Colossians, Part 9

Type: Wednesday Evening Service

Series: Colossians

Sermon: Part

🗣️ Speaker: Pastor Jeff Booth

Living with a kingdom mindset means reorienting your identity, values, and focus around your new life in Christ rather than being shaped by the fear, comparison, and chaos of the world. Because believers have died and been raised with Christ, their true life is now hidden and secured in Him — meaning their identity is no longer defined by success, failure, past mistakes, or what others think. From that place of security, followers of Christ are called to actively put to death sinful patterns, remove what feeds them, and put on a renewed self marked by honesty, love, and genuine community.

ℹ️ Tip: The video is set to start at the beginning of the sermon, but you can scrub the playhead to any part of the service. ℹ️

• Full Transcript

  Are you glad to be in God's house tonight?

  Wow, sweet time of worship.

  Don't you love just loving on Jesus?

  Okay, six of us.

  Man, I tell you, when we walk through the doors of this place And we begin to gather together and worship.

  There's a tangible power, there's a tangible presence of the Lord.

  And I just want to encourage you, whether you're You come in and you had a rough day, give him your best.

  If you're sick, give him your best He hung on a cross and gave us his best.

  He took lashes and beatings and just disfigurement and gave us his best.

  When we come in here, this isn't this is a special gathering.

  And when we come in here, anything is possible.

  Anything is possible when we gather in this place together because we gather in the name above every name.

  The name whereby men can be saved, the name of Jesus, the only name where men can be saved.

  King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Healer, Redeemer, One that gives us breakthrough, one that gives us true peace.

  Am I in the right church tonight?

  I don't know.

  We're about to wind down this uh Colossian series and I pray that it's been uh a blessing to you.

  Uh Pastor Scott just tear it up last week.

  He did an amazing job of just sharing God's word, and I was truly encouraged and blessed.

  We're here we have tonight and next week and then uh we'll be getting into some new stuff with Pastor Tom and uh it'll last for I think most of the summer into August, I believe, so it's gonna be good.

  Look at your neighbor and say it's getting gooder and gooder.

  Look at your neighbor and say, live above it all.

  Live above it all.

  We live in a crazy world of of cutthroat, deception, and just all kinds of craziness going on.

  And God has called us to live above it.

  To rise above it.

  And to live differently.

  Colossians 3, we're going to be in That chapter tonight.

  Verse 1 and 2 says this if then you have been raised with Christ.

  Anybody been raised with Christ in this room?

  Anybody been raised with Christ?

  He's changed your life.

  You've been raised with Christ.

  Seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

  And then he says in verse 2: set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth.

  Father, I ask one more time that you would anoint these lips of clay.

  And Lord help me to speak the words you once spoken tonight.

  Holy Spirit, guide my thoughts Guard my mind.

  Give me clarity of thought.

  And Lord, I just know that you want to say something to us tonight.

  Lord, may we have eyes to see and ears to hear. what that is in Jesus' name.

  Amen.

  See, Paul is not telling believers in this scripture to be disconnected from the world that we live in.

  He's not wanting us to to be these like spiritually high-minded people that we're you know better than others and we're living in a in another another place and we forget the responsibilities that we have here on earth.

  He's not wanting us to be disconnected from life. and ignore our responsibilities or float around in some hyper-spiritual state.

  He's talking about a complete reorientation of our identity. of our values, of our focus and pursuit because of our new union with Christ.

  See the full context matters in Colossians 3.

  1.

  If then you were raised with Christ Seek those things which are above where Christ is.

  Paul's logic is this way.

  You died with Christ.

  You were raised with Christ, therefore live live out your new reality.

  Live out your new reality.

  When Paul says to set your mind, it literally carries the idea of direct your thinking.

  Tell your mind what to think.

  Fix your attention.

  Adopt a new mindset.

  Let heaven shape your perspective, not the culture of the earth. not the ways of the world.

  Let heaven truly shape your perspective.

  It is a kingdom world view that Paul wants us to have.

  What are the things above?

  Well, Paul means the reign and rule of Christ.

  Set your mind on that.

  He rules and he reigns.

  I know you're having trouble in this life.

  You're victorious because he rules and he reigns.

  You know, the values of the kingdom.

  He wants us to set our mind on the values of the kingdom.

  Eternal priorities.

