Eyes On The Prize

Sermon Transcript

We’ll be in Colossians 3:1-4, but first I want to share a story with you.

It’s about a man who had a boat. He loved to take his boat out on the ocean. At one point, he decided he was going to go on an extended excursion. He spent many days out on the Pacific Ocean, and he took his boat out so far, he no longer could see land. He wanted to be away from it all. Then he noticed an island off in the distance, one he was not familiar with. As he got closer to the island, he saw how beautiful it was. It had crystal, blue waters, white-sand beaches and vibrant-green, tropical foliage. So he dropped anchor and made his way to shore to enjoy the island for the afternoon.

When he got on shore, he thought it was the most beautiful place he had ever seen. It would be a wonderful day. But then natives came out of the bush with knives and spears and surrounded him. He began to tremble; he thought this was a tribe of cannibals, and he would be dinner that night. But instead he was lifted up on their shoulders, and they celebrated and shouted for joy. They carried him back to their village where they set him on a throne. He then realized that he wasn’t going to be dinner; he was going to be their king. They waited on him hand and foot. They did everything for him he could ever hope for or ask. He thought it was a wonderful thing. So he decided to stay there the rest of his life.

But then he began to wonder what happened to the former king. So he asked one of the natives that question. “Where did the former king go?”

The native pointed to an island off the coast. It was small, wasn’t lush and green but was barren. And the native explained that they allowed their king to rule for only one year, and after that year, the king was banished to that other island, where he would slowly starve to death. That didn’t sound good, so he contemplated his situation. This first year would be pretty good, and then the rest of his short life would be miserable.

But this man had a bright mind. It occurred to him to take advantage of this first year to prepare for the life that would come next. So he put together groups of men from the tribe. He assigned one group to build him a house on the other island. To another group, he charged them to plant crops and fruit trees on that island. And to another group he commanded them to build pens for chickens and goats on that island. Then at the end of that year when he was banished to the other island, it would be sustain him; it would provide everything for him that he would need there for the rest of his life.

When you realize that your current situation is temporary, you begin to prepare for your future. And we as believers know that we have a glorious future ahead of us in the presence of God. God has given us eternal life, and one day we will be in His kingdom with Him forever. We know this world is a very temporary place; it’s not our permanent home. That should change our motivation for how we live here. If right now is temporary and the hereafter is eternal, should we not be applying our time here and now with eternal things?

That’s exactly what Scripture lays out for us, because God did not create us for this life only; he created us to be in His presence forever. Galatians 1:4 says that He “gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age.” The Bible tells us that we are citizens of heaven (Galatians 3:20). “Our citizenship is in heaven.” And if we are followers of Christ, our citizenship is already in heaven. The Bible doesn’t say we “will be” citizens of heaven; as believers, we already are.

The Bible goes on to tell us that Christians are currently “strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (Hebrews 11:13). That means this is not our home. The Bible also calls us “sojourners” (1 Peter 2:11), which is a word that means we’re just passing through. Earth is just a temporary stop before we reach our real home. I like the way the New Living Translation puts it by calling us “temporary residents.”

In light of that, Jesus told us to “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). If this is not our home, then our eternal home is in the heavenlies, and that is what we should be paying attention to and living for. But unfortunately, even we as believers can sometimes get sidetracked. Our minds can get occupied with the here and the now. We can think about our lives, and they can get rooted in what is taking place down here on earth. Our decisions start to turn sideways, so that we’re not heavenly minded.

Maybe you can relate to the man who once prayed to God in which he said, “God, I thank You that today I have not acted pridefully, I have not been a selfish man, I have not followed the lusts of my heart, I have not lied to anybody and I have not lost my temper. But I’m about to get out of bed, and I’m going to need all the help I can get.”

I totally relate to that mentality, because I can get very occupied with the here and now, which then darkens my heart. I can get more concerned with my retirement accounts than thinking about my eternal home. I can be more concerned with temporary pleasures rather than eternal rewards.

All of us can get motivated by the things that we see and can lose sight of the things we can’t see or have not yet seen. That’s what makes our passage so important. It’s so important to be reminded of what really does matter and what our minds should be oriented around.

Now I want to read Colossians 3:1-4. “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”

Before we dive into this passage, it’s important that we connect it to what has already been said, because there is a reason Paul is now saying these words. Our passage relates directly to some things Paul had shared previously in chapter 2, verses 13-14. Paul said, “And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”

This essentially tells us what has taken place in the life of the believer. There was a time when we were dead in our sins, but He brought us alive. How did He do that? He nailed our sins on the Cross; Jesus hung there and gave His life for us. Our sins were paid for. And the moment we believed in Christ, when we gave our life to Christ, every past sin was washed away. It was wiped clean. We are now alive in God and restored.

