All right, if you would open
your Bibles with me, Colossians chapter 3. Colossians chapter
3, as you're turning there, let me talk to you for a minute. If you were in the class this
morning, I talked about false prophets putting a burden on
people. One of the things I mentioned
was giving. And I realized I have an article in the bulletin this
morning on giving. and it's not in an effort to
put a burden on you. I don't talk about giving really
a whole lot. I just deal with it as it comes
up in scripture. This congregation is very giving. The Lord's giving you a gracious
and giving heart, but giving, like all the other graces, is
something that has to be taught. So I hope that article will be
a blessing to you and you won't feel like that it's putting a
burden on you. Also, Sandy Thornberry's sister,
Beverly Cobb, passed away this week. We remember Sandy in prayer. And on a lighter note, next Saturday,
it's April 2nd, that's next Saturday, right? We're going to have a
party to celebrate Charlie and Debbie Davis' 50th wedding anniversary. It's something worth celebrating.
The information is in the vestibule and I hope we all can come and
celebrate that. Colossians chapter three, we're
gonna read the first four verses. These will serve as our text
this morning. If ye then be risen with Christ,
seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right
hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things
on the earth. For your dead and your life is
hid with Christ in God. When Christ our life shall appear,
then shall ye also appear with him in glory. I look forward
to looking at those verses here in a few minutes. All right,
let's stand together as Jonathan leads us in singing our call
to worship. ? Glory to the Heavenly Father
? Fountain of eternal love To His wandering sheep to gather,
Sent the Savior from above. To the Son all praise be given,
Who with love unknown before, Left the bride abode of heaven,
And our sins and sorrows bore. Equal strains of warm devotion,
Let the Spirit's praise employ, Author of each holy motion, Source
of wisdom, peace, and joy. Thus, while our glad hearts ascending,
Glorify Jehovah's name, ? Heavenly songs with hours are blending
? ? There the theme is still the same ? Turn with me, if you would, to
number 228. My faith has found a resting
place. 228. ? My faith has found a resting
place, not in devise nor greed. I trust the Ever-Living One,
His wounds for me shall plead. I need no other argument, I need
no other plea. It is enough that Jesus died,
and that He died for me. Enough for me that Jesus saves,
this ends my fear and doubt. A sinful soul, I come to Him,
He'll never cast me out. I need no other argument, I need
no other plea. It is enough that Jesus died,
and that He died for me. My heart is leaning on the Word,
the written Word of God. Salvation by my Savior's name,
salvation through His blood. I need no other argument, I need
no other plea. It is enough that Jesus died,
and that He died for me. My great Physician heals the
sick, the lost He came to save. For me His precious blood He
shed, for me His life He gave. I need no other argument, I need
no other plea. It is enough that Jesus died,
and that He died for me. Open your Bibles with me to Romans
chapter 8. Begin reading in verse 28 of
Romans chapter 8. And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are called
according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he
also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom
he did predestinate them he also called. And whom he called, them
he also justified. And whom he justified, them he
also glorified. What shall we say to these things? If God be for us, who can be
against us? He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, How shall he not with him also
freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It
is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even
at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for
us. Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress,
or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, for thy sake
we are killed all the day long. We are counted as sheep for the
slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors,
through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither
death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers,
nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the
love of God, which is in Jesus Christ our Lord. We'll end our
reading there. Let's pray. Our God and Father in heaven,
Lord, how we thank Thee for this Thy word. Lord, how we thank
Thee for salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. How we thank Thee for Thy grace
and mercy to us. Lord, only to be found in the
Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you for this opportunity
to gather together as a people. Lord, for this place you've given
us to assemble together. Lord, for a faithful pastor.
Lord, to declare thy word. Lord, bless us with your presence
here this morning. Lord, we pray for our pastor
that you would Take these things written in thy word, Lord, that
which you have given him to study and prepare, that which you've
laid upon his heart, and enable him to speak freely to us, Lord. Lord, let us, Lord, be pleased
to speak through your servant to your people, and Lord, give
us ears to hear, Lord, a heart to receive thy word, faith to
believe, rest in the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, for those of our
number who in a time of trouble and difficulty, we pray that
you'd comfort and strengthen your people as only you can. Lord, cause us not to rest in
this flesh, but Lord, to rest in thee, knowing that thou doest
all things well. Lord, for these many young ones
you've given us, Lord, we pray you'd be merciful to them. Lord,
that you'd be pleased to teach them, and in your time, reveal
unto them the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, again, we ask you bless
us this day. Bless us with your presence. Lord, protect and keep
us. Again, we pray you'd bless us
as we've gathered together. Lord, set aside the thoughts
and cares of this world. Let us see Christ. In his name
we pray and give thee thanks. Amen. If you wouldn't open your
Bibles with me again to Colossians chapter 3. Colossians chapter 3. I've titled
the message this morning, Since Christ is our life. I took my
title from verse 4. The apostle writes, when Christ,
our life, shall appear, then she also appear with him in glory.
