I invite you this morning to
take your Bibles and turn with me to Colossians, the third chapter. Colossians chapter 3. We'll be
looking at these first three verses. And my subject is this,
my hope and my heart. My hope and my heart. Now, it's been my experience
over the years that some people say, this is my hope. But it's
not where their heart is. Their heart is somewhere else.
Now, man, he looks on the outward countenance, but God looks on
the heart. You remember the prophet came
to David's house. David was just a young ruddy
boy. He's out there tending the sheep.
His daddy Jesse brought all the fine sons in and marched them
before the prophet to see who the prophet would anoint as the
king of Israel. And Samuel looked, and each one
of them went by. He says, is there anyone else? Well, he said, I got this one
boy. Go fetch him. Bring him in here. That's the
one. That's the one. Man looks on the outward countenance. God looks on the heart. My hope and my heart. What is the believer's hope? If someone wants to come up to
you this morning, I call it being blindsided. Your mind's on this
and your mind's on that and you go out and somebody just comes
up to you out of the clear blue and say, what do y'all believe
over there? And you stop, scratch your head, and then you try to
come up best you can. You start somewhere, and you
start in this big thing about telling them what all is preached
and what we believe. What is the believer's hope?
What is his hope? If someone were to come up to
you this morning and ask you for an explanation of your hope,
what would you tell them? In 1 Peter 3, verse 15, we are
told to sanctify the Lord God in our hearts. What in the world
is that? That means to set Him apart from
everything else. Set the Lord apart in your heart. Set Him apart in your minds and
affections. Set Him apart in your understanding. Know who God is. and set him
apart as such in your heart, in your mind, in your mind. Set him apart and be ready always
to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the
hope that is in you with meekness and fear. That is with that sanctified
name. Set apart in your mind. Give
them a reason for your hope. In the light of the true name
of God and the true character of God, give them a reason. Give
them a reason. Paul said he was made a minister
and sent to the Colossians to declare a long hidden mystery. One hidden from generations and
ages, but one now made known to his saints. How that God would
manifest the riches of the glory of this mystery upon the Gentiles,
upon these heathen idolaters. What was that hope? Christ in
you. Ain't that what He said? The
hope of glory. Oh my! Christ in you. Now Christ in you, the hope of
glory, is not talking about His invisible person. Although the Spirit of God does
abide in those who truly believe. But that's not what this phrase
is necessarily talking about. It's not talking about His invisible
person abiding in you or the power of some mystical force
abiding in you to walk in some kind of sinless perfection or
something like that. He's talking here about the hope
of true saving faith. He's talking about the reasons
for that hope, the persuasion of that hope, and the basis of
that hope. And what is it? It's Christ. It's Christ. Christ. John, what makes you think God's
going to deliver you? Huh? There are thousands out
here who live better lives than I've lived. Done a lot. better things than I've done, why should I have hope? Christ. Christ. He's talking about a
great mystery being manifested, unraveled, uncovered, brought
to light, Colossians 1.27, which is Christ in you, the hope of
glory. And these riches, Colossians
2, 2, are the riches of the full assurance of understanding to
the acknowledgement of God and of the Father, that is, of the
Spirit of God and of the Father and of Christ in whom are hid
all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Christ. He's talking about an understanding
of Christ. He's talking about the reasons
of your hope being based on this person. And that's what true
Christianity is. It's the man who believes and
rests and enjoys and rejoices and hopes in that person, the
Lord Jesus Christ. And it's not just a hope, a hope,
a hope. It's not just Christ's image
on a little medallion or something that I hang around my neck or
his picture hanging on the wall. It's who this man is and why
he came and what he did and where he's at. It's the full assurance
of the understanding. That's what he tells us here.
That's what this Christ in you is all about. It's seeing in
Him something worthy for you to turn loose of this world,
something greater than this world, something better than religion,
something better than your old superstitions. And God the Holy Spirit and God
our Heavenly Father are acknowledged and their glory made known as
we see them declared in the person and work of Jesus Christ. And then he warns us of a great
danger. He tells us down here in Colossians
2.8 to beware, beware, lest any man spoil you through philosophy
and vain deceit after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of
the world, and not after Christ. There are three things here that
he warns us of. Worldly philosophy, number one. He warns us about it. Worldly
philosophy, worldly reasoning, and religious tradition. And
by these three things, the whole world is deceived by these three
things. You just listen to them talk.
