Set Your Mind Above

Introduction

I’m going to be reading from Colossians chapter 3, Colossians chapter 3 beginning in verse 1. We’ve been going down this path of this theme of seeking first, seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. And so far we’ve talked about the idea of what we’re building in our life looking at the book of Haggai and what we make necessary thinking about Martha and Mary and the decisions that they made in that moment in Luke 10. And then last time I was in

Ephesians 5 talking about how we walk. Colossians 3 where we’re going to read is really what is beneath all of that. It’s beneath all of those choices and it has to do with what controls my mind. It has to do with my thinking. What is the demeanor of my heart, the aim of my desire. And while this will overlap in many ways conceptually with the concept of walking from Ephesians 5, in fact that

Term is even used here in Colossians 3 as you’ll see here in just a minute as I read it. It is actually the focus this morning on the idea of where our mind is and what that does for us as people who are trying to respond to God’s call to a higher purpose. To do something more than to just stay where we are, to be content with who we are now, to be growing and transforming in our life and renewing our mind. So that’ll be the focus this morning. It’s so good to be

With you. It was good to be away at Clarksville and to do the meeting there and I enjoyed meeting new people, but it’s always good to be home and to see familiar faces and to worship God and sing praises together. Let’s begin reading in Colossians chapter 3 in verse 1. Colossians 3 and verse 1, it says, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand

Of God. Set your minds on the things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you, sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these,

The wrath of God is coming. And these two you once walked when you were living in them, but now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew,

Circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free, but Christ is all and in all. Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 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. And above all these, put on love, which binds everything together in perfect

Harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful. 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. 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. As we think about the idea of our thoughts and our heart, the key question as we consider this is what is controlling my mind? I want to work through this really just going through the text essentially in order with what Paul’s presenting to them and thinking about different aspects of thought and what

This means. And the first of this, none of this is going to be revolutionary or things you’ve never heard before. This is just kind of re-centering the way our mind is working this morning and thinking about the importance of how we think. And the first of that is just asking these questions. If I’m considering what is controlling my mind, I going to have to think through some questions and we’re going to work through that this morning.

1. Where Is My Mind Set?

And the first of those is, where is my mind set? Well, what is Paul getting at when he says this? He talks about our mind being set on things above, not on things of the earth. And I would suggest you this really has to do with perspective. It has to be the orientation of our mind. We live in the world, we are part of the world, and I don’t think what Paul’s trying to do here is divide

Physical life with kind of a vague concept, this kind of an undefinable spirituality or something like that. It’s viewing our life in the world as something that is connected to Christ. And it’s always connected to Christ. It doesn’t matter where we are or what we’re doing, we our life is hidden with him. And this is the idea you have in the first few

Verses. He’s he’s saying, if you’ve made this decision, if you’re a follower of Jesus, if you’re a disciple, you’ve been raised with him. Your life is different. You have been transformed into something else, and now what we seek and what we desire is different and it is where Christ is. That’s the definition of what is above. it is it is not that we can’t ever think about eating or about making money or about any of the things those

Are just necessary parts of life, but it’s the means by which we work through that process of thinking about those things and how important they are and what actually drives us in life. So, above, setting our minds on things above, is really defined by the fact that our life is hidden with Christ. Above is where Christ is. He’s seated at the right hand of God, which is a royal statement about the fact that he’s ruling and he’s reigning.

And so, what my mind should be set on, if I’m thinking about things above, is the reality of Christ’s rule, his reign. That I am a part now of his kingdom and then that defines the boundaries by which I should think, of what should dominate my thought. We could think of this maybe in terms of we are Americans and we live in this country and so because of that we’re going to think certain ways and we’re going to abide by certain rules. We’re

Going to have a certain perspective. And if we go other places and we see other things, we have to change some of that. We have to kind of adapt if we go to Asia or Europe and they don’t do things exactly like we do and they don’t think exactly like we do, then there’s just differences and so our mind is going to operate in a different way. I remember when I was younger Katie and I went to Jamaica. We did some VBS stuff with Brother David

Tant, some of you may know him. This is really the first time I’d been out of the country. and I had I don’t know, a very different perspective on things and that helped me a lot. But one of the weirdest things that I remember is we went to Burger King and you get food there and I got my food and it came out and I wanted some more ketchup and you had to pay for that.