But that life also brought a death. The first three words of verse 3 of our text says, “For you died.” When Christ brought us alive, there also was a death that took place; we died to our old life. We died to all of those things that had separated us from God. We are now alive to God and dead to this world.

A nonbeliever, one who does not know Christ, is in a place where they are very much alive to this world. This world is what occupies their heart and mind. But as they are alive to this world, they are dead to the God who created them. They are separated from God because of their sins.

Christians, on the other hand, are the opposite. The moment that we gave our life to Christ, we now died to the world and what used to occupy our time and attention, and we became alive to God.

I remember hearing the story about St. Augustin, who lived a few centuries after the time of Christ. He had lived a very messed-up life before he became a Christian. He was a very self-indulgent man. He lived for the things of the world. But there was a moment in time when Christ gripped his heart and changed his life forever.

It was shortly after that when he was walking down the street one day when a mistress from his past saw him and called out to him. He heard her voice, but he did not acknowledge her; he kept walking and didn’t turn around. But she pursued him and said, “Augustin, Augustin; it is I,” to which he responded without turning around, “Yes, I know, but it is no longer ‘I’.” In other words, “I’m not who I used to be. The man you knew is not who I am anymore.” His life was set on a new course.

As a Christian, the old life is going to continue to call out for you. It’s going to say, “Remember me? It is I.” And we need to have the ability to say, “Yes, I know, but it is no longer ‘I’. That’s not who I am anymore. I am a new creature in Christ Jesus.”

Jesus changes everything. He not only makes us alive and gives us eternal life; He transforms us from the inside out. And in this new life, we are being exhorted here to live out that new life with an interesting perspective: a mind-set that we all need to have. And we find that mind-set in Colossians 3:1-2. “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”
There are two verbs here I want to highlight: “seek” and “set.” “Seek those things which are above,” verse 1, and “Set you mind on things above,” verse 2. These verbs are similar but not the same. “Seek” focuses our attention on our actions, while “set” focuses on our thoughts. Both of these are important. “Seek” regards our choices; whether we will pursue what this world offers us or whether we will pursue eternal things. “Set your mind” is concentrating on the way we ought to be thinking as followers of Christ.

I also want to add that in the King James translation, in verse 2, it says, “Set your affections.” I like that translation, because it brings a picture that we need to see. What we set our affections on, those things we really care about, are going to be those things that we think about. And the things we think about are ultimately going to result in the things that we do. So what you care about, you think about. Then what you think about, you will do.

And the whole focus in this passage is that we should care about the things that are eternal. So we should not just think about the here and now but where we are going. And that will influence the way we will live. And in what ways is it to influence? Verses 1-2 talk specifically about things that are above.

What exactly does it mean by “things which are above”? Is it talking above heaven? About our future? Those things are included, but it is a somewhat ambiguous phrase. Perhaps that is why Christians have been accused of being “so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good.” The thought is that we are people who are living with our heads in the clouds. We have now become detached from this world; we can no longer relate to this world. So what good are we in this world?

I remember when I was in fourth grade that my parents moved in the middle of the school year. It was the only year that we made a move in the middle of a school year. I remember that final week that I would be attending my current school. The teacher gave out assignments and tests we needed to be studying for the next week. She handed out papers we needed to complete for homework and turn in next week.

I had this weird joy over the fact that I didn’t have to do any of these assignments. I thought that this was the absolutely best week of school I would ever have; it applied to everybody else but me. That last week I was completely detached; I had already checked out. To me, every day was recess from the moment I got to school until the end of the school day.

But if we are heavenly minded, it doesn’t mean that we check out as some would suggest. In fact, it is just the opposite. I want us to consider what it means to be heavenly minded. Rather than being ambiguous, I think the passage makes it clear when we look at how Paul uses his words.

Where Paul said, “Set you mind on things above, not on things on the earth,” he is drawing a contrast between being heavenly minded and earthly minded. What then does it mean to be earthly minded? It means your attention, your affection is on the things of this earth. 1 John 2:15-16 addresses the worldly mind. “Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.”

Each of these three things in Scripture is being described as worldly minded. “The lust of the flesh” is the pursuit of and desire for pleasure. “The lust of the eyes” is the pursuit of and desire for possessions. And “the pride of life” is the pursuit of and desire for position, popularity and prestige. These three things are a picture of pursuing the world.

In verse 1, where Paul states, “Seek those things which are above…” he adds, “…where Christ is.” What does this mean? It means that he is drawing a contrast between pursuing the world and pursuing heavenly things. Heavenly things and earthly things are diametrically opposed; they are completely different values with different priorities. So where Christ is, is the Christ mind-set, which does not value the things the world values. Many of you who lived in the world for several years and then found Christ, turned your life over to the Lord, probably know better than anyone else the contrast of what the world values and what heaven values.

