Sermon: Set Your Mind on Things Above by Rev. Jessica Johnson
Date: September 1, 2019
Key Scripture Passages: Colossians 3:1-17
Sermon Notes:
Theology: Set Your Mind on Things Above (Colossians 3:1-4)
Put on the New Self3 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Throughout his writings, Paul tends to have a pattern of stating his theology and then stating how to put that theology into practice: theology-practice-theology-practice. Colossians 3 is no different. Here in the first four verses, we find the theological portion. We have been raised with Christ and are to set our minds on things that are above. Our lives are now in Christ.
What are the practical implications of being raised with Christ? First, we no longer have a private life. Honestly, the whole idea of our faith being part of our private lives or having this dichotomy of private faith versus public faith is false teaching. We no longer have a private life, because our life is no longer our own. It belongs to Christ. Being with Christ is happening now. We become new creations now, not in the end when we go to Heaven.
A friend told me a story this week about a relative of hers that was deep into gang life. As some point, he converted to Christianity and begin living life for Christ. He left the gang, which is not easy to do, and he always feared repercussions. However, one day, his former gang members passed him on the street. He tensed up not knowing what was going to happen, and honestly, probably expecting an attack. But you know what? They did not even recognize him at all. He was a new person in Christ. He was so changed, that they did not even know who he was when they saw him. We are to be new creations in Christ. It is not just what you look like or how you behave. Your very core of who you are is different.
A second implication is that we are to set our minds on things above. We are to think and see things like Christ does. The way we make decisions, the way we view things…it should not be an earthly view of things. I have seen an example of this when pastors are talking to other pastors online.
So, for example, yesterday, there was yet another mass shooting in Texas. The mass shooting in Texas is certainly heartbreaking, and we should feel compassion. And if there is a way for us to help hurting people, then, of course, we help hurting people.
But when these things happen, here is where things shift off course a bit. I have seen a couple pastors demand that all pastors should put aside whatever sermon they have planned in order to talk about these shootings or tragic events when they come up. I saw one pastor go so far as to say that if they were to walk into a church, and the pastor was not preaching about the shooting or whatever the event was, then they would never step foot in that church again. I heard yet another tell people on social media that if their pastor was not preaching about the event, then they needed to find a new church or a new pastor.
These insistent demands that whatever mass shooting event occurs in national news bothers me for several reasons.
First – My gut instinct, human reaction is how dare you tell me what to preach.
Second – While these things are tragic, and, like I said, we should help hurting people when we can, and we should pray for them, I think these pastors have some misplaced priorities about preaching. What is preaching? It is proclaiming the Word of God: The Word of God in the person of Christ and the written Word of God, which is the Bible. That is what I must preach every Sunday. I must preach about Christ, and my preaching must be grounded in the Bible. That is what I must do. Social justice has a place, but it can’t have a higher priority than Christ. And while this is subtle, this is where I think people get bogged down into earthly thinking versus heavenly thinking. We focus on earthly problems rather than heavenly solutions.
Third – These demands do not take into account the needs of the local church body. While the shooting in Texas yesterday is tragic, Texas is several states away and does not necessarily have a direct impact on the people in North Carolina. Whereas, something just as tragic could have happened here at the same time that would need to be addressed. As it so happens, one of our families did lose a loved one yesterday. As a pastor of a local congregation, it is the pastor’s job to shepherd the people in front of them, not necessarily rant and rave (which some of these pastors are doing) about tragic events several states away.
We died to our earthly selves. We were raised with Christ. He is the source of our resurrected life, and we are now new creatures because of Christ. And, honestly, we need to think and act like it.
Practice: “Put Off” (Colossians 3:5-11)
SO, how do we do that? Paul divides the practice portion into two parts, and the first part is about what we need to discard from our old lives. It is found in Colossians 3:5-11 which says this:
5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
Basically, we need to tear down any barrier between us and Christ and us and other people. We need to get rid of any sin practices in our lives, and, trust me, this is not easy. They are in our lives for a reason. But Christ gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit to help. We are not alone in defeating our addictions to our sins. Also, all barriers are struck down: racial, socio-economic, religious, political, cultural, etc. We are all the same in Christ’s eyes.