Not you have to pay for ketchup? What is wrong with you people? You know, it’s just that And that was really weird to me at first, right? And so these weird things that our mind is just oriented in a different way and I had to learn traveling overseas various other times. You pay for water, you pay for ketchup and that’s just how it is and you adapt and you don’t bring your American mindset to some place that’s

Not America. And what Jesus is wanting us to understand is being a part of his kingdom is we have to have a different way of thinking. Our mind shifts and it changes and that’s what Paul’s getting at here. We’re setting our minds on the things that are above. on a way of thinking that’s different than the way the world works. This is about principle. This is the principle of how we work and we’re going to come back to

This a little bit later in a little different angle when we get to the end of the sermon this morning, but this is about perspective, but it’s also about the principle in which our thinking works. We don’t think the way that we used to think. That’s the idea. When we were not in Christ, when we weren’t following Christ, we thought in different ways. And we operated in different ways. And now that we have given ourselves to

Jesus Christ and he is the king of our life, now our thinking needs to shift, and we’re going to set our minds on different things. The problem in all of this is not thinking about things in the world. You know, you got to maintain your house, and you got to make sure your car is running, or you maybe you need to It’s not that you can’t think about these earthly bound things. We’re in the world, we can’t get away from that. But

The concept that we’re getting out here is what is the lens by which we view an ordered life. Are thinking about all those things the most important things? Or are they just some necessary things that we have to take care of while we are temporarily here? And the way that we think about work or play or the things that we do then are incorporated into our life in Christ in such a way that we are preparing for

Something much better. the direction of our mind and the perspective with which we work is going to be different with those who are in Christ. So, maybe it’s just easier to look at this chart to see this. And trying to kind of think about what I don’t want us to get the idea of is kind of a very gnostic concept that like the body is bad and things in the body is bad and material things are bad and inherently evil, and what’s really good

Is just only thinking spiritual thoughts all the time. That’s that’s not reality. when you got up this morning, you probably took a shower or did something to get yourself presentable. You made sure you had nice clothes to put Those are material concerns. And that’s just part of life. But the reason you did that may have to do with your lens and the way you see you see this. You were going

To be around other people, and you wanted to be respectful in the way you dressed, in the way you presented yourself. And that’s a different sort of thing than just I want attention or I want to look good. Those that’s a different way to see things. And so, when we’re thinking about the way our mind is set, and where we are grounded, it makes a difference the lens through which we’re looking at all this. The mind that

Is set above means that Christ determines what is most important in life. He determines what matters to us. As opposed to the mind that is set on the earth in which the way the world works is what determines what is actually most important. And we could run through this list and kind of go in detail about all of these and I’m not going to do that. I’ll just throw out a few examples.

One of these is we see life, if we were in Christ, through the lens of looking to eternity. And because of that, circumstances don’t necessarily determine what is most important. we don’t determine that the value of life based on the moment, on what’s happening right now. There’s something better and something off in the distance that’s driving us to think differently about life.

Which shapes our desires, it shapes the direction of our heart. And so what Paul’s getting at here is again, not that you can’t think about any material or earthly things, but it is the orientation of our mind. Where our mind is focused and what is most important and why we are doing the things that we are doing. Remember, he says, where your life really is in verses 3 and 4. For you have died.

Right? Well, that’s the implied concept in verse 1. If you’ve been raised with Christ, well, that means you’ve died. He’s using death and resurrection language here. Who you were is gone. The person that you were, now that’s different. So, remember that and your life now is hidden with Christ in God. And he actually sort of begins this section thinking about the end. He’s looking off to the future. He says, when Christ who is your life appears, if your

Mind is set on the things above and you’ve reoriented who you are and your thinking, then when he appears again in glory, you’re going to be with him. That’s the end of this. If you’ve gone from the worldly sort of thinking which only focuses on the things that matter in the world and you’ve transitioned to now thinking about the things of God and even the things that we see in life that are a

