Letting Go..

Delivered on 9/4/16

                       

Colossians 3:1-4
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

This opening phrase parallels Galatians 2:20: “ I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” Since we died with Christ, Colossians 3:1 establishes the truth that since we’ve been raised with Christ, we have a new status and therefore a new way of life. We now have a power source for living. Believers have died with Christ, been buried with Him, have been raised with Him. And as…

Ephesians 2:5-6
Even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

This is our position, but we must appropriate these truths on a daily basis in order to be free from the past, “Letting Go”, of who we were. That’s why Paul writes, “set your hearts on things above.” I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “He’s so heavenly minded that he’s no earthly good.” While I guess that’s possible, it’s more likely that people today are so worldly minded that they’re no heavenly or earthly good. If we truly set our hearts on things above, we will experience power and freedom here on earth. The word “set” means to seek something out with a desire to possess it. The word is in the present tense, which implies that we’re to continue to seek the things above. It’s not just a one-time decision, but is to be a daily activity.

Jesus put it this way in…

Matthew 6:21
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

If our focus is on things that will ultimately rust, tarnish, break down, or burn up, our energy and emotions will be misplaced. If we seek out Christ and allow Him to become our ultimate treasure, our hearts will soon follow, willingly. 

Knowing that “Christ is seated at the right hand of God” provides a much-needed reminder that Jesus is supreme and in control. This phrase echoes Psalm 110:1, which is the most quoted Old Testament passage in the New Testament: “The Lord says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’” Jesus is exalted and sits at the right hand of the Father, which shows that His redemptive work is now complete. 

The first command is to “seeks those things which are above.” The second is to “set our minds on things above, not on earthly things.” This literally translates, “Keep on thinking, as a matter of habit, “on things above, not on things on the earth.”

Our feet must be on earth, but our minds must be in heaven. Thoughts can influence actions, so if we place our thoughts above and not on the earth, our behavior will reflect those things that matter to God. This requires a lot effort on our part because we tend to look down by nature, instead of looking up. But if we fix our gaze on things above, God will change our desires. If we allow the Spirit to change our mind, God will change our heart. No more struggling with the flesh. Hard…but not impossible!

We need to put our brain in gear by focusing on those things that are spelled out in…

Philippians 4:8 
8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

By seeking what Christ desires, we have the power to break our obsession with our old selves, and pleasures of how we use to live.This looks back to the cross where we died in Christ. As a result, we have no obligation to live like we used to live. As we live in the reminder of Galatians 2:20, “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me”. Because we’ve died with Christ, we should have as little desire for improper worldly pleasures as a dead person would have. We don’t just receive a cosmetic makeover or simply add a Christian veneer that only laminates our life. Our old nature is not renewed or even reformed, instead, it has been put to death.

Our life being “hidden in Christ” as mentioned in Colossians 3:3… To have our lives hidden with the One who is seated at the right hand of God gives us both security and satisfaction. The image here is treasure that is stored away in a secure place. Like a seed buried in the earth, our real lives are hidden from the world, only to be revealed when Christ returns. Our new life is a mystery or secret to those who don’t understand spiritual matters. Why? Because only those who have the Spirit, can understand Spiritual things…

1 Corinthians 2:14
14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

They are still dead…spiritually dead. Impossible to set their minds on thing above.
In a very real sense for the believer, Christ is what life is all about. Without Him we would be dead in our sins. In John 14:6, Jesus said about himself: “I am the way, the truth, and the life…” By realizing that Christ is our life, we can have a new attitude about anything that happens to us. If… He is truly our life, we have nothing to fear.
Since Jesus is coming again, it only makes sense that we should be looking up on a continuous basis. The phrase, “when” is better translated, “whenever Christ appears.” The fact of His return is certain but the time is indefinite. Since we don’t know the when, we must keep watching.

We will appear with Him in Glory Col 3:4. The verb, “appear” means “to make visible what is invisible.” When Christ returns, the real position of the believer, which has been hidden to the world, will be made known.
When Jesus is revealed in His glory, we shall be totally transformed according to
 1 John 3:2…

1 John 3:2
2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

Paul is urging us to look up and remember who we are now, who we once were, and who we will be when Christ returns. Where are you looking this afternoon? What does your mind focus on? What gets the attention of your heart? Church, we must make a conscious, deliberate, and daily decision to look up and set our minds and hearts on heavenly things. Our outlook determines our outcome. Keeping our minds and hearts in the right place will often determine where we end up. 