They'll get around to it. Pretty soon they'll tell you
one of these three things, if not all three together. Everything
that religion sets before this world is reasonable. It's reasonable, John. It's not
something unreasonable. It's very reasonable what they
set before men. It's reasonable to assume that
a life of crime and worldly lust must be abandoned to find favor
with God. Isn't that reasonable? I can
tell you this. You're over there cussing me
up one side and down the other and got a ball bat. I'm not going
to be reconciled to you. I'm not going to listen to you.
You're not going to find no favor with me. Put the bat down. Quit cussing me. Now come over
here and we'll talk. That sounds reasonable, isn't
it? That's reasonable. Nobody ought to have a problem
with that. It's reasonable to assume that
a life of crime and worldly lust must be abandoned to find favor
with God. Here's a man living in gross
sin and idolatry. It's unthinkable that God would
reconcile such a person while he's still actively practicing
his ungodly rebellion and sin. But in Romans 5, verse 8, it
said, God commendeth His love toward us in that while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us. Huh? That ain't reasonable,
is it? No, that's grace. That's grace. Verse 10, when we were enemies,
listen, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son,
and being reconciled, by the death of his son, how much more
shall we be saved by his life, his resurrected life, his glorious
life, his seated at the right hand of God. You see that? That
ain't reasonable with you. That's why men rebel. That's
why they fight against you. What religion preaches is reasonable
to the flesh. It's reasonable to fallen, depraved
men. It's reasonable to assume that
to forsake this life, one must first determine to do so. Be
willing to do so. Make a commitment to do so. It is, if man's not dead in trespasses
and sins, How is a dead man going to be willing to do anything? How is an ignorant man, who were
ignorant in sin, blind? Isn't that what he said? He told
those Pharisees, those religious men who were preaching these
very things that I'm telling you this morning, these reasonable
things, things that were reasonable to people. People don't follow
unreasonable advice. They follow reasonable advice.
And they were suckered in by it, deceived by it. But man's dead and he's blind.
If our gospel be hid, Paul said, it's hid to the blind. It's hid
to those who are dead. They're blind. They can't see.
They're ignorant. They don't have any basis. They don't have any understanding
of Christ. It is if man's not dead in trespasses
and sins, and it is if man has the potential to reform himself. But the Scripture says that he
doesn't have such a potential. He doesn't have such an ability.
And therefore, it's not his will that turns him to Christ, but
God's power exercised over him and in him. It says in the book
of Psalms 110 verse 3, by people, shall be willing in the day of
thy power. That's why they're willing. I'm
not saying God brings men who are unwilling. I'm just simply
telling you it's not by your will, it's God who makes you
willing. Who makes you willing. The scripture
said it's not of him that willeth. That ought to just settle that.
That ought to just throw that argument out the window. It's
not of him that willeth. It's not of Him that runneth,
but it's of God that showeth mercy. It says in the book of
James, by His own will, God's own will, begat He us with the
word of truth. It wasn't my will, it was His
will. It's reasonable to assume that
goodness deserves to be rewarded and evil to be punished. That's
reasonable, isn't it? Well, that's the basis of everything
they preach right there. But this has no bearing on the
sinner because there's none good. They wouldn't glory in it if
they understood that. There's none good. Producing
good not even in the realm of possibility for any son of Adam. Why? Because all have sinned
and come short of the glory of God. It's reasonable to think that
those who have given their lives completely to the ministry, forsook
everything. Family, friends, job, security. Went out to the mission field
like Brother Walker Groover and spent your whole life down there. Alienated from your family down
there in a foreign land, down there in a jungle. No good places
to go get doctored. Every kind of disease known to
man. It's reasonable to think that
those who've given their lives completely to the ministry and
labored a lifetime at great sacrifice ought to receive a greater reward
than those like the thief who just had a brief testimony and
died. That's reasonable, isn't it?
That's why they talk about all these mansions and glory and
cabins. Some of you have heard that old
Armenian song, give me just a cabin in the corner of glory land.
There ain't no cabins in glory land. In my father's house are
many mansions. That's all I can read of. No
poverty there. No poverty there. Yet the Scriptures teach us plainly
that all God's elect are saved by grace and none are worthy
by anything they do, no matter how much it is. In Matthew 20,
verses 1-16, He teaches us that the last shall be first and the
first shall be last. You remember the story how the
man came out first thing in the morning and he went in and he
said, will you work all day? Yeah, I'll do it. Okay. Get out
there and get with him. So he did, and all day long.
Finally, finally, just the last little bit of the day, he sends
a man out. He labored out there for a little
while, come back in. Payday. Give him $10 apiece. Whoa, whoa, now wait a minute.
