Well, good morning to everyone. Good to be back with you all. Whenever I'm gone, I feel like it's been forever. Thank you, Mark, for filling in last week. Really appreciate that. It was good to get away after a busy summer and did a little fishing with my brothers. And so it was a good time. 

We're studying the book of Colossians, working verse by verse through the book. And we've seen some tremendous, amazing things, especially in chapter 1 about who Jesus is. And he's a creator. He's a sustainer. He's the ruler. He's the head of the church. We see all these things in the book of Colossians. And this week, we come to chapter 3. It's a highly significant text to our understanding of the Christian life. 

And the question that comes to my mind as I study chapter 3 is, what is real? What is it that constitutes reality? We live in this world, in this time, space, matter, physical, earthy world. And yet in our text, Paul exhorts us to set our mind on heavenly things, not on the things of the earth. Paul presents to us a new reality. And this new reality is based in new life. 

We see in our text this morning that Paul goes back to the central truth of the Christian life, that we, our old man and Adam, who we were, and all that this entailed, including the very sphere, the reality in which we lived, died. We died. And we were raised to newness of life in Christ, united with him in his death, burial, and resurrection. And now our life is hidden in him with God. 

There's a real and true union with Jesus and the Father in this new life, which is true and real, but is now hidden from the world, even hidden from us to a certain degree, as we now see dimly. But Paul encourages us that this new life will not always be hidden from the world, as we've been singing about this morning, from the creation, from the angels and demon. God will make this reality, which exists now for the one in Christ, manifest to all when we come from heaven with Jesus at the second advent. 

Lightfoot says, the veil which now shrouds your higher life from others will be then withdrawn. The world which now persecutes, despises, ignores, will then be blinded with the dazzling glory of the revelation. Philippians 3.20, Paul says, for our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to his glorious body, according to the working by which he is able, even to subdue all things to himself. 

This is the truth that we've studied in Colossians 1, Ephesians 1, that God's very intention in his eternal salvation plan is to bring all things to consummation in Christ. He will reconcile, that is, bring back into a right relationship a former harmony, all things in Christ. And this includes the believer, my friend, you and me. 

Turn over to 1 John 3 with me, please. 1 John chapter 3 at verse 1, John writes, behold, look, behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God. Therefore, the world does not know us because it did not know him. Beloved, now we are children of God. And it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when he is revealed, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 

The key to the Christian life, in large part, is knowing, understanding, and choosing to believe this new reality based in our new life. And with this, to have the confident assurance based in the promise and purpose of God that he will reveal these truths in glory. 1 Peter 1 13 says, therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 

Gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. And this is truly the reality that is difficult for us to grasp, to hold onto, to believe, that we now live in the sphere of God's grace. That we are to rest our hope fully on his grace. It does not say rest your hope on the law. It does not say rest your hope on your performance. It does not say rest your hope on earthly carnal things, but rather it says rest your hope fully on grace. 

And so we see these great truths in our text this morning, a powerful, wonderful, encouraging text. Paul says you, if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you were raised with Christ. Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. He says you died, that old man died, and your new life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is our life, appears, you will appear with him in glory. 

It is on these truths, these facts, this new reality based in our new life that Paul gives us two very important exhortations. Seek those things which are above. Seek heavenly things, not earthly things. And with this seeking, you must set your mind. And this is the paramount thing that I believe we must come to know and understand and begin to practice in order to experience the fullness of the Christian life that God intends. 

Set your mind, set your mind on things above and not on the things of the earth. You must not only seek heaven, but you also must think heaven. Listen to me, my brother, my sister in Christ, all of the earthly, worldly thinking, the culture, the law sphere, the sin-dominated men and institutions of our world push you to do one thing, and that is to not think. 

The word muse means to think. And what do we have saturating our very lives and existence, particularly in the affluent Western world? Amusement, not to think. How long can you sit in any given place in your culture, world, and life now without picking up your phone? To amuse yourself, to distract yourself, to not think. 

