This morning, well, a couple weeks ago, we went to California for a trip.
It was great.
And this morning, I was telling Stacey that I think my deep California tan is starting to fade.
Today, we're going to talk about seeing ourselves rightly.
Okay.
So anyway.
So today, though, we are going to talk about the self.
Now, I'm not going to wade into like psychological gobbledygook or something like this, right?
But I want to talk about the self in the way the Bible talks about our self.
So I'm pretty excited about this.
My background is in psychology and stuff like that.
So I can definitely wade off into places, but we won't go there.
We'll talk about the biblical self.
But the first thing I want to talk about is this concept called sanctification.
And sanctification, that's the principle I want to start with.
And it is basically the once a person is justified and saved by grace, then for the rest of their life,
they follow this process of growing to be more like Christ for the rest of their life.
And that process is ongoing work of God in our lives with the goal of looking more like Jesus.
That's basically sanctification.
Now, sanctification is a cooperative work between God and us.
So there are elements where we work together toward our sanctification.
Primarily, though, the Lord works in us.
That's the primary.
God has certain plans.
Philippians 2.13.
It is God who works in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
That's God working in us.
We submit, trust, and pray for his work and power in our lives.
But primarily in sanctification, it's God doing this.
It's his purposes and his work.
All of it truly is his purposes.
Now, we have an active and a passive role.
So the passive role, Romans 12.1, present your bodies as a living sacrifice.
So there's a passive presentation.
I'm presenting my body to God to allow him to do, as you know, the verse goes on to talk about his good will.
In passive, we are dependent on the Holy Spirit and his work within us.
And we present, humble ourselves, lay down our lives, and then he works in us.
Now, we also, that's part of our side of cooperation in sanctification.
The other part of ours is an active role.
Philippians 2.12.
Therefore, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, so now, not only in my presence, but even more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
Now, he does say work out your salvation, not work for your salvation.
So we want to be clear.
This is not a works-based mentality here, but it is working in what he had, in the grace that he's given to us in salvation.
There's directives throughout Scripture.
When it comes to our active role, all through Scripture, we see directives.
Live this way.
Do this this way.
As he tells us what to do, we obey because we love him.
John 14.15, I think it is.
If you obey him, or if you love him, you'll obey him.
Well, that's our cooperative part.
Wayne Grudemey says,
It is important that we continue to grow both in our passive trust in God to sanctify us and in our active striving for holiness and greater obedience in our lives.
Here's an important point.
If we neglect active striving to obey God, we become passive, lazy Christians.
If we neglect the passive role of trusting God and yielding to him, we become proud and overly confident in ourselves.
In either case, our sanctification will be greatly deficient.
We must maintain faith and diligence to obey at the same time.
So, these two flip sides, right?
You can't have one without the other.
So, if we just live in a sense that says, I'm just going to let God work on me.
He'll teach me everything I need to know.
I don't need to really participate with that.
He'll do everything.
That produces a lazy Christian.
On the flip side, pride can exalt in a believer's mind, in a Christian's mind, pride can exalt themselves to where they think they have to work for everything, which is counter gospel, counter grace.
So, sanctification, though, is important for our discussion today in Colossians.
We must realize where the Bible is asking us to cooperate in the sanctification process.
So, we have to realize, okay, when is he telling me what to do?
So, I know where to be obedient and where to follow what he's telling us to look forward with the goal of looking like Christ.
We must listen to the Holy Spirit speaking to our hearts.
We must examine the focus of our self, our self, and ask the hard questions about where your affections are directed.
So, today, I want to talk about the self out of Colossians chapter 3, if you'll turn there.
Colossians chapter 3.
We might call that the flesh.
Our self also needs to be controlled and focused on things above.
So, let's read Colossians chapter 3.
3 through 1 through 11 is our text.
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 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 appear with him in glory.
Put to death, therefore, what is earthly in you.
Sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and toughness, which is idolatry.
