Citizens of Heaven Think Differently

Open your Bibles if you want to Colossians chapter three, will be in verses one to four today. The title of the message is: “Citizens of Heaven Think Differently.” “Citizens of Heaven Think Differently.” And just off the bat, the last song that we sung was a synopsis of this message. So, I guess you could just, you know, skip this part, but we'll go forward and look at the Scriptures. But that's why we sing the songs that we sing. Because they are filled with Scripture, and they focus our minds on God and his Word. Have you ever heard the phrase: “He's so heavenly minded, he's no earthly good”? I mean, is that not the most unbiblical phrase you've ever heard? I know it's trying to say, the guy's absent minded, he's a monk in an ivory tower or whatever. But that is just so unbiblical. And I think you'll figure that out today.

As we're here, we are – if you're saved, if you've been born again – you're a citizen of heaven. If you've confessed your sins to God and believed in him, then you're a citizen of heaven. This is not your home. The snowstorm may make you stay here for a while, but this is not your home. Hebrews 11:13 says, we are strangers and exiles on earth. Hebrews 13:14 says, “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.” Philippians 3:20, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 2:11, “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.”

You are a “sojourner” here on earth, you are an “exile.” Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind…” And we're going to talk about that extensively today. The renewal of your mind. What does a renewed mind think about? This world is more like a hotel. You shouldn't desire the things of this world any more than you live for the things in a hotel. You go there and that's not your destination, you're just passing through.

Notice there in Colossians 3:1 it says, “If then you have been raised with Christ.” That is a certainty. The language here is not, have you been raised with Christ? It's a certainty. It's not a question. It's like saying, “Since you're alive, live. Since you're alive, breathe.” It's just natural to a Christian. So, what is what is coming in this passage is built on the first two chapters, our position in Christ, who Christ is. It's one of the most Christological books in all of the New Testament. And it has a lot about who Christ is and what he has done. And it goes on to say, put off the things of this world, and don't try and live like you're still in the world. And he's talking to believers here, Paul, around AD 60 or 62. And he's writing to this group of Colossians that he's never met.

Most likely Epaphras heard the gospel from Paul (earlier in his ministry). And then Epaphras went to this area and planted a church. And now Paul is writing this letter to the church and he's basically saying, “If you're raised with Christ, since you're raised with Christ, now live like this.” And the rest of the chapter is going to substantiate what that looks like in great detail. But we can’t just get to “the put-off section,” as it's called. Or later in Colossians 3, the put-on section. Until we are thinking with our right mind. And so, he's substantiating everything that he's saying in this passage, based on the fact that we have been raised with Christ. He has already talked about in chapter two, you've died with him, now you're raised with him. And you can see just all the parallels that he's going to lay on us, that this heavenly thinking follows who we are in Christ.

So, the first thing he says, point one is: “To seek the things that are above.” Colossians 3:1, If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” He's trying to get us to consider (and points one and two are very similar), but he's trying as we start here, to get us to consider our way of life. But he's trying to get us to think: why do we live the way we live? As a believer, think this way. F.F. Bruce said, “Christians continue to live on earth in their mortal bodies. But they have embarked on a new way of life. Since his people share his risen life, their interests are now centered in his. His interests, in fact, have become theirs.”

Christ's interests have become our interests, the things that we pursue, and the things that we seek have been transformed by Christ. When we were saved we became new, our minds became new. Our interests on Earth have been replaced with our Lord's interests. And we “seek the things that are above, where Christ is.” You could say that holiness represents Christ. Righteousness and truth represent Christ. And so, when we think about where Christ is, he is seated at the right hand of God, he is seated above and beyond all things. It's not just that you're supposed to try and picture what the throne looks like. It's symbolic language to portray that Christ has risen, above all rule, above all things on earth. And because of that, we should dwell on the things that he says we should dwell on.

