Father, we give you thanks and praise that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
And we give you thanks and praise that your grace grows us, and only your grace will truly grow us,
so that we are fit for heaven, that we are fit for the new heaven and the new earth.
We ask, Father, that you help us to pay deep attention to your word,
that, in fact, your word may enter deeply into our lives to form us,
so that we, Father, might put ourselves in those postures of obedience,
that your grace might work in us most deeply and flower most beautifully for your glory,
for the good of ourselves and the good of others.
And we ask this in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen.
Please be seated.
So, I have a bit of an embarrassing type of way to open the sermon today.
And the reason it's embarrassing is I was sharing with my wife last night about how this week,
I had an insight about the text that just sort of like it hit me like this.
It just completely knocked me and helped me to see and understand and realize things in a very, very new way.
So, in fact, part of my worry about the sermon, actually, is because it's really helped me to see things in a very, very new way.
I hope I'm not too in...
I hope I'm actually...
You can understand me.
I'm not too all over the place, a little bit like a balloon letting the air out,
and it goes all over the place.
I hope I'm clear.
But the reason it's a bit embarrassing, potentially embarrassing, is I share this insight, and you all just go,
really, George?
That's a sign of you having a big insight?
That's pretty pathetic.
Like, when I have an insight, it's like this.
But it's not an insight.
It was just as if God brought something home to me that has changed.
It's helped to solidify or crystallize different things I've been saying and trying to understand the Bible.
And when I share it with you, I can guarantee you that you're going to just go,
uh, like that doesn't sound much, and I'll just try to explain it.
And part of the thing is, it's an analogy that I've heard used before over the years.
And I think it's partially just that God finally wanted to get something through my unbelievably thick skull.
I have a very, very thick skull.
I can be very, duh.
And part of it is, I think, that I've been meditating so much upon Colossians 2, verses 15 to 23,
which we looked at last week, and Colossians 3, verses 1 to 4,
which is what I've been meditating upon and studying all this week.
And I think it was just the combination of God being gracious to me.
And this analogy actually sort of clicking and making sense in a remarkable way.
So now after this buildup, here's your letdown moment.
What effort is required for an apple to become an orange?
What effort by an apple is required for it to be turned into an orange, or to turn itself into an orange?
Well, of course, the correct answer is that no amount of effort by an apple will ever turn it into an orange.
And no amount of effort by an apple will ever do something that makes it worthy of somehow or another being turned into an orange by some other person,
that it can't be forced.
So why is this actually quite a profound statement, even though you all are now profoundly disappointed,
thinking that, George, was your great insight?
We are going to pray far harder for you, George, in the weeks to come, that you have better insights than that.
Well, let's look at the text.
We're preaching through the book of Colossians,
and we're looking today at Colossians 3, chapter 3, verses 1 to 4.
And as part of the context, just before we read this text,
the part that just went on immediately before this,
one of the ways that I summarized that text was it sets before us Christians a question.
Will I grow me, or will the Lord grow me?
Like a fundamental question.
Will I grow me, or will the Lord grow me?
And one of the things that that text looked at in that question is it talked about different types of religious rituals,
different ways to be in tune with nature.
It talked about different ways to try to develop the mind,
different ways to show that the mind has control over the body,
different ways to try to have visions,
basically almost like a bit of a list, a laundry list,
or a shopping list of the different ways that people try to grow themselves.
And the shocking end of all of that was verse 23 of chapter 2,
where it says,
These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion,
in other words, religion that comes ultimately from the self,
and asceticism and severity to the body.
In other words, it seems to be good,
because it seems to talk about you having a very, very deep commitment that you're very, very devoted to.
And it seems to have an ability to show that you have this control in general,
and you're willing to do without,
and general.
So it's all about control.
It's all about your devotion.
And it seems to be very, very wise.
But, the end of verse 23,
they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
That in fact, this laundry list,
this shopping list of ways that the religions and spiritualities
and self-help technologies of the world throughout history,
and even today,
have attended to try to direct us so that we can grow,
and that we can change,
and that we can develop.
In fact, at the end of the day,
it doesn't stop the fact that there is a deep part in every single human being
that still desires to be God.
