Colossians 2:20-3:4

It's an honor and a privilege to be here with you once again.

For those of you who may not know me, my name is Jonathan Hoffman.

! I am a current graduate, or recent graduate, of the apprenticeship program that we have here at Christ Family Church.

And so, in part, that is a reason why I have been invited and given this privilege today.

So, it is quite an honor for me to be allowed this opportunity.

And, just to share something with you that has been in my heart.

I moved up here to North Georgia in order to go to Bible college.

I was converted, became a Christian about almost four years ago.

And, God has so powerfully moved in my life since then.

And, I moved up here with the mindset of, I want the rest of my life to revolve around these truths that I had found.

That my eyes had been open to.

And, so, I have come to feel the sense of calling into the ministry.

A burden to preach God's Word because I believe that it is the only thing, as Scripture says, that has the power to save.

And, so, it is a privilege to be given this opportunity.

But, at the same time, I moved up here and I left my dream career of law enforcement because it had become an idol.

And, I believe it was Calvin.

Calvin, I could be wrong.

But, a whole theologian once said that the heart is an idol factory.

We create gods by the dozens, by the thousands even, in our hearts.

And, so, while I was going through Bible college, Tripp McConnell, for about a year,

one of the greatest convictions that has come upon me of my own sin is my battle with my pride.

It is a tremendous, tremendous battle that I have to fight with my pride.

And, it is why I left law enforcement.

And, while I was going through Bible college, and even now, my pride is still an issue to where I felt like I am constantly in danger of giving myself over to my pride in my learning now.

You know, I am going through Bible college, and I am learning all these great things and these great truths.

And, my fear is that I am doing it for the wrong reasons.

I constantly keep that in check.

And, God has given me a lot of grace in battling that.

And, so, I tell you that because I believe that even preaching can be turned into an idol.

And, it is my greatest fear this morning and for my future that I will turn preaching into an idol.

Because I can write a good paper, or because I can use eloquent words, or so on and so forth.

And, so, that has been my greatest battle in preparing for this sermon is to make sure that my pride is at check.

So, that I will be able to preach in power through the Spirit.

That I would be as a clean vessel for His Word to come through me.

And, so, I pray this morning and I ask you, I ask every one of you to pray along with me.

That, that would be the case.

And, I ask that every one of you would pay attention.

Pay close attention because there are waiting matters at hand here this morning.

And, so, pray for yourselves as well.

That God would soften your hearts.

And, that we would be changed by what we learned today.

And, so, I hope that that is the case this morning.

If God would see it fit, that that would be the case.

So, please turn with me to the book of Colossians chapter 3.

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

Colossians chapter 3.

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

And, just to give you a quick review for those who have not been with us for the last few weeks.

We have been going verse by verse through the book of Colossians.

The book of Colossians is a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Colossae.

And, now, Colossae was a city in modern day Turkey.

And, it was about 100 miles east of Ephesus, the city of Ephesus.

Now, Paul had never visited Colossae.

And, so, it is believed that the church there was started by a man by the name of Epaphras.

Epaphras, who was converted during a visit to Ephesus where Paul, the Apostle, was ministering there for three years.

And, Colossae was primarily a Gentile city but had a fairly large Jewish population.

And, so, as the gospel spread and the church at Colossae was established, it consisted of a mixture of Jews and Gentiles.

A dangerous heresy then arose in the church.

And, this heresy contained a mixture of Jewish mysticism and pagan, or Jewish legalism, I'm sorry, and pagan mysticism.

It began to cause division in the church.

And, Epaphras, being so concerned about the people of that church, made a journey to Rome to ask for Paul's help in combating this heresy.

Now, Paul was, at the time, in Rome in prison.

He was in a Roman prison.

And, it was around the same time that Paul wrote the letter to Philemon, the letter to the Ephesians, and the letter to the Philippians.

And, this one in particular was primarily for that initial purpose of combating this heresy.