Paul gives us great truth, to motivate our lives. Seek the things that are above. The truth is that Christ is there, seated at the right hand of God. That is a truth to dwell on. “Seated at the right hand of God” refers to the ultimate place of power. There is no higher position someone could hold. It represents a reality that governs our life. And I wonder, does it truly impact our thinking? How does this matter? Let me try and explain it this way, we are talking about a spiritual reality, but we live here on Earth. And we live in the United States. And in the United States, we are under authority. Are we not? Some of you would like to not be under any authority. But we are under authority. We didn't even have the authority to gather here until we got permission from the city in which we live in. So, we are under all kinds of authority.

And we have divided this power and authority in the United States, under what we would call the three branches of government. But what if the entire Judicial Branch were made up of all women? No, just kidding. That's like a cultural thing. If it were made up of all Christians. The culture wants us to think that the solution to our world is to make the government do what they want. But what if the entire judicial branch was made up of sanctified believers? That is the Supreme Court, born again, blood-bought believers. And every single federal court, state and local court was made up only of believers. And every decision that was brought before those courts was determined based on the Word of God. That would be quite the change. Now add to that the Executive Branch, the White House, the President and the Vice President, always and only sanctified believers. Would that change things? Would that change your outlook on life?

What about the Legislative Branch? Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Everyone, every single person, Christian, sold out, Bible reading, meditating on God, thinking about his glory, thinking about his grace, thinking about his love. And as they think about who the “We the People” are, the fourth branch, if you wish, it was only and always to our benefit. How would that change things? How would that change how we are ruled? Would that brighten your day? I mean, it would brighten my day. I would love that. We should pray for that. But Jesus rules over all, already, right now? And how does that brighten our day? How does that impact our thinking? That all those branches of government only exists because God allows them to. That God rules and reigns over all of those people and every decision they make. They can't make a single decision that God does not allow, permit, ordain. However you like to say it, that God is in control of all things.

Jesus could act at any moment to change everything. We pray the Lord's Prayer, “Our Father who art in heaven,” right, the seat of power. “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.” You're praying for God's judgment on yourself, and his rule and reign to come into full power every time you pray that prayer. But by his sovereign design, he wants us to learn to live and to act now in the situation and the circumstances we have, so that we can learn how to live a sanctified life, because of Christ, not because of the circumstances. It's not hard to live the way God wants us to when everything's going well. You don't you don't learn the value of a soldier in peacetime. You learn the value of an army when it fights, not when it is on vacation.

So, we pursue Jesus, we seek to understand who he is and what he represents in our thinking. That he is at the right hand of God, and that is what we seek in life. Above other things, above the pursuits and the pleasures of this world, which will be outlined in great detail in the forthcoming verses. But we pursue all of those things now. How does Christ impact that thinking? Jesus being at the right hand of God represents much, doesn't it? How did he get there? How did he get there? He was born, lived a perfect life, died on the cross, buried, rose again, conquering sin and death. Ascended to the right hand of God. As we understand his position and his place, it represents all that he has done. So, when we think about him being seated at the right hand of the throne of God, we should be thinking about the things that he has done. The salvation that he secured.

Over and over and over again, we let our sins weigh upon us as though we somehow have to mope around and beg God in some penitential type of way. That we have to do some kind of penance to earn his favor because, we sinned again. But yet he is seated there also as our Advocate, Scripture says. Pleading his own blood on our behalf. We should be released from those things that Christ has paid for in our lives. They do not define us, Christ does. Christ, who is the perfect righteousness, defines who we are and how we live. And those are the things, the realities, that we should seek to understand and be impacted by. Those things will boil up in us in a way that brings about a sanctified life. You'll see that soon; you'll see “the put all these sins off” section coming. And then “the put all these things on” section, ending with the glory of God. And so how we think impacts how we live, and what we say, and what we do. And this is grace-filled living, it is grace-filled living. And we pursue a Person, we pursue Jesus.

Paul reminds us, we've been raised with Christ. When you think about yourself and other Christians, do you think about that person as already raised with Christ? That person that I love, that I spend time with, they are raised with Christ. Because we are raised with Christ, we seek the things that are above. It's not just a truth that we agree on, it's a foundation for living. And so, as we seek the things that are above we also want to. Point Two, verse two, “Set your mind on things that are above.” Colossians 3:2, “Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” Someone has once said, “We're the sum total of our thoughts.” What do you think about? Heaven forbid, we could all see what we're all thinking right now. What do we think about? What draws your gaze? What draws your attention? What draws your heart? What do you ruminate about during the week? What do you think about when you have a little extra time? What do you want to do with it?