I'm here to tell you that more than anything else in this Christian life, more than charitable deeds, loving your brother, whatever actions you'd like to characterize the Christian life with, much more important than all of these is this. You must muse. You have to think, meditate, roll over in your mind. I always think of that in Timothy. I think of my Jersey cow, Chia, because when she gets done eating her hay, she stands over there and she muses. She meditates, she chews her cud. That's what Chia does. And what you have to think about is truth. You have to think about Jesus.

You have to think about God, eternity. You have to think about regeneration, who you are in Christ, what God's plans are in the revelation of his salvation plan, what he has done and intends to do in Christ, why he saved you, who you are, who he is, what he's doing in this world, the church, the body, the promises that are all yes in Jesus, who you are and the new reality in which you live. Think about these things, ponder on these things. If I can encourage you to do one thing, it would be to think, to ponder, to pray for wisdom, to search and seek the things above, the word of God, the truth, and think. 

We must not only seek heaven and the things above, we also must set our minds, we must think heaven and not think earthly, carnal, worldly. This is because the new reality in which we live is in the things above. We are seated with Christ. Our life is hidden in Christ with God. We died. We were buried with Christ. The old man was crucified with him, Romans 6, 6 says. We are at the right hand of God. We must think in a new way as well. 

I think Paul captures this well in 2 Corinthians 5. Turn over to 2 Corinthians 5 with me at verse 14. 2 Corinthians 5, 14, Paul says, for the love of Christ compels us. What do you think compels religious men? What do you think compels men to go to church every Sunday and participate in religious rituals and do sacraments or whatever? It has to be an earning, a meriting of God's favor. It has to be a participation in all the things in order to gain favor with God. This is what compels religious men to be involved in religious things. 

Paul says it's the love of Christ that compels us because we judge thus that if one died for all, then all died, and he died for all. Why? That those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for him who died for them and rose again. We love him because he first loved us. Paul says, therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh, even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him thus no longer. 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, and how do you get in Christ? Faith, right? Believing. The Holy Spirit baptizes you, places you into Christ through faith. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things, all things have become new. Now, all things are of God, who has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. 

My friends, because of this new life, because the old has passed away, because we are new creations in Christ, because we are in him, he is our life. It used to be that we regarded things according to the flesh in an earthly sense, right? He's got a big house and a big car. What can he do for me? And that kind of thing. We no longer regard, look at, perceive anything based on this worldly, fleshly perspective, but now we think, we see, we perceive all things in a new way. 

Now, all things are of God. Now, we think heaven. We think eternal things. We think truth, and we see all things in this way, God's way, as we reside in him and stand in this new sphere of his grace. This is our new life. This is our new reality. This is what we're going to see in our text this morning. 

Let's look at Colossians 3 at verse one. Paul says, since 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 the things of 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. 

I've given you five points. Nope, yeah, five points on your outline. First, facts. Second, a new reality. Third, seek heavenly things. Fourth, set your mind. And fifth, future glory. Well, as we begin this morning, I just want to highlight the facts that Paul lays out in our text. We must start with the truths, the indicatives, and this is so vital to our understanding. 

We can illustrate this down in verse nine. Look at Colossians 3, nine with me, please. Paul says, do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds and have put on the new man, who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of him who created him. Well, here we see a command, a law, if you will. Do not lie, right? One of the Ten Commandments. But the command does not stand on its own and is not a means by which to live in holiness, to not lie. The basis is found in the indicative truths about who you are and the reality in which you live. 

Paul says, since these things are true, what's true? You have, aorist tense, one time in the past, you have put off the old man. You have put on the new man. These are established facts, truths, reality, and you are being present indicative. You are being renewed. It's an ongoing process. This new man is being renewed in knowledge in the mind according to the image of him who created him. 

Do not lie to one another, since you have put off that old man and have put on the new man, and your new man is constantly being renewed in knowledge and truth. We could paraphrase this way. Do not lie to one another, because this is wholly inconsistent with who you are in your new life and the new reality in which you live. This is exactly what Paul's saying in our text. 