On account of these, the wrath of God is coming.
In 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, 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.
So the first thing is setting the self.
Verses 1 and 2, he opens up there in verse 1 with this sort of a question, this if.
If you have been raised, if you have been raised as a believer in Jesus Christ,
and when his grace is imparted to you, you are raised with him to new life.
So that's where the new life comes from.
But that's, he's talking to this crew in Colossae, who is a church,
and he says, if you have been raised, he doesn't just automatically assume,
number one, that his listeners or the readers right there,
but also now that it's in the Bible, down through history, talking to believers,
he doesn't assume that they've all been raised.
Because we know certain things about the church even,
that there are weeds and there are tares, doesn't there are wheat and tares, I'm sorry,
weeds and good fruit.
So there's these two things that both grew up in the church,
and he doesn't take that for granted.
He says, if you have been raised.
Well, he continues, and as he talks about the self as we go,
we can understand how to answer that if question.
It helps us.
It helps us to see our own self in terms of being raised or not.
So the first thing is seek.
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above.
Seek here is a look to apprehend or lay hold of.
More than just simply to discover something,
you know, like a hide and seek.
Oh, I found it.
It's something to apprehend and really take in.
And the things that we seek to apprehend are the things that are above,
where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
The things of the Spirit, the mind of Christ,
the things that are important to Jesus.
That's what we want to apprehend.
How he thinks.
Obviously, it's in Scripture.
And that's what we want to lay hold of.
Seeing his heart, seeing his mind.
That's what we want.
That's the things above.
The things of the Spirit and the mind of Christ.
His church, for example.
Have you sought and apprehended the things above regarding the church?
And the church's importance.
Have you sought those things?
Its mission, our mission, the kingdom of God and all of life together.
We have, that's our mission statement for Christ Church.
Seeking his kingdom first.
Sharing those same kingdom priorities together.
And we all do this together.
In open fellowship and open with each other.
And the way that we communicate.
What about the people?
Have you sought Jesus on his heart for the church people?
As we go about our work.
Jesus is the head of the church.
And so in seeking what he wants for the church.
How the church should operate.
How we should interact with one another.
That's his heart.
Now, when we lose it.
As we'll see here in just a minute.
Is when the old self creeps in.
So there's the new self.
Which is what we were raised to be.
In Christ.
But the old self creeps in.
In anger.
In malice.
In selfish ambition.
In this whole list that he gives here in just a second.
That's when the old self creeps in.
That's when no longer are we seeking Christ.
And his heart for the church.
Now it's something we think we should have for the church.
Something the church should be.
To either fit my mentality.
Or what I know.
Or whatever.
We joke about the carpet a little bit.
This is a beautiful carpet.
I hope you enjoy the carpet.
Especially visitors.
You know.
Take it in.
But each carpet square is different.
And one of the jokes that sort of happened was.
Because we have all heard of churches that fought over the carpet.
Well here.
There is no fighting.
Everyone's got one.
Look at this.
So like that's.
That is when we lose track.
The old man wants to jump in.
And start to take charge.
And take away from.
What Jesus has for the church.
Even.
Well what are the things above as well?
Spiritual gifts and fruits.
We seek as believers.
The gifts and fruits of the spirit.
And these are from above.
Ephesians 4.
7 through 8.
But grace was given to each one of us.
According to the measure.
Of Christ's gift.
Therefore it says.
When he ascended on high.
And he led a host of captives.
And he gave.
Gifts to men.
There's.
His heart.
There's the things above.
When he gives us.
The.
The fruits of the spirit.
And the spiritual gifts.
That is an example.
Um.
I mentioned going to California.
And.
We had an opportunity to go tide pooling.
Has anyone ever done.
Tide pooling.
Like when the ocean goes out.
And it's like all these rocks are there.
And there's little animals.
And crabs.
And sea anemones.
That if you touch them.
They sort of hold on to you.
And it's really weird.