And, so, in the last few weeks, we have been going through the book of Colossians, and we have now reached chapter 3.

And, in the first two chapters, we have seen that we have been given a lot of doctrine.

The first two chapters are a lot of doctrine.

And, this seems to be a pattern with Paul in his letters.

First, he gives us doctrine, and then he follows it by practical exhortations or application.

And, so, it is the case here.

And, one of the reasons for that is because good life application must be founded upon good doctrine.

And, so, our text this morning will be Colossians chapter 3, verses 1 through 4.

Colossians 3:1–4

Colossians chapter 3, verses 1 through 4.

Colossians 3:1–4

And, as we begin to look at the practical application portion of this letter, I would like to actually start reading from chapter 2, verse 20.

So, please look with me at chapter 2, verse 20 of the book of Colossians.

And, God's Word, which is inerrant, infallible, and sharper than any two-edged sword, reads,

If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations?

Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch, referring to things that all perish as they are used, according to human precepts and teachings.

These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body.

But they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

If, then, you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

Pray with me.

Father, we thank You this morning, Lord, for Your work, Lord, that You have achieved, accomplished.

Lord, for sending Christ to die for us on the cross, Lord, that we might be reconciled to You.

Lord, that we may receive of this free gift of salvation, conversion, Lord, where You give us a new heart,

with new desires and an ability to understand Your Word and to love You and follow Your ways.

Lord, I pray that Your Spirit will be at work within me this morning,

and within all of those who are in this building.

Lord, that You would bring about conviction.

Lord, that You would change hearts.

Please, Lord, we pray for that.

Illumine our minds, Lord.

Change us.

Please, change us.

Lord, we thank You, we praise You, and we love You.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen.

It was R.C. Sproul, who is currently a pastor for St. Andrew's Chapel in Sanford, Florida,

and the founder of Ligonier Ministries, who once said of modern Christianity,

and I quote,

It is a dangerous thing for the Christian's mind to be trapped within the confines of the terrestrial horizon.

Close quote.

It is a dangerous thing for the Christian's mind to be trapped within the confines of the terrestrial horizon,

to be earth-grounded instead of lifted up.

And it was, for example, for this reason,

that the Lord Jesus Christ rebukes Peter so harshly.

In Matthew 16, verse 23,

Matthew 16:23

as He says to His beloved disciple,

Peter, who would become a giant contender of the faith,

a leader amongst Christians,

one whom the book of Revelation, in chapter 21, verse 14,

says that His name will be written on the foundation stones of the wall of the New Jerusalem.

It is to this apostle Peter

that Jesus rebukes by saying,

Get behind me, Satan.

Why?

Jesus goes on,

Because you are not setting your mind on the things of God,

but on the things of man.

Peter, a true Christian,

at that moment had his mind trapped within the confines of the terrestrial horizon,

and our Lord called him Satan for it.

It is a hindrance upon the believer to be effective in kingdom work.

It is a serious and dangerous place to be,

and from it arise many of our maladies today,

such as depression, covetousness,

pride, strife,

idolatry,

etc.

The Christian should have his mind set on the things that are above,

not on the things of the earth.

And in our text this morning,

we will see the difference between,

and the implications of,

earthly and heavenly mindedness.

And so I have divided this text into four sections,

or four headings.

And for our first heading,

I want you to notice the subject of the exhortations.

The subject of the exhortation.

Beginning in verse 1 of chapter 3.

If then you have been raised with Christ.

Now stop right there.

Who are the subjects of this exhortation?

If then you have been raised with Christ,

it's Christians.

It is true born again believers

that the Apostle Paul is addressing here.

Now it is the true condition of the church.

In our day,

as much as it was in Paul's day,

that not everyone who attends church services,

and not everyone who goes to Sunday school,

and not everyone who even becomes a member of a church,

or reads their Bible every day,

or does all sorts of activity in the name of Jesus,

is a true Christian.