You notice those words, who is, those words are in italics. That
means they've been added by the translators, and I guess they
did that always, where they add those words, trying to make the
text more understandable, but I think this is one of the times
where they messed that up. I think the better translation
is the way it was originally written, when Christ, Our life
shall appear. That makes it a little more plain
that Christ is the believer's life. He is our life. Spiritual
life is a person. It's the Lord Jesus Christ. All
of salvation is a person. Every spiritual thing that we
think about regarding salvation, they're all a person. Righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption. Those are not doctrinal terms
and ideas. They're a person. He is made
unto us. Wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. We think about the resurrection.
The resurrection is not an event. It's not a future event. The
resurrection is a person. And now our Lord told Martha,
Martha, I am the resurrection and the life. I am. He that believeth
in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. Whosoever liveth
and believeth in me shall never die. Do you believe that? Do
you believe that if you believe Christ? Because he is the resurrection.
We think about heaven. Heaven is a real place. But you
know the glory of that place? It's not the furniture. It's
not the scenery. The glory of that place is Christ. Heaven is glory because Christ
is there. Really, heaven then is a person,
isn't it? I mean, I know it's a real place, but the glory of
it is a person. Well, spiritual life, what we're
talking about here is the same way. It's a person. Life is not
some sort of unseen force. Spiritual life is a person. Christ,
our life. See, Christ doesn't just give
spiritual life to his people. Now, he does that, but it's more
than that. Christ is is our life. We who believe live spiritually.
Why do we live? Because Christ lives. And we
say, because I live, you live also. All of our life is in Christ. It is Christ. It's all focused
on Him. He's the substance of our life. I'm telling you, we need to get
taken up with Christ. And right quick, we need to be
taken up with Christ. We need to be much more taken
up with the person of Christ, who he is and what he has accomplished
for his people, much, much more than all these other religious
ideas and religion junk and religious disputes and stuff that seems
to rule our day. Christ is our life. And we will be much happier.
We'll be more spiritually blessed. We'll be more spiritually mature.
The more simple and the more focused we become in our religion. Christ is all. Christ, our life. The more we focus on him, the
better off spiritually we will be. And then Christ is our life
in this way. Christ gives life. He gives substance
to everything that we believe spiritually. We say that we believe
in the total depravity of man, don't we? That's one of the things,
you know, we're all Calvinists, we say tea, tulip, We say we
believe in the total depravity of man. And I really hope that
we do. And the test of whether or not we believe that is do
I believe that about myself? From the time I've been a Calvinist
forever, from the time I knew anything, I knew everybody else
was totally depraved, it took a long time for the Lord to show
me I am totally depraved. I am totally depraved. And you
know the only way that we can know and believe that I am totally,
that we are totally depraved The only way that we can believe
that we are full of the corruption of sin, that spiritually we're
covered with wounds and bruises and putrefying sores, the only
way we can believe that about ourselves is to see Christ. Then I see myself in comparison
to Him. Now I know. Now I believe. That's what our
brother Job said. He said, oh, I've heard of you
by the hearing of the ear. But now mine eye seeth thee. And you know what the result
of that is? Job said, wherefore I abhor myself. I hate myself
and I repent in dust and ashes. Job believed in the total depravity
of man. He believed in his total depravity
when he saw God. We believe in the limited atonement
of Christ. When we say the limited atonement,
we don't mean that Christ's atonement is limited in its power to say. Oh, His blood has the power to
cleanse us from all sin. When we talk about the limited
atonement of Christ, it's limited in its scope, who Christ died
for. Now, whoever He died for shall
be saved. They are saved. Christ didn't
die for anybody that's gonna go to hell. But you know, the
only way that we can believe in the limited atonement of Christ,
that He is successful in saving everyone that the Father gave
Him to save, the only way we can see that, really believe
