The True and Better Authentic You

Father, we give you thanks and praise that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

And we give you thanks and praise that your grace grows us, and only your grace will truly grow us,

so that we are fit for heaven, that we are fit for the new heaven and the new earth.

We ask, Father, that you help us to pay deep attention to your word,

that, in fact, your word may enter deeply into our lives to form us,

so that we, Father, might put ourselves in those postures of obedience,

that your grace might work in us most deeply and flower most beautifully for your glory,

for the good of ourselves and the good of others.

And we ask this in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen.

Please be seated.

So, I have a bit of an embarrassing type of way to open the sermon today.

And the reason it's embarrassing is I was sharing with my wife last night about how this week,

I had an insight about the text that just sort of like it hit me like this.

It just completely knocked me and helped me to see and understand and realize things in a very, very new way.

So, in fact, part of my worry about the sermon, actually, is because it's really helped me to see things in a very, very new way.

I hope I'm not too in...

I hope I'm actually...

You can understand me.

I'm not too all over the place, a little bit like a balloon letting the air out,

and it goes all over the place.

I hope I'm clear.

But the reason it's a bit embarrassing, potentially embarrassing, is I share this insight, and you all just go,

really, George?

That's a sign of you having a big insight?

That's pretty pathetic.

Like, when I have an insight, it's like this.

But it's not an insight.

It was just as if God brought something home to me that has changed.

It's helped to solidify or crystallize different things I've been saying and trying to understand the Bible.

And when I share it with you, I can guarantee you that you're going to just go,

uh, like that doesn't sound much, and I'll just try to explain it.

And part of the thing is, it's an analogy that I've heard used before over the years.

And I think it's partially just that God finally wanted to get something through my unbelievably thick skull.

I have a very, very thick skull.

I can be very, duh.

And part of it is, I think, that I've been meditating so much upon Colossians 2, verses 15 to 23,

Colossians 2:15–23

which we looked at last week, and Colossians 3, verses 1 to 4,

Colossians 3:1–4

which is what I've been meditating upon and studying all this week.

And I think it was just the combination of God being gracious to me.

And this analogy actually sort of clicking and making sense in a remarkable way.

So now after this buildup, here's your letdown moment.

What effort is required for an apple to become an orange?

What effort by an apple is required for it to be turned into an orange, or to turn itself into an orange?

Well, of course, the correct answer is that no amount of effort by an apple will ever turn it into an orange.

And no amount of effort by an apple will ever do something that makes it worthy of somehow or another being turned into an orange by some other person,

that it can't be forced.

So why is this actually quite a profound statement, even though you all are now profoundly disappointed,

thinking that, George, was your great insight?

We are going to pray far harder for you, George, in the weeks to come, that you have better insights than that.

Well, let's look at the text.

We're preaching through the book of Colossians,

and we're looking today at Colossians 3, chapter 3, verses 1 to 4.

And as part of the context, just before we read this text,

the part that just went on immediately before this,

one of the ways that I summarized that text was it sets before us Christians a question.

Will I grow me, or will the Lord grow me?

Like a fundamental question.

Will I grow me, or will the Lord grow me?

And one of the things that that text looked at in that question is it talked about different types of religious rituals,

different ways to be in tune with nature.

It talked about different ways to try to develop the mind,

different ways to show that the mind has control over the body,

different ways to try to have visions,

basically almost like a bit of a list, a laundry list,

or a shopping list of the different ways that people try to grow themselves.

And the shocking end of all of that was verse 23 of chapter 2,

where it says,

These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion,

in other words, religion that comes ultimately from the self,

and asceticism and severity to the body.

In other words, it seems to be good,

because it seems to talk about you having a very, very deep commitment that you're very, very devoted to.

And it seems to have an ability to show that you have this control in general,

and you're willing to do without,

and general.

So it's all about control.

It's all about your devotion.

And it seems to be very, very wise.