And for the purpose of our text this morning,

this truth has massive implications.

Why?

Well, let's look first at the purpose of the exhortation.

What is the reason behind this text

that we are looking at this morning?

Verse 1.

If then.

The if then here can also be translated,

therefore, if.

The therefore is a conjunction

connecting the last paragraph of chapter 3,

or of chapter 2,

to the first paragraph of chapter 3.

And so that's why we started reading from chapter 2, verse 20.

So let's read that again,

starting in verse 20.

If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world,

why, as if you were still alive in the world,

do you submit to regulations?

Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch,

referring to those things that all perish as they are used,

according to human precepts and teachings.

These have indeed an appearance of wisdom

in promoting self-made religion,

and asceticism and severity to the body.

But.

But.

Now here is the purpose of the exhortation

that is to come in chapter 3.

They are of no value

in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

The main purpose of this exhortation

is for the true Christian

to be given the key

to stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

And so it is important

to understand that Paul here,

first of all,

is saying that you must be

a Christian

if you are to attain

any degree of this

truth with any value.

Otherwise, all you have

is someone in the flesh

trying to stop

the indulgence of the flesh,

which kind of reminds me

of a saying of our Lord,

and if Satan cast out Satan,

he is divided against himself,

how then will his kingdom stand?

It is these people

who in the power of the flesh

try to stop the indulgence of the flesh

that Paul warns us of

and warns us against.

Those who try to mortify the flesh

through self-made religion,

asceticism,

and severity to the body.

And even Paul says

that these things

appear to be wise.

If you look at these people,

you might think to yourself,

wow,

how righteous they are,

what piety,

what discipline.

But behind the smoke and mirrors,

there is no true power.

Kyle taught us last week

some about this.

He said that these people

practice these things

to try to reach

a higher level of spirituality

by reducing earthly comforts.

But in reality,

it is a practice

of self-righteousness,

not self-denial.

And this,

at its core,

is idolatry.

These people

who try these

have created

a God

in their image,

in their own mind,

to suit

their own desires.

And they try

to gain God's favor

and even salvation

through their works.

Now,

these false doctrines

have been widespread

all throughout history.

And it is true

of just about

every religion

that is not Christian.

And it is also the case

in those who

entitle themselves

to be Christian,

but are not really

Christian.

I say that

of such

religions

as

such as Mormonism,

Jehovah's Witnesses,

and yes,

even the Catholic Church.

Now,

let me give you

just two quick examples

of this asceticism.

Now,

Paul wrote this letter

in about 60

to 62 A.D.

And in A.D. 52,

at the age of 16,

the historian Josephus

wrote about

three major sects

or philosophies

amongst the Jews.

Now,

Pastor Nathan

quoted this portion

a few weeks back

where Josephus says

that

the first

were the Pharisees,

then the Sadducees,

and the third

were the

Essenes.

Now,

the Essenes

were a group

that were

dedicated to

asceticism.

And Josephus

writes of them,

and I quote,

I contended myself

with hard fare

and underwent

great difficulties

and went through

them all,

nor did I contend

myself with these

trials only.

But when I was

informed that one

whose name was

Banus,

who was an

Esseni,

who lived in the

desert

and used

no other clothing

than that which

grew upon trees

and had no other

food than what

grew of its own

accord,

and bathed

himself in

cold water

frequently,

both by night

and by day,

in order to

preserve his

chastity.

I imitated

him in those

things and

continued with

him for three

years.

Did you catch

that?

That man,

Banus,

tortured himself

with cold water

multiple times a

day in order to

stop the indulgence

of the flesh.

But there was

no power.

There was no

true power.

And Josephus,

thinking this

lifestyle to be

wise,

imitated him for

three years.

Now here's

another example.