It still desires their God project.
And that these things, in fact, don't work.
And then, in chapter 3,
there's a therefore,
which isn't translated in most versions.
It begins like this.
And I'm just going to read the four verses.
It's only four verses.
It's very short and very brief.
And then we're going to return to it and sort of unpack it.
But this contrast, then,
of these things actually don't work,
therefore, or if, or since,
then,
you have been raised with Christ.
Christ.
Seek the things that are above,
where Christ is,
seated at the right hand of God.
Just pause,
and I'll read it again.
You know,
one of the very interesting things about this
is that the very, very first words of Jesus' ministry,
like,
what are the very, very first words that Jesus says in his public ministry?
His first words that are recorded,
of course,
in Luke,
when he's behind in the temple,
but that's sort of,
in a sense,
a little bit of a coming up for air type of moment,
but fundamentally,
Jesus disappears.
He stays working with Joseph and his family.
Sometime along that,
Joseph dies,
and Jesus is a carpenter for some 30,
well,
another 20 some odd years after that event in the temple.
And then the very,
very first words of Jesus' ministry
are recorded in John's Gospel,
and it's a question.
And the question is,
what are you seeking?
It's interesting that Jesus begins his public ministry
with a question.
Not with a declaration,
but with a question.
What are you seeking?
I mean,
that's a very good question for every human being.
What are you seeking?
And Paul actually then develops this thing here a little bit by,
he says,
if then,
in verse one again,
you have been raised with Christ,
seek the things that are above,
where Christ is,
seated at the right hand of God.
And then he sort of doubles down on the idea,
because set,
this next part,
set your mind,
is a different,
it's a deeper type of commitment,
it's a different type of project than seeking,
it's setting.
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 will appear with him in glory.
And I'm going to actually,
I think Andrew has up on the stage,
on the screen,
a more literal translation of verse four.
So I've been using the ESV,
but from the academic commentary research,
a more literal way,
the most literal way of translating verse four,
is when Christ,
your life,
is revealed,
then you also will be revealed with him in glory.
And I'll say that again.
When Christ,
your life,
is revealed,
then you also will be revealed with him in glory.
And this,
of course,
is the Christian hope.
You put your faith and trust in Jesus,
and when you put your faith and trust in Jesus,
he receives you.
And Paul has used a variety of images
to try to communicate what this is,
but it really quite literally means,
and I'm using,
I mean literally,
literally,
not like as a sign for heightened,
like literally,
that what the Bible reveals
is that this profound mystery
that when I am mere mortal,
with all my sins
and all my failings,
all my strengths,
all my weaknesses,
all my genetic predispositions
towards certain things
and away from other types of things,
when I call out to God
and say,
Jesus,
will you be my Savior and my Lord?
Or when I recognize
that that has happened in my life
from my very,
very early age,
because of course,
it's the desire of every Christian parent
that their child never have a moment
that they don't trust in Jesus.
So this giving of yourself to Jesus
can be something that can happen
very,
very young
that just grows and develops
so that a person might say,
I literally,
I've never known a time
when I haven't trusted Jesus
as my Savior and my Lord.
Isn't that the prayer
and the work and labor
of every Christian parent
that that would be the case?
But for those of us
that that wasn't the case,
we say that to Jesus,
and Jesus actually,
we actually,
in a sense,
it's not just that we put our hands in Jesus
and Jesus stays completely,
he is always separate
and he's always different,
but we actually enter into him.
And the Bible earlier used the analogy
in some ways that you can understand
when you see somebody,
whether an adult or a child being baptized,
what you are to understand
is that in a sense
they are plunging into Christ
they plunge into his sinless life,
they plunge into his death upon the cross,
they plunge into him
tasting all there is to taste
of nothing left,
with nothing left,
all there is to taste of death
with nothing that's not tasted,
they plunge into his resurrection.
And in a sense which is true,
but we don't know it in its fullness,
we actually are also,
in a sense,
glorified with him
and that won't be revealed
until,
and this is what it's being talked about.