Makes you jump.
Um.
Well we were tide pooling.
Uh.
In Monterey.
By Monterey.
And uh.
Stacy and I were scouring the pools.
Looking for just eating.
All kinds of fun things.
Whatever.
We could find.
But one thing we weren't seeing was.
Starfish.
Uh.
Which now they're.
They're called.
Sea stars.
Because we're woke.
I don't know why they changed it.
We always call them starfish.
That's.
But now they're sea stars.
Right.
We hurt their feedings.
Or something.
Anyway.
So.
We were looking for the starfish.
And we couldn't find any.
We were turning over rocks.
We were looking.
And we kind of went out a little bit further.
Where the.
The water was a little bit deeper.
Couldn't find any out there.
We were asking people.
Hey.
Have you found any starfish out there?
No.
Well.
I was looking on.
So we were seeking.
The starfish.
You know.
We need.
Needed to find one.
And uh.
So we were out.
Uh.
On.
On the beach part.
And.
And kind of looking through.
Sifting.
You know.
There's like seaweed.
And there's all these little.
Uh.
Pieces of animals.
And shells.
And whatever.
You know.
On the beach there.
And I'm kind of moving stuff around.
And looking at it.
And I see.
A starfish.
The size of my thumbnail.
This is probably smaller.
Um.
This thing was a little tiny guy.
Just sitting right.
Just one of them.
Right there.
I thought maybe there's like a whole crowd.
Oh no.
There was one.
We found one.
Sitting right there.
And it was so exciting.
Because we were seeking.
This creature.
And I didn't want to just look at one.
I want to take him home.
You know.
I wanted this.
I wanted.
A nice big one would have been really cool.
But.
A little bitty one's fine.
It's perfect.
I wanted to apprehend.
This starfish.
And I did.
Got it.
Ask.
Seek.
Knock.
Is what Jesus says.
Looking for the things that are on the heart of the risen Christ.
Seek.
To lay hold of things of God.
Not simply to read about it.
Or gain knowledge.
Or things like that.
See.
Any one of us.
Can.
Study our Bibles.
We can read.
And we can understand.
Because we're intelligent beings.
We can all understand things.
There's this difference.
There's this laying hold.
Of the truth.
Laying hold of the fact that he's sitting on the right hand of God.
Laying hold of the fact that.
He died.
For me.
And for you.
That he took the sin of the world.
And we have a place in glory.
Because our life is hidden in him.
We understand that as words on a page.
But there's a step further to apprehend it.
And apply it.
Apply it in our hearts.
Second thing he says.
So the first thing is see.
Second one in verse two.
Set your minds on things that are above.
Not on things that are on the earth.
Set your mind is a phrase.
That's not three different words.
That's a phrase in Greek.
It's phronel.
And that phrase is to direct one's mind to a thing to seek or strive for.
There's a deepness to that phrase.
It's setting affections on.
It's that idea that I was just describing.
Laying hold of the things of God.
But set your mind is where you are focusing on that one thing.
Striving for it.
In other words, it is what directs the compass of our heart.
It sets it.
The true self, if you will.
Matthew 6, 21.
Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Your treasure is your heading.
What is it that you treasure?
That's your heading.
That's your compass.
That is what you set your mind to.
Whether, see, we do it, whether it's good or bad.
Because there's lots of times we set our mind to bad things.
Something other than Christ.
On the submarine, we had digital headings.
Like if you've ever boated or things like that.
On the water, you set a heading.
And so it's at a 360 degrees.
It's a circle.
So, chief of the watch.
Make your heading 250.
250, right?
So that's how they would talk, you know.
And then they would turn.
They would make it 250.
Well, whatever they set on that boat, that's the way it's going.
That's the way, the direction that that boat's going to head.
Because that's where the compass is set.
Believers in Christ set the heading for the things above.
We set it for the things above.
Those things that we've sought and apprehended, the truth, the reality of Jesus,
we apply it and then set our heading that way.