But, the end of verse 23,

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

That in fact, this laundry list,

this shopping list of ways that the religions and spiritualities

and self-help technologies of the world throughout history,

and even today,

have attended to try to direct us so that we can grow,

and that we can change,

and that we can develop.

In fact, at the end of the day,

it doesn't stop the fact that there is a deep part in every single human being

that still desires to be God.

It still desires their God project.

And that these things, in fact, don't work.

And then, in chapter 3,

there's a therefore,

which isn't translated in most versions.

It begins like this.

And I'm just going to read the four verses.

It's only four verses.

It's very short and very brief.

And then we're going to return to it and sort of unpack it.

But this contrast, then,

of these things actually don't work,

therefore, or if, or since,

then,

you have been raised with Christ.

Christ.

Seek the things that are above,

where Christ is,

seated at the right hand of God.

Just pause,

and I'll read it again.

You know,

one of the very interesting things about this

is that the very, very first words of Jesus' ministry,

like,

what are the very, very first words that Jesus says in his public ministry?

His first words that are recorded,

of course,

in Luke,

when he's behind in the temple,

but that's sort of,

in a sense,

a little bit of a coming up for air type of moment,

but fundamentally,

Jesus disappears.

He stays working with Joseph and his family.

Sometime along that,

Joseph dies,

and Jesus is a carpenter for some 30,

well,

another 20 some odd years after that event in the temple.

And then the very,

very first words of Jesus' ministry

are recorded in John's Gospel,

and it's a question.

And the question is,

what are you seeking?

It's interesting that Jesus begins his public ministry

with a question.

Not with a declaration,

but with a question.

What are you seeking?

I mean,

that's a very good question for every human being.

What are you seeking?

And Paul actually then develops this thing here a little bit by,

he says,

if then,

in verse one again,

you have been raised with Christ,

seek the things that are above,

where Christ is,

seated at the right hand of God.

And then he sort of doubles down on the idea,

because set,

this next part,

set your mind,

is a different,

it's a deeper type of commitment,

it's a different type of project than seeking,

it's setting.

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.

And I'm going to actually,

I think Andrew has up on the stage,

on the screen,

a more literal translation of verse four.

So I've been using the ESV,

but from the academic commentary research,

a more literal way,

the most literal way of translating verse four,

is when Christ,

your life,

is revealed,

then you also will be revealed with him in glory.

And I'll say that again.

When Christ,

your life,

is revealed,

then you also will be revealed with him in glory.

And this,

of course,

is the Christian hope.

You put your faith and trust in Jesus,

and when you put your faith and trust in Jesus,

he receives you.

And Paul has used a variety of images

to try to communicate what this is,

but it really quite literally means,

and I'm using,

I mean literally,

literally,

not like as a sign for heightened,

like literally,

that what the Bible reveals

is that this profound mystery

that when I am mere mortal,

with all my sins

and all my failings,

all my strengths,

all my weaknesses,

all my genetic predispositions

towards certain things

and away from other types of things,

when I call out to God

and say,

Jesus,

will you be my Savior and my Lord?

Or when I recognize

that that has happened in my life

from my very,

very early age,

because of course,

it's the desire of every Christian parent

that their child never have a moment

that they don't trust in Jesus.

So this giving of yourself to Jesus

can be something that can happen

very,

very,

very young

that just grows and develops

so that a person might say,

I literally,

I've never known a time

when I haven't trusted Jesus

as my Savior and my Lord.

Isn't that the prayer

and the work and labor

of every Christian parent

that that would be the case?

But for those of us

that that wasn't the case,

we say that to Jesus,

and Jesus actually,

we actually,

in a sense,

it's not just that we put our hands in Jesus

and Jesus stays completely,

he is always separate

and he's always different,

but we actually enter into him.