Now wait a minute. I've been out there all day.
He's only been out there an hour. He said, how much you agree on?
$10? How much you got? $10? What's the problem? Huh? To all of grace. All of grace. All of God's elect
are saved by grace, and none are worthy of anything. Not worthy of any kind of reward
or special recognition. Paul said, what have you gotten
that you haven't received? And if you received it, why do
you glory like you didn't? Huh? Boy, I'm smarter than him.
If you are, how come? Huh? I'm a self-made man. You sure are. You sure are. And if I was you, I'd dread it.
I'd dread it. Philosophy, worldly reasoning,
vain tradition, all are logical to natural men who don't know
God. to have Christ in you as your
hope and your joy and your reward, your rest, supposes a spiritual
resurrection. Nothing's going to change. Nothing's
going to alter your course or reconcile you to God until God
the Holy Spirit comes and raises you up out of your depravity
and gives you the ability to see. All these miracles of Christ. Christ gave eyes to the blind. He gave hearing to the deaf. He gave the ability to speak
to those who were dumb. He raised the dead. He cleansed
the lepers. They couldn't do anything for
themselves. They were dependent 100% on Him. Nothing's going to change. Nothing's
going to alter your course until God the Holy Spirit comes and
raises you up from the dead. Now you might get religion. You
might get that. You might get religion. You might
have an experience. You might join the church, be
baptized. You might even go to seminary
and become a preacher. You might. But you'll never hope
in Christ alone. until God raises you up from
the dead. I'm telling you the truth. God's
free and sovereign grace in Christ is contrary to this flesh, and
it's contrary to this world. It goes against the grain. In Romans 8, verse 5, He said,
For they that are after the flesh, what's that talking about? That's
those who follow after its reasoning and its logic. Those who are
limited by its depravity. Those who are under the influence
of Satan as its teacher. They do mind the things of the
flesh. They listen to that reasoning. It seems right to them. Huh? That's right. They do mind the
things of the flesh. The things that appeal to it.
seem reasonable to it, things they see in others like them,
things established and practiced by this world. But, he said,
they that are after the Spirit, born of God and taught of God
and set free from the depravity of their darkness and ignorance,
they mind the things of the Spirit. What's the conclusion of all
this? They that are in the flesh cannot please God. What if I dress up and cut my
hair and shave? Cannot please God. What if I give big gifts and
sacrifice and go to school and become a preacher? Cannot please
God. You can please Mama. Some of
them. You might please your wife, but
you ain't going to please God. They that are in the flesh cannot
please God. Paul says in Galatians 5, verse
17, that the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against
the flesh, and these are contrary one to the other. Now the word
lust means desires, appetites, Longings. That's what it's talking
about. The lust of the flesh is anything and everything in
this world that appeals to the flesh. That's what it is. Everything
that makes life worth living here. The lust of the spirit
is its longings, its appetites, its desires. It's everything
that makes eternal life worth having. These are contrary the
one to the other. The contrary. To walk after the
flesh is to walk in pursuit of its desires and goals. And to
walk after the Spirit is to walk in pursuit of Christ and His
goals. And all those who truly walk
in the Spirit walk in faith, believing in, resting in, joying
in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's Christ in you, the hope
of glory. That's what Paul is talking about
here. These people need no shame of
religious works, no pretense of self-righteousness. Christ
is their righteousness. They need no evidence of regeneration
except as the Holy Spirit of promise opens to them the blessings
of God in Christ. He's their reward. He's the treasure. And my friends, to have Christ
is to have Him alone as your hope. That's what it means to
have Christ. It's to have such an understanding
that leaves you satisfied with Him. Satisfied. Like my daughter. I've got a
daughter who's born on Christmas. We always used to have two celebrations
that day. We'd celebrate, first of all,
we'd celebrate her birthday, and then we'd have regular Christmas. It's defined in him. You know,
I used to, we'd get gifts, and mine was on December 10th, so
I was close enough where I'd get these cards that says, Happy
Birthday and Merry Christmas. I used to just hate that when
I was a kid. Huh? My point is this. True saving faith is when you
find satisfaction in Christ. You don't feel like you've been
gypped. You don't feel like there's something else out there, there's
something more, something else I need. You quit looking. You
find in Him the treasure. This is it. This is it. You find in Him such a glory
that everything this flesh desires falls in the light of it. Paul
said in Philippians 3, verse 7, But what things were gained
to me, those I counted loss for Christ. They were gained to him. He labored for them. He longed
for them. He sought after them. All these
things that appealed to his flesh that was reasonable to him. As
a Pharisee, he sought after them. He spent his lifetime to get
them. When he learned of Christ, he said he discounted it loss.