Part of life, like how we use our money, right? That’s a material thing, but if we are good stewards and we are those who are focused with a lens on Jesus Christ, we’re going to use our money in different ways than someone who isn’t, right? So, it’s not that something is material, it’s the way that we think about even those material things makes a difference. And so, this is the principle that Paul

2. What Is Shaping My Mind?

Wants us to begin with in this idea of seeking things that are above and setting our mind on things that are above. But then he moves into the concept of process. Right? So, the principle, which I think is fairly simple. I mean, someone could say, “Yes, you should set your mind on things above.” And we all say, “Yes, that’s true. We should do that.” But how do we do that? What does that look

Like in real life? What’s What’s taking place within me when I’m actually seeking things above and I’m setting my mind on things above? What looks different? You know, if someone’s looking at you and you’re doing that and someone else is not doing that, what is the difference? How are we going to tangibly see some kind of difference with the life where a mind is set on the things of Jesus

Christ and things above than a mind that is set on things on the earth? Well, the difference is going to be revealed in the actions that come out of that. Right? So, this is where we see our thoughts then work into our walk. Or as Jesus says in Matthew 12:34, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” Right? So, the words that we’re saying,

They say something about what’s in here. That’s Jesus’ point. That where our mind is eventually then impacts the things that are seen externally. And what we’re seeing in this text is the reality that things shape us. What is our What is around us is shaping who I am. And if I want to control my mind, if I want a mind that is set on things above, I have to ask myself, what is shaping my mind?

What am I subjecting my mind and my heart to on a regular basis that’s going to begin shaping who I am beginning with the way I think. That’s the beginning of this. It’s the way my mind works and the way my heart works. These are interconnected in scripture. They’re essentially talking about the same thing in a slightly different way. The heart may incorporate a little bit more of the will, not just

The information that I’m processing, but that’s where all of this is going to begin. The thoughts that I have and then what is born out of those thoughts. Paul says, if we’re going to live on this principle of setting our mind on things above, there’s some ways we’re going to have to change our thinking. And that doesn’t just happen overnight. I think we all are aware of that. Someone is baptized into Christ and they

Come out a new person. This is exactly what Paul’s dealing with after baptism, after you have been delivered from your sins, then what? There is this transformation that has to begin to take place where you are changing from the old man and you are becoming the new. And so he says in verse 5, put to death you’ve already died with Christ, but now it’s putting to death the way the mind works as a person of the world.

No longer thinking on things like sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, covetousness. This is the idea of just setting other things before God. So he says that’s idolatry. So I have to be honest with myself about what is it I’m putting in front of my brain. If I really want to have a mind that is seeking the things of God, what am I regularly putting in front of my

Mind? What am I filling my head with? What am I allowing to shape me? And often this doesn’t happen in some big way. You know, it’s not that something says, “Hey, by the way, I’m going to shape your brain today.” No, it’s just that we continually or regularly are being influenced by people or by events, by things that we are allowing to come into our mind and to work in us.

And this affects even what we just talked about the setting of the mind. We when we begin to let the things of the world filter in and become part of our thinking on a regular basis, then we begin to lose the principle of why it’s so important to set our minds above. Simon Sinek in his book, which maybe many of you have read, Start With Why, he has a great illustration where he talks about Navy SEAL training.

And part of this is obviously brutal and purposely done and essentially to make them want to quit. And what sets them apart is not who is the strongest, who is the most fit. Probably most of them have a pretty high level of fitness and strength as it is. But even if they could measure that, and they have through these studies, it’s not that someone came in and they had the lowest body fat ratio and then all of that, it had to do with their

Mind. And the way their mind works. And in fact, they’ve incorporated this into part of the training of helping them make it through where they begin asking, “Why are you doing this?” You know, and if the answers are, “I’m doing this because I want to be a Navy SEAL,” “I’m doing this because I want some kind of status.” It’s if it’s all internal and about me and what I want to

Accomplish, those people fail. But when it is based on something else like, “I want to take care of my family” or “I care about my country.” Right? Or “I’m not someone who’s a quitter.” Right? It comes down to things like identity or thinking outside of self. And this is the idea of being in Christ. If I’m some I’ve seen my identity as being in Christ, that’s a principle level by which my mind is going to work