And because of the way
we human beings are,
when we,
in a sense,
are immersed in Christ,
and this is something
that baptism can't symbolize,
but it's proclaimed
as part of the teaching,
but by the way,
baptism doesn't do it in itself,
right?
That baptism is an outward act
to signify
what's something that,
that's something
that only God can do,
right?
And because of the way
human beings are,
that when we plunge
into Christ
and are immersed in him,
he comes into us.
That human beings,
in a sense,
are like sponges.
If you put a sponge
and immerse it in water,
the water goes in the sponge.
And in the same way,
Christ enters into us.
And this is the profound
and wonderful teaching
of the Bible
about what happens
to us
when we are in Christ.
But then the question is,
how do we grow?
Like,
how is it that we grow?
And what is it
that we're going to become?
And this is
where we go back
to my very, very
mind-bogglingly
unprofound question,
how does an apple
become an orange?
And the fact is,
an apple can never
become an orange.
But look again
at verse 4.
Here's the
apple-orange analogy
coming to completion.
When Christ,
your life,
is revealed,
then you also
will be revealed
with him
in glory.
C.S. Lewis
has a very, very
wonderful analogy
where he talks about
the eternal weight
of glory.
He's really looking
at that wonderful part
in 2 Corinthians
where it talks about
how God is preparing
ordinary people
like you and me
for an eternal
weight of glory.
And C.S. Lewis
has this wonderful
analogy that if we
were to see now,
and I'll just pick
Andrew.
He's a good guy.
Maybe there's lots
of different ways
we'd like to be
more like Andrew.
But if we were to see
Andrew,
if all of a sudden
we were to see
Andrew the way
he will be
when verse 4
is actually true
in history,
there will be a time
when Andrew
will see Jesus
face to face.
And then Andrew
will be revealed
with Jesus in glory.
And we'll know
it's Andrew.
But if we were
to see Andrew
like this
in the future
right now,
all of us
would in fact
have to shield
our eyes
from his glory
and we'd all
be tempted
to fall down
and worship him.
On one hand,
Andrew is still Andrew.
I mean,
the Bible has
this very precious
promise
that in heaven
we'll recognize
each other.
You know,
in the story
of Jesus
at the Transfiguration,
people could recognize
Moses and Elijah.
You don't lose
your identity.
But what happens
when verse 4
becomes true,
the title of this sermon
is The True
and Better
Authentic You.
The True
and Better
Authentic You.
And in some way then,
sorry Andrew,
I'm going to keep using you.
I'm saying your name
too much to take out
of the audio
and it'll also be,
of course,
on this.
So I'm just using you
as an example
just because you're
sort of over there
when I look towards
the camera,
I can see you
and I know you can
handle it.
But, you know,
if you had Andrew's kids
on a separate thing,
Andrew wasn't around,
I bet Andrew's kids
could imitate Andrew.
I mean,
my kids do that to me.
Sometimes a bit embarrassing
to see how my kids
imitate me
and I think,
I do that?
Really?
I don't do that
and then they imitate me.
Really?
I do that?
And the quirks
of Andrew
will be revealed
and you'll know
it's Andrew
but it is a very
different Andrew.
He is a very
different Andrew
to be revealed
with Christ in glory
and that's the destiny
of every person
who puts their faith
in Christ.
And now you get
a bit of a sense.
You see,
if all of the different
texts in the Bible
that call us
to holiness,
to call us
to be more like Christ,
Christ,
well what's that
telling us to do?
It's telling us
to do certain things
and stop doing
other things
so we can become,
it's actually part
of the steps
on this journey
that will culminate
with us being revealed
with Jesus.
And you realize
that God
isn't making you
a better apple,
he's making you
into something
very different.
In fact,
here's where the analogy
breaks down
and I'm going to give you
a true and better analogy
than the one I heard.
A couple of weeks ago
when I was trying
to illustrate something
in the book of Colossians
that happened to also
be Thanksgiving Sunday,
those online saw it
in a different week
but those who are
watching the service
or entering into the service
I should say,
not watching but entering
into the worship
through the online,
hopefully you're able
to see that there were
cut roses across
the front of the stage.
