a sorry litany of things that are not to be like clothes worn by the Christian. But he doesn't want the Christian then to run around naked, as it were. He says, I want you to put on, in turn, compassion and kindness and godliness and so on. Let him who steals, steal no longer. Straightforward. And then he says, but let him do something profitable with his hands. So it's not just that he is—Timothy's ministry is a call to say no. It is a call to say no, but it is a call to say yes. And the life which simply learns to say no without at the same time learning to say yes will be barren and bereft of the purposes of God. So he has moved from the flee to the follow, if you like, pursue. …
… We're going to blow through some verses here real quick. Colossians chapter 3 verse 1. Colossians 3 verse 1 tells us this. If then you were raised with Christ, speaking of the believer, seek those things which are above where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. That's where our identity is. Remember that. Christian, listen up. If you need this, just write it on your arm. Seek those things that are above where Christ is seated because that's where you're at. That's where your name is written. That's where you really live. Stop being controlled by this world and the laws, as it were, of this world. The law of the jungle, I would put it that way, where the world operates this way. God says, listen, why don't you pull up on the yoke, get above the clouds, and level off where I'm at. Above all the storm, above all the darkness, above all the fray, God says, no, this is where you really live. Seek those things that are above. …
… Like God is worthy of our full attention. That's why it says in Colossians chapter three, verse one and two, it says, set our hearts and set our minds on things above, right? Where Christ is seated as the right hand of God. He is like, hey, not only do I desire it, I deserve it. This is where you need to be putting your heart and mind. not on the things of the world, but on me. But then here's the thing. God doesn't demand our attention. And when I say that, I mean, he doesn't force it. He gives you and I a choice. So it's up to us in our times with God if there's ever moments where the door gets closed. In our offices here at 515, God provided in above and beyond season through somebody that was in the marketplace, had a glass company, different story for a different day, just saying God uses people in unique ways to bless this church and we're so grateful. …
… seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things that are above. not on things that are on the earth for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God when Christ who is your life appears then you also will appear with him in glory Father I pray for your help now for these next few minutes to understand what it is to set our minds on things that are above every day and reset our minds every day like Mueller did. So teach us these things. Help us to get into this biblical reality of phronema. it is so rich it is so different it is so unusual it is so necessary so show us teach us guide me now and help us to be alert to what's here in your word I ask in Jesus name Amen so first let's get the structure of this text the big picture then we're going to go elsewhere to see the meaning of phronema then we're going to come back here and take about six pieces of this which I think are the things that are above and talk about what it is to set our minds on them and in setting, our minds reset every day. …
… So since this is true of you as Christians, you should think about yourself this way. So if you have been raised with Christ, then seek the things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God, and set your minds on the things that are above. And we are all familiar, I think, most of us anyway, familiar with what I sometimes call the grammar of the gospel, that the way the gospel works in our lives, the way the Word of God works in our lives is not simply by telling us more things we need to do because we are Christians, but by laying out before us the transformation that Christ by the Spirit through His Word has produced in our lives, and then drawing out the implications of that. Often that's put in grammatical terms as the way the gospel works is the gospel presents us with the indicatives of grace and on that basis summons us to the imperatives of obedience. …
… door. You're going to have a hard time setting your eyes, fixing your eyes on Jesus. You're going to have a little bit of a hard time, you admit it, doing what Paul says in Colossians chapter three, verse one. If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of the father. Set your mind on things above, not on things that are on the earth for you have died and your life is hidden in Christ with God. He says, just in case you know that right now, because life is out here doing the most, you're going to have a little bit of a hard time capturing what it is that I'm describing. He says, elevation, would you just for this Sunday morning, come grab my hand and let me take you to this door. Even if you can't make it on your own, he says, just sit with me for a moment. Let me take you to the door. Because if I can show you what's on the other side of this door, it's going to shift the way you relate to everything happening here on earth. He says, grab my hand and let me show you verse two that immediately when I was in the spirit, he says, behold. Now, can I just, I didn't even get to the thing behind the door yet, but I just got to tell y'all, anytime you see the word behold in scripture, …
