Set your heart on the things from above

STUDY: #874-CHURCH IN THE HOUSES FROM: OCTOBER 13 @ 19, 2015

Topic: "Set your heart on the things from above" Colossians 3: 2-9 A person becomes a Christian when he repents of his sins, and no longer wants to live away from God; in the life of sin he had. When converted, the person is then baptized in water where he symbolically DIES, and RISES. First, the person is buried. Buried in the water (as if it were on land) as a symbol that he HAS DIED TO A PAST LIFE OF SIN. Then, when emerging from the water (as they are lifted by the one who is baptizing) it’s as if they are RESURRECTED TO A NEW LIFE. Now, if this is true, the new Christian should follow a new path of justice that pleases God! Upon leaving the baptism, as if risen from within the earth to the surface, the person will emerge as A DIFFERENT PERSON! Where is the difference between the before and after the baptism? That right after the baptism THE THOUGHTS of a Christian will focus on THE THINGS FROM ABOVE! This is why in Vs 3:2 the apostle Paul said "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." We must stop being obsessed with trivial (minor, vain), and transient things of the earth because now we are fully involved (tangled, wrapped) in THE REALITIES OF HEAVEN! The Christian starts to attend a church. But many think, and act erroneously towards Christ, and the Church. They have come to Christ, but start to set their eyes on the Church; looking to be helped, and even indulged there. Instead of looking to Christ they look to the Church as if the Church had an obligation to them. These people are still fixing their eyes on the things of the earth, instead of looking up to where the Lord is. YOU ARE IN DEBT TO CHRIST! A Christian should consider the full picture of "eternity", and no longer live as if this world was all that mattered. A Christian will stop obsessing over the things that are considered most important by the world. The ambitions that dominate the world will not impress a Christian. A Christian’s life is hidden with Christ in God ("For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God." Colossians 3:3). A spiritual death is experienced in the baptism, and you are no longer hidden in the earth, but IN CHRIST! The early Christians experienced that the very act of baptism would INVOLVE THE PERSON WITH CHRIST! "Seek those things from above ..." Stop looking so much to the things of this earth that will only lead to the flesh, because our flesh only wants to destroy us. Our life is hidden with Christ in God. You are hidden in Christ; in His cross, in His blood, tucked inside of God. What is hidden cannot be seen. The world cannot discover the secrets of a Christian! Christ is our life! He is your life! In Philippians 1:21, Paul said "... For me to live is Christ ..." Years before, he tells the Galatians: "... I no longer live, but Christ lives in me ..." (Galatians 2:20) This thought was very dear to Paul. Today many say their life is music, their children, sports, work, etc. But for the believer HIS LIFE IS CHRIST! Let’s go back to the beginning of the biblical passage of Colossians. It is precisely why the Christian focuses his mind and heart on things from above, and not on the things of this world. A Christian judge everything in the light of the cross of Christ, in the light of the love of "that of whom gave Himself to save him." When things are judged in light of the cross; then the riches, ambitions, and activities of this world are appreciated at their true value. God allows the Christian to focus all his heart in the "things of above."

Our earthly nature should be put to death. "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature ..." Colossians 3:5 "... sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry ... rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to one another ..." Let’s avoid God's wrath due to these things. " ... Because of these, the wrath of God is coming ..." Colossians 3:6 Here we see the ethical demands (discipline, customs and norms that guide human behavior) of the Gospel on the situation of the Colossian brothers, friends of Paul. Paul begins with a strong demand. The New Testament never hesitates to require, with a certain violence, the total elimination of everything that is against God. You must die to any part of your "I" that is against God, and prevents us from fulfilling His will. We must die to our selfishness, all selfish desires, and ambitions. Let it be a radical transformation (from the root, complete) removing the "I" from the center of our universe! There are things that must be removed! FORNICATION AND UNCLEANLINESS must disappear. Chastity was the only totally new virtue which Christianity brought to the world. DISORDERED PASSIONS AND EVIL DESIRES are those desires that lead men astray. GREED is one of the worst sins. It is the desire to have more. Having an insatiable desire is like trying to fill a container of water that has a hole at the bottom. It was defined as the sinful desire for what belongs to others. It has been described as ruthless selfishness. Its basic structure is the desire for what one has no right to possess. The desire for money leads to theft, the opposite of the desire to give. Such desire is idolatry. The essence of idolatry is the desire for more. The wrath of God cannot help but fall upon those doing these things. The wrath of God is simply the rule of the universe that says a person will reap what they have sown, and no one can evade the consequences of his sin. There are things that must be shed! We must give up all impure pleasure. We must shed ANGER AND BAD TEMPERS (Vs. 8). Anger is a sudden explosion that occurs suddenly, and disappears the same way. MALICE is mental cruelty, an evil mind. We must escape SLANDER, and NOT LIE TO EACH OTHER. Beware of PROFANITY! Our speech should be friendly, pure, and true (truth be told). He who sets his sight, his heart on "things from above" lives pleasing Him who loved, and forgave; saving him from sin. Live a new life! Amen.