that, is by seeing Christ. It's believing Him. If I see
Him, Gary, I know this, He can't fail. He can't fail. And of course, there's a limited
atonement. He saved everybody He came to
save. Our Savior said that. Father, those that thou gavest
me, I've kept, and how many am I lost? None. I believe that
because I've seen Christ. He gives substance to that which
we believe. We believe in the perseverance
of the saints. We just firmly believe this. All those for whom
Christ died, all those had been called to Christ by the spirit,
they're going to persevere. They're going to continue in
the faith until they appear in glory. We don't believe that
because we think that there's some sort of special power and
a believer, you know, that somehow we're better than, you know,
than everybody else. They went out from us because
they never were of us, but Oh, not me. Cause you know, I'm no,
I'm not being different whatsoever. We believe God's elect will persevere
to the end because we believe the savior. We believe Him. The Savior said, I give unto
them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Why? Neither should any man pluck
them out of my hand. We believe in the perseverance of saints
because we believe Christ. See, He gives life, substance,
to everything we believe. We believe in the redemption
of Christ. We believe in redemption in His
blood, don't we? We believe in that so firmly
because we believe Christ. He redeemed his church. You know
how the Apostle Paul phrased that? He told those Ephesians,
feed the church of God which is among you. Which he purchased. Which he redeemed, how? With
his own blood. Brother, if son of God shed his
blood to pay a debt, that debt's paid in full. Because of whose
blood it is. We believe that God's people
are righteous. Right now. Right now. I'm looking at some
righteous people. Righteous people. I know you're
a sinner. I know we've all sinned so much
today and sinned ten worlds. I know that. But God's people
are righteous right now. Not someday, now. It seems impossible,
doesn't it? But you know why we believe that?
It's because of what we believe about Christ. He has made His
people, the righteousness of God, in Him. In Him. If it depends on me,
I'll never be righteous. But if it's in Him, I am. I am,
it's all in Christ. We believe we have peace with
God. We preach and believe God's people have peace with God. Oh,
how precious, how special peace of heart is. Peace with God. Do not be afraid to lay down
and die. You know why we believe we have peace with God? It's
because what we believe about Christ. He made peace for us
by the blood of his cross. We have a hope. We have an expectation
of glory. We who believe Christ have an
expectation that we will be like David and we're going to be satisfied
and one day open our eyes in glory and see Christ. I'm going
to be satisfied because when I see him, I'll be like him.
That's a big expectation, isn't it? That's a big expectation.
How can you expect such a thing? It's because what we believe
about Christ, what we believe in him, Peter said, blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according
to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again into a lively, a living
hope. Christ our hope. Christ in you,
that's your hope, your expectation of glory. We believe as sinful
and as rotten as we are, we believe those who trust and believe Christ
are accepted of the Father. Eric come and read scripture
and led us in prayer, and we're just sure that the Father heard
that prayer. That's big words. I think a whole
lot of Eric Floyd, but I don't believe he heard that prayer
because of Eric Floyd. We're accepted, how? In the beloved. See, everything we believe, Christ
is the substance of it. We believe that the Lord will
comfort His people. I believe that. I've experienced
it. I believe that. I believe that
the Savior will give grace for every trial. He's going to send
trials to every one of his sheep, and they're going to hurt. They're
going to hurt. They're going to hurt. It wouldn't
be a trial. They're going to hurt. And when he sends it, my advice to
you is this. Pray that he send grace sufficient. Because that's what he promised
to do. He'll answer that prayer. I believe he'll give grace sufficient. And his people will be comforted.
The trial may not end, the pain might not end right away, but
he's gonna comfort the hearts of his people. You know why I
believe that? Because of what I believe about
Christ. He is the consolation of Israel. He is the comfort
of his people. If I have Christ, I have comfort,
I have consolation, because he is the consolation of Israel.
Christ is the life, and he's the substance of our preaching.
