He reigns, I will, a son to him,
a son so glad and free. He comes, greatest, highest,
I know how to be. All right, go back to Colossians
3 with. Taught by the Bible, that's what
we want to do tonight. Try to do. Let's read verses
1 through 3 again, Colossians 3. If you then be risen with Christ,
seek those things which are above, where Christ's Sit on the right
hand of God. Set your affection on things
above, not on things on the earth, for you're dead. And your life
is hid with Christ in God. Now, it's in all honesty, it
is not my desire to try to preach great messages. but to simply feed you from God's
Word. Feed God's sheep with His Word. And I do not, honestly, do not
preach for amens or accolades, but for the sheer joy of studying
God's Word with you and bringing a message from it to you. This epistle was just a blessing
to me in reading it, and I thought it might be to you tonight. The
epistle of Colossians to the Colossians, like all epistles,
is written to the saints. That's how it begins. That's
how all of them practically begin, to the saints, the faithful brethren,
the believers, the Church of God. And like every epistle,
go back to chapter one, like every single epistle in God's
Word, it begins with the gospel, the good news. of what God has
done for his people in Christ. And look at verses you've seen
these verses so many times but. Verses twelve through fourteen
says giving thanks unto the father which or who have made us meet
to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. Whatever
that means. Who God has delivered us from
the power of darkness which the world is in the grips of. And
have translated us into the kingdom of his dear son, the son of his
love. In whom? In Christ, God's son. We have redemption through his
blood. Even the forgiveness of sins. All sins, past, present, and
future. Verse twenty-one, These these verses sound familiar
they sound something like maybe a well it's the same gospel verse
twenty one you were some time a night in your mind. Now we could work yet. He reckons
but. And he continues throughout this.
Epistle to magnify and glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at. Look at verse. Well, verse 15,
Christ is an image of invisible God, first born of every creature. By him were all things created
that are in heaven, that are in earth, visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones or dominions, principalities or powers, all
things were created by him and for him and he is before or that
is above all things and by him all things consistent. He is
the head. He's the head. Head of the body. The church which we are members
of and members one of another. This epistle begins with the
gospel and it's full of praise and honor to the Lord Jesus Christ
and it's full of warnings. It's written to God's family,
to his children, to brethren. It's full of warnings. Look at
chapter 2. Chapter 2 verse 8 says, Beware, beware, be aware of,
be wary of, lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain
deceit and so on. Eighteen look down there let
no man beguile you. Beware that no man. Spoil you
or beguile you. Verse nineteen some don't hold
the head. They make much of the body that
is so-called church but. They're not holding the head
so beware of them but nobody beguile you. And like all other
epistles. This one is full of. Doctrine. which is teaching. That's all
it is teaching. As Paul said the young Timothy
said all scripture is profitable for doctrine. That is teaching. God is the faithful father who
teaches his children. And this is how he teaches. All
scriptures profitable for teaching or doctrine and is full of reproof. Children need reproving. We're talking about training
up our children. Well, the Lord does that to us. And we're talking
about molding our children. Well, the Lord is molding us
into the image of his blessed son. I want that, don't you?
I want to be just like him. Reproof, correction. That's chastening. Instruction and righteousness. Not only Christ our righteousness,
but in context that means right living. That the man of God might
be perfect, mature, throughly, completely, mind, body, and soul,
furnished unto all good works. That's what it said. And so this
epistle is full of instructions, full of exhortation, admonition. We need it all. We need all that in our wise
father deals with us and all these things. All right he says
in chapter two. I'm leading up to what we just
read. Because this is a letter. As a beginning as a middle and
as an end. I'm leading up to what we just read there in chapter
three. OK. If you then be risen he said.
