And as I was thinking on what we should talk about today, I decided on a topic that is really close to my heart, which is typically what you do when you have little notice.
And this topic has to do with a simple question that I think many of us may not have the best answer to, or maybe the most well thought out answer to.
And that question is, what should I do when I don't want to obey? When I don't desire righteousness, when I don't desire the things of God, what do I do?
Do I simply will myself into obedience? What actions or what does the word say about a lack of obedience?
Should I pretend like it's not there and just try to do better the next day, or is there something deeper that can be addressed in our hearts?
So before we open our text, the way that I'd like to frame this message is around a statement in answering that question, and then we'll kind of go through and unpack this statement as we go.
So in response to the question, what should I do when I don't want to obey?
Response.
Worldly desires, whether habitual or momentary, can only be remedied by the work of the Holy Spirit as He renews our minds, changing our beliefs, values, and therefore actions,
as He fills believers with His presence through the receiving of God's Word with faith.
So again, it can only be done by the work of the Spirit as He renews our mind, changing our beliefs, values, and therefore actions,
as He fills believers with His presence through the receiving of God's Word with faith.
And we'll go through a couple of those points, and I'll be sure to repeat them as we go.
So let's read our text for today and see what the Lord has to say on this topic.
So Colossians chapter 3, I'm going to be reading verses 1 through 17.
Before we do that, I'd like to go to the Lord in prayer.
So y'all join me.
Dear God, I thank You for this day.
I thank You for Your Word, which is sufficient to accomplish everything that we need for life and for godliness.
God, I pray that we would put our trust in it and in You.
That we wouldn't trust in worldly philosophy, pop psychology, or even our own wisdom,
but that we would seek Your will by looking at Your Word.
God, I pray that You would renew our minds even in this moment.
That You would orient our hearts away from ourself,
and that You would help us to seek after righteousness the way that You would have us seek after righteousness.
God, let us lay aside any weak excuses.
Let us lay aside any justification of ourselves,
and let us come to You humbly and ready to receive what You would have us to hear today.
Would You work effectively through me, Your servant.
God, and would You accomplish the purpose that You intend for this congregation today.
So God, we love You. In your name we pray. Amen.
Alright, so Colossians chapter 3, verses 1 through 17.
And this is the Word of God.
And it says,
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth.
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
Put to death, therefore, what is earthly in you,
sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
On account of these, the wrath of God is coming.
In these, you too once walked, when you were living in them.
But now you must put them all away.
Anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.
Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices,
and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
Here there is not Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free,
but Christ is all and in all.
Put on, then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved,
compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,
bearing with one another, and if one has a complaint against another,
forgiving each other.
As the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
And above all these, put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,
to which you were indeed called in one body, and be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom,
singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, in word or deed,
do everything in the name of our Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Okay, so our first point in the first part of this statement,
the Spirit works to renew our minds.
The Spirit works to renew our minds.
He does this in three specific ways that I see,
as I read this text in others.
He changes our beliefs,
He changes our values,
and therefore He changes our actions.
Now to understand this idea,
we have to understand where our actions and desires actually come from.
Actions are a result of values,
which come from our beliefs.
And so, when I'm using the word beliefs today,
I'm primarily talking about little b belief.
So, things that we believe to be true in a given period of time,
not necessarily like saving belief or saving faith.
And this concept is found throughout the Scriptures.
One example of this is in Luke 6, 43 through 45,
and it reads,
So, based off of what we treasure,
that's what we produce,
or that's what we do.
Each action we take is an expression of what we think is best for us,
most valuable,
and worth treasuring in any given moment in time.
So, every action that we take
always can be traced back to a belief.
And now, we're not always conscious of this going on
as we take actions no matter what it is,
but each action that we take
is a result of us thinking about
and doing what we believe is the best thing for us to do
in that given time.
Therefore, each time that we sin,
we're communicating to God
that our definition and understanding
of what will be best for us
is superior to His.
So, this was the original temptation
and sin in the garden.
And if we think about our own sin,
we'll find this to be true of us as well.
That ultimately, each sin that we commit
is a statement to God saying,
in this moment,
I believe that me sinning
was better than your plan for my life,
which you've commanded to us.
Right?
So, in this way,
every sin is an act of rebellion
and also an act of unbelief,
even if we don't recognize it in the moment.
So, how does the Spirit renew our minds?
Firstly, the Spirit helps us
to change our actions.
And so, I'm kind of working backward
from the outside,
and the Spirit helps to change our actions.
And the prophet Ezekiel is talking about
the new covenant that will come
as a result of the Spirit
indwelling God's people after Christ.