The verse that really struck me was verse 8 about: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk. You turn on the news or social media, and they are just flooded with all of that. Earlier this week, I got mad at someone for a couple of days. It was exhausting. It took my whole focus when I should have been thinking about or doing other things. It wore me out until I decided to just move on and not deal with it anymore or handle it differently. That was just a couple of days. Some of these people on social media live and breathe anger and hatred. They have been consumed by it for YEARS. You can feel the cynicism, anger, and hatred in almost every post, and they just get worse and worse. It is to the point where I just want to roll my eyes, and be like, “What are they complaining about now?” whenever they do post or comment. They are making my cynical about their cynicism! Ha! I have decided to try, as much as possible, to be a light in the darkness, and to encourage hope in Christ whenever I can.
I, honestly, don’t know how they live like that. It is completely draining. All joy is drained out of them. Who wants to live like? I know that I don’t. And the good news, the most awesome news, is that we don’t. We don’t have to live in constant anger and malice. We can instead live in Christ, who is a refreshing breath of air. In Christ, we can find joy, love, and peace.
Practice: “Put On” (Colossians 3:12-17)
The second part of the practice is what we should “put on” or add more of in our lives. It is found in Colossians 3:12-17 which states:
12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Paul doesn’t just tell us what to discard. He tells us what to add, and again, they are added to our lives with the aid of the Holy Spirit. Compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forgiveness, and love…could you imagine what the world would be like if we all practiced these in our lives more?
Final Thoughts
The church is one body with many parts, but we should have unity and function as one. We are one body under Christ. The church is community. It is family. It is God’s family, but since we are adopted into His family, this is our family, too. And families that genuinely care about each other take of each other as well as other people.
Paul closes this section in verse 17 with a final commission: whatever we do or say should be done in the name of Jesus Christ, and that the appropriate response to God’s grace is our gratitude. Did you know that if you journal 3 things you are grateful for and why you are grateful for them every day that you develop more optimistic thinking (less complaining) and become a more resilient person? Try it out this week and see if it changes your impact on other, how your mood changes, how refreshed, etc.
Set your minds on things above. Set your minds on Christ. Follow Christ and see what happens.
It’s an amazing journey.
Challenge: Read Colossians 3 every day this week. Journal 3 things every night this week that you are thankful for and why you are thankful for them.
Date: September 1, 2019
Key Scripture Passages: Colossians 3:1-17
Sermon Notes:
Theology: Set Your Mind on Things Above (Colossians 3:1-4)
Put on the New Self3 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Throughout his writings, Paul tends to have a pattern of stating his theology and then stating how to put that theology into practice: theology-practice-theology-practice. Colossians 3 is no different. Here in the first four verses, we find the theological portion. We have been raised with Christ and are to set our minds on things that are above. Our lives are now in Christ.
What are the practical implications of being raised with Christ? First, we no longer have a private life. Honestly, the whole idea of our faith being part of our private lives or having this dichotomy of private faith versus public faith is false teaching. We no longer have a private life, because our life is no longer our own. It belongs to Christ. Being with Christ is happening now. We become new creations now, not in the end when we go to Heaven.
A friend told me a story this week about a relative of hers that was deep into gang life. As some point, he converted to Christianity and begin living life for Christ. He left the gang, which is not easy to do, and he always feared repercussions. However, one day, his former gang members passed him on the street. He tensed up not knowing what was going to happen, and honestly, probably expecting an attack. But you know what? They did not even recognize him at all. He was a new person in Christ. He was so changed, that they did not even know who he was when they saw him. We are to be new creations in Christ. It is not just what you look like or how you behave. Your very core of who you are is different.
A second implication is that we are to set our minds on things above. We are to think and see things like Christ does. The way we make decisions, the way we view things…it should not be an earthly view of things. I have seen an example of this when pastors are talking to other pastors online.
So, for example, yesterday, there was yet another mass shooting in Texas. The mass shooting in Texas is certainly heartbreaking, and we should feel compassion. And if there is a way for us to help hurting people, then, of course, we help hurting people.
But when these things happen, here is where things shift off course a bit. I have seen a couple pastors demand that all pastors should put aside whatever sermon they have planned in order to talk about these shootings or tragic events when they come up. I saw one pastor go so far as to say that if they were to walk into a church, and the pastor was not preaching about the shooting or whatever the event was, then they would never step foot in that church again. I heard yet another tell people on social media that if their pastor was not preaching about the event, then they needed to find a new church or a new pastor.