If we're not preaching Christ, our preaching is so dry and dead,
it's no wonder people fall asleep while you're preaching. If you're
not preaching Christ, it's so lifeless, it's so dead. This
is what the Apostle Paul said, our Savior had to be the greatest
preacher who's ever lived. He said, I determined not to
know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
Apostle, this is the only thing I'm gonna preach about. This
is it. This is the sum and substance of my message, Jesus Christ and
Him crucified. And it's not just that He died
on the cross, it's why did He die and what did He accomplish
when He did? We preach Christ crucified. It's the only message
that saves. It's the only message that's
true. And if anybody preaches anything else, let him be damned
when Christ returns. This is the message. Our preaching
is just dry and dead. unless Christ is the life of
it, the substance of it. Christ is the life of all of
our doctrine. People say, don't preach doctrine to me. You'll
never hear me say that. Buddy, preach doctrine to me. I hate to hear preaching that's
not doctrinally sound. It can be emotionally sappy.
It can sound good to the ear, but buddy, I hate preaching that's
not doctrinally sound. You preach doctrine to me. As
long as that doctrine points to Christ, because that's what
all doctrine, that's what all teaching is supposed to do. Point
us to Christ. Christ is the life. He's the
substance of our worship. The writer to the Hebrew said,
let the angels of God worship him, him, him, not things, not
doctrinal stances. That's what separates the Calvinist
from the Armenian him. I stumbled on a website last
night. It was a website all about sovereign
grace. That's what it was about, sovereign
grace. And I thought, hmm, that's pretty rare. I believe I'll look
into this. And I got looking at it. I went
a long way down that page before I saw anything about Christ. I saw a lot about what the Calvinists
are doing wrong. I went a long way. And the thing
I saw about Christ was an article from one of our preacher brother.
I don't know how they found him, but they did. And they put one
of his articles on there. That's the first thing I saw
about the Savior, about Christ. We're not worshiping doctrinal
stances. We worship Him. Him. Christ is the life. and he's
the substance of our confession of him. You who believe him,
confess him, don't you? You've confessed him in believer's
baptism. What is that, when somebody's
baptized, they're dumped under the water and they're brought
back up out of the water, what are they confessing? That Christ is all my salvation.
That I'm saved through union with him. When he lived, I lived.
His obedience as a man under the law, that's mine. His death
to the law, His death, that's my death, he died for my sin.
When he died, I died in him. And when he was raised, I was
raised in him. I was given new life in him. He's all of our
confession. If being baptized, all that is
is some sort of religious ceremony that somehow magically washes
your sin away, but boy, when Christ is the life of it, when
Christ is the substance of it, it's a joy. We observe the Lord's
table. What a special time of worship
that is. It's the other thing that the
Lord gave us to remember him. And the men pass out the bread,
and they pass out the wine, and you take it. You don't come up
here and some man puts it on your tongue. You take it. You
take and eat. When you take that and you eat
it, you know what you're saying? The only way I could be saved
is if the only begotten son of God died for me. I mean, I am
so sinful, I am so horrible. It takes the blood of God to
cleanse my sin. And I take and eat this. His
broken body and his shed blood, that's all my hope of salvation. Now, if that's just a wafer,
if that's just unleavened bread that doesn't taste as good as
leavened bread, you know it's not soft, it's just wine, you know. Oh, we're proud of ourselves
that we use wine, not grape juice. There's nothing there. But if
it's a confession of Christ, he's the life of it. That makes
it a special time of worship, doesn't it? Saying that, tell
you what, Wednesday we're going to observe the Lord's table,
Wayne. Get that ready. We're going to observe the Lord's
table. It's a special time if Christ is the life of it. Christ
is the life and he's the substance of our prayer. Eric closed his
prayer praying in his name. We only pray in the name of Christ. And this is what the Savior told
us to do. Whatsoever you shall ask the Father in my name, He'll
give it to you. He'll give it to you. See, Christ
is the life of everything. We talk about the new birth.
The blood must be shed. The blood, the sacrifice has
to die. But brother, the blood's got to be applied. There's got
to be life given. God can't accept us in this sinful
condition. There's got to be a new nature.
There's got to be a life born. Christ is the life and substance
of the new birth. A new birth is not something
that separates us from the intellectual. Christ is the life of it. Paul
says here in verse one, if you then be risen with Christ, If
you're risen through union with Him, the only way a dead sinner
like me can have life is if God the Holy Spirit gives me life
by the very same power that God raised Christ from the dead.
Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus was dead. I mean, His body was dead. He wasn't just in a coma, He
was dead. What power it took to raise Him
to life. It takes the very same power. to give life to you and to me.