Historian Edward

Gibbon, in his

book, The

History of the

Decline and the

Fall of the

Roman Empire,

writes of a

Roman Catholic

monk, Dominic

Loricatus, and

how he tried to

gain God's

favor and

forgiveness of

sin.

And listen to

what he writes.

I quote,

It is a

maxim of the

civil law that

whosoever cannot

pay with his

purse must pay

with his body.

Now this law,

by the way,

came from the

Catholic Church.

In the practice

of flagellation,

that being the

practice of

whipping or

lashing oneself

for the purpose

of mortification,

asceticism or

penance,

was adopted

by the monks,

a cheap

though painful

equivalent.

He continues,

by fantastic

arithmetic,

a year of

penance was

taxed at

3,000

lashes.

And such

was the

skill and

patience of

a famous

hermit,

St.

Dominic of

the Iron

Curios,

that in

six days,

he could

discharge an

entire century

by a

whipping of

300,000

stripes.

His example

was followed

by many

penitents

of both

sexes.

And as a

vicarious

sacrifice

was accepted,

a sturdy

disciplinarian

might expiate

on his own

back the

sins of

his benefactors.

Close quote.

They thought

that they

could get

forgiveness

of sins

through these

works.

And even

worse,

they thought

that they

could get

forgiveness

of other

sins by

their own

works,

by whipping

themselves.

And many

looked up

to this

guy,

Dominic,

as a

saint.

They thought

it was wise

what he

was doing.

They thought

there was

power and

value behind

it.

And even

the Catholic

Church

venerated

him as a

saint.

This

has the

appearance

of wisdom

but there

is no

power.

It is

of no

value

in stopping

the indulgence

of the

flesh.

And so

in order

for there

to be

any value

in stopping

the indulgence

of the

flesh,

there must

be power

from on

high.

And so

in order

for there

to be

power,

you must

be a

true

Christian.

Christian.

Now I'm

very thankful

for this

church and

for our

pastor because

the true

gospel is

preached here

on a

regular and

consistent

basis.

But I do

have a

fear that

some of

you may

believe

yourselves

to be

Christians

this morning

simply because

you come

to a very

biblical

church.

church,

you know

the terminology.

You know

what to say.

You know

how to act.

You know

how to answer

questions of

the faith.

You may

even know

your Bible,

but inside

you are

not truly

changed.

You have

not been

born again.

And so

you do

not know

Christ and

Christ does

not know

you.

And so

I ask

every one

of you

this morning

to please

examine

yourselves,

examine your

heart,

test your

heart,

make sure

that you

are truly

in the

faith.

Because my

biggest fear

is that some

of you are

comfortable in

your deception

and are just

playing church

and going

through the

motions.

And may

one day open

your eyes to

the torment

that is

hell for

eternity.

So please

examine

yourself.

There is

so much

at stake.

So much

at stake.

And so

in direct

correlation to

Paul warning

against heretical

teaching,

let's look at

some characteristics

of what a

true Christian

is.

If you would

turn with

me to

Philippians

Philippians 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3.

Philippians

Philippians 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3.

And look

at verse

2.

The

apostle Paul

says,

look out

for the

dogs,

look out

for the

evildoers,

look out

for those

who mutilate

the flesh.

Now in

this context,

one of the

major heretical

sects that

Paul was

combating here

were the

Judaizers,

who were

all about

works and

external things.

Do not

touch,

do not

handle,

do not

taste.

they clung

to ceremonial

laws and

insisted on

such things

as circumcision.

Paul is

saying here,

look at

verse 3,

now what he

says to

that,

for we

are the

circumcision.

Paul is

saying we

are the

true

circumcision.

Who

what?

Who

worship

by the

Spirit of

God and

glory in

Christ Jesus

and put

no confidence

in the

flesh.

And there

is a

characteristic

of a

true

Christian

who

worship

by the

Spirit of

God.

Who

worship

by the

Spirit of

God.