And the Bible earlier used the analogy

in some ways that you can understand

when you see somebody,

whether an adult or a child being baptized,

what you are to understand

is that in a sense

they are plunging into Christ

they plunge into his sinless life,

they plunge into his death upon the cross,

they plunge into him

tasting all there is to taste

of nothing left,

with nothing left,

all there is to taste of death

with nothing that's not tasted,

they plunge into his resurrection.

And in a sense which is true,

but we don't know it in its fullness,

we actually are also,

in a sense,

glorified with him

and that won't be revealed

until,

and this is what it's being talked about.

And because of the way

we human beings are,

when we,

in a sense,

are immersed in Christ,

and this is something

that baptism can't symbolize,

but it's proclaimed

as part of the teaching,

but by the way,

baptism doesn't do it in itself,

right?

That baptism is an outward act

to signify

what's something that,

that's something

that only God can do,

right?

And because of the way

human beings are,

that when we plunge

into Christ

and are immersed in him,

he comes into us.

That human beings,

in a sense,

are like sponges.

If you put a sponge

and immerse it in water,

the water goes in the sponge.

And in the same way,

Christ enters into us.

And this is the profound

and wonderful teaching

of the Bible

about what happens

to us

when we are in Christ.

But then the question is,

how do we grow?

Like,

how is it that we grow?

And what is it

that we're going to become?

And this is

where we go back

to my very, very

mind-bogglingly

unprofound question,

how does an apple

become an orange?

And the fact is,

an apple can never

become an orange.

But look again

at verse 4.

Here's the

apple-orange analogy

coming to completion.

When Christ,

your life,

is revealed,

then you also

will be revealed

with him

in glory.

C.S. Lewis

has a very, very

wonderful analogy

where he talks about

the eternal weight

of glory.

He's really looking

at that wonderful part

in 2 Corinthians

where it talks about

how God is preparing

ordinary people

like you and me

for an eternal

weight of glory.

And C.S. Lewis

has this wonderful

analogy that if we

were to see now,

and I'll just pick

Andrew.

He's a good guy.

Maybe there's lots

of different ways

we'd like to be

more like Andrew.

But if we were to see

Andrew,

if all of a sudden

we were to see

Andrew the way

he will be

when verse 4

is actually true

in history,

there will be a time

when Andrew

will see Jesus

face to face.

And then Andrew

will be revealed

with Jesus in glory.

And we'll know

it's Andrew.

But if we were

to see Andrew

like this

in the future

right now,

all of us

would in fact

have to shield

our eyes

from his glory

and we'd all

be tempted

to fall down

and worship him.

On one hand,

Andrew is still Andrew.

I mean,

the Bible has

this very precious

promise

that in heaven

we'll recognize

each other.

You know,

in the story

of Jesus

at the Transfiguration,

people could recognize

Moses and Elijah.

You don't lose

your identity.

But what happens

when verse 4

becomes true,

the title of this sermon

is The True

and Better

Authentic You.

The True

and Better

Authentic You.

And in some way then,

sorry Andrew,

I'm going to keep using you.

I'm saying your name

too much to take out

of the audio

and it'll also be,

of course,

on this.

So I'm just using you

as an example

just because you're

sort of over there

when I look towards

the camera,

I can see you

and I know you can

handle it.

But, you know,

if you had Andrew's kids

on a separate thing,

Andrew wasn't around,

I bet Andrew's kids

could imitate Andrew.

I mean,

my kids do that to me.

Sometimes a bit embarrassing

to see how my kids

imitate me

and I think,

I do that?

Really?

I don't do that

and then they imitate me.

Really?

I do that?

And the quirks

of Andrew

will be revealed

and you'll know

it's Andrew

but it is a very

different Andrew.

He is a very

different Andrew

to be revealed

with Christ in glory

and that's the destiny

of every person

who puts their faith

in Christ.

And now you get

a bit of a sense.

You see,

if all of the different

texts in the Bible

that call us

to holiness,

to call us

to be more like Christ,

Christ,

well what's that

telling us to do?