And I use the analogy
that the Bible,
what the Bible says
about human beings
is that every human being
is in a sense
a cut rose.
Cut roses are dying.
They look beautiful.
They smell nice
and they look beautiful.
And you can do
certain types of things
like put them in water,
keep them in the right temperature,
give them a little bit
of cut flower food
that will keep them
looking nice
a little bit longer
and fresh
a little bit longer.
But at the end of the day,
they're separated
from the ground.
They're separated
from the rest of the roots
and they're dying.
They look beautiful
but they're dying.
And so what happens
in grace
when you put your faith
and trust in Christ
is you're connected
to your creator.
I looked it up in Google
so it must be true
because of course
nothing in social media
as we've discovered
from Facebook and Twitter
over the last week
ever misdirects you.
It only gives you
the truth.
But according to YouTube,
you can't take cut roses
and graft them back
onto a rose bush.
It's just impossible.
So it points actually
to the miracle of grace
that God makes you alive.
That God takes you
a cut rose
and by faith
and trust in Jesus,
God connects you
back to the source of life.
But here we see
something very,
very different.
It isn't just that God
is making better cut roses.
If every human being
outside of Christ
is a cut rose,
in Colossians 3,
verse 4,
you're a sequoia.
You're a full-grown sequoia.
One of those trees
that are so old
and so big,
you can cut a hole
in the bottom
and drive a car through.
So how can I cut rose?
You see,
so here's the thing,
and this is the big
shocking thing to me
that really just brought
things home to me
in a very,
very different way.
And actually,
if you could just put up
the first point,
Andrew,
there's actually,
there's only one point.
There's only one thing
that I want you
to try to remember.
The best thing of all
would be if you memorized
verses 1 to 4.
But I've tried to summarize
verses 1 to 4
and the message of it is,
in light of his death
upon the cross for you,
set your mind on Christ
in all his risen,
sovereign,
Trinitarian glory.
It's as if you've been
raised with Christ
and Christ is seated
at the right hand
of God the Father.
There's the resurrection,
there's the death,
you've died with Christ.
That's also in that text.
It's in verse 3,
for you have died
with Christ
and your life
is hidden with Christ
and God.
When Christ,
who is your life,
appears and you will
also appear with him
in glory.
And verse 2 is the command,
set your mind,
not on things that are above,
not on wispy things,
like not on just
little visions
about what rivers
will look in heaven.
No,
you set your mind
on Jesus,
on Christ.
And you set your mind
on Christ
where he's seated,
which means he's ruling,
he's conquered,
it's accomplished.
It's a picture
of sovereignty
and it's a picture
of him at union
with the Father,
his Trinitarian glory.
And so the command is,
in light of his death
upon the cross for you,
set your mind
on Christ
and all his risen,
sovereign Trinitarian glory.
But here's the thing,
I'm going to unpack
this idea a little bit more
in the next couple
of moments.
If you understand
that the end
of the story
isn't that you will be
a far better cut rose
than you are today,
but you're going
to be a sequoia,
then you realize
that only God
can do that.
So all of the texts
in the Bible
that talk about you
becoming more like Jesus
or more Christ-like
or more holy,
what are those doing?
They're all talking
about the day
when you were
with Jesus
and you were in
the new heaven
and the new earth
and were the life
of the Father
to the Son
and the Holy Spirit.
That life
is the life
that makes you alive
and their love
is the love
that inflames your heart
that you just long
to enter into
more and more
and more and more
for all eternity,
not only by yourself
with others.
And that holiness
is becoming
more like Christ,
more fit for that.
And then you realize
it's describing
a sequoia
and you're a cut flower
and that sequoia
is your final destiny.
And so much
of what self-help is
and so all of the things
that were being talked about
in chapter 2,
verses 15 to 23,
16 to 23,
about asceticism
and devotion
and control
and in tune with nature,
all of those things
are just better ways
to be a better cut flower.
And God wants
to turn you into sequoia.
And that means
all you can do
is place yourself
in a posture of obedience
where God can do the work
that only he can do,
that grace can do the work
that only grace can do.
Give you a bit of an analogy for it.