Setting our mind on things that are above takes training. Right, we train our mind. What is your mental training program? Do you have one? How do you take thoughts captive for the glory of God? It starts with knowing you have been buried and raised with Christ. We have to know who we are. There is an example in Scripture that brings out the dangers in ignoring this. It’s a famous passage where the apostle, one of the apostles, gets rebuked for not setting his mind on the things of God. This apostle had set his mind on earthly things in that moment, on what he thought was best for God's program. But it was 100% wrong. And he did this a couple times. So, you know I'm speaking about Peter, right? The guy we all relate to. We'd like to relate to Paul, but we most often relate to Peter, the foot-in-mouth guy, right? But he knew a lot, he knew a lot of Scripture. He knew a lot of Scripture accurately. And in fact, he was pretty amazing. He could spout off the most amazing, Christ-centered truths the world has ever heard, and in the next instant, completely fail, faceplant.

Have you ever been there? Like the day was going so well and then just like garbage comes out. And you're like, “Whoa, where'd that come from?” Well, it came from your heart, but we surprise ourselves. And we think, “Wow, that must be what I'm really like right now.” Peter had just said who Christ was. He's having this conversation with Jesus and the disciples are there. And Jesus says, “But who do you say that I am?” [Matthew 16:15] And you know what he says is, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” [Matthew 16:16]. It’s an amazing declaration of truth. Jesus even confirmed in that passage that the church would be built on Peter's confession. And he says, “on this rock I will build my church” [Matthew 16:18]. That's not the person, that's the confession. I mean, he was nailing it. Everybody was a little confused about things. You see, Jesus was trying to draw out of them, they're thinking about who he was. He had just begun to speak very clearly with them, that he was going to have to go to Jerusalem, he was going to have to suffer many things at the hands of the chief priests and the elders, and he was going to have to die.

And the disciples have all these thoughts swirling in their head. Sometimes we think we know where things are headed and what God wants, but he changes the plan. We think. That's where Peter was, he was tracking, he was relaying great truth. And then all of a sudden, it's like, Jesus says, “Well, I'm going to go die.” And Peter's like, “This can't be right. You're supposed to rule the nations with a rod of iron. You're supposed to take over the government. It’s supposed to be on your shoulders. You're supposed to be the Mighty God.” So Peter, he just couldn't contain himself anymore. And in Matthew 16:22, and following, he rebukes the Son of the living God. He had already confessed he was the Son of the living God. “And Peter,” it says, “took him aside,” that is, Jesus. Picture that. “… and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.’” Even Satan wanted to kill Jesus. And Peter said, “No.” [Matthew 16:23] “But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan!’” Then he says, the part that we don't really quote very much. Do you know what he said after that? “You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

In a split second, Peter had left all the accurate knowledge. He assessed everything the Son of God was saying, and determined in himself, “I must know everything rightly and I need to rebuke you, Jesus.” “You are not setting your mind on the things of God.” “But I want you to take over, and that's what the Scriptures say.” “You're not setting your mind on the things of God.” “I want you to rule all the Nations.” “But you're not setting your mind on the things of God.” We cannot take the place of power, rebuking Jesus is taking his position, and still think we're in line with God. The danger of not setting our mind on the things of God is that we will indeed be a hindrance to God's plan.

As Paul, who wrote to the Colossians – as I said, whom he never met – he didn't want them to be a hindrance to God. He wanted them to live this amazing, abundant life. Focusing on God, not on this world, as he's already said on the asceticism and the things that the world was telling them showed holiness. Don’t focus on those things, focus on the Christ, and who he is. No matter how much truth we know – like Peter, if we're not focused on Christ, we're going to get it wrong. Even though everything in our mind’s lines up just perfectly with what we think God's plan is, we always have to be humbly submitting ourselves to the Lord and our thinking to the Lord.