It's telling us

to do certain things

and stop doing

other things

so we can become,

it's actually part

of the steps

on this journey

that will culminate

with us being revealed

with Jesus.

And you realize

that God

isn't making you

a better apple,

he's making you

into something

very different.

In fact,

here's where the analogy

breaks down

and I'm going to give you

a true and better analogy

than the one I heard.

A couple of weeks ago

when I was trying

to illustrate something

in the book of Colossians

that happened to also

be Thanksgiving Sunday,

those online saw it

in a different week

but those who are

watching the service

or entering into the service

I should say,

not watching but entering

into the worship

through the online,

hopefully you're able

to see that there were

cut roses across

the front of the stage.

And I use the analogy

that the Bible,

what the Bible says

about human beings

is that every human being

is in a sense

a cut rose.

Cut roses are dying.

They look beautiful.

They smell nice

and they look beautiful.

And you can do

certain types of things

like put them in water,

keep them in the right temperature,

give them a little bit

of cut flower food

that will keep them

looking nice

a little bit longer

and fresh

a little bit longer.

But at the end of the day,

they're separated

from the ground.

They're separated

from the rest of the roots

and they're dying.

They look beautiful

but they're dying.

And so what happens

in grace

when you put your faith

and trust in Christ

is you're connected

to your creator.

I looked it up in Google

so it must be true

because of course

nothing in social media

as we've discovered

from Facebook and Twitter

over the last week

ever misdirects you.

It only gives you

the truth.

But according to YouTube,

you can't take cut roses

and graft them back

onto a rose bush.

It's just impossible.

So it points actually

to the miracle of grace

that God makes you alive.

That God takes you

a cut rose

and by faith

and trust in Jesus,

God connects you

back to the source of life.

But here we see

something very,

very different.

It isn't just that God

is making better cut roses.

If every human being

outside of Christ

is a cut rose,

in Colossians 3,

Colossians 3:4

verse 4,

you're a sequoia.

You're a full-grown sequoia.

One of those trees

that are so old

and so big,

you can cut a hole

in the bottom

and drive a car through.

So how can I cut rose?

You see,

so here's the thing,

and this is the big

shocking thing to me

that really just brought

things home to me

in a very,

very different way.

And actually,

if you could just put up

the first point,

Andrew,

there's actually,

there's only one point.

There's only one thing

that I want you

to try to remember.

The best thing of all

would be if you memorized

verses 1 to 4.

But I've tried to summarize

verses 1 to 4

and the message of it is,

in light of his death

upon the cross for you,

set your mind on Christ

in all his risen,

sovereign,

Trinitarian glory.

It's as if you've been

raised with Christ

and Christ is seated

at the right hand

of God the Father.

There's the resurrection,

there's the death,

you've died with Christ.

That's also in that text.

It's in verse 3,

for you have died

with Christ

and your life

is hidden with Christ

and God.

When Christ,

who is your life,

appears and you will

also appear with him

in glory.

And verse 2 is the command,

set your mind,

not on things that are above,

not on wispy things,

like not on just

little visions

about what rivers

will look in heaven.

No,

you set your mind

on Jesus,

on Christ.

And you set your mind

on Christ

where he's seated,

which means he's ruling,

he's conquered,

it's accomplished.

It's a picture

of sovereignty

and it's a picture

of him at union

with the Father,

his Trinitarian glory.

And so the command is,

in light of his death

upon the cross for you,

set your mind

on Christ

and all his risen,

sovereign Trinitarian glory.

But here's the thing,

I'm going to unpack

this idea a little bit more

in the next couple

of moments.

If you understand

that the end

of the story

isn't that you will be

a far better cut rose

than you are today,

but you're going

to be a sequoia,

then you realize

that only God

can do that.

So all of the texts

in the Bible

that talk about you

becoming more like Jesus

or more Christ-like

or more holy,

what are those doing?