… You can do that now. Paul said, seek those things which are above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. So come boldly and live expectantly. Third and finally, plan generationally. Plan generationally. These five gals pass the torch of blessing to the next generation. The ruling that they will see on this day will have ramifications for other families going forward in future generations. And part of our task is to set the next generation up for success rather than for failure. If you're a parent or a grandparent, that is one of your primary tasks. Set the next generation up for success and not failure. It has to come a time in your life where it's not about you anymore. It's about them. So we have looked for eight weeks at eight overlooked people or people groups, all who are vital to the story, all of which encourage our hearts. And I wanna close this whole series out with one of my favorite stories. And it's been several years since I've brought this out, so I think I'm safe bringing it out again. …
… He says, you notice, beginning of chapter three, if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above. That's an exhortation, that's an imperative, but you'll notice immediately it's based on an indicative. Seek the things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ who is your life appears, you also will appear with him in glory. More than once during the course of the conference, we've come to this question, who am I really as a Christian? And in this letter, Paul's answer is this. As a Christian, you're a man or a woman in Christ, united to Christ. And that means your identity is defined by these realities. You have died with Christ to the reign of sin. You have been buried with Christ in your baptism. You have been raised with Christ in his resurrection to new life. …
… In the New Testament, the language is often set your mind. Maybe you've heard some of these texts, like Colossians chapter three, verses one and two. You can look that up. Romans chapter eight, verses five to nine, where the apostle Paul talks about, hey, your mind can be set on things. You're not an animal. Animals just respond to stimuli. Humans have this amazing capacity to think, I'm gonna put my thoughts on that. I'm gonna put my mind, I'm gonna set my mind somewhere. and your mind is going to, as you drive through university, all the advertisements all around town, you got the billboards, you got stuff on your phone, the ads are popping up. You can endure all sorts of stimuli coming at you if you have set your mind on an enduring, solid, powerful place, mainly the voice of Jesus in his word. You become ready for the day when you've set your mind and you reset your mind. Now, I know you can't only think about heavenly things all day. …
… Everything about the story of Jesus calls us to do the same. Again, the apostle Paul says, if you've been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ is. seated at the right hand of God. The message of day four is look up. The message of day five is invite Christ to go deep. I command the ocean to be full of living creatures. He speaks to the ocean depths. To humans, the ocean depths can be a dangerous place, a cold place, a dark place, even a deadly place, but not to Jesus. That Jesus could speak life into the darkest parts of the planet. He can speak life into the darkest parts of our hearts. We've got a lot of Jonah stories right here in this church. just like Jonah we were thrown overboard like Jonah we were rescued the ocean bottom is no place for a person but it's no problem for Christ just as the recovering alcoholic or the prisoner who finds Christ behind bars or the divorcee who discovers that loneliness can soften the heart enough to see hope Christ brings darkness brings light out of the darkness but that's not all he also said in that same day let the birds fly i just love that let them fly don't put fences around birds they're made to soar they're made to stretch their wings did you know god wants you to do the same he has made us to soar on wings like eagles isaiah 40 in verse 31 this is the plan of god for you and speaking of you finally we reach on day …
… it. I didn't realize why I turned there, but God had a reason. It was Colossians 3 and it says, If then you've been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, what is earthly in you, sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these, the wrath of God is coming. Wow. Man, I was thinking about that, set your mind on things above, and I was like, I want to read that passage. I had no idea right after God had convicted me about coveting that at the end of that passage, he uses those words, you know, put this to death, covetousness, coveting, which is idolatry. …
… and your life is hidden with Christ and God. You have been raised with Christ. What in the world does that mean? You know, you would make sense if it said, well, if you believe in Jesus, then when you die, you'll be raised. You will die, you will be raised. That would make sense. And think about that, because isn't that a happy thought? That's a happy thought. But that's not what he's saying. He says, don't get happy because you think that someday you will die and you will rise. I want you to set your mind and heart on the fact that you have died and are raised. And if you do, you will then finally have the power to cast out these drives, these cravings, these demands of your heart that come from idolatry. trying to be able to cast out the things that are destroying your peace. What does it mean, though? Well, you know what it means? You have died in Christ. You have been raised with Christ. …