Seek Those Things Above Pt 1

thank you for the day. Give you all the honor and glory due to you. We ask your blessing upon this time, Lord. Help us to lift a joyful noise. May your word go out and accomplish the purposes for which you sent it, Lord God. Lord, bless the kids at the other end of the hall. Lord, just do a mighty work in their lives and do a mighty work in ours. We love you and we praise you. Have a seat

if you like. We just thank you. We want to take a moment, Lord, and just thank you for who you are, Lord God. Never fail for being the one that is always there and is always faithful. Lord God, we just give you praise this morning. Lord, in the midst of our battles, Lord, we know that there is victory in you. Teach us to abide in you. Runs dry. You are our source of life,

the branch, and you are the vine, Lord. You have no life. Teach us to abide in you, Lord God. This morning as Pastor Ryan comes, I pray that your Holy Spirit would just overflow him, Lord God. Speak mightily through him, Lord. Lord, let your word go out with power. Because you are a big and mighty God. You do powerful things. Lord, let your Holy Spirit move in a mighty way this morning, Father. God, let us live different.

Let us live changed this morning. Lord, and again, just be with the kids at the other end of the hall, God. Do your mighty work there in their lives, Lord. We love you, God. We praise you and we thank you. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Let's have some fellowship. Grab a bulletin. We'll get ready to go over some announcements.

Calvary Chapel, I'm glad that you have joined us this morning. A few things to take note of in your bulletin over on the left-hand side are the things that are going on throughout the week. So take note of that. Over in the middle section of your bulletin, some announcements to pay attention to. First of all, next Monday, we have a special speaker coming. Okay, so I was told when

this originally, when we originally booked this guy, that you are not allowed to put him out on social media or anything like that. And then I talked to his daughter to kind of finalize all the scheduling stuff. And she said, I'm not allowed to put him out on social media or anything like that. And she goes, yeah, I'm not really sure who put that out because we don't care if you put it on social media. So on the 15th, Kamal Saleem is coming here to speak. And he's going to be sharing

about kind of his testimony of how God saved him out of Islam and brought him out of the Muslim world. He was a part of the Muslim Brotherhood at one point in time. And so we can live stream that thing, but come check it out. It's going to be a really inspiring story, I think, to hear. So that's next Monday, the 15th at 7 o'clock PM. And then that same week on the 17th, I thought that would

be a really good time to do that. So I'm going to be sharing that with you. And I'm going to be doing a worship night. So Wednesday, the 17th, we're going to be doing a worship night. So come join us for that. It should be a good time together. Ladies, something to pay attention to. There's an event coming up August the 3rd. It's some sort of a crafting something or other. I

don't know. Her name's Robin Tackett. You're going to make fun things. You're going to bring your own soda. The cost is somewhere between $15 and $35, depending on what they decide to purchase. Okay. Yeah. And so the QR code's right there. If you have any questions, go talk to my lovely wife after the service, and she can give the info on that. But man, if I was a girl, I would be way

into whatever this thing is. It sounds awesome. So I'm not, but it's 2024. You got to identify those kinds of things. So anyway, yeah, that's coming up on August the 3rd. Also, August 1st through the 3rd, there is up at Calvary of Johnson County, the Kansas Bible Conference that they, or the, yeah, Kansas Bible Conference that they do every year up there. It used to be called

the Pastors and Leaders Conference. Now it's just called the Kansas Bible Conference, and it is going to be taking place. This won't just be local Kansas pastors. It'll extend to some other parts of the Midwest. Steve Johnson from Nebraska is going to be teaching. Patrick from Wichita. Josh Blevins from up in St. Joe. Ryan from right here. We're all going to be speaking there, so

should be a good time together. Free event. You just have to provide your own lodging. And then a reminder, we have a baptism coming up on the 11th. If you've never been baptized, please come talk to me. We'd love to visit with you about that. And then a couple of things that are not in your bulletin. A reminder that this is the first Sunday of the month, so tonight's our

intercessory prayer night, if you're interested in coming to check that out at six o'clock down at the other end of the hall. And then Jared has an announcement he needs to come up and make.

Okay, if you were here Wednesday night, you know I thoroughly embarrassed Ryan because it was his birthday, so. It's his birthday. We're going to have brownies in the agape room after church, so please come and join us. I think I'll just stay up here. Is that all right? Brownies will be amazing. First service, they said I was 29 again, and I like that. So let's pretend that's what it is.

But okay, so those are the things that are going on for our responsive reading this morning. We are going to be in Psalm 67. Psalm 67. Looking at the New American Standard for this part so that we sound the same. Didn't bring a copy of the New America Standard. Should be one of the row around you. And as you are turning to Psalm 67, if you are able, please stand in the honor of the reading of God's Word.

I will read the odd verses, if you will follow along with Jared, and the even verses. Psalm 67. For the choir director, with stringed instruments, a psalm, a song. God be gracious to us and bless us and cause his face to shine upon us. Selah. That your way may be known on the earth, your salvation among all nations. Let the peoples praise you, O God. Let the peoples praise you.

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you will judge the peoples with uprightness and guide the nations on the earth. Selah. Let the peoples praise you, O God. Let all the peoples praise you. The earth has yielded its produce. God, our God, blesses us. And read verse seven with me. God blesses us that all the ends of the earth may fear him. And Father, we do praise you for blessing us and causing your face to shine upon us,

for sending us your Son and providing us your Holy Spirit. And Lord, gifting us with your Word to guide us in all of our ways. And so, Father, I pray that as we spend time in that Word this morning, that you would speak to our hearts and draw us near to you. Father, may your Holy Spirit do the work that only your Holy Spirit can do in us. In Jesus' name. Amen.