They're all talking

about the day

when you were

with Jesus

and you were in

the new heaven

and the new earth

and were the life

of the Father

to the Son

and the Holy Spirit.

That life

is the life

that makes you alive

and their love

is the love

that inflames your heart

that you just long

to enter into

more and more

and more and more

for all eternity,

not only by yourself

with others.

And that holiness

is becoming

more like Christ,

more fit for that.

And then you realize

it's describing

a sequoia

and you're a cut flower

and that sequoia

is your final destiny.

And so much

of what self-help is

and so all of the things

that were being talked about

in chapter 2,

verses 15 to 23,

16 to 23,

about asceticism

and devotion

and control

and in tune with nature,

all of those things

are just better ways

to be a better cut flower.

And God wants

to turn you into sequoia.

And that means

all you can do

is place yourself

in a posture of obedience

where God can do the work

that only he can do,

that grace can do the work

that only grace can do.

Give you a bit of an analogy for it.

It's not an analogy,

it's a story.

You know the very first miracle

that Jesus performed

and the very first miracle

that Jesus performed

is the story of Jesus

turning water into wine.

And in that story,

you can go back

and read it in John 2

if you want to read it

later on for yourself.

But it's a very simple,

very simple story.

Jesus and his disciples

had been invited to a wedding

and a wedding feast

in those days

would go for seven days

and it was a great faux pas,

an unbelievably terrible faux pas

to run out of wine.

And so Jesus' mother

must have been related

or had some connection

to the people

putting on the wedding reception.

And she's worried

about what's going on

and all frustrated

with what's going on

and in the midst

of her worry

and frustration,

she has a couple

of sharp words to Jesus

and say,

Jesus, do something.

And then Jesus says,

and there's a whole other bit

of the sermon about

it's not my time,

and then she just says

to the servants,

whatever Jesus tells you

to do, do it.

And so Jesus,

when his mother is left,

says, okay,

take these big stone water jars

that will hold literally,

you know,

hundreds and hundreds

and hundreds

of liters of water,

fill them with water,

and take them

to the director

of the feast.

And they do

what Jesus says

and by the time

they put in the water,

water,

water,

water,

water,

look at it,

water,

well,

Jesus said to fill it

with water,

I filled it with water,

trudge it over,

and by the time

it gets to the master

of the feast,

it's the best wine

that they've ever had.

Now let me tell you this,

I can tell you all week

to fill stone jars

with water,

it'll never turn into wine.

I can tell you that all week,

it doesn't do it.

But what happened?

Only God can turn

the water into wine.

That's one of the very

first proofs

of Jesus' divinity,

that Jesus turns

the water into wine.

It's one of the story-picture ways

whereby his divinity

is portrayed.

But it's an act of grace

that only God can do.

But what's the posture

that's needed

for God to do

what only God can do

is to be obedient

to something

that he's provided

and asked you to do.

And when you put yourself

in a posture of obedience

to something

that God has asked you to do,

you don't really know

what he's going to do.

And part of that is

because I'm completely

and utterly addicted

to being a better-cut flower.

I am deeply addicted

to being a better-cut flower.

And so God keeps

surprising me in my life

because he has no interest

in making me

a better-cut flower.

He's making me

into sequoia.

He's making me

into a being

that will one day

be revealed

in the presence of Jesus,

in all of Jesus'

risen,

sovereign,

trinitarian glory.

So it is

with this very,

very simple command.

If you could now put up,

here's in a sense

what the big picture is

to how Paul

is going to begin

to describe this.

And every week

it's the same type

of an idea

that we're looking

at the means of grace.

It's not the complete

means of grace.

It's like one of the means

of grace is Bible reading.

Like reading doesn't

actually change

or transform you,

but the Bible,

God wants us

to read his word.

And when we read his word,

it's like filling

the jars of water

with water

so that God

can turn

the water

into wine.

Like another means

of grace

is actually

being part

of an online service

or part of a local church.