  I had some guys when I was a teenager, some older guys that kind of discipled and mentored me.

  And they would they would look at me because I I bought a motorcycle one time.

  Had it for six weeks, sold it to a guy who used it in a robbery, and I forgot to take the license plate off the back of it, so they came knocking at my house Wanted to know where I was at such and such a time.

  And uh that was something to try to explain and get out of.

  But I bought a motorcycle and I was doing some other things as a young man, and they were saying, Jeff, it's all going to burn.

  It's all going to burn up.

  Set your mind on things above, Jeff.

  That doesn't mean we can't have things.

  Doesn't mean we can't enjoy life.

  But our our our treasure should not be of this world.

  And our mindset should be of a kingdom mindset, of an eternal mindset.

  Invest in things that are eternal.

  What other things we just set our minds on?

  Holiness.

  That's a word we don't use much anymore.

  Set our minds on truth.

  That's one we really need today.

  Truth.

  Purity.

  Set our mind on worship, on love and humility.

  He is saying, let heaven determine now how you think while you still live on earth.

  Are you with me?

  We have a kingdom mindset that guides our every decision, our every area of life here on this another scripture, Philippians 4.

  8.

  For our minds, finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure.

  What does it say?

  Give me the next slide.

  Whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise.

  Think about these things.

  What do we think about all day long?

  We worry, we fret, we think about bills, we think about our kids, we think about war.

  We think about what's going on in our country right now with with just craziness all over our country.

  He says, rise above that.

  Rise above that.

  Train your mind to think on things that are above and are eternal.

  Stop letting a broken world disciple your mind.

  Stop letting a broken world disciple your mind.

  The earth constantly trains us to think this way through fear.

  Status, lust , greed, comparison , competition Outrage.

  What is up with the youth of America now?

  Just just taking over beaches, just taking over restaurants and destroying and just attacking people.

  Chaos.

  We're of another kingdom.

  We have to act like we're of another kingdom.

  We have to live in such a way that we impact this world.

  Our flesh likes to think of success in this world, of self-promotion.

  But the believer is now seated with Christ spiritually in heavenly places.

  So our internal compass must come. from the kingdom of heaven.

  You could maybe paraphrase it and say it like this.

  Anchor your thoughts and your desires and your perspective in the reality of Christ's kingdom rather than the temporary systems of this world.

  Somebody say amen.

  So how can we train our mind?

  I'm not much to go to the gym, as you can tell.

  I'm not much to go to we ride bikes nearly every night.

  I went into the pool the other night and I was getting a little exercise in that way, you know, and it felt good until the next morning.

  But our culture is infatuated with this physical body.

  Six pack abs.

  Some of us got 32-pack abs.

  You know, and there's nothing wrong with taking care of your body.

  We should be good stewards of our body.

  Don't misunderstand what I'm saying.

  But There's there's our our spiritual life needs to be of more importance.

  We need to give more importance to that Romans 12, 1 says, be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

  Listen to me.

  This is some basic stuff I'm going to give you, but sometimes we need to be reminded of the simple things.

  It's the simple things that we forget to do or we stop.

  My mother was in the ER yesterday.

  She's 91 years old, and we thought, you know, this is the second time in uh few weeks, I thought.

  So we were kind of nervous, you know.

  And she's uh She's up in age.

  And they were checking her heart, and that she told me they did every test imaginable, and everything came back good for a 91-year-old.

  And uh She forgot to take her meds for two days in a row.

  And as soon as she got her meds in, I called my sister tonight before I came.

  I hope my mom's not watching tonight.

  Hey mom.

  I told my sister, she's back.

  My mom, I couldn't get a word in edgewise tonight when I talked to her.

  She it was like she's the same, same woman She had to take her miss.

  She had to be consistent.

  And now all her kids are calling her every morning.

  We call her anyway, but we're reminding her, did you take your pills?

  Hello?

  We need to be reminded of some things for our spiritual health.

  Some of us are dragging, some of us are in a spiritual ER and we're looking for a help.

  And sometimes it's simply because we forgot to do the day-to-day basic things that we were taught when we were first believers and we thought we don't need to do that anymore.

  We're more mature now.

  No.

  Matter of fact, the older I get, it seems like the less I really know.

  I just want to know him more and more and I want to be in his word as much as I can.