What does that mean we'll look at chapter two verse eleven he
says in Christ you're circumcised with a circumcision made without
hands putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the
circumcision of Christ. Basically what that means is
we're crucified with Christ. Crucified with Christ. Verse
twelve, buried with him in baptism. Baptism is a picture of our desire
or our confession of Christ but our desire to be buried. To have
the old man put away our sins, put away, once and for all. And
we say that. That's what happened to us on
Calvary. Buried with him. Wherein, verse
12, you're also risen. Baptism, you know, you don't
stay under the water, do you? You come out. Somebody raises
you out. The person who put you under
picks you up out of it. What a picture that is of how
we're risen with Christ through the faith of the operation of
God, who raised him from the dead. Same Holy Spirit risen
with him. Verse 13. And if this doesn't
sound like Ephesians 2.1, you and you being dead in your sins
and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together
with Christ. Having forgiven you all trespass
and we can just keep reading by now. Blimey that. All the ordinance. Against. No record nothing no no law against
us nothing on our record. You remember that story of my
father don't you he got in trouble with the law and went to court
and. And no record. And there was a reason some of
you. Some of you didn't hear that it wasn't recently. That
was when he was young. But. All right he says we're
buried with him risen with Christ so he in chapter three verse
one he says if he then be risen with Christ. A new creature in
Christ raised with Christ if so Or some. Writers believe that
he says since you're right. About. Work is fine. If or since you are risen with
pride. They had buried risen with pride. And those things which are. Christ arose from the grave he
stayed here a little while did it but he didn't stay long. That's
a picture of of us and we regenerated by the spirit of God new life
eternal life yet we stay here while don't. We stay on this
earth according to his purpose. But then we rise forever. Forever never to return again
Christ is coming back again to receive us and so shall we meet
him in the air. But. So if we're heading upward
Things that are higher, things that are nobler. That's what
we're talking about. These should allure our sight. Seek those things which are above. And the first thing, the primary
thing is not a thing, but it's a person. Where Christ is. Where Christ is. I love Psalm
27, don't you? That's one of my favorite And
my wife has been dealing with our young people on this one
thing needful. Well, David said, there's one
thing I have desired. One thing have I desired of the
Lord, and that's what I'll seek after. This is what the epistle
is telling us to seek after, to look after. That I may dwell
in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. Behold the
beauty of the Lord. Inquire in his temple. If you
enjoy these things now, you just wait. You just wait. So he says, if you're risen with
Christ, or since you are, seek those things which are above,
where Christ sitted on the right hand of God. Verse 2, set your
affection, set your mind, set your mind on things above, not
on things on the earth. You and I know that the affection.
Is in here starts in here. In the heart. The deep seated
desires. Of the heart that's what you
go out after the heart out of the heart are the issues of life. As a man think of his heart so
we have the abundance of the heart and so on. But it involves
a man. Heart and a man are related.
This is set your. If you have a new heart, then
set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth. Now. He's talking to. We were talking about those being
risen or new creatures in Christ, talking to living, breathing,
responsible children of God. As you would talk to your children. And who are able to hear you
and listen to you. and respond to you. Right and
that's who he's talking to. Because the he said you were
dead but now. You've been quickly made alive
to God you were dead you couldn't hear anything now you can't you
couldn't set your affection on anything. Your mind your heart
was set on one thing sin. Verse seven. It says, in the
time you walked in this, you lived in this, this stuff you
just mentioned. You lived for it, you lived in
it. That was your life, which wasn't any life at all, it was
dead. But now you're living, breathing, responsible, responsive
children of the Most High God. He says, set your affection,
set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. Now, I like this. I like how
you say this. Set your mind on it. Set your
mind on it. We all set our minds to various
things. Some of you, some of us, I don't
include myself. If you have your mind set on
something, you're going to do it. Aren't you? You set your
mind to do something, and there's very little going to stop you
from doing it. You set your mind to obtain something. Whether
you have the money or not. When you set your mind on going
somewhere. Whether you have the money or
not you'll go. Right? You set your mind on it. That means you've got a heart
for it. You've got your mind on it. This
is what you want to do or where you want to go or what you want
to get. So I'm going after that. You just set your mind on things
of value. That Paul said, forgetting the
oppression. Mark for the prize of the high
calling of God in Christ Jesus. Set your mind. Set on. Have your
mind set on. Dead set. And we're going to
get to that in a moment. Dead set. Set your mind on things
above. Now, you know this. But I'm going
to say it again. Without him, we can do nothing. You know that. If we quote that, you can quote
that. Without him, we can do nothing. We can't set our minds on anything
without him. But, and you like this part,
it also says, but we can do All things through Christ, which
strengthens us, right? And this is his word. And he's
the one who's telling us, set your mind on things above. All right, what things? Things
above. What things? What things? You know what things. You're
doing it right now. That's why you're here. That's
why you're here tonight. The things of God, the things
of Christ, spiritual things, things concerning salvation.
We're looking into these things right now. And I believe you
do have your mind and heart set on these things. This is why
I said I like Wednesday night so much, because people make
a special effort to get here. Those that are here want to be
here. And I believe most have their mind, their hearts set
on these things, and they come to hear about these things. We
read the will every time we meet together, we're reading the will.