And that resurrection, that new life and the new birth can only
come from Christ. It's all dependent on who He
is. God gave me life for the same reason He raised Christ
from the dead. His sacrifice put my sin away. Christ couldn't
have been raised from the dead if there was still sin on Him.
His blood washed it away. That's why He was raised from
the dead. Well, since Christ died for my sin, God's justice
demands that I have life. I can't die if Christ died for
me. I can't. Christ is the life and
he's the substance of the believer's attitude toward others, especially
toward believers. Attitude is mighty important,
isn't it? Attitude. Not just what you do. Not do
you have all your doctrinal ducks in a row. People have all their
doctrinal ducks in a row. I met some of them, buddy. They're
hard. They're hard. What about an attitude? What
about what comes from the heart? Look at Philippians chapter 2.
Let's back a page or two. What's your motivation for that?
People will be pretty tough to take. What's your motivation for acting
like you've got some grace? What's your motivation? It's
Christ. He's the life of it. He's the
substance of our attitude. Philippians 2 verse 5. Let this
mind. this attitude being you, which
was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought
it not robbery to be equal with God. He didn't rob God of his
glory to say he was equal with God, because he is equal with
God. But yet, even though he's equal with God, he is God, he
made himself of no reputation. He took upon him the form of
a servant and was made in the likeness of men. And being found
in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto
death even the death of the cross. You let that mind, that attitude
be in you. And you know, I would say we
should lower ourselves to do any job to help other believers. Brother, we can't lower ourselves.
I mean, come on. When we say we're going to lower,
I'm going to lower myself to help somebody else out. I got
too big for my britches. I mean, you know, I might have
to kind of raise myself up a little bit to be on your level to help
you out maybe. But I'm telling you, there's no job too low,
too menial, too insignificant for me to do to help the church
of God, to help the people of God. And I tell you what my motivation
for that, what's the life of that attitude? It's thinking
how God's son humbled himself to save somebody like me. I'd
fix your wagon, won't I? It'll fix your wagon if you believe
Christ. See, when you look at it, I could go on and on and
on, but when you look at it that way, Christ is the substance,
He's the life of everything that we believe, of everything that
we hold dear. He is the object and He is the
goal of the believer's life. Without Christ, there's no substance
to any of these things that we say that we believe and hold
so dear. Without Him, they're just words
on paper. And I'm telling you, knowing Christ, this is why I
said this earlier, I mean, it's time for us to get serious in
this business of knowing Christ. Nothing's more important. Knowing
him, not knowing about him, knowing him is life eternal because he
is our life. And I want to know Christ. I
want to, I don't want to just have a legal standing before
God. I want to know Christ. He is our life. How's that for an introduction? Well, since Christ is our life,
I want to establish this point, how glorious, how special, how
precious that is to the heart of that. If you know Christ,
that had to encourage it. Christ is our life. All right. Since Christ is our life, there
are several things that's true. You know, there are several things
that are true about somebody that has physical life. You know,
they breathe, they think, they move, there's evidences of life. Since Christ is our life, there's
several things that are true. Number one is this. Christ is
so much our life that when he appears, we're gonna be made
just like him. Verse four, Colossians chapter
three. When Christ, our life, shall
appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. The Savior
promised His people He's coming back to get them. Aren't you
glad? Aren't you glad He's not just
leaving us down here, you know, and just... He's coming back. He's going to come back and take
us out of this world and take us to be with Him. And when Christ
comes, He's going to make His people just like Him. They're going to meet Him in
the air. They're going to go with Him where He is and answer
to His prayer that we may behold His glory. Now, since that's
true, Christ is coming again. He's coming back to get His people.
We who believe should live looking for Christ's return. Because,
you know, that's what our heart's desire really is. It's to see
Him and be with Him. You'll live your life. Now, do
what you've got to do. Whatever it is God's put to your
end to do today, do it to the best of your ability. Take care
of all these earthly responsibilities that God's given you. Don't slack
on them now. Don't slack. You take care of
these earthly responsibilities. But while you're doing it, do
it with this great anticipation. Christ is coming back to get
you. It's not always going to be like this. He's coming back.
Look what he says in verse two. Set your affection, set your
mind, your heart on things above, not on things on the earth. You'll
live taking care of your family. Take care, provide for them.
But listen, taking care of your family is more than buying them
shoes and clothes and food, putting a roof over their head. Taking
care of your family, if you believe Christ while you're looking for
His return, taking care of your family is this, teach your children
who Christ is. Teach your children who God is.