He says in Ezekiel 36,
So, as a result of the indwelling Spirit,
we are caused, in one way or another,
to walk in God's statutes.
Jesus speaks similarly
in John chapter 14, verses 15 through 16.
He says,
If you love me,
you will keep my commandments.
And I'll ask the Father,
I'll ask the Father,
and He will give you another helper
to be with you forever,
even the Spirit of truth.
Okay?
If you love me,
you'll keep my commandments.
I'll ask the Father,
and He will give you another helper
to be with you forever,
even the Spirit of truth.
Now, obviously,
I hope it's obvious to you.
We don't do this in a perfect sense.
Just because we have the Spirit of God
doesn't mean we now obey perfectly.
But, in some way or another,
the Spirit being inside of us
causes us and helps us to walk
in the way that God wants us to walk.
When reading these passages,
you may wonder
how we can both maintain our free will
and also be caused to walk
in God's statutes.
So, the way that this works,
I'm not going to pretend like I know
all of the inner workings
of this idea,
but it is clear that
somehow it does work.
So, we always have the free will
to choose what we want to do.
It's simply that
what we want to do
will change
as God removes our heart of stone
and replaces it with a heart of flesh.
So, again,
we always have free will
to choose what we want.
It's just that
what we want changes
as we're given a new heart.
So, this brings us
to our second point.
The Spirit works...
Our second sub-point.
The Spirit works to change
our values and desires.
How does the Spirit renew the mind?
He works to cause us to obey.
And the Spirit works to change
our values and desires.
So, David ties this idea
of God helping us obey
with our values and desires
in Psalm 37.
So, let's turn there.
Psalm 37,
starting in verse 3.
This is a psalm
that's often misconstrued.
I hope that we can shed
some light on its true meaning today.
Psalm 37,
verses 3 through 7.
Trust in the Lord
and do good.
Dwell in the land
and befriend faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the Lord
and He will give you
the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord.
Trust in Him
and your justice as the noonday.
Be still before the Lord
and wait patiently for Him.
Okay, so many take
verse 4 by itself
and use it to mean
all types of things.
Like, if you want a Ferrari,
then delight yourself in the Lord
and then God will give you
the desires of your heart.
A Ferrari.
But I don't think
that's quite what
this passage is saying.
As we believe
the Lord is trustworthy,
as we saw in verse 3,
is who He says He is
and therefore value Him,
delighting ourselves in Him.
Once we believe
what He says
over what our flesh
tempts us to believe,
He will give us
what we now desire.
So once our delight
is in Him,
our desires change.
He goes on to say,
commit your way to the Lord,
trust in Him,
and He will act.
To do what?
To bring forth
your righteousness
as the light
and your justice
as the noonday.
So He gives us
now what we desire
with a new heart
delighted in the Lord,
righteousness,
faithfulness,
and justice.
Third sub-point,
how does the Spirit
renew our minds?
The Spirit helps us
to change our thoughts
or our little-be beliefs.
So we're going to flip over
to the parallel passage
to ours from Colossians
this morning
as we look in Ephesians
chapter 4,
starting in verse 17.
So flip back forward,
Ephesians chapter 4,
starting in verse 17.
We'll see this
a little bit more later on,
but Paul, in many ways,
is writing similar things
to the church at Colossae
and the church at Ephesus
in these two letters.
And the more that you dig in
to these two passages,
the more you see
how they line up together
and the way that they line up
has real significance
for understanding this concept
of what do we do
when we don't want to obey.
Alright, so Ephesians 4,
starting in verse 17.
It says,
Now this I say
and testify in the Lord,
that you must no longer walk
as the Gentiles do
in the futility
of their minds.
They are darkened
in their understanding,
alienated from the life of God
because of the ignorance
that is in them
due to their hardness of heart.
They have become callous
and have given themselves up
to sensuality,
greedy to practice
every kind of impurity.
But that is not the way
that you learn Christ.
Assuming that you have heard
about Him
and were taught in Him
as the truth is in Jesus,
to put off the old self
which belongs
to your former manner of life
and is corrupt
through deceitful desires,
and to be renewed
in the spirit of your minds,
and to put on the new self
created after the likeness of God
in true righteousness
and holiness.
Okay, so this text shows us
that futile, ignorant,
godless, and callous minds
produce sensuality,
doing that which pleases the senses,
impure practice,
corrupt desires,
and so forth.
So based off of what is in the mind,
the thoughts,
they produce actions.
So futile, ignorant, godless minds
produce futile, ignorant, godless actions.
So notice the solution though
in this passage
and others that we'll read.
The solution is not simply
to try harder,
or the solution is not simply
to change the behavior
that that will come,
but the solution is to be renewed
in the spirit of your minds.
