Submitted by admin on Mon, 05/16/2011 - 7:17am
MP3 File:
For the last three weeks, ever since Easter Sunday when we celebrated the resurrection of Christ (and the resurrection life), we've been talking the abundant life promised to believers—and what it takes to experience life "in all its fullness."
Jesus said (John 10:12, NASB): "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."
[Paul]: ...if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. (Romans 8:11, NIV)
This is the word of God. But there is often a disconnect between what should be and what is—we don't always feel like we're living the abundant life.
So today we come to this question: Is abundant life available in the trenches? For real? Is abundant life possible if you're surrounded by death? Because people and things die: dreams, relationships, hopes, marriages, careers, bodies—physical things die.
So can we live abundantly in the trenches with the war all around us? In the everyday challenges of life—when the bills come due, when love slips away, when harsh or impatient or angry words fill the air, when feelings are hurt, when people come unhinged and lose control, when good intentions and promises go down the drain—can we live abundant lives?
Can we live abundantly while we're fighting in the trenches of life?
At one time or another we all face disappointment—we may become discouraged or even disillusioned. In those moments, some might wonder: What's the use? Why even try? Christianity might work in theory, but it seems to break down in practice.
If you get nothing else out of this message, get this. Because I'm here to tell you—abundant life does not depend on things that die. Abundant life depends on God!
The human condition is hopeless—it is weak, poor, inadequate, deficient. It's anything but abundant! But God is the opposite—strong, all-powerful, rich, all-sufficient, overflowing.
God wants to pour his abundance into our emptiness! He wants to release his power into our weakness; he wants to invest his wealth into our spiritual poverty.
This truth should so impact our lives that it transforms the way we live in the trenches. It should change our behavior. It should adjust our attitudes. It should guide our choices. It should open our hearts to his abundance.
1 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. 5 Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. 6 For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, 7 and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, 10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him... (Col 3:1-10, NASB)
Go back and circle the times you see the idea of "life" in the first four verses: "raised up" (v 1); "life is hidden with Christ" (v 3); Christ "is our life" (v 4).
NLT (3:1-4): 1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God's right hand in the place of honor and power. 2 Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth. 3 For you died when Christ died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 And when Christ, who is your real life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.
This passage tells us that there are choices we can make and actions we can take to strengthen this new spiritual life that God has put within us. It also tells us that there are detrimental, harmful things we can do that will strangle this new life.
In other words, Jesus promises to give abundant life. Whether you accept his promise or not is up to you! You can experience Christ's abundant life—you can live life to the full even while you're in the trenches of life. But it's up to you.
Jesus died on the cross so you could live—but you have to receive that gift of life.
In this passage, God's Word lays out a plan for living an abundant life. Once you've received life, it's up to you to nurture and develop that life.
Why do so many Christians struggle? Why do so many live less-than-abundant lives? Why are so many believers stuck in defeat and discouragement? Why do so many seem to be living "subsistence" Christianity instead of "abundant" Christianity?
Because they have forgotten (or neglected to follow) God's basic instructions! So in this passage, let's look at four key thoughts that will help us to live life to the full even in the trenches.
1. Keep seeking the things above (v 1). NIV: "set your hearts on things above"; NLT: "set your sights on the realities of heaven."
The idea here is that this is something that we must continue to do. It's not just something we do once to find answers to life. We are to keep on seeking!
Someone asks: "Why? Why do we need to keep on looking for what we've already found? If Christ is the answer, do we need to keep asking?"
There are several reasons why we should keep on seeking:
(a) First, because though we've discovered the truth, we still don't know it all. We're like the kid who came home from his first day of kindergarten and announced that he wasn't going back. Why? Because everything the teacher taught that day—colors, numbers, alphabet—he already knew. Why would he want to go back? We're like that kid—we know something, but there's so much more. We've only scratched the surface of the knowledge of God; we know, but only "in part" (1 Cor 13:12).
(b) Second, because in this earthly life, we face constant spiritual wear-and-tear. We live in a world that drains us of life. Experiences that suck the life out of us. Once the famous 19th-century evangelist D.L. Moody was asked why he spoke so often of needing to be filled with the Holy Spirit. He answered, "Because I leak." We are imperfect containers—cracked pots, so to speak. We leak.