The whole thing. All of it just lost. Yea, doubtless,
he said, and I count all things but lost for the excellency of
the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered
the loss of all things, and do count them but doomed that I
might win Christ and be found in Him. It was all just garbage. That's what Paul found out in
the end. Now, I said all of that to say this. My text here in
Colossians 3 Verse 1 might have its right effect, its right impact
on your mind. He said, if ye then be risen
with Christ. Oh my, what an if. If. If. Am I? Oh, there's the question. Am
I? Am I? Am I risen, as Paul described
it back in Colossians 2, verse 12, risen with Him through the
faith of the operation of God who has raised Him from the dead?
Am I risen with Him? Do I have this faith divinely
given, divinely sustained, divinely evidenced? If, if, if you then
be risen with Christ, Then seek those things which
are above, where Christ sitteth," that is, the resurrected Christ,
"...sitteth at the right hand of God." Brethren, when Christ
raised up His Son from the dead, it was not just another miracle.
It was a representative resurrection. Ephesians 2, verse 5, Even when
we were dead in sins, God quickened us together with Christ. Think
of it. When Christ was born of Mary,
He was given a body that represented the whole of God's elect. In that body. I'm in that body.
If you're here this morning and you're a believer, you were in
that body. Included in that body. He is the head of the body, which
is the church. Both He and they are one body.
Everything He did, they did. Everything He felt, they felt.
Everything He thought, they thought. And as our representative, He
become a servant and humbled Himself and become obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore, God hath highly
exalted Him. Why? Because He exalted and honored
the Lord. Because He satisfied divine justice. Because He redeemed all those
that the Father gave Him. He did all that the Father sent
Him here to do. He did the will of God. He established, manifested the
righteousness of God. Wherefore, God also hath highly
exalted Him, and given Him a name above every name, a name of honor,
exaltation, authority, and glory. Now listen to me. God quickened
us together with Him. With Him. Raised us up together
with Him. And made us to sit together at
the right hand of God in Him. Think about it. And because of this representative
resurrection, there is a spiritual resurrection. And there's no
ifs, ands, and buts about it. All those who were raised in
Him, as God quickened us together with Him and seated us with Him
in glory, He's going to raise by spiritual resurrection. He raised us up together with
Him, seated us together with Him, that, it says in Ephesians
chapter 2, in the ages to come He might show. Who's He going
to show it to? Those He raises in the spiritual
resurrection. What's He going to show? He's
going to show them the exceeding riches of His grace and His kindness
toward us in Christ Jesus. Huh? Oh, the kindness of God. I don't have words to tell you
what I am by nature. And even under the restraint
of God, all the things that I've done in my wicked life. But God in his kindness. And in that great love wherewith
He loved us, even when we were dead in sin, even when we walked
the course of this world and walked according to the God of
this world, even in that rebellion and, as Paul said, persecuted
the Church of God, not worthy to be called an apostle or even
a believer or a saint, no worthiness in me at all. But God showed
me His kindness in Christ. Huh? Can you get a hold of that? I tell you, if you can, you're
not going to need Ten Commandments to tell you how to live. You're
going to serve Him till you die. You're going to love Him till
you die. I'm not going to have to hide $5 bills on the church
seat to get folks to come and attend. Religion does that. No, you're going to think on
that kindness. And you're going to have gratitude
overflowing. You're going to serve Him. You're
going to love Him. Nobody's going to have to twist
your arm. You're going to love Him. Oh, Christ in you. Is He? Am I raised with Him? Well, I tell you, we rant and
rave over election and we rant and rave over God's sovereignty.
I'm going to tell you where it's at. All of those things are true.
All those things are true. Christ is sovereign. God did
elect the people. All those things are true. But
I'm going to tell you what's going to impact your heart when
God opens your eyes to see His kindness and His grace and the glory of His love. Christ in you, the hope of glory. If you then, if you then be risen
with Him, that's where your heart ought to be, hadn't it? Huh? Isn't that what He's telling
us here? Set your affection on things above. If you're risen
with Him, did He raise all but your heart? Oh, no. Oh, no. He brings a heart with Him. I'll
put within them a heart of flesh. I'll take away that stony heart.
I'll give them a heart to know me. If we then be risen with
Him, then set your affection on things above." What things? What things? What in the world is he talking
about? Is he talking about those mansions? Is he talking about
those streets of gold and gates of pearl? What's he talking about?
