Spiritual Growth Only Happens!
- When my Pursuit is Christ (Col 3:1)
- When my Thoughts are on Christ (Col 3:2)
- When my Identity is Christ (Col 3:3)
- When my Hope is in Christ (Col 3:4)
Matthew 6:33 - But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness..
Romans 12:2 - Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Philippians 4:8 - Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Ephesians 2:6 - God raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
1 John 3:2 - Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!
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00:01-00:07
My wife and I have had this conversation countless times over our almost 10 years of marriage.
00:10-00:19
Maybe you can relate to this, but have you ever asked your spouse, "What are you thinking about?" Because you know they have that look on their face.
00:21-00:35
And often times they will reply, "Nothing! Nothing!" And unfortunately, Eric couldn't be with us this morning, but she can tell you how the rest of our conversation goes.
00:36-00:46
I say, "Eric, what are you thinking about?" "Nothing." And I always say, "Well, that's impossible." Isn't that impossible? Can you literally just think about nothing?
00:47-00:48
Just give that a try.
00:49-00:51
Just give it a try. Think about nothing.
00:52-00:53
Can you do that?
00:54-00:55
You're thinking about something?
00:55-01:02
I just put a black screen in my mind, and then you're thinking about a black screen.
01:04-01:07
And you're thinking about how you cannot think about something.
01:08-01:08
Right?
01:09-01:13
It's impossible to think about nothing.
01:14-01:17
Your mind is always somewhere.
01:18-01:20
That's true. Your mind is always somewhere.
01:22-01:23
The question is, where is it?
01:23-01:25
That's the question.
01:28-01:32
Sometimes, our minds wander off.
01:33-01:37
They're somewhere else because they've wandered off.
01:41-01:45
I remember being in elementary school. For some of us that's a lot further back than others.
01:45-01:51
But I remember being in elementary school and I had a seat near the window.
01:52-01:55
And when it was recess time, you could hear the kids out playing.
01:56-02:01
And you could hear the sound of the kickball being kicked, and kids playing tag.
02:02-02:04
We tag really hard on the park city.
02:04-02:07
And you could actually hear the kids getting tagged.
02:07-02:09
And you could hear yourself.
02:09-02:13
Meanwhile, you're sitting there getting some multiplication table math.
02:13-02:17
And you're just like, "Where's your mind at?" I'll tell you where my mind was.
02:18-02:19
My mind was outside.
02:19-02:20
I can't wait until recess.
02:20-02:23
I can't wait to be out there.
02:23-02:25
I'm missing all this mad stuff.
02:27-02:30
Sometimes your mind is somewhere else because it wanders off.
02:32-02:34
I got permission to share this story.
02:36-02:41
One of our worship leaders up here, I'm not going to mention her name.
02:45-02:47
Oh, I guess there's only one female up there.
02:49-03:03
Well, one of our worship leaders has this going on too, where one time Sammy and Laura were over at our house, and I was telling Laura something, and then all of a sudden I realized she just wasn't there.
03:04-03:10
KB's watching Alvin and the Chipmunks on TV, and Laura's mind and eyes were just locked in.
03:11-03:15
And we were like, "Laura, Laura, Laura." She was just in the zone.
03:15-03:17
and he's like, "Let her go, man.
03:17-03:22
"She's with the chipmunks." But you know, I share that.
03:22-03:26
I share that because it's the truth.
03:28-03:28
Yeah, amen.
03:29-03:30
But you know what, that's me too.
03:31-03:33
Seriously, and I'm gonna confess something to you.
03:33-03:35
It's a struggle for me.
03:36-03:42
And so many times I've gone to visit somebody in the hospital and their little TV's on.
03:43-03:44
Oh, I hate that.
03:45-03:49
Just like, if you're in an hospital and they come and see you, do me a favor and turn the TV off.
03:50-04:12
Because I, like Laura, I've caught myself so many times, I go on in there and I'm like, "Hey, how are you doing?" And they're like, "I just had major surgery, I almost died, and the doctor felt short of my lip." And meanwhile, I'm like, "Oh, the pressure's really strong. Oh, no, you're getting way too high on that." Oh, I'm a minute daughter, minute daughter.
04:13-04:18
This person's like, yeah, my family's coming in and they're all crying, they're thinking minute daughter.
04:19-04:21
Oh, I can't believe that was that cheap, that cheap.
04:21-04:24
Oh, oh, Flinko, I love Flinko.
04:24-04:27
I think you're gonna Flinko because it's a lot, right?
04:28-04:33
But that happens to me, your mind just kind of like wanders off to see Lauren.
04:33-04:35
I'm gonna say, anybody else like that?
04:35-04:37
Come on, don't leave Lauren, I'm hanging up here.