We see these facts, these truths, these indicatives that are true of you because you have believed Jesus. First, you died. Who you were, that old man died, that sinner in Adam. You were raised to a new life, placed into a new sphere. Your new life is hidden in Christ with God. These are all facts. Your new life, who you are, the new reality that exists now will be revealed when he comes and you come with him from heaven, where you now reside. 

These are the facts, and it's based on these truths that Paul gives this exhortation, seek and set. Seek the things above, set your mind. Our resurrection is based on Christ's resurrection. We were united with him in his death, burial, and resurrection. We see this in Romans 6. You wanna follow along or listen to these glorious indicatives that we find in Romans 6, 1 to 11. Listen, what shall we say then?

Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not. How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were placed into Christ, that's the baptized word means to be placed into Christ, and we were placed into his death. Therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death that just as, listen to this, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 

For if we've been united together in the likeness of his death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of his resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin, that's this physical body controlled by indwelling sin, might be done away with or rendered useless, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more, death no longer has dominion over him. 

For the death that he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life that he lives, he lives to God. Likewise, you also reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Verse 10 says, The death that he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life that he lives, he lives to God. And then Paul says, you also, likewise, you reckon yourselves, count up these facts, these indicatives, seven important things he tells us in 6 1 to 10, count those up, he says, and reckon them to be so. 

Believe them. Choose to believe him and then present your members in light of the truth of who you are. Listen to Weiss' helpful comment on this truth. He says, it was Jesus' physical resurrection out from among the dead, but ours is a spiritual resurrection out from among the spiritually dead and from a state of spiritual death into that of spiritual life. This was potential at the time Christ died, listen, and actual for them when they placed their faith in him as Savior. 

This is an actual truth that becomes a reality in your life when you believe. Our old man died, we were united to Jesus in his death, burial, and resurrection, we were raised out from among the dead, we were placed into a new sphere, new life, grace in heaven in Christ. And now we are new creatures, we live in a new reality. And this reality is out from among the dead, the spiritually dead of this world and the entire world in which they live, including how they think. 

Listen to Paul's words in Galatians 6, verse 14. But God forbid that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision or baptism or sacraments or good deeds or suffering or whatever you want to put in there avails anything. None of these things matter at all. What does matter? Paul says, a new creation, the new birth, regeneration. 

Turn over to Philippians 3, look at Philippians 3 at verse 7 with me, please. Paul's talking about his former religious life and no one was ever more zealous than Saul of Tarsus for his religion. Verse 7 he says, but what things were gained to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having my own righteousness which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being conformed to his death, if by any means I may attain, now look at this phrase, to the resurrection from the dead. 

Paul says, the striving of his life is to know Jesus and the power of his resurrection in my life that I might live this truth, this having died and been raised, this resurrection, that's ek, out from among the dead. His strong desire, his passion, his pursuit, that which he sought was to know Jesus, the power of his resurrection in his life so that his thinking and outward living would conform to the reality of who he is that he might live out from among the dead of this world. 

Paul's simple understanding that we see permeate the epistles is this, I have a new life, a new power, a new reality, therefore I must have a new and transformed way of thinking and living. So we see the facts, we see the basis for a new way of living, and they are the foundation underlying these imperatives, these commands we see, to seek and to set. Seek those things which are above, set your mind on things above, not on the things of the earth. 

Well the word seek means to pursue, to desire, to go after, and we just saw in Philippians 3 that Paul said that what he sought was the knowledge of Christ, an understanding of the truth, and a life lived in consistency with those truths out from among the dead people all around us. This is the part I think we can grasp, we can understand, that we need to be seeking things above. We need the Word of God, the truth, Jesus, the plan and purpose of God for our lives, the hope of glory, future fulfillment, heaven. 

But I'm not sure that I, and perhaps you as well, have a really firm grasp that this seeking, seeking things above, is in the context of setting our minds. It's not so much a matter of avoiding that which is earthly or carnal, for we do now live out this new life in the context of this body in this world among men in the realm or sphere of a law and works world. But it's more a matter of how we think, how we perceive all things. 

I'll say again, we need not only to seek heaven, we need to think heaven. To set means to direct one's mind to a thing. Vincent says, seek marks the practical striving, set your mind the inward impulse and disposition. So what does it mean to set your mind on heavenly things? Well, Paul gives us some clarifying words, and notice a little word in verse 3, 4. Set your mind on things above, for you died and your life is hidden with Christ and God.