So, we seek heavenly things. We set our mind on heavenly things. And these two things basically mean we fully identify with Christ, with this new life. It becomes all-consuming. And then in Colossians 3:3-4, he gives us more reasons to think this way. He says this, “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. So, verse three is our current reality. Verse four is our future reality. Verse three is where we live right now, verse four is what's on the way. Verse four is a prophetic statement about what is coming in the future. That when Christ appears, we will appear with him also. So, it's like, you need to get yourself ready. You're going to stand with God! And you need to be ready.

“For you have died,” what does that mean? Well, it means you've died spiritually. “Your life is hidden with Christ,” what does that mean except that you now have a new one. You have a new life, a secure life, in Christ. If there is something that you're trying to get, say it's in the hand of a toddler, pretty easy to get right? The toddler doesn't think so. And their vocal sirens are going to go off when you take that thing from them. Right? But it's nonetheless pretty easy to get. To take it away. If your life is hidden in Christ, who's going to take that from you? Who do they have to go through to take your life away? Christ. That's a picture of the security of who we are in Christ, that our lives are hidden in Christ. It's our spiritual reality now, but one day it will become visible when Christ appears. And the whole world will see what we now enjoy.

Notice here in this section, Colossians 3:1-4, the death of Christ is mentioned, his being raised from the dead is mentioned, and his exultation is mentioned. And we're compared to that. We have died with him, we have been raised with him, and we will one day be glorified with him. That's a picture of our spiritual baptism, in Christ. The old life is gone, and the new one has come. But none of this applies if you're not saved. None of these spiritual realities are yours. If you don't know Jesus Christ, then your thinking is worldly. And I would encourage you to think through who Jesus claimed to be. He claimed to be seated at the right hand of God. That also means he was accepted by God; his life was accepted by God. And He claimed to be God. He says, “I am.” He claimed the memorial name of God, he claimed to be God in flesh. He claimed to be the only way to have your sins forgiven. So, none of these spiritual realities, this glory of being with Christ, are yours if you don't know Jesus Christ. The wrath of God remains on you. If you are still in your sin, then you are dead in your sin. And you need to confess that sin to the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. And he says, “Whoever comes to me, I will not cast out.” So, it's not about you trying to be a good person, and then come to Jesus. It's not about God saying, “Wow, there's a good one right there. I'm going to take that one.” No, it's all based on Christ. And our confession of faith is the way that the Lord brings salvation to us. It's a grace of God, it's a work of God.

Sometimes we are so busy with life. We're so busy with the details and what's going on and pursuing this world that we never stop to consider: Are we truly in Christ? I grew up in the church. I grew up being able to give you the church answers, you know. We call that level one. Who is Jesus? He's God. What a great young boy. Right? How do you get to heaven? Jesus. If you just put “Jesus” in every answer you get through all the adult’s questions. You love church, right? I love being here. Why did I love being here? Because you love me being here. I grew up in the church. I grew up listening to my father preach. I grew up being told I was a Christian. I grew up being told, “Wow, you must be saved. You love being at the church and you even serve at the church, you're really sanctified.” I was running the audio at like age 11, or something like that. Which basically meant turn it on, right? You think you're doing a lot but no, it's just turn it on, don't touch it. “Okay, I'm running audio.” That's what our audio used to be. And if there was a problem, no one knew how to fix it.

Being saved is not about being in a seat. It's about being in the Savior. It's about pursuing Jesus, seeking the things that are in heaven. That should be what we do already. Seeking the things above, set your mind on the things above. That's what Christians do already. This is just like level 101 kind of things. And until somebody looks at us and says, “You know, you say the right answers, but I'm not sure if you're saved.” We will call that unloving in this world, but I would call it the most loving thing. You look like you're healthy, but you're going around in a wheelchair. Something's not measuring up. And we need to take the time to truly consider our hearts before God. Because we will stand before God. And we will give an account of every careless word spoken and every deed. If you say, “Yeah, I'm saved,” you will give an account for it, of every word. And there will be no condemnation but that doesn't get you out of giving an account. So, we need to think, are we in Christ? And if we are in Christ, and if we set our mind on the things above and seek the things that are above. Then we understand that his death, his resurrection, his exultation is the foundation upon which this life is built.