  So how do we train our mind?

  Reading and studying God's word in the scriptures will transform your mind.

  Quoting God's word Meditating on just sitting and meditating on a scripture.

  Can I tell you the world didn't invent meditation?

  Or God did.

  Okay?

  The world always has a a a counterfeit.

  But when you meditate on God's word, all of a sudden you start to rise higher.

  Worry starts to go when you're starting to meditate on God's word and when you just think and and just let it ruminate in your spirit and you begin to realize how great your God is and how little this situation is that you're walking through right now.

  And listen, read God's word, study it, quote it, meditate on it.

  And if you don't believe what you're reading, keep reading.

  Because I guarantee you, if you keep reading, it's going to get in you and it's going to change your belief system and you're going to align yourself finally with the truths and the promises of God's Word.

  If you would stay in it.

  Some of us don't believe things.

  Because we abandon God's word.

  We don't stand on his truth and his promises because we don't read it.

  We don't quote it.

  We don't declare it.

  We don't decree it.

  Over I'm preaching to myself tonight because I need this.

  See if you struggle studying and reading the scriptures, I hear this a lot.

  I just don't know.

  I just don't.

  I just I just get bored.

  Luke 24, 45, speaking of Jesus, then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures.

  I promise, I double dare you, I'm telling you right now, if you will read God's word and talk to God while you're reading and say, Holy Spirit, talk to me about this.

  Can I tell you he will open your mind and give you understanding?

  He will show you, he will speak to you, and he'll probably shoot you over to other scriptures to kind of Double up and and and reinforce what you've been reading.

  Are you hearing me tonight?

  But you have to discipline yourself Just like our youngest son playing basketball for so many years and he he's done playing now and he said, Dad, I just I want to get on with life.

  I want to we're gonna have a baby.

  I want to Just get a job and stay here and go to be a part of our church.

  Blah blah blah blah blah.

  But the level of dedication it took to play at the high level that he was at, he said, I don't want to do that anymore in that realm.

  I want to give it more to God in service.

  See, if we we have to discipline ourselves spiritually that it's important even when we don't feel like reading, we read.

  Even we don't feel like God is can I can I be honest with you?

  By the last 10 days, I felt like God is a million miles away.

  I have not felt him.

  I have not heard his voice.

  Yeah.

  Thank you.

  He is.

  But you know what?

  When it's like that, I press in just a little bit more.

  Because even when I don't see it, he's working.

  Even when I don't hear him, he's working.

  I can trust him because that's who he is.

  See, I can try even when I have doubts and fears and I I walk through struggles.

  Even when I don't feel like God is near me, I know that He is because I've walked with Him for a long time and He doesn't lie.

  And He said in His word that He would never leave me or forsake me And if I'd call upon him, he would hear and he would answer.

  Matter of fact, Jeremiah 33, 3 says, Call upon me, I'll show you great and mighty things you don't even know of.

  That's our God.

  See, when you're not feeling like you're sensing God's presence, when you feel like maybe God's far away from you, I'm not falling away from Jesus.

  Okay?

  Sometimes you just walk through barren times.

  And you it's that that's when you realize it's not about how I feel.

  It's not about a Holy Ghost goosebump in a worship service.

  It's about the fact that he is who he is and who he said he is.

  He's done it, he will continue to do it, and I can trust him.

  Especially when I feel like he's far away.

  That's what keeps me coming back to him when I don't sense his presence is because I know he's there, even when I don't feel that he's there.

  I hope this is helping somebody because I'm preaching to myself tonight.

  I've got 16 pages of notes, Pastor Scott.

  I know I'll never get through that.

  But Jesus opened their minds to understand.

  He who is no respecter of persons, he'll do that for you 1 Corinthians 2. 16, for who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?

  But we have the mind of Christ.

  Remember?

  You died with him.

  You've been raised with him.

  You have the mind of Christ.

  And next, we encourage you tonight through the scriptures that you have been, because of that, you have been hidden in Christ.

  Somebody say, hidden in Christ.

  Colossians 3.

  3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

  Not physical death, but the old identity has died.

  The old ruler of your life.

  Has died the old source of life, has ended.

  The old sinful self has died.

  The old way of defining yourself is dead.

  The you that was ruled by sin and shame.

  The rule of you that the the you that was ruled by worldly identity, self-centered ambition.