He highlights two truths here, one is our death, regeneration with Christ, you've been born again, you died and were buried, raised to newness of life, this became an actual reality when you believe Jesus. God took out our heart of stone, he put in a heart of flesh, he released us from the controlling power of indwelling sin, and our members took us out from under the curse and bondage of the law, released us from the fear of death, we are now in Christ, he is in us, and we live under grace and to righteousness and eternal life. 

We have been given the divine nature, we have the mind of Christ, and so now our perspective, our thinking should be as Christ's. We should see the world as Christ sees the world, from heaven, at the right hand of God, where we are seated with him, as he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, the consummation of all things that is coming. So these truths, our regeneration and union with Jesus in his very life and us, are a reason, a basis for setting our minds, that is having a heavenly, godly perspective. 

The other truth we see in verse 3 is that your life is hidden with Christ and God, this speaks again of the reality of who we now are in the realm in which we live. We live our life hidden in Christ with God, our citizenship is in heaven. Paul says, from which, isn't that an interesting thing to say? We live our life in heaven from which we eagerly wait. You, my brother, my sister in Christ, live in a completely different sphere, exist in an entirely different realm than you used to live in Adam. 

God has taken us out of the kingdom of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of his love. We now live in Christ. Our very life existence is hidden in Christ, it is what is true and real, and therefore this new mind, this mindset on heavenly things, this radically different perspective of all things worldly and heavenly, that now all things are of God, must control how we perceive everything. 

Sometimes I hear Christians say something like this, I need to love Jesus more. Now I understand the sentiment, but the reality is that you do love Jesus. This is your heart, this is the desire of your spirit, you do love Jesus. You believe Jesus and you love Jesus. This is who you are. And I may forget this truth, I may fail to reckon it to be so, but that doesn't change the reality of my heart and my desire because of what God has done in me. 

And what God says about his spirit witnessing with my spirit, we are in agreement because of the regenerative work that he has done in me at salvation. This is the reality. This is the truth. It may not feel true, it may not be my experience that it's true, but it is true. Because God says it's true. And Paul says since these things are true, you need to think and see everything in the whole of the creation of the heavens and the spiritual world in eternity in this light. 

You need to set your mind to think God's thoughts, have Christ's perspective, and you need to begin to practice this kind of thinking, this way of seeing, for now all things in your life and existence are of God. You know, a lost man might go out and look at a sunset and he might think about all the science he's learned and think about how that came into existence through the Big Bang and whatever. If you go out and see a sunset, what do you think? I remember my kids, you said, look at that sunset. I say, you know who made that? Jesus. Jesus made that. Because now all things are of God. 

I just went on a fishing trip with my brothers last week, and Sam and Mitch. One of my brothers and his friend are not saved. Fishing was hard the first three days, caught hardly any fish, and boy the mood was palpable. I would drive all the way to Canada and they're not catching any fish. What was my perspective going fishing with those guys? Well, I hope I get to witness to them. I'm praying for them. I'm looking for opportunities, right? I go out in a boat. I remember last morning we were there on Friday, beautiful sunrise, breeze blowing out in this big lake, cliffs, and almost mountains around us. We didn't catch a fish. But guess what? I was worshiping God out there. 

That's a choice. That's a choice we make to have God's thinking, God's perspective, because now all things are of God. You need to set your mind to think God's thoughts. Have Christ's perspective. You need to begin to practice this kind of thinking, this way of seeing. I think about how many times I've become all wrapped up in the politics of this world, worrying, fretting about who would be elected, what it would mean to our country, to our life. 

The church is often even involved itself heavily in these affairs, as if electing one person over another was going to either thwart the plans of God or save us from all that ails us. But what is God's perspective on these things? If I see this from his view, if I am in Christ at the right hand of God, looking down with God's view, how does God see this? 