04:37-04:39
See what we look for, you see that?
04:40-04:41
That's like pretty much everybody here.
04:42-04:43
You got a short computer?
04:44-04:44
Yeah.
04:45-04:46
(audience laughing)
04:46-04:54
Ashley Grims, if you hear me, don't show anything on the screen other than what I'm saying from now until Christ returns.
04:55-04:59
You're not allowing videos or pictures up there where I'm preaching, I'm just like, oh, oh.
04:59-05:00
(audience laughing)
05:02-05:03
Ashley, we're trusting you.
05:05-05:08
This is one track mind that's easily derailed.
05:09-05:11
So sometimes our minds just wander off.
05:14-05:18
Or sometimes we actually put our minds somewhere.
05:20-05:21
There's an expression for that.
05:22-05:23
Go to your happy place, right?
05:24-05:25
Go to your happy place.
05:25-05:26
Go to your happy, where are you at right now?
05:26-05:27
I'm in my happy place.
05:28-05:34
And I think of my happy place, I think of when we were in the laws classes when Eric was breaking the bell in.
05:35-05:41
Meanwhile, he was 10 pounds, 5 feet 3, which were radiated in the C-sections of the Wasp Hotspots.
05:42-05:46
But, we were in the Wasp Hotspots, and they were doing this real...
05:48-05:55
Okay. Husbands, sitting with your wives. You're going to close your eyes.
05:56-05:58
And I need you to visualize your partner.
06:00-06:04
This is the place that you're going to be in your life.
06:05-06:07
You're going to go to your garden.
06:08-06:09
Sarah Murphy, did you have a garden?
06:10-06:11
No, okay, no gardens, okay.
06:12-06:15
Well, we had a garden, so sorry about your lawn.
06:15-06:18
It must have been a bit short or something.
06:18-06:20
But, go to your garden.
06:22-06:25
And there is a stone wall around the garden.
06:26-06:35
You can hear the trickle of the fountain as the birds softly tweet in the garden.
06:36-06:44
The butterfly, the floss pads, breathe in the garden.
06:45-06:59
And right then, I said, right in the middle of all this, I said, "The flies in my garden are terrible!" "Ahh!" And Aaron just like, "Shut up!
06:59-07:01
Shut up!" But they were.
07:04-07:09
Well, do you know that the Bible actually tells us to put our minds somewhere?
07:11-07:11
Okay?
07:12-07:14
But it's not your happy place, it's not your garden.
07:15-07:20
But the Bible actually says you need to put your mind somewhere.
07:20-07:26
Open up your Bibles to Colossians 3.
07:28-07:34
While you are turning there, turn louder so I know your mind is still here.
07:39-07:41
I probably have these a lot on Sunday.
07:41-07:42
I can't remember on Sunday.
07:42-07:43
Don't let them wander.
07:45-07:46
Colossians 3.
07:46-07:48
Turn the pages really hard so I can hear you.
07:50-07:51
Don't hurt yourself.
07:54-08:06
Now, as you're turning there, and it sounds like most of you opened up right to that spot, in a lot of the Apostle Paul's letters, the first half of it deals with theology.
08:08-08:11
Here are some truths about who Jesus Christ is.
08:11-08:13
Here are some truths about the atonement.
08:13-08:15
Here are some truths about salvation.
08:15-08:20
A lot of times the second half of the epistles are the application.
08:20-08:27
Because all of these things are true about Jesus and the cross, and who He is and what He's done, and who we are.
08:27-08:31
And because that's all true, here's how we should live.
08:33-08:37
Well now we are crossing over into the application part of Colossians.
08:38-08:46
Okay, you'll notice that in Colossians chapter 3, the very first two words in your Bible should say something like mine.
08:46-09:06
Mine says, "If then." If all this is true about you, and actually it can also be translated, "Since then." Meaning, since you are in Christ, here's then how we shall live.
09:09-09:17
Jesus is first over all things, if Jesus won a total victory, if we are made alive and free in Him, how then shall we live?
09:19-09:22
And here's the answer. This is what we're going to be looking at over the next few weeks.
09:24-09:25
So please don't miss this.
09:25-09:26
This is so important.
09:27-09:32
We need to live in the reality of our union with Christ.
09:35-09:47
See, it would be really easy to get to this application part of the Bible and say, "Okay, now here's the part where we get the rules." "What do I do? How do I get my spiritual? Give me the rules, give me the rules, give me the rules." What did we talk about last week with the rules?
09:48-09:52
Back off. Rules aren't going to do it. Okay? Rules are not going to do it.
09:53-10:02
If you think that, you know, I have my own little 11 commandments or whatever, and I just gotta keep them, and that's what makes God happy.