You may be seated. And if you would open up in your Bibles to the book of Colossians chapter three. Colossians chapter three. As we move into chapter three of Colossians, we also move into a new series that the first 17 verses of chapter three of the book of Colossians will cover. And that series I have entitled, Seek Those Things Above. Seek Those Things Above.

So what I'd like to do is start off reading the first five verses, or excuse me, the first four verses of chapter three. And then we'll get into a study about it. So chapter three, verse one says this. Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth.

For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be saved. And when Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory. Now, as we get into this series, especially this morning, there's two things he's going to do for us. He's going to give us the principle of seeking those things that are above.

And then he's going to begin to talk to us about the practice. But the first thing that we'll cover is the principle. Now, just to bring everybody back up to speed on where we are and kind of create that full picture of the book of Colossians. Chapter one, Paul presented Christ to us because the issue they were having in Colossae is that they were not going to be able to see Christ.

It's that they ultimately had taken their eyes off of Christ through the doctrine that was being spread there. So the first thing that Paul did is he brought back to their attention. He brought back to the forefront of their minds the incomparable Christ. And then in chapter two, he began a warning. And that warning, we put one title on, and that title was, Don't Be Deceived.

But he didn't want them to be deceived not only in philosophy and in practice. And so he told them that you have died with Christ and you have died with Christ to these four things. You have died with Christ to the four things. You have died with Christ to the philosophy of the world. You have died with Christ to the legalism of the world. You have died with Christ to the mysticism of the world.

And you have died with Christ to the asceticism of the world. So don't be taken captive with philosophy. Don't let anyone judge you through legalism. Don't let anyone defraud you through mysticism. And don't let anyone enslave you through asceticism. You have died with Christ to all of those things. So don't let anyone bring you back under their power. And so as we move into chapter 3, verse 1, he's told us what not to do, and now he's

going to tell us what to do. And so he tells us, therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of the Father. We talked about the fact that we have died with Christ to a certain number of things, but now he reminds us that we have been raised with Christ. You have been raised with Christ.

The Amplified Bible translates it like this. You were raised with Christ to a new life, sharing in his resurrection from the dead. I think one of the greatest realities you and I have to learn to live in is that you and I have been made alive in Christ, that we have been raised with Christ. And you have that new life of Christ flowing through you through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Too many believers still live as if they are dead, as if they are dead in the things of the world. And they are lifeless. They are lifeless in the way that they live their life. And because they are living lifeless, they are living defeated constantly by the things of the world, defeated constantly by the philosophies of the world, or defeated constantly through the works of legalism and rules, because they are not living as if they are alive in Christ.

It's not a hope to be achieved. It is a reality to be lived. It's a reality to be understood. It's a reality to be understood. It's who you are now because you have put your faith in Jesus. Jesus Christ, you are alive in him. Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ to a brand new life and are experiencing his resurrection life from the dead, this is what you should do.

Keep seeking the things that are above. Keep seeking the things that are above. It's an interesting statement that he makes, but it gives us the idea. And I think the New Living Translation really gives us a good idea. When it says, set your sights on the reality of heaven, set your sights on the reality of heaven. Again, too many believers live their life like their Christianity only affects this

side of eternity. We think that our Christianity was there to make sure that we have a better job. Our Christianity is there to make sure that our bills are paid. Our Christianity is there to make sure that we live a happy life. Our Christianity is there to make sure that we have a little bit of peace on this side of eternity. Don't get me wrong. Those are wonderful benefits of the fact that we belong to Christ, but our lives now have

a new reality and that new reality that we have is an eternal reality. And so he says, keep seeking the things that are above. Set your sights, set your vision, cast your gaze upon the reality of heaven. I want to bring a couple of scriptures to your mind. Now, listen, we're going to turn some places in scripture today. Okay? So get yourself ready. Get your fingers loose.

Get yourself ready. Get your mind nimble and go with me. Okay? Do a little Bible Olympics with me. I want you to go back to the book of Psalms. I want you to go to Psalm 27. Now, I'll give you a little time. While I'm hearing pages turning, I'm going to get a drink of water.

Keep turning those pages. You can do it. I believe in you. Psalm 27. And I want you to look at verse 4 of Psalm 27. This is the Psalmist David speaking here. And if you're an old Calvary person, which I am, if you're an old Calvary person, you're going to start singing this song in your head. Don't sing it out loud yet. I haven't decided if I'm going to sing it out loud yet.

I'm going to make us do that or not. It goes like this. Psalm 27, verse 4. One thing I have asked from the Lord, and that shall I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in his temple. Now, listen. This is the Psalmist David speaking. This is not some New Testament scholar. This is not some New Testament preacher.

This is the Psalmist David. The king, David. The one who defeated. The one who defeated Goliath. The one who ruled over Israel. The one who was imperfect in all of his ways, and yet he had one desire in his life, which is what made him a man after God's own heart. And the one desire he had is that he would be able to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life.

All he wanted to do was to be able to be where God is. All he wanted to do was be able to worship God in his holy place, to see God in all of his splendor. As a matter of fact, there's another Psalm that ends like this. I will be satisfied when I awake in your likeness. The Psalmist David said, one thing have I, I'm going to go old King James here on you. Okay.