Then from our text this morning,
Paul encourages us
to set our mind
on the things of above
where Christ is seated.
Having finished the work
of destroying the power of sin
by taking its consequences on himself,
nailing our record of debt
to the cross,
and allowing us now
to draw near to God
as we've been studying in Hebrews.
So as we think about,
as we set our mind,
as we focus on Christ's finished work,
then that produces
a type of obedience in us.
Paul believes
as we shift our focus
off of the things of this world,
we'll then be able to put to death
what is evil in us,
as it says in verse 5,
by putting on the new self,
which is being renewed in knowledge.
So again,
Paul believes
as we shift our focus
off of the things of this world,
we'll then be able to put to death
what is evil in us,
by putting on the new self,
which is being renewed in knowledge.
Lastly,
Paul tells us
in the Roman believers,
sorry,
in the letter to the Roman believers,
chapter 12,
verse 2,
do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed
by the renewal of your mind,
that by testing
you may discern
what is the will of God,
what is good,
acceptable,
and perfect.
So again,
we are transformed
in our outward action
by the renewal of the mind,
so that we can aptly decide
what is good,
acceptable,
and perfect.
Notice something
in all three cases
that the renewal of the mind
is always spoken of
in the passive tense.
So Paul is not saying here,
renew your mind,
he is saying,
allow your mind
to be renewed.
And that begs the question,
anytime you are using
the passive voice
in English,
it takes away
the agency.
So the question is,
by whom?
Who is doing?
Or what is doing
the renewing?
And we will see
that it is the Spirit
of God.
How does he do that?
He fills us
with his presence.
So that brings us
to our next point
in our statement,
the Spirit works
by filling us
with his presence.
So let's skip down
in Ephesians
to chapter 5,
verses 18 through 21.
As we are going,
notice the similarities
between this passage
in Ephesians
and Paul's letter
from our original text
in Colossians 3.
So Ephesians 5,
18 through 21.
Again,
another commonly
misconstrued text.
And it says,
Do not get drunk
with wine,
for that is debauchery,
but be filled
with the Spirit,
addressing one another
in psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs,
singing and making
melodies to the Lord
with all your heart,
giving thanks always
and for everything
to God the Father
in the name
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
submitting to one another
out of reverence
for Christ.
So if I asked everyone,
50 people maybe,
in this room
what it meant
to be filled
with the Spirit,
I would get a bunch
of different answers.
What our idea behind,
what is this filling
of the Spirit?
And if I went outside
of this church,
I would get
an even greater diversity
of answers.
What does it mean
to be filled
with the Spirit?
Many have an idea
that's primarily mystical,
emotional in nature,
and extraordinary.
Maybe the best word
would be,
we think of it
as a spectacle
that we put on
a performance.
But I believe
there's a definitive answer
to this question,
what does it mean
to be filled
with the Spirit?
But to understand it,
we're going to have
to do some work
to reach a decent conclusion.
In short,
to be filled
with the Spirit
is to allow
the Word of God
to dwell in us
richly.
Now,
I know that those
two themes
may not seem
like they're related,
but we'll see
as we look
at our two passages
together
how this is
indeed the case.
So,
if you prefer
the next part
of our statement,
God fills us
with the Spirit
as we receive
His Word
through faith.
So,
looking at this passage
in Ephesians,
we can see
that in Paul's mind,
being filled
with the Spirit
looks like
at least a couple
of things.
Seeing to
and with other
believers
and to God
looks like
gratitude
and it looks
like submission
to authority.
Now,
you may have
read this
unintentionally
as Paul's
giving a list
because he kind
of is in the
middle of a list
and so we have
a tendency
to keep going
on that list.
But notice
when he says
be filled
with the Spirit
and then it's
followed by
three participles
and these participles
in English
they're adverbial
phrases
which means
that it's
modifying
how we should
be filled
with the Spirit.
The three words
be filled
with the Spirit
how addressing
one another
giving thanks
and submitting
to one another
out of reverence
for Christ.
So they are
connected
and it's
answering the
question
what does
it look like
or how
should we
be filled
with the Spirit.
So as I've
pointed out
you've probably
noticed
several similarities
between Paul's
writing in Ephesians
and in Colossians
and these are
not by accident.
So let's
flip back to
our passage
I know we're
doing a lot
of flipping
but it is
important for
you to see.