  Is dead.

  Paul sees salvation as more than forgiveness.

  It's participation in Christ's death and resurrection.

  Your life is hidden in him.

  I was just thinking about this today.

  If I am hidden in Christ, you ever play hide and seek?

  I know you mean some of you 70-year-olds, you still play hide and seek at home.

  I know you do.

  Well if they hide you can't see them, right?

  If I am hidden in Christ, that means anything the enemy wants to throw at me, he's got to go through Christ to get to me.

  Any temptation he wants to throw my way, any struggle, anything he wants to badger me with, he's got to go through Christ to do that.

  Hello somebody.

  And I don't know if I don't know if you know this or not, but Jesus kicked the devil's hiney at the cross.

  So Christ in me, not just Christ with me, but Christ in me, and I'm hidden in Christ.

  The devil's got a battle on his hands.

  I live from a place of victory, not searching for victory.

  I'm living from a place of victory because I'm hidden in Christ.

  Hello somebody.

  This Jeff, you're just helping yourself out tonight.

  This being hidden in the Greek carries the idea of being concealed.

  Or secured, protected, or wrapped in Christ.

  I love that.

  Kept safe Paul is saying, your real life is no longer fully visible in earthly terms.

  The world may look at you and see weakness and just an ordinary person, just a average Christian, uh religious person.

  The world may look at you and and and and you might be going through suffering or you might be in obscurity right now or you might be have limitations but your true life is somewhere deeper your true identity is now wrapped In Christ Himself, hidden with Christ.

  This is covenant union language that Paul is sharing with us tonight.

  Your life is no longer hidden independent and I know that's hard for us as Americans because we are independent.

  We just pull ourselves up from the bootstraps, pick ourselves up and go on our way and we're self-made men and women.

  No you're not.

  We are hidden in Christ and we are in covenant with Christ.

  Now Christ is our source.

  Christ is my identity.

  People say, well, what do you do for a living?

  Or who are who are you?

  And for me, it's like, okay.

  I'm a preacher, I'm a songwriter, I'm an author, I'm a worship leader, I'm musician, I'm a I'm a son of the most high.

  That's who I am.

  I'm a son of the most high God.

  That's who I that's my identity My identity isn't that I'm a worship leader, I'm a musician, or I'm a preacher.

  My identity is that I am a son of the Most High God.

  You are a son or a daughter of the living God.

  Changes everything.

  Changes everything.

  Christ is now your righteousness.

  Christ is your security and your future.

  Christ is your inheritance.

  You are spiritually joined to him.

  So when the Father sees you, He sees you through Christ.

  I love that because I'm jacked up.

  And I love the fact that he doesn't look at me for who I am.

  Hello?

  He looks at me through Christ.

  Who Christ has made me.

  I am joint heirs with Christ.

  Your acceptance is anchored in Christ.

  Your future is anchored in Christ.

  Your hope is anchored in Christ.

  Are y'all with me tonight?

  Right now, Christ's kingdom is real and your salvation is real.

  Your identity is real, but it is not fully revealed outwardly yet.

  Because the next verse says, when Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

  Right now, the glory is concealed, but later it will be revealed.

  A believer may look insignificant on earth while carrying eternal glory within.

  I love that.

  Hidden does not mean absent.

  Sometimes people think that being hidden in Christ means passive or invisible or disconnected, withdrawn from life, but it really means being rooted deeply. means being spiritually alive, sustained by Christ, protected by God.

  It's kind of like roots underground.

  They're hidden, but they're producing life above ground.

  Y'all with me?

  We've got roots in Christ and we are producing life because of Him.

  This changes everything.

  And your when your life is hidden in Christ, your identity is no longer determined by success or failures or popularity or how much money or lack of money you have or past mistakes or criticism or titles or applause.

  Your deepest identity is secured in Christ.

  I gotta move on.

  I don't have much time.

  Maybe I'll have to just carry over till next Wednesday.

  Verse 3 says this, or verse 5 and 6, put to death Put to death what is earthly in you.

  This is some practical stuff.

  We talked about this a couple weeks ago in our little group with the worship team in between services.

  And our mind is such a key to this walk with Christ, to discipline our mind, to train our mind. to make decisions based on the truth of God's word.