It's not an analogy,
it's a story.
You know the very first miracle
that Jesus performed
and the very first miracle
that Jesus performed
is the story of Jesus
turning water into wine.
And in that story,
you can go back
and read it in John 2
if you want to read it
later on for yourself.
But it's a very simple,
very simple story.
Jesus and his disciples
had been invited to a wedding
and a wedding feast
in those days
would go for seven days
and it was a great faux pas,
an unbelievably terrible faux pas
to run out of wine.
And so Jesus' mother
must have been related
or had some connection
to the people
putting on the wedding reception.
And she's worried
about what's going on
and all frustrated
with what's going on
and in the midst
of her worry
and frustration,
she has a couple
of sharp words to Jesus
and say,
Jesus, do something.
And then Jesus says,
and there's a whole other bit
of the sermon about
it's not my time,
and then she just says
to the servants,
whatever Jesus tells you
to do, do it.
And so Jesus,
when his mother is left,
says, okay,
take these big stone water jars
that will hold literally,
you know,
hundreds and hundreds
and hundreds
of liters of water,
fill them with water,
and take them
to the director
of the feast.
And they do
what Jesus says
and by the time
they put in the water,
water,
look at it,
water,
well,
Jesus said to fill it
with water,
I filled it with water,
trudge it over,
and by the time
it gets to the master
of the feast,
it's the best wine
that they've ever had.
Now let me tell you this,
I can tell you all week
to fill stone jars
with water,
it'll never turn into wine.
I can tell you that all week,
it doesn't do it.
But what happened?
Only God can turn
the water into wine.
That's one of the very
first proofs
of Jesus' divinity,
that Jesus turns
the water into wine.
It's one of the story-picture ways
whereby his divinity
is portrayed.
But it's an act of grace
that only God can do.
But what's the posture
that's needed
for God to do
what only God can do
is to be obedient
to something
that he's provided
and asked you to do.
And when you put yourself
in a posture of obedience
to something
that God has asked you to do,
you don't really know
what he's going to do.
And part of that is
because I'm completely
and utterly addicted
to being a better-cut flower.
I am deeply addicted
to being a better-cut flower.
And so God keeps
surprising me in my life
because he has no interest
in making me
a better-cut flower.
He's making me
into sequoia.
He's making me
into a being
that will one day
be revealed
in the presence of Jesus,
in all of Jesus'
risen,
sovereign,
trinitarian glory.
So it is
with this very,
very simple command.
If you could now put up,
here's in a sense
what the big picture is
to how Paul
is going to begin
to describe this.
And every week
it's the same type
of an idea
that we're looking
at the means of grace.
It's not the complete
means of grace.
It's like one of the means
of grace is Bible reading.
Like reading doesn't
actually change
or transform you,
but the Bible,
God wants us
to read his word.
And when we read his word,
it's like filling
the jars of water
with water
so that God
can turn
the water
into wine.
Like another means
of grace
is actually
being part
of an online service
or part of a local church.
We all know,
like going to a hockey game
doesn't change you.
Going to a reading group
doesn't change you.
Just hanging out
with other people
doesn't change you.
But God has said
that one of the means
of grace
is that Christians
gather together
in public worship
and when you do that
out of obedience,
it's filling the water pots
with water.
And what is communion?
You can snack
on crackers
and juice
or wine
all day
and if you did,
all it would do
is give you probably
diabetes
and extra weight
and an alcohol problem.
Drinking wine
doesn't do anything
for you.
nor does eating
unleavened bread.
But Jesus told us
to regularly
gather
and have the bread
and have the wine
and that's
filling the pots
with water
so Jesus
can turn the water
into wine.
And Paul
sets before us
another set
of means of grace,
different aspects
of postures
that we enter
into
out of obedience
because Christ
has said to do it.
And one of the things
we're going to say,
there's a bit of effort
in it,
but one of the things
we're going to see
and the reason
and well,
here's the big picture.
The first one is this.
It was what happened
in chapter two
and it's a question.
Will I grow me
or will the Lord
grow me?
That's the first thing.
That was the first,
that's the big question.