Set your affections on things above. Well, I believe, first
of all, he's talking about a full, free, and complete justification
by God. I know Satan ever lives to accuse
the saints of God. He's the accuser of the brethren.
And I know that because he does the religion of which he is the
author, also accuses the brethren. But the scripture says this,
who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies. How do I know God justified me?
Huh? How do I know that I have full,
free justification before God? That God himself, the judge of
all men, justified me, John. Justified me. Found no sin in
me. How do I know that? Because he
put me in Christ. and raise me up with Him in full
favor and sit me at His right hand. That's how I know it. This justification is an act
of God's free grace through the redemption accomplished by His
Son, which declares beyond all question God's righteous act
of salvation by the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ. What would
it be worth to you who are here this morning to have hope that
all your sins are gone? You talk about a load come off
your back. I mean to know that your sins
are gone. Not even God can find your sins. He put them behind His back.
He scattered them from east to the west. That's the hope of God's elect.
That's the hope of Christ in you. Full, free justification. And there's no halfway point
here. My sins are either gone or they're still charged to my
account. He didn't pay for some of them and say, now I'm going
to see how you do. Huh? That's what religion says.
He forgives you past sins, but now we've got to deal with the
future sins. Or which one of your sins was past when Christ
died? Huh? They were all future, weren't
they? He doesn't put away some sins
and then see how we'll live for him. He already knows what we
are. Huh? Isn't that what Jones said? He
put his no trust in his saints. That's what Jones said. Don't
get that idea. Oh, let this heart seek him who
is my hope of justification and righteousness. And then secondly,
Seek those things which are above. What thing? Fellowship with God. I like people, and I want people
to like me. Scripture said those who would
have friends must show themselves friendly. You've got to be friendly
to have friends. I want folks like me, and I like them. I don't,
you know, I don't want folks to despise me and hate me and
all of those things. But I tell you this, more than
that, think what it would be, John, to have fellowship with
God. Huh? To walk with Him. To walk
with Him. Like Abraham, speak with Him
as a friend. Man, oh man. Somebody said, well,
I need a house built. Well, I got this friend who builds
houses. I got this illness. Well, I know this doctor. I lived
beside him for years. I'll take you over there and
introduce you to him. That's something, isn't it? What
must it be to have God as your friend? What would that be worth? That's the hope of Christ in
you. He said, I'm a friend that sticks closer than a brother. The Holy Spirit of God, when
He comes in power into the hearts of God's elect, convinces them
of the sufficiency of Christ's righteousness to honor and exalt
the law of God and prove to them beyond all doubt that their sins
and iniquities He will remember no more. And He brings us into
peace with God. God sent His gospel to a bunch
of Gentile idol worshipers. They were as far off from God
as man could get. And they showed Him the way.
They showed them the way to the Heavenly Father. And He came
and preached peace, Ephesians 2 verse 17, to you which were
afar off, and to them which were nigh. For through Christ we both
have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore you
are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the
saints. and of the household of God.
Fellowship with God. Fellowship is fellers in the
same ship. That's what that is. Having a hedge of grace about
you. Being in the hand of God with
a hope that none can pluck you out of His hand. Set your affection
on Him who has brought us into fellowship with God. And then
think about this, the promises of God. All the promises of God
in Him are yea and amen. There is no nay in Christ. No nay in Christ. And the power
of God. We who have no power at all, we know Him and have Him who
is all power. All power. As Thou has given
Him power over all flesh that He should give eternal life.
to as many as thou hast given to him." And how about this one?
The eradication of all sin. Not even the influence, not even
a thought of it. Not even the influence. We wake
up here every day in this world nothing but sin. That's all it
is. Sin in my mind, sin on the TV, sin everywhere you look.
Sin, sin, sin. I can't sit down and read the
Scriptures without thoughts and things coming into my mind. Sin
everywhere. But especially in me. But not
there. Not there. In Christ, we have
no sin. And in that day, we'll have no
sin. Not even the thought of it. Not
even the tears from it. No sin. If you then be risen with Christ,
set your affection. Put your heart where you are
with Him at the right hand of God. And set your affection on
those things. Turn your mind to those things.
And I guarantee you, all the troubles of this world will fade
away. You can't think on Him and think
on trouble at the same time. You can't do it. You can't do
it. Our Father, I pray this morning
that you'll take these words and bless them for Christ's sake. Use them to your own name's honor
and glory to accomplish your purpose, to
glorify your great name. I ask you for Christ's sake.
Amen.