One thing have I desired of the Lord and that will I seek that I may dwell in the house of the Lord to behold his beauty, to meditate on the beauty of his holiness. That was his one desire. This is not a new topic in scripture. This was always what men and women of God were seeking after was the things that are above. The reality of heaven will jump now with me to the book of Matthew chapter six, Matthew

chapter six, first book of the new Testament head over there. The specific verse I wouldn't want to look at is verse 33, but to create context, I want to start in verse 30. This is Jesus speaking in a sermon on the Mount, talking to his disciples of what it looks like to be a citizen of the kingdom of heaven. Matthew chapter six, verse 30 starts. Like this, but if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow

is thrown into the furnace, will he not much more clothed you? Oh, you have little faith. Don't worry then saying, what will we eat or what will we drink or what will we wear for clothing for the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things for your heavenly father knows that you need all these things. Now, if you're an underliner or a highlighter, this is where I want you to pay attention and mark this verse.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you. You see, there is to be a focus that we are to have as believers in Jesus Christ and that focus that we are to have as believers in Jesus Christ is to go far beyond this world that we live in right now, to go far beyond the temporary that we have right now to pursue a goal that goes much deeper than just the things of this earth. And the only way that we can do that is to seek first. The kingdom.

The kingdom of God to seek first the things of him, because that is where we will ultimately find our greatest joy is in, is in him. So we are to keep seeking the things that are above. Now there's one last thing I want to point out to you about that phrase. And I love the way the new American standard translates it because it carries in the new American standard, the exact tense of the Greek when it talks about keep seeking, because the idea is a continual progressive action.

That you are to keep seeking the things that are above. You may not realize this, but the day that you became born again as a believer in Jesus Christ, if you're a believer here this morning, you began the process of seeking the things that are above the day that you became born again, you realized that there was something outside of this earth, that there was something outside of the next five days in your life. You were made aware because you were made alive to the heavenly reality, to the eternal reality. And you began the process of seeking the things.

You began the process of seeking the things that are above. Now, if you were like me and you were a young man when you, or a young woman, I'm not a young woman, but you're not, may not be a young man. You know what I'm saying? If you were young, when you started seeking after God, I bet as you were seeking the things that are above, something happened in the beginning.

You were like, man, I really want to seek the things of God. Maybe he'll come today, but I'd kind of like to get married first, right? Listen, young people, that's normal. It happened to all of us. And then, and then you go, but maybe I want to be able to have a family. Maybe I want to be able to raise my kids first and all of these things you think, but maybe I want to do these things first.

And while you are seeking the things that are above, there's still part of you that's still tied to this earth. Well, that's the process you're going through as you keep seeking. That is the continual progressive action of continuing to seek the Lord is the longer that you seek the things of God, the less you care about the things of this earth, the longer that you seek the things of God, the less that you care about being healed. To these things down here right now, I'm not going, but Lord, I want to retire first.

I'm like, Jesus come today, right? And, and those of us in the workforce, you start kind of feeling that way, right? Eventually you start going, I'm really much more concerned about the things of heaven than I am the things of this world. I'm much more concerned about the things of God than I am the temporary things of this place, because I have a goal in mind.

I have a focus in mind and that's the way we are to be. Keep seeking those things. Those things that are above, but he goes on to tell us the importance of seeking those things that are above and what these things are that we actually seek. Notice the end of verse three, it says where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. What are the things above that we are seeking?

What are the heavenly realities that we are seeking? Well, if you grew up in church, you were probably told about heaven from a really early age. They started talking. They started talking to you about all the things of heaven. I bet one of the first things you remember hearing about heaven is that heaven has streets of gold, right? There's one verse in the entire ding dong Bible that says that heaven has streets of

gold. We have latched onto that thing about as good as we could. We're like, you know what? There are streets of gold in heaven. One time in revelation, it says that, but there's all these other things too, right? Like heaven's going to be this amazing place and it's going to be awesome. Like in heaven, everything's going to be perfect. There's not going to be weeds.

I'm not going to have to spray for crap grass, right? There's not going to be. Like gnarly snakes in heaven. There's not going to be scary animals in heaven. There's everything's going to be perfect there. I'm going to have a perfect body there. Brownies won't make me fat there, right? Everything about that is going to be awesome in heaven. But listen, that's not what makes it heaven.

What makes it heaven is that Christ is there. That's what makes it heaven. And so when he says, seek those things that are above, it's funny how when we start seeking the things that are above, we still view it from an earthly standpoint. Because we still think about the mansion we're going to have in heaven, right? When really what we should be thinking is the Christ that we'll get to stand face to

face with in heaven. And like the psalmist David, we can say one thing have I desired of the Lord and that will I seek after that I may dwell in the house of the Lord and to behold his beauty and to inquire in his temple, right? Like ultimately, that's the place of maturity that we're getting to. And that's why we keep seeking the things that are above because as we keep seeking Christ.

Christ. Seeking him, the things of this earth tend to kind of fall away in our mind. They come up, become a little bit less important to us in our minds, right? Because that's just not nearly as important as it used to be. I want you to go with me one more place in scripture. Actually, I got a bunch more places we're going to go. But for right now, I want you to go one more place in scripture.

Matthew chapter six, go back there again.

