R210 See This Life From God’s Perspective

God has an encouraging word for you and me today through the Bible-based preaching of Dr. Don Wilton and a message on perspective. In just a moment, Dr. Wilton takes us to Colossians chapter 3, but we want you to know we're here for you 24-7 online at www.tewonline.org. Come discover it today.

That's online at www.tewonline.org. And now, Dr. Don Wilton. We're going to notice a shift in emphasis beginning in chapter 3 of Paul's letter to the Colossians. You see, up until this point, the apostle has been dwelling or spending a majority of his time dealing with doctrine. He's been teaching the men and women at Colossi, as he has been teaching us here at First Baptist Church, about who God is. He has been focusing more particularly on the all-sufficiency of the Lord Jesus Christ, on the preeminence of who Christ Jesus is. You see, it's very important to know what we believe. That's why it's such a wonderful thing to be able to come to God's house. I'm going to say to you, no matter where you are, no matter what circumstance you may find yourself in, that there is nothing which is more important for you and for me as Christian men and women than to really study God's Word together.

That's what we do. But beginning right here in chapter 3, there is a slight shift in emphasis. There is a building upon a foundation that takes place. Starting from chapter 3 in verse 1 and through verse 6 of chapter 4, the apostle Paul begins to apply what we know about God to the exercise of our daily lives. And so we're going to move into a more practical application of the first two chapters of Colossians. We're going to be looking at the general subject, rules for holy living or rules for Christian living. And we're going to be looking at different subjects that the apostle Paul brings up in the fabric of these next few verses that is going to help us in the daily exercise of our lives. You see, there is a proverbial question which constantly goes unanswered. The question is not how much I have learned about God, but how I am able to apply what I have learned about God to my daily life.

Now, D.L. Moody, that great evangelist has said, and many have said it since then, that there are some people who are so heavenly minded that they are of no earthly good. Have you ever heard anybody say that?

That's right. You can see them. They kind of walk around with their head in the cloud, you know, drop a brick on their toe and it's praise the Lord.

And that's all they can say. Now, you see, listen very carefully, folks. The apostle Paul here is going to take great pains to explain to you and to me that what we know to be true about who God is, is the practical application of who we are because of what we are in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not just the mere fact that Jesus Christ has come into my heart. It's not just the life transforming fact that he has forgiven me for my sin. It's not just the undeniable fact that he has taken my sin and cast it as far as the east is from the west and remembers it no more. It's the wonderful biblical fact that everything that I have become in Christ Jesus is what I am continuing to be in the daily exercise of my life.

I'm able to live according to God's standards. And our first subject in the first four verses of Paul's letter to the Colossians is simply this, how to see things from God's perspective. How to see things from God's perspective. You see my friends today, there are too many of us who claim to know Jesus Christ who are interpreting this life in terms of what we see happening. There are too many of us today who are interpreting life's predicaments, the ups and downs of life through human eyes.

Now that's very easy to do. You take people who are not well. You take people who are very ill. You take Christian men and women who are on death's bed. You take people who are facing divorce and separation. You take people who are struggling with all the predicaments of life.

Nobody says that this life is easy my friend. But the word of God says that when you and I know who God is that in the daily exercise and the routine of our lives whether we find ourselves at the top of a gold mine or whether we find ourselves in the bottom of a barrel in South Louisiana somewhere I want you to know something friend. We can interpret our lives not through man's standard of interpretation but through God's standard of interpretation. I want to say to you today that as we pray for our nation if we as Christian men and women were to be able to evangelize and tell people about the saving grace of God that when we pray for our country we need to pray that those in authority over us interpret this life through God's eyes not through men's lives. I want to say to you if we interpreted everything from God's perspective my friend as educators we would not allow our schools to move in some of the directions in which they are moving because we're interpreting it from God's standard.

If we interpreted life from God's standard my friend we wouldn't allow things like abortion and a modern holocaust to sweep across the United States of America because we would be interpreting things from God's perspective. The greatest challenge that we have today is to take what we know to be true about the unsearchable riches of God in Christ Jesus and then to apply those things to our own hearts and lives. Paul is saying that we are not to use this as an excuse to become so heavenly minded that we're of no earthly good whatsoever. In fact what he's going to do here in the third chapter he's going to begin to apply the practice of the preeminence and the fullness of Christ in our daily walk and in our lives.