And if your heart is set on this inheritance and you show up and
want to hear. Things of God, things of Christ,
certain salvation, eternal life, we're going to deal more with
that in a minute. Verse three, he says, but you're
dead. You're dead. Know what does that mean? You're
dead. It's to set your mind on things
above, not on things on earth, but things above where you're
dead. You're dead. You know, he says this same thing
in Romans 6, verse 11. Reckon yourself to be dead. Reckon yourself means you can
just consider it to be so. Just consider it to be so. You're
dead. Now what does that mean? Reckon
yourselves to be dead, and I'll go on, indeed unto sin, but alive
unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord, alive to God, dead
to sin, but alive to God. What does this mean, you're dead?
Dead to the world. Do you remember Noah when he
went in that ark? He was a living man, working
man and so forth, family man and all that. And when he went
in the ark, he didn't cease to work. He had a lot of things
to do for 40 days and 49, feeding, mostly feeding the animals
and so forth inside the ark. And he had his family to take
care of. He had cares and concerns and so forth but he was dead
to the world. When he went in that ark, the
world, he really didn't care what went
on outside that ark. And the world was dead to him
and he was dead to the world. Christ, when Christ entered the
grave, or when anyone enters the grave,
they're dead. to the world. These things no
longer have any effect on. Well, Paul said this. Let me
try to clarify this. Paul said, I am crucified with
Christ. I was killed 2,000 years ago,
he said. And there was a time when the law came, the word of
God came, and I died, he said. I died then, too. Nevertheless,
he said, I live. I'm alive. But it's not me. It's Christ
that lives within me. He said in another place in Galatians,
he said, the world is crucified to me and I unto the world. What
does all that mean? Reckon yourself dead, crucified
to the world. He says, set your affection on
things above. See the things that are not seen. We haven't
seen these things yet. We're looking at a spiritual
thing. The things that are not saying are what? What does the
scripture say? Eternal. But the things that
are saying are what? Temporal. Meaning, it's all dying. It's either already dead or something
will be. Dead things. Everything on this
earth. Every person on this earth. Everything
on this earth. He's either dead or dying. Now, he said down here in verse
7, one time he lived in this world, but you were dead while
you lived. But now you've been given new
life, and you're in this world, dead to it, alive unto God through
Jesus Christ our Lord. This makes sense. He reckoned
it to be so. Reckon, consider everything and
everyone in this world dead. Dead. Everything. Everyone. Dead. Just a matter of time,
anyway. It's called this corruption.
In 2 Corinthians 15, 1 Corinthians 15, he says, when this corruption
Meaning, decaying, dying flesh. Everything in it. In the garden, when God told
Adam and Eve, He said, The day that you eat that fruit, you
shall surely die. Isn't it? The day they ate that
fruit, they died, you know, spiritually. Died. Became dead and trespassed. And they began to die physically. We were talking about how God
wasn't too severe or strict back then. It wasn't a mere eating
of an apple that brought all this on. And man lived after
that 900 years. Adam lived 930 years. That's
a long time, and God was very merciful. live a long productive
life wasn't full of nothing but. This is. Huge families all the
things we enjoy God gives us all things richly to enjoy nine
hundred thirty years. Would you like to live nine hundred
thirty years well they did. And you'll notice that about
in the book of Genesis it talks about old genealogy said it was
a little bit of nine hundred and sixty nine years and he died
and lay make live nine hundred thirty five and he died doesn't
matter how long we live we will. Reckon you're dead. As good as
dead. That's part of what that meant.
You did. Reckon it to be so. Now that
does it. There's young people in here.
Very young who think they have their lives ahead of them and
they might. If the Lord does not return soon, then perhaps
they will live, marry and have children and grow old and see
their grandchildren and so forth. And the Lord does not Tell us not to enjoy. God gives
us all things richly to enjoy. Using this word, we're able to
use it. That's why God made these things, that's why he gave us
these things, to you, not to me. Scripture says if riches
increase, and sometimes they do, and they have for all of
us, the older you get, He will accumulate some stuff. Call it
riches if you want, but it's stuff, that's what it is. And
you're just making bigger payments. At any rate, he says if they
increase, and they do, always do, set not your heart on. Because here's the thing, we
need to temper all this with. It's dead. Dead stuff. Dead and dying. Every possession. Every person
on this planet is dying. The world and everything in it.