The specific verse I want you to look at is verse 21. But again, I want to start in verse 19 for some context. Matthew six, verse 19.

It says this. Do not store up for yourself treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. Here's where I want you to pay attention. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. He tells us to seek those things that are above because that's where Christ is, because

where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. And so I have a question for you. Hopefully a little bit of a probing question that maybe you'll meditate on throughout this week. What is your treasure? What's the greatest treasure that you have in your life? Listen, I know the Sunday school answer, right? Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit. That's my treasure, right?

Like that's the, that's the Sunday school answer. But I don't want you to think about what the right answer is. I want you to think about what the real answer is. What's really your treasure? You know what? I bet you I could identify your treasure. If I had a short conversation. And I figured out what you talked about the most, because usually the thing that you talk

about and think about the most is the thing that you treasure the most in your, in your heart. Why? Because where your treasure is there, your heart will be also. So if all of the things that you treasure are like your house or your car or your kids or your retirement plan or your job, or you name the thing, if they're things of this earth, then those are going to be the things that you talk about the most.

Therefore, that's where your heart is going to be. But if the thing that you treasure the most is Christ, then that's where your heart's going to be. And that's what you're going to be talking and thinking about the most. It's going to be the greatest focus of your life because where your treasure is there, your heart will be also. So we keep seeking the things that are above because that's where Christ is.

And so he presents to us this principle. If we want to live as the believers that he has called for us to live, it's not about a system of rules. It's about a change of mind. It's about a change of affection. It's about a change of heart. Right? We talked about that last week. And the way that we change our heart is that we keep seeking the things that are above.

Now, he begins to give us the practice. Now, the practice is going to take on three parts. As we look at the practice, we're going to see that he's going to tell us to set your mind. He's going to tell us to put off the old, and he's going to tell us to put on the new. We're going to cover the first one of those today, which is to set your mind. And so we pick up.

Verse two of chapter three, and this is what it says. Set your mind on things above, not on the things that are on the earth. So there's three little phrases in there that I want to pay attention to. The first phrase is the phrase, set your mind. Now, if you're reading the old King James in here this morning, I really appreciate the way that the old King James translates that, because it says to set your affection.

Is it the most accurate Greek word? I don't know. But I do think it carries a pretty good. Good idea of what's intended and what Paul says here, because it's not just the way that you think, it's what you care about the most. And so he says, set your affections on things that are above. The phrase means to direct one's mind to a thing or to keep habitually focused on a thing.

Let me give you a little bit of an illustration. I've shared this lots of times. I've shared this before, but it's the best one that I could come up with. We're almost to come across one of my favorite seasons, and it's the Olympic season. I love watching the Olympics. I love every part of it. I will watch all of the diving. I will even watch synchronized swimming, because I just love watching the Olympics.

I'll watch the whole thing. It's just, I love stories of athletes. I love hearing about the athletes. I love knowing the work that they put into it. There's one particular athlete that I'm kind of following right now. He's a wrestler. His name's Aaron Douglas. He won four. He won four NCAA championships with Penn State, and this year he qualified for the Olympics.

On top of that, he's an incredibly solid believer in Jesus Christ. He and a guy named David Carr, when they both won national championships in the NCAA, they both wore these headbands that says 100% Jesus. It's the shirts that they wear. I follow him on the gram, and he's solid, right? I can't wait to see how he does in the Olympics, and he's just a horse of a human being.

Well, as we come across this time of the Olympics, I'm always fascinated to look at the training programs of these guys. By and large, most of the Olympic athletes, unless they're sponsored by somebody, they're not always professional athletes. There's more of it than there used to be, but especially at one point in time, they were not professional athletes. They were just people.

They were just men and women who had good athletic ability, and they would work a job and train in their off time, and sometimes their jobs would be good to them in the way that they would train. They had a goal in mind, and so they set their mind, they set their affections on that goal. And as they set their affections on that goal, they stayed habitually focused on it. And when you listen to what these guys have to say, they talk about the sacrifices that they have to make.

They have to change their diet. They have to change their entertainment. They have to change their sleeping habits. They have to put in extra time in the gym, and there are certain sacrifices that they have to make in order to be the athletes that they're supposed to be. And all of it is centered around one thing, that they are habitually, habitually focused on a goal.

I'll never forget when Kale Sanderson won the Olympics. Kale Sanderson now coaches Penn State, one of the most decorated wrestlers of all time, and they interviewed him after he won the Olympics. It was great. They said, so what are you going to do now? He goes, I'm going to go drink pop, right? Because he had changed his diet so that he could be the kind of athlete that he wanted

to be. He was habitually focused on what he wanted to do. That's the idea that's being presented. The idea that's being presented here is that we are to set our minds, set our affections to where it adjusts the rest of our lives for the single goal of seeking the things that are above. He says, set your mind on things that are above, and we're going to take this backwards.

The next phrase I want us to look at is, not on the things of the earth. Not on the things of the earth. Expositor's Bible commentary gave a great little quote on the things of the earth, because of course, I'm asking myself, what are the things of the earth? Hopefully, you ask yourselves that question too. What are the things of the earth? And this is what Expositor's Bible commentary said.

It said, earthly things can include things like wealth, worldly honor, power, pleasure, and the like. It's all the things of this earth. Now, initially, we can find ourselves saying, well, then everything on this earth is a sin. That's Gnosticism. We don't want to say that. I want you to notice. I want you to notice the next quote from Expositor's on this. It says, earthly things are not all evil, but some of them are.