Teach your children who they are. Be sure that your family
is provided for the best way that you can. But I'm telling
you the most important way you provide for your family is teaching
them this. This family worships God. Sundays
and Wednesdays. This family worships God. We
worship Him together. And it's not just on Sundays
and Wednesdays. Don't just, you know, do it by
word. Teach your children by your example. I believe God.
I trust God. I love Him. Teach your children
the importance of worship. Teach your children the importance
of being under the sound of the gospel. Because if you love your
children, I know you do. I know you do. You want to see
God be merciful to them? You want to see God reveal Himself
to them? Do you? Tell you how He's going to do
it? By the preaching of the gospel.
Then make sure they're there to hear it. And make sure that
they know when they grow up and they're not under your thumb
anymore, make sure they know I'm supposed to be in the house
of God when his word's being preached. See, you're providing
for your family. You're teaching them what's most
important. Because you know this, Christ's
come back. He's come back to get you. Live. Doing a good job at work. Every
one of us ought to have, when it comes time for a performance
evaluation, we ought to have earned a raise. Do a good job. But listen, don't make getting
ahead at work and making money, getting more money, don't make
that your goal. Remember now, and I know this can be hard to
remember sometimes, you're down there at a salt mine, but remember
this, Christ is the object of your life. He is your life. Do
a good job, not because you're trying to get money, because
you're working as under the Lord. He's your life, He's your master.
And when you get a raise, use it to help your family. Use it
to help the church. Live looking for opportunity. Don't wait for somebody to ask
you. Look for opportunities to help these people. Look for opportunities
to help the people of God. Look for opportunities to point
believers to Christ. Listen, that's why God left us
here. My dear, dear friend Jim Meadows
told me so often, he said after the Lord saved him, he didn't
know why the Lord left him here. He didn't know why, Lord, but
he was in his, what, early 70s, mid-70s. He said, I don't know
why God left me here. He acted like a grouch, but he
was the sweetest man I knew. I said, Jim, I know why God left
you here. I need you. I need you to help
me. I need you to help me put a roof
on. I need you to help me do, I need
you. I need you. And he looked for ways. He looked
for ways to go help God's people. He lived for it. Mighty good
way to spend your life, isn't it? Mighty good way, look for
ways to help God's people. That's why God left us here to
be the salt of the earth. In case this is news to you,
life's tough. This life is tough. And it's not just tough for me.
It's tough for you. I know that. You remember that
people around you, it's tough for them too. Brother Earl told me one time,
we used to work together, and he would try to treat people
just so graciously and kind. And he told me, he said, they
could be having a tough day. I don't want to make it harder.
They could be having a real tough day. Maybe somebody's a jerk
to me because they're having a real tough day. Life's tough. Make it taste a
little better for those around you. Put some salt on it. Live your life doing what you're
supposed to do. You know what you're supposed
to do. And do it looking for Christ's return. Looking for
ways to serve Him by serving His people. Live your life. Go
about your life trusting Christ to be your all. Your life is
not how much of this stuff that you can gather. A preacher friend
of mine used to say, this is what the world thinks. Get all
you can, can all you get, and sit on the can. Don't do that.
Don't do that. This is how Enoch walked with
God. Just walking, trusting Christ to be your home. That's how Enoch
walked with God. That's how you can walk with
God. That's how I can walk with God. This is why the Apostle
Paul said, for me to live is Christ. This is his will for
me. This is my opportunity to serve
his body and to die as gain. Oh, buddy. One day there's a
day of gain coming. That anticipation keeps these
temporary things in their proper perspective, and eternal things
in their proper perspective, doesn't it? All right, number
two. Since Christ is our life, we're
dead to this world. Verse three says, for you're
dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. Now, the believer
has been born again from above. They have spiritual life. Christ
is our life. We have new life. Life is born
from holy seed, the seed of the Word of God. It's not like being
born the same way we were born the first time. If you could,
like Nicodemus asked, if I could go back to my mother's womb and
be born again, it'd be the same thing all over again. Born from
sinful seed is going to produce a sinful, corrupt me. Believers
have been born again from holy seed from above. They have holy
spiritual life. And since we've been born again
from above, we also have a new citizenship. We've been born
from above. Our citizenship is in heaven. And since we've been born again,
we have new citizenship in heaven. We're dead to this world. Look
back in Colossians 2 verse 20. Wherefore, if you be dead with
Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living
in the world, are you subject to ordinances? These physical
things, touch not, Taste not, handle not. These things will
all perish with the using. You're dead to the world. You
don't worship God by these things of the world. You don't come
to God by the things of this world. You're not saved by the
things of this world. You're not defiled by the things
of this world. You're dead to the things of this world. You're
dead to them. Now, since you're dead to this
world, let me give you a piece of advice. Don't be overly affected. by the goings on of this world.