In a sense,
when I wake up,
well,
not when I first wake up
because when I first wake up
I can barely function.
After I've started
to have some caffeine
in my system
and some toast
and I can start
to function,
the question before me
for the rest of the day
is will I grow me
or will the Lord
grow me?
Will I commit this day?
Will I double down
this day
and set my mind
on my cut flower project?
Or will I
let the Lord
grow me?
And this isn't
a couch potato
approach to growth
by the way
because there's going
to be next things
that happen
but that's the fundamental
question.
Will I grow me
or will I let
the Lord grow me?
And then the second thing
which is we're looking
at today is this.
Set your mind
on Christ
crucified and risen
or as I've put it
in light of his death
upon the cross
for you
set your mind
on Christ
in all his risen
sovereign
Trinitarian glory.
In light of his death
upon the cross
for you
set your mind
on Christ
in all his risen
sovereign
Trinitarian glory.
And then the third thing
which is what we're
going to look at
next week
which is verses
five to nine
is put off
sin.
These are all
aspects of the same
type of
the same
it's an aspect
of the means
of grace.
Put off
sin.
I'll talk a little bit
more about that
but we'll talk
in a moment
but we're going to
talk about more
next week.
And then the fourth
thing
which is verses
ten to fourteen
is put on
virtue.
For those of you
who are very
very concrete
in your thinking
it's really
as a matter
of in a sense
you know
the question
is posed
to me
not just in the morning
but as the day
goes through
and as the week
goes through
am I going to
pursue
a cut flower
project
or am I going
to let God
grow me
into sequoia?
Will I
grow me
or will I
let the Lord
grow me?
Okay well the first
thing that he's
asked me to do
is to set my
mind in light
of the crucifixion
this death
upon the cross
to set my
mind on Jesus
in all his
risen sovereign
Trinitarian glory.
And the other
thing he's going
to want me to do
is to like
I'm not going
to take my
shirt off
but take off
these pieces
of clothing
that I have
that are really
sin.
And then
the other thing
he wants me
to do
is to put
on
virtue
as defined
by the
Bible.
That's what
we're going
to look at
the following
week in
verses 10
to 14.
And then
the next
two steps
we're going
to look
at in
one sermon
and then
the next
step is
to let
the peace
of Christ
rule in
my heart
to let
Christ's
word
rule
in my
heart
and my
life
to let
it
to let
it happen.
And then
the final
thing
is to do
everything
and anything.
It isn't
saying just
do religious
things.
It says
do everything
and everything.
Do those
of you who
work in
the civil
service
do your
day.
Those of
you who
are in
politics
do your
day in
politics.
Those in
business
those stay
at home
moms or
stay at home
dads or
retired
people do
everything
that has
to be done
today
to the
honor and
glory of
God giving
thanks
to him.
And that's
what Paul
sets out
between
chapter 2
verse 16
and chapter
3
verse 17.
And we're
going to look
at a bit
of them.
Every week
this is going
to be up
here so we
can remember
the whole
picture.
So the
first question
is will I
grow me
or will
the Lord
grow me?
Will I
pursue my
cut flower
project being
the best
cut flower
I can
possibly be?
I'm going
to be the
fittest
cut flower,
the richest
cut flower.
I'm going
to be the
longest lasting
cut flower
I can
possibly be.
Will I
let the
Lord
grow me?
And the
first step
in this
little model
of letting
the Lord
grow me
is to
set my
mind.
In light
of Christ
and his
death upon
the cross
for me
to set
my mind
on Jesus
on Christ
in all
his risen
sovereign
trinitarian
glory.
Now here's
one of the
interesting
things about
this is
that setting
all can set
their minds
on things
because all
of us do.
A couple
of weeks
ago one
of our
youngest
grandchildren
we got
a little
video
of him
and he's
just learned
how to
stand.
He can't
do anything
other than
stand.
But he had
this huge
desire to
pick,
I can't
remember what
the object,
it was to
pick this
object up.
Here he is,
a little
tiny six
month old
kid and
his mind
was set
on this.
And all
of us who
have young
kids or
who've seen
young kids,
young kids
can get
their mind
set on
something.