These insistent demands that whatever mass shooting event occurs in national news bothers me for several reasons.
First – My gut instinct, human reaction is how dare you tell me what to preach.
Second – While these things are tragic, and, like I said, we should help hurting people when we can, and we should pray for them, I think these pastors have some misplaced priorities about preaching. What is preaching? It is proclaiming the Word of God: The Word of God in the person of Christ and the written Word of God, which is the Bible. That is what I must preach every Sunday. I must preach about Christ, and my preaching must be grounded in the Bible. That is what I must do. Social justice has a place, but it can’t have a higher priority than Christ. And while this is subtle, this is where I think people get bogged down into earthly thinking versus heavenly thinking. We focus on earthly problems rather than heavenly solutions.
Third – These demands do not take into account the needs of the local church body. While the shooting in Texas yesterday is tragic, Texas is several states away and does not necessarily have a direct impact on the people in North Carolina. Whereas, something just as tragic could have happened here at the same time that would need to be addressed. As it so happens, one of our families did lose a loved one yesterday. As a pastor of a local congregation, it is the pastor’s job to shepherd the people in front of them, not necessarily rant and rave (which some of these pastors are doing) about tragic events several states away.
We died to our earthly selves. We were raised with Christ. He is the source of our resurrected life, and we are now new creatures because of Christ. And, honestly, we need to think and act like it.
Practice: “Put Off” (Colossians 3:5-11)
SO, how do we do that? Paul divides the practice portion into two parts, and the first part is about what we need to discard from our old lives. It is found in Colossians 3:5-11 which says this:
5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
Basically, we need to tear down any barrier between us and Christ and us and other people. We need to get rid of any sin practices in our lives, and, trust me, this is not easy. They are in our lives for a reason. But Christ gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit to help. We are not alone in defeating our addictions to our sins. Also, all barriers are struck down: racial, socio-economic, religious, political, cultural, etc. We are all the same in Christ’s eyes.
The verse that really struck me was verse 8 about: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk. You turn on the news or social media, and they are just flooded with all of that. Earlier this week, I got mad at someone for a couple of days. It was exhausting. It took my whole focus when I should have been thinking about or doing other things. It wore me out until I decided to just move on and not deal with it anymore or handle it differently. That was just a couple of days. Some of these people on social media live and breathe anger and hatred. They have been consumed by it for YEARS. You can feel the cynicism, anger, and hatred in almost every post, and they just get worse and worse. It is to the point where I just want to roll my eyes, and be like, “What are they complaining about now?” whenever they do post or comment. They are making my cynical about their cynicism! Ha! I have decided to try, as much as possible, to be a light in the darkness, and to encourage hope in Christ whenever I can.
I, honestly, don’t know how they live like that. It is completely draining. All joy is drained out of them. Who wants to live like? I know that I don’t. And the good news, the most awesome news, is that we don’t. We don’t have to live in constant anger and malice. We can instead live in Christ, who is a refreshing breath of air. In Christ, we can find joy, love, and peace.
Practice: “Put On” (Colossians 3:12-17)
The second part of the practice is what we should “put on” or add more of in our lives. It is found in Colossians 3:12-17 which states:
12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Paul doesn’t just tell us what to discard. He tells us what to add, and again, they are added to our lives with the aid of the Holy Spirit. Compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forgiveness, and love…could you imagine what the world would be like if we all practiced these in our lives more?
Final Thoughts
The church is one body with many parts, but we should have unity and function as one. We are one body under Christ. The church is community. It is family. It is God’s family, but since we are adopted into His family, this is our family, too. And families that genuinely care about each other take of each other as well as other people.
Paul closes this section in verse 17 with a final commission: whatever we do or say should be done in the name of Jesus Christ, and that the appropriate response to God’s grace is our gratitude. Did you know that if you journal 3 things you are grateful for and why you are grateful for them every day that you develop more optimistic thinking (less complaining) and become a more resilient person? Try it out this week and see if it changes your impact on other, how your mood changes, how refreshed, etc.
Set your minds on things above. Set your minds on Christ. Follow Christ and see what happens.
It’s an amazing journey.
Challenge: Read Colossians 3 every day this week. Journal 3 things every night this week that you are thankful for and why you are thankful for them.
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