I want to break this down further by looking at what the world values and comparing that to what Scripture calls us to value. Looking at these three things, what does the world value? The first thing it values is sinful pleasure. And the Bible tells us that sin is pleasurable, but only for a season. There is pleasure in what the world has to offer, but it is temporary and fleeting. And that it is temporary means more than it will only take place in this world and not in the world to come; it is also temporary in the here and now.

There are so many things we go after because we find pleasure in them, even though they are contrary to the will of God. But we find out that after a while, they lose their pleasure; it’s no longer fun. Unfortunately many of the things we pursued because they were pleasurable and now are no longer pleasurable, still have their tentacles in our lives. We have a hard time walking away from them.

Jesus tells us in the Bible, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). We should not be pursuing worldly pleasures. That’s not to say that pleasure in and of itself is a bad thing. God is not against pleasure; He’s against worldly pleasure, those things that are destructive in our lives. We know that God is not against pleasure, because in the heavenly kingdom, there will be pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11 says, “You will show me the path of life; in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” It’s not that God is against pleasure because pleasures are wrong; He’s against wrong pleasures. He is all about the pleasures that honor Him and bless us. That is the contrast between the way the world values things and the way Christ values things.

The second thing the world values is possessions. We live in a world that is all about the things that we have. We are so occupied with the things we can accumulate here in this world. But Jesus Himself said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19). That means that whatever you are storing up in this world is going to be temporary, short lived and will decay. You’ll have to replace it, and ultimately you’ll lose it anyway. Jesus said, “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” (Mark 8:36).
Jesus told a parable about a rich fool. It was about a man who became exceedingly wealthy in this world, but he gave no consideration to his eternal home or to the God who created him. His whole investment was in the here and now and what he had. He was called the rich fool, because in the parable, while he indulged himself in everything this world had to offer and all his wealth was providing for him, God spoke and said, “Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided? So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:20-221).

As followers of Jesus, it’s okay to be rich, but make sure the riches are riches toward God, the riches of your relationship with Him. Those are things that really matter. It’s not a crime to be wealthy, but it’s a crime to prioritize your wealth so that you establish roots here on the earth that go too deep. Then this world becomes what matters to you the most.

The third thing the world values is power and prestige. We want to be known, to be recognized. We want positions that give us influence and status in other people’s eyes. We want to drive a vehicle that makes people turn their heads. We want to wear clothes that make people think, How does he/she afford that? Then the Bible tells us that “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).

The things that Jesus values are not the same things that this world values. In fact, they are diametrically opposed. So when we are told to “seek those things which are above,” what that really means is that we are going after the things that God values; not going after things in this world that people put so much value on. The passage in 1 John 2 that says not to love the world and describing what worldliness truly is says, in verse 17, “And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” The one who truly has a heavenly mind-set is going to live for the things that Christ values.

But that doesn’t mean that you become detached from this life or the responsibilities of it. It’s just the opposite. It will give your life purpose and meaning. When you understand what God has created you for and what He has in store for you in your future, it gives your life purpose and meaning right now. In fact, if you don’t know the God who made you, if you don’t have a relationship with Him or the assurance of eternity with Him, it takes all of that purpose and meaning in life away. It detracts from your life. And then you go through life grabbing at anything that will give you temporary pleasure, because you lack purpose for your life.

So putting Christ first and having a heavenly mind-set gives us that purpose and meaning. And what is our purpose in life? We are to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matthew 5:13-14). It gives us a reason why God has us here. It’s not to indulge ourselves; it’s to live for His purpose and His glory.

The remaining part of Colossians 3 illustrates very practically what it means to have a heavenly mind-set. It talks about no longer living for the things we used to live for, no longer indulging in the things that used to occupy our time and attention. Instead, we are to live in the new life that Christ has given us, which is going to affect our words, our deeds, our family life, in our work place—all of our life. But that’s not because we are so heavenly minded that we’re no earthly good. It’s because we are so heavenly minded that we become very earthly useful and productive—and not only for the world’s benefit but for God’s glory.

In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis said, “If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world were those who thought most of the next. The apostles themselves, who set on foot the conversion of the Roman empire, the great men who built the Middle Ages, the English evangelicals who abolished the slave trade all left their mark on the earth precisely because their minds were occupied with heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you will get neither.”

He recognized the fact that those who are fixing their attention on eternal things, who have that heavenly mind-set, who are thinking about things above actually become very useful and productive, because they are living lives to the glory of God. They are using their temporary home now to prepare for their future home in the presence of their Maker.

If you are not purposeful in seeking and setting your mind on things above, Satan will always be ready to whisper in your ear or distract you with some shiny something or other that this world has. He will dangle those things in front of you to gain our attention and draw our affections. And when it has our affection and occupies our mind, it becomes our pursuit.