Not only must we look up, meaning, to set our mind on things above,we must also look out. We see this in…Colossians 3:5-10

Colossians 3:5-10
5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7 in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.
8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him.

Remember…we’re suppose to be dead, but alive in Christ! We need to start “Letting Go”, of who we were. Because we have died and been raised with Christ, we have the spiritual power to slay those desires that want to control us. We have died to sin, but we must render sinful desires as powerless. While we can’t totally eliminate, or destroy the sinful nature, we can treat it as a morally impotent force. The new life calls for more than a few practices or habits and being puffed up in our spiritual life by going to church once in a while, or being religious. Positionally, we’ve died with Christ. Now we need to live it out practically, daily. Again… its hard I know, but not impossible.

Romans 6:1-4
6 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Anytime we see these desires begin to awaken in our lives we need to grab our spear and thrust it right through them. We need to be zealous for God’s honor by putting them to death. Notice that we’re not just to put them aside. We’re not to wound them or even ask them to leave.
 We’re not to experiment or play around with them, rationalize them or even explain them away. Instead, we’re to kill them. 

There will be times that we do not like hearing about these sins. Maybe you came to church today to be encouraged with a positive message. Listen carefully… Negative warnings and commands grow out of the positive truths of Christian doctrine. Here’s another way to look at it. God loves you too much to allow you to mess up your life with sensual, fleshly desired sins. He’s not a killjoy. He made you and knows what is best for you. 

God’s wrath is balanced within His holiness by mercy, compassion and love. He is repulsed by sin and yet is committed to us in love. Jesus will give you grace but He also tells the truth about your sin because He is the perfect embodiment of both grace and truth. Just as He told the woman caught in adultery to “go now and sin no more,”  ( John 8:11 ) He calls us to look out and stop what we’re doing so that we can follow Him completely. 

Colossians 3:7-9 ( Reminds us )
7 in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.
8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 

In verse 8-9, we’re told to rid ourselves of social sins. By the way, we often dismiss these sins as the “little ones” that we can overlook. Paul doesn’t. The image here, is to let go of the old you.But, before we can put on the new, we must first take off the old. The verb “rid” calls for immediate, decisive resolution. Before new garments of righteousness can be put on, the old rags of sin must be discarded.

Anger is a continuous attitude of hatred that remains bottled up within. 
Rage is what comes bursting out, often uncontrollably. 
Malice is an attitude of ill will towards a person. It’s often a hidden hatred of the heart that takes revenge in secret. 
Slander is when we destroy another person’s good reputation by lies, gossip and the spreading of rumors. 
Filthy language is crude talk or abrasive words and is often filled with swearing and sexual innuendo. 
Lying to one another disrupts unity by destroying trust. It tears down relationships and can lead to serious conflicts.

These are the old you, me…that sometimes, still tends to pop up, and makes its appearance. Lets keep them where they belong…dead!

Since we have taken off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” This is not a command to keep but a truth to claim. Yes!!! we have been made new! It’s already been done. We are exhorted to stop doing certain things because we can stop. We are different therefore we can act differently. As we “set our minds on things above”, we realize that we are no longer what we once were.

The new self has been put on and yet it is “being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” We are created in the image of God but because of our sin, that image has been defaced. God’s purpose is to restore His image in us.

Warren Wiersbe, an author, pastor, Bible teacher, once said “We were formed in God’s image, and deformed from God’s image by sin. But through Jesus Christ, we can be transformed into God’s image once again.”. This is where we take the responsibility to renew our minds according to Romans 12:2…

Romans 12:2
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

God does not want us to try hard and sin less, but to depend upon His power, His Spirit, to be transformed into the people who loves to please Him through willing obedience. That transformation begins in the mind. As mentioned, on our opening verse…

Colossians 3:1-4
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

The message was a little hard today, Wasn’t it? and as it should be, since we will be partaking in the Lords Supper. The remembrance of the Lords body…His blood, should not be taken lightly. It’s precious, its pure. It was sacrificed out of love for you and I.

Prepare For the Lords Supper….