You see my friends in the previous chapters as we have studied we came to understand that the foolish attempts of chapter two and verses 20 through 23, legalism, mysticism, asceticism, a ritualistic interpretation of the religiosity of life does nothing more than entrap Christian people with a false understanding of the reality of who we are in Christ Jesus. I've got good news for you today. Jesus Christ has set me free. He has set me free.

He has liberated me. He hasn't set me free unto the license and the exercise of doing whatever I want to do. He has set me free to interpret life's data through God's eyes and when I interpret life's data through God's eyes my friend that is the point at which as a Christian parent, as an educator, as a politician, as a medical doctor, as a mother, as a housewife, as a grandparent I'm able to do that which is well pleasing in God's sight. That's what true Christian values are all about. That's what conversion is all about. What is conversion? Conversion my friend is a change of heart. It is a change of mind. It is a change of my thinking, of my way of life. It is a change of my interpretation. It is a change of my database.

It is a change of my computer system. It is a change of my behaviour and what the apostle Paul is going to say here in these next few verses, he's going to say literally my friend this, that if you have been born again, if you've been set free, if you have been transformed then what you say to be true ought to be matched by your behaviour. If your talk is about the preeminence of Jesus Christ your walk must practise the preeminence of Jesus Christ in the exercise of your daily life. That's why in Titus 1 and verse 16, we read they that profess that they know God, but in their works, they deny him. Why in their works? You'd say to me, pastor, I thought works had nothing to do with my salvation.

You're quite correct. Works has got nothing to do with my salvation. I can not be saved by anything that I do, but my works are the consequence of my salvation. They are the practise of my salvation.

They are the litmus test of my salvation. How I behave, how I interpret life, how I operate in this life is in direct proportion to my relationship with almighty God because of the preeminence of who Christ Jesus is. One more thing, when a person believes and what a person believes must have a direct bearing on how that person behaves. I wouldn't be surprised if there's someone here this morning, you come to church, you look good, you sound good, you smell good, I hope you do and you've got it all together, but what you say in church does not match up with what you are outside of church.

That's what Paul is getting at here. Paul is saying that the Christian life is so much more than coming into church and singing and praying and congregating and meeting together. Being a born-again believer, my friend, permeates the very totality of the essence of who I am, rules for Christian living. The first subject we're going to be looking at is how to see things from God's perspective. Let's read together Colossians 3 and verses 1 through 4. The Bible says, Since then you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things, for you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. By the way, that's a very interesting phrase there.

What does that mean? We're going to look at it in just a moment. What does it mean that when you come to know Jesus Christ, your life is hidden with Christ in God? Verse 4, For when Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. I'm going to give you very briefly this morning five ways in which you and I, according to the Apostle Paul, can see life from God's perspective. Number one, number one, never forget who you belong to.

Never forget who you belong to. Notice with me in chapter 3 and verse 1, the first part of chapter 3 and verse 1, that the Apostle Paul moving into this practical application of the preeminence of Christ says, Since then you have been raised with Christ. What an incredible statement of profoundest significance. That little word since then is interpreted, my friends, on the basis of the fact that you claim to have been born of the Spirit of God. Look back a few verses. Look back to verse 20 of chapter 2.

He did the same thing right there at that juncture. He says in verse 18, if you remember, Don't let the worship of angels and false humility and all those types of things get in the way of your relationship with God. Verse 19, because such a person has lost connection with the head. Such a person doesn't know the reality of a true ongoing relationship with Jesus Christ.

Why? Verse 20, For since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belong to it, do you submit to its rules? On the basis of the fact that you have died to Christ, on the basis of the fact that you belong to Jesus Christ, you are able to interpret this world through God's eyes rather than through man's eyes. What is Paul saying? Paul is saying, Steve, one of my favorite hymns, Now I belong to Jesus. You see, young people, you cannot be the same when you give your heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Life cannot continue the same way. And what Paul is saying here at this juncture, my friends, is that if there is one thing that you and I have got to do, we must be reminded, even when life circumstances seem to be so much against us, we must always remind ourselves, we must never forget who we belong to. Forgive the interruption, but as we remind ourselves who we belong to and the fact that once we belong to Jesus Christ, he will never, ever let us go.