10:02-10:06
Rules aren't going to do it, so please, drop that down.
10:06-10:09
We need to live in the reality of our union with Christ.
10:12-10:17
Jesus has all, and He has the only resources for living a Christian life.
10:17-10:21
So important. You cannot live the Christian life. You can't do it.
10:22-10:26
If you're like, "I'm just trying to be a good Christian." You can't do it.
10:30-10:32
How can I be a Christian?
10:33-10:35
Here's the amazing thing.
10:35-10:39
Being a Christian means that Jesus Christ is living through you.
10:41-10:44
The Christian life is indeed lived in you, but it's Christ living through you.
10:47-10:49
He has the only resources.
10:49-10:56
Jesus said in John 15, I believe verse 5, He said, "Apart from Me, you can do," what?
10:57-10:57
Nothing.
10:58-10:58
Nothing.
10:59-11:01
He said, "I provide you with branches.
11:03-11:09
"Apart from Him, you can do nothing." The new life of Jesus Christ is real.
11:11-11:14
And here's the thing, so is remaining sin.
11:15-11:16
So how do we handle all that?
11:18-11:20
We still live in the flesh.
11:22-11:24
We still live in the flesh.
11:27-11:29
But Jesus Christ gave us eternal life.
11:29-11:35
So understand if you're here this morning and you're a believer, you're sort of a dichotomy.
11:36-11:45
You have God's Holy Spirit living within you, but currently you're residing in sinful flesh.
11:50-11:58
that no sin is not our master anymore, it can influence us if we're not living in the power of Christ.
11:59-12:01
Last week we learned what will help you grow spiritually.
12:03-12:10
Notice that the very last phrase in chapter 2, when we talked about our three bullies, we told them to back off.
12:10-12:13
and Reverend Religion and Mr. Mystic and Sergeant Self-Denial.
12:14-12:15
Back off, guys.
12:16-12:36
He says, "These have indeed an appearance of wisdom," filling in the verse, "but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh." This sermon is really just an introduction to the next couple of weeks, because it's really important that we get this down.
12:39-12:45
The way that you stop sinning is not by trying harder.
12:48-13:00
If you hear what they're saying, "I live in the flesh, but I love Christ, so I'm going to start trying really hard to not sin." That was the whole point of the last passage. You can't try hard enough.
13:00-13:04
That doesn't stop the indulgence in the flesh. It doesn't do it. It just doesn't do it.
13:09-13:10
So what will?
13:12-13:13
The question is, how do I grow?
13:15-13:16
How do I grow?
13:17-13:22
Well, on your outlet, "Spiritual growth only happens..." Ah.
13:23-13:26
"Spiritual growth only happens..." Four things for us this morning.
13:26-13:28
How do we grow in Christ?
13:28-13:32
First of all, when my pursuit is Christ.
13:38-13:52
"If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God." He is addressing Christians.
13:52-13:55
"If then" means since then.
13:55-14:09
If you're a Christian, if you belong to Jesus Christ, if you've been born again, He's saying, "Here's how you grow." So, a quick word for the people that might not be there.
14:10-14:23
There's a huge danger at this point, because if you don't know Jesus Christ, if you've not been born again, you can listen to the next few sermons in this series and think, "Okay, just give me things to do, just give me things to do.
14:23-14:25
I'll try to be a good Christian, I'll try to be a good Christian, you can't do it.
14:27-14:35
And you can polish yourself up and be a moral person and be a religious person, and while nice and squeaky clean, you still had to help.
14:36-14:37
Because you can't do it.
14:39-14:40
You are dead.
14:41-14:43
And you're trespassing sins.
14:47-14:50
You need the life that only Jesus Christ can give.
14:51-15:08
If you have not done that, if you embraced Jesus Christ, if you cried out to Him for mercy, if you received Him by faith for the forgiveness of your sins, if you have not done that, none of the rest of us are going to share with you today here at Brookline today.
15:08-15:10
That has to be the first place.
15:11-15:14
Jesus has to be the first place in you if you have done that.
15:17-15:21
If not, Scripture talks about a day of salvation.
15:21-15:22
Do you know what day that is?
15:23-15:23
Today is today.
15:24-15:26
Today is the day of salvation.
15:31-15:38
So if then, you've been raised with Christ, understand this is the assumption that Paul is making here.
15:38-15:42
Paul, you're talking to Christians, so that's the tone I'm going to take with you.
15:42-15:44
I'm talking to believers here.
15:45-15:46
I'm talking to believers.
15:47-15:49
Like, well I'm not sure if I'm a believer.
15:50-15:52
You better see me at the church.
15:52-15:53
Okay?