So back
to Colossians
3
in verse
16
it says
let the
word of
Christ
dwell in
you richly
teaching
and admonishing
one another
in all wisdom
singing
psalms
and hymns
and spiritual
songs
with thankfulness
in your heart
to God
and whatever
you do
in a word
or deed
do everything
in the name
of our Lord
Jesus
giving thanks
to God
the Father
through him
and just like
in Ephesians
he goes on
to talk
about submission
in various
areas
in family
in our
employment
and then
masters
and slaves
okay
so in both
cases
we have
these
three
indicators
of what
it looks
like
on the
one
hand
to be
filled
with
the
spirit
and on
the
other
hand
what
it
looks
like
to have
the
word
of
Christ
dwell
in us
richly
those
three
things
singing
gratitude
and
submission
to
authority
so in
Paul's
mind
being
filled
with
the
spirit
produces
the
same
exact
things
as
allowing
the
word
of
God
to
dwell
in
us
richly
if
you're
not
quite
convinced
that
these
passages
are
truly
so the
deeper
you
dive
the
more
similarities
stick
out
these
two
passages
mirror
one
another
all the
way
back
from
Colossians
2
16
forward
to
chapter
4
verse
1
which
mirrors
Ephesians
4
14
all the
way
through
6
9
both
passages
are
describing
what
the
new
life
should
look
like
in
comparison
with
the
old
both
begin
by
warning
against
false
doctrine
and
a
command
to
hold
fast
to
Christ
as
the
head
of
the
body
they
go
on
to
encourage
readers
to
put
off
the
old
self
characterized
by
callous
minds
and
hard
hearts
producing
anger
sensuality
greed
and
impure
talk
and
to
put
on
the
new
self
which
is
being
renewed
in
the
likeness
or
in
the
knowledge
of
God
both
passages
as
we've
seen
emphasize
the
role
of
the
renewed
mind
in
producing
new
action
and
they
both
lead
to
on
us
richly
and
to
be
filled
with
the
Holy
Spirit
there's
a lot
more
similarities
than that
just a
quick
few
for
notes
John
Piper
writes
of
these
two
passages
together
and I'll
try to
read this
well
it's
kind of
a lengthy
quote
if we
want
more
of
the
Spirit
of
God
we
must
hear
more
of
the
Word
of
God
with
faith
we
must
hear
its
promises
see
their
blood
bought
certainty
value
their
goodness
and
bank
on
them
that
is
why
sorry
that
is
the
way
God
supplies
more
of
the
Spirit
the
command
in
Ephesians
be
filled
with
the
Spirit
is
parallel
with
the
command
in
Colossians
let
the
word
of
!
richly
with
faith
in
other
words
not
only
does
the
first
act
of
faith
come
by
hearing
but
all
subsequent
acts
of
faith
come
by
hearing
the
fullness
of
the
Spirit
comes
by
an
ongoing
hearing
of
the
word
of
God
so
Paul's
writing
in
Galatians
chapter
3
supports
this
perspective
I
think
this is
the last
place
we'll
turn
today
just
a
couple
of
pages
Galatians
3
verse
2
!
And I
have to
admit
before
studying
this
passage
I've
read
this
one
in
particular
a
bunch
of
times
but
I've
never
thought
about
Galatians
3
in
this
way
it's
a
joy
to
be
enlightened
by
it
Galatians
3
2
through
5
says
let me
ask
you
only
this
did
you
receive
the
spirit
by
works
of
the
law
or
by
hearing
with
faith
are
you
so
foolish
having
begun
by
the
spirit
are
you
now
being
perfected
by
the
flesh
did
you
suffer
so
many
things
in
vain
if
indeed
it
was
in
vain
does
he
who
supplies
the
spirit
to
you
and
works
of
miracles
among
you
do
so
by
works
of
the
law
or
by
hearing
with
faith
so
I
think
the
reason
why
I've
missed
it
missed
this
particular
point
is
because
a
it's
a
series
of
questions
and
b
because
it
doesn't
explicitly
say
hearing
the
word
of
God
with
faith
but
if
you
look
back
on
it
that's
exactly
what
the
implication
is
we
hear
the
word
of
God
with
faith
and
we're
saved
and
then
again
he's
saying
we
hear
the
word
statements
it
becomes
a
little
bit
more
clear
we
are
perfected
and
sanctified
by
God
supplying
the
spirit
which
comes
to
us
through
hearing
the
word
of
God
with
faith
in
the
same
block
of
Jesus'
teaching
we read
earlier
which
said
those
who
love
me
will
obey
my
commandments
and
I
will
send
my
helper
describes
the
spirit's
role
in
this
way
in
John
chapter
16
in
verse
13
he
says
when
the
spirit
of
truth
comes
he
will