In fact,
we've had
some times
when the
kids,
by the way,
today,
every kid
here should
get a
chocolate bar
afterwards.
They've been
so fantastically
behaved and
parents are
saying,
no, don't
give them
chocolate bars
and I have
to live
with them
on chocolate
highs for
the rest
of the day.
But they've
been very,
very well
behaved.
But we all
know that a
kid can all
of a sudden
go into a
complete screaming
fit in church.
Why?
They have
their mind
set on
something and
their mom
or their dad
doesn't give
it.
And their
response is
to explode.
And one of
the reasons
that all of
this is so
that it's in
fact a normal
human thing
that we set
our minds.
And here's
one of the
things that
we discover.
This is why
I say it's
not that we
don't do any
effort.
It's not a
couch potato
thing.
I'm just going
to be here
like this is
so nice.
This is
spiritual growth.
I just sit
on a couch.
I do nothing
except eat
potato chips
all day and
God grows me
into sequoia.
No,
no,
no.
There is
some effort
because the
effort is if
you start to
set your
mind on
Christ,
if I come
before God
and say I
want to set
my mind on
Christ,
I start to
realize there's
a bit of a
struggle because
the fact of
the matter is I
already have my
mind set on
different things.
So do you.
Your mind can
be set on
lust,
can be set on
anger,
can be set on
revenge,
it could be set
on your God
project,
it could be set
upon being
rich,
it can be
set upon
fears,
it can be
set upon
your profound
insecurity,
younger people
seem to be
getting smarter
and better
than me and
it's set on
my insecurity,
it's set on
my failure,
it's set on
my doom,
it's set on
getting that
girl,
getting that
job,
getting that
loan,
getting that
house,
getting that
car.
It's only
when we want
to set our
minds in
Christ that we
discover that
that mind is
already set on
all sorts of
things.
And that's
one of the
reasons we
have to put
off.
It's because
my mind is
set on that
lust,
that anger,
that greed.
And I say,
oh Lord,
that's part of
my cut flower
project.
Lord,
help me set
my mind on
you,
in all your
risen
Trinitarian
glory and
sovereignty,
and help me
to put off
that anger,
put off
that boasting,
put off
that pride,
put off
that greed.
Just one
other little
bit of an
analogy.
You see,
this,
by the way,
helps us to
understand a
little bit
about the
weird way
that God
seems to
work with
us.
You see,
and it's
one of the
mistakes
churches make
when they
say five
steps to
financial health
according to
the wisdom
of the
Bible.
Well,
that implies
that God
wants you
to be a
better cut
flower.
But if God
doesn't want
you to be a
cut flower,
well,
he's going to
sort money out
in your life,
but it's going
to be like
in a weird
way.
And maybe
he'll make
you very rich,
by the way.
I mean,
God has
different things.
He knows
how we're all
wired and
will be wired
in different
types of
ways.
But at the
end of the
day,
as we all
know,
we make
money thinking
money will
serve us,
but what
always happens
is that we
serve money.
And God
doesn't want
to make us
a better
cut flower
where we're
way better
at serving
money than
other people.
He wants
us to be
a completely
different type
of person
where money
isn't what
our minds
are set on.
It doesn't
mean we
don't,
you know,
count our
change or
look at our
bank statements,
but actually
what he wants
to do is
to make us
into the
type of
person that
generosity
is what
drives us
and governs
us.
Like what
drives us
and governs
us is a
profound
sense of
trust and
confidence in
him.
And that
profound
trust and
confidence at
the end of
our story
isn't being a
better cut
flower,
but the
end of
our story
is that we
will die
and appear
before Jesus
and that we
will be
revealed
in glory,
participating
and drinking
and breathing
the love
of the
father for
the son
and the
son of
the father,
consuming
their goodness,
their beauty,
and as we
consume their
beauty and
their truth
and their
goodness and
their justice
and their
mercy and
their kindness,
we are
changed from
one degree
of glory to
another.
And just
as the
father and
the son
don't think
they have
to grasp
on anything,
but that what
fundamentally
characterizes them
as a
confidence in
their giving
and receiving
and a
confidence then
to be
unendingly
generous,
that's what
God wants
to form us
into.