Those things are how we cooperate in sanctification.
Because it's a directive.
You seek.
You set your mind, is what he's saying.
You do this.
That's my part.
That's my active part in sanctification.
I set my mind.
I seek.
Setting your mind is the realm which governs us.
And that realm includes flesh or spirit.
The flesh or the spirit.
Once the mind's direction is set, the thought, actions, and behaviors follow.
Now, you can hear how bad that can go.
Right?
If you set it toward the flesh, the contrast here is in verse 2.
Look at the end.
Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth.
It's either or.
One or the other.
The differentiation between what our hearts desire and move toward is either the earth or the things above.
It's one or the other.
There's not like a middle space.
There's not an inner part here or a neutral.
It's one or the other.
I'm either choosing my compass or God's compass.
How do you truly decide what to set your heart on?
Let's look at Romans 8, 5 through 8.
Turn there with me.
Romans 8.
5 through 8.
And he just expounds on this whole concept.
Okay.
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds.
There's our phrase.
Hang on.
Set their minds on the things of the flesh.
But those who live according to the spirit set their minds on the things of the spirit.
For to set the mind on the flesh is death.
But to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace.
For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God.
For it does not submit to God's law.
Indeed, it cannot.
Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Anything can drive our affections.
Even good things.
We can mess this up.
We can distort something that's good.
This is, as I was thinking about this, of setting our hearts and how we do that and those kind of things.
This silly thing, maybe you've heard it before, of what sparks joy.
Have you ever heard this?
There's a person.
I forgot her name.
Oh, what do you mean?
Kyle?
Yes.
And so this, what sparks joy.
Now, this is something for tidying your space.
Your home.
Your whatever.
Your car.
Whatever space you need to tidy.
That's what she works in.
Okay.
So she's not a theologian or something like this.
I'm not trying to make that out to me.
But I thought about that.
That's what came to mind.
So I looked it up.
And basically, what sparks joy.
So it's a rule for tidying.
And this is what the method says.
I'll read it straight off of the website.
I'm not teaching this, by the way.
I have no idea, but this does or whatever.
Okay.
In the KonMari method, your feelings are the standard for decision making.
Specifically knowing what sparks joy.
To determine this when tidying, the key is to pick up each object one at a time and ask
yourself quietly, does this spark joy?
Pay attention to how your body responds.
Joy is personal, so everyone will experience it differently.
Through the process of selecting only those things that inspire joy, you can identify precisely
what you love and what you need.
Now, like I said, this is not theology that she's purporting here.
But there's a couple of things here.
Is this silly?
Or is it the way we think?
So a couple of points.
Number one, how often do we act on feelings instead of faith?
How often do feelings guide how we interact?
How often do feelings dictate to us where our compass is headed?
What sparks happiness?
What feeds my anger?
What makes me feel safe?
How can I get back?
Where do I get my revenge?
On and on and on.
Those are the feelings that can mess up our compass because it's earthly.
It's the things of earth.
You cannot let feelings dictate your true self compass.
Only truth.
That's the only thing.
What really kind of grabbed me here was her final thought.
When acting on feelings, you can identify precisely what you love.
Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Right?
If I act on my feelings, doesn't it betray what I really love?
If the feelings are negative.
Or if I pursue anything other than the things that Christ would have for me.
For his heart.
It betrays me.
It shows me exactly how I'm off.
Of where things aren't right.
It identifies precisely what I love.
And unfortunately, in those times, it's not Jesus.
It's not the things above.
It's me.
It's myself.
If we go back to verse 2.
Set your minds, your affections, your true self, your heart on things that are above.
And not on the things that are on the earth.
We have an either or situation.
Things above or things of the earth.
What's on the earth?
Let's differentiate here.
We talked about fruits and spiritual gifts and the things that matter to Jesus.
What are the things on the earth then?
Well, we've got you.
Which kind of trips us up right there.