Where a lot of decisions are already made. Do you see how that works? That’s the point they make. If you say, “I’m not the kind of person who quits,” you’ve already made a lot of decisions. And this is just kind of a everyday life sort of example of how this works. But I think we can see how this connects to what we are trying to be as Christians. When we work on this principle level that we’re going to set our mind on the things of Christ, it should already make

A lot of decisions for us about who we are and what we’re going to allow into our mind. We’re going to put away old ways of thinking. And Paul identifies what a lot of this disordered type of thinking is. It is allowing our passions and our desires to drive us. Rather than seeing the importance of a desire for the things of God. Being renewed,

As he says, in the knowledge after the image of our creator. And what happens in this process, if we’re going to renew our thinking, is we’re going to change the perspective, right, based on this principle, from what really matters. It’s no longer our desire, but it is the will of God that truly matters. And we’re we’re going to be the kind of people who, rather than getting angry and acting with hate, we’re going to be

The kind of people who move our direction toward compassion and kindness and love. Rather than operating with vengeance and trying to get ours, we are going to be focused on the kingdom of Christ and what’s good for that. And rather than focused on self, which is sort of what all of this is aiming toward, we’re really focused on the goodness of what we find in Jesus Christ and spreading that to others.

Some of these things are actions. Right? And the very first part of this in verse 5, and when he says, “Put to death some of these things,” something like sexual immorality is obviously it’s an impure action. It’s a behavior that it comes from a mind that is not oriented toward the things of God. That’s what leads to that kind of behavior. But if we have set our mind on the things of God, it helps with

Making the decision to stay away from things like these evil desires. And in the midst of all of that, what we’re seeing though is that it this is a process. It’s a process by which as we change the way we think, we are going to begin to see a change in our actions as well in the way that we walk. That’s what Paul is after here. He knows just as well as we do that

We don’t change immediately overnight. It takes time and it takes a lot of bearing with one another and forgiving each other and realizing that we are all weak in our humanity. But part of this is our minds being renewed in knowledge so that we are recreated after the image of his son. That’s transformation. It’s what we sang about already this morning. We can changed from the inside out.

That’s what Romans 12 is all about, not being conformed, right? This is just another way to say the same thing. Do not be conformed to the world. That’s saying don’t have your mind on the things of the earth, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. And the whole image and concept there in Romans 12:1, which is very similar to what we have here in Colossians 3, is that we are using discernment from day

To day to decide the things as we give our bodies as a living sacrifice, we’re working to decide the things that are good and acceptable to God. That’s our aim. Not what makes me happy, what makes me feel good, what desires are fulfilled. That’s the mindset on the things of the earth. And in some ways, this is not always the case, but in some ways it can be even the same actions, but with the right

Lens that makes all the difference. That we’re thinking on the things of God and how to please him, desiring to please him in our life. It is very easy for us to ignore the realities that things shape our minds. I think the most simple way this happens is just the literal things we put in front of us all the time.

You know, the stuff that we watch, the things that we listen to. If we think that doesn’t shape us, we are very naive. If we don’t think that the content that we are pouring into our brain doesn’t have an influence then on our thinking and then our actions, we are ignoring very clear text like Colossians 3 and Romans 12. So, all I can do is just say we need to be very careful.

I’m not going to make a bunch of rules for you on what you can watch and what you can listen to, but I will say this, don’t be naive. Don’t be naive about the reality of what it does and how it affects us. This is part of life in this world, part of human life and human struggle and human weakness. Is that the content that we are regularly feeding ourselves is going to

Be what shapes what we are becoming? And that’s why I think that the real crux of this passage is in verse 10. When he’s talking about putting on the new self, he says it’s being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. What I want us to understand from this is the right kind of information prompts reformation in our life. If we want to be reformed, if we want to reorder our life after the things of

God, we need to be putting the right things in to our mind. We’ve got to feed our mind with the right kind of influences and shape it in the right way. And we will begin to do this long enough and we meditate and we think on it and we pray on it, this is going to be the way in which our lives can be transformed by the renewal of our mind. And anything that is coming from a worldly way of thinking is only an