If you

are a

true

Christian,

if you

are a

born-again

believer of

the supernatural

working of

the Spirit

of God,

the rest

of your

life from

the moment

of conversion

will be

marked by

Spirit-drawn,

Spirit-filled,

Spirit-empowered

worship.

And what I

mean by this

is not that

you come to

church and

sing songs

and go to

Sunday school

or Bible

studies or

listen to the

Christian radio

on your way

here.

God

what I

mean by

this is

have your

eyes

truly been

opened

to the

reality of

what Christ

has done

to what

he has

accomplished

for you

to what

he has

saved you

from

to the

blessings and

promises that

have been

poured out

on you

that all

you desire

for the rest

of your life

from that

moment that

you were

converted is

to worship

him and

to order

the rest of

your life

in such a

way as best

to please

him.

It isn't

something that

you are

forced to

do for the

sake of

religion but

rather the

Spirit of

God within

you softens

your heart

that you

come to

love him

and thank

him and

want to

know more

about him

and long

for him

and you

long for

his return

and you

long for

him to be

honored

and for

his name

to be

glorified

and proclaimed

in all

the nations

is this

true of

you?

Do you

ever just

fall flat

on your

face

and worship

and weep

out of your

love for

him in

remembrance of

what he has

done for

you?

Are you

a true

Christian?

Here's

another

characteristic

of a

true

Christian.

Do you

have a

new

relationship

with sin?

Have

your

desires

changed?

Do you

now hate

your sin?

Do you

see it

more than

ever before?

Or do you

just hate

the thought

of people

finding out

about it?

Have you

in your

innermost

being

been

changed?

Spurgeon,

the prince

of preachers,

a British

pastor from

the 1800s,

used to

describe

conversion

with an

illustration

that went

something like

this.

Say you

have two

plates and

you set

them on

the ground

and on

one plate

you have

some of

the finest

cuisine of

the land

and on

the other

you have

a bag

or correction

you have

just a

contents

of a

bag

from a

household

trash can

and you

get a

pig

and you

let this

pig go

to eat

which

plate

is he

going to

go to?

The two

plates are

sitting

side by

side.

More

than likely

nine out

of ten

times

that pig

will go

to

the one

with the

trash.

It's a

pig.

It likes

trash.

Now say

that in

one

instance

while that

pig

is

pigging

out

to this

trash

you

by a

supernatural

working

are able

to convert

him

into a

man

what will

happen?

That man

who is

currently

eating

that

trash

will be

disgusted

by what

he's

eating

by what

he has

put in

his

mouth

and he

will spit

it out

and be

ashamed

that he

ever went

to that

plate.

His

relationship

with that

plate

will change

forever.

I promise

you he

will

hopefully

go

to the

fine

cuisine

from that

moment on.

But if he

ever were to

return to

that other

plate

that relationship

is different

though he

may have

enjoyed it

at one

time if he

tries to

eat of

that trash

this time

as time

progresses

he will be

more and

more repulsed

by it.

The

relationship

with it

is different

because he

has been

changed

and that

is an

illustration

of conversion.

It is a

powerful thing.

It is a

supernatural

work of

God.

God, have

you

experienced

this

change?

Friend, if

you do not

have some

measure of

this, it

could be

because you

are walking

the wrong

path.

You could

be on the

road that

is broad

that leads

to destruction.

And so I

urge you and

I beg you to

repent, to

put your

trust in

Christ for

he alone

can save

you.

There is

nothing in

and of

yourselves

that you

could ever

do, anything

that could

come out

of your

mouths to

justify you

before a

holy God.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Turn from

your sins.

Forsake those

things which

you love, that

you know are

wrong.

Because they

are going

against God.

Sin is

transgression of

the law.

It is a

crime against

God.

It is a

crime against

the one who

gave you

life, who

gave you

everything that

you have, who

cares for you,

who created

all things.

Flee from

the wrath to

come.

Please do

not harden

your hearts.

Do not

harden your

hearts.