  And we have to make, it's not always a Holy Ghost goosebumps that gives me direction to do something.

  It's the discipline in God's word that tells me to make a decision here or a decision there.

  Am I making sense to anybody tonight?

  Because he says this Put to death sexual immorality.

  Put to death impurity and passion.

  Evil desire and covetousness, which is idolatry.

  On account of these things, the wrath of God is coming.

  Somebody say, let it die.

  Oh, that was weak.

  Let it die.

  See, you got sometimes you got to speak to some stuff and just say, you got to die.

  You got to go in my life.

  Paul is talking about active, intentional spiritual warfare against sinful desires and behaviors.

  Not passive resistance.

  The phrase put to death is strong.

  Listen, because sin is not something Paul says to merely manage or negotiate with.

  It has to be dealt with.

  He is saying, Paul is saying this, to put it to death.

  Starve it.

  Cut off its supply.

  Refuse partnership with it.

  Don't feed what destroys you spiritually.

  Paul is teaching the Colossians and he's teaching us how to be spirit-empowered and transformed.

  And he's telling us that we start with identity before our behavior changes.

  Are you with me?

  We died with Christ, so we have been hidden in Christ.

  Then put to death the immorality.

  Too many people try to fight lust and sexual immorality while still seeing themselves as slaves to it.

  You're not a slave to it anymore.

  You've been set free.

  So put it to death.

  Get rid of it.

  It's quiet in this church tonight.

  See, Paul says, fight from your new identity, not for a new identity.

  You're hidden in Christ.

  Fight from that identity that you are hidden in Christ, that you are washed clean, that you are You are full of the power of Christ inside of you.

  You can resist the devil and you can resist temptation.

  You can let these things die in your life.

  See, you're not trying to become loved by God because you already are loved by Him.

  You fight because you already belong to him.

  You've got to bring immorality into the light.

  I'm gonna hit a few things real quick here.

  Sexual sin grows in secrecy, fantasy, and isolation.

  Putting it to death means refusing hidden compromise.

  We talked about this a couple weeks ago with our team.

  James 5, 16, I believe it says, confess your sins one to another that you may be healed.

  We don't do that much in the body of Christ anymore because we don't trust one another.

  Cuz sister blabber mouth or brother tell it all.

  We told him all one time and he told everybody.

  But yet there's a key here to our there's a key to our freedom that James is giving us.

  Confess your sin one to another that you may be healed.

  That means we need to have right relationships with one another.

  So I can go to Peter here and I can say, Peter, this is something I've been going through.

  I need to confess this to you and be held accountable by you because I know Peter's not going to condemn me because I know that he loves me.

  I can trust him.

  You need people in your life that you can trust.

  There's things that you're not being healed of, you're not fully free of Because it's hidden.

  It's in the dark.

  And God wants you to bring it to light.

  God wants you to confess that to someone so that you can have healing and you can have breakthrough.

  Some prayers are hindered because we keep things hidden.

  That's God's not about condemnation.

  He wants you to experience freedom and liberty You've got to have honesty and accountability.

  Refuse to live a double life.

  Darkness loses power when it's exposed.

  It loses its grip when it's exposed.

  Remove what feeds it.

  Jesus spoke radically about removing stumbling blocks in the Gospel of Matthew, Matthew chapter 5.

  Practically for us this means, let me ask you a question.

  What environments trigger compromise in your life?

  Remove it.

  This is this is like remove it get it out of your life.

  What media feeds impurity in your life?

  What conversations stir temptation and compromise in your life?

  I know you all sit here going, why is he talking about that with us?

  Because we're the church and we're human and we we have weaknesses and we don't talk about it and we need to talk about it so that we can be free and walk in all that God has for us.

  What habits weaken my resistance to the enemy?

  See, listen carefully.

  You cannot consistently feed flesh and expect spiritual strength.

  It's not gonna happen.

  It won't happen.

  There are times in our lives.

  I wasn't gonna share this, but I feel like I I feel like I should I I remember times when I've been in green rooms with ministers that were getting ready to step into the pulpit and back in the green room, not this house, I'm just pointing that is always backstage.

  I never got that It's all I I know these churches where I'm gonna I'm gonna just nitpick here a little bit.

  It's like the man of God doesn't come out until worship is almost halfway over.

  It's like oh we're going to another level now.

  Here comes a man of God.