I know it affects our bodies. It's just different things. And
we're citizens of the greatest nation in the history of the
planet. We ought to be good citizens.
But just don't get too bent out of shape about what they're doing.
And I'll tell you this. You won't get too bent out of
shape about what they're doing if you just don't have too high
of expectations for them. Remember who it is that's in
the seats of government here. Don't expect too much of them.
And also remember this, who's holding their heart and twisting
it where he will in his hand. That just kind of calms everything
down, doesn't it? I thought of this example. I
don't care. I mean, I just don't care what
laws the parliament or whatever kind of government that they
have of Canada passes. I don't care. You know why? I'm not a citizen of Canada.
I don't care. A believer is not a citizen of
this world. Just don't get too bent out of
shape about what's going on in this place and remember this.
Your heavenly father has come back and get you. He's taking
you from this place. Just remember that your citizenship
is in heaven and you do have to live in this world, but you're
not of it. Now, if you're a believer, you've
been born again, you're in this world, but you're not of this
world. You're dead to this world. And the goings-on of this world
don't affect you any more than today's news affects a, there's
a, somewhere in Steen's funeral at this very moment, there's
a corpse lying in a casket. You can take that, today's newspaper,
and you could read it to that corpse, you could put the 24-hour
news channel upright by his head, and you could just have him listen
to all the horrible news of the day, and he's gonna be completely
unaffected by it. You know why? He's dead to this
world. You who believe are too. And
your citizenship is above. Now, I know these things affect
you, but keep them in their proper place because they don't affect
your soul. They don't affect your heavenly
citizenship. Your life is not in the things
of this world. See, we're in it, but we're not
of it. Your life is not the things of this world. Your life is hid
with Christ in God. Your true life, your true life
is hidden from the understanding of this flesh. But you understand
it. You understand it. Then live
your life in the flesh, taking care of the important things
first. Where your citizenship is in heaven. And that brings
me to the third thing. Since Christ is our life, there
are some things we should seek. We should seek. Verse one, Paul
says, if you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which
are above where Christ said it on the right hand of God. A pause
is seek. Those things are above. Well,
what's above? Well, heaven is above. Spiritual
things are above. Well, they seek those things.
Seek those things. We don't know a lot about heaven,
but I do know this. Christ is there. He's on the
right hand of the throne, isn't he? The throne of God. Then seek
him. Live your life seeking him. Seek
Christ first. There are a lot of other things
you've got to get to live, I know. I mean, this body's got to live,
but nothing's more important than seeking Christ. Solomon
said, in all you're getting, get understanding, get wisdom. which is Christ. Our Lord said
that. Seek ye first the kingdom of
God and his righteousness. And all these other things bad
to you. Seek what's most important first, it's Christ. What else
is in heaven? Well, true worship. True worship
is in heaven. What are those saints in glory
doing at this very moment? They're worshiping the Savior
around his throne. Well, seek that. Seek to worship
him. I know we can't worship God perfectly
like they are. There's just, sin ruins everything
that we do. But public worship is still a
blessing. It's still a blessing, isn't it? This is how we're saved.
This is how God's people are fed and comforted and encouraged.
God's commanded us to worship him publicly. But I sure want
to do it, don't you? Then seek opportunities to do
it. Don't seek excuses not to, seek
opportunities to do it. And somebody said, well, I'm
not coming down there worshiping y'all. You don't do it right. You don't
have enough faith. You're not straight enough. You
don't have this right. You don't have this right. You don't have
something else right. Well, again, I mean, I know that our worship
can't be perfect because nothing here is. But I'll tell you this.