We all know,

like going to a hockey game

doesn't change you.

Going to a reading group

doesn't change you.

Just hanging out

with other people

doesn't change you.

But God has said

that one of the means

of grace

is that Christians

gather together

in public worship

and when you do that

out of obedience,

it's filling the water pots

with water.

And what is communion?

You can snack

on crackers

and juice

or wine

all day

and if you did,

all it would do

is give you probably

diabetes

and extra weight

and an alcohol problem.

Drinking wine

doesn't do anything

for you.

nor does eating

unleavened bread.

But Jesus told us

to regularly

gather

and have the bread

and have the wine

and that's

filling the pots

with water

so Jesus

can turn the water

into wine.

And Paul

sets before us

another set

of means of grace,

different aspects

of postures

that we enter

into

out of obedience

because Christ

has said to do it.

And one of the things

we're going to say,

there's a bit of effort

in it,

but one of the things

we're going to see

and the reason

and well,

here's the big picture.

The first one is this.

It was what happened

in chapter two

and it's a question.

Will I grow me

or will the Lord

grow me?

That's the first thing.

That was the first,

that's the big question.

In a sense,

when I wake up,

well,

not when I first wake up

because when I first wake up

I can barely function.

After I've started

to have some caffeine

in my system

and some toast

and I can start

to function,

the question before me

for the rest of the day

is will I grow me

or will the Lord

grow me?

Will I commit this day?

Will I double down

this day

and set my mind

on my cut flower project?

Or will I

let the Lord

grow me?

And this isn't

a couch potato

approach to growth

by the way

because there's going

to be next things

that happen

but that's the fundamental

question.

Will I grow me

or will I let

the Lord grow me?

And then the second thing

which is we're looking

at today is this.

Set your mind

on Christ

crucified and risen

or as I've put it

in light of his death

upon the cross

for you

set your mind

on Christ

in all his risen

sovereign

Trinitarian glory.

In light of his death

upon the cross

for you

set your mind

on Christ

in all his risen

sovereign

Trinitarian glory.

And then the third thing

which is what we're

going to look at

next week

which is verses

five to nine

is put off

sin.

These are all

aspects of the same

type of

the same

it's an aspect

of the means

of grace.

Put off

sin.

I'll talk a little bit

more about that

but we'll talk

in a moment

but we're going to

talk about more

next week.

And then the fourth

thing

which is verses

ten to fourteen

is put on

virtue.

For those of you

who are very

very concrete

in your thinking

it's really

as a matter

of in a sense

you know

the question

is posed

to me

not just in the morning

but as the day

goes through

and as the week

goes through

am I going to

pursue

a cut flower

project

or am I going

to let God

grow me

into sequoia?

Will I

grow me

or will I

let the Lord

grow me?

Okay well the first

thing that he's

asked me to do

is to set my

mind in light

of the crucifixion

this death

upon the cross

to set my

mind on Jesus

in all his

risen sovereign

Trinitarian glory.

And the other

thing he's going

to want me to do

is to like

I'm not going

to take my

shirt off

but take off

these pieces

of clothing

that I have

that are really

sin.

And then

the other thing

he wants me

to do

is to put

on

virtue

as defined

by the

Bible.

That's what

we're going

to look at

the following

week in

verses 10

to 14.

And then

the next

two steps

we're going

to look

at in

one sermon

and then

the next

step is

to let

the peace

of Christ

rule in

my heart

to let

Christ's

word

rule

in my

heart

and my

life

to let

it

to let

it happen.

And then

the final

thing

is to do

everything

and anything.

It isn't

saying just

do religious

things.

It says

do everything

and everything.

Do those

of you who

work in

the civil

service

do your

day.

Those of

you who

are in

politics

do your

day in

politics.

Those in

business

those stay

at home

moms or

stay at home

dads or

retired

people do

everything

that has

to be done

today

to the

honor and

glory of

God giving

thanks

to him.