  That's just foolishness.

  Get out here and worship with the body.

  But they back there eating chips and drinking and talking and And I I've been in green rooms before where men of God that came up and took the pulpit were talking in ways that we should not talk.

  I was in a studio once years ago and man of God Got a package with a female artist that was coming to their church and he just made the statement, man, if I could be single for just a day.

  I think I've told this story before we travel with a group for just a short amount of time because the insinuations of Inappropriate things were going on.

  I could not stay in that environment and stay married and stay stay holy.

  It's not listen to me.

  It's not because I'm I'm the big high and mighty I I'm holier than you.

  No, it's because I'm weak.

  It's because I know the traps the enemy wants to set.

  And sometimes you have to remove yourself from relationships that always invite.

  We had friends years ago that it was just commonplace to talk about other people.

  And we just sit around and laugh and just hee-haw.

  And Terry and I looked at each other one night and said, this is not right.

  I don't feel good about it.

  We were young.

  And it was called ripping people.

  That's what it was.

  And I'm like, I can't do this.

  Not because I'm holier than thou.

  It just doesn't please God and I'm convicted.

  I gotta be honest about it.

  I have to remove myself from that environment.

  These are not like Oh, I just God just struck me down in my driveway and I was shaking, rattling on the floor and got up and I made that this.

  No, no.

  He's making he's wanting us to be discipled, disciplined in his word and in his ways that we make those decisions as followers of Christ.

  I can't partake of that.

  Not because I'm better than you, but that's going to damage my life.

  It's keeping me from getting closer to Jesus.

  Are y'all with me tonight?

  Maybe that's maybe I just live in a different world.

  I don't know.

  Sometimes putting to death looks putting things to death looks very practical.

  Delete that app off your phone tonight.

  Woo.

  Just get rid of it.

  That app that leads you places you know you're not supposed to just just delete it, get rid of it.

  Changing routines, sometimes changing the way you drive to certain places.

  Because you keep driving that way where that was over here and you got in trouble, you need to take a different route.

  You need to just drive a different route.

  Save yourself Filtering devices, avoiding certain relationships.

  Ending emotional entanglements.

  Baby, am I preaching all right?

  Can I come home tonight?

  Am we good?

  Okay.

  Listen, changing what enters your eyes and your imagination.

  Hear me tonight.

  I'm not about you can't, you can't, you can't, you can't, but I am about listen to the Holy Spirit that says that's not part of what I want in your life.

  That's not adding, that's taking away.

  That's keeping you from being who I want you to be.

  Get rid of it.

  We need to understand we replace, we don't just remove A vacuum is dangerous.

  If all you do is suppress desire without redirecting your heart, the battle becomes exhausting.

  Paul's answer is not merely stop sinning, it's seek the things above.

  Seek the things above.

  Your heart was made for intimacy with God.

  Your heart was made for purpose, for beauty.

  Your heart was made for worship.

  Your heart was made to love and to walk in holiness and real connection.

  Impurity often becomes counterfeit comfort for loneliness, stress, rejection, and exhaustion.

  Healing includes allowing Christ to meet those deeper places in our heart and our soul.

  Build spiritual strength consistently.

  Victory is usually formed in daily rhythms.

  Not dramatic moments.

  I know way too many people that have come to the art.

  I'm not against this.

  I love I love the Holy Ghost just just whacking people.

  I love it.

  But when you get up, do you walk different?

  Are there new rhythms in your life now?

  Or are you just waiting for the next Holy Ghost moment?

  He wants you to have daily rhythms that produce life and spiritual life.

  Scripture met, we've talked about this.

  I'm going to have to move on.

  By the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body.

  It's not merely willpower we're talking about.

  It's not that at all.

  It's cooperation with the Holy Spirit The earlier you confront temptation, the stronger you become, because a spark is easier to extinguish than a wildfire.

  Real quick, if you stumble, repent quickly.

  Return quickly.

  Don't isolate and don't quit pursuing God.

  Simply put, the enemy wants you to walk in shame.

  Christ calls you back into truth and transformation.

  Hmm, simply starve the flesh, feed the spirit, stay close to Jesus.

  Verse 7 and 9.

  I think I'm gonna get it.

  In these you two once walked when you were living in them, but now you must put them all away.

  Somebody say, put them away Anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.

  Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put the off the old self with its practices.

  Paul is saying These things used to define you, but it must not rule you anymore.

  It used to define you, but it cannot rule you anymore any longer.

  You used to walk in these things.

  This was your lifestyle.

  This was your old nature.

  It's it's how you used to live before Christ transformed you.

  Walked means habitual conduct conduct.

  It was your normal pattern of life.

  Notice Paul does not deny their past.

  He acknowledges it honestly.

  Christianity is not pretending that you don't struggle.

  Paul said, I do the things I don't want to do.

  And I don't do the things I want to do.

  We're going to have those struggles.

  But there's something called grace that sustains us and empowers us to get up and keep going.

  Paul, these sins once formed the atmosphere of your life.

  Let me move on.

  But now, I love this, but now.

  I love in Scripture when there's a but or there's a but now.

  That means a good stuff is coming.

  This phrase is powerful and Paul is saying there's a new reality that has begun.

  Because of Christ, old patterns are no longer inevitable.

  Transformation is now possible.

  You're not trapped in that former lifestyle and identity.

  Paul shifts now from sexual sins.

  To relational sins.

  Can I take a minute and talk about that?

  He says to put them all away, these things.

  He means to remove To cast off, to strip away like dirty clothing.

  What's he wanting you to put away?

  What's he wanting you to cast off and remove?

  Anger.

  Wrath.

  Slander, obscene talk.

  Notice that Paul treats destructive speech and attitudes very seriously.

  Because it is serious.

  Many believers avoid outward immorality while still living with bitterness, anger, and resentment, rage.

  Mm-hmm.

  Cutting words?

  Paul says these things belong to the old self, so put it away.

  It's a decision.

  Do I want to walk in anger or do I want to walk in love and peace?

  Paul is showing that the real spiritual transformation touches our heart. our emotions, our reactions, our conversations, and our relationships.

  When he says, do not lie to one another, why would he mention lying?

  Because lying destroys covenant community.

  It breaks it off.

  How many of y'all been through a church split?

  Raise your hand.

  I bet there's a lot of lying that went on in them church splits.

  Or yeah, there was some lying that went on.

  Things were said about people that probably were not true.

  Might have had Some touch of truth to it, but lies.

  We're all impacted by that, right?

  Sometimes we carry that to the next church.

  We gotta put it away.

  We gotta put away the hurt and the anger and the lies.

  Lies are destructive.

  Secrecy is destructive.

  Paul is saying, stop relating to one another through manipulation, hiding, and falsehood.

  He pictures salvation like removing an old contaminated garment.

  And the old self means the old humanity that was apart from Christ The old values, the old sinful patterns, the old identity structure.

  Once again, I said it a moment ago, but Paul's not saying that we don't struggle.

  He's saying. .

  Don't keep dressing yourself in what Christ already freed you from.

  Sometimes it's sometimes it's kind of a security blanket to go back to that.

  We got to put it away if we're going to grow.

  That's where spiritual immaturity starts rooting.

  Is that when we refuse to put things away and let things die that he's asking us to get rid of in our lives?

  When we hold on to them.

  That's where spiritual immaturity really starts growing.

  And then we never grow to our fullness in Christ.

  The bigger message of verse 7 and 9 is a transformed inner life should produce transformed relationships.

  I've said it before when we first came here, the love in this house is very tangible.

  The realness, it's very real.

  And we have to protect that and guard that.

  And we have to keep that.

  You can't claim union with Christ while you're still living in rage, destroying people with words, living dishonestly, and feeding bitterness.

  So put it away.

  Ephesians 4. 29 is one of my favorite scriptures.

  Let no corrupt communication come out of your mouth, but only such as is good for building up.

  As fits the believer, the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

  We have to watch our tongue, make sure that we're speaking life and encouragement.

  Verse 10, and have put on the new self which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

  I'm almost done.

  Probably another 42 minutes.

  We 're made in the image of God.

  We are image bearers.

  Our minds are being renewed.

  Our tongue is being renewed.

  Our emotions are being renewed and aligned to the character and person of Christ.

  Can I I want to challenge you with about four things here, maybe five, before we go.

  I want to challenge you tonight in ways of how I think you can continue to be renewed in your mind and in the knowledge of the Lord.

  First of all, be a lover of God's word.