Interruption to that reality. If I’m regularly feeding my mind with bad information, With things that teach the philosophies of the world and the ideas of the world that is only an impediment. It’s an obstacle to me getting my mind in the right place to be renewed after the knowledge of the son of God. And there’s just realities that we live in the world and we can’t get away from every evil influence. We can’t

Filter out every bad item or every even bad person. It may be that you work with someone who is truly an evil person and they don’t want to do the things of God. They’re not interested. In fact, they may be trying to pull people toward evil and wickedness. That’s just part of the world. Paul says that in 1 Corinthians 5. That’s just a reality. But we do have control often on what we’re

Feeding our brains. And what we’re putting into our minds and realizing the importance of that knowledge then shaping our perspective and the lens through which we see the world even the way in which we perceive reality. Isn’t that interesting someone you disagree with on something you can have a discussion with that they someone who thinks very differently with you about something and they see reality in

A very different way than you see reality. That is about our lens. It’s about our perspective. In a very big way it’s about what we filled our minds with and the people we’ve listened to and what we’ve taken in and the biases and the assumptions we now have that then drive us to our way of thinking. And so we have to be very aware and very careful

About all of those realities in life. Putting on new ways causes us to see the world in a different way. So he says no longer being people who are angry or hateful, that’s what malice is or slanderous or use obscene talk. Those are those are the things of the world. That’s a mindset on the world. Instead as God’s chosen people, right? He’s pointing to our identity. We’re the

People of God. We’re the people who are in Christ. Instead, he says in verse 12, put on things like compassion. And sympathy or pity, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, bearing with people. These are the types of things and the sort of lens through which we can see the world that can make such a difference that change the kind of person that I am becoming.

Bearing with one another and forgiving others as the Lord has forgiven you. What a key principle. It’s all through scripture. That my mindset needs to be in one in which I’m not trying to prove I’m right all the time or embarrass or humiliate someone else, but I’m really looking for opportunities to forgive just as Christ has forgiven me. That’s very different than the way the world operates.

In which, at the bottom line, you’re looking out for number one in the end. That’s just the nature of how it works. And so what controls my mind is going to be about what shapes my mind, what I fill my mind with. I don’t I don’t want to rob myself of the next point, but I will say at least in Ephesians 5, that’s the image that’s given in this next section where they kind of parallel,

Do not be filled with wine, which is dissipation, but be filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs and making melody in your hearts to the Lord. The point there is about what you fill your life with. If you fill your life with the things of the world and debauchery, those are going to be the things that come out. But if you fill yourself with the things

3. What Is Guiding My Mind?

Of the Spirit, that’s when the psalms and the hymns and the spiritual songs are going to emerge. The things that build up, that encourage, that teach, and that admonish. And so the last part of this, I think, is more about the philosophy of thought. It is the way in which our mind is guided. It’s about ultimately the practice, the way that we live our life, and the foundation of our thinking, and that

Sustains this cycle. So, I really want you to think about this maybe in terms of this is a cyclical thing. Right, I’m setting my mind on things above, and then I’m shaping my mind with various things, and this is this is going to kind of build up this foundation, but then the foundation also helps me then to continue to set my mind on the things that are above. So, let me explain this a little bit more. If we go back to Colossians chapter 2, Paul’s

Already developed some of this before we get to chapter 3. Right, so the early part of chapter 2, he’s he’s talking about what he’s wanting for these people. he wants their hearts to be encouraged. This is chapter 2 in verse 2. He wants them to be knit together in love, and he wants them to have understanding and knowledge of God’s mystery. He’s already pointed out that what God’s mystery is, this is back in chapter 1 and verse

27, God’s mystery is Christ in you. It is Christ being a part of you. He is in you, and he is shaping your life. That’s what he’s wanting for these people. He says, “In whom,” speaking of Christ, this is verse 3, chapter 2 verse 3, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. The answers to life are in Christ. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I’m

Absent in body, yet I’m with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ. Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him.” So, we have the image of walking here as well. “Rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in Thanksgiving.” This is the part I want you to see here about the philosophy of thinking. “See to it that no one takes you captive

By philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. Be very careful about the philosophies of the world, and this includes religious philosophy as well. But, this is about the way you think about thinking. I know that’s kind of a strange way to put it, but that’s the idea. The way I think about how to think actually matters.