I pray that you let us pray you through a deeper walk in your life with Jesus Christ. Our prayer line is available at 866-899-WORD any time, day or night. That's 866-899-9673. It's also a great place to call and ask us about the Daily Encouraging Word Bible Guide.

We've had so many sign up for the daily email. You can do that right now online at tewonline.org. Sign up for the Daily Encouraging Word Devotional from Dr. Don, tewonline.org. But if you want to call for your physical copy, we produce a quarterly book version of that, and you can ask for it free at 866-899-WORD.

Again, it's absolutely free at 866-899-9673. Ask the Daily Encouraging Word Devotional by Dr. Don Wilson. Now back to today's message with Dr. Don. It always amuses me sometimes when I travel around how every now and again I slip up on someone by surprise. You know, it's always a challenge to me to remember who I belong to. You know, there's something about that, my friend, when the Apostle Paul here at the beginning of chapter three and verse one, it seems to me remarkable that what Paul is saying before he launches into this unbelievable practical application of our doctrine. Paul says, never forget who you belong to. You see, the question which I'm asked every day of myself, my friend, is do I belong to Jesus or don't I? You'd say to me, Dr. Wilton, how do I interpret this life that I'm living whether I'm in a sick bed or on the playground or business decisions? How do I see things from God's perspective, my friend? The beginning of every interpretation must be the fact that I must never forget who I belong to. In the Old Testament, God's Word says, choose you this day whom you will serve.

The Bible says you're either for God or you're against God. No man can serve two masters. You're either gonna hate the one and despise the other.

You're gonna love the one or you're gonna hate the other. You cannot sit on the fence. You cannot straddle the fence. There is no such thing as a half-hearted Christian. The Bible says you either belong to God or you don't belong to God. And the Apostle Paul says on the basis of the fact that you have been raised with Christ, never forget who you belong to. Stand tall.

All the teenagers here today watch me. Stand tall, my precious friends. Nobody says it's easy to belong to Jesus Christ. The most difficult thing in the world today is to be a born-again believer. It's not easy to be a Christian at school. It's not easy to be a Christian at college. It's not easy to be a Christian at the workplace. It's not easy to be a Christian when you're in a hospital bed.

It's not easy to be a Christian. Jesus said, if any man will come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow after me. The Apostle Paul says, before you can ever begin to interpret this life through God's eyes, you must not forget who you belong to.

Don't forget it. Number two, second way to interpret this life through God's eyes is never forget your God-given responsibilities. Never forget your God-given responsibilities. Look at the second part of verse one and then go over to verse two. Paul says, on the basis of the fact that you have been raised with Christ, here it is, set your heart on things which are above. Then in verse two, he says, set your minds on things which are above, not on earthly things.

What in the world does he mean by that? How does that apply to God-given responsibility? You see, friends, what Paul is saying here, when he says set your mind on things above, he's not saying become of so much heavenly good that you have no earthly value. He is saying, my friends, that our purpose, our intent as born-again believers is to become preoccupied with who God is. Writing in his letter to the Philippians, Paul says, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.

Why? Because the mind of Christ is the servant mind. And when Paul talks about being preoccupied with God-given responsibility by setting your mind on things which are above, he is saying we must act responsibly. We must not only seek heaven, we must think heaven. We need to be preoccupied with God's purpose. We need to be preoccupied with God's plans and God's provision and God's power. When Paul says set your heart on things which are above, he says, accept and never forget your God-given responsibility. You see, friends, when God came into my life, when Jesus saved me, as I walk through the daily haphazard of life, the ups and the downs, and I begin to see things through God's eyes, number one, I must not forget who I belong to.

And number two, I must not forget my God-given, God-directed responsibilities. The Christian life, my friend, is a responsible life. The Christian life is the call to service. The Christian life is the call to seek the face of God. The Christian life is to know the mind of God. The Christian life is to seek the heart and the way of God. That's why the apostle Paul says in Romans chapter 12 and verse two, be not conformed to this world, but rather be transformed.