“What God has done for his people,” F.F. Bruce says, “is the grand argument and incentive for Christian living.” What God has done. How we live, depends on where you want to go. Right? How you live, depends on where you want to go. Let's say you were trying to fulfill your New Year's resolution and get in shape, and exercise, and all that kind of stuff. And let’s just say we lived in California and so we wanted to go and join the Yosemite rock climbing club. We want to really go after it. And then you see the club has a couple of options coming up. One is to climb Half Dome. Right, there's a staircase on the back, it only takes four to six hours on average, for a healthy hiker to hike up that. That's four to six hours of stair climber, of climbing the steps. I know you're like me, and you sometimes get tired, going from one floor to the other. Now just do that for four hours. Now it's kind of like, “Um, well, I've only got nine months to do this. So, I might need to think about how in shape I am, I might need to think about what equipment I need, and the shoes and all that kind of stuff and the coat, if it's going to be cold or not.”

And that's the easy option. The hard option, the advanced people, want to climb El Capitan. That is 3000 feet of granite. It's the largest exposed granite in the world, the tallest. So, to get up that – remember, it took four to six hours to just walk up the back of Half Dome. If you were going to climb this one, it would take you three to five days to climb the face of it. Which means you're going to be sleeping on a suspended cot, thousands of feet in the air. With the wind whipping around, and you know, you open up your little can to eat out of. And if you drop it, it knocks somebody out on the ground. And then you think, “You know, I can't even do two chin ups in a row. This might not be the destination for me. I don't think nine months is going to solve that. I don't even like climbing ladders.” And you start to match up your life with your destination.

And there's two ways to look at this: one, is that your life doesn't match where you say you're going. And that you're just going to be left at the bottom of the mountain. The other is to say, “I'm completely incapable. But my God who sustains me, is capable.” It's like Jesus is the strength of your life. And if he is the strength of your life, then you can climb. Or maybe start by hiking. And you can grow in your walk with Christ. And as you look at how few chin ups you can do, you realize Christ is down there kind of holding you up, every time you exercise your Christian faith. Because you're tethered to Jesus Christ. When he moves, you move. When you run out of strength, he never does. When you don't know the way, he is the way. And our confidence in life grows. Not because of who we are, but because of who he is.

The destination must impact the journey. Through Christ we can make the climb. And I want you to look at Colossians 3:4 again. There is a certainty there. “When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” Listen carefully, Jesus will get you where you need to go. Your part is to follow him. And in this call, this foundation, as we get to the section that details what a Christian life looks like, we need to have the right frame of mind and the right mindset. You will appear with him in glory, that is certain. Be encouraged, Christian. You can't change his plan. Jesus is our future. And when all else fails, he remains because Jesus is mine. Heavenly thinking develops a godly life.

You say, “What things should I think about?” Well, you could read the rest of the chapter. But let me give you a few things to consider as we finish up here. These are just truths, to gird up your day. His blood has washed away all my sin, none of it remains. “Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, but he washed it white as snow.” Nothing can compare with Jesus. Come let us adore him. “Who has felt the nails upon his hands, bearing all the sin of sinful man. Jesus Savior risen now to reign. Behold our God, seated on his throne. Come, let us adore him.” Jesus will reign forever and ever. And we with him in glory. May the glory of Lord fill the earth. Let’s bow our heads in prayer.

Dear Lord God, you ask us to do what is for our benefit. To set our mind on heavenly things. That means we can and should be doing that, Lord God. I pray Lord, for not the guilt of how much we aren't doing these things but for the grace to yet do them right now. Lord, guide our minds and our hearts to consider the wonderful truths of Scripture. To consider who you are and what you have done and where you are going to take us. May these truths strengthen our bones, Lord, today. May they encourage our soul. Lord, we pray right now that you would help us to focus on these heavenly things. And if we do not know you, to confess our sins for your righteous and just and will forgive us.

Friends, let's just take a moment and ask God to help us focus on him today.

Lord God, out of your love you have given us an abundance of truth to consider and we love you for it. In your precious Name, Amen.