  If you will fall in love with God's word, your heart will always be tender toward Him.

  I believe that.

  You will be quick to respond to the Holy Spirit's conviction and touch on your life.

  Secondly, be a lover of God's presence.

  Don't be stuck, I'm just gonna say this and move on real quick.

  Don't be stuck on a genre of music.

  Whether it's modern worship, old hymns, whether it's 90s choruses, can I tell you, those are all just forms of communication.

  But the spirit behind it is what matters.

  And who we're singing to is what matters.

  So there are environments I walk into and the style is not my thing.

  But I can enter in because of who we're singing to and because of the heart behind it and the spirit behind it Don't let a style of music hinder hinder your your pressing into God's presence because his presence, there's power in his presence, there's beauty in his presence.

  Lives are changed in his presence Be a lover of God's people.

  Don't treat this gathering as just a common.

  This is not the the moose club or whatever the local lodge is This is not some community event.

  We are the church.

  We are his body.

  When we love one another right, when we worship him together, his presence is going to be tangible and lives are going to be changed.

  You're going to be changed.

  Don't take the gathering of believers as common.

  Don't stay away from gathering with God's people.

  Gather together, flaws and all.

  Be a lover of the lost.

  You guys can come up now.

  Be a lover of the lost.

  Monday I was in Orlando for a meeting with pastors and community leaders. for a ministry that focuses on those who are caught up in the LGBTQ community.

  And We've met with them on a few occasions and unbelievable setting of seeing people who were, you know, one man was literally flatlining had been diagnosed with AIDS, was dying, and he he was flatlining, and he the devil had been literally speaking to him, saying that he had him and he was taking him. for all of eternity.

  And he said, I was able to say Jesus.

  And Christ literally came and he said he literally Since the Holy Spirit come in and just sweep the demonic spirits out of the room and the man is alive, living, married to a woman. and ministering to those caught up in that lifestyle.

  I see him on social media almost daily, if it's it's weekly for sure, but almost daily.

  Where he's reached out to people who want to come out of that lifestyle.

  One particular girl named Becca was feeling drawn to the Lord.

  And she went to a local church.

  Cindy, you can play, whatever you want.

  She walked into a church and she started to come in.

  And the elders stopped her because she wasn't dressed appropriately for church.

  And they escorted her out and asked her to leave.

  I thought this was like a hospital.

  I thought this was like a hospital.

  This was a for whosoever will.

  I thought this was for anyone who wanted to come to Christ.

  Be a lover of the lost.

  Be a lover of the lost.

  Remember from where you had fallen.

  Be a lover of the lost and allow God to minister through you, to love people.

  Who feel unlovable.

  Testimony after testimony of lives who've been transformed by Jesus.

  Once caught up, and it doesn't matter if it's that lie that they believed or another lie that you believe of the enemy that.

  That keeps you in a lifestyle away from Jesus.

  That one is just prevalent today and out in front of us.

  We have to love people to Jesus.

  And when you really love people, you'll allow God to take them on the journey.

  You'll walk with them and you'll allow God to do the cleaning.

  You just do the loving.

  You just show them the way to the king.

  But you let the king do the deep work in the heart.

  Don't worry about the exterior.

  If you don't like earrings on men and you don't like piercings and you don't like tattoos, you got to get over it.

  It's everywhere.

  You don't like the new way kids dress, you got to get over it.

  They need Jesus.

  And they don't need somebody giving them rules.

  They want somebody to really love them.

  Finally, we are one in Christ.

  Colossians 3. 11 says.

  Says, here there is no Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Syntian, slave free, but Christ is all and in all.

  Would you stand with me?

  In Christ, all of our labels drop.

  Exterior differences fail.

  At the foot of the cross.

  The ground is level at the foot of the cross.

  I want you to know I'm so glad to be a part of the assemblies of God.

  I'm so glad to be ordained in the assemblies of God.

  But can I tell you, I have a lot of friends outside the assemblies.

  Assemblies that are part of the body of Christ too.

  We're just arms and legs and hands, and we're different parts of the body.

  But we are one in Christ.

  The Bible says that they were called Christians first.

  At Antioch.

  They weren't called Pentecostals.

  They weren't called Presbyterians or Methodists.

  They were called Christians.

  We are one in Christ.

  In just a moment, the team is going to begin to sing.