15:53-15:55
And we will talk about the principles of Christ.
15:56-15:56
Don't put it off.
15:59-16:00
If then you can raise me to Christ.
16:01-16:04
Seek the things that are above what Christ is.
16:04-16:06
Seek to get the right hand of God.
16:09-16:10
Now this word seek.
16:11-16:13
In the original language is in the present tense.
16:14-16:30
It's a continual action. It can also be translated "keep seeking." Like, "Oh, I see what it says. You're seeking things that are above, like, you know, seek after Jesus." "Yeah, I did that once back in like 1994." No, it's a continual. You don't stop doing it.
16:30-16:36
You are constantly, constantly seeking the things above.
16:36-16:37
What are the things above?
16:41-16:46
Well, I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, but this one's pretty easy.
16:47-16:51
What is he talking about above, first of all? Where is above?
16:52-16:55
Well, look at your verse. Above where?
16:56-16:57
Where Christ is!
16:59-17:01
Just in case you're still not sure where that is.
17:01-17:02
Like, wait, where is Christ?
17:03-17:04
Oh, is Christ in my heart?
17:10-17:11
Or...
17:13-17:14
So what are these things?
17:20-17:21
This is heaven.
17:21-17:24
This is seeking the values of heaven.
17:25-17:28
This is what Jesus was talking about in Matthew 6.33.
17:29-17:33
Jesus said to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.
17:36-17:38
So the question is, what are we going for?
17:40-17:41
What are we going for here?
17:44-17:45
We're going for the real thing.
17:45-17:46
That's what I'm going after.
17:46-17:46
How about you?
17:48-17:54
Are you interested in some kind of a religion that might make you feel good about yourself?
17:56-17:58
For a couple hours after church, maybe a little pep talk.
18:03-18:08
Surrounded by people who don't know who you really are, but you can put a presentation on of who you want them to think you are.
18:08-18:09
Is that what you're going for?
18:11-18:12
I want the real thing.
18:12-18:13
How about you?
18:13-18:15
I want the real thing.
18:21-18:25
We are not going for, you know, I just want to be a little more moral than Joe Pagan.
18:25-18:26
You know Joe Pagan?
18:28-18:29
I just want to be a little more moral than him.
18:32-18:33
We're not going for that.
18:34-18:40
Nor are we going for, Well, my life is Christian-ish.
18:43-18:44
Look at your life.
18:47-18:48
It is Christian-ish.
18:50-18:52
Diet Christian, I think you would call it.
18:54-18:55
Christian-lite.
18:57-19:00
That's not what we're going for. What does it say we need to seek after?
19:00-19:05
We are seeking after the very values of heaven itself.
19:06-19:08
The very values of heaven.
19:13-19:14
What are the values of heaven?
19:18-19:24
I suggest to you that the fruit of the Holy Spirit are the values of heaven.
19:25-19:29
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
19:30-19:31
Those are values of heaven.
19:35-19:37
And those are the values we're going to seek after.
19:39-19:40
By walking in the Spirit.
19:41-19:55
You might be sitting here this morning saying, "You know, I haven't been there in a long time." "I just, I haven't been there in a long time." I hear what you're saying, but it's been a long time since I've really, really been seeking after things in heaven.
19:55-19:58
I've kind of been going to church for a while, and I've kind of been...
19:59-20:02
I just really haven't been pursuing the Lord like I need to.
20:02-20:05
Is there anybody here? Don't raise your hand. Is there anybody here that can say that?
20:06-20:09
I have not been pursuing the Lord in my life like I should have.
20:13-20:16
Here's the great thing. You can get back to that place right now.
20:18-20:24
It's as easy as stop seeking what you have been and seek instead the things of Christ.
20:27-20:31
I already told you it's not about trying harder, it's about yielding more.
20:31-20:32
It's about trusting more.
20:35-20:38
It's about getting on your knees and just being real with God.
20:38-20:39
When was the last time you did that?
20:41-20:45
When was the last time you got on your knees and you were just real with God?
20:45-20:49
Not "God bless grandma and grandpa, amen." I'm talking about being real with God.
20:49-20:57
"God, I am struggling here." "God, why don't I hunger for you like I should?" Why don't I have a desire to pray like I should?
20:59-21:01
God, why am I not pursuing you passionately?
21:01-21:03
When's the last time you did that?
21:06-21:08
Get down and get to that place.
21:10-21:11
God can handle it.
21:12-21:16
You know, let's can the, you know, pre-scripted prayers.
21:17-21:19
And let's just get real with God.
21:20-21:31
And say, "God, I need you, and lately I haven't been acting like that." I believe in you God, I believe in Jesus Christ, but my life hasn't been consistent with that.