(c) Third, because our real life is "hidden" with Christ in God (v 3). Hidden! Think of it! The abundant life is a hidden life. It's not "out there" in the open, out there on the surface, making waves, making a big splash. It's hidden. The abundant life is a deeper life. Like the icebergs in the north Atlantic where perhaps 90% is beneath the surface—unseen, hidden from view. Which explains why sometimes they can drift into the wind instead of being pushed by the wind—there are deeper currents that affect them more than the wind. In the same way, an abundant life is influenced by heaven and consequently will not be swayed by the winds of the earthly life or the winds of an earthly culture. But since it's hidden, we must continue to seek it. We cannot readily see it—so we keep seeking it.
2. Set your mind on things above (v 2). NET: "Keep thinking about things above"; NLT: "Let heaven fill your thoughts."
We could say "Focus on heavenly things." Why? Because our thoughts are too easily diffused and distracted by what's going on around us here on planet earth!
We can see why focus is so important: A lantern, for instance, sends out light in all directions at once. A flashlight, however, can use the same amount of energy and light to illuminate one area much more brightly by using a concave reflective surface to bounce the light in primarily one direction. But light can be focused even more! A laser, for instance, uses other techniques to create a highly focused beam of light—a low level laser for a pointer, for example. At higher powers, though, a laser beam can cut through metal, perform bloodless surgery, or even guide a missile strike. That's the power of focus!
If our minds are like lanterns, we have thoughts going in all directions at once. That's okay, but not as effective as a flashlight—and no comparison to a laser beam. A laser is focused on one thing—and everything else is ignored.
We have to exercise mental restraint so we're not consumed with the activities and anxieties of our earthly life. We need mental toughness! We need to discipline our minds, training them to focus on what is most important—the eternal and the spiritual.
3. Consider the members of your earthly body as dead (v 5). NASB's choice of words falls short, in my opinion. It's not just something you should consider, it's something you should do! The original word seems as forceful as if we were to bring all these things out to face a firing squad. We should execute the sinful things of our earthly nature! NIV: "Put to death...whatever belongs to your earthly nature."
Why do you need to kill these things that are part of your human nature? Because if you don't kill them, they will kill you!
Someone says: "Well, that's a bit extreme, isn't it? Aren't you overreacting just a bit?"
No, I don't think so. If your doctor told you that smoking was hazardous to your health, would you ignore the doctor's warning? If you did, you wouldn't die immediately, but the nicotine and the toxins would gradually wear down your body's defense mechanisms. Your lungs would become polluted with tar. Your blood vessels would constrict. Your blood pressure would increase. Your heart would have to work harder. Damaged and weakened body cells would become more susceptible to disease. Cancer cells could invade...
If we can recognize natural hazards to physical health, why don't we recognize supernatural hazards to spiritual health?
Look at the list of things that are detrimental and harmful to an abundant life! These are things that interfere with spiritual health: immorality [sexual immorality—the original word is the root for our word "pornography"], impurity, passion [lust], evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry... anger, wrath [rage], malice, slander [the original word is the root for our word "blaspheme"], and abusive speech [filthy language] from your mouth... {lying} (v 5,8-9). NASB and [NIV] Put these things to death!
ABC News reported this past week on the toxins that were in the flood waters of the Mississippi. Don't drink the water, they said. Don't wade in the water. Scientists have found e coli bacteria in it; they've found fecal matter in it; there are pesticides and fertilizers in it. It's not healthy!
OK! We'll stay out of the Mississippi! But God says there are other kinds of toxins that will kill your soul; certain behavior that will strangle your life in Christ—your abundant life. Some things are "life-giving" activities but other things are "life-draining" activities. Choose life in order that you may live! (Deut 30:19)
4. [You] have put on the new self who is being renewed... (v 10) — according to the image of the One who created him... NCV: "you are being made new and are becoming like the One who made you"; NLT: "a brand-new nature that is continually being renewed."
An abundant life is constantly being renewed. We need fresh experiences, fresh encounters with God on a regular basis!
Are you continually seeking for more of God? Is your mind set on things above? Have you put to death all of your human nature? Are you being renewed by regular fresh encounters with God? Now is the time to make the choice and take action.