Your life. Think about it. Think how quickly
it's going. John, I asked John tonight how
old he was. He said 66. That's incredible, isn't it? Soon to be 70. Unbelievable. This thing is a vapor. The Lord
said it was, and it is a vapor. Appeareth for a little while,
it's gone. A twinkle of an eye. It says
in a moment, a twinkle of an eye will be changed. This life's going to seem like
a blink in your eye. It's over. Well, and like I started to say
to our young people, That should not keep young believers from
wanting these things and enjoying these things and so forth. But
temper everything. Keep in mind that they don't
last. And they don't give real lasting
joy and enjoyment. And whatever it may be, you could
lose it. I mean, like that, overnight. Reckon yourself dead, you and
everything around you and everyone with you dead. How can I live
in this world? Let me ask this question. How
can I live in this world and be dead to it? How can you do
that? Can I live here in this world,
normal life that we have to live here? Can I live here in this
world and not be of it? Can I be a responsible husband? I'm called on to be a responsible
husband. That means hold a job, earn money, provide a place,
shelter, and so on and so forth. Can I be a responsible husband?
Can you be a responsible wife, father, mother, husband? And in order to do that, you
need to give yourself to the people you're serving. You need
to give yourself. Give yourself to them. Serve
them. Can you do that? Give yourself to others and not
be given to them and that? Do you follow what I'm trying
to say here? Can you? Can you give yourself? to someone
yet not be given. Can I work a job just as hard
as and whatever you do, whatever your hand finds to do, Scripture
said, do it with all your might. Work for the company like everything
depending on. That's what the Scripture says,
whether you eat or drink, glory to God, to the best of your ability. Can I work? Can I run a business? Can I earn money? Can I buy things? Can I build? Can I possess? And
whatever you own, you've got to maintain it. Oh, do you have
to maintain it? Can you continue to keep it up?
Can you use the things of this world and not be taken up with
them? Can you? That's why this is written. That's exactly why this is written. You say, Paul wrote this and
he didn't have the problem. No, that's not so. Paul is a
man of life, passionate as we are. No different. No different. But this is God's
Word and this is why this is written. Because we can do all
things through Christ which strengthens us. And this is our father telling
us, warning us, reproving us, correcting us, admonishing us,
exhorting us to these things. That's why this is written. If
it were not possible, he wouldn't have said. If it were not so, he wouldn't
have told us. Abraham, you go on back, way
on back. Abraham. Scripture says he was
rich. Was Abraham given to this world
was Abraham of this world that he lived for this world. He lived
in it. Did he live for it? Was he after to see how much
he could how much he could accumulate? Oh, no. No way. No way. Lot apparently got caught
up in some of that and went down where the going was getting was
good. Boy, he about got got inside
him, didn't he? I perished with it. Abraham Abraham
said, what do I get? God said, me. But when you get
with him, you get everything. And Abraham ended up. And the truth, this is the truth,
what we're. This truth right here, you're
dead. This truth right here will keep
these things in perspective and keep you free from being taken
up with them. You're dead. You're dead. You're
a dead man. Dead to this world. Dead to this world, but alive
unto God. You know, I used to have a picture
in my desk that I was looking for a while ago and couldn't
find it. My neighbor was moving overseas
years ago when I first started keeping house. I helped him build
a big box to put his possessions in and ship them overseas. After we got that box built,
it was about my size. And I just, for some reason,
I thought, I got down in it. It looks like a casket, I said.
So I got down in that thing and laid there like that. And he
took my picture. And I kept that picture for years. I was just looking for it again.