That's probably one of the biggest things that trip us up.
But you can't get rid of yourself.
You have to deal with this.
These are things that we have to do.
We can't ignore.
There's you.
There's your family.
There's your pride.
Your fears.
Your house.
Your selfish ambition.
On and on and on.
Whatever it is that we take and idolize over the things of Christ.
That's the earth.
That's the things of the earth.
And anything can become an idol with which we, quote,
fall in love with something other than Jesus.
So if you set your affections on things above or things of the earth,
that's the question, at least one of them, that I really need to answer.
And I'm asking you to answer.
This is the one that I've thought about a lot as I've prepared this for today.
Is where are my affections?
In each area of my life, what have I set my affections on?
And where does it lead me?
When I'm not setting them on the things of Christ above.
Are you pursuing what satisfies your feelings over truth?
That selfishness is part of another self.
Let's look at verse 3 of Colossians 3.
There's a 4 there.
So he says,
Seek the things that are above where Christ is.
Set your minds on things that are above, not on the earth.
For you have died.
And your life is hidden with Christ.
For the reason we seek and set our minds on things above
is because we are dead to the old self and alive in Christ,
in the new self.
For that reason.
What is the old self?
Romans 6.6
We know that our old self was crucified with him
in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing
so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.
Colossians 2.13
God made us alive together with him.
In Galatians 2.20
I've been crucified with Christ.
It's no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.
And the life I now live in the flesh,
I live by faith in the Son of God
who loved me and gave himself for me.
You have died to death.
John Piper said,
My deadness has died.
Dichotomy.
My deadness has died.
Sin can no longer control you.
We were dead in trespasses or sin,
now alive in Christ.
But we still wrestle with the flesh.
We still have this directive,
part of our sanctification,
our growth to look like Jesus.
We still have this directive that says,
Set your mind for now.
Set your affections on the things above.
Because we wrestle with the old man.
Because we wrestle with the old self
who keeps wanting to get his saying
and lead us and set that compass somewhere else.
Well, Christ is my life.
Look at verse, the second part of three.
Well, just three.
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.
Your life is hidden with Christ in God.
If we go back to our Galatians 2.20 verse,
it's no longer I who live,
but Christ who lives in me.
If we look at Jesus' descriptions thus far
in verses one through four,
and we look at how Jesus is described.
First, raised from the dead in verse one.
Jesus is alive and seated
at the right hand of God the Father.
I have died.
My life is hidden in the Messiah.
My life is hidden in his.
Jesus is my life.
And when Jesus appears,
you also will appear with him in glory.
Now, these amazing realities,
these beautiful expressions of grace and love to us,
these realities should make it easy to obey,
easy to set our minds.
But if you do see Jesus rightly or clearly,
the things of earth will take,
or if you don't see him clearly,
the things of earth then will take precedent.
So we, again,
there's the knowledge.
We can read those verses.
We can see what Jesus has done for us.
But until we bring that in,
until we agree in our hearts
and believe,
we won't see him rightly.
We'll read words on a page,
but that's not truly believing
and seeing him rightly.
And that's when the things of earth take precedent.
And it can take precedent in our personal lives,
in our homes,
in our churches.
If all of our compass is off,
what happens to the church?
What happens to the body?
What do we do when others,
when others exhibit their compass being off,
when others exhibit fruit of not
taking and laying hold
and seeking the things above
and then setting their minds to it?
What do we do?
We help him.
We preach the gospel to him.
We go back over this together.
We encourage.
We talk this.
We share about this.
We fellowship regarding this.
Right?
We don't leave anybody.
We don't let them go.
What's our own personal responsibility?
Well, there's got to be a point
at which I realize
that I'm off.
That takes a bit of looking into my heart, doesn't it?
I have to realize
if my compass is off,
I start to see fruit to that.
I can't pretend that doesn't exist.
That's when I ask the Lord,
what's going on in my heart?
Am I off?