But when harmless things, or things that are harmless in and of themselves, become harmful if they are permitted to take the place that should be reserved for the things above. Some things are just kind of benign in nature, and they're harmless until they become a distraction from our pursuit. Let me give you another verse. Let me give you another verse that I think aptly illustrates this.

Again, go with me in your Bibles one more place. Go to Hebrews. So go to your right. Hebrews chapter 12, verse 1. If you hit the book of James or Peter or Revelation, you went too far. Hebrews chapter 12, verse 1. And if you can't get there in time, no problem. Maybe write it in the margin of your Bible. Hebrews chapter 12, verse 1.

The writer to the Hebrews has just given to us the hall of faith, all of the great men and women of God that served in such sacrificial ways. And he goes on to say this. Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. In that verse, he gives us the two categories of worldly things.

That we should not set our minds on. Because there's two different words that are used there. He says, lay aside the encumbrance and the sin. Some of your translations may say the weight and the sin. The first word, the weight, are things that are not necessarily sinful, but they're not necessarily helpful. They can end up becoming a problem. For instance, if you're an Olympic athlete going out to hang out with your friends in

the evening, there's nothing sinful about that. But it can become. It can become harmful to you if it prevents you from being able to get up early the next morning to train. So you will have to lay aside the encumbrance. Lay aside the weight. Those are the things in the world that are harmless in nature, but become harmful when they become distractions. But the second word, of course, is the sin, which is exactly what it sounds like.

It's sin. And we are not to set our minds on the things of the world that are harmless. And. In nature, but distractions, but we're also definitely not supposed to set our mind on the things of the world that are sinful. It seems like a logical statement, but I know it needs to be made over and over again. If sin is what your mind entertains, sin is what your hands will do, because that's where

it starts. And if you are entertaining sin in your mind, if you are setting your mind on sinful things, then you may need to change what you're setting your mind on. You may have to decide there's some things you can't watch anymore. You may have to decide there's some things you can't listen to anymore. You may have to decide there's some people you can't get into deep conversations with

anymore because you know it's going to set your mind on earthly things because your heart is now changed. And so he says, set your mind, set your affections, not on the things of the earth. Go back to Colossians chapter three. Not on the things of the earth, but on the things that are above, on the things that are above. I would like to define for you what I think the things that are above are.

They are the heavenly realities. Well, what are the heavenly realities? Well, he already told us what those are, right? Because what is above? Well, that's where Christ is. So we set our mind on the things that are above. We set our mind on the things of Christ. The heavenly realities that he presents to us, right? It's all about changing the way that we think.

Focus your mind now upon the things of Christ in a consistent sort of way. John Corson had a great quote on this. He said, the only people that are truly happy on earth are those whose hearts are set on heaven. Let me read that to you again. The only people that are truly happy on earth are those whose hearts are set on heaven. You know why you worry all the time?

You worry all the time. Because the things of this earth have you bogged down. Do you know why you're probably anxious all the time? Because the things of this earth have you pretty concerned. Do you know why you lack joy in your life? Because you're spending your time comparing yourself to the other people and the things that they have on this earth. Do you know why you struggle with being thankful?

Because all you do is think about what you don't have on this earth instead of what you do have in Christ. That's why those people that are truly happy on this earth are the ones who are most thankful. They're the ones who are most thankful. They're the ones who are most thankful. And they are constantly focused on those things. That's where their heart is.

That's where their heart is. It's where their affections are. One more place in scripture. I don't know how many more times I'm going to say that. One more place in scripture. Second Corinthians chapter 4. Just go to your left. You'll go back to Philippians and then Ephesians and then Galatians and then you'll hit 2nd Corinthians. 2nd Corinthians. That was.

I'm like saying that alphabet backwards. 2 Corinthians chapter 4, and I want you to look at verse 18.

2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 18. It says, while we look not at the things which are seen, that'd be the things of the earth, but at the things which are not seen, those would be the things of heaven. For the things which are seen are temporal or temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. Now, brothers and sisters, everything we see around us today, all this stuff's temporary.

It's all going to burn up. It's all going to fade away. It's all going to go away someday. Even the bodies that we wear around are going to go away someday. That means that if all of your focus is on having a perfect body, just know it's all going to go away someday. Because all of these things are temporary. So why does he want us to set our affections on the things of heaven?

Because those are the things of heaven. Those are the things that are eternal. Why are we supposed to lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven? Because those things are eternal. Why are we supposed to seek first the kingdom of God? Because those things are eternal. Those are heavenly realities. These are temporary luxuries, right? And we want to seek the heavenly realities.

Because those are the things that will last forever, right? And so we go back to Colossians chapter 3. And he's told us, Don't seek the things on earth. Instead, set your mind on things above. But you know how I am. I hear those things and I go, But how do you do that? Right? Like, I always hate when pastors give you platitudes and then they never actually put shoes on it, right?

Like, okay, it's great. This is the idea. You need to seek the things that are above. You need to set your mind on things that are above. So now this week, go out and seek the things that are above and set your mind on things that are above. And you're going, Well, how are we? How are we? How are we supposed to do that? Well, let's talk about how we're supposed to do that.

It's not going to get creative, but there are three main ways that we're going to seek the things that are above and set our minds on the things that are above. Number one, you're going to have a really active prayer life. I mean, a really active prayer life. To where prayer is not just something that you do. It is the thing that you do. Ryan, I can't. I can't do that.