And every now and then, I'd get that out and look at it. I say,
you know, that that's me. Real short, Stan, that was when
he took that, I was about 24. And 24 years, I may not live
that much another another 24 years, I will truly be lying
in a casket, maybe right here. We need to every one of us need
to picture ourselves lying in that box. Is this morbid? Should this cause
us to be? No, because it's going to get
good here in a moment. You're dead. The end of all things. We need to see ourselves lying
in a casket, because that's our end. The end of all things here. The more the older I get and
the more I'm confronted with death, people that die, people
close to me die. The more of an impression it
makes upon me, and it ought to, the more it becomes a reality. Her father, now he was 76 years
old, but he was a, you knew him, you met him, that man was full
of life. In his 70s he was just tougher than me. Robust, one
of the most vibrant, active, outgoing men I've ever known
in my life. Hard-working. All his life worked. Hard-accomplished. Whatever he
set his mind, he accomplished it. Successful. And one day, he walked into the
hospital, and just a couple months later, he's gone. I mean, he's gone. It's dead. It's all over. A man full of
life, energy, robust, people that loved him, doing things,
active, mental. Is it over? Is that it? Far from it. Far from it. You're dead. And you know, the sooner we keep
this in mind, the sooner we reckon this to be so, if we do it now,
by God's grace, if we do it now, the heartaches and the disappointments,
and we're going to have them, will be less severe. Reckon yourself, resign yourself,
that's what reckoning means, resign yourself to a six-foot
box. And to be dead, as we said about
Noah entering that ark, a dead man in the grave, dead. Oh, that
God would enable us to be dead to everything and everyone in
this world, whether it be praises. You know, praises are just as
bad for you as insults. Oh, yeah. Praises are just as
bad for you as insults. A puffy up, you know, a puffed
up man, you know, full of something. Don't need to pray. Be dead to
it. Be dead to it. Insults? Cursing? Bitterness? Wouldn't you like to be dead
to it? The things that rile us up, Margaret, the things that
people and the things that rile us up in this world, wouldn't
you like to be dead to it? Why not? Why not? It's really not
doing anything to you. Nothing. dead. As we talked about
going to a grave and a man you can in the grave, dig him up
and sit him there and brag on him. Tell him how good looking
he is. Tell him how smart he is. Brag
on him. What's he going to do Patrick?
Dead. No response. Well, cussing, cursing,
belittling, belittling. Tell him what an ignorant fool
he is. What's he going to do? Right? He's dead. Wouldn't you like
to be that one? He said, do it. Our Lord said,
do it. Reckon yourselves dead. Dead
to world opinion. Oh man, would I ever like to
be dead. You can't help but hear things.
You hear what's happening? No, I didn't. No, you're kidding
me. What matters? I guarantee if
you quit watching the news today and didn't watch it until six
years from now, it wouldn't make one bit of difference in your
life. Honestly, it wouldn't matter. Anything really bad happens,
you'll know about it. If a bomb drops, you'll know
about it. Right? Oh, no, the stocks are up. Or
stocks are, yeah, stocks are down. We don't have stocks. Well, stocks are down. The economy's
going to be bad. There's going to be a recession.
Oh. You know, old David said, I've
never seen God see a recession. The righteous beg for it. Never. You've come this far. Sixty six
years and you sure haven't missed a meal. You got your house. The roof
is not leaking. I don't think it's. But with these things when we
hear about. They get us all upset. And it's profitable. You're dead.
Just reckon yourself dead. There's going to be a time when
the stocks are going to go sky high. And you sure won't. It
wouldn't matter if you had a zillion of them. Or if the bottom dropped off
out and there's another depression. It wouldn't matter. You're dead.
It had no effect on you. And that's really so. That's
really so with God's people. You're dead. dead. And I like you and your life.
I mean, real life. Eternal life. The life you really
can't say. It. That's what he said, the things
that are not saying are eternal, real life. Your life, Now, you
have life in Christ, eternal life. And even this fact, you're holy,
unblameable, unapprovable, righteous, accepted, complete in Him, even
that's pretty much hid to us. Isn't it, John? What do we see?
We look in the mirror, we don't see a holy man. We see a corrupt man. We see a dead and dying man.
We don't see a man unblamed one for all we see is our fans ever
before was here. And I. Would cry. As he is so are we right now. How is it. Set to see. Right. I don't see that now here. It's
here to our. Have to receive it by faith here. And hid here means, you know, they used to hide money and stuff
under wherever, go out and dig a hole and hide it. For what? For safekeeping. That's what
this means. You're safe. Your life. Your life is safe in His hands. With Christ. It's with Christ.
It's safe. It's with Christ, it's in his
hand, who's right now seated with the Father. And you're already
there, whether you know it or not, you're already there. Your
name, there's a chair there at the table with your name on it. Yes, there is. There's a reservation
waiting on you, preserved in heaven for you. You're kept by
the power of God through faith, ready to be revealed for the
last time. You remember that story of Barnard, don't you?
I love that story. I've told it a hundred times.
Here's 101. Barnard used to love to sing,
but he couldn't sing very good. But he'd do it anyway. But he
said he dreamed that he died and went to heaven, went to glory,
and he heard this angelic choir of people just vast number of
people singing most beautiful, beautiful music and voices blending
together. And he said, oh, I love, I just
love to be a part of that, that, that throng singing. I just love to sing with them.
He said, he looked and he saw an empty seat way up in the back
there, up high. Empty seat, one empty seat. And
he said he made his way up there. all the way up there, and he
made his way, and he walked over across, and he looked, and it
said Ralph Barnard. See? He sat down and started
singing. And that's son, I don't know, that's not fairy tale.