Where
generosity
and confidence
is the air
we begin to
breathe as
we prepare
to be a
sequoia for
all eternity.
So it's a
very interesting
thing,
a mentally
handicapped
person can
set their
minds on
things,
little babies
can,
and all of
us are
doing it
all the
time.
And God
is saying,
lay down
what your
mind is
set on.
In light
of Jesus
and his
death upon
the cross
for you,
set your
mind on
Christ in
all his
risen,
sovereign,
Trinitarian
glory.
You're
going to
come to
realize that
you keep
forgetting,
and you're
going to
come and
realize that
you already
have your
mind on
a whole lot
of other
things,
but,
and there's
nothing,
you know,
the mere fact
that we all
set our
minds on
things show
that there
is nothing
magical about
setting your
mind on
something.
The heart
of all of
this is that
Jesus has
told us to
do it,
so that when
we begin to
develop the
habits through
the day,
and at
different times
in the day,
to say,
Lord,
help me to
set my
mind on
Christ right
now,
in all his
risen,
sovereign,
Trinitarian
glory.
What are you
doing?
You're putting
water in the
stone pots.
That's all
you're doing.
You're putting
water into the
stone pots.
It's a means
of grace.
It's a means
of grace.
The wonderful
thing about
all of this
is that we're
going to
fail.
I fail,
you fail.
We all
have to
pray for
each other.
That's part
of why
church is
so important.
But God
sets before
us these
wonderful
means of
grace.
Set your
minds in
light of
Jesus and
his death
upon the
cross and
his for
you.
Set your
mind on
Christ in
all his
risen,
sovereign,
Trinitarian
glory.
And as
you face
the challenges
of the
day, as
you face
your insecurities,
your fears,
your successes,
your failures,
remember this.
You are now
walking, when
you put your
faith and
trust in
Christ, you
are now
walking on a,
you are now
in a new
story.
And the
end of your
story, the
end of your
story, not
because of
your excellencies
or your
successes, the
end of your
story,
is you
are revealed
in the
presence of
Jesus,
completely and
utterly transformed
for all
eternity.
That is the
end of your
story.
I invite you
to stand.
I think I
forgot to ask
you to put
the means of
the general
thanksgiving up,
but that's
fine.
We'll just
pray.
Oh, no, you
do.
You do have
it.
Good for you,
Andrew.
Way to go.
Let's say
this.
You'll
notice, by
the way,
this phrase
means of
grace is
actually in
this very
ancient product
of the
English
Reformation.
So I
invite you
to pray
this with
me, and
then I'll
just say a
very brief
prayer in
closing.
Let's
pray.
Almighty
God,
Father of
all mercies,
we are
unworthy
servants to
give you
most humble
and hearty
thanks for
all your
goodness and
loving kindness
to us and
to all
people.
We bless
you for
our creation,
preservation,
and all the
blessings of
this life,
but above all
for your
inestimable love
in the
redemption of
the world by
our Lord
Jesus Christ,
for the means
of grace and
for the hope
of glory.
and we
beseech you,
give us that
due sense of
all your
mercies,
that our
hearts may be
unfeignedly
thankful,
and that we
show forth
your praise
not only with
our lips,
but in our
lives,
by giving up
ourselves to
your service,
and by walking
before you in
holiness and
righteousness all
our days,
through Jesus
Christ our
Lord,
to whom with
you and the
Holy Spirit be
all honor and
glory,
world without
end.
Amen.
Father,
help us to
grasp the
significance of
the means of
grace.
Help us to
die to our
cut rose
project,
and Father,
to put
ourselves in
postures of
obedience as
you prepare us
for glory.
And we ask,
Father, that you
would help us to
set our minds on
Christ.
In light of the
cross, set our
minds on Christ
and all his
risen sovereign
trinitarian
glory.
Help us to
do it today,
this afternoon,
tomorrow, and
the next every
day until we
meet together
once again, to
gather as part
of your people
yet another one
of your means
of grace.
And we ask
this in the
name of Jesus
and all God's
people said,
Amen.