Why? In order that you might interpret and know the will of God for you as you live this life. What does it mean to be renewed in your mind? What it means, my friend, is that you have set your heart on things above. I want you to look with me at verse one, incredible verse. I'm going back now. I jumped over it a minute ago, right in the middle. Paul says on the basis of the fact that you have been raised with Christ, set your heart on things which are above.

Why? There it is. Where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. What Paul is saying here, my friends, is that if you are going to interpret all the ups and downs of life through God's eyes, you must not only never forget who you belong to and never forget your God-given responsibility, but when you are confronted by these things, never forget where your strength comes from. But God's word says, never, never forget where your strength comes from.

What an incredible word. You know why it comes from there? Because that's the place, my friend, according to God's word, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Yes, the exalted Christ in the exalted position, right there at the right hand of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. You can read in Psalm 110, Romans 8 and verse 34, Hebrews 1 and verse 3, Acts 7 and verse 50, 1 Peter 3 and verse 22, time without number. God's word reminds us of the source of our strength.

He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Quite frankly, my dear friend, I don't know how I could ever live this life without being reminded of where my strength comes from. There are people here today who feel as though they are at the end of the line. There are people here whose marriages are falling apart. There are people here today who are suffering from the unfaithfulness of a husband or a wife.

There are people whose children have run away from school. There are people who have faced death and murder and all kinds of horrible predicaments. There are people who are facing unprecedented hurdles. And yet the apostle Paul says, if we are going to be able to interpret life through God's perspective, we must never forget who we belong to. We must never forget our God-given responsibility. We must never forget where our strength comes from. And then he says, we must never forget our own conversion experience. Isn't that remarkable? Right there in verse three, he says, for you died, I like it, don't you? Ha ha!

Steve, that's just right down the line, brother. There's no big exegesis there. He says, you do these things on the basis of the fact of your conversion experience. What happened when you died? Bible says, when you gave your life to Jesus Christ, you died with him upon the cross. You suffered complete death. Jesus said, if you're going to follow me, you must not only deny yourself, but you must be willing to sacrifice your life. You die in Christ Jesus. You give up yourself.

You abdicate the throne of your life. And then he says, as a consequence, your life is now hidden with Christ in God. That means three things. Number one, it means that believers share a common life together. If as a born again believer, Paul is saying, I must go back and remember my conversion experience.

It was at that moment that my life became hidden in Christ Jesus. It means that believers share a common experience. That's why as believers, we are able to do what? To draw strength from one another.

Isn't that great? Number two, it means that non-believers, those who do not believe and accept Jesus Christ, are unable to grasp spiritual truth. But there's a third meaning to being hidden in Christ. It means that believers are eternally secure. We are eternally secure.

And that security is available. It's a free gift. Before we get away, closing thoughts from our pastor, Dr. Don Wilton. Are you ready to give your heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ? Why don't you pray this prayer with me right now? Dear God, I know that I'm a sinner, and I know that Jesus died for me on the cross. Today, I repent of my sin, and by faith, I receive you into my heart. In Jesus' name. My friend, I welcome you today into the family of God.

This is exciting news. I believe many of you have prayed along with Dr. Wilton in that quietness of your heart. Maybe you are stepping into that. You know you need to pray, but you have questions.

Let's answer those questions. Give us a call at 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673. And maybe you've given your life to Jesus Christ or rededicated your life. We have free resources for you as well. 866-899-9673.

And online at TEWOnline.org with great resources like this. Discovering the paradoxical peace and joy of surrendering your will and giving God control. In this four-part study, Laura uses her own story to explain why giving up is important, whom we are submitting to, how to go about doing it, and the effects of this decision on the lives of the people around us. I give up, the secret joy of a surrendered life by Laura Storey is available for your gift of $18 in support to The Encouraging Word this month.

Limited quantities available. The Encouraging Word is a viewer and listener-supported ministry. Thank you for listening today. It's been a great week of broadcasting here at The Encouraging Word, and we continue over the weekend with some wonderful video versions on the Daystar Network and more. The details are on our website, TEWOnline.org. You can watch some of them there as well. That's TEWOnline.org. We'll look forward to meeting you there.