Am I finding that I'm going my way
and not your way?
Parenting is a great example.
I'm going to use parenting
because I don't have any little ones here
or whatever,
so no one can say
whether I'm a good parent or not.
My older ones,
I think they're pretty good.
So parenting is a great example.
Let me read some verses.
Ephesians 6, 1 through 4,
at least just parts of it.
Children, obey your parents in the Lord.
And then later he says,
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger,
but bring them up
in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Children, obey your parents.
Who's that up to?
Who makes that happen?
Parents do.
Yes.
Okay.
Hebrews 12, 7b through 8.
For what son is there
whom his father does not discipline?
If you are left without discipline
in which all have participated,
then you are illegitimate children
and not sons.
Psalm 103, 13.
As the father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion
to those who fear him.
See, we're getting all these pieces in there.
Proverbs 13, 20.
There's way more than this.
I'm just reading a few.
Proverbs 13, 24.
Whoever spares the rod hates his son,
but he who loves him
is diligent to discipline him.
And there's many more.
Many more verses on parenting
all throughout.
And then tons of other applications.
But just these truths
and these verses make our case.
If they are,
these truths,
if they are neglected,
this is what God says right here.
But if we neglect those truths,
maybe wanting to be the child's friend
and not parent,
some of this will be neglected.
Maybe anger running rampant
and not having patience
and compassion like what God offers.
Looking more like Jesus in that way.
Maybe neglecting discipline,
including neglecting spanking.
Maybe a lack of consistency.
These verses all speak to consistency
in parenting
and how we do that.
What about parental laziness?
All these things.
This is an example of the mind
being set on the things of the earth,
not on the things of God.
The beauty and truth
of Jesus in our lives,
hidden in him,
is lost.
Is lost.
If,
if,
when we go to scripture,
when we go to his word,
when we listen
to the spirit,
when we work in community
and we hear
from a brother and sister
speaking into our lives,
this is helping us
set our affections
toward the things above.
We ought not to be mad at that.
We ought not to fight that.
We ought not to find some way
that this doesn't apply to me.
Right?
We set our affections
on the things of God.
when we don't do that,
just using that parenting example,
you've exchanged truth
for a lie.
The truth is,
this is how he says to parent.
It's how he says to do it.
If I get rid of that,
push that out,
I've taken up a lie,
taken up something different
altogether.
Why?
Why would I do that?
Why would I,
why would I make such a
horrible decision like that?
Well,
that particular question
has so many tentacles
into our lives
of why we do the things we do.
This again is,
is why it is important
to ask the Lord
to show us
where it is that,
that I'm focused on me.
I'm focused on the things
right here.
I'm living by sight
and not by faith.
Lord,
how am I doing that?
How am I doing it?
And there's a lot of stuff
that I turn a blind eye to
because maybe I don't want
to look into it.
Maybe I've protected that
for so long
and,
and I've lived this way
for so long.
I've made excuses for it
and I don't want anyone
to really
fight me on it.
So I hold on to that.
verse five
in Colossians.
What does he say to do?
Put to death,
therefore,
what is earthly in you.
Put it to death.
Wow.
Think about those words.
I've shot deer before
and they die,
you know,
when you shoot them.
But it's a life.
Now that's for food.
It's for those kind of things,
right?
I'm careful with all this stuff.
But it's a life.
Think of this.
Put to death.
We're putting something to death.
Those are strong words.
How do I deal
with these things
that are deep in my heart?
How do I deal
with the,
the fruit of the,
my,
uh,
eyes off of the things
above and on the earth?
Put it to death.
He gives a list there.
Oh,
uh,
wait,
let me,
let me say,
uh,
necrosate.
So,
uh,
we have
froneo,
which is set your mind,
a phrase.
And here we have necrosate,
which is put to death.
So it's another phrase here
that he uses.
Um,
and so,
uh,
it translates put to death
or I make to be dead.
I make to be dead.