21:31-21:34
Get real! Get seeking!
21:36-21:40
Listen, this isn't seeking seminars. This is what a lot of Christians do.
21:40-21:43
I need to get back to Tractor. I'm going to go to the seminar. We have this conference coming up.
21:44-21:47
Hopefully if I go to the office, they say they'll bring me back to Tractor.
21:47-21:52
You know, someone has a new book out. Maybe if I read that a few times, that'll get me back to Tractor.
21:52-21:54
All those things are good, but all those things have their places.
21:54-21:57
But those things are not seeking Jesus Christ.
21:57-22:02
Those things are not seeking the things of heaven.
22:04-22:07
All good resources, but seeking the things of heaven.
22:11-22:15
Let's not seek things about the Lord, we're seeking the Lord Himself.
22:16-22:17
So do you want to grow spiritually?
22:18-22:19
Or how do you grow spiritually?
22:19-22:22
Spiritual growth only happens when my pursuit is Christ.
22:24-22:28
You see, this passage is continuing on from the sermon last week, I understand that.
22:29-22:34
Paul wasn't like, okay, here's a sermon, completely different thought, here's a sermon, completely different thought, here's a sermon.
22:35-22:38
This is a letter that he wrote to a church, so there's a flow of thought.
22:38-22:44
And he's saying you're not gonna grow spiritually through all this religious, mystical, self-denial stuff.
22:44-22:45
Do you wanna grow in the Lord?
22:46-22:46
Here's how you do it.
22:48-22:50
And all true believers do want to grow in the Lord.
22:50-22:55
If you're sitting here this morning and you're saying, "I don't quite want to, I don't feel like growing in the Lord," then you probably don't know the Lord.
22:59-23:01
Be very spiritually when your pursuit is Christ.
23:03-23:05
Secondly, when my thoughts are on Christ.
23:05-23:06
Look at verse 2.
23:06-23:07
When my thoughts are on Christ.
23:08-23:13
Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
23:15-23:16
Set your minds.
23:16-23:18
Literally in the Greek that just means thick.
23:19-23:21
Okay? It just means thick. That's what it means.
23:21-23:25
We are thinking about things in heaven. We're thinking about heaven.
23:28-23:33
What's God about? What's God's character? What's God's holiness like?
23:35-23:40
What fires are going on? It's just thinking about the things above.
23:41-23:43
Question. Where do we get that information?
23:44-23:45
you're supposed to think about heaven.
23:46-23:51
Okay, can you tell me like a resource where I can find similar things out about heaven so I can be thinking about them?
23:52-23:56
Church, show us where the resources are to find out about heaven.
23:57-23:58
Right, it's right here.
24:00-24:01
Isn't that great?
24:01-24:03
God like wrote it down for us.
24:04-24:05
You wanna know what heaven's like?
24:05-24:06
Here, let me write it down.
24:06-24:07
Just read it, just read it.
24:08-24:09
You wanna think about heaven.
24:09-24:12
See, that's why we're so excited about this book.
24:13-24:17
That's why when we talk about our four pillars, proclaiming the authority of God's word without apology.
24:18-24:21
God's not sorry he said some things, so why should I be?
24:24-24:25
God says here it all is.
24:26-24:28
And when I don't have insight, read about it.
24:29-24:30
It's all in here.
24:31-24:32
Get this in your mind.
24:33-24:34
Get into work.
24:36-24:47
See, Jesus Christ's presence in you is that the person of the Holy Spirit, but understand this, the Holy Spirit works in conjunction with God's work, and it's so important.
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The Holy Spirit is not going to tell you something that's contrary to God's work.
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He will not do that.
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He's not gonna contradict himself.
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See, it's not just knowing the Bible, it's knowing God.
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You know what I mean by that?
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It's knowing God.
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That's just like, why do some things about the Bible and have great forms of it?
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It's...
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I don't want to. I don't.
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It's dangerous to know the Bible and to not embrace it.
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He says, put your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are near.
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Some people live their entire existence like that.
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This is all there is.
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This is it.
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This is it.
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You live for a few years, you die.
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You're mortal food.
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End of story.
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And they live like this Earth is the sum total of existence.
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Don't put your mind on the things that are on the Earth.
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How much time do people think about-- let me give you a little list here-- putting their mind on their job.
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They're thinking about the job, thinking about the job, thinking about the job.
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And they go home, and they're with their wife and kids, I'm thinking about the job, I just can't turn it off.
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That's where your mind is.
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I'm thinking about money, if only I had more money, if only, you know, if we make more money, I can buy this or I can have that.
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There's so much retirement, I just can't wait.
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Counting down the days, I saw a guy on Facebook last week that said 29 years and six months until I can retire.
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Wow.