Repent.

Trust in

Christ.

Believe the

gospel today.

Right now.

Repent.

And if you

are one who

has been

playing church,

please,

please let

someone know.

Let someone

know there is

so much at

stake here.

I promise you

that there would

be no

condemnation from

whoever you

go to.

If you

have not

experienced any

degree of

this, please,

what every

one of us

desire is

your salvation,

because we

love you and

care for you.

Please, let

someone know.

Now, I

don't want to

bring unnecessary

doubt to some

of you true

Christians.

Some of you

could simply be

struggling against

apathy.

and your

fire just

needs to be

rekindled.

Preach the

gospel to

yourself.

Remember,

cling to the

promises.

Remember what

He has done

for you.

Now, a

reason for

this apathy

and lack

of zeal

could be

the result

of earthly

mindedness.

So now, we

are looking at

this a little

backwards, but

our next

heading, our

second heading

for this

morning is

simply earthly

mindedness.

So if you

would look at

verse 2 of

Colossians

Colossians 3:2

chapter 3,

verse 2 of

Colossians

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3,

notice our

second heading,

earthly

mindedness.

Set your

minds on

things that

are above,

not on

things that

are on

earth.

Now, turn

back to

Philippians

Philippians 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3

with me for

a moment.

And look

at verses

17 through

19.

And Nathan

just read

this this

morning, so

good to hear

it again.

Paul writes,

beginning in

verse 17,

Brothers,

join in

imitating

me, and

keep your

eyes on

those who

walk according

to the

example you

have in

us.

For many

of whom I

have often

told you and

now tell you

with tears

walk as

enemies of

the cross

of Christ.

Their end

is destruction,

their God

is their

belly, and

they glory

in their

shame with

minds set

on earthly

things.

So what

is earthly

mindedness?

I have

defined it

as when

the actions

of the

will or

the affections

of the

soul are

anchored to

and driven

by the

things of

this world.

And by

things of

this world,

I mean

anything that

is of this

world,

material or

not.

It could

be pleasures,

it could

be comforts

or things

derived from

them,

honor,

power,

pride.

Now it is

important to

understand that

it is not

inherently sinful

to enjoy or

make use of

earthly things,

or even have

an abundance of

earthly things.

even God

himself knows

that we have

need of

things and

he provides

them for

us.

Now I

don't have

much time,

so just

quickly I'm

going to

give you

some

characteristics

of

earthly

mindedness

and we

will move

on.

So first,

you are

earthly minded

if you look

at earthly

things as

the greatest

things of

all and

believe that

happiness

happiness

will be

derived

from the

possession

of them.

So this

could be

anything,

relationships,

comforts,

homes,

cars,

money,

or anything

that makes

you think

to yourself,

if I just

had that

thing,

I would be

happy.

If I just

had that

thing,

this earthly

thing,

I would be

happy.

If that

is part

of the

state of

your mind,

then you

could be

earthly

minded.

Second,

you are

earthly

minded if

the sum

of or

the majority

of your

thoughts

revolve

around

earthly

things.

Proverbs

23,

7 says,

As a

man thinks

in his

heart,

so is

he.

And in

Matthew

15,

18 through

19,

Jesus

says,

What comes

out of the

mouth proceeds

from the

heart,

and this

defiles a

person?

For out of

the heart

come evil

thoughts,

murder,

adultery,

sexual

immorality,

theft,

false witness,

and slander,

and all of

these things

being indulgences

of the flesh.

So in

your

innermost

thoughts,

in the

secret

chambers

of your

heart,

what is

most

sweet

to you?

Where do

you find

your happiness?

If the

things of

earth reign

in your

heart in

this manner,

then you

are earthly

minded.

Third,

you are

earthly

minded

if your

purpose,

drive,

and goal

in life

is only

the

accomplishment

of

earthly

endeavors.

There is

no concept

of doing

what you

do for

the Lord.