I want to worship God. And if I don't enjoy it here,
I won't enjoy it there. God should be worshiped, shouldn't
he? Isn't that the right relationship
between God and me? I should worship him. I should
worship at his feet. And I know this, the only way
my spiritual life is gonna be fed is through the public worship
service, the preaching of the gospel. Then seek it. Make it your business to be there
as much as is possible. Here's the third thing I know
that's in heaven. Every spiritual blessing. That's something everybody
in this room is interested in, spiritual blessing. I want to
be blessed of God. I tell you what, seek them where
they're found. Don't seek them where they're
not found. They're not found in the things of this earth.
They're above, they're spiritual. Then seek them where they're
found. They're all in Christ. Then seek him and you'll have
it all. You'll have it all. And here's
what I mean by that. Everybody wants to be happy.
Everybody wants joy, you know. Well, don't seek true joy and
true happiness in the perishing things of this life. Because
eventually, they're all gonna let you down. They're all will
disappoint you eventually. People die. There are people
in my life that are very, very important to me. But people die. You can make money. Your happiness,
is that going to be your true joy? You've got money and you've
got security. Solomon said, money gets wings.
It flies away. Possession, stuff you own, you're
going to stock it up and they decay. They'll burn up someday.
And whatever you do, don't seek your happiness, your joy, and
all your religious doings. They'll damn your soul. They're
not going to bring you any joy. These things of this life that
God's given us, I tell you, enjoy them while you have them. Enjoy
them while you have them. But don't make them your joy. Don't make them the thing that
your joy depends upon, or you're going to end up joyless and disappointed
when they're gone. Enjoy these things. Be happy.
Be thankful that God's given you. Thank God for our children,
for our families. We're thankful. I mean, I'm not
saying don't just completely disregard those things. Be thankful
for them, enjoy what God's given to you, but seek your joy and
your happiness in Christ and knowing Him and believing Him
and having Him. If you do, you'll have it eternally,
joy and happiness eternally, and you'll have it on this earth,
too, even when your heart broke. even when it seems like it's
all falling down around your ears and you have troubles and
trials of this life, you'll still have peace. You'll still have
happiness if you have Christ. Because the things of this life
are gonna leave you. What did he promise? I'll never
leave you nor forsake you. Never. See, seeking those things
which are above keeps everything in its proper perspective, doesn't
it? It keeps those things which are above in our mind, our estimation
is what's most important. And it keeps these things down
here below in their proper perspective. Thankful for them, but they're
less important. I'm enjoying what God gives them
to me. But I tell you what, this is the attitude of a believer.
This is what we should have. I'm gonna be thankful for these
things, what God lets me have. But I tell you what, I'm ready
right now to let go of them. and to depart and be with Christ. Not just go to heaven and float
around on a cloud and play a harp. I don't much like a harp. It's
to let go of these things and depart and be with Christ, my
life, who is far better. See, it's all Him in there. It's
all Him. Well, I hope God will bless that
to you. Let's bow together. Our Father, We thank you for
your word. And oh, how I pray, I beg of
you that you would apply your word to our hearts, cause us
to believe Christ and to seek him above all else, to seek him,
to find our happiness, our joy, our peace, our comfort, our rest
in Christ and Christ alone. Father, I pray you'd take our
service this morning and use it to the glory of Christ our
Savior. cause him to be exalted in each
one of our hearts that we might behold him with the eye of faith
and awe and wonder and leave here this morning rejoicing in
Christ our Savior. For it's in his precious name,
for his glory we pray. Amen. All right, Jonathan. stand together and sing page
495, page 495, Unsearchable Riches. Oh, the unsearchable riches of
Christ, wealth that can never be told. Riches exhaustless of
mercy and grace, precious, more precious than gold. Precious, more precious, wealth
that can never be told. Oh, the unsearchable riches of
Christ, precious, more precious than gold. Oh, the unsearchable
riches of Christ, who shall their greatness declare? Jewels whose luster and lives
may adorn, Pearls that the poorest may wear. Precious, more precious,
Wealth that can never be told. Oh, the unsearchable riches of
Christ, Precious, more precious than gold. Oh, the unsearchable
riches of Christ, freely, how freely they flow, making the
souls of the faithful and true happy wherever they go. Precious, oh, precious, wealth
that can never be told, O the unsearchable riches of Christ,
Precious, more precious than gold. O the unsearchable riches
of Christ, Who would not gladly endure Trials, afflictions, and
crosses on earth, Riches like these to secure. Precious, more precious, wealth
that can never be told. Oh, the unsearchable riches of
Christ, precious, more precious than gold.