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True.
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It could be a car, it could be a boat, it could be a hobby.
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There's nothing inherently wrong with those things.
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But the question is what dominates your mind?
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Understanding that whatever dominates your mind is going to determine what kind of person you are.
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You know, believe me.
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Well, if your mind is constantly thinking about lustful thoughts.
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You're looking at images that incite lust in you, and you're looking at all these things that stir up that lust within you, and you're thinking about that.
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You can't even look at a person of the opposite sex without a lustful thought.
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What kind of person is that?
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It's a lustful person!
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I think, constantly stirring around in the mind.
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For a covetous person, some people walk around life always thinking everything's unfair because I didn't get what the next guy got.
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You know somebody like that?
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It's constant.
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They can be anywhere.
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You know, they sit down at dinner and, you know, why didn't he get the better steak than I did?
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You know, his cake is a little bit bigger than mine.
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You know, why is everything always so unfair to me?
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And they're constant.
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They just walk through life.
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I'm being sold short on things, I'm being shortchanged on things.
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Some people spend their whole lives being caught with lies.
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That's what's always going through their mind.
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I want to do these things, but I'm not going to do it.
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I have to give a good story for my wife, so I make up this web of intricate lies.
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And some people lie where the truth would fit better.
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constantly gut them through their mind.
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How can I deceive this person?
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I can justify this lie in a sense, because technically that might be true.
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It's a liar.
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Hatred. Some people, like Pastor James said in the video, some people just walk through life.
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Here's what I don't like about him, and here's what I don't like about her, and you don't really fix me up about him.
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Just constantly, that hatred, there's hatred, hateful thoughts, excuse me, just constantly swirling through the mind makes for a, what kind of person?
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A hateful person.
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Did you ever meet a hateful person?
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Gosh, get me out of here.
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Right?
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Or complaining along the same lines.
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I think I met the champion.
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bitterness. Again, the same line. Some people just...life's always going to be a raw deal.
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Nothing's ever fair, nothing's ever right. I'm angry, I'm angry at this circumstance, I'm angry at this person.
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If your mind is always in one of these areas, or maybe more than one of these areas, it's no wonder you're not growing as a believer.
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If you are a believer, if that...if that...
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You want to grow in the Lord, you're going to get your mind off these things in the earth.
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Get your mind in heaven.
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Look at your outline, Reverend 12.2.
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Do not be conformed to this world.
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Do you know why you have these thoughts of lust and hate and blame?
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Because that's what the world does.
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And when you're going along with the flow of the world, you're just going to start acting like the rest of them.
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And Paul says, "Don't be conformed to the world, but be what?" be transformed by the renewal of your mind.
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Only Jesus Christ can do that.
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This is seeing people, events, and circumstances from God's point of view.
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I'll say that again.
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This is seeing people, events, and circumstances from God's point of view.
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The more you learn to do that, the more you are going to understand and experience I'm a very subjective level what it means to walk in the victory of the Lord.
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This isn't a prosperity message. I'm not saying life isn't a pedore.
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What I'm saying is, even when you can see the absolute worst circumstances in your life, from the point of view of a sovereign God, you're still going to walk in joy on the worst day of your life.
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Knowing that God is in control and God has a purpose and God never does anything in return.
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Forgiveness comes a lot easier when you look at it from Heaven's point of view, doesn't it?
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Doesn't forgiveness come easier?
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I've heard people say, "I'll never forgive that person for what they did." Really?
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If you consider what the Lord has forgiven you, how many times do you think you've sinned against the Lord?
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How many times?
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Millions? Billions? Trillions? Some of us?
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Me, I'm probably whatever is above trillions.
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And the Lord, God, and Jesus Christ, and I'm going to forgive the whole record.
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And then we find somebody that sits against us one time.
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I'll never forgive you for that.
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Your body's not in heaven, man.
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Because if it were...
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If it was...
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Forgiveness would be natural.
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I forgive because God has forgiven me.
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It's a natural outflow of the life of Christ.
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Sin is not so attractive when you see it from heaven.
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You know, that sin is not so attractive, you see, from a heavenly point of view.
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"Oh, sinless, grieve the heart of the Lord." You know, and you see, even his people making stupid choices.
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Scripture paints the picture so perfectly.
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You know, the psalm saying, I believe Peter quotes it when he says, "It's like a dog returning to its mom." That's a fool, that's a sinner returning to that fallen.
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That's a gross picture, but that is so appropriate.
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When we're in the middle of sin, it's so enticing, it looks so good, and it's so attractive, and it's so fun.
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If you look at your sin from God's perspective, you know what God sees?
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He sees a dog that just threw up and is going back to eat it.
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That's disgusting.