And the source of good thinking actually makes a difference. So, don’t be guided by worldly empty philosophies, traditions, the spirit of the age. All of these are the kinds of things that Paul’s getting at here in Colossians 2. Some of those are religiously oriented. Right, he says, “Watch out for sensationalism.” Watch out for people who claim to be worshipping angels and getting into all these kind of weird sensational kinds of

Things. Watch out for people who are restrictive and want to bind their own traditions on people. Watch out for people who pronounce all sorts of liberties, like you can kind of do whatever you want. All of this is right here in Colossians 2. Watch out for all of that. All of it. Every single bit of it is worldly thinking. That’s empty philosophy. It’s not going to be the thing that helps you. This is what he says in verse 16. “Let no one

Pass judgment on you in question of foods and drink, or with regard to a festival or new moon or a Sabbath.” So, he’s actually hitting a number of things here that are both Jewish and pagan in nature. “These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.” Jesus is the answer, not your restrictions. Jesus is the answer, not your perceived liberties.

Jesus is the answer, not your traditions. And Jesus is the answer, not your sensational beliefs and ideas. It is Jesus who is the answer. He is the foundation of thought. He is who changes who we are from the inside out, not all of those other things. And so, this is what Paul says about this. Let the peace of Christ

Rule in your hearts. This is what should be reigning over us. Letting the peace of Christ rule in our hearts is really this idea of what is governing our minds and our hearts. Right, a familiarity with Jesus, with who he is, with what he believes, with what he does, truly understanding the nature of that, then should govern the way I think and then the way I act. And this is not necessarily that you’re

Going to find some book, chapter, and verse for every single decision. It’s that we know Jesus, that we’ve learned him. This is actually the way he phrases it in Ephesians 4, that if you’ve learned Christ, you’re not going to act in these ways like the Gentiles do. We’re Our mind is going to be operating in a certain way when we are embedded in the things of Christ and we have set our minds on things above and the decisions that we’re making day-to-day, what’s

Going to call the shots? Not our fear, not our greed, not our worldliness, but the peace of Christ that is ruling within us. That’s the contrast, right? This is the sort of thing he’s talking about. Here we let resentment control us or rivalry or selfishness. We let those things rule in our heart, our mind is not in the right place. But we allow the peace of Christ to rule our heart, it shapes

Not just the way we think, but also the way that we ultimately will act. On the philosophical level as well, rather than letting everything be poured into us from the outside, he says, “Here’s what’s really needs to be taking place in your heart. What needs to be dwelling within you? The word of Christ.” Verse 16, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.”

I love how he adds that little modifier there. It’s not just the word dwells in you, but it dwells in you richly. It’s doing things within us. There’s substance there. It’s not just that I read the Bible in a year or I go through a checklist and so I know some things or I memorize some scripture. That can be great. That’s very helpful. but it’s what I’m allowing that word to do, too. It’s making a home in my heart. It’s a part of who I am,

Which then affects the ability to let the peace of Christ rule. So, they’re they’re interconnected. You can’t really separate those. But, the word of Christ is dwelling in us and these are the types of things that are happening. We’re teaching and we’re admonishing. And we’re worshipping. And we’re doing all of this with gratitude. The last of these is he says everything you do.

With everything that you do, verse 17, in word or indeed and I think in thought is captured in this as well. Do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus. That what that means is Christ is enveloping our whole life. It’s not just a section of our life. You know, it’s not just when we’re here or we’re with the people who are here. This is a part of who we are all the time and everything that we do. We should always be able to look to this

And say, “Can I give thanks to God for what I’m doing? Can I give thanks to God for what I’m doing in the workplace? For this deal I’m making?” That’s a part of who we are. We don’t separate secular and spiritual. Those are not two separate things. We are a God’s people all the time. And that should be governing my thoughts and guiding me in the way that I live whether I’m in a place like this or whether I’m in the workplace or in