I'll walk around all day and run into things. Look, I do that anyway, okay? I may as well be praying while I'm doing it. Right? No, but to have an active prayer life means, first of all, that you do have particular times where you stop and you truly seek the Lord in prayer. And you pray in scripture. And you have your prayer list that you're working through.

That's a beautiful thing. I absolutely think that you should do that. I think that even you should pray that God would maybe give you that prayer language at some point in time. Right? I know that some people have that gifting. I don't have that gifting. But some people do. Maybe you seek God for that sort of thing so that you can communicate with him on that even deeper level.

But it goes beyond just having that, Hey, I'm going to take this 20 minutes and I'm going to pray. It means having a lifestyle of prayer where all day long you're so focused on God that everything is a conversation with God. This is one of the biggest things I learned as a groundskeeper. Is when I was a groundskeeper, I could sit on a lawnmower and I could be in communion with God all day long.

And I could pray and no one would hear me. And I could sing and praise Jesus. No one could hear me. I could do all of those things all day long. And I learned that my entire day was communion with the Lord. And I learned that I'm not good at the sitting down and really taking time. Time to pray. It's an area where I'm growing, but I am really good at the praying all day long and living my life in a place of prayer.

And that's one of the ways that we learn to seek the things that are above and to set our mind on things that are above. Because if I am supposed to set my mind on where Christ is, one of the best things I can do is talk to Christ. Because automatically I'm going to start thinking a whole lot more about him than I am about the things of this world. Amen. Number two.

I'm going to have. An active time in the word. And I want to point out the verb I used there. Active. Maybe that's an adverb. Is that an adverb? I want to point out that action word. Active. It should be an active time in the word. Some people are really good at reading the Bible, putting it down and walking away and completely forgetting what they've read.

Now, I don't want to condemn you for that. Because we all do it. Right? I don't know how many times I've walked away and gone, son of a gun, I don't know what I've read and I have to teach that on Sunday. Right? So I've got to go back and do it again. But an active time. In the word. Means that I'm not satisfied to read it and go, hmm. I don't know what it said.

I don't know what it means. I'll figure it out one of these days. No, I'm not going to be satisfied with that. I'm going to start digging in. Now, for some of you, that may mean that if you're especially following along with our reading time now, that you may have to cut back on some of that. You may have to only read through the New Testament. Or maybe only read through the Old Testament.

Or maybe you're two months behind. No worries. As long as you're in the word every day. But it means an active time in the word. Right? I was sitting the other day at a coffee shop studying. And there was a group of kids sitting in there. And this young man looked at me and he said, Pastor Ryan, do you have a minute for a question? And I said, I always have a minute for a question.

And he said, how do you study the Bible? And my first thought was, well, that's not really a minute question. But let me see what I can do for you. I said, well, okay, here's what you need to know. And if you were here last summer for our study of the Bible series, we kind of talked about this. That active time in the word. And to get the most out of it, you're looking to solve three problems.

Always. These three problems you're looking to solve. The first problem you're looking to solve is what does it say? Sometimes that's one of the biggest problems. Right? If you ever read the Bible and gone, I have no idea what that just said. You know what you may have to do? You may have to stop and go back and read it again. And as you read it over again, you may have to read it in a couple of different translations.

Because honestly, I'm not that smart. And so sometimes I read things in like the New American Standard or some, you know, smart person translation. And I go. I'm going to need the New Living Translation on that. Not willing to go with the message just yet. But I'm going to need to read like the New Living Translation on that. And have somebody walk me through it in really simple language.

That's okay. Because you need to solve the first problem. What does it say? The second problem you have to solve is what does it mean? Because we want to interpret this correctly. We want to cut this straight. Right? And so as you cut it straight, you should start looking some things up. Again, maybe some other Bible translation. Maybe some commentaries that you've got to read.

But you should sit with a piece of paper and a pen. And you should write some things down. Write down what you feel like it's saying, what you think it means. And sometimes you're going to be way off. I don't know how many times I've looked back on things that I've wrote and thought, Oh, I was way off on that one. Right? That's okay. It's part of learning. It's part of growing.

And then the third problem that you're going to solve is you're going to solve the problem of how does that apply to me? Again, this is where a piece of paper and a pen can come in. Pretty handy. Because you can start writing out. Lord, I know this is what it says. I think this is what you're telling me. And as God starts telling you things, as he starts speaking things to you, you kind of go,

You're right. That needs to change in my life. This is what I need to learn about God. This is what I need to learn about sin. This is what I need to learn about me. And this is what I need to learn about obedience. And then you do everything within your power. Through the Holy Spirit. To live that out in a daily life. That's an active time in the word. You see, you didn't just read it.

Walk away and forget what you read. You've now meditated on it. Right? Then Psalm 1 tells us that you will be like a tree planted by rivers of water that bears all kinds of fruit. Right? Because that's who you are now. Because you spent active time in the word. And it gets your mind focused on the things of heaven. Because this entire book gets you pretty focused on the things above.

Right? But another part of an active time in the word. And I presented this to first service too. Is maybe you should also start to memorize it. Now, I get the same pushback every time. Every time I bring up scripture memorization. I bet you know what the pushback is. Because I bet you're thinking it right now. Ryan, I can't memorize anything. I always like to ask this.