And that's

what Paul

sets out

between

chapter 2

verse 16

and chapter

3

verse 17.

And we're

going to look

at a bit

of them.

Every week

this is going

to be up

here so we

can remember

the whole

picture.

So the

first question

is will I

grow me

or will

the Lord

grow me?

Will I

pursue my

cut flower

project being

the best

cut flower

I can

possibly be?

I'm going

to be the

fittest

cut flower,

the richest

cut flower.

I'm going

to be the

longest lasting

cut flower

I can

possibly be.

Will I

let the

Lord

grow me?

And the

first step

in this

little model

of letting

the Lord

grow me

is to

set my

mind.

In light

of Christ

and his

death upon

the cross

for me

to set

my mind

on Jesus

on Christ

in all

his risen

sovereign

trinitarian

glory.

Now here's

one of the

interesting

things about

this is

that setting

all can set

their minds

on things

because all

of us do.

A couple

of weeks

ago one

of our

youngest

grandchildren

we got

a little

video

of him

and he's

just learned

how to

stand.

He can't

do anything

other than

stand.

But he had

this huge

desire to

pick,

I can't

remember what

the object,

it was to

pick this

object up.

Here he is,

a little

tiny six

month old

kid and

his mind

was set

on this.

And all

of us who

have young

kids or

who've seen

young kids,

young kids

can get

their mind

set on

something.

In fact,

we've had

some times

when the

kids,

by the way,

today,

every kid

here should

get a

chocolate bar

afterwards.

They've been

so fantastically

behaved and

parents are

saying,

no, don't

give them

chocolate bars

and I have

to live

with them

on chocolate

highs for

the rest

of the day.

But they've

been very,

very well

behaved.

But we all

know that a

kid can all

of a sudden

go into a

complete screaming

fit in church.

Why?

They have

their mind

set on

something and

their mom

or their dad

doesn't give

it.

And their

response is

to explode.

And one of

the reasons

that all of

this is so

that it's in

fact a normal

human thing

that we set

our minds.

And here's

one of the

things that

we discover.

This is why

I say it's

not that we

don't do any

effort.

It's not a

couch potato

thing.

I'm just going

to be here

like this is

so nice.

This is

spiritual growth.

I just sit

on a couch.

I do nothing

except eat

potato chips

all day and

God grows me

into sequoia.

No,

no,

no,

no.

There is

some effort

because the

effort is if

you start to

set your

mind on

Christ,

if I come

before God

and say I

want to set

my mind on

Christ,

I start to

realize there's

a bit of a

struggle because

the fact of

the matter is I

already have my

mind set on

different things.

So do you.

Your mind can

be set on

lust,

can be set on

anger,

can be set on

revenge,

it could be set

on your God

project,

it could be set

upon being

rich,

it can be

set upon

fears,

it can be

set upon

your profound

insecurity,

younger people

seem to be

getting smarter

and better

than me and

it's set on

my insecurity,

it's set on

my failure,

it's set on

my doom,

it's set on

getting that

girl,

getting that

job,

getting that

loan,

getting that

house,

getting that

car.

It's only

when we want

to set our

minds in

Christ that we

discover that

that mind is

already set on

all sorts of

things.

And that's

one of the

reasons we

have to put

off.

It's because

my mind is

set on that

lust,

that anger,

that greed.

And I say,

oh Lord,

that's part of

my cut flower

project.

Lord,

help me set

my mind on

you,

in all your

risen

Trinitarian

glory and

sovereignty,

and help me

to put off

that anger,

put off

that boasting,

put off

that pride,

put off

that greed.

Just one

other little

bit of an

analogy.

You see,

this,

by the way,

helps us to

understand a

little bit

about the

weird way

that God

seems to

work with

us.

You see,

and it's

one of the

mistakes

churches make

when they

say five

steps to

financial health

according to

the wisdom

of the

Bible.