You only

mind those

temporal

things which

will one

day perish,

and you are

even angry

or afraid

at the

thought of

losing

any of

these

worldly

things

that your

mind is

set on.

And

fourth and

last,

for the

sake of

time,

you are

earthly

minded

if you

are

predominantly

earthly

in

spiritual

things.

Meaning

all

spiritual

or

religious

activity

that you

partake

in

is

nothing

but a

means

to

earthly

ends.

The

intentions

behind

your

actions

are

simply

horizontal

in the

confines

of the

terrestrial

horizon.

They are

not

vertical

pointed

to the

things

above.

And so

I give

you those

four things

and from

that

the

opposite

could be

said

encompasses

what it

means to

be

heavenly

minded.

And so

for our

third

heading

heaven

mindedness

please

look at

the

second

half of

verse

one

to the

first

half of

verse

two

back in

Colossians

chapter

three.

So

Colossians

chapter

three

verse

one

second

half of

verse

one

notice

our

third

heading

heaven

mindedness.

Seek

the

things

that

are

above

where

Christ

is

seated

at

the

right

hand

of

God

set

your

minds

on

things

that

are

above.

And for

the sake

of time

as I

said

you can

probably

deduce

what

heaven

mindedness

is

just

by

applying

the

opposite

of

what

it

means

to

be

earthly

minded.

But

very

quickly

let's

just

look

at

a

few

things

and

implications

of

heaven

mindedness.

First

those

who are

heaven

minded

are

those

who

live

with

an

eternal

perspective

an

eternal

perspective.

It was

Jonathan

Edwards

an

American

preacher

from the

1700s

who is

widely

acknowledged

as one

of

America's

greatest

preachers

greatest

theologians

and greatest

intellectual

who

cried

out to

God

Lord

stamp

eternity

on

my

eyeballs.

And it

is from

a similar

disposition

that Paul

could cry

out in

Romans 9

that he

had

great

sorrow

and

unceasing

anguish

in his

heart

for lost

souls

because he

knew and

kept at

the forefront

of his

mind

the fact

that

multitudes

were on

their way

to

eternal

punishment.

And it

is from

this

disposition

of our

perspective

that love

and passion

to seek

out those

who are

lost

is birthed

from.

In 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 4:16

chapter 4

verses 16

and 18

Paul says

says,

for the

things that

are seen

are

transient

but the

things that

are unseen

are eternal.

The man

who can

say this

is heaven

minded

seeking

the things

above.

He does

what he does

for God

for the

kingdom

for souls.

So let me

ask you this

question.

What you do

where you

work

the life

decisions

that you

make

do you

make them

in light

of eternity?

Do you

make decisions

for the

service

of the

kingdom

of God?

Do you

have an

eternal

perspective?

Second,

heaven

mindedness

is pursuing

godliness.

Pursuing

godliness.

In 1 Timothy

1 Timothy 4:7–10

chapter 4

verses 7

through 10

Paul says,

have nothing

to do

with worldly

fables

fit only

for old

women.

On the

other hand,

discipline

yourself

for the

purpose of

godliness.

For godliness

or for

bodily

discipline

is only

of little

profit,

but godliness

is profitable

for all

things since

it holds

promise for

the present

life and

also for

the life

to come.

It is a

trustworthy

statement

deserving

full acceptance

for it is

for this

we labor

and strive

because we

have fixed

our hope

on the

living God.

It does

take a

certain level

of discipline

and sometimes

hard work

to be godly,

to live

in righteousness.

But the

heaven-minded

Christian

learns that

alongside of

this discipline

there is a

fountain,

a fountain

of joy

and sweetness

unspeakable.

And it is

this Christian

who is

heaven-minded

that can

learn,

as 1 Timothy

6.6

says,

that godliness

with contentment

is great

gain.

it is

for this

reason that

the apostle

can say

in Philippians

4.11

I have