What's your best friend's name? I've never had anybody get that one wrong. They've maybe had to think about it for a minute. I've never had anybody get that one wrong. I say, see? You can memorize things. Because you memorized their name. I say, what's your address? And they give me their address. And I say, see? You can memorize things. It may be hard for you.

It may take time. You may memorize it and have it memorized for a week. And forget it and have it start all over again. That's okay. You're still chewing up God's word. And it's still doing its work in your mind. It's still washing you. It's still cleaning you. It's still doing its job. It's still setting your mind on the things that are above. I actually think next year one of the things that I'm going to add in.

Is I'm going to start putting a memory verse. In the bulletin every week. And then one Sunday a month. I'm going to invite each of you up here. I'm just kidding. I won't do that. Why is no one ever here on the fourth Sunday of the month? That would be dumb. Anyway. But that's going to get your mind set on the things of God. Right? So an active prayer life. You're going to have an active time in the word.

The third way that you get your mind set on the things that are above. Is you're going to start serving the Lord. You're going to start serving the Lord. You know why? Because it's going to take your eyes off of you. I can't tell you how many people that I see walk around wallowing in self-pity. Wallowing in nobody does anything for me. And woe is me because of all these bad things.

And look I get it. Sometimes you got things that go on in life. And sometimes you got to vent that to somebody. But man some of y'all vent that to everybody. Right? Like nobody in the church doesn't know what's going on with you. And maybe what you need to do. Is start finding out what somebody else needs prayer for. Maybe what you need to do is start finding out what somebody else needs some help with.

Hey how can I serve you today? Because it gets your eyes off of you. And it gets your eyes on God. Because your goal is now to serve the Lord. In the nation of Israel there's a body of water called the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea has the highest salt content of any body of water in the entire world. You know why it has the highest salt content of any body of water in the entire earth?

Nothing can live there. As a matter of fact you can float. I can't float anywhere but they tell me I can even float there. Right? I can be buoyant at that place. And the reason why is because it has no outlet. It collects water when it rains. When they have the rainy season in Israel. But it has no way of getting the water out. Therefore nothing can live there.

Because it has no water. Because it has no way of releasing the water that's in it. Too many of us are like the Dead Sea. There's no life in here because you have no outlet. Because you're not ever getting out amongst anybody else. And saying how can I serve you? How can I love you? How can I pray for you? Because that will automatically get your eyes off of yourself.

And nine times out of ten it's going to start helping you to seek the things that are above. Brothers and sisters. He gives us this principle. The principle is seek the things that are above. And then he gives us the practice. If we're going to seek the things that are above. Number one. We have to set our mind on things above. But there's always another important question to be answered.

The question is why? Well he answers it for us in verses three and four. For you have died. And your life is hidden with Christ and God. And when Christ who is our life is revealed. Then you also will be revealed with him in glory. As he gives us the why he does it in two parts. The why is first of all because of what has happened. And the why of second of all because of what is going to happen.

Number one. He tells us what has happened. Because you have died. You have died to this world. This world no longer has hold on you. The penalty of the sin of this world no longer has hold on you. But also the pressures of this world don't have any hold on you any longer. Because this place ain't your home. You're dead now. You are dead to this world. There's this story of a group of Jews that were hiding in a cemetery during the time of the Holocaust.

And nobody sought to look for a living Jew amongst the dead. Because their lives were hidden amongst the dead. And they said that where there was death God has now brought life. Because they had died. And their lives were hidden with Christ in God. And that's the second part of this what has happened. Your life is now hidden with Christ. That idea of hidden speaks of both concealment and safety.

It is concealed from all the rest of the world because now all they can see when they see you is Christ. All that God can see when he sees you is Christ. But it's also our greatest place of safety. Your life finds its safety. In Christ. Your life finds its security in Christ. That's why whatever else happens in the next, let's see, July, August, September, October, November.

In the next four months. Whatever else happens in the next four months. We can sleep like babies. You know why? Because your life is hidden with God in Christ. And they can do what they want to with the government. They can do what they want to with taxes. They can do what they want to with all this kind of thing. I don't really care. Because my life is hidden with God in Christ.

And I don't need to stay up at night worrying about what's going to happen with the government. And then he goes on to tell us what will happen in the future. And when Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory. Before we get to the actual statement, I want you to take note of what he says. When Christ. Who is our life.

Because that's who Christ is for us. He is our life. That's the best way that I can put this. When I first met my wife. When I first started dating my wife. All that I could talk about. All that I could think about. The only person I wanted to talk to was her. Because as far as this world was concerned. My life was wrapped up in her. It's no different today.

The person that I think about. The person that I talk about. The person that I talk to as far as this world is concerned. Is her. I can't wait to get off work and go home and see her. I can't wait until she gets home so that we can hang out together. To go on our next coffee run. To go on a walk together. Whatever it is. Because as far as this earth is concerned.

She is my life. It's wrapped up in her. She's the most important person to me. But that's on this side of eternity. My real life is ultimately wrapped up in Christ. He's who I want to talk about. He's who I want to think about. He's who I want to talk to. And he's who I can't wait to see someday. Because he is my life. He's the one who has given himself for me.

He is the one who has died for me. And now Christ. Who is my life. Is coming back. And again I would ask you. What's your life wrapped up in? Who is your life? Because here it says that Christ is our life. It says that when Christ who is our life is revealed. Or made manifest. Or appears. Then we will be revealed with him in glory. One day Christ is coming back.