take
what
is
mine
and
declare
it
to
you
so
the
spirit's
role
is
using
the
word
to
exalt
Christ
by
declaring
it
to
us
as
we
receive
it
through
faith
so
we
saw
earlier
that
the
renewal
of
the
mind
was
passive
in
some
ways
that
it's
something
that
we
are
renewed
as
we're
doing
some
type
of
activity
and
while
God
is
the
one
renewing
and
transforming
we
are
the
ones
who
draw
near
to
him
through
his
word
and
actively
seek
to
believe
it
with
faith
James
reminds
us
in
chapter
four
of
his
letter
that
if
we
draw
near
to
God
he
will
draw
near
to
us
the
writer
of
Hebrews
thoughts
and
intentions
of
our
heart
so
as
we
approach
the
word
of
God
through
personal
study
through
song
lyrics
through
preaching
or as
it is
brought
to
our
memory
by
the
spirit
and
we
believe
it
and
allow
it
to
soak
into
us
the
lies
we
were
believing
beforehand
are
replaced
with
the
truth
we
no
longer
value
the
temporary
pleasure
of
sin
over
the
abiding
satisfaction
of
obedience
we
will
no
longer
see
God
as
he
shows
us
what
will
lead
to
joy
and
flourishing
in
our
lives
the
anxieties
of
everyday
life
are
overshadowed
with
a
bigger
perspective
where
God
is
in
control
and
not
us
he's
working
for
the
purity
of
his
people
for
the
sake
of
his
name
which
isn't
always
convenient
or
easy
for
us
now
there
are
not
many
things
in
the
Christian
life
that
are
formulaic
in
nature
but
in
some
ways
genuine
heartfelt
obedience
is
doesn't
mean
it's
easy
but
it
tells
us
what
we
need
to
do
we
know
God
always
empowers
what
he
commands
and
I
believe
that
what
we
have
spoken
of
today
is
largely
the
methodology
he
expects
for
us
to
utilize
so
let's
look
at
some
simple
points
of
application
to
help
us
to
know
what
to
do
so
that
we
can
desire
obedience
so
first
point
of
application
see
your
sin
as
a
belief
value
and
a
thought
problem
not
simply
a
behavior
problem
this
means
when
we
find
ourselves
in
sin
or
even
in
temptation
we
should
identify
the
faulty
or
the
tempting
belief
we
should
write
it
down
or
tell
someone
that
we're
struggling
to
believe
what
God
says
in
his
word
about
a
particular
issue
we
should
memorize
specific
passages
!
that
you
can
go
to
and
reflect
on
in
the
midst
of
this
temptation
so
again
if
sin
is
a
belief
problem
then
we
need
to
address
our
unbelief
secondly
we
should
receive
his
word
with
faith
an
assumption
built
into
all
of
this
is
that
we'll
be
going
to
the
word
often
many
of
us
wonder
why
we
continue
to
fight
and
struggle
with
the
same
sins
whether
it
be
anxiety
lust
or
pride
and
yet
aren't
taking
up
the
means
that
God
has
given
us
to
fight
these
battles
thirdly
we
should
seek
to
be
renewed
the
assumption
should
be
that
we
are
usually
in
a
state
of
drifting
away
from
the
truth
back
towards
selfishness
towards
simple
orientation
which
is
why
we
are
in
need
of
renewal
in
the
first
place
so
to
do
this
we
must
approach
the
scripture
with
a
desire
to
grow
more
and
more
into
the
image
of
God
this
comes
by
removing
our
sinful
areas
which
hurts
and
which
many
of
us
are
not
prepared
for
this
kind
of
encounter
when
we
approach
the
word
this
type
of
approach
to
be
changed
and
to
be
renewed
it
takes
hard
work
it
takes
time
it
takes
consistency
it
takes
intentionality
just
like
everything
else
that
satisfying
!
life
but
it
will
indeed
bear
much
fruit
and
lastly
fourthly
we need
to have
an
attitude
of
preparation
and
not
an
attitude
of
reaction
so
have
an
attitude
of
preparation
not
of
reaction
if
we
wait
until
we're
in
the
middle
of
the
battle
to
put
on
our
armor
we're
likely
to
lose
the
battle
we
have
to
be
prepared
for
the
battle
that
we
know
is
going
to
be
at
hand
we
need
daily
regular
!
mind
renewal
if
we
are
to
prepare
for
the
daily
battle
towards
righteousness
so
may
we
be
people
of
the
word
who
regularly
draw
near
to
God
have
our
minds
renewed
by
the
realities
of
the
gospel
and
who
we
are
as
children
of
God
may
this
activity
produce
the
fruit
of
righteousness
in
us
as
the
very
spirit
of
God
works
to
change
our
desires
our
thoughts
and
our
actions
as
we
strive
after
joy
let's
pray
together