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That is the Godless part of the picture, according to God's picture.
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This is not so attractive, but we see it from heaven.
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Philippians 4 gives you some things to think about.
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You can read that in your outline.
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You can't be a Bible.
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That's what we've been talking about.
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Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is bodily, whatever is dependable, if there's any excellence, anything worthy of grace, think about these things.
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If your mind didn't wonder yet, did it?
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I heard somebody say one time that I shouldn't let my mind wander because it's so little I get lost.
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I found my friend in that last one.
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Number three.
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Play verse three.
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So how does real growth happen?
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When my pursuit is Christ, when my thoughts are on Christ.
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Number three, when my identity is Christ.
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Verses three and four just go together.
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They're two sides of a coin.
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So we're going to get through these much quicker.
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Verses three and four.
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"For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." Number three, when my identity is Christ.
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You have died.
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We spend a lot of time talking about that.
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Jesus didn't come into the world to turn bad people into good people.
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He came into the world to do what?
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Turn dead people into alive people.
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He talks about that.
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2.13, you have died.
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We've been raised with Christ.
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Identifying with Christ.
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That's what he reminds us here.
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He says, you died.
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You died.
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Now, when we identify with Christ, it is true that we are alive to Christ, but the other side of that is, we are also dead to sin.
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That's so important, Because that's what the whole next section is about, what we'll be looking at next week, when we're willing.
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"Lie to Christ, then to sin." What does this mean?
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He says, "Your life is hidden with Christ and God." What in the world does that mean?
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Well, there's a sense in which your new life is concealed from the world.
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Ephesians 2.6, I have that on your outline, I believe.
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God raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
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This life of yours, you are a possessor of eternal life, but somehow there is a sense in which that life is hidden in Christ.
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Concealed from the world.
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That's why when you come to Christ outwardly you don't look any different.
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That's why I think of somebody here that said, "You know, I came to Christ and my family just kind of rolled their eyes at me, and they thought, 'Oh, no, he's a religious nut.'" And they don't understand. Anybody here who can testify to that?
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"My family didn't understand that Christ had changed me." Your life is concealed. It's hidden.
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In Christ.
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Over and over and over and over in the New Testament, we're reminded that we are citizens of heaven.
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So when you want to grow spiritually, it's all about your identity.
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And your identity is this, you're a citizen of heaven.
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You're a citizen of heaven, think of it this way.
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Back in 1896, I went on a mission trip to Thailand.
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You think I stood out a little bit in Thailand.
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I'm a big, chubby, pale, blonde guy.
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Yeah, I stood out a little bit.
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Don't laugh at me, I stood out.
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I stood out.
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Well, when I was in Thailand, I didn't speak Thai.
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I wasn't good at their games.
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I was trying to play these games with the kids, and I completely stunk at them.
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And there were just a lot of times when I was in Thailand that I acted like an American.
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Do you know why that is?
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Do you know why?
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Do you know why there were times, most times, when I was in Thailand, do you know why I acted like an American?
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Do you know?
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Take a guess.
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Because I'm an American, right!
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Right. I was there, but I wasn't really from there. I didn't really belong there.
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I'm an American.
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They carried this little thing around with me, this passport, that reminded me that I'm American.
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And understand that, Carol, there's a sense in which, yeah, we're kind of here in the world, but our citizenship isn't in the world.
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Sometimes we don't act like the world, we shouldn't act like the world at any time.
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But when we don't act like the world, it's because, you know, we don't really come around here.
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Our citizenship is in heaven.
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Our citizenship is in heaven.
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How you identify yourself will define how you think.
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How you identify yourself will define how you think.
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I was reading some stories this past week about some actors, Hollywood actors, that got so wrapped up in the role that they were doing.
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Have you ever heard about this?
38:58-39:05
They get so wrapped up in the role that it messes with their mind.
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For example, Heath Ledger.
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Anybody see The Dark Knight?
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Dark Knight?
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A few people will admit that, I saw that.
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Well, they say that Heath Ledger was so wrapped up in that Joker character, he was sort of this malignant, bad guy, he was so wrapped up in that character that he couldn't sleep.
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It was like really, in his personal life, it wasn't like wipe the makeup off, go home and back to business.
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They said that he was so wrapped up in that, that some people speculate that's why he had taken so many sleeping pills, because he just couldn't sleep.
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It was making him crazy, portraying a crazy person.
39:50-39:55
I read the same thing about Anthony Hopkins, were preserved in the Hopkins, I guess.
39:57-40:01
But when he was playing Hannibal Lecter, they said that it was messing with his mind.
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Why did that happen?
40:04-40:12
They got in this mindset that they were identifying themselves as something and they started to act like what they identified themselves as.