It’s interesting that both the words “seek” and “set,” those verbs in this passage, are in the present-active, imperative tense, which means that it requires continuous effort. It’s not a one-and-done thing; it’s not setting your mind on heavenly things once, and that’s it for the rest of your life. I guarantee you that when you wake up tomorrow morning, you’re going to have to reset your mind on heavenly things. Begin seeking again the things that are eternal and not just temporal things that this world has to offer.

Verses 3-4 will continue the same subject but will draw our attention to the motivation, “For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” What is the motivation behind us seeking and setting our minds on these things? There are three things that will motivate us.

The first motivation is where our life actually is. It is no longer here in this world. Verse 3 says, “For you died.” It is a reminder to us that we are now dead to this world; this world is not our home. If we died, then this is not where our real life is. Then where is our real life? “Your life is hidden with Christ in God.” This is an amazing statement. I think in part it is telling me that my real existence was not created by God to enjoy 60, 80 or 100 years here on earth. God’s purpose and intent was that I would be in His presence forever. And if you know Christ, that is His purpose and intent for you, so much so that this Scripture says He already sees you with Christ in God.

It is such a firm reality that it should instill in us the truth that we are secure in Him. In John 10:28-29, Jesus said, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.” We are “with Christ in God.” We are surrounded by the hands of both the Son and the Father. I get a picture of the Father’s hand underneath us and Jesus’ hand above us, and we are in the middle between their hands. We are secure in Him.

If He has done that for you and for me, how much does that motivate us to not let our lives be about the here and now? Our lives are in heaven already—just waiting for our hearts to stop beating, when we will see Him face-to-face. That is motivation one.

The second motivation is who your life is. Verse 4 says, “When Christ who is our life….” He’s not using this phrase metaphorically, such as when we say, “My kids are my life,” as a way of saying that this is supremely important to me. We need not to look at Christ only in a figurative sense; in all reality, He is our life, He is our Creator. We have a physical being, because He has given us life. And it doesn’t stop there; our spiritual life is wrapped up in Him as well, because He is our Redeemer. He has brought us alive spiritually.

He also indwells us. The apostle Paul, speaking about himself, said in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” That goes for every Christian; Christ literally lives within us. And then we have the metaphorical sense in that we are looking at Him as our reason, as our motivation. Paul alluded to this when he said, “For to me, to live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21).

When we come across these words, “when Christ who is our life,” any way you look at this phrase, it will apply, because He made you, He redeemed you, He indwells you and as a follower of Christ, He ought to be the very reason to live how you live, doing what you do. He should be the motivation behind everything you are. So why should we “set [our] mind on things above”? Because in a very real sense, Christ is our life.

The third motivation we find at the end of verse 4. “When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” The day is coming when Christ will return; whether He returns for you individually when your life on earth is over, or when He returns and we “shall be caught up…to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). It’s going to happen. Then the fullness of the life that God created us for is going to begin.

And if that is our future, it ought to transform our present. It ought to reorient all the ways we think, what matters to us, the things that we do—how we live. That’s what “[setting] your mind on things above” ought to look like.

I want to highlight the very last statement that C.S. Lewis made that I gave you. “Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you will get neither.” We need to aim for heaven. Not that we live with our head in the clouds but that our thoughts and affections are so much on where Christ is and we’re willing to forsake this world in order to embrace the life that God wants us to live, that it will transform how we live every day. Not only do I get heaven, but I get earth as well; my life is blessed.

But if we forsake the things we’ve never seen, the heaven we’ve never been to, the God who we have never laid eyes on and we decide to live for whatever we can see and experience right here and now, not only would we not get heaven, but ultimately all the things that we invested ourselves in here on earth will be taken from us. So we get neither. “Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you will get neither.”

Believer, I want to encourage you to “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven and not treasures on earth.

If you are not a believer, I want to encourage you to rethink some things about your life. You might be enjoying what your life consists of now, but the reality is that it is very temporary. It will only last for a brief time. The Bible tells us that our life is but “a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (James 4:14). Your life seems like a long time when you’re living it, but when you get close to the end, you realize, “Where did it all go?!”

Jesus came to give you life. He gave His life that you might be with Him one day. But you need to repent, and you need to turn your life over to Christ. You need to turn away from having your affections on the things of the world and turn to faith in Christ, who died for you.

If that applies to you, I encourage you that this would be your day. In the quietness of your heart, do a little bit of business with God. It’s as simple as this: confess to God that you’ve not been living right, that you have sinned against Him; and acknowledge that what Christ did on the Cross for you is sufficient to wipe away every sin you ever committed. Then God will bring you back to life. You will be spiritually alive, and this world will no longer be your home. You can then adequately “set your mind on things above” and live a life to His glory and honor.