And when Christ comes back. He will appear. Be revealed to the entire world. And all of the world will go. Oh. That's what they were talking about. Whoa. We screwed up. Right? Because Christ will appear. He will be revealed. So why do we seek the things that are above? Because when he is revealed. We will be revealed with him. We keep seeking the things that are above.

Because we will be revealed with him. One more place. You don't need to turn there. But if you write it in the margin of your Bible. It might be a good idea. First John chapter 3 verse 2. It says this. Beloved. Now we are the children of God. And it has not yet been revealed. What we shall be. But we know that when we see him. We will be like him. For we will see him.

As he truly is. And that's what we're looking forward to. Is the day when we are truly. Revealed for who we really are. And so seek the things that are above. And the first way that we do that. Is by setting our minds. On the things that are above. Amen. Well this morning is communion Sunday. Or as I like to call it. Children's church roulette. Do we have kiddos coming this way?

They're on their way. So parents be on the lookout. The train is coming. I'd like to invite the worship team to come on up. If you're on your way. Come on in kids. That was just one or there more coming. Theoretically. The ushers are shaking their heads yes. Here they come. Come on down. Believe it or not. This is not the most awkward silence. I've experienced in the last three weeks.

All right keep. I think you're up here buddy. I'm trying to guide and direct here. I think they're over here big guy. Right up here Claire. There you go. I don't know those two. Up front here Eden. All right. So. Let's spend just a minute talking about communion here. Before they hang tight. Well me boys. I haven't had a chance to do this part yet. That's okay.

I like. I like your eagerness. All right. So as we gather here this morning and partake of communion together. We are reminded of what we do here. And inside of each of these is a couple of different elements. There's a cup on top that's got the juice in it. There's a cup on bottom that has the cracker in it. But what's really important is what those represent.

Because what those represent for us is the body of Christ. It was broken for us in his blood that was shed for us. As always. I like to point out that on that last great night of the feast. Jesus took that bread. And the bread that he would have taken absolutely represented him. Because it was unleavened meaning that it was pure. It was sinless. It was pierced just like him.

And it was striped just like him. And he took that bread and he broke it. And as he broke that bread. He said this is my body that's broken for you. Take and eat. So as they partook of that. They realized that there was something deeper going on here. He was establishing a brand new covenant with them. And then he took the cup. And he said this is the cup of the new covenant in my blood that is shed for you.

And so every time we do this. We're told in scripture we declare the death of Jesus Christ. And so we're told that if we're going to declare the death of Jesus Christ. We're to do so in a worthy manner. And there's a handful of ways that we do that. First of all I think it's important that we recognize the strength of the symbolism that takes place here. That this is not just juice and a cracker.

That this is a celebration of what Jesus did for us. And we need to ever keep in mind the depth of the love that he has for us. Being willing to take all of our sin in his own body on the tree. The second thing is that if you're here this morning and you're not a born again believer. Then I would encourage you maybe to not partake with us this morning. But if you're here this morning and you're not a born again believer.

Then maybe today is the day of salvation. Maybe today is the day where you realize you've been too tied to the things of this earth. And today is the day that you want to put your faith in Jesus Christ. And it's as simple as pouring out your heart to him in confession. And accepting what he's done for you on the cross. If you're here this morning and you're a born again believer.

Then it means that you need to test your heart. To see what's going on in there. Because as we go throughout a day, a week, a month. There's sin that creeps in. There's weaknesses that rear their ugly heads. There's relationships that get broken. There's issues that take place. The best thing that we can do is continue to confess those sins to the Lord. Because while those sin.

As believers. Don't make it to where we're not saved. They do break our fellowship. So what a beautiful time to recommit ourselves. To reconnect to the Lord. To take time to confess those things to him. Knowing that the same blood of Jesus Christ. That we celebrate. That brought us salvation. Is the same blood of Jesus Christ. That continually cleanses us. And restores fellowship with him.

Amen. So as you. As the worship team sings this last song. I just ask that you allow the Lord to search your heart. And that you get your heart and mind. Lined up with the things of God. And that as you get your heart and mind lined back up with the things of God. That as you receive these elements. Stand together and we'll partake together. I thank you for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.

Lord that you bore in your own body on the tree all the sin of humanity. So that we could be done with it forever. And so Father I thank you for your body that was broken for us. Lord that endured the nails. Lord that endured the scourging. That wore the crown of thorns. And ultimately had your side pierced. Lord so that we could be made right with you. And Father I thank you for the blood of Jesus Christ.

The blood of Jesus Christ that has never failed us yet. That is enough to not only cover sin. But Lord enough to do away with sin forever. Lord to wash us brand new and clean. And so Father. May we ever be mindful of the sacrifice that you made for us. The sacrifice that made us right with you. That restored our fellowship with you. And restored our fellowship with each other.

Father we thank you for who you are. In Jesus name. Amen. Let's partake. And if you would bow with me one last time. Father I thank you for who you are and for your word. Lord I ask that you would give us hearts that are set on you. Minds that are focused on you. Lord for each of us as we see the things of the earth that sometimes can call for our attention.

Lord the things of earth that wage war for our affections. Lord that we would set our minds on you. That you would give us victory through the power of your Holy Spirit. And that you would give us peace through your word. And so Father lead us and guide us as we go out from here. In Jesus name. Amen. Be blessed.