40:15-40:19
A few years ago, somebody loaned me the autobiography of Ted DiBiase.
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How many people heard of Ted DiBiase?
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Ted DiBiase was a professional wrestler. He was known as the...
40:27-40:29
A million dollar man, Ted DiBiase.
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Well, in his biography, he talks about how he came to Christ.
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Well, part of that path was...
40:40-40:48
When he went into wrestling, the persona that he was portraying was that of a stuck-up, filthy, rich, oppressive type guy.
40:49-40:56
So they actually gave him a lot of money and said, live lavishly, get into your character, live lavishly.
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Here's money, here's money, just go live lavishly.
40:58-41:02
Best cars, best hotels, get into this character, get into this character, get into this character.
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And guess what happened to him?
41:04-41:06
He got into the character and he couldn't turn it off.
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He started to think, I'm the million dollar man, I'm the million dollar man.
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And it took the intervention of Jesus Christ to remind him who he was.
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How you identify yourself, that's how you define how you think.
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So listen, if you're constantly reminding yourself, "I am a child of God. I am a follower of Jesus Christ.
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I have been born again, and I am dead to sin, and I have been made alive in Christ.
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That's who I am." That will define how you think, and how you think will define how you think.
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It's not rules. It's life. The life of Christ.
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Last one. How many of you are spiritually involved?
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When I pursue Christ, when my thoughts are on Christ, when my identity is in Christ, verse 4, when my hope is in Christ.
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My hope is in Christ.
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Verse 4.
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When Christ, who is your life, I have that highlighted in my Bible.
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If I find that it is not highlighted in your Bible, I will take your Bible.
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Christ, who is your life, appears that you also will appear with Him in glory.
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Jesus Christ does not just give life, He is life.
42:32-42:33
Check this out.
42:34-42:41
"We will appear with Him in glory." This is the flip side of the previous verse.
42:41-42:45
As I said, in a sense, our new life is hidden in Christ, concealed from the world.
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But there is going to come a day when Jesus Christ is going to return, and nothing is going to be concealed from the world.
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Jesus Christ is going to say, "She is mine.
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He belongs to me." to be a revelation of Christ's people to the world.
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This is a whole other study.
43:13-43:15
I've got a couple verses for you on that.
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1 John 3, 2 "Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared, but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is." Again, Romans 8, 19, "For the creation which with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God pulses the whole creation's like waiting for this, waiting for this, waiting for this." There's going to come a day that Jesus is going to come back and say, "Here's my people." The final verdict is going to be handed down.
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Who belongs to Jesus?
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Who doesn't belong to Jesus?
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Who's real?
43:52-44:00
Jesus is going to be there when he's going to say, "Here's my people." Here they are. Revealing them to the world.
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Right now, Sunday morning in Partners Bible Chapel, we are saying, "I am Christ." There's going to come a day that Jesus is going to come back and say, "He is mine." He's going to come back and He's going to say, "She is mine." Now, our life is hidden with grace and in the future we will appear with it.
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At the end of the day, it's all about identity.
44:47-44:48
We took a poll.
44:49-44:51
Who here wants to sin less?
44:52-45:00
Everybody in here is like, "I do." Who here wants to grow in your walk with the Lord?
45:01-45:01
Me!
45:04-45:06
Who here wants to be fruitful in ministry?
45:07-45:09
Every one of us would want that.
45:11-45:14
It comes down to knowing who you are with Christ.
45:17-45:18
Making that effort soon.
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Making that promise.
45:23-45:24
You got your message there.
45:34-45:44
Father, when we really stop and look at your Word, we are overwhelmed at your grace.
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You didn't just forgive us, which would have been way more than we deserve anyway.
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You forgive us, you cleanse us, you change us, you transform us.
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And to think that your desire is to bless us, and the blessing comes from experiencing the life of Christ in us.
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Father, I want to grow.
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And I know that surround my brothers and sisters here who are saying the same thing.
46:30-46:30
I want to grow.
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Renewing us a passion to pursue Christ.
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Renewing us a mindset where we're thinking about heaven.
46:49-46:51
Your values, your desires.
46:57-47:00
Remind us of our identity, we have a tendency to get away from it.
47:02-47:08
Bring us back to the place of growth, that we're not just fixated on the here and now.
47:12-47:14
But instead we are looking forward.
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To that glorious day when Christ appears, and by His grace, will gloriously put His people on display before the world, and say, "These are the people that I've redeemed.
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These are the people whom I've called out in the world, whom I love.
47:52-47:52
Thank you, Father.
47:57-48:00
In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, Amen.
Small Group Questions (Whole Group):
Read Colossians 3:1-4
Breakout Questions:
Pray for one another.