Why do the nations rage and plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, let us break their bonds and pieces and cast away their cords from us. What is God's view? He who sits in the heavens shall laugh. The Lord shall hold them in derision. Then he shall speak to them in his wrath and distress them in his deep displeasure. I have set my king on my holy hill of Zion. 

And he ends that psalm with this, you better kiss the son lest he be angry and you perish in the way when his wrath is kindled. But a little blessed are all those who put their trust in him. God sets the rulers in place. He's not wringing his hands in heaven. Why are we wringing our hands down here? Have his perspective, think his thoughts. He sets up the kings, takes them down as we've seen in our study of the book of Daniel. We need not fret about these kinds of things. 

Or I think about how the wicked prosper in this world. And I think God has given us a desire for righteousness, right? What is right and what is good in the coming of his kingdom and the setting all things right? The imprecatory psalms, right? God, get them. Make it right.

But I need not fret about the wicked and their schemes. What is God's perspective if I think his thoughts? In Psalm 73 it says, but as for me my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the boastful when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no pangs in their death, but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men, nor are they plagued like other men. 

So we look at... rich men, don't we? You know, like Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson and Robin Williams. They got it all figured out. Therefore, pride serves as their necklace. Violence covers them like a garment. Their eyes bulge with abundance. They have more than heart could wish. They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression. They speak loftily. They set their mouth against the heavens and their tongue walks through the earth. 

Therefore, as people return here and waters of a full cup are drained by them, and they say, how does God know? And is their knowledge in the most high? Behold, these are the ungodly who are always at ease. Right? He wasn't thinking God's thoughts. He was thinking worldly thoughts. They increase in riches. Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain and washed my hands in innocence. For all day long I've been plagued and chastened every morning. 

When I thought how to understand this, it was too painful for me. When I look at the wickedness in the world and the unrighteousness, it's too painful for me, what? Until I went into the sanctuary of God. Then I understood their end. When I thought God's thoughts, when I set my mind, when I looked down from my place in heaven where I reside with Christ, then I saw what God sees. 

Do not fret because of evildoers. Do not be envious of the workers of iniquity, Psalm 37, for they shall soon be cut down like the grass and withers the green herb. Trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land and feed on his faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord and he shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord. Trust also in him and he shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light and your justice as the noonday. 

That's our text, isn't it? Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him. Do not fret. Here, one thing for you, my brother, my sister, do not fret. It only causes harm. For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. We need not fret. We need to trust the Lord and understand who we are, that we are in Christ, that all things are under his control, and he will bring to pass his will and plan, and bring forth our righteousness revealed to the world and all the creation, the sons of God, when we come with him in glory. 

The world doesn't see and realize the magnitude of who I am and where I live and what has happened to me when God saved me. My life is hidden yet to be revealed, but it is no less real now than it will be on that great day when I come out of heaven with Christ in glory. And for this we eagerly wait. We set our hope fully on the grace that's to be revealed that is coming. 

Turn to Romans 8 with me, please. Romans 8 at verse 19. These encouraging words. Romans 8 19, for the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility not willingly, but because of him who subjected it in hope. Because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 

For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now, and not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves, groan within ourselves. We're groaning in this world, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope, for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. 

John says, behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called children of God. Therefore the world does not know us because it did not know him. Beloved, now, now we are children of God. It's not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when he is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is, and everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. 

Beloved, now we are children of God. When we were in Canada this last week, my brother said to me, we are all children of God. I tried to witness to him, well, we're all children of God, and I said, then why did Jesus tell the Pharisees, you are of the sons of the devil, your father is the devil? I said, 1st John, or John 1 12, right? Those who believe him, receive him, to them he gives the right to become children of God. 

We're not born children of God, we're born children of Adam. We're not all children of God. The vast majority of men and women in this world walk around in Adam, slaves to sin, with a mindset on the things of this world, a way of thinking about men, about the world, about carnal things, about God and eternity, that it is a lie, that is false, that is not true. 

They have a skewed perspective because of sin, dead in trespasses and sin, dead in their spirits, under this whole law system of the world, and in bondage to fear of death. We all were that way. Paul says to you and to me, since you died, since that old man died, don't think this way. Don't set your mind on earthly things, Adam things. Don't have the perspective of a carnal man. 