School or in my home. We are always God’s people and our minds should always be on the things that are above where Christ is. The lens, the perspective of the kind of person who is part of God’s kingdom. Walking in a worthy way as I said in earlier in the book of Colossians in chapter 1 and verse 12. Walking worthy of the reality that God has taken us from the kingdom of darkness and now we are in the kingdom of his beloved son

Walking in the light. That should be shaping our thinking in the various things that we’re doing in life. And so he says, “With everything you do, you do it in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks.” So, all of three of these if you noticed already are tied to the idea of gratitude. He says, “Let the peace of Christ rule

In your hearts and be thankful.” Verse 15, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” And then at the end of that, “With thankfulness in your hearts to God.” “Whatever you do, you do it in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks.” It’s a heart of gratitude. One of contentment. And I want to tread a little lightly on this point this morning, but I think it needs to be made. We see such a

Spirit of victimhood in our culture that is not based in gratitude at all. That is always about me and how I’ve been treated and all the things I’ve faced and the There’s There’s trauma and plenty of people have faced trauma. I’m not dismissing that. But also, we need to overcome in Christ. Through Christ Jesus, we have victory. And that needs to be our focus. That needs to be the aim. And sometimes we are victims.

But the goal is not to stay there. It is to overcome powerfully through Christ Jesus. A recent study pointed out this reality. I thought this was very interesting. among a number of other things that the study pointed out, it said the first person to speak sets the stage for the rest of the conversation. So, once I explain this, it’ll make total sense to you.

You’re at a restaurant with a group of people and someone speaks up and says, “This restaurant is great.” What happens after that? Well, what the study shows is almost everybody is going to say something related to that. “Oh, yeah, I love this. This is really good. I really am The service has been great.” Everything is now shaped toward the positive.

But if the first thing the person says is negative, guess what happens? Everybody starts pulling out all the negative things and what they’re not happy with. Isn’t that interesting? Do we not see how easily our minds are shaped and guided? This is the a study done with thousands

Of people in various settings. And the first person to speak up said, “That may be a good application for us. Let’s be positive today.” Let’s be positive. You could maybe you could pick out things you didn’t like about what I said and talk about that on the way home. You could do that. Or you could talk about how great the singing was this morning. Or whatever other thing and think about what our kids are learning in that

Process. When they’re hearing either positive or negative and how we’re shaping their minds when we’re sitting in a place like this and we’re worshipping God. How wonderful and amazing in that. Let’s point out the positives and the goods of that. And I’m not saying there’s never a time to be critical or point out something that needs to change. That certainly can be the case.

But I just want us to think about the reality of what shapes our mind and how our minds work and how powerful it is. The words that we say and how we affect the people around us. And the philosophy that’s guarding and guiding our thinking makes such a difference. Is my mind shaped by the peace of Christ or by the chaos and trouble of the world? Is my thinking truly shaped by the word of Christ or by the voice of the world

That has made its way into my mind? What is it that’s actually guiding me in my thoughts? And I’ll say it’s sometimes I think more difficult than we may assume. Because culture has shaped us in many ways we don’t even realize at times. And rather than the Lord speaking to us in his voice, we’re hearing the voice of all the things around us telling us what we should believe and what we should think.

Conclusion

And what Colossians 3 is doing is telling us to be very careful. To see the power of influence. And see the importance of setting our minds on the things of God. And so we have this reality. Our minds should be governed by Christ. We should set our minds on the things of Christ. We should allow our influences to help this process of transformation and then looking to him to guide our thinking

Through the peace that comes from knowing we have eternal life with him. If you don’t have that this morning, we would love to help you with it. You don’t have to have all the answers. You don’t have to know everything right now. But you can begin this process. You can give your life to Jesus Christ. You can be buried with him in a death like his and be resurrected in a resurrection like his. And just as Paul says, if you

Have been raised with Christ, now you can begin this process of setting your mind on the things above. And it’s a great life. This is the way to live. And that doesn’t mean you’re never going to face struggles. We’re still going to get sick and we’re going to have financial problems. It doesn’t take care of all the problems of this life, but there is peace in knowing that no matter what happens here, there’s something so much better waiting

For us. Can we help you this morning? Why don’t you come now as we stand and we sing.