Well,

that implies

that God

wants you

to be a

better cut

flower.

But if God

doesn't want

you to be a

cut flower,

well,

he's going to

sort money out

in your life,

but it's going

to be like

in a weird

way.

And maybe

he'll make

you very rich,

by the way.

I mean,

God has

different things.

He knows

how we're all

wired and

will be wired

in different

types of

ways.

But at the

end of the

day,

as we all

know,

we make

money thinking

money will

serve us,

but what

always happens

is that we

serve money.

And God

doesn't want

to make us

a better

cut flower

where we're

way better

at serving

money than

other people.

He wants

us to be

a completely

different type

of person

where money

isn't what

our minds

are set on.

It doesn't

mean we

don't,

you know,

count our

change or

look at our

bank statements,

but actually

what he wants

to do is

to make us

into the

type of

person that

generosity

is what

drives us

and governs

us.

Like what

drives us

and governs

us is a

profound

sense of

trust and

confidence in

him.

And that

profound

trust and

confidence at

the end of

our story

isn't being a

better cut

flower,

but the

end of

our story

is that we

will die

and appear

before Jesus

and that we

will be

revealed

in glory,

participating

and drinking

and breathing

the love

of the

father for

the son

and the

son of

the father,

consuming

their goodness,

their beauty,

and as we

consume their

beauty and

their truth

and their

goodness and

their justice

and their

mercy and

their kindness,

we are

changed from

one degree

of glory to

another.

And just

as the

father and

the son

don't think

they have

to grasp

on anything,

but that what

fundamentally

characterizes them

as a

confidence in

their giving

and receiving

and a

confidence then

to be

unendingly

generous,

that's what

God wants

to form us

into.

Where

generosity

and confidence

is the air

we begin to

breathe as

we prepare

to be a

sequoia for

all eternity.

So it's a

very interesting

thing,

a mentally

handicapped

person can

set their

minds on

things,

little babies

can,

and all of

us are

doing it

all the

time.

And God

is saying,

lay down

what your

mind is

set on.

In light

of Jesus

and his

death upon

the cross

for you,

set your

mind on

Christ in

all his

risen,

sovereign,

Trinitarian

glory.

glory.

You're

going to

come to

realize that

you keep

forgetting,

and you're

going to

come and

realize that

you already

have your

mind on

a whole lot

of other

things,

but,

and there's

nothing,

you know,

the mere fact

that we all

set our

minds on

things show

that there

is nothing

magical about

setting your

mind on

something.

The heart

of all of

this is that

Jesus has

told us to

do it,

so that when

we begin to

develop the

habits through

the day,

and at

different times

in the day,

to say,

Lord,

help me to

set my

mind on

Christ right

now,

in all his

risen,

sovereign,

Trinitarian

glory.

What are you

doing?

You're putting

water in the

stone pots.

That's all

you're doing.

You're putting

water into the

stone pots.

It's a means

of grace.

It's a means

of grace.

The wonderful

thing about

all of this

is that we're

going to

fail.

I fail,

you fail.

We all

have to

pray for

each other.

That's part

of why

church is

so important.

But God

sets before

us these

wonderful

means of

grace.

Set your

minds in

light of

Jesus and

his death

upon the

cross and

his for

you.

Set your

mind on

Christ in

all his

risen,

sovereign,

Trinitarian

glory.

And as

you face

the challenges

of the

day, as

you face

your insecurities,

your fears,

your successes,

your failures,

remember this.

You are now

walking, when

you put your

faith and

trust in

Christ, you

are now

walking on a,

you are now

in a new

story.

And the

end of your

story, the

end of your

story, not

because of

your excellencies

or your

successes, the

end of your

story,

is you

are revealed

in the

presence of

Jesus,

completely and

utterly transformed

for all

eternity.

That is the

end of your

story.

I invite you

to stand.

I think I

forgot to ask

you to put

the means of

the general