You died, you were raised, recreated, born again, and now your life is in Christ, and when Christ who is our life appears, you will appear with him. Your desire, what you seek, has been radically changed. You love God and you love men because God has poured his love out into your heart. You see things rightly, according to truth. You see the world for what it is and why it is the way it is. 

You no longer regard men according to the flesh, but your thoughts are spiritual about the eternal destiny of men, and to love them is to tell them the truth.

The truth is what matters, not circumstances, not things in this world, not even sickness or death or anything else. And so all things are now of God. We see life and death and health and sickness, abounding in wealth or abased in poverty, strength and weakness, all things in a different way. And that's exactly what Paul is asking you to do in these verses. Based on the truth of who you are in Christ, the realm in which you live, where your life is found, set your mind. Set your mind on things above, not on the things there. Think God's thoughts. Think and see and perceive according to truth. What is real? What is real? Nothing in this world is real. The news media is real. You think that pseudoscience is real? What's real is that you and I who believe Jesus are in Christ, and look forward with eager expectation and longing for the revealing of that truth. 

Since 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 and not on the things of the earth, for you died, and your life, your essence, who you are, is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, appears, you also will appear with Him in glory. He is our life now. We are seated with Him now. We are in Him in glory, just as He is looking down on this whole world, playing out in time in the affairs of men and the influence of demonic and angelic power, as He sits outside of time, He knows that it is finished, that the plan of the Father is playing out perfectly and is already accomplished. 

He awaits the consummation of all things when He comes again, but there is absolute assurance and full confidence control of all things. The world just doesn't know it yet, and we don't fully know it because we see dimly as looking through a glass, but God knows it. Jesus knows it and sees it as He sits at the right hand of God, and you are there, my friend, with Him, in Him. Now look down and see the things the way He sees things. Have His perspective. Think His thoughts. Have His confidence and assurance that all things are firmly in the hand of His Father, and the day is coming when His whole plan will be revealed and made manifest in Christ, and part of that is you. The truth of who you now are, the manifestation of the reality of who you are and what you have in Christ, the glorious revealing of the sons of God. 

Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind. Pull all those loose ends in. Quit doubting, quit fearing, quit worrying. Set your mind on things above and think. Think. Think. Study. Whatever's good, whatever's pure, whatever's noble, whatever's of a good report, think on these things. Think God's thoughts. Renew your mind to His truth and see life in eternity, the world, those in Adam, those in Christ, who you now are in Him. See things from the perspective of reality. God's reality according to His Word. Set your mind, my friends, and trust and believe Jesus. Set your hope fully on grace, and when Christ who is our life appears, you will appear with Him. 

I want you to understand that the economy under which we now live in Christ is grace. We need to think grace thoughts. We need to understand our relationship with Christ, with the Father. It's so difficult for us to think in terms of grace because we live in this law-based, sin-soaked world. Everything is law, everything is works, even religion, and sometimes even the Christian life, if we do not understand God's economy of grace in Christ, can become law-centered. So many in the church push us toward law-mindedness, and it's our great tendency, our default for sure, but these are not God's thoughts. God says we stand in His grace. This sphere in which we live, operate, have our being. 

And I just want to close with Titus 2, because I think Paul captures this so clearly. In Titus 2.11, he says, "...for the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men." Teaching us, did you hear that? Grace teaches us. Grace teaches us that denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Speak these things, think on these things, see things from your place in heaven in Christ, and live by grace, and walk by faith. Set your mind. 

Let's close in prayer. Father, we're so thankful that you continue to teach us, that you show us these truths again and again, that you've given us the Holy Spirit to guide us, to teach us, to affirm these things in our hearts and minds. Help us just to really understand what you have done in Christ, and the truth of who we are in Him, and what we have. Lord, help us to rest, as the psalmist says, trust you, feed on your faithfulness, and know that you have all things in control. Help us to be faithful witnesses, to live according to who we are by your power, and to rejoice, speak well of you, to tell people about Jesus. It's in His name we pray. Amen.