Right?
Um,
my cooperation is sanctification
right there.
That's part of it.
In the spirit's power,
I put to death
what is earthly in me.
Holy spirit,
show me,
show me these things
that,
that have
wormed their way
into my life,
into my behavior,
into my thinking.
And it's messed me up.
Help me.
These things
in the old self
are so deeply rooted.
I've protected
for so long.
Uh,
we were watching
alone.
Have you guys ever
watched alone
that,
uh,
TV show
where they go out
and they
are alone.
Anyway,
it's a appropriate title.
Um,
anyway,
they're out in the,
in the bush
and stuff like that
and,
and trying to live
and win the game.
But,
but a quote came up
on,
uh,
we saw it the other night
and this quote came up
and Stacy's like,
that'd be a great quote
for what you,
I'm like,
you're right.
Um,
here's the quote.
It says,
man is not what
he thinks he is.
He's what he hides.
Now,
uh,
Andre Matro,
I don't know who he is,
but,
but this thought,
there's a lot of humanism
to that thought.
You could take it
a lot of different ways,
but,
if you think about
the sense
of our
froneo,
the sense of
setting our minds,
we can think
that we're something,
but in all actuality,
it's what's hidden
that we are,
right?
What's hidden?
Well,
it's our,
it's our earthly desires,
it's our internal
compass that's,
ah,
it's those kind of things
that we don't necessarily
even see,
but it's there
and it's driving us.
pray for willingness
to hear.
Are you willing
to hear?
Are you willing
to hear
what might be
difficult
to hear
about yourself?
Are you,
are you willing
to hear
what the Holy Spirit
speaks to you?
Are you willing
to hear
what your community
says to you?
Are you willing
to humble yourself
when Scripture
jives
with what everybody
else is saying
to you?
Man,
that is a place
of humility.
That's a place
where we open
ourselves up
to the fact
that we may be
off,
that we may be
sinning,
that we may be
in a place
where we are
totally just looking
at the things of earth
and nothing else
and fooling ourselves
into thinking
that we're something
that we're not.
Sins that cannot
coexist
with a mindset
on things above.
Sexual immorality,
impurity,
passion,
which from Romans 1,
we know that's
a disgraceful passion,
evil desire,
and covetousness,
which is idolatry.
The wrath of God
will be demonstrated
on those who make
these things
their God.
in other sins
you once walked.
Verse 7,
in these two
you once walked
when you were
living in them,
but now
you must put them
all away.
Anger,
wrath,
malice,
slander,
obscene talk
from your mouth.
Do not lie
to one another.
Do not lie
to one another.
note how all
these sins
can creep
into community.
Yeah.
How they can wreck,
how it can tear
us apart,
how it can divide
all of these things.
If we aren't
listening
and we aren't
careful
to keep our eyes
where they should be,
these things
will come
in here
and divide us.
One drop
of poison
spoils
the whole glass
of water.
We don't want
poison.
We cannot
have poison
in the church.
Put these things
far away
from yourself,
he says.
You have put
off the old self
with its practice
and you have
put on
the new self
this self
is being
renewed
in knowledge.
God is
teaching you.
It's that
sanctification
process.
He's teaching
you.
He's speaking
to you,
guiding you,
making you
into his
image,
the image
of the creator
looking like
his son.
That's where
he's going
with you.
That's where
he's taking.
Paul notes
there are no
boundaries
to this
transformation,
this sanctification
in verse 11.
There's no
racial,
cultural,
social boundaries.
None of that.
None of that
exists.
All matter
to God.
We love
others with
his love.
And Jesus,
if you look at
the very end
there,
look at that
last line.
I think I heard
it prayed two
or three times
already this
morning.
But Christ,
who is all
and in
all,
he is what
matters.
He is the
one that our
eyes are on.
He's the
one that we
seek to
apprehend
his thoughts
and then
set our
minds on
those very
thoughts.
Let's pray.