That's son. Scripture says that there's a
place reserved for you. Your life is hid, real life.
Our Lord called it life more abundant. And it's here though, I have
not seen the things that God has prepared
for us. You haven't seen it? Because if you did, just one
glimpse, you couldn't stand to live here any longer. You'd think
this is the most corrupt place. You'd think the most beautiful
thing on this earth is downright ugly. Our Lord was a man of sorrows,
and that's part of the reason why he left glory to come to
this cesspool. Brother Roy, he got in it and
stayed there for 33 years. Honestly, that's what it was
like for him, this holy person. It's like for him to get in an
old cesspool and stay there for 33 years. Man's sorrows, sin,
sin, iniquity, your life, real life, life more abundant, eye
hath not seen, ear hath not heard. Paul, when he was stoned that
time, they took him up for dead. He died, and that's what he wrote
in 2 Corinthians 12. where he said, I knew a man with
in the body or out of the body. I don't know, but he ascended.
Talk about himself. He ascended up to the heaven
and a heaven, heaven, heaven of heaven, third heaven. That
means glory itself. He went to heaven. What'd he say? He said, I heard,
he said, I heard things that are unlawful. He said, I would,
I could try to describe them, but there are no words in the
English or in the Greek language that could describe them. You can't come up with, have
you ever seen something so beautiful or heard something you try, have
you ever heard? I know you have, you and I have. Oh, so you try
to, you got no words, you can't put into words. Paul said he
heard things, not let alone what he saw, but he heard things.
You see, ear hath not heard, neither have entered into the
heart of man. The things, the things that God
has prepared. Now, God made this first planet,
didn't He? And there's still much about
this planet that's beautiful, isn't it? When God made this
little old rocky mountain, you know, sometimes you can wake
up or top crest of the hill there in town and the sun is going
down. It's just, it's as beautiful
as anything on the ocean or wherever. Beautiful. Red. Incredible. God made this first planet and
he said it's good. So much so that he came walking
down in the garden. He rejoiced in the habitable
parts of the earth. He's delightful with the sons
of men. He used to walk with Adam and Eve in his own garden
and enjoy it. Now, but God says, in our language, we haven't seen
anything yet. He's truly saving the best for
last. He's saving the best for the
worst. Only the chief of sinners get to go there. Yeah, I hadn't seen that or have
entered in the heart. Things that God had prepared
for them that love him. You love God as God. You love
God. Things of God. He loved it. So
he said. Set your affection, set your
mind. Things above. Things above. Old Pilgrim in
Pilgrim's Progress. He was leaving the city of destruction.
He was all dead and dying. He knew it. And he had this burden
on his back, you know. He was dead. But he got a glimpse
of yonder celestial city. And that, with that ever before
his eyes, he just kept marching, sojourning. You know, all the
stuff he went through. All the trouble he got into.
All the falls he took. Every time he was to rise again
head toward the city. Fall, get sidetracked, get this,
get into Vanity Fair, play around in Vanity Fair, get put in prison,
none of that. Get up, head toward the city. That's where I'm going. And one
day, he crossed over. And everything just drops to
the ground. I'm out. in God, who's coming soon. He said He's coming again. Verse
4, Christ who is our life, Christ who is our life, shall appear.
Then shall ye also appear with Him. You'll appear with Him. I love that verse where it says
He's going to come down and together we'll meet the Lord in the air.
Those that went before us are going to go first. If we're still
here, we're all going Together, meet the Lord in the air because
he's not touching his feet on this dirty place again. And we're
leaving it to meet him in the air, so shall we be with him. Christ shall appear, and then
shall we appear with him in glory. In glory. What's that name? I don't know. I haven't seen
it. But set your mind on it. It's going to happen. You did.
You did. You did. OK, stand with me. Our Lord, by your grace and
mercy, we ask that you would enable us to do this, set our
affection. Lord, you set our mind, heart,
affection on thee and thee only. Reckon ourselves, Lord, dead
to this world, crucified to thee, the world to us. alive unto God
through Christ Jesus our Lord. Keep our minded hearts set on
things above. And Lord, bring us back here
where we hear about this and are always reminded and always
reproved and rebuked and exhorted and corrected and instructed
as you do your children. Keep us coming back. Save us
from this untoward generation by keeping our eyes on Christ
and on glory. It's in His name we're met here
tonight. Amen. You're dismissed. you.