SERMON SUMMARY

From the moment that the truth about Jesus became clear to you and you trusted in his sacrifice on your behalf. Certain things changed about who you are. Things that are still true even on your toughest day at work, the most heartbreaking days, or the most mundane days. You are Christ's, hidden in him, because you have died with him and been raised with him. Today is a fresh chance to be reminded that we are not the same as we were and that our entire present and future have been redirected because our identity has been reset in Christ. 

SERMON TEXT

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ²Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. ³ For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. ” (Colossians 3:1-4 ESV)

MAIN POINT
Though it may not always feel true, you have been raised from the dead and your new life is found in Christ. 

SUBPOINTS AND REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1. Something Very Real Has Changed about You (vv. 1 and 3)

Scripture speaks of the change that happens to us as a result of believing in Jesus in terms of death and resurrection. Why? Not because it's an analogy but because it's a reality. You have died with Christ and have also risen with him in a very real (though only sometimes felt) way. You are not the same person you were, because the person you were has been invited to join in being crucified along with Jesus so that you can be raised with Jesus for the purpose of walking in newness of life (See Romans 6:1-14). 

Being hidden with Christ doesn't mean this life will be pain free, but it does mean 1) your identity is safe and 2) your eternal future is safe. 

Your life, your identity is hidden with him and wrapped up in the fact that he loved you and gave himself for you. Your ID card reads: A sinner made by your creator, saved by grace, raised from the dead and loved by God himself. That’s.who.you.are. The search can be over for you That doesn’t mean you will feel completely settled internally, but it does mean there's a firm footing that you can circle back to when you feel most confused about who you are. 

Your life is safe with him so much so that it’s guaranteed that when he appears, you’re going to be in glory with him. You won’t be lost in translation. You won’t be forgotten or abandoned. When he appears, you’ll be right there with him.

Reflection Questions

• What are some of the first things that come to mind as a definition of who you are personally? 
• Where have you spent some hours and energy trying to determine who you are?
• What thoughts or pictures come to mind when you think about the reality that you have died and come back to life with Christ? 

2. That Change Matters for Every Day  (vv. 1-4)

Amid the proud disputing of his disciples, getting all up in each other’s face about who is the greatest among them, stands the humble, faithful one ready to serve, happy to serve, happy to teach and to train and to shepherd, to pay the penalty for their pride, and to promise them that the Kingdom is theirs as they imperfectly persevere in their faith and trust of Jesus.

This is our Jesus.

And friends, this is just a hint of good news for us, you know? Amid our proud ramblings and actions stands our faithful Savior having served us perfectly in his life and death, now resurrected and ascended, teaching us, guiding us, patiently working with us and being our Good Shepherd and telling us things like:

““Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32 ESV)

Brothers and sisters, followers of Jesus, Jesus doesn’t grow weary of our tendency to think of ourselves, he doesn’t grow tired of our foolish posturing. Rather, he gives us an example to follow in serving one another as we continue to persevere with sure hope that on that final day we will also be ushered into the consummated kingdom to eat and drink at the table of our Faithful King. Jesus would have you and I know, that in Him there is hope amid the pride of a disciple.

Reflection Questions

• What's one thing in your life (one habit, one point of character, etc) where you see the greatest discrepancy between who you are (in Christ) and how you act?\
• What does a concerted effort to set your mind on things above look like for you?

Application

1. You are Christ's.
   He knows who he has saved. He is happy to claim you. Nothing could be more true of those who trust in him. You are Christ's today.
   
   
2. Being hidden in Christ means you are safe. .
   Safe how? Safe from a whirlwind of identity descriptions that our world constantly  throws in our faces. Ray Ortlund has said in a podcast that advertisement is essentially a series of attempts to convince you that "You are a loser until you have _____." That's just a simple example of a world that wants to try to define who you are or say that you can adjust who you are at will. But who we are has been answered and defined in Christ, meaning that we can resist the world's attempts to call us a loser for not doing this or that. Or we can strive to know that the skin God gave us is the skin we're meant to be in, no changes required. Or we can move ahead simply reminding ourselves that we are his. 
   
   
3. You will not grow in obeying Christ's commands without a growing sense of the signficance of what Christ has accomplished in you.
   Obeying Jesus is not something that happens in a vaccuum. Unless we have sufficient fuel, we aren't going to make any progress. Like trying to whip a stubborn mule along. We must marvel at and rejoice in what Jesus has done if we're ever going to want to "put on compassionate hearts" because we will have not seek the compassion or the humility or the love shown to us in Christ. 
   
   
4. Because Christ has made you new, you can put off wickedness and put on righteousness.
   We are a new creation and we are created for the good works prepared for us. This means that by the Holy Spirit of God, we can do what God has called us to do in putting off things like anger and sexual immorality along with putting on meekness and humility. That can truly happen in you and it is nothing but a scheme of the devil that convinces us otherwise. 
   
   
5. If WE are Christ's and OUR lives are hidden with him together, then how we address one another, love one another, and view ourselves as a part of a singular body should reflect that.
   Remember who these people are that you "go to church with", let it shape how you think about them, let it guard you against the sin of gossip or slander, and allow it to draw you to love them deeply. They are Christ's too. 

Further Study:

• Galatians 2:20
• Romans 6: 1-14
• John 17:-26
• John 15:5